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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.” 

Chapter Text

“I wish to invest. You’re saying family’s the only thing you can count on, right? I want to deepen that bond. I want your youngest.” 

There was not a lot to be enjoyed about this evening in Club Infernal Blaze, as far as the arachnid patriarch was concerned. The drinks were fine, the staff was competent, the ladies were really fine looking, of course, but the present company was difficult to cope with. 

He did not work much with people like Valentino, and it wasn’t just a question of ethnicity, or sexual orientation. It was something other than that. 

The moth demon, according to Anthony, was well on his way to becoming an Overlord, when he had been in hell for a much, much shorter time than the trio of arachnids. This type of ambition, of hunger, in someone so young was to watch out for.

Such a quick rise to fame was questionable, to say the least, and so the scorpion had to thread very carefully, and with a lot of finesse. 

So he had been friendly and well behaved, telling himself, continually, that this was a business meeting like any other. Those heart-shaped glasses, heels and vulgar piercings were nothing to fret over. The moth had proven reasonable and willing to listen so far. 

But hearing what Valentino was saying, Anthony’s father felt a deep anger rise from within himself. Yet, as he closely watched the moth demon’s expression, he remained as calm as possible. 

“What do you want him for?”

“You asked for my price, and this is it.”

The old man remained quiet for a moment. 

No matter how infuriating he might find Valentino, and how much he felt the urge to put his fist right through his smug face, he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how rattled the scorpion was. 

Instead, he spoke in a very calm tone, with a slightly forced smile. 

“Could you excuse us for a moment?” 

He went to stand, but Valentino was faster. 

“No, please. You are my guests here, and I need to stretch my wings.” He moved his wings a little to demonstrate what he was saying. Still very pleasant, Valentino took a step back from the table. “If you need me, I will be on the main floor.” He spun around and went towards the stairs. 

Jonathan waited for him to be out of earshot before he looked between his father and Vinnie, their great white shark associate. 

“I think I speak for everyone here when I say, what the fuck was that?”

“Vinnie,” the patriarch crossed his arms over the table and looked closely at him. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Don’t look at me, I don’t fuckin’ know.” Vinnie caught their waiter’s attention and gestured for him to bring some more drinks over. 

“What does that mean, you don’t know?” the scorpion continued, and the shark shrugged. He insisted. “You know Valentino more than I do, what does he mean, he wants Anthony? It better not be what I think it is.” 

“How about you tell me what you think?” 

Barely containing his rage, the old man pointed towards the dancefloor, even if Valentino was not in sight.

“ Lui vuole scopare mio figlio !”

“Henry, for the love of– I don’t know. You might not know this about queer men, but they don’t literally try and have sex with every man on the planet. I work with him on the side, and he never came onto me. Sure, maybe he thinks Tony’s cute, but he doesn’t sleep with all of his employees.” 

“Cute? So I’m right, you think he wants him sexually?”

“No idea.”

The waiter came over with a refill of their drinks, but the patriarch made a dismissive gesture as he stood up.

“Tell him to shove this partnership up his ass.”

“Come on, don’t be this way–”

Jonathan had remained quiet, as he was thinking about the whole thing. He suddenly spoke up. “Boss, there’s somethin’ you should know. About Tony.” 

Staring at the eldest, the patriarch inhaled deeply. He gestured for the waiter to fill up the glasses after all. Once the goat creature walked away, he sat down again and leaned towards his son, speaking in a low voice. 

“You better mind what’s about to come out of your mouth, son.”

“Tony said he’d like to own a nightclub.” 

“ Perchè –” Already annoyed with the whole idea, the scorpion rubbed a finger at the corner of one eye. “Christ… it’s always somethin’ with that kid.”

Vinnie groaned, aggravated. “Just let him– Go on, Johnny.”

Jonathan was not all that bothered, as he knew his father. He knew all the arguments to make him see his point of view, and he was never fazed by his stubborn attitude.

“There’s a lot of money to be made in places like these. How do you think Valentino got so rich, so fast? Because he does a similar business to ours, and he capitalizes on the thirsty people of Hell.” 

“ Sì sì sì , what else do you have for me?”

“We don’t have a place like this ‘cause, let’s face it, we ain’t as handsome or charismatic as those too. So here’s what I’m thinkin’. Let’s do the thing Valentino wants, and then we can agree to Tony working for him.”

“I swear to God–!”

“We’ll have eyes on Valentino! Tony gets to learn the ropes. We just have to be clear he’s still part of the family, and that Valentino can’t just… Do what he wants with him.”

“And then what? We become Valentino’s competition?”

“No. Like he said, it would be a partnership.”

The scorpion pondered the idea, remaining quiet for a moment. He ended up tapping his fingers on the table, frowning. “I don’t like this.” 

Vinnie took a sip of his topped off drink, looking towards a lovely waitress. “You don’t like anything about Tony.”

“You keep underestimatin’ him,” Jonathan pointed out, “but you know as well as I do he’s just as good and competent as we are. He can handle himself and if somethin’ happens with Valentino, I’m sure he’ll find a way to deal with him.”

“ È un junkie. Non ha mai fatto niente di giusto nella sua miserabile vita!”

Once the scorpion reverted to full Italian phrases, it was time to stop. The shark exchanged a glance with Jonathan, before he spoke again. 

“Would you relax? Please. Think about it, okay? Sleep on it. Don’t just say no to Valentino.”

The scorpion grumbled, looking down at his drink. 

“Alright, fine. I’ll think about it.” 

“Great! And ya know, Valentino wasn’t lying about his ladies… He’s got some really fine entertainers. You should take him up on his offer. Really man, you need to get laid.” 

“ Vaffanculo .”

The boss downed his drink and looked at Jonathan. 

“Go get your brother. Tell him we’re leaving.”

“Sure thing.”

The small spider stood up and downed what was left of his beer, before he jumped off his seat. As he looked towards the dancefloor, he felt sudden worry at the fact he could not see his brother, even if the cyclops lady was still dancing. 

Picking up the pace, he hurried down the stairs and started making his way towards the exit. That was when he spotted Anthony and Valentino. 

The moth demon was leaning over a tall table, staring at the tall spider with a smile. As for the spider, he had that unique smile on, a spiderweb made out of a napkin in one pair of hands. 

“...I would have made it a very memorable one,” Valentino was saying.

“Oh don’t worry… It was,” Anthony replied, in a very unusual tone of voice. 

“Tony!” the small spider called. 

Anthony jumped and looked curiously at him, while Valentino raised a brow at Jonathan. 

“We gotta go.” 

“Alright.” Anthony straightened up and readjusted his tie and hat, while he was undoing his work. He cleared his throat and held out a hand for Valentino to shake. “Good night, Mr. Valentino. It was a pleasure gettin’ to know ya.” 

“The pleasure was all mine, Anthony.”

Anthony nodded and took a step towards Jonathan, but seemingly remembering something, he went back to the table and reached for a different napkin. He produced a pencil and scribbled something on it. 

As the shark and scorpion were making their way to Jonathan, Anthony hurried to the dancefloor and found Cherri there. He tapped her shoulder and handed her the napkin, leaning down to tell her this was his phone number. 

The scorpion briefly looked at him, satisfied to see everything went well with that woman. It appeared they’d even developed some kind of complicity, and what a relief that was. 

Valentino drew closer, casually folding his hands in his back. 

“Will I be seeing you tomorrow?” he asked the scorpion in a friendly tone. 

Just as pleasant, the patriarch made some sort of non-committal sound, holding out a hand for him to shake. “I’m not sure yet.” He paused and waited for the moth to shake his hand before he leaned in, speaking in a tone only Valentino could hear. “Regardin’ what you want from us, I’d like you to reconsider and think of a more… traditional arrangement.”

“Traditional? My request is as traditional as they come.”

“In that case, it would help if you made your intentions clearer, regardin’ my youngest.”

Valentino could feel how firm the scorpion’s grip was, perhaps he should have had pincers instead. Yet he kept smiling, even if his eyes narrowed a little. “What do you think I mean?”

“I don’t wanna give you any ideas. You told me about your actual business, and I want to make sure you have nothing inappropriate in mind.”

“I assure you, I will not force him to do anything he disagrees with.”

“Yeah? You won’t put your tongue on him anymore?” 

“Not if he pulls away.”

Feeling the situation quickly getting out of hand, Vinnie laid a gentle hand on the patriarch’s shoulder. “Henry–” 

The scorpion finally let go of the moth demon, feeling a bit of satisfaction at the way Valentino rolled his wrist before he clasped his hands in his back. As he headed for the exit, the patriarch whistled to get Anthony’s attention and gestured for him to come along; the tall spider glanced at his father and excused himself to an annoyed looking Cherri. 

As Jonathan also headed out, Vinnie brought his attention to Valentino. 

“Hey, just between us… What do you want Tony for?” 

“Does it really matter?”

“You drooled all over his hands and you admitted to being a pimp. What were you thinkin’? They have every right to not fuckin’ trust you.”

As the trio of eight-legged freaks were finally out of the door, Valentino’s smile fully disappeared. He glared at the shark. 

“You know, I don’t really appreciate what this escorpión was saying about me. He seems to think I’m going to take his precious little boy by force. I’d rather see him submit to me willingly.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Look, you do what you want and I can’t stop you from saying crap. But I gotta take them home and they’re angry. Give me something to work with.”

“Tell them I could always use some competent help around here, and should Anthony prove himself worthy, they’ll get their cut.”

“Are you high, Valentino? Do you hear what that sounds like?”

Eyes narrowed, the moth demon made a dismissive gesture and spun around. “I have to get back to work. They have twelve hours to give me an answer.” 

When Vinnie left Infernal Blaze, he found the three arachnids standing around his car. Anthony, back leaning against the car, and his brother were both smoking a cigarette, as their father looked deep in thought. The shark pulled out his keys. 

“Can you drive, kiddo?” 

“I mean, if none of you ain’t sober, I can.”

Anthony straightened up and catched the keychain Vinnie tossed at him. He went around the car to unlock all the doors before he went to take the driver’s seat, next to Vinnie. The patriarch sat behind him with Jonathan. Sure, Anthony had taken a drink and a little bit of something else, but who didn’t in this ring of Hell? 

He turned on the ignition and started driving home, windows down. He drove with his middle pair of hands, top elbow resting on the window, smoking with the other. 

“So, how’d it go?” He asked no one in particular. 

He looked at his father, through the rearview mirror, but the old man was stubbornly looking ahead. 

Jonathan ended up being the one to answer. 

“Valentino wants us to work a deal for him. Greed circle demons.”

“Yeah? Sounds right up our alley. When?” 

“Tomorrow,” Jonathan continued, sort of looking between his father and the people outside. 

Anthony threw the cigarette butt outside and sat a bit more comfortably. “Alright. Want me to scope out the place?”

“He didn’t tell us where it’s at.”

“Why not?”

No one dared answer the question. Anthony waited for a moment, mostly focusing on the road. He gave a quick look around the car, before he turned on the radio. 

“How ‘bout some music, yeah?” He turned the knobs until he found something nice to listen to. “Oh I love this one.” 

He started humming and moving his shoulders to the beat, but his father leaned over and turned off the music. Anthony rolled his eyes. 

“Fine. Awkward silence it is.”

“Who was that woman?” the scorpion suddenly asked. 

Anthony tapped his fingers on the wheel. “Her name’s Cherri. She’s friendly and a great dancer. Other than that, I don’t know much about her.”

“You gave her your number? Will you be sleeping with her?” 

From where Jonathan sat, he crossed all his arms and stared at the rearview mirror, observing his brother’s expression.

At first, Anthony wanted to tell his old man that he did not want to discuss his sex life with family, but it wasn’t worth it, and so he rolled his eyes. “Sure, dad. Why not.”

“ Sembra volgare . È una prostituta? Or a stripper?”

Head resting on one of his fists, Vinnie held out his other hand to hold the wheel, not trusting the young man to keep his eyes on the road. 

Indeed, Anthony took this opportunity to whip his head around and frown at the scorpion. 

“It’s always a goddamn interrogation whenever I happen to glance at someone with boobs.”

“What? I’m just sayin’, she looks like the kinda broad who gives a good pompino –” 

“Ya know, this is why I don’t bring people around. I can’t fuckin’ trust you to treat my girlfriends decently.“

“Anthony–”

“You asked me to find a broad to spend the evening with, I did. What else do you want from me, boss? Does she need to bounce on my dick for you to get off my back? Fuckin’ Christ…!”

“Watch the road!” the scorpion said, and Anthony glared ahead and slammed the brakes; he almost rear ended another car at a red light. 

There was a bit of a pause, before Jonathan spoke up. “She did look like that, didn’t she?” 

“Hey.” The old man popped Jonathan on the back of the head, more as a warning than as an attempt to hurt him. “You don’t talk about your brother’s mistress like that.”

“She ain’t my mistress.” Anthony raised a pair of hands in exasperation. “Believe it or not, I don’t need another one.”

“Wait a minute, you have a mistress?” Jonathan raised a brow at his brother. “An actual one?” 

“Are you fuckin’ drunk, Johnny? You had what, three beers? I know you’re thirty pounds soakin’ wet but that’s pathetic.”

“Alright, alright.” The scorpion raised a hand. “He doesn’t wanna talk about his woman. Anthony, I didn’t mean to insult your whores.” 

“How ‘bout you both shut up, huh? I’m fucked up and tryin’ to focus here.”

“Do you believe that, Vinnie? They’re both in their thirties and they can’t behave better than this. Fuckin’ kids, I’m tellin’ you… You’re lucky you never got married.”

The shark sighed. 

“That’s why I like workin’ with Valentino. No family arguments over there, no one screamin’ their heads off...”

“Oh listen to him, bitchin’ like a woman…” 

“Sorry, uncle Vinnie,” Anthony muttered.

“Speakin’ of…” The scorpion waited for the drive to resume before he spoke again. “Anthony, what did you discuss with Valentino?” 

Anthony lit up another cigarette. “Nothin’ much. He didn’t wanna talk business, so we spoke about hobbies.”

“I see. What hobbies?” 

“He likes paintin’, I guess. Dancin’, singin’. Who gives a shit anyway…”

“Has he been…” The old man did not finish this sentence, but it was unclear whether it was because he was looking for the proper word, or if he changed his mind.

“Been what?”  

The old man remained quiet. Jonathan piped up. 

“He treated you with respect, yeah?” 

“We just talked. He didn’t do anything.”

“What did he say to you, Vinnie?” the small spider asked. 

The shark remained quiet for a moment before he leaned over to look at the two arachnids on the backseat. 

“He said he’s always on the lookout for competent help. He’s open to the idea of a partnership and some kinda trade agreement. And, ya know, that makes a lot of sense. He’s a very busy man, so maybe he’s lookin’ to delegate.” 

As Vinnie looked ahead again, the scorpion looked at his youngest, thoughtful. He leaned over again and turned on the radio. 

Anthony seemed instantly in a better mood, as he smiled a little and tapped his fingers on the wheel.

The old man leaned back and sighed.

“Tell him we’ll take the job.”

“And…” Vinnie glanced at Anthony. “What about his request?”

“If he gives me his word that what he told me was the truth, I’ll allow it.”

Once the trio of arachnids were out of his car, Vinnie got behind the wheel, wished them a good evening and drove off. Anthony took a few steps towards their home, but he stopped when he heard his father. 

“Anthony.”

Recognizing what this tone announced, the tall spider stopped in his tracks and shut his eyes, face scrunched up. Barely breathing anymore, he faced the scorpion, instantly looking apologetic. 

“Dad, I…”

Not caring in the least about the few stragglers here and there around their neighborhood, the patriarch grabbed Anthony by the shirt, pulling him in. He spoke between clenched teeth. 

“Don’t you talk to me the way you did in the car.”

Brows folded and making himself a bit smaller, Anthony lowered his head a little. 

“I’m sorry.”

“I ain’t just your dad, I’m your boss, you hear? You address me with respect or not at all.” 

Unable to stop himself, Anthony uneasily crossed his middle pair of arms across his chest, in a defensive manner. He couldn’t help glancing towards his father’s stinger, which thankfully remained lowered. “I-I know,” he breathed out. 

The scorpion kept staring in his eyes for a moment, before he finally pushed him away, forceful but not enough to harm him. 

“Go and get dinner. I don’t think we got our cut from Ronnie this month, so get me a turkey sandwich while you’re there.”

“Alright, boss,” the tall spider straightened up and smoothed his jacket. 

The patriarch then lowered his gaze to his eldest; Jonathan stood next to them, arms crossed and smoking a cigarette. 

“You go with him. And not a word, okay?”

With an incredulous expression, Jonathan looked between them. “What do you mean, not a word?”

“Everything has to go well tomorrow.”

The scorpion headed towards the factory, as Anthony raised a brow and looked down at Jonathan. 

“What’s goin’ on?”

Shoving a pair of hands in his pockets, Jonathan spun around and started walking towards the commercial street. 

“You heard the boss.”

Following after him, Anthony gave him an annoyed look. “We’re family, we don’t hide shit from one another.” 

“We don’t?” Jonathan raised a brow at him. 

“Not about the job, anywho…”

Jonathan remained stubbornly quiet the rest of the way, but at the same time, Anthony knew better than to badger his brother for answers. After all, when he got annoyed, he also got physical. 

There were very few people in the restaurant at this hour, and as the owner paid mostly on time, the pair of spiders did not even have to show weapons or threaten anyone. In fact, as Jonathan stood next to him, Anthony casually ordered dinner for his family, with a nice smile and friendly tone. 

The pair took a seat nearby, as they waited for their order. Jonathan immediately picked up a magazine and started flipping through the pages, reading the headlines. As for Anthony, he just crossed his legs and looked around the place, mainly at a neon that flickered above his head. 

It did not take long before Jonathan lowered his magazine on his knees. 

“I told him.”

Blinking, Anthony slowly turned his head to look at him. 

“You what?” 

“Something happened during the meeting, and… I don’t know, I didn’t have much of a choice. I was getting tipsy and I was trying to make the meeting work.” 

“But it wasn’t for you to say…!” As he could not afford to raise his voice, Anthony turned a bit in his chair to better look at his brother. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

“Oh come on. At least it’s over, you won’t have to discuss it with the old man…” Jonathan casually licked his thumb and turned the page of his magazine. “I know you hate talkin’ with him.” 

“I–” Making sure to keep his voice low, Anthony leaned a bit more towards his brother. “I trusted you. You couldn’t keep that to yourself for one. Single. Fucking day. You promised you’d shut up about it!”

“What’s the big deal?” Jonathan did not even raise his eyes from a lingerie advertisement.

“Who else knows, huh?” Anthony snatched it away, frowning, as a few customers glanced towards them. “How deep in hiding do I have to go?”

“Vinnie knows.” 

“Oh great, so all the fuckin’ sharks in Hell must be aware by now!”

“Why are you makin’ a scene here, in public? It’s really no big deal, I don’t understand–”

 “ Ma non sono affari tuoi! Non hai nessun fottuto diritto– ”

“I spared you a goddamn sales pitch and this is how you’re thanking me?”

“Sales pitch–! … Oh.” Seeing the way Jonathan was looking at him with a subtle but clearly mischievous smile. Anthony felt a wave of relief wash over him as his anger died down, making him laugh a little. 

“You asshole, you had me going there!” 

“I gotcha good, huh?” 

Anthony gave the magazine back to his brother, a little sheepish. “Sorry. I thought you meant… You know, the other thing.”

Jonathan snatched it away from him and opened it back to the page he was at. “I ain’t a monster. If I’d told him about that , you wouldn’t be standin’ right now.”

Allowing himself to fully calm down, Anthony sat comfortably again, now looking towards the people working at the counter. “So he’s okay with me wantin’ a club?”

“Sorta. To be honest, he’s got other shit on his mind, so I’d avoid talkin’ about it for the time being. Just make sure you’re clean for the job tomorrow.” 

“Yeah yeah…”

Anthony could not stop himself feeling bitter at the thought of his brother just getting to tell that stuff to their father with never any repercussion. Maybe Jonathan should have told the old man about their youngest’s sexual preferences, surely it would be better coming out of his mouth. 

“Dusty?” 

Pulled out of his thoughts, Angel looked up to find the owner of the place looking at him. With an engaging smile, he got up and made his way to the counter. 

“Everything alright with you boys?”

Although it was none of the man’s business, the spider just smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Just hungry.”

“Here’s your order, sir,” the man said. “Be sure to hold it from under, it’s pretty heavy.” 

Anthony accepted the actually pretty light bag, but made sure to do as told. He felt an envelope underneath it. 

“Thanks, Ronnie. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Unless they had company, the arachnids tended to eat around the table in relative silence. After decades of doing the same things over and over again, unless there was a problem, there wasn’t much to discuss. 

There was a problem, a very important one, but the patriarch was serious about keeping quiet. Anthony tried to strike a conversation. He spoke about Vinnie, about rumors he heard, speculated about the job tomorrow, but all he got were vague answers and grunts. 

And so he stopped. Instead, they listened to the scorpion’s old records. Like most people of his profession, the boss loved listening to opera, and other classics. 

If there was any of it, Anthony would do the dishes with his brother, as their father watched something on television, either sports or crime shows. It would not be long before the scorpion would doze off, and so he would call it a day and go to sleep. 

Then, maybe Anthony and his brother would play a friendly card game, or hone their skills around the pool table. It usually wasn’t long before Johnny went to bed as well. 

Usually, that was when Anthony snuck out for the night, but honestly, he wasn’t in the mood, at least not yet. He wished his brother goodnight, before he opened the door to his room. He took a step inside, but stopped and hesitated for a moment. Standing in the doorway, he leaned back and looked towards the conference room. 

Biting his lip, he remained still for a moment before he turned on the lights of his room. He left the door ajar and went to the furthest wall to pull on the blinds. He undressed, and once he was in nothing but his underwear, he went back to the door and peeked outside. The coast was clear, and so he tiptoed towards the conference room. 

He wasn’t sure why, but his heart was pounding as he slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. His eyes instantly found what he had been looking for. 

The poster. 

Angel snatched it from the table and trotted back to his room. There, he locked the door before he looked down at Valentino’s image. 

He was determined to do a great job, so that he could continue working with the winged demon, and he hoped his family would show the same level of professionalism. They usually did, but they still had their flaws and not everything always went well in their business.

Now, in the best of worlds, they would form a close partnership, and he would get to work with Valentino on the regular. 

Anthony was not stupid, he could clearly see that the moth was interested in him, but yes, he was in an awkward position. They both had been a little too forward in front of his family. 

Perhaps he had a safe space, a home away from home, but he still lived and worked with his family, and he was indeed loyal to them, as blood was blood. He could not openly be with Valentino… 

But the thought of a secret relationship, behind closed doors… 

Forbidden passion… 

A shiver ran down his spine, as he looked at this martini glass Valentino invitingly held out. His seductive wink, the enticing gold of his jewelry, that soft, velvety skin, those gorgeous wings… 

Oh, he could imagine the smell of red smoke, Valentino undoing his belt and revealing what was carefully hidden, those four hands running along his own limbs, that tongue wrapping around something other than his fingers…

Normally he would sneak out about now, put on a dress and heels, get high, fuck someone, but not tonight. 

That image and his fantasies were sufficient. 

He masturbated, smoked a cigarette, and went to sleep.

A typical day in the life of Anthony began late in the morning. As was to be expected with his lifestyle, he was always the last one to get up. His alarm went off at ten, with the sound of the radio. Listening to the news, he rubbed his eyes, stretched all of his limbs and sat up. He looked around himself and very soon spotted the poster he had negligently tossed on his bedside table, over the lamp and rolodex. He picked it up, carefully folded it and shoved it at the back of the sock drawer, with the others. He stood up and put on his bathrobe, an old and soft navy blue thing, and left his room to go to the washroom. He did his business, cleaned his face and hands, to then make his way to the kitchen area. 

“Good morning dad,” he greeted his father with a smile, as he walked past him.

“Good morning.” 

The scorpion barely looked up from the newspaper he was reading at the kitchen table. The spider looked around himself, as he went to the coffee area. 

“Where’s Johnny?” 

He picked up the pot and looked into it, rolling his eyes at the fact it was empty. He was tempted to make a comment about it, but instead he started making a fresh batch.

“He’s out gettin’ breakfast.”

Letting his father focus on what he was reading, Anthony just lit a cigarette and walked over to the nearest window, taking a look outside. From where he was, he could see a couple making out next to the building in front, as well as two men beating on a third one, right there on the sidewalk. It was a beautiful day in Hell indeed. Catching sight of something familiar, he leaned over a little and saw Jonathan was making his way back, with a box that probably contained pastries and yet another envelope. 

As the coffee was probably almost ready by now, Anthony put out his cigarette in the nearest ashtray and went back to the kettle. 

As he listened to the sound of the front door opening and the light steps of his brother coming up the stairs, he poured one cup and quietly put it down in front of his father. He then poured the other two and put them down in their respective spots. 

As usual his father sat at the head of it, while he sat in front of his brother. Upon seeing the small spider, Anthony grinned at him. 

“Hey Johnny.” 

“Hi.” He jumped up on his chair and dropped the box on the table. 

“What took you so long?” the scorpion raised a wispy brow at him.

“Yeah, there were a bunch of people at the store, and the clerk had no idea who I was. I had to call her boss over and make sure it wouldn’t happen again.”

As Anthony took his seat as well, the scorpion put his newspaper down and opened the box. He took the envelope and negligently tossed it further down the table, to then pick his choice of pastries. He then let his kids choose what they wanted. 

“So about tonight,” the scorpion said. “I’ve been informed the Greed circle demons have no idea who we are, but they do understand we’ll be conducting the deal for Valentino.”

“Do we know how many will show up?” Anthony paused between two bites to ask. 

“Five or six, depending.” 

“Yeah, okay, so they’re underestimatin’ us.”

“That’s a mistake they won’t make more than once,” Jonathan casually pointed out. “Then again… maybe they’ll be tougher than we think.” 

“Let’s play it safe. The fairy said they don’t wanna see sharks at all, which means we can’t have backup. So I’m not sure if we should play it diplomatic, or underhanded.”

“I’d say diplomatic,” Jonathan answered, before he took a sip of his coffee. “If there’s only two of us, we’ll either come across as unprepared, or overconfident. I think they should see us three.”

“Are they aware there’s gonna be three of us, or did Valentino tell them two or three? If they don’t know for sure, I’d say underhanded,” Anthony said. “Greed circle demons are trash. If you wanna be safe, it’s better to cover all our bases.”

There was a bit of a pause, as the scorpion pondered his options. He finished his food before he brought his full attention to his youngest. 

“Did Jonathan tell you what’s at stake?”

Unsure for a few seconds, Anthony looked between his father’s intense stare, and Jonathan shaking his head in a motion so small and subtle, their father could not see it. 

“Aside from our reputation, I’m not really sure. But um… I think Vinnie’s right, it’s better to get on Valentino’s good side.”

“Alright. We’ll show up early and give you the chance to scope out the place.”

“Okay, boss. I’ll be armed and ready to go at your signal. Besides, if you want me to show myself, I will.” 

“It’s settled then.” 

The scorpion got off his chair and gestured towards the envelope and snapped his fingers. Anthony handed it to him before he got up, gathered the now empty cups and brought them to the sink. As the youngest went to the washroom to shower, Jonathan followed his father to the conference room, where they counted and stashed a good part of their money. 

As Jonathan pulled out the books from a hidden compartment under the floorboards, he addressed the old man. 

“We should tell him.” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Boss, come on.” He carried a few books to the table and took a seat. “It directly concerns him.” 

“I’ll tell him after. We don’t want him to fuck up the job.” 

Jonathan produced a small pair of glasses and put it on, before he opened an envelope and pulled money out of it. He mindlessly started counting it. “Alright, listen.” 

This tone immediately made the patriarch look annoyed. “ Gio, cosa hai fatto? ”

“I didn’t tell him what Valentino wants, but I mentioned the club, and he looked, ya know… pretty enthusiastic. So I think he’ll do a great job if you tell him that. But if you wait until after we’re done… Do you realize what that will look like to him?”

The patriarch slammed his fist on the table and glared at his first born. “I said, I will tell him after. Is that clear?” 

Not really alarmed by that outburst, Jonathan just looked at his boss over the rim of his glasses. He answered very calmly. 

“Yes sir.”

The rest of the day was spent doing what the arachnid trio usually did. 

Anthony and his brother spent most of their day going around in order to collect money, threatening and beating those who were unable to pay, and also solving problems that some of their best customers had. 

For the very problematic cases, they sent in the boss, and as this was a fate everyone was eager to avoid, the spiders managed without help.

About one hour before they were meant to have their meeting with the Greed circle demons, the three of them piled up in their car, and Anthony drove them to the meeting spot. 

It turned out to be at a close but safe distance from the elevator that led to the other circles of Hell, which every human soul was forbidden from using. 

It was a fairly large but discreet parking lot, squeezed between an abandoned apartment building, a store that was closed for the night, and a very loud club. 

As Jonathan and his father waited for the other party to show up, Anthony stepped out of the car and instantly lit up a cigarette. He took a long drag before he looked at the buildings surrounding the parking lot. He walked over towards the club. With relative ease, he jumped up to the roof and looked at the fact it did not have a railing, or anywhere to properly hide from view.

He then jumped over to the roof of the store. There was a railing behind which he could hide, but not a clear view of where his family would speak with the others. 

Lastly, he made his way to the apartment building, which thankfully had all sorts of shadowy areas, thanks to a large water tank. It offered a good view of the parking lot, and the building was small enough so that he could hear the conversation, if they talked loud enough. 

While waiting for the other demons, he pulled out his SMG and made sure everything was in order with it. Usually, it was unnecessary, but he wanted everything to go according to plan. 

The Greed circle demons showed up on time, and Anthony made sure to remain in the shadows while he leaned over to look at them. 

They were a mix of imps and sharks. 

Now there was a difference between human soul sharks and Hellborn ones; the latter tended to be a lot more colorful than their counterparts, and to Anthony, they all looked like they were on speed or crack or something like that. 

As for the imps, well… their leader was a mean looking bastard.

Very at ease, calm and composed, Jonathan and his father stepped out of the car, making sure they appeared unarmed. They went to speak with the demons, and although he could not clearly hear what they were saying, Anthony knew they were doing friendly and polite introductions and conversation. 

One knee to the floor, Anthony was so focused on what his family was doing, he did not hear the footsteps coming up the fire escape, until it was too late. When he heard someone walking towards him, he braced himself and, with a sharp inhale, spun around with a glare. 

To his surprise, he was pointing his weapon directly at Valentino’s head.

Chapter Text

For a fraction of a second, Anthony had a stare that looked ready to kill.

Valentino, with that eternally enigmatic smile, stopped in his tracks immediately, raising all four hands to show he was unarmed. Anthony lowered his weapon with a sigh of relief. 

“It’s you…” He quickly glanced down at his fellow arachnids speaking with the Greed circle imps. “I’m workin’. Don’t sneak up on me like that, Mr. Valentino.” 

“ Lo siento .” 

Valentino walked over and briefly spread his wings to let them comfortably hang down. 

Anthony had eight eyes, and currently, he kept his main pair on his brother and father. His head was turned in a way, he could watch Valentino draw closer through his smaller ones. He did not see as well with those, as they were so small, but it was clear enough to watch the tall, handsome figure as he came to sit next to him, his back casually leaning against the railing. 

For the occasion, the moth demon wore some of his more revealing outfits, with tight shorts, stiletto boots, a mesh top that left very little to the imagination. 

Anthony discreetly watched as the winged creature stretched in a way that brought attention to his toned chest and long, slender limbs. 

As Valentino stared at him, Anthony briefly looked and audibly swallowed, before he fully focused on the task at hand. 

“Why are you here?” 

“Well…” Inhaling deeply, Valentino vaguely gestured behind himself. “It’s my money down there. Besides, I was eager to see you three in action.” He casually crossed his legs as he laced his fingers behind his head. “I heard such great things about you, I wanted to see firsthand if the rumors are true.”

“Fair enough,” the spider conceded. 

“What about you? What are you doing up here?”

“I’m doin’ backup. I’m waiting for them to give me the signal.”

“Ah… What signal?”

“My brother has a way of tellin’ me I’m needed.”

Pushing his antennae down so as to not draw attention, Valentino discretely looked over the railing and squinted at the very small spider. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he looked at Anthony, who had a weird little smile on his lips. 

The moth remained quiet for a moment, looking towards the sky at what he could see of the pentagram up there. “Piano and mandolin.” 

There was a bit of a pause, before Anthony raised a brow at him. “What?” 

“You told me you can play two instruments, but I didn’t get the chance to ask which. So, I’d say piano and mandolin.” 

“How do you figure that?” Anthony gave him an amused little smile. 

“Here’s what I think. Vinnie told me how old your father is, and so I believe he was probably born in Italy. You don’t have the same accent at all, which means you're a first generation American. So your father, he did the thing men who are bored do when they want to impress a woman.”

“He learned an instrument,” the spider chuckled.

“He learned an instrument. In nineteenth century Italy, that instrument was the mandolin. That is how he seduced your mother. So mister Enrico came to America in search of a better life, but it wasn’t all he ever hoped for. You were dirt poor, and as it was what he had on hand, your father taught you and your brother how to play the mandolin.”

Anthony thought about it and titled his head from side to side. 

“Okay… What about the piano?” 

“Desperate to escape poverty, your father got involved in the mafia, worked real hard and got rich. Now that he had the money, he wanted his kids to learn a classier instrument. I know how much you people love opera…” 

“Come on, ‘you people’?” Anthony repeated with an eye roll.

“Yes, you people. Italians, mobsters, whichever. A lot of classic pieces are played on the piano.” 

Crossing his middle pair of arms, Anthony clicked his tongue. “Aside from a couple details, you’re more or less right about my dad, but it ain’t the mandolin. We were comfortable, but never rich, and by that point, I was too involved in the business for actual piano lessons. So no, I don’t play either of those.”

“Oh but don’t tell me, I enjoy a little guessing game.” 

“How did you come up with that?” 

With a grin, Valentino leaned a little closer, lowering his voice even more. “I was in bed with this man yesterday… The type of man I tie up and tease until he begs me for satisfaction.” 

To Valentino’s pleasure, he saw Anthony’s focus waver, as he lowered his weapon a little and turned his head a little more towards him, main eyes shifting between him and the parking lot. Unable to resist, Valentino slowly raised a hand to rest on the mobster’s back. 

“But you see, playing with someone to that extent takes a while and it’s a job. There’s just so much you can do before you let your mind wander…” He very slowly brushed delicate fingers down Anthony’s spine, stopping before he could touch his butt. 

With this smile Valentino really enjoyed, Anthony shivered in pleasure. “Come on, I’m on the clock.”

“I thought about you instead.” 

“While you were screwin’ another man?” 

“Yes. After all…” Valentino got so close, he could whisper in his ear. “I need to figure out how you may best serve me.” 

Anthony’s smile turned a little unsure, but before he could think of anything to say, he heard the imp raise his voice to his family. He brought his full focus to them, seeing him and his entourage seemingly about to pull out weapons. Valentino moved to look over, but Anthony hissed. 

“Stay down.”

He took aim, staring intently at his brother. 

“I don’t know who you think you are,” the imp was saying, “but I’ve had enough of Valentino sending cheap-looking second-rate gangsters to deal with me. Now, kindly leave the money, or we’ll make some new holes for him to screw you with.”

“No.” The scorpion firmly said, tail raised ever so slightly. “Choice A, you conduct yourself like a civilized gentleman, you give us the product, take the money and leave peacefully. Choice B, you run home empty handed and lookin’ like a sieve. So what will it be?” 

“See, that’s what I’m sayin’ about this asshole. He failed to tell you one thing about us… Peace is never an option.”

“Well then, let it be known we tried.”

Anthony saw the gleam of Jonathan’s knife, and he instantly stood up and started shooting at the other party. In the split second it took for them to realize where those raining bullets were coming from, Jonathan and his father pulled out their weapon and started laying into them as well. Jonathan took a more active role, as the scorpion, an easy, slower target, moved out of the way. 

When the imps and sharks started retreating, Anthony jumped off the roof and, with his brother, pursued the Greed circle demons towards the elevator. When Anthony turned the corner, he found Jonathan standing over the shark carrying their product, holding him by the collar and repeatedly punching him in the face, full force. 

Anthony looked around for the others, but it appeared they had abandoned their companion, for they were either gone, or dragging themselves towards the nearby station. Anthony casually retrieved the bag and slung it over his shoulder, waiting for Jonathan to be done expressing his anger. 

Despite the fact he was mostly focused on shielding himself from Jonathan, the shark caught sight of Anthony and choked out a plea. 

“Get him off…!”

Anthony just put his weapons away and lit up a cigarette. “He look like a dog to ya?”

Jonathan stopped when he was out of breath. 

Once he got off the shark, Anthony saw his brother had been wounded during the tussle; one of his lower hands was clasped over his side, blood dripping between his fingers. Brows furrowed, the youngest watched him make his way back towards the meeting spot. 

Human souls could survive insane amounts of torture, but such a wound still necessitated care and bedrest. 

Anthony gave one last look to the shark, with anger and disdain. The man whimpered in fear and scrambled off, as well as he could. 

As it seemed everything was over now, he followed after his brother, who was walking a little bit slower than usual. When the parking lot came into view, he found his father next to the car, while Valentino was slowly making his way towards him, blowing the red smoke of his cigarette in beautiful heart shapes. As soon as he saw them, the scorpion spoke to his sons with a smile. 

“There they are.” 

“Johnny got hurt,” Anthony pointed out, as he and his brother made a beeline for the old man. 

“Hurt? Where?”

“It’s nothin’,” Jonathan grumbled. “Bullet grazed my side.” 

“Yeah, you’ve had worse,” the scorpion made a dismissive gesture, before he took the bag from his youngest. He then held out the car keys to him. “Anthony, take the blanket and help him get settled.”

“Sure thing, boss.” 

As they both went towards the car, the scorpion looked at them, before he made his way to Valentino, his smile engaging. The moth demon grinned at him, taking a long drag of his cigarette. 

“Good evening, Señor Escorpión. I can see why Vinnie so warmly recommended you men.”

“My boy got hurt in the tussle, so let’s cut the chit-chat.”

“You’re right. I was headed to Club Fuego Azul, anyway.”

“You’re a very busy man, I know… So as you can tell, we managed to get the product, as well as the money.” He handed him the narcotics, which Valentino accepted graciously. “We did all the work, and so I was thinkin’ of a very generous 70-30 split, in our favor of course.”

Smiling even more, Valentino tilted his head, exhaling the smoke through his clenched teeth. “I’ll get out of your hair as soon as Anthony comes along.” 

Admirably managing to keep a smile on, the scorpion looked over his shoulder at his sons. As promised, Anthony wrapped his brother in a blanket and very carefully helped him get in the car. He took a deep breath and looked back at the moth demon.

“Alright, look.” As if worried his kids might hear what he had to say, the patriarch came to bring a hand around Valentino’s shoulders and sort of turned his back to them. “You can’t just have my son. With my oldest out of commission, I’m gonna need him to pick up the slack.” 

“Ah, didn’t we discuss terms? Must have slipped my mind.” Valentino pulled a watch from within his wings. “He’ll be at my disposal at night, between the hours of 9 and 3. I think it’s very reasonable, as it will leave him plenty of time to do whatever your business entails.”

His smile fading away, the scorpion pulled his arm away in order to hold the other bag towards him. 

“Fine, Signore Falena . Take the money and forget about all this, would you?”

Eyes narrowed and crossing his arms, Valentino leaned down a little, glancing at Anthony. The tall spider was watching them curiously, leaning against the car and smoking a cigarette. The moth fully focused on the old man again. 

“Am I to understand you don’t keep your word? Or was it Vinnie who lied to me?” 

“Hold on–”

“Do I have to let it be known your family doesn’t respect its engagements?”

With a growl, the scorpion pressed the bag against Valentino’s chest. “Just take it, falena .” 

“I made my terms clear.” Valentino straightened up and pushed his hand away, his smile turning mischievous. “If I accepted your money now, it would mean I’d be sucking your dick for three weeks.” 

“You motherless finocchio… ”

“Unless that’s what you’re into, spare my jaw the pain.” 

Averting his gaze, the boss clenched his teeth, thinking about it. He looked back at Valentino. 

“You’ll keep your word? You won’t force him into anything?” 

“I promise. He will not complain of mistreatment.”

The scorpion growled and whipped his head around. 

“Anthony!” 

The tall spider raised a brow and straightened up, looking between his father and the winged demon. The scorpion gestured for Valentino to stay put, before he started making his way towards the abandoned apartment building. He beckoned his son to come along, and Valentino saw the way his expression changed. Anthony’s brows furrowed and he cringed a little, as if he was bracing himself for something. He briefly looked within the car at his brother, before he threw his cigarette away and followed after his father. 

Valentino watched them leave, before he casually wandered closer to the car, clasping his hands in his back. Jonathan watched him with a frown, and once Valentino held out a hand to open the door, he very obviously locked it, maintaining eye contact. With a chuckle, the moth demon leaned down, resting an arm on the roof. 

“Don’t be this way, arañito… I just want to talk.”

The small spider rolled the window down, just enough to be easily heard.

“It’s Arackniss, and I’ve got nothin’ to say to the likes of ya.”

“Feisty little thing…”

“I don’t mind workin’ with you, but I ain’t interested in small talk or bein’ friendly. You’ll find I don’t care to be nice or polite like the rest of my family.”

“I’m not asking you to.” Raising two hands in surrender, Valentino tilted his head a little. “I just wanted to say, my offer still stands. I employ a gorgeous former nurse. Just say the word, and I’ll send her over to your place. She will stitch your wounds, and if she judges it would not go against doctor’s orders, she’ll help you with your needs as much as you want on your road to recovery.”

Jonathan merely stared at him for a few seconds, before he started rolling the window up. Valentino brought an arm there to stop him from doing so. 

“Not interested,” the spider said. 

“You got hurt working for me, it’s the least I can do.” Valentino smiled even more. “Unless you’d prefer a man? You know, in my experience, a lot of you homophobes have something to hide.” Rather amused, he stuck out his tongue and twisted it in a vulgar manner.

“I’m not gay, but I don’t want your diseased whores anywhere near my dick… figlio de puttana ,” he muttered under his breath.

“Hey. I might not speak mafioso, but watch your tongue.” Valentino stared at the small spider a bit longer, before he finally pulled his arm away. He stood up and stretched his back, looking towards the apartment building. 

He remained like this for a moment, until he looked within the car once more. 

“If you’re as bored as I am, I’d love to give you a taste.”

Still with that unblinking stare, Jonathan deliberately leaned down to roll the window up. “ Non posso credere che mio fratello ti trovi attraente… ”

Anthony followed his father to the apartment building. The unease he felt when the old man forced the door open and wandered deeper inside kept growing. As he quietly followed down the dark, musty hallway, he nervously wriggled a pair of hands, as he pulled off his hat and uneasily messed with the brim. 

The scorpion broke a door open at the end of the hallway and stepped inside a dusty but otherwise nice and well organized kitchen. Anthony gave a look around at the flowery wallpaper, cute little table and pots abandoned on the stove, but when he saw the flame of his father’s lighter and the cigar, he kept his focus on him. 

He spoke in a soft, careful tone.

“I’m sorry,” 

“What did you do?” The old man sounded annoyed.

“I-I’m not sure.”

“Then why are you apologizing?” 

“I don’t know… I feel like I did really well…” Eyes shifting, he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m clean, I did what I had to do, we got the money, we got the drugs, I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

The scorpion’s eyes narrowed, before he gestured towards the table with his cigar. 

“Okay, sit down.”

“It ain’t my fault Johnny got shot!” Anthony gestured vaguely in the direction of the parking lot.

“Anthony–”

“Please, boss, just tell me, I’m sorry–”

“ Siediti! ”

Anthony pulled on one of the old metallic chairs and mindlessly wiped the dust away with one hand. He did as told, putting his hat on the table. 

It appeared the scorpion did not even know where to begin, as he remained quiet, staring thoughtfully as his kid, just smoking his cigar. Anthony just waited, looking towards his boss. 

The boss sighed really deeply. 

“I don’t know for how long, but you’re gonna be workin’ nights for Valentino.”

“Oh…”

At first, Anthony felt quite relieved his father was not blaming him for anything yet. Now, he should have been happy that he would get what he wanted, but something was wrong. He still managed to remain calm and composed. 

“Yeah, okay, I can do that. No problem. Doin’ what?”

The scorpion just stared at him for a moment, before he sort of shrugged. Confused, Anthony wanted to ask for clarification, but his father must have seen something in his expression, for he finally spoke up. 

“Your brother told me you’d be interested in owning a club, yes?”

He waited for Anthony to nod his head a little before he continued.

“You’ll work for Valentino from 9 PM to 3 AM. I believe it’s an opportunity for you to gain experience. I expect you to be courteous, professional, and…” He hesitated a little and sort of rubbed at the back of his head. “Obedient. In… Il più possibile .”

Eyes wide, Anthony sort of put a hand on his mouth, mind blank. Unsure what to say for a moment, he ended up raising his hands in surrender. With an eye roll, he leaned back in his chair. 

“Okay fine. Whatever.” 

“Watch the attitude.” 

“Do I have a say in the matter?”

“No.” 

“Oh, my God…” He put his head in his hand. “Oh fuck…”

“You wanna know what you did wrong, Anthony?” As the spider looked up to his dad, the old man threw his cigar in the sink and walked over. He put his hands on the table, leaning down to look closely at his son. “I don’t know what happened in that club the other day, but you let this effeminate bastard believe he could have you.”

“I don’t fuckin’ believe this…! You’re blaming me for that?!” 

“I had no choice. You said it, and so did Vinnie and your brother, I can’t afford to be on the bad side of an Overlord.”

“But he’s not an Overlord.”

From the way the scorpion raised a hand, it looked like he was going to strike, but he contained himself. “You’re the only thing he wants. He doesn’t want a cut of the money, he doesn’t– He just asked for you.”

Hearing this, the surprise, and everything else Anthony might have felt gave way to an anger that came through his defiant glare. “Am I goin’ crazy? Cause it sounds like you’re askin’ me to seduce him.”

As soon as he finished this sentence, the scorpion matched this anger. He grabbed the table from underneath and flipped it to the side. Instantly a lot less confident, Anthony shrank in his chair, as his father grabbed him by his middle arms, holding him in this vice grip.

“ Non chiederei mai questo ai miei figli .”

“Don’t fuckin’ lie.” The spider pulled his head away and laughed dryly. “You’re havin’ me do the same thing you had Molly do to that Giovanni fella.” 

“Giovanni? What are– ma di cosa stai parlando ?”

“Don’t you remember? You had my sister string this poor fella along for months, but then, when it got too serious and he asked for her hand in marriage, you asked Johnny and me to take him along for a long drive by the shore.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m sayin’, boss, is that you think you can use me like property, ‘cause you don’t have Molly to throw to the perverts anymore.”

Anthony did nothing to protect himself from a harsh slap across the face. Before he could apologize or surrender, he was pulled to his feet, his father holding his arm even tighter.

“ Come osi parlare così di tua sorella?! ”

The wise thing would have been to be quiet now. 

“Yeah you’re right.” 

Anthony was many things, but wise was not one of them. 

“I shouldn't compare her to a slut. At least, they do what they’re paid for.”

Anthony felt the air knocked out of his lungs before the pain of the punch to his guts. Out of breath, he doubled over, instantly wrapping the arms he could around his chest. Tears welling up from the pain, he looked through blurry eyes as his father forced him to straighten up, holding him by his collar. 

“ Sarai cortese, professionale e farai del tuo meglio per obbedire. È chiaro? ”

He kept holding him up like this, until Anthony caught his breath enough for a strained answer. 

“ Sì… ho capito. ”

“Anthony…” Gaze softening a little, the scorpion loosened his grasp and readjusted his son’s clothes, before he rested a hand on his cheek. “Against my better judgment, mi fido di te. Non fare nulla che possa farmi vergognare. ”

Keeping his head low, Anthony nodded a little, but mostly because he was desperate to get out of this whole discussion. Seemingly satisfied with his son’s agreement, his boss gently patted his still stinging cheek before he started making his way to the exit. 

Managing a deep but shaky breath, Anthony wiped at his eyes as he went to retrieve his hat, before he followed him towards the exit, with two arms still wrapped around his chest. 

As soon as Anthony stepped outside of the apartment building, he saw Valentino leaning against the car, and Jonathan seething from within it. With a small but friendly smile, he made his way towards the moth, alongside the scorpion. 

“Get off my car,” the old man told Valentino. 

Grinning, the moth demon did as told and stepped away from the vehicle. The patriarch then held a hand out towards Anthony, who gave him the keys. 

“I have to take your brother home,” he said. “I expect you to be back by four.” 

Before the youngest spider could answer, Valentino spoke in an amused but sweet tone. “Don’t worry, Señor Escorpión. I’ll make sure your baby boy gets home safe.”

Clearly annoyed, the scorpion muttered something under his breath before he got in the car, slamming the door. Anthony watched the car leave the parking lot, before he brought his full attention to Valentino; the moth demon leaned down to look at him a bit more closely.

“I will take good care of you.” He had a very wide smile, which Angel would eventually learn to despise. But right now, Anthony smiled back at him, although a little uneasy. Straightening up, Valentino gestured with his head towards the street, on the other side of the nightclub.

“Come. We’re going to Fuego Azul.” 

Giving a look around himself, Anthony messed with the brim of his hat. He just kept a safe distance from the moth demon, looking at those wings. On the sidewalk, he watched with envy as Valentino, carefree, leaned over the street and hailed a taxi. It was as he stared at those high heels and conspicuous jewelry that he realized he might not be able to do drag for a while.

As Valentino opened the door to a cab and gestured for Anthony to get in, the spider sighed softly and got in. Valentino took his seat next to him and told their driver where to go. 

The moth demon was extremely tall, and so he was hardly comfortable in regular cars made for everyone. In order to be somewhat more at ease, he spread his legs across the seat, not even asking for permission before he crossed his ankles across Anthony’s lap. Not that the spider would have complained. 

“You’re gonna have to bear with me,” the moth demon said. “I bought a limousine, but it’s getting detailed and I need to hire a driver. Hopefully, next time, I get to go and pick you up in it.”

“It’s really no problem, Mr. Valentino.” The mobster just looked straight ahead, trying not to stare at the mostly nude legs.

Seeing how it appeared Anthony wasn’t sure what to do with all of his hands, Valentino grinned at him. “Feel free to touch my legs.”

He waited for the spider to daintily rest two of his forearms on his limbs, before he continued.

“You did really great out there,” Valentino continued, casually crossing a pair of arms across his chest, the other hands lacing behind his head. “I loved watching you work today. Seeing the way you smiled and that look in your eyes as you got into it, ooh, it sent shivers of pleasure through my body.” 

“I’m glad you’re satisfied with my work.” 

Valentino remained quiet for a moment, smile fading away as he watched the spider. Very careful, he brought a foot up and with it, turned Anthony’s face to better look at him. The mobster stared back, a neutral look on his face, although a little intrigued. He shifted his eyes towards the driver, making Valentino scoff. He lowered his leg again and looked back outside, remaining quiet for the rest of the thankfully short ride. 

As Anthony followed Valentino around Club Fuego Azul, he gave a look around the staff and performers, the pole dancers, the gorgeous waiters, bartenders, security staff… He really wondered what it was Valentino wanted him to do, especially since as far as he was concerned, what he had was a mobster, and not a beautiful drag queen who was dying to drench himself in sparkles and own the stage. 

Valentino kept stopping to greet important looking patrons as well as address members of his staff, and the spider just quietly followed. He got very little attention, most likely because of the wide berth he gave the moth demon.

He climbed the steps to Valentino’s private office. Valentino gestured for him to step inside first, to then shut the door, thankfully leaving it unlocked. 

It appeared Valentino enjoyed a clean, well organized space, what with the stark white walls. Anthony made his way to the guest chairs in front of a modern black desk, looking at pastel colored erotic drawings he assumed the winged demon had made. It was as he was staring at some lady’s generous chest that he felt Valentino coming to a stand behind him; the moth reached around his chest to start unbuttoning his jacket. 

“ Finalmente estamos solos… ” he warmly whispered to his ear. “Please, make yourself comfortable.” 

The urge to just fully undress was there, and Anthony allowed himself to shiver in pleasure, smiling at what Valentino was doing. He reached up to rest four hands on the moth’s arms, caressing them as he brought his fingers to those pitch black wrists. He let him pull off his dark red and black jacket and waistcoat, watching as he negligently threw the clothes to one of the chairs. But then, emboldened by the spider’s complacency, Valentino brought a pair of hands up to the tie, while the other ran down to his belt. Anthony’s grasp tightened a little, stopping him. 

“I’m comfortable now,” he told Valentino, firm but gentle.

The moth remained like this for a moment, hesitating, but he finally pulled his hands away. As Anthony started rolling up his sleeves, the moth walked to the other side of the desk and took his seat, gesturing for his guest to do the same. He then opened a drawer and pulled out a file and a pen out of it. 

“First of all, I will need directions to your home.”

As the spider took his seat, he hesitated for a moment but ended up answering. 

“North side, the old industrial district. It’s a defunct textiles factory on the corner of Azazel Avenue and Beleth Boulevard.”

Valentino wrote down the information in the file and on a small piece of paper, as he picked up his phone. He pressed a button and addressed whoever was on the other side of the line. 

“Is Georgette available at the moment? … Would you come up to my office, please?”

He hung up and addressed his guest. 

“Your brother and father are interested in women, right?”

Blinking a little, Anthony tilted his head curiously. “Are you… Sending a prostitute over to my home?”

“She’s also a former nurse. I think Arañito was too shy to accept my offer for in-house medical care.”

“That’s very generous, but…”

The mobster was tempted to tell him this was a waste of time, but he actually thought it sounded like a funny situation waiting to happen, and so he shrugged.

“Good luck to her.” 

“Why? Are they going to get violent?” 

“No, they ain’t violent to women, unless they have to.” 

“She’ll be fine then.” 

There were knocks at the door, and Anthony spun around in his seat to see a bald, one eyed demon push the door open. He waited for Valentino to beckon him closer before he hurried to the desk, taking the piece of paper from the moth. 

“Tell Georgette to go to this address when she’s done with her current customer. She will need her kit.” 

“What kit?” The employee asked, keeping his eyes on the address.

“Her medical kit. Tell her someone sustained a gunshot wound.” 

“Ah, someone wants to play doctor huh?” He turned an amused smile at Anthony, who was just smiling pleasantly at the whole exchange. “Sure, she does love her roleplay.” 

“No, I’m serious. There’s gonna be a big scorpion and a tiny little spider there, the spider needs actual stitches. If they ask, she will service them both, and if there’s anyone else and they want her services, cash upfront.”

“Oh uh, of course, Mr. Valentino.” 

The employee hurried away, making sure to shut the door behind himself. 

Valentino looked back at Anthony, at how he crossed his legs, sitting comfortably. He had this empty expression on, merely staring deep into the moth demon’s eyes. Valentino leaned over his file once more, focusing on a typed questionnaire.

“Now that this is out of the way, let’s begin. Do you have any experience bartending?” 

“No.” 

The moth demon started checking boxes. “Have you ever been a waiter?” 

“No.” 

“Management, either in a store or restaurant, or anything of the sort?”

“No.”

“Have you done sex work?” 

The answer took a bit longer to come this time. “No.”

Exhaling softly, the club owner leaned back in his chair, thoughtful. Anthony remained quiet for a moment, but he ended up breaking eye contact to have a look around the office once more, tapping fingers on the armrests. 

“Look, Mr. Valentino… Truthfully, I don’t understand what I’m doin’ here. You know what I am, I’ve never been anythin’ other than a gangster. If you want me to run deals for you, if you’d like someone to beat the shit out of people who owe you money, or if you need a bodyguard for your ladies, I could do that. You said you’re lookin’ to hire a driver, I’d be more than happy to drive you or your staff around. But otherwise, I just don’t understand what you want me for.” 

There was an impatient edge to the spider’s tone of voice, which made Valentino tilt his head a little. “You seem very high strung, Anthony. Is something the matter?”

The moth demon waited for an answer, but there was still this very closed off expression there, very stern. Not really bothered, Valentino gave a seductive smile. 

“Do you want to have sex with me?”

That mask faltered, even if it was just in the way the spider’s brows twitched. “I-I… No.” 

“Help me out here. Did something happen then? Because you don’t look at me the way most men of your profession do.” 

He paused, eyes narrowed, watching the way Anthony shifted in his seat. Thinking about it, he could pinpoint the exact moment when the spider’s attitude changed. He spoke in a soft, calm tone of voice.

“Your father isn’t here.”

The reaction was almost immediate; Anthony sprung to his feet and walked away from the desk. With a pained groan, he went to stand at the window overlooking the dancefloor, four of his arms crossed, the remaining hands grabbing at his hair. He breathed deeply and rubbed at his temples, before he turned around to face Valentino; the winged demon was noting something in the file.

“I thought I’d be home.” Anthony rested his back against the window, lighting up a cigarette. “That I’d be done for the night. I uh… by now, I’d be havin’ somethin’ to take the edge off. So uh… Yeah, I’m high strung.” 

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Valentino stopped writing to open the drawers again. “What are you after? Stiff drinks or something more?”

He pulled out two glasses and a bottle. Before Anthony could answer, he poured into the glasses and left the bottle on his desk. 

“Stiff drink is a nice start.” Anthony came back to the desk and took one of the glasses. He clinked it with Valentino’s and downed it. He sighed in relief and looked back at the moth demon, finding he was looking back with an amused smile. “What?”

“Would you like to do quaaludes?” 

“Wow, I haven’t done that since the sixties… You should have offered before the drink, that would have been nice.”

The moth shrugged. “Feel free to pour yourself another glass if you want.” 

He sipped on his, as Anthony did as suggested and drank some more. He then waited for Anthony to visibly relax and be halfway through his cigarette before he spoke again. 

“You’re saying you’ve never been anything other than a mobster. I understand that’s how you make a living. But did you lie about the other things you told me?”

“No, but they’re just hobbies. Sure I can draw, sing, dance, sew, but not to a level where I can get paid doin’ it, and certainly not dressed like this.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to do any of that in your classy suits. Although, I have to say…” The moth leaned over the desk, looking down at the mobster with a hungry smile. “I think a lot of my patrons would love to watch a mobster strip… oh with the tie, the belt, the weapons, that dangerous look in your eyes… You could be as forceful as you want, point a gun to their heads as you serve them…”

Eyes wide, Anthony just remained quiet for a moment. He ended up exhaling softly, pulling his cigarette out in the nearest ashtray. 

“Wait--”

“I could teach you… If you want.”

Valentino had a way to present things that sounded enticing. For a moment, Anthony considered it, although he let nothing show on his face. 

Throughout his life and thereafter, the mobster had gone toe to toe with rival gangs and he had waged war with some very powerful and attractive men. And yes, he fully understood the appeal of what Valentino was saying. He knew what he looked like and how he presented himself, and sure, people might want to experience a sexual encounter with him. Especially here, in Hell, where many older souls had suffered at the hands of the gangsters who used to blackmail them over their sexual preferences. 

They’d want to see a gorgeous mobster degrade himself for their pleasure. 

It appeared his silence sufficed, as Valentino pulled away and closed his file. 

“Let me put it this way. What I’m looking for is an assistant, if you will, who can and will step up when asked. If needed, I want you to be able to bust kneecaps and collect payments. But I also want you to learn how to host, bartend, serve and entertain my clientele. Does this sound reasonable to you?”

“Mr. Valentino…” 

Anthony wanted to explain to the moth demon that he was a mobster before anything else, and that as such, he was not free to behave in a way that might bring shame to his family. 

But as he had been told to behave properly and do as asked, surely there was a balance he could reach, where he satisfied Valentino’s needs and still would be able to look his father in the eye and tell him the truth about his activities. 

And so he just ended up nodding. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” 

“Wonderful!” Valentino’s enthusiasm put Anthony at ease, and so he smiled back at him. “I’m glad we had this little talk, but I have to go and put on a show.” The moth demon reached within his drawers and pulled out a bowtie. He held it out for Anthony to take. “Put this on.”

Anthony looked at it, slightly confused. “No thank you, I’m good.”

“Anthony…” Eyes narrowed a little, Valentino walked around the desk and came to a stand in front of the mobster. 

“Need I remind you, you are my employee now? You will do as I say.” 

Anthony opened his mouth to speak, but Valentino did not give him the chance. He reached for the tie and wrapped it around his fist. He yanked on it, pulling the spider towards his crotch and forcing him to get on the edge of his seat. The way his breath hitched made it very difficult for Valentino to resist doing much worse to him. Anthony did nothing to pull away from him, but he did rest three hands on the moth’s legs, staring up at him. 

“...If I can do this, what do you think a drunk, violent pervert might do to you?”

“Okay,” the spider breathed out, nodding a little.

Satisfied, Valentino relaxed his grasp as Anthony started undoing his tie. The moth demon half-sat on the desk. 

“Aren’t you concerned someone will grab your tie while you work? You need to at least pin it down.”

“The only reason you got to touch my tie was because I let you.”

“If you say so.” With a brief laugh, Valentino shrugged his shoulders. “If you insist on wearing a tie, bring a clip. Gold, if you have one. You can’t wear a loose tie while handling foods or drinks. It’s unsanitary.” 

Anthony got the hint. It appeared he had been to many formal events, for he put on the bowtie quickly and easily. 

“I’ll introduce you to my bartender. I want you to watch her and assist her for one hour, and then you’ll be free to leave if you want.”

With a nod, Anthony reached for his clothes and hat. “You don’t want me to stay until three?”

With a chuckle, Valentino put a hand on his shoulder and led him towards the door. “No. I can tell you’re in no mood for what I really want from you.”

Anthony poured a few simple shots that night, but he mostly cleaned glasses. It was tedious work, but very manageable, and the bartender lady was quite nice and helpful. He was so focused on the task at hand, he missed the owner’s show, but it was alright. Surely he would get to see him perform again. 

After one hour of this, as ordered by Valentino, he stopped and retrieved the rest of his clothes. He wanted to wish his new boss a good night, but the moth was nowhere to be seen. Anthony assumed a guest convinced him to give a private show.

And so he just left, hailed a taxi and went back home. 

It was about two in the morning when Anthony pushed open the door to the factory and quietly made his way upstairs. At this late hour, he expected his brother and father to have gone to bed. He was already undoing his clothes on his way to his room, but stopped when he realized he could hear the television from the common area. 

Assuming he would find his father dozing off in front of the television, he tiptoed towards the old leathery couch with the intent of turning it off, but he was quite surprised to find what looked like a blonde chihuahua dressed like a slutty nurse sitting there. 

She looked back at him with a wide smile. 

He stared back at her, confused. 

“Uh, hi. You must be Georgette.”

“Yeah, hello!” She held out a hand to shake one of his, and he obliged with an amused expression. “What’s your name, handsome?” 

“Dusty.”

“Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Dusty. You must be that cute little spider’s brother.” 

“Yeah.” Anthony shoved a pair of hands in his pockets, sort of pointing towards the rooms. “How’s he doin’?” 

“He’s currently resting. He was very combative and rude, so I gave him a sedative and stitched him right up.”

Already anticipating the next morning, Anthony rubbed at the corner of his eyes. “Oh boy.”

“He’s gonna be fine.” She pushed up her bra and stood up. “Alright, so, if you want a blowjob, it’s gonna be twenty bucks–”

“Oh, no no no–”

“Forty if you wanna do penetration, fifty for anal, sixty for roleplay, and–”

“Stop, stop.” Anthony raised two hands and made an accompanying motion. “I’m fine, I don’t need anythin’.”

“Oh, okay, cool!” She sat back down and stared back at the shopping channel. 

Unsure about just leaving her there, Anthony hesitated for a moment before he went to get ready for bed. He brushed his teeth, took a tall glass of water, stripped to his underwear and locked the door to his room. He did some PCP and crashed for the night. 

He would have some very vivid dreams about Valentino. 

Chapter Text

Angel’s pink suit was covered in glitter and sequins. There was only a projector as the only source of light in this darkened room, and the way his clothes reflected the light made him feel like he was a spider shaped disco ball.

He was dancing to garbled synth music, hearing a language he did not speak but was sure he could understand.

At the other end of the room stood Valentino, wings spread, nude. 

Angel smiled at him, dropping to his knees. The moth demon beckoned him closer, and the spider obeyed, crawling to the rhythm of the music, but the closer he got, the more he realized there was something wrong with Valentino’s smile. He was unable to pinpoint exactly what it was he saw, but he got scared. He was scared, and yet he could not stop following orders.

Once he could, Angel climbed on top of Valentino, and he realized he was back home, between the four brick walls, under dull corporate artwork. He now laid on top of Valentino in a red bed, but this wasn’t his bedroom, no, it was a different one. 

It didn’t matter, Valentino pulled him to his chest, and he felt a pleasurable ache at the level of his hips. He swayed, to garbled music, a moan escaping his lips. 

But then, he looked down at Valentino’s face, and the moth demon’s smile was so wide it split his head in two. He unhinged his mouth to speak, and what the spider heard was distant screaming. 

Anthony awoke suddenly. He glanced over at the alarm clock and, seeing how early it was, he groaned and spun around in his bed, shutting his eyes again. 

But then, he realized he really could hear what sounded like arguing. 

Now fully alert, he threw the blankets off of himself and went to retrieve his handgun from the filing cabinet, while he wiped at his eyes. In nothing more than his underwear, he left his room and marched over to Jonathan’s room. Weapon drawn, he kicked the door open, instantly finding the source of all this commotion. 

Georgette, skirt hitched up, was straddling the small spider, and they both turned very wide eyes at him. 

Realizing what was happening, Anthony brought a hand up to shield his eyes, hiding the gun behind his back. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, as he backed away from them. 

“I told you to be quiet as a mouse,” the woman told Jonathan.

“Tony, get her off me!”

When Anthony looked a bit more closely at what they were doing, he realized two of Jonathan’s wrists were restrained to the bed posts, and he was trying to keep a syringe away from him by holding one of her wrists. 

“Stop struggling,” Georgette said. “You’re gonna rip off your stitches, sweetheart.”

“You fuckin’ crazy bitch!”

As Anthony put the gun away and stepped closer, he noted the angry strain in Jonathan’s expression, as Georgette was just grinning down at him.

“That’s right, I am a female dog! Good job.”

Anthony stood behind her and reached around her, making sure to grab her wrists. As she was a lot smaller than he was, he easily pulled her off the bed and had no trouble snatching the syringe away from her hand. She looked over her shoulder at him, with this very wide smile and intense look. 

“It’s cash upfront, darling.”

With a shudder, he dropped her down and pointed towards the exit, glaring. 

“Get the fuck outta here!”

“I’m a professional. You don’t get to tell me how to treat my patient.”

“Go and see if the boss wants to fuck, I don’t give a damn!”

“Okie-dokie!”

Georgette happily wandered off, and Anthony sighed deeply. Unsure what to do with the needle, he kept it in his hands for the time being. He then went back to the bed to help Jonathan free himself from the restraints. 

“You okay?” 

“No, I ain’t fuckin’ okay, I’ve been tied up all night and I really gotta pee!” 

Once he could, he carefully sat up and, hand clasped on his side, he slowly slid off the bed. Anthony made a gesture to help, but the diminutive spider glared at him. 

“Fuckin’ crazy broad– I specifically told Valentino I ain’t interested, what the fuck is his problem?” 

“I was told she’d stitch you up and sleep with you, why is she still here?”

“She said she’s stayin’ until she can take the stitches out.”

“Maybe she ain’t leavin’ till she gets in your pants.” 

“Fuck no, I told Valentino I don’t wanna get crotch rot from his goddamn whores!”

With the rush of adrenaline being well over, Jonathan was hunched over and had a much harder time making his way to the door. Anthony followed after him, just in case he might need help after all. 

“Relax, okay? I’ll uh… I’ll give Valentino a call. I’m sure he can do somethin’ about that.”

“Yeah, you do that.” 

Jonathan went towards the washroom, holding himself up with the help of the closest wall. Anthony watched him for a moment, before he went to his room. He left the syringe on his bedside table and put on his bathrobe before he made his way to the kitchen; he found his father calmly reading the newspaper at the table. The television was turned on the news channel, and just like earlier, Georgette was sitting on the couch, staring intently at the screen.

“Good morning dad.” 

“Good morning Anthony.”

“Did you hear all that screaming?” The tall spider went to the sink and poured himself a glass of water. “It sure woke me up.” 

“Of course, I’m not deaf.”

Raising a brow, Anthony looked back at the old man; the patriarch barely even looked up from the newspaper. Bringing his glass over, Anthony sat next to his father, where he could keep an eye on their guest.

“And… You didn’t stop them?” he spoke in a tone low enough, she hopefully could not hear.

“Stop what?”

“Georgette. Jonathan needed help.”

“Your brother doesn’t need help, he had sex before. And if he does, it’s a bit too late for the talk, don’t ya think?”

“She was forcing him.”

The old man lowered his newspaper to raise a brow at his son. He ended up laughing. “Don’t be stupid, Anthony. A woman can’t do that to a man!”

Knowing arguing was not worth it, Anthony threw a pair of hands up in disbelief, as he was downing his water. 

“Alright, whatever. She did what she came here to do, so why isn’t she gone?”

“The way I understand it, she’s staying until your brother’s feeling better, and until she sleeps with everyone here. To me, this sounds like Valentino provided us with a live-in maid.” The old man finally stopped staring at his newspaper to look back at his son. “It’s nice, havin’ a lady around. I didn’t even have to wait for coffee this mornin’.”

Coffee sounded real good, and so Anthony stood back up and went over to the counter. For once, there was coffee in the pot, and so he poured himself a cup. “Here’s a novel idea, why don’t you just make your own?”

“Because it’s a woman’s job.” 

“I’m a man, I make the coffee.”

The scorpion scoffed.

With an eye roll, Anthony sighed and sipped on his coffee. 

“Ya know, dad, I don’t operate the coffee machine with the vagina I don’t have. I use my fingers, which you also have, and press a button.”

“You’re still the closest thing I have to a daughter right now. It’s better when you do it.”

“Oh fuck you,” Anthony muttered under his breath. 

“What was that?” 

There was a warning to the old man’s tone, and so Anthony did not insist. 

“I’m gonna go and grab breakfast. Is it alright if I bring Georgette along?”

“Why would you take her?” 

Anthony just stared back at his father, until the old man smiled a little and gestured for him to go ahead. 

With Jonathan safely back in bed, Anthony got dressed and made sure he had his wallet before he went to get Valentino’s employee. It appeared she did not bring any normal clothes, and so the spider had to bring a very slutty nurse along as he went to collect money and food. As she only had vertiginous high heels, he took pity on her and decided to drive, even if it would have been only a ten minute walk. 

Windows rolled down, she took her head outside and enjoyed the breeze for a few moments, before she looked back at Anthony. 

“Can I ask you something, Mr. Dusty? Are you all gay?” 

“No. Just shut up, okay? And stop trying to have sex with my brother, unless he specifically asks.”

“Is he gay?” 

“He ain’t. You’re not his type.”

“That big scorpion’s your dad, right? He’s been the most open to me so far, but he still hasn’t done anything.” 

“And thank your lucky stars for that.”

It was a very short car ride. Anthony stepped out of the car and, as he had been raised in an old world, he walked around the vehicle, opened her door and helped her out. He then pointed to the restaurant on the other side of the street. 

“Get inside and wait for me. I gotta make a call first.” 

“Alrighty!” 

As she crossed the street, Anthony found the closest payphone and walked over to it, pulling out a card from his coat pockets. He stepped inside the booth and dialed the number. It took a moment, but someone picked up. 

“Club Fuego Azul, my name is Jasmine, how can I help you?” 

“Jazz, hi, this is Anthony. I helped you work the bar during the night.” 

“Oh yeah, hi Anthony!” 

“Alright, look, I was hopin’ you could help me out here. Valentino sent a woman over to my place, and–” 

“Hold, please.” 

With an eyeroll, Anthony looked outside the cabin, listening to the saxophone on the other end of the line. When it finally picked up, he was quite surprised to hear the voice on the other end of the line. 

“Valentino speaking.” 

His tone of voice, even deeper, huskier, suggested he had been sleeping. 

And honestly, it sounded even more attractive to Anthony, who couldn’t stop himself from biting his lip a little, before he spoke.

“Mr. Valentino? It’s Anthony.” 

“Good morning, my little mobster,” Valentino said in a silky smooth tone that soon turned a little impatient. “May I ask why you’re calling me at this ungodly hour?”

“I won’t take too much of your time. I need Georgette out of my house, but she ain’t leavin’.” 

“What do you mean, you need her out?” 

“There’s been a bit of an incident with my brother. She did the stitches, but she’s being uh… real pushy, if you get what I’m sayin’. She ain’t takin’ no for an answer.”

“Did he damage her in any way?”

“No, he didn’t hurt her.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

“She needs to go.”

“So let me get this straight. You’re calling me in the early morning to tell me my prostitute is trying to do what I pay her for?”

Realizing how stupid this sounded indeed, Anthony just remained quiet for a moment. After a few seconds, Valentino sighed. 

“Come to Exxxquisite tonight. E-triple-X-quisite. If you ask her nicely, Georgette will follow you.”

“Alright, Mr. Valentino.”

“I will talk to you then. Going forward, don’t call me before 3 PM, unless it’s a real emergency.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry, just do better.” 

Valentino hung up on his end, and the spider exited the booth. This had been rather unpleasant, but he was not upset in the least, just a little disappointed in himself. 

When he stepped in the restaurant, he found Georgette at the counter, leaning over it and intensely reading the menu. From the way she stood, the other patrons around the place could see she was not wearing any underwear, and so a lot of them were staring. 

The man behind the counter seemed like he was about to explode, as he spoke through gritted teeth. 

“Look, lady, it’s not complicated. Pick something, we literally only have five breakfast items on our menu.”

“Yeah but I’m not sure what I’d like. I don’t know if I want the strawberry yogurt, or the blueberry.”

“I don’t know what to tell ya, but other people are waitin–” The man looked up at Anthony and immediately opened wide eyes, his tone completely changing. “Mr. Dusty, I didn’t expect you for another week…!”

Anthony came to lean against the counter as well, with a warm smile. “Hi, Greg.”

“Is it okay if I let this young lady look at the menu a bit longer? I gotta go in the back and uh… fetch your package.” 

“Yeah. She’s with me anyways.”

“Oh!” The employee addressed Georgette a lot more politely now. “Uh, I’m sorry miss, I had no idea.” 

With a giggle, Georgette flipped her hair in Anthony’s face. “I’m not ‘with him’ with him, you know, but yeah, I came here in his car.”

The employee spent a moment just looking at them both, while Anthony was really starting to wonder if that woman had ever really been a nurse. 

While the man went towards the back of the place, Anthony turned around to look back at the patrons, and seeing them, he noticed quite a few of them stopped staring at Georgette’s butt. The chihuahua lady straightened up and looked at the mobster. 

“What are you gonna have?” 

“Strawberry. I’ll also order vanilla and cappuccino for the others.”

“Guess I’ll have strawberry too. I don’t even like blueberries.”

Now with breakfast, which was simply granola with yogurt, Anthony and Georgette headed back to the factory. The young woman carried the tray to the kitchen, as the spider went to check on Jonathan. 

The small spider was laying down in bed still, resting, but when he heard the knocks and the door opening, he looked very alert, going so far as to pull out a knife. Upon seeing his brother, he sighed in relief and folded the weapon. 

“What do you want?”

“I got breakfast. Do you wanna eat here, or will you be coming to the kitchen?” 

Already carefully getting up, Jonathan made a dismissive gesture. “I can eat with you guys.”

“Just lettin’ you know, Georgette’s still here.”

Jonathan hesitated for a few seconds, eyes shifting as he thought about it. He ended up getting out of bed and making his way to the dinner table. Anthony followed, feeling quite relieved seeing Valentino’s employee was back in front of the television, staring at the weather channel. The spiders took their seat with the patriarch.

“So Anthony,” the scorpion started. “How was your first day at work?”

“Valentino basically gave me an interview. Asked the basic questions about my job experience. He wants an assistant who will be familiar with all aspects of the club business.” 

“Good. Sounds like it went well.”

“I worked with the bartender and then he let me go.”

“You should have told me you’re a coworker,” Georgette piped up. “I would have given you the employee discount.”

“It’s fine. Also, he asked me to take you back there, so… Please come with me tonight.”

“Sure, honey!”

“ Pezzo di merda… I knew it was too good to be true,” the scorpion grumbled. 

It was thankfully a rather quiet day for this side of the business. 

Anthony spent most of his time keeping Georgette away from Jonathan’s room, and it was quite easy, as she was eager to do various tasks with him. They did chores together, watched a movie, and played a friendly game of pool. She accompanied him to the dry cleaner’s and helped him prepare dinner. She mentioned she had never made fresh pasta before. They ate, did the dishes, and once it was about time to leave for the evening, she went to check up on Jonathan, under Anthony’s watchful eye. She told him she would be back in a few days to pull the stitches out. 

Anthony took the car to the Pleasure District.

Exxxquisite, as its name suggested, was a brothel. 

Anthony stepped inside with Georgette. As she obviously knew her way around the place and she was well known by the very large, very intimidating buffalo-man at the counter, she greeted him, walked past him and stepped through blacked out revolving doors. 

As for Anthony, he greeted the man with a charismatic smile. 

“Hi there. I’m here to see Valentino–”

“Valentino’s fully booked for tonight. Cost of entry is fifty dollars, if you’d like someone else.” 

“No, I’m not here for that. My name’s Anthony, I’m a new hire.”

“Ah, you’re the spider.” He gestured with his thumb towards the door. “Go in, take a seat and enjoy the view. Valentino should be available shortly.”

“Thanks.” 

The brothel, honestly, felt like a way more expensive version of Club Infernal Blaze; it was mainly red and black, there were male and female performers either in cages, or working a pole, but also going from table to table to offer their services. They all had two things in common; what they wore left very little to the imagination, and they were gorgeous.

There were private rooms on each side of the main floor, as well as upstairs, and Anthony imagined there was a lot of coming and going through these doors. 

As for the main area, it was a lot like an old fashioned parlor, with black leather couches, where patrons of all genders sat, drank, smoked, and spoke with the employees. 

Feeling quite at ease, Anthony made his way to an empty seat and lit up a cigarette, sighing in pleasure. To him, this was quite reminiscent of the classier joints he used to visit with his family. Whoever approached him he turned down, courteously explaining he was waiting for someone. 

All and all, he had time to smoke his cigarette and watch a male escort with envy, before he caught sight of Valentino, wings loosely covering his body, coming down the stairs; the moth demon was giving a cursory glance around, most likely to make sure nothing necessitated his attention, before he looked directly at Anthony. The spider put out his cigarette and stood up, readjusting his jacket.

With an engaging expression, Valentino came to greet him, but before Anthony could even say anything, the winged demon hooked a finger under the tie and pulled it out of his waist jacket. 

“It appears someone has a hard time following simple orders,” the moth teased, although there was an edge to his tone.

“I brought a clip. I’ll put it on if you need me to handle food.”

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Valentino let go of the tie and gestured with his head towards the stairs. 

“Come.”

He started making his way up, and as Anthony followed, he looked around at the other patrons. Quite a few of them were looking at the pair. It must have been a privilege to meet Valentino in such a place. 

Valentino’s private room was smack dab in the middle of the second floor area. When Anthony stepped in, his eyes were instantly drawn to the very large, frosted window on the other end of the room, through which he could see the glow of the plentiful neons outside. The walls were a deep purple, the bed covered in lush black satin sheets. There were some more black couches, a small desk, a small stage area with a pole, and on a wall, shelves of whips, crops, clamps, gags and all sorts of such gear. 

Valentino locked the door and made his way towards one of the couches, sprawling his legs across. He waited for the spider to take a seat in front of him before he continued. 

“I have been a little curt to you this morning. Keep in mind I’m nocturnal.”

“Yeah, I understand, but… My brother demanded I deal with the situation ASAP. He asked you not to send anyone over.”

“Your brother is an ungrateful bastard, Georgette is one of my most popular girls.”

“He’s picky, what can I say…”

Anthony paused, looking at Valentino’s legs for a moment. 

“So. What would you like me to do tonight?”

Valentino waited for Anthony to look back in his eyes before he answered. 

“Stand up.”

Anthony did as told. Valentino gestured with his head towards the small area with the pole. 

“Go over there.” 

Anthony’s eyes shifted between the pole and the moth. He hesitated for maybe a second before he walked over there and faced the winged demon. 

“Take off your clothes.” 

Even if deep down, he knew it was coming, Anthony frowned a little, unsure. 

“Why?” he breathed out. 

“I want to see what I’m working with.” 

“What does undressing have to do with what you’re askin’ of me?”

Valentino’s eyes narrowed, before he straightened up in his seat. 

“What did I tell you yesterday?” 

“You said you want an assistant.” 

“Yes, one who can service my clientele. You stepped into a brothel, what the fuck did you think I meant by that?” 

“And I was very clear with you, Mr. Valentino. You know where my loyalties lie.”

With a bitter laugh, Valentino threw his head back, before he turned an amused smile towards the spider. 

“Your loyalties, yes… And how loyal are they to you, hm?” 

Anthony lowered his head a little, and Valentino saw it as an admission he was right. 

“I know what ‘ la famiglia ’ entails. I know what it’s like for people like you."

With a light scoff, Anthony crossed his arms. "I don't think you do."

"You seem to be under the assumption that you’re the only man in your situation, but you’re not.”

“What are you even talkin’ about?”

“You think you’re the first mobster attracted to men I’ve had in my room? How pretentious.”

“Really…?” Of course the spider knew what Valentino was saying was the truth, but he still let curiosity get the best of him. “Anyone I might know?”

“You have that saying... That thing about keeping your business quiet and under wraps. Omertà , right? Well, you can consider my room as being under an oath of silence and privacy. What happens in my brothel stays in my brothel.”

It appeared to convince Anthony enough for his expression to soften, making him hesitate. As for Valentino, he was starting to lose his patience.

“You know, I’m not forcing you to be here…”

He watched as the mobster clenched his fists, and looked elsewhere, face twisted with anger, and something that was close to powerlessness. Seeing him squirm brought real pleasure to Valentino. And it appeared he had a button he could press for entertainment.

“When you went in that apartment with your old man, what did he–”

“Don’t fuckin’ talk about him.” 

Valentino closely observed the way his guest was squeezing one of his own arms, keeping his gaze averted. And he realized something very important about the mobster. 

For some reason… He could not leave.

“You’re either stupid or naive.” As Anthony glared at him, Valentino stood up and started walking towards the door, wanting to put his theory to the test. “Whichever it is, it appears I was wrong about you. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” 

Anthony looked as Valentino opened the door and gestured for him to leave. He remained there for a moment, before he started making his way towards the winged demon. He stood real close to him as he put his hand on top of the one holding the handle. He gently pushed the door shut, before he spoke in barely a whisper. 

“Does the offer for quaaludes still stand?” 

Very pleased with this development, Valentino pulled a bottle from his wings and opened it. The spider held out a hand for a pill, but Valentino pulled the bottle away, with a teasing expression. Undeterred, Anthony put on a very different expression and opened his mouth, pulling out his tongue. Valentino enjoyed the view for a few seconds before he finally obliged. His guest swallowed it, took a step back from the moth and made his way to the pole dancing area. 

He knew what Valentino was after, and he was going to deliver. 

The winged demon walked back to his seat and, with a clap of his hands, the lights dimmed, other than the one above Anthony. 

With his best smile, Anthony lowered his head, just enough to know Valentino could see his lips but not his eyes behind the rim of his hat. He started with his tie, making sure the moth could hear the subtle sound of the satin. He tossed it aside, as he turned around to take off his jacket, hanging it on his elbows as he peeked at the other man. 

Valentino’s eyes shone in the darkness, and so did the flame lighting his cigarette. 

The jacket fell to the floor, soon followed by the waistcoat. 

Anthony faced Valentino once more as he undid the buttons of his shirt. Very deliberate, he undid his belt and pulled it off with a snap that made the moth’s eyes narrow in an intrigued manner. He pushed his pants and underwear down in a fluid motion, stepping out of them. 

Now that Anthony was mostly nude, Valentino raised a hand for him to draw closer, but he was already doing so by his own volition. 

But it was not the gangster’s self confident walk, no… This was a carefully calculated strut that brought attention to his hips rather than his shoulders.

Valentino was salivating, smoke rising from between his teeth. 

Carefully watching the moth’s reaction, Anthony pulled out his handgun, keeping the safety on. He crawled on top of Valentino. running a pair of hands up his legs, another one up his chest, gently moving his wings aside by the same motion. The moth demon wore nothing underneath the appendages. Anthony pressed a knee between his legs, moving in a way that he knew was pleasurable. With an expression that was as dangerous as it was filled with lust, he pushed the barrel against the moth’s chin, pressing his chest to his. 

“ Non posso darti la mia lealtà, Signore Valentino... Non ti apparterrò mai. ”

Smile hungry, almost cruel, Valentino pulled the spider’s wrist and gun away. He brought a hand up to Anthony’s face, firmly holding his jaw. 

“You lied to me… You’ve done this type of work before, haven’t you?”

“I lied when I said I don’t wanna fuck you.” 

“Go ahead then, Anthony.” He pulled his wrist closer again, pressing the barrel of the gun at his chin once more, as he spread his legs even more, bringing one over the backrest, the other just hanging down. “Fuck me.”

Anthony didn’t care anymore, about anything, and so he grinned down at Valentino and got into position. However, just as he was about to obey the moth demon, there was a knock on the door, making him open wide eyes and recoil. Valentino barely acknowledged it, but he looked slightly annoyed. 

“Nevermind that, just do it.”

“But, what if–”

With a growl, Valentino forcefully pulled the spider back between his legs, ignoring how he tried to resist. He grabbed at the level of his hips, but whoever was on the other side of the door insisted. 

“I will shoot someone, I swear to fucking God–” Valentino hissed, pulling the gun out of Anthony’s hands, taking the safety off. “Who is it?!” he called. 

“It’s Vox. Open up, Val.” 

As Valentino opened wide eyes, Anthony looked curiously at the door. 

“Vox? The television demon?” 

“Don’t make me go and get the key to your room,” the media demon continued in a falsely amused tone. 

Clearly aggravated, Valentino pushed Anthony away, making sure to cover himself with his wings again. 

Unsure what to do, Anthony wanted to fetch his clothes, but before he could even reach for his pants, Valentino followed after him and pulled on his arm. He dragged him to a closet and shoved him inside, grinning as he handed the gun back. 

“Wait here. If you’ve got voyeuristic fantasies, today’s your lucky day. Otherwise, just close your eyes.” 

Anthony quickly looked around the small, dark room, seeing nothing more than a small leathery bench, lube and a box of tissues. He looked back at Valentino. “Wait, hold on…!”

The moth shut the doors, and having nothing better to do, Anthony leaned down to be able to look between the slats. He heard the door open and, although he could not see him yet, he heard the television demon come in. 

“Val…” His tone was much sweeter, and there was the sound of a series of kisses and Valentino emitting a low chuckle. “I thought about you all day.”

“Hold it. I’m happy to see you, but I need to remind you I sometimes have other guests. You will not barge in here.” 

“For two hours? You’re good, but you don’t fuck men for that long…!”

“Clearly you don’t know me, but more importantly, my schedule is confidential.”

“Fine, fine, you’re right… Sounds like you think I’ve been naughty. Are you going to punish me?” 

Valentino audibly breathed in. 

“My guest is still here, Vox. You didn’t give him any time to leave.” 

“Oh? Mr. A likes to watch?” 

“You even looked up his name, huh…” 

“Naturally. I didn’t want to intrude on your business and that sounded fake, so I took my chances.”

“Don’t do that again.”

“In the meantime… Let’s give him a show then. Make it look good. Get the collar, the ropes, the whip, and go to town…”

There was a bit of a pause, and although it was still fully audible, the television demon spoke up in a much quieter tone. 

“Is he cute?” 

“Very much so.”

“More than me?” 

“You’re not cute, Vox.”

“Ahaha…! And for that, you will get punished.”

As Valentino walked further down his suite, towards the shelves, Anthony heard the television demon’s steps drawing closer. It was at this moment that the spider realized he could lock the door, which he did. Hearing a subtle sound of fabric, he tried to see towards the stage area.

“Don’t touch these.” Valentino’s voice warned. “They’re his clothes.” 

“Pinstripes, huh? Classy gentleman…” 

The steps drew even closer and, unsure what to do, Anthony crouched down and pressed himself against the door, trying to listen more closely.

But then, the screen came into view, and Anthony found he was staring in cathodic red and turquoise eyes. 

“Mr. A, I presume?” the television said. He tried the door, making Anthony shrink a little. “Oh, don’t be shy. I just want to see what sort of man monopolizes two hours of Val’s precious time…”

The screen got brighter, and the eyes got redder. Anthony heard a warbling tone, and he soon found he was unable to tear his eyes away. 

“Why don’t you open up this door, and we can–” 

“Vox!”

There was the crack of a whip, and the screen headed demon turned his head away to look at Valentino. He stepped away from Anthony’s little hideout, and that was when the spider blinked a little and realized he had his fingers on the lock. He pulled his hand away and looked back, seeing Valentino in leathers, holding a whip, ropes and shackles. 

“You’re testing my patience today…”

With his foot, he pushed Vox down to the bed and brandished the whip, pushing his stiletto down on his chest.

“Safe word?” 

“Oh yeah…” Vox emitted a vulgar laugh. “ Por favor , Valentino.” 

“Damn straight.”

Anthony just sat in the small room, looking at what the pair was doing. Valentino expertly pulled off Vox’s clothes, with enough strength it felt like everything would tear apart, and yet nothing was torn. Just as violent, he pushed him to the bed, face first, and put a choker on him. Pulling on the chain, he started lashing at him.

It was pretty harsh, and Anthony could imagine the reason Valentino was so toned was because of the energy he spent just torturing his partner.

The mobster could not stop staring at how tense the winged demon’s muscles were, as he firmly pulled on the choker. He repeatedly whipped him, spanked him, with Vox mocking the effort. 

“Harder! Harder, goddamn you, my grandma hit me harder than that!”

And yet, as soon as there was blood, Vox whipped his head back. 

“ Por favor , Valentino.”

And Valentino, catching his breath, stopped what he was doing, grinning at the screen headed creature. 

Oh, Anthony wished it was him there, and yet he wanted to look away, but he was unable to. It was morbid fascination for something he was not meant to see. He had to contend, instead, with the dull ache of his arousal. 

Vox stood from the bed and went to the shelves, as Valentino sat on the bed, looking at his partner. It let Anthony watch him, his skin glistening from the sweat, the way his chest rose, the sound of his breathing… The chokehold he just had, in this moment, on the spider’s desire. 

Vox came back into view, and Valentino lustfully grinned at him; the media demon brought with him a ballgag, as well as spreader bars. He went to kneel on the bed, but Vox pulled him back. 

“No no no.” For the first time since they had begun, Vox looked towards the closet. “You’re gonna face that way.”

With a chuckle, Valentino did as told. “Right, you completely made me forget that whole situation…” 

He barely had time to finish this sentence, as Vox put the gag in his mouth. Valentino let himself be fully restrained, and remained very still as this time, the screen headed demon started hitting him with a crop. Vox could not see, but Anthony was staring at Valentino’s annoyed expression. But then, Valentino met his stare and grinned at him, his moans of pain sounding more fake… And a lot more sensual. 

Once he got the violent frustration out, Vox finally climbed on the bed as well. He slid inside Valentino and leaned a little over him. He grabbed a handful of that heart patterned fluff and pulled Valentino closer, making him wince.

“Now that I have your undivided attention, I want you to join me tomorrow for dinner, at the tower.” 

With a frown, Valentino looked at him over his shoulder, but the television demon pushed his head down and started moving his hips. His other hand reached underneath his partner to give him an semi-enthusiatic handjob.

“We’ll talk about business. I don’t even know why you’re being so stubborn… My proposal is most likely the best thing that’s ever happened to you, and the most lucrative venture you could ever dream of.”

Valentino looked back at Anthony, who still was unable to tear his eyes away, even if he felt he had to. 

Soon there would be sincerity to Valentino’s moans and pants, and Vox’s screen seemed to go rather staticky with his own pleasure. 

Vox pulled away from Valentino after a moment, and the moth demon finally knelt up, looking over his shoulder at the screen. The media demon casually wiped his hands on a handkerchief he then negligently dropped on the floor. He started dressing up, and Valentino snarled at him, now pulling on his binds. Vox barely even looked at him. 

“Your new friend can help you.” 

With a teasing smile, he patted Valentino on the cheek before he made a show of throwing some bills at him. He then found Anthony’s stare. 

“Good night, Mr. A. Enjoy yourself.” 

Barely able to move, Valentino just looked back at those shiny eyes he could see between the slats. He waited for the door to open and close before he gestured towards it with his head. 

A little hesitant, Anthony opened the closet door a little and peeked at the entrance. Once he was sure the screen headed demon wasn’t in sight anymore, he hurried to go and lock it. 

Once this was done, he took a deep breath and looked back at Valentino; the moth was smiling invitingly at him, arching his back. 

Anthony had to stop himself from salivating at the sight as he drew closer to the bed. 

He was tempted to accept the invitation, but instead, he started undoing the binds at his wrists. 

“I can’t believe you have someone like Vox in your books…” 

He mused, as he carefully undid one of the leather wraps at Valentino’s wrists. As soon as he freed him, Valentino was capable of doing the other, and so he moved on his other set of arms. 

“I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised, I mean, you’re really–” 

Now free to move his arms, Valentino grabbed Anthony by the throat and harshly pushed him on the bed. As Anthony went very quiet and very still, brows furrowed, the moth finished undoing his other binds. He finished with the ballgag, negligently dropping everything on the mattress. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his jaw a little, before he leaned over the mobster. 

“You enjoy yourself? You like watching me get humiliated by Vox, hm?” 

It sounded like a trick question, and so Anthony hesitated a little before he answered. “N-no, I just–”

“Be honest. I need to know if I need someone to clean up in there,” he pointed towards the closet. 

All hands raised in surrender, the spider hastily shook his head. “No! Honest, I didn’t–” 

“Not much of a sadist, are you?” 

“I’d rather be…” 

“Be what?” 

“I’d rather keep my work separate from the bedroom.”

The moth drew so close, the spider could feel his breath on his skin. 

“What about when I was the one doing the torturing?”

The mobster hesitated a little too long, making Valentino smile again. 

“Kinky little freak… You like it when it hurts, do you? You enjoy being dominated and feeling helpless?” 

“Let’s not talk about this now, alright…?”

Valentino pulled his head away and looked him up and down. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you? I thought you had a dick?” Without thinking, one of his hands grabbed at Anthony’s thigh and forcefully lifted it. “I thought you wanted me…”

He let go of his neck, to run his fingers down his chest and towards where the heart pattern led. As his hand came to rest between his legs, Anthony took a deep, calming breath, clenching all of his fists.

“You really are attractive…” the moth quietly said. “Something so pretty, one day, you’ll get pinned to a wall or locked up in a cage.” 

He finally pulled his hand away and stood from the bed, gathering his gear and the money.

“I’d love to keep playing with you, but I’m spent. You can put your clothes on.”

Anthony would not need to be told twice. He sat up and watched the moth demon walking away, before he went to get dressed. 

“I want you to go to the reception desk,” the moth demon continued. “You’ll learn how to welcome my clientele and what to do if someone tries to leave without paying. If this happens, you have my explicit permission to rectify the situation in any way you see fit.” 

“Okay, Mr. Valentino,” Anthony replied, focusing on buttoning up his shirt. 

“I assume you heard Vox. I won’t be needing your services tomorrow, so enjoy your night off.” 

“Thank you.”

Anthony finished getting dressed and, as he had promised Valentino, he put on a golden clip to his necktie. He walked towards the door and hesitated for a moment, looking back at Valentino. The moth demon was now squinting his eyes at the dollar bills in his hands. 

“Good night, Mr. Valentino.” 

“Good night.”

Reception was not all that complicated work. 

He spent the night standing there, looking in a planner at who was available, he collected entry fees and neatly put everything in a box. 

There was only one man who tried to leave without paying, but Anthony easily caught up to him and made him regret his life choices. 

He collected the money, as well as interest, but as he was coming back to the club and wiping the blood off his baseball bat, he saw Vox coming out of the place; he was saying pleasantries to a fellow rich man, standing next to a very nice car. 

In a fluid motion, so as to not draw attention to himself, Anthony put the bat away and readjusted his hat to hide as much as possible behind it. 

He didn’t know if Vox recognized him, as he just kept talking with the other man, but for some reason… He felt like he did. 

It was about four in the morning when Anthony finally made it back home, and he was spent, what with all the chores he did and the work. As he climbed up the steps, he was already unbuttoning everything. Once again, as he went past the common area, he saw the television was on, playing an old black and white movie. 

With a sigh, the tall spider went to look at who was on the couch, finding Jonathan sitting there, all arms crossed on his chest. 

“You ain’t sleepin’?” Anthony asked, looking back at the television and he crossed one pair of arms on the backrest. 

“No. I went to bed early and I’m in pain, so…” 

“Want me to call Georgette back?” 

“Fuck no. How ‘bout you tell me how it’s goin’ at work.”

“You wanna talk about my sufferin’?”

“What the fuck are you talkin’ about, it can’t be that bad.”

Unsure what to answer for a moment, Anthony looked up in thought before he rested his hand on his cheek. 

“It sucks.”

“Really? Look, I don’t wanna overstep, but I thought…” Jonathan’s voice faded off.

“You said you don’t wanna talk about that shit…” Anthony pointed out with an amused little smile.

“I don’t, but now it’s business, and your business is my business. I don’t always get to talk about fun stuff at work.”

Anthony sighed softly, mindlessly tapping one of his feet.

“Johnny, I didn’t want this. I never wanted to mix the business with him, and now, I…” He threw his head back in frustration before he looked back at Jonathan. “Look at it this way. Alright, imagine you had to work with a really attractive woman. She’s really pretty, she’s got red hair, killer curves, she wears a poodle skirt or whatever, and she’s really powerful and well respected in her domain. You’re into her. She’s into you. But you’ve got dad’s little voice at the back of your head, tellin’ ya you’ll get your ass kicked if it turns unprofessional, and you don’t know if she’ll use it against ya.”

“And that’s why I don’t do business with ladies. That sounds fuckin’ horrible.” Jonathan raised a brow at his brother. “Also, red heads?”

“You’ve always been into Irish girls.”

“Not more than any other broad, I guess.”

“Oh come on, after all that shit you said about what I like…” 

“I’m right, ain’t I? Tall, doesn’t speak Italian, can’t bring them home. Besides the dick, I was spot on.”

With a shrug, the youngest just remained quiet for a moment, staring at the movie.

“Do you know who I saw today?” 

“Who?” 

“Vox. Television demon, V Tower Vox.”

“Valentino knows some real famous people huh?”

“Oh yeah. They’re… Literally and figuratively in bed.”

“So… does that mean you uh… You… Won’t…”

Instead of finishing this sentence, Jonathan sighed and nervously scratched at the back of his neck, averting his gaze.

Sparing his feelings, Anthony just shrugged. “I dunno. More importantly, they were talkin’ about some kind of business meeting.”

“Does it have anythin’ to do with you?”

“Vox doesn’t even know I exist. But the good news is, I ain’t workin’ tomorrow, it will be nice to have the night off. Anyways…” He stretched all of his arms and straightened up. “This is nice and all, but I’m exhausted. I'm going to bed.”

“Alright. Talk to you later.”

Anthony went to his room and finished undressing. He was so tired, he did not even think of doing PCP. The thought of touching himself crossed his mind, but instead, he just went to sleep. 

Chapter Text

“Good morning dad. Hey Johnny.”

“Hey.”

When Anthony stepped into the kitchen this morning, Jonathan and their father were already at the table. There was already breakfast on the table, which made the tall spider do a double take. It was rare that his father was the one to go out for breakfast. Even more suspicious, there was coffee on the table, from a nice little local joint. 

“Good morning Anthony.” The scorpion said, gesturing for his youngest to sit. 

Instantly wary, Anthony looked between them both before he slowly took his seat. He made sure to sit as far as possible from his father, at least so he would not notice. He slowly reached out for the pastries in the middle of the table before he spoke.

“What’s goin’ on?” 

“Your lady friend called. The stripper with the fruity name.”

Still having no idea where his father was going with that, Anthony blinked a few times. It didn’t do much to appease him, as the old man had his mischievous smile.

“You mean Cherri?”

“Yes.”

“Did uh…” Anthony took a bite of his breakfast. “Did she leave her number, or a message, or…?”

“No.”

“Alright, so… Why are you tellin’ me?” The scorpion smiled even more, as Jonathan stared intently at his brother. The youngest braced himself. “Dad, what did you do?” 

“I invited her over for dinner.” 

Dropping the hand that held the food on the table, Anthony rubbed at the corner of his eyes. “Oh my God…” 

“Just so you know, I tried to stop him,” Jonathan said. 

Anthony nodded at his brother before he addressed his father again. “Why would you do that?”

“You said I don’t know how to treat your lady friends. It’s just not true. I want to show, you don’t have to be afraid of introducing your mistresses to us.”

“Ya know dad, I just realized. You keep calling her my mistress. Wouldn’t I need to be married for that?”

“She’s your mistress until you put a ring on her.” 

“She ain’t, I barely know her.” He held out a hand towards the scorpion. “Alright, give me her number.”

“I don’t have it.”

Unable to repress an eyeroll, Anthony pulled his hand away and finished his pastry. “Well then how am I supposed to tell her I still wanna date, even if she doesn’t wanna come here?”

“She said yes.” 

Anthony opened wide eyes at the answer, as the scorpion rested his cheek on his fist. 

“She promised to be here at seven.” 

Most people who knew what Anthony’s family did hesitated quite a bit before accepting an invitation, and so he was quite surprised to hear that. 

“Wow, um… Okay.”

“I offered home-made pizza, so we need to go to the grocer after work.”

“We?”

“You’re coming to a meeting with me.” The scorpion got off his seat and started walking away. “So finish your breakfast and get dressed. That little British–” 

“Australian.” 

“ Australian stripper is gonna find out what real Italian food is like.”

Once their father was out of earshot, Anthony took his coffee cup and sipped on it, as Jonathan leaned over the table to address him in a low voice. 

“How much do you wanna bet he’ll try and convince her to become our maid?” 

“Fifty bucks she’ll wanna leave before he even gets the chance.” 

“You’re on.” 

Anthony ate another pastry and finished his coffee, before he went to get ready for the day. 

There were a lot of people Anthony’s father had problems with, as was common in the business. If he wrote down what he actually liked on a list, it would have been very short. Despite how he acted towards Anthony, the tall spider never doubted how much his father loved him, alongside his other son. The scorpion liked other Italians, especially if they were from the south, he loved women as much as a man of his generation would, and he very much cared for children, family values and his community. 

Outside of that, however, he was at best indifferent, at worst downright hostile. 

Near the top of what he hated most, there were gamblers. 

“I want to make sure I understand.” 

Henry was pacing in front of Jerry, now some poor schmuck tied to a chair. Anthony, SMG in hand, stood by the only exit and looked on with a neutral expression. With every step, the scorpion’s tail swayed, in a way that brought attention to his stinger. 

“You came to me asking for a loan. I’ve given you every chance to pay me back for the last six months, and what do I hear?”

“Please, Henry, I can explain–” 

The scorpion punched him in the face, holding him by his shirt. “You can’t explain shit. Vinnie told me he saw you at the Blackjack table on more than one occasion. The way I understand it, you wasted my–”

“I-I’m sorry sir, I just–” 

“You don’t interrupt me, I’m warning you–”

“It won’t happen again–” 

The stinger stopped barely a few inches from the man’s head, making him scream in fear.

“Shut up,” the scorpion warned, lowering his tail. “Of course it won’t happen again, you have no money to gamble.” Henry took a step back, gesturing towards Anthony. “I know my sweet boys have been trying to work peacefully with you, but as it seems you ain’t gettin’ the hint, I’ll make it painfully clear. If you don’t get me the full amount by next month, you won’t have a business anymore, and a few of your limbs will go missing. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes sir…” 

“Good. Now, keep in mind the only reason I’m being so lenient is out of love and respect for your wife and daughter.”

“I-If you like them so much, I’m sure we could arrange something, I’m sure they’d understand. Y-you can have either of them.” 

There was a bit of a pause, as the scorpion’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to sell your daughter off to me?”

“Or to Johnny… It could also be Tony, I don’t care who. Right, Tony?”

The tall spider looked back at Jerry with a disgusted look, before he lowered his head a little. Jerry insisted, in a weirdly pleading tone.

“I-I bet she’d love sleeping with you, you’re real handsome–”

The tail striked, and the tentacled demon barely had the time to scream in pain before he fully tensed up, paralyzed and made painfully quiet. Anthony always found that terribly hard to watch, and so he uneasily averted his gaze, keeping very still as if fearing the scorpion would turn his anger to him next. 

“How dare you insult us like that? This is your problem, you won’t bring your women into this.”

Jerry only managed a strained, choked exhale, but it seemed to satisfy the patriarch, as he grabbed the chair he was tied to and started dragging him towards the door. Anthony opened it for them and followed his father out of the room. 

Vinnie and a few of his fellow sharks were standing around the abandoned warehouse, just waiting for it all to be over. The scorpion casually tossed the chair and Jerry in their general vicinity, not even pausing in his slow walk as he was making his way towards the exit. 

“We’re done here. You can take him home.”

“No problem, Henry,” Vinnie said.

“I want you to keep an eye on his wife and daughter. If you ever see them on Whore Lane, let me know. I’ll deal with the matter personally.”

Anthony put his weapon away and waved at Vinnie, before he followed his father outside, walking to the car with him. 

As this was a questionable area, there were very few people around, even in the middle of the day. There were only old buildings and other people of ill repute around, and so Anthony felt comfortable speaking regularly.

“ Forse avresti dovuto accettare la sua proposta, ” he said. 

“ Perché?” The old man raised a brow at his son. “Non sembravi interessato .”

“ No, ma... sarebbero più al sicuro con noi. ”

The old scorpion made a dismissive gesture, clearly annoyed. 

“ La nostra casa non è un bordello . But enough about that. We have more important things to do.”

The more important things were dinner, and so Anthony spent the rest of his day shopping with his father and preparing the food with him. At the old scorpion’s insistence, he even set the table, quite nicely with a lacy cloth, and even a small vase containing a flower, which Anthony had to look around the neighborhood for. 

At seven, the food went in the oven and the trio of arachnids just waited for their guest to show up. Anthony sat in the staircase and read a magazine, close enough to hear the phone, as he did not really believe Cherri would show up. 

Hell was filled with terrible people, and so there was a lot of mistrust when it came time to talk about inviting people over and the like. 

What Cherri knew was the drag queen, which seemed to automatically make him a bit more trustworthy, but she also knew she would be visiting a mobster family. 

That was one extremely self assured woman. 

It was about a quarter past seven when he heard knocks on the door. He looked towards it and instantly saw Cherri through the window, smiling at him and waving. For the occasion, she wore a really nice black dress over torn leggings, with a leathery jacket. 

He stood up and called upstairs. 

“Guys, she’s here!”

Anthony skipped down the stairs and went to open the door, smiling wide. 

“Hi Cherri!” 

“Angie! Hey, sorry I’m late, I realized halfway it might be better not to come empty handed.” She handed him a bottle of wine and stepped inside, taking a look around at the high ceilings, industrial lights, dusty machinery. “Wow, your place looks so cool! Any of these work?” 

“Not anymore,” Anthony answered, as he looked at the bottle’s label. “We kinda gave up in the seventies.” 

“Awe, that blows.” She followed him towards the stairs and paused to try and look down the basement. “Oh, what’s down there?” 

Opening wide eyes, Anthony stepped around her to pull the door shut. “Oh, uh… Ya know, work related shit. Nothin’ of interest.”

“Alright, alright,” she chuckled, raising her hands in surrender. “Some secret stuff, huh?”

“Yeah. Okay, come with me, my family’s really eager to meet you.”

As soon as he put a foot on the staircase, he hesitated and looked back at her. 

“Hey, uh… Before we go up there, I apologize in advance for… Some of the stuff you’ll hear.”

“It’s cool, I can handle myself. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Oh I don’t doubt that!” He thought about it, sort of looking upstairs. “I’m really happy you’re here, but I gotta ask why you’d even accept the invitation.”

“I called to ask if you wanted to go to a club with me, and the guy on the phone promised free pizza. I wasn’t gonna say no to that!”

“I gotcha. He didn’t tell me that, but yeah, I’d love to go with you!”

As he went up the stairs with Cherri, Anthony mostly thought it would be nice to finally get a night to himself. He looked forward to a little detour via his small apartment so that he could finally dress how he wanted. 

When they reached the second floor, Anthony and Cherri were instantly met with the other arachnids, who had been seemingly waiting for them. With a gentle hand resting on her shoulder, Anthony smiled at his friend and gestured towards them. 

“Cherri, let me introduce you to my father, Henry, and my brother, Johnny.”

“Hello!” Smiling bright at them both, Cherri held out a hand for the scorpion to shake. 

“Good evening, Signorina Cherri,” the scorpion took her hand with his most charming smile. “In this house, we hug and kiss.” 

“Sure!” Not taken aback in the least, she reached for his shoulders and pulled herself up, pecking him on the lips. She then readjusted his hat, patting his head on the same occasion. “Thank you so much for inviting me.”

Eyes wide, Anthony looked about as surprised as his old man. The young woman then brought her attention to Jonathan, holding out a hand. Jonathan accepted it. 

“We don’t– We don’t have to kiss,” he said. 

“To each their own.” She energetically shook his hand before she straightened up and gave a look around the parlor. “Your place looks awesome! You even have a billiards table.”

As she walked towards the pool table, Anthony went to take a look at the kitchen timer, seeing they should be eating very soon. As he was opening the bottle, he looked at what the woman was doing.

“You play?” the scorpion asked, making his way to the table with her. 

“Yeah. And I’m pretty good, if I do say so myself.” 

“We always love new challengers,” Henry said. “We can certainly do a few rounds after we eat.” 

Cherri picked up a cue stick and observed it, with a very unimpressed look. “Yeah, I’ll take you on.” 

“Oh, a regular pool shark, huh?…” Henry gave her an amused smile, mindlessly readjusting the rack on the table. “Now, don’t expect me to go easy on you, just because you’re a woman.” 

“I don’t expect you to. Now be honest, do you need me to go easy on you and your old back?”

The scorpion erupted into laughter.

Anthony watched them quietly, an eyebrow raised. He exchanged a glance with Jonathan, who stood next to him with the oven mitts. 

“What the fuck is happenin’?” The youngest tilted his head, speaking barely above a whisper. 

“I think he just stole your girlfriend,” the small spider replied just as quietly. 

“That’s… unexpected.”

The kitchen timer rang, and as Jonathan pulled the pizza out of the oven, Anthony went ahead and poured the glasses of wine. 

It was about time to eat, and so Cherri and the scorpion made their way to the table. Once there, the old man addressed his youngest. 

“Anthony, dove sono finite le tue buone maniere? Prendi il suo cappotto e sposta la sedia della signorina .”

“ Oh sì… ” Anthony went to the chair Jonathan usually sat on and pulled on it, courteously gesturing for Cherri to take a seat. “Would you like me to take your jacket?”

With an incredulous smile, she let him push her seat. “I’m good.”

Once Jonathan finished cutting the pizza, in the plates it went. Anthony served Cherri first, then his father, and lastly his brother and himself. Once everybody got settled down, Cherri took a generous bite of her pizza and opened her eye wide. 

“That’s delicious. You made that yourself?” She grinned at Henry. 

“Pretty much from scratch, with Anthony of course.” To emphasize what he was saying, Henry reached over and warmly squeezed his youngest’s shoulder.

Cherri took another bite, making sure to express her delight. “Mm-mm-mm! That’s easily in the top five pizzas I’ve eaten, yeah!”

“Maybe next time, we will treat you to home-made pasta,” the scorpion continued. “That’s Anthony’s specialty.”

“You drive a very hard bargain. I’ll definitely be back for more.” 

Cherri took a sip of wine and brought her attention to Jonathan. The small spider was intently staring at her, pausing in his chewing. Cherri rested a cheek on the back of her hand. 

“What about you? Any food specialties?”

“I don’t really cook.” 

“That’s not true,” Anthony said. “I really love his seafood risotto–”

Jonathan kicked him under the table, making Anthony frown at him.

“Yeah?” Cherri looked back at the tall spider, who nodded emphatically. She then looked back at Jonathan.

“I hope you’ll make it for me at some point.”

“What do you do for a livin’?” Jonathan suddenly asked. 

Blinking at the sudden change in topic, Cherri hummed in thought. 

“Oh, you know… I’m kind of a freelancer. I do a little of this and that… What about you?”

“Same,” Jonathan shrugged, finally looking elsewhere. 

Cherri finished her plate and the wine, leaning back in her chair. Anthony took her empty plate away and brought both to the sink, as the young woman looked back to the scorpion. 

“I planned to take Angie somewhere, but I think we have time for a game of billiards.”

“Angie…?” The old man repeated. He seemed to be wanting to ask something, but he changed his mind and went with something else. “Just let me finish my meal and we can play.”

“Take your time.” The woman brought her attention back to the diminutive spider. “Johnny, will you be joining us?”

“No.” 

“Awe, come on, why not? We need an even number of players.”

“I have stitches. It hurts when I make sudden moves.”

“Stitches?” She sounded concerned. “Where, what happened?” 

“Gunshot wound.”

“That’s badass. Wanna tell me more?”

Her enthusiastic smile suggested she was eager to hear some epic tale about an awesome fight. There was a bit of a pause, as Jonathan just stared deeply into her eye. 

“No.”

Cherri remained quiet for a moment before she shrugged. “Well okay, we’ll make it work anyways.”

“It’s fine,” Anthony said, coming back to take away Jonathan’s now empty plate. “I’m gonna do the dishes, I don’t need to play.”

“Alright.” The cyclops looked back at the old man. “Guess it’s just you and me then, Henry.”

The scorpion finished up and wiped at his mouth with his napkin. He then stood up and made his way to the pool table. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Signorina Cherri.”

The woman stood from her seat and brought her empty plate to the counter. With his six arms, Anthony could do the dishes at a very fast pace; his lower pair cleaned, the middle one dried, and the upper hands put everything away. He would be done very fast. Once she was next to him, Cherri spoke to him in a low voice. 

“How good is your dad?” 

“He’s been playin’ since the Prohibition. He wins pretty much every game, especially if there’s money on the table.” 

“Yeah?” Cherri looked at him over her shoulder. The old man was chalking his cue stick, casually chatting away with his other son. The woman laughed mischievously. “I like him even more.”

She patted Anthony on the back and made her way to the pool table. Jonathan was sitting on the windowsill, most likely to better see the game. Henry put the chalk away, as Cherri went to pick up a stick. 

“Ladies first,” he said. 

“What a gentleman!”

Anthony was already done with the dishes, and so he went to sit next to Jonathan, looking between his father and Cherri with a pleased little smile. 

As was common in such games, the first few matches were merely a chance to gauge the opponent’s skill level, and so they played well, but they obviously did not go all out. They held a pleasant conversation, with polite encouragement and playful banter.

Cherri was a great player, but so was her opponent, obviously. It seemed like no one broke a sweat, and pretty much every hit resulted in a point. 

In the end, Cherri won the game, and the scorpion, unbothered, feigned surprise. 

“You’re a lot better than I thought.” 

“You too, Henry. I underestimated you.”

“How about it, do you have time for another game?”

It appeared to be what Cherri wanted to hear, for there was a peculiar gleam in her eye. “Before we do, I was wondering if you’d like to make it more interesting.” 

With an eyeroll, Anthony elbowed his brother with a knowing look. Jonathan did not react much, keeping his full attention on Cherri.

Quite interested, the scorpion distractedly inspected the tip of his cue.

“What do you have in mind?” 

“Low stakes. Fifty bucks, winner takes all.”

“Fifty? Cara mia , if that’s the best you can do, I would feel horrible taking your money.”

“Oh trust me, I can do better… But you were nice enough to cook for me, I don’t wanna rob you.” 

“Could you do one hundred?” The scorpion leaned against the table. 

“I’ll do even better. One hundred but if you win, I’ll sleep with you. If I win, you give me two hundred.” 

Cherri crossed her arms on the table, smiling wide at the old man. The scorpion had the type of expression that suggested he wasn’t sure what to do. 

Jonathan leaned towards Anthony, whispering. 

“ Che diavolo stanno facendo? ”

“ Nessuna idea ,” Anthony whispered back.

Henry was the type of man who would let a woman win, as it was the gentlemanly thing to do. However, once money was involved, whatever gallantry he had just left his body and he went all out. The type of stakes Cherri put on the table, as enticing as it was, also made him very uneasy, as he could not just agree to sleep with his son’s mistress while the boy looked on. Then again, if he refused now, it would look like an admission of defeat in front of the weaker sex, while changing the terms would make it seem like he was uninterested in women. His ego would not just let it pass. 

“What’s the matter, Henry?” Cherri fluttered her lashes. “I thought you wanted to play?”

“Oh, is it this late already?” The scorpion looked down at his watch, before he went around the table to give Anthony his stick. He gestured for Jonathan to come along. “I forgot I– we have a thing to do. Work related.”

“Awe okay, maybe next time.”

“You both enjoy your evening.” He made his way to Cherri, for a hug and cheek kisses. “ Arrivederci, Signorina Cherri.”

As the scorpion sort of wandered away, Jonathan carefully stood up, addressing his brother. 

“It looks like nessuno vince la scommessa .’

“ Eh, cosa? Ho detto che se ne sarebbe andata prima che lui chiedesse. We’re about to leave, so, technically…”

With a subtle but amused smile, Jonathan carefully climbed off his perch. “No no, hai detto ‘lei’, non ‘noi’ . You haven’t won shit.”

“Agree to disagree.” 

The small spider looked back at their guest. “See you.”

“Bye bye!”

As Jonathan followed after his father, the cyclops looked back at Anthony.

“What were you guys talkin’ about?” 

“Nothin’ much, we made our own little bet and we were talkin’ ‘bout the results.” 

“Ah… Well, I dunno about you, but I’d like to go to the club rather than play pool.”

“Yeah, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to make a stop first.”

Anthony took Cherri to the small apartment where he kept all of his drag queen apparel. At first, the young woman wondered why they were in this crappy little residential area, but she understood as soon as he unlocked the door. 

It was a cute little apartment, with a very different vibe than what she had just been in. Aside from the colorful lights strewn around, trendy posters of his favorite artists and photographs of him and his fellow drag queens, what caught her attention was the large vanity, makeup palettes and the carefully styled wigs. 

Like many people of his profession, he had a vintage sewing machine, but it looked like it had not seen use in a very long time. 

The first thing he had done upon stepping inside had been to get rid of his handsome suit. Now wearing his plush pink bathrobe, he sat at the vanity and worked on his makeup, while Cherri looked through his closet, with his permission. 

“I love your wardrobe!” She exclaimed. She pulled on a very beautiful, light pink evening gown that was quite reminiscent of the later stage of the Golden Age of cinema. “Wow, how long have you been doing drag?”

Angel looked back at what she was looking at before he went back to his eye shadow. “Hard to say. If you mean puttin’ on dresses, ever since my sister decided to play doll with me. But actual drag? Since the 1940s.” 

Looking back at him, Cherri could indeed tell he was well seasoned, as he was surprisingly fast and precise with his makeup. Just like for the dishes, he was capable of doing two things at the same time with his face. 

She walked over to the meticulously made bed and sat on it, reaching over to pick up a magazine without looking at what it was. To her relative surprise, she realized it was gay porn she started leafing through. 

“It sucks you can’t come out to your family. Your dad is so cute.”

“Cute?” Angel raised a brow. “That’s a new one.”

“Yeah, come on, he’s adorable.”

“No one’s ever called him that. I don’t think my grandma ever looked at him and said, ‘aw little baby Enrico, you’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!’ Nah, my dad was born an old man.”

“He reminds me of my grandpa. He was also a bit of a pervert when he got dementia, but I loved him to bits!” She paused in order to look at the centerfold, quite admirative of what the man in the picture boasted. “I get you can’t come out to your brother though. He looks so angry, like he hates me for no reason. I can’t imagine what he thinks of gay men.” 

With an amused little smile, Angel rolled his eyes and put on his lipstick. He powdered his face and, satisfied with his look, went to get his outfit for the night; a black, skintight sleeveless top, with a poofy metallic pink skirt, complete with an ornamental bow. As he stood in front of his closet, he hesitated a little, watching how she kept her full focus on the magazine. 

“Could you turn around?” 

“I’m not gonna look, but trust me, whatever you have, I’ve seen it before.” 

She flipped the page before she turned her back to him. 

“By the way, if they ask, you better tell them I’m one of the best you had in bed.”

As he took off his bathrobe, the spider laughed a little. 

“Sure. Anything else you want me to say?”

“Tell them I was on top, so that if I ever get to shag them, they know what to expect.”

With a shrug, Anthony started squeezing himself into a corset. “Why is it you think I talk about that stuff with my immediate family?”

“I dunno about your frustrated itsy-bitsy brother, but come on, your dad? He looks super invested.”

“Yep, we’re all actors in my family…” the spider muttered, putting on his outfit. He fluffed up the fur on his chest and put on a wig. He made sure he looked perfect, before he looked back at her. 

“I’m ready, let’s go.” 

She finally put the magazine down before she stood up and looked back at him. She opened wide eyes, pointing at his chest area. 

“You only have four arms!”

“Yeah, I can put one pair away. Two if I have to, but it hurts to do so.”

“That’s so cool! Where do they go?”

“Well you see, I have an interdimensional rift at every shoulder joint, and so they retract into a pocket universe–” 

She laughed and drew close enough to playfully punch him in the arm.

“Oh shut up!”

 She then looked him up and down, rather impressed. 

“I can’t even tell you’re the same guy! You look incredible!”

“Well that’s the goal, isn’t it?” He made his way to the vanity and leaned down to pull out a bottle. “Enough of that. Let’s get fucked up!” 

They drank until they had a nice little buzz, and took a taxi to one of Angel’s favorite clubs. 

Hellzone, with its orange and red lights that mimicked the flames of proverbial Hell, was quite a popular spot in the Pleasure district. The little pair did shots, danced until they were thirsty, did more shots, and took a break to do a few lines of coke. 

Before a handsome gentleman whisked her away, Cherri made Angel promise he would not leave the place without her, and she would make sure to leave with him. 

Angel went back to the bar, ordered more drinks and sat at the counter. He lit up a cigarette and gave a look around himself at the people surrounding him. Everyone seemed to already have someone for the night. By this point, he had literally no standards. 

A nervous looking man, who looked like a small ram, came to sit next to him at the counter. He wasn’t Angel’s type at all, but he still looked back at him.

“Hi, miss… or, uh, sir, I guess?”

Angel looked him up and down before he smiled, amused but intrigued. The man pointed towards a booth, at what looked like an ant, or some other type of six legged creature.

“My friend and I, we uh, we were wondering if you’d be open to–” 

“Tell you what.” 

Angel leaned towards the man, making sure his chest fluff was as much as possible on display. 

“I haven’t had sex in a few days and I’m really horny. Get me a drink and I’d love to fuck you both.”

Apparently not expecting that, the ram laughed nervously, gesturing for his friend to come over.

“Like… Separately, or uh, t-together?” 

“Anythin’ you want. As long as you make me cum, I don’t give a shit.”

The six-legged man came over, smiling rather sweetly at Angel. 

“Hey, so uh, do you want a drink?”

“Hi, sweetie. Yeah, I do.”

“Oh! Uh okay.” The man pulled out a bill and gestured for the bartender to make another drink for the spider.

“Don’t worry,” Angel purred in a sultry voice. “I already agreed to have sex with you both. While I take my drink, you just have to check with your friend if you wanna do a threesome or fuck me separately.”

The two demons looked at each other and went at a safe distance to debate their options. 

Watching them from the corner of his eye, Angel just casually crossed his legs and sipped on his new drink, waiting for the two men to reach a consensus. 

He waited maybe a minute, before he downed his drink and put his cigarette out. He stood up and walked over to the two men, resting an elbow on the ram’s shoulder but keeping his eyes on the insect.

“It seems like you can’t agree, so I’ll choose for you.” 

He took them by the hands, and they let themselves be pulled over to one of the empty rooms. There, Angel pulled down on his underwear and negligently tossed them on the floor. 

“Whoever undresses first gets to do me from behind. The loser either gets a blowjob, or goes next.”

As he went to kneel on the bed, pulling up his skirt and getting into position, he looked over his shoulder to see the two men hastily undressing. They got naked pretty much at the same time, but the insect was faster in getting there, and in his haste, he wasn’t all that gentle as he entered Angel. The spider did not really mind, mostly focusing on the ram coming to kneel in front of him.

As promised, he swallowed him up, upper pair of arms wrapping around him to keep him real close.

There was more dancing, more booze and more drugs, but not anymore sexual partners. 

It was very quite late when Angel joined back with Cherri, who also apparently got her kicks in. They took a taxi to his place, where he asked her if she wanted to go up to his apartment. 

“Hm…” 

As Angel stood on the pavement, Cherri, still sitting in the taxi, ended up snorting. 

“Why? Are you gonna sleep with me?” 

“What, no.” He chuckled, resting fists on his hips. “Look, if you can’t put a dick up there, I ain’t interested.” 

“Then what’s the point? Oh! Oh, do you mean in your bed? In your– With your family? To pretend like we–” She did the universal hand gesture for intercourse, making the spider shake his head a little.

“No no, I mean… We don’t–”

He had a hard time finishing the sentence, but thankfully she seemed to get the gist. It was late, and the pair was really ready to hit the hay.

Cherri tapped the driver’s shoulder. “Do you uh, have a pencil and paper?” She waited for the man to hand her what she requested. She then carefully scribbled down her number, handing the scrap of paper to the drag queen. “Call me next time you wanna hang out, either out there or with your family.” 

“Alright Cherri. Good night.”

She gestured for him to get closer, and despite the car door in the way and their height difference, she managed to hug him with one harm, around the waist. She patted him on the back and finally let go, waving him goodbye. She told the driver where to go next, and as the car drove off, Angel went inside and climbed the steps to his apartment. 

Once there, he discarded his clothes all over the floor, threw his wig on the vanity and went to the washroom. He gave himself one last look, before he washed everything off. 

With the last of his focus, he made sure to turn on the alarm on his radio clock, before he dropped into bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

It felt nice. really, not to think about Valentino at all for a whole day. 

The first thing Anthony thought about when he awoke the next day was Valentino. Lying on his back, he turned his head to look at the digital clock, before he turned it off. 

Valentino. 

Well, the night off was over, and now was the time to mentally prepare for another round of his little game with the moth demon. 

He went to take a shower, making sure to scrub off every trace of the previous night. It included making sure he smelled like a man, and so instead of a fruity or floral scent he enjoyed, he used those soaps that smelled like nothing more than a generic man. He dried himself off, flattened the fur on his chest, gave himself a look in the mirror, and once he was satisfied, he put his suit on. 

There was a little diner on the other side of the street, and so he went to get breakfast and coffee, making sure to also grab something for his brother and father. 

He then went to the car, carefully set everything down on the passenger seat, and started driving home. 

“Good morning dad.” 

Anthony carefully set the coffee tray in front of his father, with the bag of food.

“Good morning Anthony.” 

“Hey Johnny, you look a lot better.”

The tall spider started distributing the coffee and the food he had picked up for his family.

“Hey. Yeah, actually. I slept for twelve hours. I feel great.”

“Tell me about it.” 

Once both his children were sitting down, the old scorpion put his newspaper away and looked at his youngest. 

“About your lady friend…” 

With a little frown, the youngest just started eating, listening to what his father was saying. The boss took a sip of coffee and resumed. 

“You seem to really like her, and that’s wonderful, but… I don’t think she should come here anymore.”

“Hm. That’s very unfortunate. She can’t wait to come back here. She really wants to play pool again.” 

“I see…”

“Well, maybe it’s better this way,” Anthony casually shrugged. “She talked about you a lot.”

“Did she?” 

“She said you’re lovely. You still got it, dad.” 

Even if he let nothing really show, Anthony and his brother could see from the scorpion’s little smile he was quite flattered. They exchanged an amused glance before the small spider spoke up.

“Did she talk about me?”

“Yeah.” Struggling to stop himself from smiling, Anthony casually leaned back in his seat. “She thinks you hate her.”

“What?” Eyes shifting between his family members, Jonathan leaned towards him, frowning. “No, not at all. You told her I don’t, right?” 

“I dunno, Johnny,” the youngest tilted his head, perplexed. “Can you blame her? You looked like you had a stick up your ass and you shut down everything she said to you.”

There was a bit of a pause, as Jonathan stared at his brother. He ended up looking elsewhere to resume eating breakfast. 

Now that it seemed the talk about Cherri was out of the way, Anthony, still very casual, moved onto another topic. 

“Did Valentino call?” 

“No,” the boss answered. “Why, are you expecting a call?” 

“Kinda. I don’t know where I’m supposed to go tonight.”

“Hm…” The old man grunted, eyes narrowed. “Alright. Maybe he’ll call later.”

“Yeah…” 

“Don’t worry about him. We have a meeting this afternoon. Vinnie asked for help in dealing with a rival group, and he wants us to be there. We’ll go together.” 

“Sounds like you might need as many people as possible,” Jonathan said. “Can I go?” 

“No,” the scorpion instantly shut him down. “You’re not fully healed and someone has to stay by the phone in case the falena calls.”

“I ain’t a goddamn secretary,” Jonathan glared at his father. “I’m feeling a lot better and I can still use a gun.” 

“I said no, and don’t ask again.”

“That's fuckin’ bullshit.” 

The boss gave the small spider a warning glare, before he looked back at Anthony; the youngest was smirking at Jonathan, eating his food. Addressing him, the spider pointed towards his oldest. 

“There, you see?” 

Anthony looked back at him, smile instantly disappearing. 

“See what?” 

“You’re a piss-poor influence on your brother. You bring one of your floozies here, and right away, he–” 

“I didn’t do shit! He’s older than me, what the fuck am I supposed to influence–” 

“ Zitto !” 

The patriarch stood up and grabbed Anthony by the collar. The tall spider instantly braced himself for impact, wincing. As this was a very common occurrence in this household, Jonathan kept his eyes averted, eating as he looked outside the windows.

“Stop, I’m sorry…!”

“Don’t think I can’t tell when you spent the night doing blow and sleepin’ around. You get this attitude, like you think you can speak to me this way.”

“Sorry…”

“If you can’t do your job because of this today–” 

“No!” Raising all hands in surrender, Anthony found it in himself to look back in his father’s eyes. “No, I swear, it won’t be a problem, boss.”

Eyes narrowed, the scorpion looked closely at his kid, until he felt like Anthony looked sincere enough. The then pushed him back in his chair, leaning over him. 

“And one other thing. I swear to God, Anthony, if it turns out you don’t know what’s going on with that goddamn finocchio because you already fucked up, I will make you regret your immortality. You hear?” 

Breathing strained, the youngest nodded a little, speaking in a pacifying tone. 

“I didn’t do anything, I swear. I’m doin’ i-il più possibile , just like you asked of me.”

The scorpion kept staring at him, until he finally sat back down. “Just eat your breakfast and get ready.” 

Taking a moment to calm down, Anthony just kept his eyes on his plate for a moment. He readjusted himself in his seat and finally breathed out. “Okay, boss…”

He finished eating. Cleaned everything up. Changed clothes. 

Later this afternoon, he took the car and went to the appointment with the sharks, while Jonathan held the fort by himself. 

Chapter Text

It was nice and quiet in the car as Anthony drove home with his father. He was singing along to the song on the radio, as Henry comfortably sat on the backseat and looked outside.

The job had gone well, even if there had been a few people getting hurt on both sides, but what mattered was them being on top and getting out of there with a nice little wad of money.

“Hey boss?” Anthony looked at his father’s reflection in the rearview mirror. 

“Yes?” 

“If ya don’t know what to do with all that cash, I know a one eyed woman who’ll take it off your hands for a game of pool.” 

“You little–!” 

The patriarch took off his hat to hit Anthony with it on the head, but it was a playful gesture rather than any sort of attempt to hurt him. The spider chuckled, seeing the way his father was smiling a little. Surely he was blushing under all that fur on his cheeks. 

But then, as he turned the wheel to get in the rather large parking lot next to the textiles factory, he hesitated and hit the brakes upon seeing an unfamiliar car at the end of it. 

A dark purple limousine with tinted windows. 

“Who’s that?” he asked, curious as well as slightly concerned. 

Uselessly leaning forward a little to better see, Henry ended up shaking his head. 

“Park the car and ready your weapons.” 

“Sure thing.” 

The tall spider parked the car in reverse and cut the ignition, before he pulled out his SMG. He stepped out of his car and, staring intently at the limousine, he took a few tentative steps towards the side entrance of his home. He stopped in his tracks when the window to the other vehicle rolled down. To his surprise and relief, Georgette’s face appeared, smiling and waving enthusiastically at him. 

“Hi, Dusty!”

He lowered his weapon, as the woman jumped out of the window. Valentino stepped out of the car as well and now, Anthony felt a little confused, as well as slightly wary. Yet he could not suppress a little smile.

“’Dusty’?” the moth repeated. “Who is that?” 

Before Georgette could answer, Henry turned on this usual warm and friendly attitude, going to meet with him. 

“Signore Valentino,” he held out a hand for the moth demon to shake. “We were not expecting you!” 

“I know,” Valentino grinned at him, before he brought his attention to the spider. “Hello, Anthony.” 

“Mr. Valentino,” Anthony nodded his head at him, pleasant. 

“We’re here because Georgette wanted to check on Arañito’s stitches.”

“By the way, where is he?” the lady kind of looked around for him, going so far as to peek inside their car. 

“He should be inside,” Anthony said with a little frown.

“I tried the door, and rang the bell, but no one came,” the nurse continued, coming to stand in front of the scorpion. “So we waited for you in the limo.”

Henry turned this friendly smile to the nurse. “I’m sure he’ll be very happy to see you.”

The woman giggled, as her boss took a few steps towards the doors.

“As for me, I like knowing where my employees and partners live,” Valentino said, looking up at the building. “I also promised Anthony a ride in my limousine.” 

As Anthony just did his best to keep on smiling, his father nodded a little. 

“That’s a very nice car you have.”

“I’m surprised you don’t have one,” the winged demon said, as the scorpion started making his way inside with him. “Unless I misunderstand your financial situation.”

“Without goin’ into details, we’re doin’ pretty well.” 

Anthony walked past them and opened the door. Henry stepped inside first, followed by a very enthusiastic Georgette. It gave Valentino the opportunity to give Anthony a seductive smile and a wink, making the spider inhale sharply. 

Once the door was shut, the scorpion continued as he walked towards the stairs.

“I know people of your profession tend to have very flashy cars and this whole eye-catching look and demeanor, but we go for a more muted approach. We have a nice car, but we don’t need to attract unnecessary attention.”

“It’s more so a question of space,” Valentino said, looking around at the tall ceilings and yellowish light. Walking past a sewing machine, he ran a finger across it, to then observe the dust on his fingers. “You must be extremely uncomfortable in that car. It’s very nice to be able to stretch those legs.”

With an amused expression, the patriarch stood at the bottom of the stairs, gesturing for Georgette to go up there. “Signore Valentino, I was unaware you owned the limo dealership. Tell you what. If I need to switch cars, I’ll give you a call.” 

As Valentino chuckled and started climbing up the stairs as well, Henry looked back at Anthony, smile fading away. He now looked clearly annoyed, as he pointed at his guest with his thumb. He said nothing, but the spider knew it was a ‘can you believe this guy’ type of look. Anthony just smiled in an understanding manner, following everyone upstairs. 

Jonathan had been sitting on the couch and reading a book, but hearing the conversation going on, he went to greet his family and their guest. As soon as he saw Georgette, he froze in his steps and stared at her, wide eyed. 

“Hi, Niss!” the woman greeted him happily. “I came to pull out your stitches.”

“No, I’m okay.” 

“Silly little boy, they have to come out. Don’t make me restrain you,” she said in a playful tone. 

Valentino soon came into view, and he looked around himself with an unimpressed look. Soon, Henry and Anthony would come upstairs as well, and the scorpion addressed his oldest.

“Why didn’t you open the door?” 

Keeping his eyes trained on Georgette, as if expecting her to pounce on him at any second, the small spider answered. “We weren’t expectin’ anyone and they didn’t call before.”

“Ah.” Henry sighed and went towards the kitchen.

As Valentino started wandering around the place, keeping most of his attention on the windows and light sources, Anthony, hands casually shoved in his pockets, came to a stand next to Georgette. 

“Johnny, you gotta let her take the stitches out.”

“I don’t want her touching me.” 

“I’ll stay with you guys, if you like.”

Jonathan seemed to think about it for a moment, but he eventually relented. 

“Okay, fine.” 

Anthony held out a hand and made a beckoning gesture. 

“Gimme the knife.” 

“No.” 

“I said, gimme the knife.” 

“What the fuck is the matter with you? Don’t treat me like a child, I’m older than you!” 

“Act like it and give me the knife.”

“Ragazzi!” Henry snapped. “Abbiamo ospiti!”

Jonathan remained still for a moment, until he finally put the folded blade in Anthony’s hand. He then sat on the couch and let Georgette work on removing his shirt. As promised, Anthony leaned against the backrest, watching what they were doing. 

Valentino, who had been looking out one of the tall windows, looked back at him, at the curve of his back, his long legs, the cigarette he pulled out and started smoking, making sure to blow the smoke away from Georgette and Jonathan. Obviously noticing, Anthony met his stare and smiled at him, warm and friendly. 

With a hum, the moth demon walked past him and made his way to Henry; the scorpion stood at the counter, pouring himself a glass of juice. 

“Señor Escorpión.” Valentino leaned down a little, speaking in a soft voice. “I was hoping we could talk about our current arrangement.”

Managing to remain pleasant, Henry put the bottle back in the fridge before he looked back at Valentino. “Look, I just came back from another job. Just take my kid for a drive and we’ll talk later, if you don’t mind.”

“It won’t take long,” the moth demon smiled sweetly, hands clasped in his back. “Don’t worry, he’s not in any trouble.”

“Fine.” The patriarch, maintaining eye contact, downed his glass. He then exhaled, before he looked towards the couch. “Anthony!” 

The tall spider looked over his shoulder at his father, looking between him and Valentino. He started walking towards them, but stopped when the winged demon held out a hand for him to stop. 

“I meant in private.”

Eyes narrowed, Henry looked at his son for a moment, seeing the way Anthony shrunk a little, clearly uneasy. He finally addressed the moth again. 

“Let’s talk in my office.” 

Valentino gave Anthony a sweet but amused grin. The spider smiled in a way that looked a bit more like a grimace, as he went back to his brother and Georgette. The moth demon started following the scorpion down the hallway, looking at the office doors and the well identified washrooms. 

“You’ll have to excuse my sons,” the scorpion said over his shoulder. “They’re young, you know?” 

He opened the door to a large conference room and gestured for the moth to go in, before he shut the door behind himself. 

“Kids… you do your best to raise them, and yet… What can you do?” 

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t have children.” 

“I figured.” Henry gestured towards a chair, inviting the moth demon to sit, before he made his way to a cabinet. “Can I offer you a drink?”

“Yes, I’ll have anything.” 

Valentino spread his wings in order to sit a bit more comfortably on the chair. Everything in this building was drab, he thought. There were only men living there, and yet this was far from the bachelor pad he had expected. He figured he’d be seeing sexy lady calendars, sports related posters and a huge mess everywhere, but the place was not like this at all. 

Then again, what was more ‘man’ than moving into an old factory and not bothering to change anything to it? 

Corporate artwork was what he saw. There were still old growth charts and statistics and the likes, abandoned on an old presentation board. 

He stopped looking at a boring, weirdly pastoral painting when the scorpion came to hand him a drink. Henry took his seat and a sip, before he crossed his arms on the table. 

“So. I know it’s only been a few days, but Anthony has been telling me things are going well with you. He hasn’t complained about anything.”

“As promised,” the moth smiled pleasantly, raising his glass to the arachnid.

“But you wouldn’t come here in person if you were entirely satisfied. How are things, really?”

Crossing his legs and leaning back comfortably, Valentino hummed in thought, tasting his drink. 

“Hard to say. He has a stubborn and rebellious streak that makes him difficult to work with.”

“Stubborn? My Anthony? … I don’t understand. We all know him to be very pleasant.”

“Oh, they’re not huge issues. For instance, I asked him to wear a bowtie or a tie clip while he works for me. I clearly explained the reasons why and still, when I saw him the next day, he wasn’t wearing one.”

“We don’t use tie clips ‘cause no one ever gets close enough for it to be an issue,” the scorpion said with a touch of pride in his voice. 

“But Arañito wears a bowtie.”

“It’s a personal choice. My oldest enjoys a good fist fight.”

“I understand this, but I’m not asking Anthony to fight for me.”

“What are you asking of him, then?” 

“I asked him to handle food and drinks. It’s a matter of hygiene,” Valentino answered with a dismissive gesture. “That brings me to the main problem I’ve been having. He says no to a request as simple as a tie clip, so imagine how he reacts when I ask him to do something that deviates from his day job.”

Eyes narrowed, the old man thoughtfully tapped a finger on the table. “I’m gonna need you to give me more examples.” 

“Alright.” Valentino straightened up in his seat, crossing his lower pair of arms. “Before I met you, Vinnie told me about him, and what caught my attention was when he talked about his artistic side. I saw him dancing, I know he can do music, and when I spoke to him, he crafted a spiderweb out of a napkin.”

“I see.” 

“I want the artist as much as the mobster. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Henry briefly took off his hat in order to rub at the back of his head. 

“I’ll admit I… never encouraged this side of him. No son of mine will behave like a fag.” 

Valentino did not have the physical ability to roll his eyes, but the way he moved his head suggested it. 

“Don’t call him that.”

“Oh, you know what I mean.”

“I do, and I’m asking you to watch it.” He exhaled softly and took a generous gulp of his drink. “Enrico– I can call you Enrico, right…?– I think I understand the core of the issues I’ve been having with your son.”

“Yeah?” It seemed Henry knew what was coming, for the way he sat back and crossed his arms looked definitely closed off. 

Valentino had to carefully choose his words, as it felt like the scorpion was about to bite. 

“I believe your expectations as the boss of your family directly clash with my endeavors. I won’t lie to you, my world, my work, is very dependent on charm, charisma, talent and looks. I know your son has everything he needs to flourish in my business, but…”

The scorpion raised a brow and downed his drink. He looked elsewhere, as if thinking about it, but he was definitely displeased with what he was hearing. Valentino waited for a moment before he continued. 

“Has he ever done work for anyone else? Because it feels like he doesn’t know he has to respect me as well.”

“You have to understand, Signore Valentino, my household, we are very traditional. Respect for people like you, it… It does not come naturally.” 

Eyes narrowed, Valentino sat a little more comfortably in his seat. “Vinnie warned me, using those words. What does that mean? People like me? What is that?” 

Henry poured himself another drink. “Homosexuals.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m not a homosexual.”

“It doesn’t matter to me and my children.”

“Putting that aside…” The moth demon cleared his throat. “If Anthony listens to me, it can be very lucrative work. For instance, on a regular night, Georgette can pull anything from five hundred to–”

Henry raised a hand to make him stop. “She’s a prostitute.” He leaned towards the moth demon, frowning. There was an edge to his tone that felt like he was containing a sudden anger. “You ain’t talkin’ about whorin’ out my son, are you?”

“No. Once again, I will not force Anthony to do anything he’s uncomfortable with. But keep in mind, women also love their eye candy.” 

Smiling pleasantly, Valentino took another sip, seeing the way the old man seemed to be thinking about it. 

“I never really thought about that,” the scorpion admitted. “I tend to forget women have money now.”

“Exactly. I assume you won’t be surprised to hear Anthony is incredibly attractive, and I want to cater to women. So will you please talk to him?”

Henry still seemed pretty angry, but he eventually relented. “I’ll see what I can do. Was there anything else?”

As it seemed like the conversation was over, Valentino shook his head before he finished his drink. Henry got up and walked over to the door. 

“Could you excuse me for a moment?”

Valentino stood up as well and made his way to the door. Henry struggled to give him a pleasant look, before he looked further down the hallway; Anthony, obviously curious, stood at the end of it, looking back at them. He gave his father a concerned look, as Henry frowned at him. The scorpion shut the door and went to pick up the phone. He dialed a number and waited, until he heard a greeting on the other end of the line. 

“Vinnie? It’s me… Do you have a moment to talk? … About Valentino… I was wondering if you could tell me what happens when people break an agreement with him.” 

Anthony had been standing where he could watch both the office door and the couch, where Georgette had done all she had been supposed to do, and now was just watching a movie with Jonathan. The small spider was still pretty wary of her, but as tense as he was, he had let her bring his head on her lap. He was seething, but doing nothing as she continually petted his head. 

When the door at the end of the hallway opened, Anthony straightened up and looked at Valentino leaving the conference room, before his stare met his father’s glare. Half expecting to be called, he lowered his head a little and braced himself, but instead, the scorpion locked himself up in the room. Blinking, Anthony brought his full attention to Valentino; the moth demon peeked at the couch, seeing how calm his employee and Jonathan seemed to be, before he brought his full attention to Anthony. 

“Do you have a bedroom?” he asked. 

“Uh, yeah.”

There was a bit of a pause as Anthony sort of uneasily squeezed one of his arms and Valentino tilted his head a little. 

“Can I see it?” 

The tall spider hesitated, briefly looking towards the couch. He then smiled at Valentino and made his way to the old secretary’s office. He pushed the door open and gestured for the winged demon to go in. 

Valentino wandered in, eyes instantly drawn to a well made bed. He looked at the tall windows, boring artwork and file cabinets. He then noticed an old typewriter and made his way to it, leaning down to look a bit more closely at it. 

“You write?” he asked. 

Standing next to the still opened door, Anthony shook his head a little. 

“No, not really. It was here when we moved in. I thought it was cool, so I kept it.”

“Right.” 

Valentino made his way to a clothing rack full of Anthony’s carefully hung suits and shirts, organized in a red to gray and black gradient. He ran a hand against the clothes until he found a bright red outfit, which had seemingly seen very little use. 

“You wear such dark colors,” he commented. “You would look much nicer in a lighter palette. Pastel pink, white, light gray… Make yourself a bright light in the smoky cabarets I’ll take you to...” 

Anthony’s smile relaxed, as it sounded like the moth demon still wanted to work with him, despite the few issues they had. As Valentino looked at himself in a tall mirror, Anthony couldn’t stop himself from thinking about what he had seen Vox do to him, the way the winged demon had smiled at him, invitingly, seductive. 

Valentino sort of straightened up one of his antennae and moved his wings a little, making them look like an open coat. When dealing with Henry, it appeared he favored a more masculine look, what with the white pants, black low-cut shirt and golden chain at his neck. Seemingly satisfied with his appearance, he finally spun around and looked back at Anthony. 

“I was hoping to see some of your art, but you have the most boring room I have ever seen.”

“It just ain’t worth it,” Anthony shrugged, sort of looking out the window. “My personal tastes don’t really fit here, so I…”

Valentino walked over and leaned over him, making him go quiet. He pushed the door shut and kept a hand on it, effectively cornering the spider. 

“What would you have on your walls, if given the choice?” the moth asked, as he mindlessly reached for the tie. Before he could pull on it, Anthony grabbed his wrist and held him firmly. 

“Let go of my door.”

Unbothered, Valentino smiled even more at him. “What do you like, Anthony?” 

He brought a hand up to brush fingers against his cheek, watching the way his chest moved with how he breathed in an effort to remain calm. Anthony mostly maintained eye contact, but he shut his eyes long enough for Valentino to think he was enjoying his touch. Leaning down even more, the moth demon spoke next to his ear. 

“I don’t really fit in your decor, do I?” 

He was so close, he heard the way Anthony swallowed. To his pleasure, he felt a few of those soft hands press against his chest, over his clothes. Unable to resist, he pressed himself against Anthony, pleased that he made no effort to push him away. He listened to the way he breathed, as a pair of arms wrapped around him, under the wings. He knew he should not, but Valentino wanted to play a little, and so he trailed kisses on the spider’s neck, with Anthony giving him full access.

“Mr. Valentino, I can’t–” 

“Anthony!” 

Hearing the scorpion calling, Valentino pulled his head away, as the spider tensed up and was a lot more firm, pushing the moth demon away. 

“I’ll be right there!” he answered.

He gave the winged demon a look, before he got this now familiar apprehensive look. He pulled the door open and hurried towards the conference room. Valentino watched him leave, before he looked around the room once more. 

Obviously, he knew better than to do this… But he started opening drawers, very quiet and making sure to listen for footsteps.

It was always with his heart sinking in his chest that Anthony walked over to the conference room, especially when he knew he would be alone with his old man. Not a lot of things in this world filled him with dread like the wrath of his father, especially now. 

Henry was a loving father, but like so many men back then, he did not express a lot of feelings outside of what he perceived was righteous anger. He was the head of his home, and everyone who lived under his roof had better remember it at all times. Jonathan was the precious first born and as such, he was under incredible pressure to perform and to behave as a protector, but he had a similar mean streak to his father. 

As for Molly, she had always been daddy’s little princess, and as such, really, she had been spoiled. She had the best clothes and could ask for pretty much anything she wanted and she would have it. She was not a particularly demanding woman, as it was a rough era to grow up in, but she still enjoyed the perks. 

But Anthony… 

Oh, Anthony had been his mother’s favorite, what with his sweet, loving attitude towards her, and his incredible beauty. She always used to think he was her perfect little angel. It had allowed him to be a terror to Jonathan for the longest time, until he became an adult, at which point years of frustration made the oldest just as short-fused as his father. 

Henry had always known there was something ‘unnatural’ about Anthony, but he had been unable to fully understand what. Whatever it was, it had to be beaten out of his child, and so he had molded his youngest into the most acceptable version of himself. 

But then the Prohibition ended, they got into the very lucrative drug business, Anthony ignored the most important rule about drug dealing… 

And this had been the beginning of the end. 

Death had made everything worse, as Henry used to only be a man. A strong, terrifying man, for sure, but only a man nonetheless. 

Now he was a scorpion. A huge scorpion, way larger and stronger than both of his sons, with venom at the tip of a tail that struck so fast, it was near impossible to see. Anthony had been blessed with the physical ability to evade such an attack, but not the mental fortitude to do so. 

So Anthony stepped into the conference room, keeping his wary eyes on the patriarch. Henry slammed the door shut, making his son instantly step away, in an effort to keep as much distance between himself and that tail. 

“I’m sorry!” he instantly started with. 

Unfortunately, it seemed to annoy Henry even more, for he snapped back as he started drawing closer. 

“What the fuck are you apologizin’ for?!”

Frozen on the spot, Anthony just braced himself for impact. “I don’t know, I just–” 

Before he could even realize what was happening, Henry punched him square in the face, making him stumble and fall. Anthony whimpered and went to hide his face, but even before he could do so, Henry grabbed his jacket, lifted him up like he was nothing and slammed him down on the table. 

“What have you done?!” the scorpion yelled, inches from his face. “What are you hiding from me?!” 

There was the distinct smell of alcohol on his breath.

“Please, stop, I-I don’t…”

One pair of hands hiding his face, another one wrapping around his chest and the last one raised in surrender, Anthony spoke in a tone he really hated. 

“I’m tryin’! I don’t know what Mr. Valentino told you, but I’m…” Briefly pulling a hand away from his face, he looked at his fingers and saw the blood. “Oh God… I-I’m doin’ all I can…!” 

“All you can?” Henry pulled him back up in order to harshly slam him against the table again. “All you can?! You can’t even manage a tie clip! I told you to obey!” 

“I had the tie clip, I just wasn’t wearing it,” Anthony hastily explained. 

“Sono stufo delle tue scuse!”

With a snarl, Henry pulled his fist back again, making Anthony yelp in fear again. Yet instead of punching him, the boss’s fist made contact with the table. Shaking from head to toe, Anthony just watched his father in terror. 

But as he was quick to anger, Henry also calmed down just as fast. He took a deep breath and helped Anthony stand up, before he let go of his shirt. 

“I spoke with Vinnie and… You really have to try and make this work. I don’t know how, I still have no idea what Valentino wants from you, but… You have to do better.”

Hands clasped on his nose and mouth, so as to prevent blood from getting on his shirt, Anthony just nodded a little, brows furrowed. 

“Okay. I’ll do anythin’.”

“Clean yourself up and go with him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sniffling, Anthony backed away from his father and left the conference room. As the scorpion was going to his chair, the spider shut the door and once again looked at the blood on his fingers. 

He started walking towards the washroom and saw Valentino’s head peeking out from his bedroom. Normally, Anthony might have wondered why the moth demon was still in there, but he currently had more pressing matters to deal with. Keeping his head low, as if hoping he could keep his face hidden from the winged demon, he kept walking towards the washroom. The moth demon blocked his way. Anthony tried to move past him, but Valentino kept him there, grabbing two of his arms. 

So as to not alarm Jonathan and Georgette, he glared at Valentino and spoke in a low, aggressive tone. 

“Get out of my way…!” 

Not enjoying being spoken like this, Valentino pushed him against the nearest wall and pried his hand away from his face. Anthony hastily turned his head, so as to not let Valentino see, but the moth demon brought his fingers up to his jaw, forcing him to look up. 

Not finding it in himself to look back in his eyes, Anthony just kept his gaze averted, swallowing hard, disgusted with the metallic taste of his own blood. 

Taking a deep breath, Valentino let go of his face. To the spider’s horror, the moth demon marched back to the conference room, dragging him along. 

Once inside, they found Henry at the end of the table, pouring himself yet another drink, glaring at them. 

Not letting go of Anthony, Valentino came to stand next to the scorpion. 

“What in the fuck is wrong with you people? Isn’t anyone here capable of listening to anything?”

“Get out,” Henry hissed, standing back up. 

“What did I just tell you about Anthony and my work, hm?” Ignoring Anthony’s pitiful attempt at resisting, he pulled him in front of himself. “Just look at him!”

Henry barely looked at his son, and to the spider’s surprise, there was what looked like a little smirk on his face. Bringing his full attention to the moth, he raised his tail, making Anthony whimper. 

“Don’t you dare come in here and tell me how to discipline my son.”

“I asked you to speak to my employee, not give him a beating.”

“Trust me, this is not a beating, this is a correction.”

“I don’t care. Don’t raise your hand to him ever again.” Valentino moved Anthony out of the way, leaning over the scorpion. “Your son is mine now.” 

Despite how dire this situation really was, Anthony couldn’t stop himself from staring at Valentino, with a look that was mostly afraid, yes, but also sort of admirative. And being called his… oh, despite everything, that made Valentino even sexier.

Valentino and Henry just stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time, until the patriarch made a dismissive gesture and slowly sat down. 

“Get out of my house.” 

“Gladly.”

Seemingly satisfied, Valentino finally let go of Anthony, addressing him in a much calmer tone. 

“Come along whenever you’re ready.” 

Not even waiting for the answer, the moth demon walked away, leaving the pair of arachnids. Unsure what to say or do, Anthony remained still for a moment, just looking at his father. The scorpion downed his drink and poured himself yet another one. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, dad,” the spider said, barely above a whisper. 

“Antonio…” There was a particular look to Henry’s face, letting his son know he was just done with it all. “Se non fossi già morto, ti ucciderei io stesso.”

Hearing this, Anthony opened wide eyes, taking a step back from his father. 

“Y-You’re drunk, you don’t really mean that…”

Instead of answering, the scorpion just kept on drinking. 

Not wanting to let his father know just how much in pain he was, he inhaled sharply and turned his back to him, hastily wiping at the water in his eyes.

Anthony used to believe his father loved him.

The spider went to the men’s washroom and started cleaning the blood and the tears, careful as it was still quite tender. Many times in his life, he had felt the urge to run away from his family and never look back, yet he always came back to this place. But for some reason, with how he was unable to talk to his father, and how Henry was incapable of expressing his expectations… It felt like he had reached an impasse. 

Once the bleeding stopped and the shaking fully subsided, he left the washroom and went to find Valentino. 

The moth demon was back in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and leafing through yesterday’s newspaper, but he instantly looked at the spider once he was close enough. 

“I’m ready to go now, Mr. Valentino.” 

“Alright.” Valentino put the newspaper down and made his way to the couch with Anthony. “Will you have to come back again, Georgette?” 

The woman shook her head, carefully sliding from under Jonathan’s head. Her attempt to let him rest did not work, for he instantly sat upright, eyes wide. Georgette stood from the couch and smiled at him. 

“You’re gonna be okay, but make sure to take it easy for a few more days!”

“Mhmm...” 

The small spider muttered, before he brought his attention to Anthony. 

“You’re leavin’?” 

“Yeah.” 

“See you tomorrow.” 

Valentino and Georgette were already making their way to the door, but Anthony remained standing there. Jonathan focused on the television for a moment, before he looked again at his brother. 

“What? What are ya lookin’ at?” 

The tall spider hesitated for a moment, before he pulled out the knife from his pockets. He handed it back to Jonathan, before he shook his head. 

“Nothin’.” 

Valentino’s driver was some sort of tentacled creature. He opened the door for the trio, and Georgette jumped inside. Valentino gestured for the spider to go in, before he himself got in and sat down. The driver shut the door and went to sit behind the wheel. 

In any normal circumstances, Anthony would have been pretty excited to be sitting in a limousine, but instead, he just sat down where he could face Valentino sitting next to Georgette. As they left the parking lot and got on the road, Valentino spoke up. 

“Why does Georgette call you Dusty?” 

“It’s just a nickname people outside of my family have for me.” 

“Why? Is it because you’re so pale?” 

“No, it’s…” Anthony sighed softly, looking out the nearest window. “It doesn’t matter.”

There was a bit of a pause, until Georgette broke the silence. 

“Val, I don’t know what’s the deal with those guys, but… None of them slept with me.”

“No?” Valentino raised a brow.

“No. So like, could we have sex?” 

She did not even wait for the answer before she started working on undoing his belt. As Anthony looked at them with slightly widened eyes, Valentino looked at her with an incredulous smile. 

“You have something to ask of me, don’t you?” 

“Haha, I can’t hide anything from you…” 

Anthony averted his eyes, as she straddled her boss. 

“I was hoping I could have tomorrow off. My husband’s taking me to dinner.”

“Alright. I know you’ve been working really hard.” 

“Thank Val, you’re the best boss ever!” 

“But not now, Georgette,” Valentino got her off of him and back on the seat, putting his belt back on. “I don’t think Dusty likes to watch.”

Georgette got out of the limousine once they reached the Pleasure District. Assuming they had reached their destination, Anthony got up as well to follow after her, but Valentino gestured for him to come closer, patting the seat next to him. 

“I’m taking you somewhere else,” he explained as Anthony took his seat. 

He waited for the drive to resume before he laid a gentle hand on the mobster’s cheek, getting him to face him. Valentino closely observed his face, humming softly. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Not great,” Anthony answered, crossing all arms across his chest. “It hurts, but I can still work.”

Valentino pulled his hand away, tilting his head a little. “I can’t give you a customer facing role tonight.” 

“Yeah, I figured…” Anthony paused, taking a moment to pull a clip from one of his pockets. He put it on his necktie before he looked elsewhere. “I’ll do whatever you want.” 

The winged demon grinned, as that was a dangerous offer indeed. Already he could imagine shoving his tongue down his throat, tearing off this stupid drab suit and finally doing the deed. He had been patient, he had been understanding, he had worked really hard to contain himself, but this was a clear invitation. 

However, before he could act on his desires, Anthony looked back at him, with a little smile. 

“Thanks, by the way. Not many people stand up for me, so… I really appreciate it.”

“Your family is pretty difficult to deal with. I don’t necessarily like threatening people, but it’s apparently the only language your papi understands.”

“You’re wrong about that.” The spider smiled a little bitterly. “He also understands the language of money.”

Unable to resist, Valentino gave him his best smile, leaning a little over him. “Does it mean that for the right price, I won’t have to share you with anyone else?” 

Unsure what to answer to that for a second, Anthony just kept looking at Valentino. Figuring it was some kind of a joke, he ended up chuckling. “Yeah, sure. My dad’s just lookin’ to pawn me off to whoever’s buyin’.”

The car stopped, and as the driver came to open the door, Anthony curiously looked around himself as he stepped outside. It was still the Pleasure District, but an area he was not familiar with. Valentino laid a hand on his shoulder and pointed to the building right in front of them. 

“Welcome to the newly acquired Club 666.” 

The spider followed him through the doors of a large, empty club. As it was indeed apparently a new acquisition, there were signs of renovations all around, like tarps on the floor, half-wallpapered walls and new carpets rolled up in a corner. The tables and chairs were all thrown in a pile in the middle of the place, in front of a stage area with three poles. 

As Anthony looked curiously around himself, he let the moth demon lead him around, listening to what he was saying. 

“I’m trying to turn this place into an exclusive club. I want the very best performers here, entertaining my guests as they sit and have a drink. There will be rooms, of course, where my employees will give private shows to their patrons.” 

Valentino stopped close to the stage and gently spun Anthony around, in order to better look at him. 

“Maybe you could be one of those entertainers. With a little bit of training, I think you could be extremely successful.”

The spider looked at the poles for a moment, thinking about it. “You really think so?”

With an amused smile, Valentino pulled off the mobster’s hat, before he rested a hand on his cheek. “I know my business, Anthony. I’ve seen the way people look at you.”

The moth pulled him up on the stage and gestured for him to stay put. He then made his way backstage, with Anthony just standing there and looking at him. Valentino pulled the switches of the stagelights, and the spider curiously squinted at the bright, warm lights flooding the whole stage. 

Valentino put on some music, before he came back to his guest. The moth demon spread his gorgeous wings, immediately commanding all of Anthony’s attention. 

He then stood close enough to take his hands and spin him around, pulling him so that Anthony’s back would be to his chest. His other hands found Anthony’s hips, swaying with him. 

“I’ve seen you dance,” the winged demon breathed against the side of his head. Anthony smiled and shivered in pleasure, as Valentino continued. “The way you moved, the way you looked at me, when I first saw you, set my soul on fire.” 

In a fluid motion, Valentino once again turned him around, with Anthony giving him this incredible smile he remembered. 

With a greedy look, the moth demon led him backwards, until Anthony’s back hit one of the poles. The spider winced at the sudden pain in his back, but he powered through.

“I envied your dancers,” he said, with a soft voice and a peculiar look to his eyes. “I wanted to be one of them, for the chance to feel your body against mine.”

Emboldened, Valentino started undoing the jacket and waistcoat, a little harsh in his haste. Anthony’s expression changed, as he reached to hold all of his wrists. 

“Wait, hold on–” 

Ignoring him, the moth demon pulled off the tie clip and tossed it aside, before he started working on undoing the tie itself. But as he took it off, Anthony slipped away from him, standing on the other side of the pole. 

Smile fading away, Valentino let displeasure twist his features. 

“How can you tell me to stop, when you look at me this way and say those things? What do you want? Do you get off on being a cocktease?”

“I’m not a tease. But… I hurt all over and I’m just not in the mood.”

How could he explain that the sudden pain had reminded him of what his father had done, and what he had said? Whatever interest he’d had just instantly died, as it was still so fresh in his memory. Valentino’s expression softened just enough for Anthony to speak again. 

“You offered to teach me. I don’t know much about poledancing, but I’m willing to try. I’ll learn to dance with you and I’ll even climb on stage as soon as I’m healed. But tonight, I… I can’t sleep with you.”

This was frustrating, especially when Valentino knew he could easily overpower him and take what he wanted, but where was the fun in that? He managed to smile again. The mobster was not outright refusing him, and so he was able to wait a bit more. And maybe, as the night went on, Anthony might get in the mood. And honestly, after a few drinks and maybe some relaxants, it appeared the spider’s inhibitions just flew out the window. 

“I understand,” Valentino said in his sweetest voice. He drew closer to Anthony, resting hands on his shoulders. “Maybe I can help with that. What are you after? What would you like for the pain to go away and to forget everything?”

“Oh, I can’t...” Anthony looked around himself, seemingly a little uneasy. “I can’t just keep on taking your quaaludes, Mr. Valentino.” 

“By all means…” Valentino reached under his wings and pulled out the bottle, handing it to his guest. “I have a lot more. And don’t be shy, all of my employees are on something. Guess it’s kind of a perk of working for me.” 

Anthony barely waited for him to be done talking before he popped open the bottle and swallowed one of the pills. It made Valentino smile wide.

“Can you dance in those clothes?”

Lowering his gaze to his shirt and pants, Anthony sort of pulled on the stiff fabric of his suit before he shook his head a little. “Not flexible enough.” 

“Okay. Come with me.” 

The moth demon made his way backstage and turned off the music. Anthony followed to a large dressing room area, where there were a bunch of costumes on racks and the like. Valentino started looking through the outfits, trying to find something for Anthony’s tall and slender frame. 

“Some of that stuff is a little outdated… And dusty… But I’m sure we can find something that fits.” 

Anthony looked at what he was doing for a moment, before he looked at a different rack. Something caught his eye, and he went to take a look at it; it was a glittery fuschia skirt and midriff-baring haltertop, very reminiscent of the previous decade. 

He hesitated for a moment. There was still this fear that Valentino might not be understanding of this facet of his personality, but… In the end, it didn’t really matter, he could still just… disappear. 

Anthony started taking off his shirt. 

“Flute and violin?” the moth demon suddenly said, pulling the mobster out of his thoughts. 

“Hm? Oh, no.” With the pills starting to affect him, he felt a lot calmer, and so he could think of his family without getting upset. “Wait, which one of these do you think my dad plays?”

“The violin. It’s a beautiful, romantic instrument.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint ya, but I don’t think you’ll be able to use my musical talents here.” 

“Oh? We’ll see once I finally figure it out…”

Anthony undid his belt. Unsure of the type of reaction mentioning the media demon might have, the spider hesitated before he spoke again. “Did you think about me while you were having dinner with Vox?”

“Yes.” Valentino looked a bit more closely at a comfortable looking pair of shorts, before he put it back and continued. “You see, Vox talks and talks and talks… He thinks he can convince me with his endless droning.”

The spider slid on the skirt, before he fluffed up his chest. “What’s he asking of you?” 

“Nothing much. He basically wants to give me a job in the V Tower.” 

“Wow…” Anthony paused, as he was tying the top behind his neck. “Congrats, it sounds like you’re gonna be made soon.”

“I enjoy my freedom. As much as I like Vox and what he does for me…” The moth demon stopped himself, before he sighed, annoyed. “Why are we even talking about him…?” 

Anthony watched him for a moment, before he made his way to the nearest vanity mirror. It was a bit of a shame he did not have makeup, but oh well. He faced Valentino, leaning rather seductively against the vanity.

“I’m ready.” 

Valentino looked at him over his shoulder, and seeing what he wore, he looked rather surprised before he seemed pleased. The pills had the intended effect, for he was comfortable and relaxed, just smiling at the winged demon. Grinning, Valentino drew closer and reached up to run his hands down his slender arms, until he could hold his hands. He then pulled him so that he would stand under the lights, seeing the way the clothes shone. 

“You keep getting better and better, Anthony.” 

“While on your stage, and working under you, I’d rather be called Angel Dust.” 

“So that’s why they call you Dusty,” Valentino said with an understanding look. “I’ll use whatever name you want, my sweet Angel.”

It turned out, to Valentino’s mild annoyance, Angel lied a lot. 

He was not an expert at poledancing, but he knew what he was doing. Perfection would come with time and practice. Besides, what really mattered was what he exuded, and Angel, with his athleticism and flexibility, was capable of working it and looking very attractive while doing so. 

As the moth sat in front of the stage, watching the way his new employee moved under the lights, with that seductive smile, sensual look in his eyes, he could already imagine all the money he could make with him. 

The spider seemed to come alive under warm spotlights, so much so that Valentino had a hard time believing this was the same person. As a gangster, Anthony was an aggressive fighter, as well as a discreet, obedient little boy, but Angel… 

Angel was a star. A bright, shining star, and God, what luck his family were unaware of what they really had. 

He commanded a stage and filled Valentino with a painful desire. Right now they were alone in this place, how much better would it be with a few other dancers, boozed-up horny bastards throwing money at him, men begging to sleep with him, oh, he could auction off Angel to whoever offered more. The possibilities, what he himself would do with Angel, oh, what an investment that was–

Angel tried something with the pole, but he overestimated his abilities and slid down off it, unceremoniously falling flat on his face. 

His greedy smile turning to a frown, Valentino stood from his chair and came to rest his hands on the platform. Angel sat up, laughing at his own mistake. 

Lower pair of arms crossed on his chest, the moth’s tone came out a little dry. 

“I would punish you for that.” 

Blinking, Angel looked back at the winged demon. Not taking the threat seriously, he knelt and started crawling towards Valentino, making sure to sway in an enticing manner. Once he was close enough, the moth smiled again, despite his narrowed eyes. 

“Yeah?” Angel spoke in a sultry tone, lowering himself in a very inviting manner. “Maybe you should spank me.”

Now with a condescendant look, Valentino leaned over the spider, watching as he fluidly spun on his back to better look up at him. 

“Don’t tempt me, Angel.”

“Mr. Valentino? Can I touch your antennae?”

Valentino seemed a little perplexed. “How many pills did you take?”

“Two or three, I dunno. Please, they look so soft…” 

“Safe to say, I think we’re done for tonight. Come on, let’s get you dressed.” 

“I am dressed.” Sticking out his tongue in a vulgar manner, the spider pulled his skirt down a little, while also reaching behind his neck to undo his top. “Unless you wanna see me naked again?” 

Now rather amused, Valentino gently patted one of his cheeks. “Nothing would make me happier, but I think it’s time to take you home.”

Smile fading away, Anthony averted his gaze, stopping what he was doing. He sat up, keeping his back turned to Valentino. 

“I ain’t goin’ back there.”

“Why not?” 

“They fuckin’ hate me.”

There was no pain in his voice, only what sounded like tiredness. 

As it seemed like Anthony wasn’t going to budge, but still remained pretty calm, Valentino tried to get a better idea of what those people were like.

“I can tell they don’t like you very much. It must be so hard, day in and day out, trying to satisfy someone who, truly, will never be happy with you and your work…”

Not especially forceful, Valentino reached for Anthony’s arms, firmly but gently pulling him closer. The spider did nothing to pull away, and seemed to welcome how the moth gently caressed his shoulders.

“I wish I’d been told of your father’s violent tendencies, but… I guess no one knows. Men like him, they always hurt their kids behind closed doors.”

With a dry chuckle, the mobster shook his head a little, before he rested it against the moth’s torso. “Oh no, my dad likes to hit me in public for the added dose of humiliation. It’s just, uh…” Bringing his knees to his chest, he reached a hand up to gently touch his nose. “He hasn’t punched me in the face in a really long time. Knowing him, he’s still shitfaced, and if I go back, he...”

As it sounded like the arachnid patriarch might keep roughing up Anthony, Valentino thought about it for a moment before he casually shrugged.

“I get what you’re saying, but you can’t stay here, and you’re useless to me like this.” 

“Sorry. I know I took too many pills.”

“I don’t care what drugs you take, but unless you’re getting paid to spread those beautiful legs of yours, you have to be functional.” Valentino squeezed Anthony’s arms, quite firm, but not enough to really hurt him. “Now… Where would you like to go?”

This firm grasp felt a bit like an affectionate squeeze, and so Anthony managed to smile again.

“Anywhere but home.” 

He ended up looking over his shoulder, in those deep red eyes. 

“As long as I’m with you.”

“Alright.” Already anticipating the evening at the sight of this smile, Valentino straightened up. With his lower pair of hands, he pulled the spider back to his feet. “Grab your suit. You can come with me.” 

Chapter Text

Angel sat in the limousine with Valentino, looking outside the window. The moth, legs crossed and wrapped in those heavy, soft wings, casually wrapped an arm around the spider’s slender waist. With a contented smile, the mobster leaned with his back against the other man, two pairs of arms casually crossed, the other holding onto his arm. His suit, hastily folded, had been negligently thrown on one of the other seats. 

Angel didn’t really know where they were headed for, but it didn’t really matter. He wasn’t thinking about anything, and it was what mattered.

“I’ll be doing some administrative work at Infernal Blaze,” Valentino said. “Can I trust you to behave and stay where I can see you?” 

“Anythin’ you want, Mr. Valentino.” Angel paused, before he threw his head back in order to better look at the moth, amused. “I dunno ‘bout behavin’ though…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to keep you in line.”

The spider smiled even more, pulling out his tongue in a mischievous manner. “Yeah? What are you gonna do?” He spun around in order to face the moth, pulling himself up to look closely at him. “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission, ya know…” 

Encouraged by the winged demon’s grin, he twirled a bit of his neck fluff between his fingers, before his eyes were drawn to the feathery antennae. One of his other hands reached up there and he ran a delicate finger against it. 

“Careful,” Valentino patiently warned. “You can touch but not grab.”

“I've wanted to touch them ever since I’ve seen you. They’re so soft.”

“Ah, that reminds me…” 

The moth demon took Angel’s wrists and pulled them off, getting him to kneel down by the same motion. He then brought a hand inside his wings, pulling out a folded piece of glossy paper. 

“I found that in your room.”

The spider knew instantly what it was, even before the moth demon dropped it in his hands. And yet he unfolded it, seeing this infamous poster he’d stolen from the conference room. In this moment, he was not all that bothered with Valentino looking through his things. After all, whatever was worth hiding was in a completely different place. 

“It’s my favorite poster of you,” Angel admitted. 

“What do you like about it?” Valentino took it from his hands, giving it a quick glance, amused. 

“I think it’s the most sensual.”

“Really? I thought it was the one with the leather suit, whip and chains.”

“Nah, that one’s the most sexual, it ain’t really the same thing. I also have it somewhere in my room, but–” 

Valentino seemed a little taken aback at what he was admitting, but before he could even ask, Angel hastily continued. “But that one?” He paused, thinking about it. “I think it’s the harness and the drink. There’s clearly an invitation, but I’m not entirely sure you’ll have sex with me.”

“Ah, you like the seduction.”

“I like the idea of having sex with you.”

“Only the idea?” Valentino sounded playful, folding it back up and putting it away.

With that near irresistible smile, Angel once again drew closer, bringing one knee between Valentino’s legs in order to sit on his lap. 

“It’s only been an idea so far…” 

Encouraged by the way the moth demon grinned at him and held him close, with two hands on his back, the others holding his arms, the spider ran his hands up his torso and behind his head, close enough to breathe against his mouth. 

“Why don’t you take me?”

With a low, vulgar laugh, Valentino brought one of his hands up to Angel’s hair, firmly gripping it. He pulled his head back, and looked at the pleasure and pain that twisted his features. Salivating, the moth demon slowly stuck out his tongue, brushing it against the spider’s lips, teasing. Angel tried to accept the invitation, but the grasp on his hair tightened, keeping him firmly in place. Angel gave him an amused little frown. 

“And you call me a tease…”

With his lower pair of hands, he caressed Valentino’s legs, feeling around for his belt, satisfied to feel how he was engorged under his pants. 

Seemingly having had enough, Valentino grabbed his shimmery top and forced him to lie down on the seat, rough enough for Angel to gasp, lustful. 

“Come on, I know you want it,” the spider made a beckoning gesture. 

Exhaling deeply, Valentino watched him for a few seconds before he leaned over him. 

“I don’t want you.” 

Hearing this, Angel’s smile faded a little, and he looked a little confused, and uneasy. He reached behind his head to grab at Valentino’s wrist, but there actually was nothing he could do to pry him off.

“I don’t understand. I thought…” 

“As much as I do want to brutally fuck you, I’d like you not to be that high. You’ll most likely forget what I did to you, so what’s the point? And even worse…” Enjoying the way Anthony’s eyebrows furrowed, Valentino pulled down on his skirt. He felt no resistance, resting a hand between his thighs. “Maybe tomorrow, you’ll wake up naked, in my bed, and you’ll be left with the result… Won’t you get upset with me, and think I forced myself on you?” 

“You don’t know me.”

“Point is, I want you to be fully aware of what I’m doing to you.” The moth demon ran that hand up Anthony’s torso, neck and face, until he could rest his hand on his cheek and bring his thumb between those sharp teeth. Angel remained complacent and very still. 

“I want you to be stone-cold sober and for you to feel everything I’ll do to your body. I don’t want you like this.” Valentino made a vague gesture of his hand, designating all of Angel. “I want the real you, and not whatever you’re trying to be right now.” 

Pulling his hand away from his face, Valentino turned his head to look elsewhere, and even if Angel couldn’t really turn his own, he knew the moth demon was looking at his suit.

He could have explained and told the truth, but he was indeed a little too messed up for such a conversation. Instead, he looked back in Valentino’s eyes, managing a pacifying little smile. 

“Okay, Mr. Valentino.” 

The winged demon finally let go of his hair, and as Angel readjusted his skirt and sat back up, he realized the car had stopped, he didn’t really know for how long. Valentino reached over to grab the suit, before he stepped out of the limousine. The spider followed after him, recognizing the now familiar club. 

Valentino’s office was a bit more like a suite. The moth and his new protégé stepped into the business area, which, like the rest of the club, was mostly red and black, with neon lights and darker colored erotic paintings. These ones depicted typical BDSM acts, and Angel’s eyes were instantly drawn to the image of a man’s wrists tied by shackles. He did not look at it for long, as Valentino led him to black french doors that opened on a bedroom, dark walls, crimson bed covers, and more of the same type of art.

“You can stay here,” Valentino said, as he pushed the spider towards the bed. At what felt like a suggestion, Angel sat on the bed and looked back at the winged demon, who walked towards a dresser to put the suit away. “Touch yourself, sleep the pills away, do whatever you need to. The washroom is to your right.” 

Slightly confused, the spider remained there for a moment, as Valentino went to sit behind his desk. It appeared that while he worked, the moth demon could still look towards the bed, and as he sat there, Angel wondered if he liked to bring people there and watch them do the deed. 

The thought of trying to convince Valentino to come into bed crossed his mind, but it really felt like Valentino just wouldn’t sleep with him. And so he stood up and went to the washroom, where he looked at himself in the mirror. It was a little strange, seeing himself like this, as he usually wore makeup whenever he was in feminine clothes. 

Normally, he never would have dared do something like this, but his mind was a little dull, and so he started looking through the drawers, hoping to find something to help himself look better. Luckily, it appeared Valentino liked his lovers to look their best, or perhaps someone had left it behind, for he found a shimmery palette. Maybe Angel did not have any of his brushes, but it didn’t matter, he could still do something with only his fingers and whatever tools he had at his disposal. He managed some sort of purple and black smokey eye, put a bit of glittery red on his lips and some whitish powder to hide what little bruising he had. 

Satisfied with his looks, he left the washroom and made his way to the dresser, rummaging around it until he found his wallet. He pulled out some money from it and put it in his top, before he left the room and came to stand in front of his boss’s desk.

Valentino was in the process of signing checks for his employees, but he stopped to look up at the spider. 

“Mr. Valentino, I’m starvin’. I’m gonna get some food, a drink, and then I’ll hit the dance floor.”

As Angel waited for confirmation, Valentino stood up and leaned over the desk, in order to look more closely at his face. He ended up smiling, rather intrigued. 

“You failed to tell me you can do makeup… Angel, sweetheart, you look beautiful.” 

Angel’s best smile came to full effect when he wore makeup, and he took full advantage of that. “Aw thank you, but I’m serious, I haven’t eaten anythin’ since breakfast.” 

“It’s alright. Sit down, and I’ll order something.” 

Valentino pulled away and picked up the phone, but Angel was already walking towards the door. 

“Nah, I’ll leave you to your work.”

“Anthony.” 

The spider was halfway to the door when he heard the warning in the moth demon’s voice. Brows furrowed, he looked over his shoulder at Valentino.

“I told you to stay where I could see you.”

“You were serious about that?” Somewhat relieved, Angel shrugged, carefree. “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna leave the club.”

Before the moth demon could say anything else, Angel winked at him and continued on his way.

Normally, Valentino would have locked himself in his personal quarters to deal with the paperwork, but with Angel refusing to stay put, the moth brought his things to an empty table on the main floor and went to work. Sure, there were things he could have done to keep him in place, but Angel lived his best life under the orange and purple lights of his club. 

And really, whenever Valentino took a break from signing papers and looked at what the spider was doing, he believed this was actually a blessing in disguise.

A lot of men danced with Angel, and he welcomed this attention with a seductive smile, letting them touch and hold him. At times, Valentino wondered if it was an attempt to make him jealous, but the spider never really looked at him, and seemed entirely focused on himself and his dance partners. A few of those men spoke to his ear, some of them pointing towards the empty private rooms, but Angel turned them down, with this friendly, sultry voice. 

Business, as is well known, is all about supply and demand, and Valentino could see the supply in action. Of course, he already knew, from looks alone, that people were into that boy. It also appeared Angel manufactured his own demand, as he seemed pretty picky, as far as his lovers went, or perhaps no one said what he really wanted to hear. It turned out, the club owner would have to do way less work than he thought to get people to actually want to pay money for him.

Valentino watched him for a few seconds longer, before he went back to what he was doing. His wrists were starting to get sore from all that writing he did, but he did have to pay his staff. This and drug deals were some of his least favorite activities.  

He was about to finish up for the week when someone came to stand right in front of his table. The moth demon casually closed his cheque book before he looked up to find Vox smiling down at him. 

With a rather fond expression masking the annoyance, the moth stood up and held out his hand for the television demon, who happily kissed the back of it. 

“Hello, my handsome Val.”

“Vox… Please, to what do I owe your presence in one of my humble establishments?” 

“Humble’s right,” The media demon took a seat, looking around himself. “This place is...” His eyes found one of the paintings on the walls, making him look slightly disdainful. “...Rustic.”

“Rustic? Strange choice of word.”

“You can’t say I’m wrong. I much prefer your other establishments.” 

“Just say you wanted to meet at Exxxquisite, my dear.” With a seductive smile, Valentino carefully brought one of his feet between Vox’s legs, pressing a little against his manhood. “I would fully understand.”

“I really am an open book to you. But it doesn’t need to be at Exxxquisite… I’m sure we can find a nice, secluded place and…” With a lustful smile, Vox moved his hips a little, effectively rubbing himself against his partner’s foot. “... Enjoy each other.”

“Speaking of, could I have your opinion?” The winged demon pulled his foot away.

“On what?” 

“That.” With a move of the head, Valentino designated Angel on the dancefloor. He waited for Vox’s screen to turn around before he continued. “The eight-legged thing in fuschia glitter.”

With an admirative whistle, Vox switched seats and came next to Valentino, in order to watch the spider a bit more comfortably. 

“That is one beautiful creature. One of yours?” 

“It’s in the works.” 

“How much?” 

“That’s what I want your opinion about. How much would you be willing to pay for its night?” 

“Depends what it’s willing to do. Flat rate, I don’t know, maybe one hundred? But if I can do whatever I want… two, three hundred?”

Valentino hummed in thought, as Vox stood up. 

“So if I’m understanding you correctly, I could be its first customer?”

With a chuckle, Valentino shook his head a little, casually crossing his legs. 

“You can try if you want, but he’s been at it for…” The moth paused in order to look at his pocket watch. “Two hours. I’ve seen him refuse everyone else.” 

“That’s because there’s only one Vox,” the television demon said, with quite the pretentious smile. He pulled out a handkerchief as well as a nice smelling cleaning spray he used to hastily wipe his screen. “If he spits on three hundred bucks and the chance to fuck me, there’s something seriously wrong with him.” 

Very amused, Valentino watched Vox making his way to the dancefloor. Angel, eyes closed, was seductively swaying his hips against another man’s pelvis, holding his hands and running them against his body. Obviously, his partner was very much into what he was doing, but when he saw Vox, he hesitated for a moment, until the screen-headed demon told him to get lost. 

Angel watched his partner leave, before he looked at Vox, taking this opportunity to catch his breath. 

“Good evening. I’m sure I need no introduction, but I’m Vox, pleasure to meet you.” He took the closest hand he could and firmly shook it, as Angel smiled politely. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Angel.”

“Would you like to dance with me?” Vox asked, smiling bright. He did not even wait for the answer before he forced Angel closer. 

Now uncomfortably close to the screen, Angel hesitated for a moment, briefly looking towards Valentino. He saw his amused little smile and he shook his head a little. 

“Maybe later, I’m ready for a break.”

“Great, I don’t actually want to dance. Let’s cut to the chase.” Vox wrapped an arm around Angel’s shoulder, sort of leading him towards Valentino’s table. “I’d like to have sex with you. I’ll give you one hundred bucks if you lie on your back and let me have my way with you. Three hundred if you let me tie you down and rough you up a little beforehand.” 

“I, uh…” The spider hesitated a little, retracting his middle pair of arms. He leaned a bit closer to the screen. He wasn’t entirely sure where his ears were, and so he sort of lowered his voice, turning his head to the side and addressing what would be his speakers. “I don’t let strangers restrain me, but I’d be more than happy to let you fuck any of my holes.”

Vox looked mischievously at Valentino, before he laughed at what the spider was saying. “But I’m not a stranger. If you own a television, you invited me inside your home…” 

As Angel’s smile turned a little unsure, Vox reached up to pinch one of his cheeks, with his best salesman grin. 

“Think about it, I’m offering three hundred…” The screen got brighter, and once again, there was this droning tone. “Trust me, it will be worth it.” 

Well, if Valentino refused to sleep with him, maybe Angel should accept the invitation, he figured. Yes, it appeared the media demon had very little respect for his partners, but at this moment, the spider felt like he didn’t really care. If Vox wanted to tie him up and have his way with him, then so be it. He just stared at him for a second, before he smiled again, invitingly. 

“Okay,” he breathed out. 

“Vox!” Valentino stood up and snarled, banging a fist on his table. “He’s not yours to take!”

The noise stopped, and Vox brought his attention back to the moth demon. 

“What, he said yes.”

“It’s cheating when you influence him like this.”

With an eyeroll, Vox negligently pushed Angel away and went back to take his seat. “You’re one to talk…”

Angel blinked a little and shook his head, finding he was suddenly a little dizzy. He looked back at Valentino, before he started walking towards the bar. 

The moth demon lit up a cigarette, inhaling deeply as he leaned back in his seat. “I’ll have you know, I’m not forcing him to do anything.” 

“No, but we both know you have your ways.” 

Rather casually, the television demon sneaked a hand between the wings, in order to slide a hand under his belt and pants. Valentino merely looked at him, smiling patiently, as Vox continued.

“Did you find you have a kink for different colored eyes? You like looking down to them while they suck your dick?” 

“It’s a trait like any other.” 

Seeing one of his employees walk by, Valentino flagged her down. 

“Would you bring us two glasses and a bottle of Blood Pentagram? Thank you.” He waited for the woman to walk away before he brought his attention back to the screen headed demon. 

“Why are you here?”

“I want to know how you feel about my proposal.”

With an annoyed sigh, Valentino pulled Vox’s hand out of his pants before he crossed one pair of arms. 

“Can’t you talk about anything else? We just spoke yesterday.”

“Yes, and the day before, and the other one, and all the others for the last year. I’m growing tired, Val.”

“You know my price.” 

It was Vox’s turn to throw his hands up in exasperation. “Come on, be reasonable…” 

“I want the Pleasure District.” 

Valentino’s employee came back to the table, with the glasses and a bottle she opened for them. She poured the glasses and walked away. Valentino clinked his glass with Vox’s and took a generous gulp.

“It’s that or nothing.” 

The television demon turned a very displeased cathodic screen towards Valentino. 

“Do you realize what you’re asking of me? Val, the logistics alone, and the legwork–” 

Falsely amused, Valentino spun in his chair in order to casually cross his legs over Vox’s. “If you want me, you’ll make it work.”

“Or, and we spoke about this before…” The screen-headed demon playfully walked two fingers across the moth’s legs. “… You come to my tower, and then you work on getting half of all the businesses you want.” 

“And how am I supposed to do that, when you expect me to continue my activities while also being head of your pornography department?” Valentino gestured his hand around the room.

Sounding a bit less friendly, Vox pulled his hand away in order to have some of his drink. “Don’t try and sell me this bullshit. Your clubs can run themselves, all you do is have sex with coked-up sluts and spread money around.” Ignoring the way Valentino growled a little, Vox ran a hand down his leg to rest on one of his feet. “I’m asking you to supervise other people having sex on camera, which, by the way, is another business that can run itself.”

“I’ve seen some of your movies, and I think we have a very different artistic vision. I like doing things my way, you understand? That… perfection you are so fond of, it’s not really my thing. I like it raw. Organic. I like it candid and corrupted, I like taking people like Angel, and dragging them through the mud.”

“But that’s why I’m asking you! You clearly have ideas and you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty. Bring Angel along, for all I care. Maybe he wants to be an actor.” 

Unable to stop himself, Valentino laughed. “Angel? Please. I haven't even had sex with him yet, he’s a bit of a prude.” 

“That’s not the impression he gave me.” The screen headed demon rolled his eyes before he poured himself another glass. “Look, I’m busy enough as it is and I have an image to protect. I simply can’t go around brothels and clubs and convince them to share ownership.”

“You’re clearly not busy enough, you keep seeking me out and you constantly ask me to work with you! How about you take that time and effort, and get me what I actually want?”

“I run all of television. I don’t have time for that.”

“I’m busy as well. Do you know the effort I deploy to get my employees to accommodate my needs?” 

“How hard can it really be? You're the top entertainer in Pentagram City.”

“Precisely.” Valentino paused, leaning forward and resting his crossed arms on his knees. His only free hand came to rest on Vox’s chest, his tone softer. “Do you remember the night we met?”

“Oh…” Smiling as well, the media demon put a hand on top of it. “How could I ever forget? You were in the top club back then, on the pole. You wore a skintight suit, black and gold. You looked beautiful under those blue lights, with your wings spread, your sexy body, legs for days… And when you came to my table, I knew, with one look, I needed you to be mine.”

“And I thank you for your continued patronage over the years. What I’m trying to say is… If I had not been as talented as you know me to be, you would not have given me a second glance.” 

With his cigarette, he pointed towards the bar, where Angel was sipping on a cocktail. 

“Angel had no value to you until I pointed him out, but you were ready to pay three hundred for his inexperience.” 

As Vox had turned his head to look back at the spider, Valentino reached up in order to turn the screen in his direction again. “A good entertainer doesn’t just spread his legs, Vox. He’s a well rounded artist who sells sex, yes, but also fantasy as well as his talents. It’s an investment of money… and time.”

There was a bit of a pause, as Vox looked towards the bar. Valentino’s beautiful target was speaking to some man, smiling, laughing, flirting. He looked at those eyes again, and remembered that elusive creature hiding in Valentino’s closet. 

“Are you refusing me because of him?” 

The moth demon laughed, before he shook his head. “Now what makes you think that?”

“You like them with different colored eyes, don’t you…”

“This isn’t about him, it’s about me.” Valentino pulled his legs away and sat properly again, his tone denoting impatience. “I already have everything I want. I have the narcotics, power, money, all the bitches I could ever hope for, and creatures such as Angel. So you need to deliver and give me something better if you want me to give everything up for your ambition.”

“It’s always the same thing with you… Same old broken record.” 

“So we’re in agreement, nothing new under the Pentagram.” Valentino gathered his books and stood up.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have work to do. I would highly suggest you get to work as well.” 

“Pretentious demanding showgirl,” the television muttered, even if it was still perfectly audible. 

“I love you too, Voxy,” Valentino replied in a cynical tone.

“By the way, I thought I made it clear I wanted to be your new talent’s first customer.” 

“He said he’s not a sadist, but sure, you can have him as soon as he’s ready.” 

“So why is he leaving with some other guy?” 

Blinking, Valentino looked up at the bar, and saw, indeed, what had been Angel’s seat was already occupied by someone else. He looked towards the door, just in time to see a shirtless red demon in a spiked collar, leading the spider outside by the hand. 

“Motherfucking hijo de puta…!” Valentino snarled, as he hastily put out his cigarette and shoved everything else in his wings. 

“See you later, Val,” the television demon said in a teasing voice. 

Truly, Angel had every intention to follow up on Valentino’s request, but… The man who spoke to him after Vox was pretty good looking, and for some reason, he didn’t have it in himself to refuse him, like he had refused everyone else. 

Maybe it was a remnant of Vox’s hypnosis, or maybe he had not waited long enough before he drank alcohol after the quaaludes, or perhaps his drink had been spiked, but whichever it was, Angel found himself following the man outside. He walked down the street for a little while, until he was shoved at the back of a car, with two other people. As he rested his head against the window and looked outside, eyes blurry, he listened to what the others were saying, but he found out really fast he didn’t really care about what they were saying. 

So far, no one was touching him, and that was a lot better than the alternative. 

He had no idea how long the drive lasted, as he shut his eyes and must have dozed off or passed out, for when he came to, he had no idea where he was. With a soft groan, he blinked his eyes until he could clearly see. Judging from the fact he was on his back on a small but soft surface, the underside of a table and the lamp he could see hanging directly over it, it seemed like he was in a restaurant. He tried moving his four arms, but he was restrained with ropes. Raising his head a little, he saw his ankles were tied as well. 

“Ah shit, are you kidding me right now…?” he muttered.

“Good, you’re awake,” the red demon came into view and helped him sit up. 

His partners, a green goat looking creature in a letterjacket, and a thin yellow thing of unknown species, but vaguely reminiscent of some kind of fruit, possibly a very pale pumpkin, both leaned over the table to better look at him. As for Angel, he frowned at them for a moment, before he gave a look around the 1950’s style restaurant, including the red and turquoise color scheme, a jukebox in a corner, black and white tiles. 

The spider smiled, but it wasn’t that sweet, seductive air he usually had. 

“Any of you fuck me while I was unconscious?”

“No, of course not,” the yellow one shook his head. 

“Well then what the fuck?” Angel looked at Red. “You could have just asked, I would have loved to pretend and let you restrain me. Fuckin’ asshole, did you really have to spike my drink?”

Red exchanged a glance with his associates, before he straightened up. “Wait, what?” 

“Alright, let’s get this over with. It’s gonna be a little hard for you to screw me with my legs tied up, but I’m sure we can find a comfortable position.” 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Green asked. 

“Oh, wait, do you need me to pretend I’m a helpless little damsel in distress?” Angel completely changed expressions, feigning fear. “Oh no, please, please don’t hurt me…! I’ll do whatever you want!”

“Shut up, we don’t wanna fuck you!” Red exclaimed. 

Angel stopped and just stared at them, blinking. There was a bit of a pause, as the trio stepped back from him, but kept staring. 

“I dunno man, are you sure about that guy?” Yellow looked quizzically at Red. 

“Oh yeah. I was right there, I heard Vox offering three hundred bucks for him, and he refused. He must be worth way more than that.” 

“Wait wait wait.” Raising a brow, Angel looked between the three demons. “What’s goin’ on?” 

“How fucking stupid are you?” Green leaned over him, resting his hands on the table and backrest. “You better hope they fucking pay.”

“Pay? Pay what?” Angel repeated, staring at him. He thought about it for a moment before he leaned a little to the side, looking at Red. “Hold on, you took me for ransom?” 

“Yeah.” 

Eyes narrowed, Anthony inhaled deeply, looking back at Green with a very different hardness to his eyes. 

“Who do you work for?”

The goat pulled away from him and looked at the other two, before he shrugged. 

“Uh… No one.”

Looking him up and down, the mobster pulled a little on his binds. “You expect my family to pay for every two-bit would-be kidnappers or what?” 

“What family?” Yellow asked quietly. “What difference does it make, if you’re related to Valentino?”

“Valent– What?” 

“Huh?” 

“I don’t get it, why would Valentino even come here? He barely knows me.” 

Confused, the trio stared at the spider for a moment, before Yellow raised a wait-a-minute finger. 

“Don’t move,” he said, before they hurried out of sight. 

It dawned on Anthony that those three were either really committed to the bit, or they really had no idea who it was they had just kidnapped. 

From where they were, he couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but he assumed they were talking about their next step in their stupid plan. As they did not really seem like much of a threat, Angel manifested his third pair of arms in order to untie his legs. He put the rope behind his back before he sat up and looked over the backrest at them, rather curious. They were standing next to the door, expressions ranging from confusion to annoyance. He noticed the goat thing looking at him just a little too insistingly. And so he moved back in his seat, resting his back against a window, as he decided to try something.

“Hey, fellas?” He waited to have their attention before he continued. “What’s a guy got to do to get fucked here?” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Yellow said in an impatient tone. 

“Look, I followed your friend because I thought we were gonna have sex. No one’s comin’ for me, so before you let me go, I’d like to fuck someone.”

“Wait,” Red said. “Okay, you said Valentino’s not coming, but what about your actual family?”

“Oh,” Angel purred. “You don’t want them here… I gotta go behind daddy’s back to be ravished…”

There was a bit of a pause, until Green pulled off his jacket and threw it on another table. “Alright, you know what?” he said, coming closer. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Red exclaimed. “We agreed not to assault him.”

“Hey, he’s offering. Someone was willing to pay three hundred to screw him. If we can’t have ransom money, I wanna get paid a different way.” 

“We can try and call Valentino’s club, at least let them know what happened.” Yellow looked at Angel. “You got his number?”

“You’re gonna have to stripsearch me for his business card,” Angel answered, keeping his full focus on Green with his best smile. 

The man stood in front of him, looking him up and down. The spider spread his legs, getting into position. Biting his lip, he stared as Green started undoing his pants. 

“Oh my God,” Yellow said, clearly exasperated. “Come on, man. Let’s wait in the kitchen.” 

Angel heard steps receding, making him believe they indeed went out of sight. Green grabbed his legs and spread them, kneeling on the booth. He hesitated a little.

“You’re really okay with that?” he asked. 

“Oh yeah. You’re the nicest kidnappers I ever got. I also hope you’ll keep being this nice with me.” 

“Can’t say for the others, but… Man, you are pretty. I kept staring at you in the car.”

“Stop talkin’. Just take me.” 

Once Green leaned over him and was close enough, his dick pressing against him, Angel made his third pair of arms appear and pulled the rope from behind himself. 

“Do you have a biting kink?” he lustfully breathed out.

“Not really…?” 

“Too bad.” 

He bit his shoulder, full force, but before the man could scream, he wrapped the rope around his neck, garrote-style.

Out of the trio of arachnids, Angel had the less potent venom, but it was still a very effective tool in such a fight. The effects ranged from dizziness to actual sickness that required a hospital visit. 

The other demon, realizing what was happening, had the reflex to reach for his neck to take the rope off, before he attempted to pull away. Angel followed the movement and slipped around the man, climbing on his back and pulling as hard as he could on the rope. 

Struggling to breathe, Green tried to reach behind himself for the spider, before he resorted to backing into a wall, as hard as he could. 

Yet Angel held onto him, expressing his pain as lustfully as he could, just in case the others were listening. It had to sound like rough sex to them. 

Desperate to get out of the spider’s grasp, the man threw himself to the floor, probably intending to crush the spider under his weight, but Angel managed to leap in front of Green, now straddling him. 

By then, he had lost too much energy to try and push Angel off, yet as his eyes were rolling back, he sluggishly reached up to try and push him off. Angel just pulled his head away, waiting for him to go limp and stop twitching. Catching his own breath, he tentatively loosened his own grasp, and as the man was still not moving, he knelt a bit more comfortably, facing the general direction of the kitchen doors.

“Ahh,” he moaned, pulling out his SMG. “Yes, harder, harder! Ooh…!” he faked, as he readied the weapon. 

He then went quiet and waited. 

The doors to the kitchen opened, but before the spider could pull the trigger, another gunshot rang, shattering the glass doors. Eyes wide, Angel instinctively dove under the nearest table, curling up. Shots kept ringing for a little while, as Red and Yellow were screaming, until they finally went quiet.

Angel remained still and silent, unsure whether this was a friend or foe. He listened to the sound of glass crunching under a pair of feet, bracing himself for an incoming fight, but whoever it was seemed to make their way to the kitchen. 

The spider hesitated for a moment before he discreetly peeked out from under the table. Making sure to hold his breath and make as little noise as possible, he crawled out and, staying low, he made his way to the exit. He carefully stepped over the broken glass and went outside, giving a look around himself to try and find out where exactly he was. 

It appeared he was not far enough yet, as there was another gunshot, shattering the window next to him. His instinct was to curl up and shield his head, shutting his eyes tight, but before he could think of running or hiding somewhere, he felt the barrel of a gun pressing against the back of his head. 

Breath hitching, he slowly raised his only available hands, letting whoever it was take the SMG out of his hands.

“Please… Don’t shoot,” he asked in a soft voice. “I have no money and I’ve got nothin’ to do with those guys. I’m just a streetwalker they picked up.”

Whoever it was finally lowered his gun and, just as Angel breathed out in relief, they grabbed one of his bound arms and forced him to stand back up. As he was already thinking of his next move to safely pull himself out of this situation, the spider took a chance and slowly turned his head in order to look over his shoulder; he was quite surprised to find Valentino standing there. 

“Mr. Valentino? Oh thank God…!”

The moth demon looked very quite unhappy, what with his frown and the way he snarled at him. Despite this, Angel sighed in relief and loosened up, after how tense he had been all this time. He patiently remained there, hoping Valentino would help untie him, but instead, the moth pulled him along as he started walking around the restaurant. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” the winged demon hissed. 

“I dunno. These guys thought they could take me for ransom.”

“Ransom?”

“I assumed they worked for a rival group, but they were way too stupid for that.”

The conspicuous purple limousine was parked behind the restaurant, with the driver standing next to the passenger door. Seeing the pair coming in his direction, he opened the door and waited for the pair to get in before he shut the door. 

Angel sat next to Valentino and turned his back to the moth demon. 

“Could you untie me?” As Valentino was just looking at him, he brought his free hands behind his back and rested his fingers against the knots. “I didn’t have time to do it myself, but now that you’re here…”

Finally smiling again, Valentino brought a hand around Angel’s chest, pulling him closer. “I don’t know, darling. I quite enjoy seeing you like this.” 

“Yeah?” Angel smiled seductively at him and wiggled his shoulders against him. It was getting uncomfortable and so he straightened up again. “By the way, why did you come here?” 

“I’m here for you, of course. Why else?” 

Blinking, Angel let his smile fade away, looking back at the moth with a very different type of expression. 

“Y-you came to save me?” 

“Why do you sound so surprised?” 

As Valentino finally started untying his employee, Angel remained quiet for a moment, looking down. He took advantage of the moth not looking at his face to let a sweet, fond smile appear on his lips. 

Once Valentino was done untying him, he stretched and rolled his shoulders a little, before he faced the winged demon. 

“You know, I…” He hesitated for a moment, before he drew closer to Valentino, sort of snuggling against him. Valentino wrapped two arms around him, mindlessly caressing one of his arms and thighs. “I saw you with Vox and I thought you would just spend the rest of your evenin’ with him.”

“Is that why you left?” Valentino tilted his head a little, with a relaxed expression.

“No. I don’t really know what happened. I swear, I didn’t wanna leave your club, but… I don’t know. I think one of these guys spiked my drink.” There was a bit of a pause, as he mindlessly rubbed at his sore wrists. 

“Was it you, who took down the man with his dick out?” 

“Yeah.” Seeing the way Valentino frowned a little, the spider hastily shook his head. “Don’t worry, he didn’t touch me.”

Valentino looked a little more closely at the SMG. Angel reflexively held out a hand for it, but Valentino kept it out of his reach. “It feels like you didn’t actually need any help.” 

“I… Well, I mean, it wasn’t my first rodeo, but…” He hesitated a little, as Valentino finally gave him back his weapon. He put it away, before he reached up to run a hand in the winged creature’s neck fluff. 

“I’m glad you came. I can’t remember the last time anyone...” 

He paused, trying to find the right words. He lowered his head a little, gaze averted. 

“... Anyone wanted to save me.”

“Angel, corazón…” Valentino gently rested a hand on the spider’s cheek, getting him to look back in his eyes. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore. I won’t let anything happen to something as precious as you.”

The smile Angel had in this moment was filled with a rare sincerity. It was fondness and admiration for the irresistible moth. He felt himself melting, under his warmth, those burning eyes and smile, and as he couldn’t stop himself from looking at his teeth, the flames of his desire. His lips felt like a beacon, and unable to resist, he inched closer, closer and closer. He wanted to turn into a puddle and mold himself to Valentino, to give himself over and be his, but… 

But… 

He did not want him like this. 

He was so close, he could feel the warmth radiating from his lips… 

But Valentino did not want him. He wanted Anthony. 

Coming back to his senses, the spider pulled away again, not daring to look the moth demon in the eyes. Unsure what to say or do, he remained like this for a moment, suddenly very conscious of the still heaviness of the moth’s fingers on his thigh. 

And Valentino just smiled. This enigmatic smile, that reminded him of the crescent moon grin of a confounding cat straight out of Lewis Carroll’s imagination. 

Anthony pulled away, enough so that the moth’s hand would slide off his thigh. 

He pulled out a cigarette, lit it up. Took a long, satisfying drag. He blew the smoke towards the headliner, noticing it had a distinct moth pattern. 

He looked back at Valentino; the moth’s eyes were shut, and he appeared content, perhaps because he had gotten his employee back. 

Anthony didn’t know what to say… 

And so the rest of the drive was completely quiet. 

The car stopped in front of Infernal Blaze. Valentino stepped out with Anthony, and as there were all sorts of people around, looking curiously at his limousine, the moth smiled, charismatic, as he wrapped an arm around Angel’s shoulders. Naturally, the spider smiled bright, as it was nice to be on the arm of someone like the winged demon, and quite frankly, he enjoyed the attention. 

He let himself be led inside the club and upstairs, soon finding himself in Valentino’s office. As soon as they were alone, Valentino’s demeanor changed. He held one of the spider’s arms a bit more firmly, as he made his way to the washroom.

“We need to talk about your attitude towards me.”

“What attitude?” The spider frowned a little, as Valentino pushed him against the counter. “I’ve been courteous and I did everything you asked.”

Valentino took a washcloth and soaked it in warm water. “If that was true, I wouldn’t have had to go around town to get my employee back from whoever thinks they can steal from me. You understand?” 

Anthony wanted to protest, but he knew, deep down, it was true. He lowered his head a little, exhaling softly. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” 

“I ordered you to stay here, and you refused to obey me.” Valentino started washing the makeup away, revealing the bruising. “You need to accept that you also work for me, and so what I say goes.”

“Alright.” 

Valentino straightened up, crossing his other pair of arms. “So if I tell you to stay right here, where I can see you… What do you say?” 

“Yes, Mr. Valentino.”

“If I tell you to stay in my club, what do you do?” 

“I stay in the club.” 

Smiling again, the moth demon focused once more on what he was doing, revealing the handsome mobster he was so enthralled with. 

“Anthony, my sweet…” He put the washcloth down, before he helped the spider out of his clothes. “Don’t do this to me again. You are too valuable, you hear? You can’t just let bottom-feeders take you.” 

Unsure what to say, Anthony just remained still, gaze lowered. He was looking down at nothing in particular, it just so happened his eyes were lowered to the lowcut shit and the moth’s nipples he could see peeking. 

With the makeup taken off, and now that he was mostly nude, he gave Valentino a tired look before he wandered back towards the bed. He negligently kicked off his boots in a corner of the room. As the winged demon looked on, he pulled out the bottle of quaaludes, popped one in his mouth and climbed on the bed, half-covering himself in those soft, red satin sheets. 

Valentino remained in the washroom’s doorway for a moment, just admiring his protégé for a moment; the beautiful eight-legged creature laid on his side, looking in his eyes through half lidded eyes. He was not smiling, just staring, like a dare to draw closer. Seductively, he ran a hand against his own thigh, before he rolled on his back. He raised and spread his knees, a pair of hands above his head, the other resting on his legs.

“Come,” he whispered. 

Valentino knew he should resist this order, and yet he smiled. Under the spider’s watchful cherry-red eyes, he stood at the foot of the bed. 

Anthony slowly sat up. He leaned over, gently undid Valentino’s belt. He pulled his pants down, just enough to stare at the moth’s erection for a moment. 

He hesitated for a second, before he ran delicate fingers against its length. He tore his eyes away from it to look back in his eyes, as his upper pair of hands started working on undoing the shirt. Once it fell to the floor, Anthony traced the moth demon’s lean muscles with the tip of his fingers. He knelt on the bed, looking up at those burning red eyes. Arching his back, he approached his lips to Valentino’s manhood. 

“You did so much for me today,” he breathed against the tip, maintaining eye contact. “I don’t know how else to thank you.”

His lips parted, and as he was finally about to have a taste, the moth demon pushed him back, his hand firm on his chest. Before Anthony could sit up, Valentino climbed on top of him, straddling him and pinning him down by his shoulders. 

“Do I have to tell you again? I don’t want you like this,” Valentino leaned down and spoke real close to Anthony’s face. “Don’t you want me when you’re not high?” 

“Please just fuck me, Mr. Valentino, I want you.” His hands reached up to pull off those heart-shaped glasses, before they moved to the back of his head. “I’ve wanted you for the longest time. Why do I have to beg you?”

The moth hesitated, as the lowest pair of hands ran along his back, his side, and rested on his hips. Anthony pulled him closer, eyes glazed over. 

“You saved me,” the spider continued. “Just take what I owe you.”

Seemingly having had enough, Valentino readjusted his pants with one pair of hands, while he brought another hand over Anthony’s mouth so that he would just stop talking, snarling as a warning. 

“I still have work to do. I dropped everything for you, all I want is for you to listen to me. You will shut up and stay where I can see you, is that clear?”

The spider nodded a little against him. “Mmhmm.”

With an annoyed expression, Valentino picked up his glasses and got off the bed, leaving his shirt there as he made his way to the door. Anthony sat up and wanted to say something else, but the moth slammed the door shut and went to sit at his desk, pulling all sorts of things from within his wings. 

With a slight frown, the spider watched him through the french doors for a moment, before he slid between the sheets and comfortably lay down to sleep. The pangs of frustration and humiliation, already dulled by the pills, were still very present in the heat in his cheeks and how it felt like his insides were twisted.

Before he drifted off to sleep, he bitterly thought that two could play this game.

Chapter Text

When Anthony awoke the next day, he was lying down on his front, hugging a pillow. It took barely a second to realize his head hurt. Groaning softly, he slowly pushed himself up and squinted his eyes at a painting right above the bed, depicting a woman in fetishistic dominatrix garb. 

The spider looked over in the bed, half expecting Valentino to be there, but the moth demon was nowhere in sight. 

Assuming he was simply somewhere else in the club, Anthony just got up from bed and went to the washroom, doing his business, splashing some water on his face and drinking some of it. Instead of looking at himself through the mirror, he kept staring at the glass doors of the shower. 

Normally, when sleeping elsewhere, he had the common courtesy to ask if he could use their shower, but at this moment, he did not care to. He took off his socks and stepped in. He picked up a bottle of soap and opened it, smelling its content; it must have been what he used, for the scent was quite reminiscent of Valentino. 

Grinning, he turned on the warm water and cleaned up. 

As he was alone and he had been refused so many times the previous night, he satisfied himself, surrounded by this seductive scent. 

Once he was done taking care of his hygiene and urges, he found a towel in a cabinet and hastily dried his body, leaving the washroom.

As was the courteous thing to do, he carefully made the bed and went to fetch his clothes; he opened the drawer and found a note on top of his suit. 

Anthony, 

Come to Exxxquisite tonight

Val

Even the moth’s handwriting was beautiful, the spider thought as he stared at the little flourish on the V, reminiscent of either a heart, or wings. 

He momentarily put the paper down and started getting dressed, already thinking of his next move. Normally, by this time, he would be heading home to resume his day job, but he decided against it; not only could his family manage without him, but… The thought of getting beaten up once more was difficult to ignore. 

Maybe he would give them a call later. 

He liked thinking about Valentino a lot more, even if there was a slight bitterness there as well. 

The winged demon wanted a mobster and a performer, well so be it. If it was what he needed to be for the job, he would submit to the moth’s desires. 

It meant what it meant, however, and Anthony could also play hard to get. 

Once he was fully dressed, he made sure he had Valentino’s note as well as his wallet, before he finally left the office.

After a well deserved breakfast, the arachnid demon spent most of his day getting ready for the evening. It included a trip to a tailor he had been working with for a really long time, shopping for accessories and getting makeup he did not yet have. 

Once this was all done, he went back to his apartment, did a very small amount of PCP and got ready for the evening. 

Once he was ready, he hailed a taxi and he went to the brothel. 

The previous night, Valentino had mostly focused on his work. He normally might have crawled up in bed with his new toy to hold him as he slept, but he resisted the urge and abandoned him instead. 

He left him a note and went to Exxxquisite, where he met with Georgette, slept with her, slept with others, employees as well as people who wanted him and could pay his steep price tag. When he was frustrated with someone, he could be insatiable, and Anthony was driving him insane, with that stubbornness and pride. 

Of course, the moth really wanted him, and it had been painful to refuse his offer for fellatio, but Valentino could be stubborn as well, and he had to make it really clear he expected obedience from the people who worked under him. 

Should the spider be sober tonight, he had every intent to finally get him into bed, no matter what it might take. 

But those self imposed limits, those conditions he had been saddled with by the Ragno, made it so he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted. 

Otherwise, it would have been a done deal and this pretty little spider would already be wearing a chemical leash. 

Valentino slept well into the afternoon. 

He slept with whoever was still in his bed and willing to have sex with him, before he got them to leave. 

He cleaned up, ate something, and went to do his administrative work. He filled paperwork, did interviews and managed schedules, all things he could have delegated, but there was no one he trusted more than himself to do these tedious activities. 

He took a well deserved break around eight, which was when he went to make sure everything was going well on the main floor. He enjoyed drinks, casual conversations and people trying to either seduce him, or ask for recommendations; seduction only worked if they were either very attractive, or had obscene amounts of money to spend. 

Currently, he was with a well-off lady customer, who tended to gravitate towards women and feminine men.

“I highly recommend Summer,” the owner told the woman. “She should be here in about one hour, if you would be so patient.” 

“Summer?” the woman repeated. 

“You will find her hot and breezy, like a beautiful August night. I’m fully confident she will satisfy all of your needs.”

“Thank you Val. I’ll be waiting. Put me down for one hour with her.”

“It will be my pleasure.”

As the woman went to take a seat at the back of the waiting area, casually leafing through a magazine, Valentino went to the reception desk. As soon as he saw him, a customer standing in front of his buffalo employee addressed him in an impatient tone. 

“Finally! Valentino, could you tell your asshole receptionist I wanna know when I can see Georgette again?” 

Valentino pulled the planner towards himself and noted what he had just told his lady customer, while smiling pleasantly at the man. 

“I’m sorry, but Georgette is unavailable. Perhaps you might want a different woman?”

“No, I want her!” 

Smile fading away a little, Valentino leaned over the counter and lowered his tone. 

“We have rules here. You can’t do something she did not agree to beforehand. Hopefully you’ll understand I’m a little reluctant to let you inside in the first place.”

“Come on, you know me, I promise I won’t do it again,” the man said in a very different tone. “It can be another whore, as long as she’s blonde.”

It was for the effect more than for anything else, but Valentino snapped the planner shut. “I’m going to ask you to leave.” 

“You can’t do this to me!” The man raised his voice. “Don’t you know who I am? I’ve been coming here for years, and I’ll tell everyone I know how you’ve been treating me tonight.” 

“You tried to leave without paying,” Valentino straightened up with a pretentious smile. “I think I can manage without your business.” 

“You fucking asshole, it was just one time–!”

It was at this moment that Anthony walked in through the glass doors. The little bells chimed, making the angry customer look back at him. Recognizing him, the man did a doubletake, going quiet. 

Anthony smiled warmly at him. 

“Hey, how’s it goin’?” He turned this friendly look towards Valentino, before he addressed the buffalo. “Do I need to give him a shakedown?” 

As the employee shook his head, the customer whimpered in fear and hurried towards the door, making sure to avoid the arachnid. Grinning, Anthony winked at him. 

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya.” 

Keeping this irresistible smile on, Anthony drew closer to the counter and leaned against it, looking at the moth demon.

“Hey boss.”

Valentino remained quiet for a moment, just looking at him with this pleased smile. 

Tonight, Anthony wore a different type of suit. It was a rich, intense shade of red, with paler pinstipes. The jacket and waistcoat were pinned tight at his torso, bringing attention to that generous fluff on his chest. He did not wear a shirt nor a tie, but only an expensive looking gold choker, which matched a garnet ring at one of his hands. He was also wearing makeup, but just enough to look like a very pretty boy, and not like a woman. 

To Valentino, that was the spider’s best look yet.

“Anthony,” he fondly answered. “Come with me.”

“Sure thing.” 

The spider followed after the owner, politely nodding his head as a greeting to whoever looked in his direction. He would very soon step into Valentino’s private room. As soon as the moth demon shut the door behind them, he grabbed the mobster’s arms and pulled him in real close, staring at him with a greedy smile. He reached up to hold his cheeks, firmly moving his head from side to side, staring intently in his eyes. 

“Did you take anything before coming here?” he asked. 

“No. I’m clean.”

“Good. Please, sit down.”

The spider followed after him and did as told, crossing his legs and putting on this neutral expression, while Valentino sprawled across his couch.

“So what can I do for you today, Mr. Valentino?” 

There was a bit of a pause, as Valentino thoughtfully stared at his protégé. “I was thinking of putting you on makeup duty, but…” 

“What does that mean?” 

“You see, between customers, my prostitutes need to clean themselves up and they sometimes have to redo their makeup. It’s a lot of work, so I’ll have someone back there helping them do their faces. How fast are you?” 

“Really fast,” Anthony moved all hands on his right side, before he frowned a little. “That being said… I very rarely do other people’s makeup.” 

“You’ll be practicing.” 

The spider shrugged slightly and stood up. “Sure. Just tell me where to go and I’ll do it.” 

“Hold it. I didn’t tell you we were done here.” Valentino waited for Anthony to sit down again before he resumed, leaning a little towards him. “That was before I saw you. Anthony, you look gorgeous, I can’t possibly hide you away. I’d like to put you in the cage tonight.” 

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The cage, down there on the main floor. All you have to do is get inside, dance if you want to, and engage with my customers.” 

There was a bit of a pause, before Anthony shook his head a little. “I’m here to work, Mr. Valentino. I didn’t come all this way to stand there and be pretty.” 

“Anthony, my sweet little mobster…” Despite what he was saying, there was a warning to the moth’s tone as he came to a stand, frowning down at the spider. “Standing there and being pretty is what I pay you to do.” 

The spider raised a brow. “You don’t pay me. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s time we talk about that.” 

“I hold this agreement with the escorpión.” 

“I don’t think so, Mr. Valentino. My boss certainly doesn’t want me to look pretty for your customers to drool over.” 

“Oh please, my dear… He’s not blind, he knows your looks are made to be exploited.”

“How fucking dare you?” With a frown, the spider stood up as well, staring closely at the moth.

“Oh come on, it’s obvious. You said it yourself, didn’t you? You stand there in silence, wait in getaway cars, snipe from a distance… It’s because he knows how important your looks are when you go out and talk to people. Your father’s the strong one, your brother’s the smart one…” 

As Anthony’s eyes narrowed a little, seemingly thinking about it, Valentino grinned again and brushed the back of his fingers against his cheek.

“Can’t risk damaging that pretty face in a knife fight…”

Disdainful, Anthony pulled his head away from Valentino, jaw clenched. 

“I’ll do the cage thing, but I ain’t sleepin’ with anyone for money, is that clear?”

Valentino remained quiet for a moment, merely staring at the spider. He looked him up and down, eyes narrowed, staring at the way the clothes just hugged him in all the right places, tight where it mattered, bringing attention to his very best attributes. It also looked like a much more flexible material, and so it looked like this outfit was easier to move in. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to,” he ended up saying. “I want you in the cage for two hours, and then you can get on makeup duty. I might also ask you to do reception, depending on need.”

“Fine.” Assuming the conversation was over, the spider took a few steps towards the door but, thinking about something, he stopped and looked back at the moth. “Mr. Valentino, before I go down there…” He hesitated for a moment, averting his gaze.

“What is it?” 

“It’s just… It kinda feels like you know people from my circle. If they come here, they might report back to the Ragno and tell them they saw me shakin’ my ass for your patrons.” 

“I don’t think so, I only know Vinnie and a few of his sharks, but they never come here.” The owner followed Anthony to the door and opened it, gesturing for him to come along. “Unless your family frequents my brothels, you’ll be fine. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“I’m the one who’ll deal with the fallout,” Anthony frowned at him. 

He walked past him and went to step outside, but Valentino grabbed one of his shoulders and forcefully pushed him against the doorframe, leaning a little over him. 

“If I’m wrong and your asshole fellow mobsters show up here, you can always say I locked you up to punish your shitty behavior.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

Defiant, Anthony pushed his hand away and started making his way downstairs, ignoring the way Valentino growled at him.

There were four cages around the room, one for every corner of the area. They were large, gold and circular, with a pole in the middle, for those who knew how to use them. 

The one in which Valentino wanted to lock Anthony in was next to the bar, and already a few patrons were curiously looking at them. The mobster climbed the steps leading up to it and listened to the door closing, before he went to rest his back against the pole. 

Valentino walked away, and Anthony started swaying his hips to the sound of the slow, sensual music of the brothel. As he did a few simple moves at the pole, an imp at the bar stood up and drew closer, bringing his drink along. 

“Hey, beautiful,” he said. 

Anthony raised a brow at him. He briefly looked towards Valentino, who was speaking with other patrons, before he drew closer to the bars and grabbed two of them, seductively coming to a crouch. 

“You have a light?” 

He pulled out a cigarette and waited for the demonic creature to produce a lighter. He put it in his mouth and leaned as close as possible. The imp obliged, Anthony took a drag and blew the smoke towards the ceiling. 

“Thanks.”

“What’s your name?” He put his lighter away.

“Angel.” 

“I’ve never seen you before, Angel. How long have you been here?” 

“Couple days.”

The imp nodded a little, before he downed his drink. “How much?” 

Leaning closer to the bars, Anthony conspicuously grilled his cigarette. 

“For what?” 

“Two hours. A blowjob. A talk, some drinks. I wanna watch you touch yourself. And then, when I’m ready to, I’d like to take you from behind.” 

That sounded nice, really. That imp was actually pretty cute and sweet sounding, Anthony thought, but… 

He blew the cigarette smoke in the man’s direction, before he stood back up.

“I don’t have a price tag yet.”

“Oh, you’re new new, huh.” He pulled out a bill from his pockets and threw it at the spider. “What’s so special about you?” 

Anthony bent down to pick up the money, shoving it down his chest fluff. 

“I dunno. Maybe Mr. Valentino likes that I can parlare italiano.”

Anthony went back to the pole, very careful to do moves he knew he could do with no mistakes. Being sober definitely helped him execute flawless motions. 

A woman came to stand in front of the cage as well, staring him up and down. 

“Oh that is a fine piece of ass. Are you supposed to be a mobster?” 

Legs wrapped around the pole, Anthony held himself up by his lower pair of hands and brought his head back to be able to look at her. 

“I am a mobster.” 

“Don’t waste your time,” the imp rolled his eyes. “He ain’t for sale yet.”

“Or maybe he doesn’t want you. How about it, honey?” She held out a bill for him to take. 

The spider accepted it and added it to the other one. He flawlessly got off the pole and came to a kneel before her, letting her reach between the bars so that she could run a hand up his torso.

“It’s true, I don’t have a price tag.”

“Ah, Valentino and his sales tactics… Well, you’re really cute. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you.”

She wandered back to the bar, and so did the imp. 

There were a few similar conversations, with some people throwing money at him. The spider mainly focused on what he was doing, taking this opportunity to hone his pole dancing skills. Thankfully, word traveled fast, and so the people who came to look at him were aware they could not buy him, but merely looking was free. Anthony did not mind being gawked at like an animal behind bars, but he was getting thirsty, in more ways than one, and the more proposals for sex he got, the more he thought he might as well ask Valentino to give him a price list. 

Once the two hours went by, Valentino came back to the cage. Anthony approached the door, but before he let him out, the moth spoke up. 

“Take a small break and come to my office.” 

“Okay.” 

Valentino opened the cage and moved out of the way. He headed upstairs and Anthony went to the washroom. A drink at the bar was tempting, but instead, the spider just drank some water at the faucet. He was determined to stay sober for as long as he would have to. 

Once he was ready, he went upstairs as well and knocked on the moth’s door, waiting for permission to enter. It took a few moments, but Valentino opened the door and gestured for him to step inside. 

“Anthony, you did great down there,” the winged demon grinned, seemingly in a much better mood. “A lot of people asked about you.” 

“That’s good to know.” 

The spider followed his employer to his little desk and took a seat when he was invited to do so. 

There was a bit of a pause, as Valentino just stared at him, fingers laced and chin resting on his hands. Casually crossing his legs, the spider just waited, smiling sweetly and tilting his head curiously. 

“Do you still want to have sex with me?” Valentino asked. 

Still keeping this pleasant expression on, the spider shook his head. “I don’t.” 

Inhaling deeply, Valentino sat back in his chair, frowning a little. He crossed his lowest pair of arms, while he started rhythmically tapping the fingers of a main hand on his armrest. Anthony let nothing show, but it was fun to see the moth seemingly aggravated. 

“You seemed very eager yesterday. What changed?” 

“That was then, boss. It was a one time deal, and you made it very clear you don’t want me.” 

Feigning guilt, he lowered his head a little, sort of mindlessly messing with his ring. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been inappropriate with you, Mr. Valentino. Thank you for still workin’ with me, even if I sexually harassed you. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I’d like you to crawl under my desk and drink it all up, to the very last drop.”

“I can’t do that.” 

As Valentino stood up, so did the arachnid.

“Should I do reception, or makeup duty?”

“You’re going to stay right here.” 

There was a slight annoyance to Valentino’s tone as he drew closer. He spread his wings, and it took everything Anthony had not to look at them, or at how little the moth was dressed. But those small eyes clearly perceived the black and gold harness, the shiny jewelry, the leathery booty shorts. 

“So what is it? Don’t you wanna fuck when you’re sober? Can’t get it up without a little help?” 

He held out all hands towards the mobster, but Anthony backed away from him, keeping his eyes trained on him. 

“It works just fine, it’s just…” 

Undeterred by his prey backing away, Valentino grinned again, as Anthony briefly gave an uneasy look around. Once he felt the back of his legs bumping against the foot of the bed, he turned a defiant look to the entertainer. 

“I don’t want you.”

It appeared Valentino was about to push him on the bed, but hearing this, his hand hovered before his chest, hesitant. 

“Are you… Holding a grudge? Is this about yesterday?”

“You said you want me, Anthony of the Ragno. If you really understood my situation, you’d know mafiosi don’t fuck other men.”

“I’ve fucked other mobsters.” 

Valentino leaned down over Anthony. The spider put his lowest pair of hands on the mattress, ensuring he would stay upright.

“I know damn well the type of man you are…” Now smiling wide, Valentino forcefully spun his mobster around, two hands firmly holding on one arm and a thigh. He loved hearing the spider’s breath hitch, knowing he put on a brave, stubborn front, but he was already faltering. 

“All you need is a little convincing…”

His other hands moved up his chest to start undoing the buttons to the jacket and waistcoat. Anthony made a move to try and pull away, but Valentino’s grip tightened. 

“Careful… you wouldn’t want me damaging this handsome suit, would you?”

“Let go of me, Mr. Valentino.”

This tone was not firm at all, it was in fact quite soft, and it made Valentino mad with envy. 

The moth demon pulled down on his jacket and vest, just enough to reveal top shoulders and neck. As one of the spider’s hands held his clothes to his chest, Valentino pressed himself against him even more, knowing the mobster most likely felt his erection against him. A hand running up the off-white chest, the other finding its way to the pants, Valentino kissed Anthony’s neck and shoulder, breathing softly against him. 

“Don’t fight, my little mobster,” he whispered, “don’t fight and I’ll be gentle.”

It appears the spider did not like this at all, for this time, he pried Valentino’s hands away, before he turned around to face him. “I said I don’t want you.”

Seemingly without thinking, he pushed the moth away. It was moreso because of the surprise rather than his strength that Valentino took a step back from him. Yet he managed to remain calm as he spoke, even if there was an edge to his tone that Angel would eventually recognize as dangerous.

“You dare come here, looking like this, dressed like that, and after all those things you did to seduce me, you would refuse me?”

Frowning at him, Anthony readjusted his clothes and hastily buttoned his waistcoat. As it appeared he was serious, Valentino emitted a low chittering sound, reaching up to harshly hold the spider’s jaw, claws digging in the flesh. Anthony instantly bared his teeth, grabbing at his wrist. Unimpressed, Valentino leaned even closer.

“I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, but you’re certainly not smart enough for it.”

He pushed Anthony’s face away and straightened up, crossing his arms.

Once he looked all nice and proper, Anthony inhaled deeply, running his hands through his hair, hoping to hide his trembling fingers. “Do you want me to do reception, or makeup?”

“I don’t want any of that.”

“In that case, if you don’t need me anymore, I’m headin’ home.”

“I never said you could leave.” 

“And you told me you were not forcin’ me to be here.” Not even looking at the moth anymore, Anthony casually started walking towards the door. “Good night, Mr. Valentino. I’m leavin’ my phone number at the front desk.”

“Anthony.” There was a clear warning this time to this tone, and so the spider stopped in his tracks and looked back at the moth. Satisfied with the effect he had on the mobster, Valentino smiled again, amused, as he walked back to his desk. “If that’s how you want to behave, I’m putting you on cleanup duty.” 

“Cleanup?” 

The winged demon’s smile turned a little cruel. “I hope you enjoy scrubbing cum stains and assorted bodily fluids.”

“Are you gonna give me cleaning supplies, or do I need to use my tongue?” 

With a light growl, Valentino wrapped his wings around himself and sat down. “Get out of here.”

Unbothered, Anthony nodded his head and resumed walking away.  “Okay, boss.”

Cleanup duty was basically janitorial work, and to the mobster, it wasn’t all that bad. All he had to do was wait for a customer to leave a room, he would then go inside with a coworker, hastily clean up for about twenty minutes, and make sure everything looked nice and clean for the next one. 

It was nice, mindless work, and he had never been bothered about handling bodily fluid. 

It felt like Valentino viewed it as a form of punishment, but he had neglected to take into account there were no women where the Ragno lived, and so someone had to do all these menial tasks. 

Doing chores was a great way for the youngest arachnid to be generally left alone.

And so, he made a lot of beds, scrubbed stains, disinfected accessories, all the while he was whistling or humming along to the music he heard outside. Once he was done, he discretely carried soiled linens and cleaning supplies to a utility room in the basement. He imagined the moth demon must have kept a few laundry businesses afloat, with all the towels and sheets he had to bring along. 

After a few hours doing it, however, he was starting to get tired, and so he felt quite relieved once it was time for him to head home. 

He finished cleaning the last room, took off his apron and gloves and, once on the main floor, he looked around for Valentino, and found him smiling seductively down at a well-off looking man. 

As promised, before he left, Anthony left the phone number to his apartment at the reception desk. He wished the buffalo a good evening and went back home. 

That night, it was the smell of cleaning supplies mixed with sweat Anthony scrubbed out of his hair and skin. Drying himself, he looked at himself in the mirror, annoyed and tired. 

Maybe if you let him have his way with you, he’ll throw you away, like all the others did…

Horrible thoughts were making their way inside his mind, but not just about Valentino. 

The moth demon, obviously, was one thing. Anthony was fully aware he was playing with knives by submitting to his desires, but in how much danger could he really be? 

But then there was Vox. 

Television demon Vox. Machine of propaganda, one of the most powerful creatures in this circle of Hell, outside of the royal family. 

At first, it had been a little scary to look into those turquoise eyes, on the other side of that closet door, to find himself compelled to obey, just because… 

But then… it was an entirely different thing to have this same screen headed demon looking right in his eyes and demand sex, for a surprisingly generous amount. 

Angel had politely turned him down and then, once again, he had felt compelled… 

Just because… 

He groaned softly, as he left his washroom to go and put on socks and pajamas for the night. As he pulled the clothes out of the dresser, he couldn’t stop himself from looking over at his television, in a corner of the room. 

You invited me inside your home, the screen headed demon had told him, with this devious salesman smile.

“Don’t be stupid,” he muttered to himself as he put on a soft, comfortable t-shirt. 

There was no reason for the spider to be concerned. After all, he was unimportant. Insignificant. It just happened he was working with Valentino now, and it appeared Vox did regular business with the moth. 

“Fuck it.” 

He turned on the television, put on the gay porn channel. 

He did some PCP, and spent a nice very early morning within the four walls of his apartment.

When he awoke, he was nude, his clothes strewn around the bed. He slowly sat up and rubbed at the corner of his eyes, before he stretched. The television was still on, and he remained there for a moment, just watching the three men on screen going at it. 

Touching himself was always a nice way to start the day, even if it would be even nicer to wake up next to someone. 

Once he was done doing his business, he went to the washroom and cleaned up, starting to get ready for the day. 

He did the same type of neutral makeup as the previous night, before he dressed in nice, comfortable clothes. It was about noon when he left the apartment and went to get food, as well as today’s newspaper. 

Going back home, he met with the nice couple who lived next door, and spent a little while exchanging pleasantries with them. They invited him for coffee, he gladly accepted and made very pleasant small talk, about the news, celebrity gossip, but also stories about fellow tenants, their landlord, the daily drama of the ordinary folk who inhabited Pentagram City.

Anthony made sure to be back home before three, so that he could sit by the phone and wait for Valentino to call. 

He had time to read the newspaper and watch half of a movie before the phone rang. 

Bracing himself, the spider let it ring for a few seconds, before he reached over to pick it up. 

“Hello?” 

“Ah, good afternoon, my precious little mobster. How are you?” 

Valentino’s voice on the other end of the line was as sweet as honey, which instantly appeased Anthony, making him smile a little. He could also hear something else in the background, but he wasn’t sure what it was, other than the fact it was a very rhythmic noise.

“Mr. Valentino. I’m alright, and you?”

“Fine, fine… Listen, about yesterday. I know I’ve been a little…” 

He hummed, as if looking for an appropriate word. Anthony frowned a little and lay down on his back, casually crossing his legs. Realizing what he could hear from Valentino’s end, he raised a brow with an amused smile. 

“Are you watching porn?” 

“No. Hold on, give me a second.” 

The spider heard some shuffling noises on the other end of the line, and the noise eventually stopped.

“Better?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So as I was saying, I could have behaved a little better with you.”

“I mean… you tried to punish me for rejectin’ your advances.”

“I understand you feel this way, but that doesn’t give you the right to get physical with me.” Valentino’s voice sounded cold, but not necessarily angry. “On account of your upbringing, I’ll give you a pass this time, but don’t do it again.”

The spider’s first reflex was to tell him he was wrong, but he hesitated and sighed softly. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Mr. Valentino.”

“Good.” Pleased with this resolution, Valentino sounded much sweeter already. “Now, I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, with work and Vox and all… So I was thinking, maybe we could do something nice tonight. Just the two of us. What do you say?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“How about dinner and a show?”

As it sounded like Valentino was inviting him on a date, and no matter how silly it was, the spider felt his heart skip a beat as he smiled wide, but made sure to sound composed. 

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

“I’m taking you to a nice spot, so wear something classy, like what you had last night. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

As Anthony was already bringing the phone along to his closet in order to look for what he could wear, he remembered a very important detail.

“Okay, but don’t go to the factory, I ain’t home.” 

“Oh? Where will you be?” 

“West side, on the corner of Leviathan Lane and Crocell Crescent.”

“Got it. I’ll see you soon, araña.”

The moth demon hung up, and Anthony hesitated for a moment, listening to the tone on the other end of the line. With a sigh, he hung up as well. He knew he should probably call home, but… He did not want to. If he called right now, he would either get yelled at, or he would be guilted into going back to the textiles factory, where he might get another beating. 

Besides… The flying insects in his core were a lot louder than the need to contact his kin.

When the purple limousine pulled up on the corner of two residential streets, Anthony was leaning with his back against a lamppost, smoking a cigarette and turning an annoyed expression at a man hiding behind a dumpster and drooling over him. When he caught sight of the vehicle, he straightened up, threw the cigarette away and walked over once Valentino’s driver opened the door for him. With an engaging smile, the spider leaned over and looked at the winged demon. 

As usual, Valentino was covered with his wings, but Anthony could tell it seemed like he also wore a dark suit underneath.

“Hi, Mr. Valentino.” 

“Anthony. Don’t just stand there like a common whore.” 

As his guest came to sit in front of him, Valentino looked at his tight, deep burgundy suit, once again open on the fluff on his chest. He wore the same jewelry as the previous day, as well as two more rings and a short chain at the neck, everything deep red and gold. 

“How is it that every time I see you, you’re more and more beautiful?”

The spider stopped staring outside to smile at him. “You asked me to dress nice, I wanna make an effort.”

“It’s paying off.” Valentino took a look outside. “So what were you doing in such a neighborhood? You’re far from home.” 

“My mistress lives around here,” the spider shrugged with a weird little smile.

“Mistress? I thought…” The moth stopped himself, humming in thought. “Ah, that’s right, I didn’t ask you anything about that. Tell me about your relationship status. Any jealous lovers, past or present, I need to watch out for?” 

“I don’t think so.” 

“I find that hard to believe.”

“How so? I don’t know what to tell ya, I’m single and all my past lovers either cross the street when they see me, or they just disappeared.” 

Seeing the way Valentino raised a brow, Anthony cleared his throat and shifted a little in his seat.

“But not uh… Not in the way you’re thinkin’ of right now.”

“If you belonged to me, I would never let you go.”

The casual assurance of what Valentino had just said took the spider by surprise, yet Valentino was not even looking at him. Instead, he kept his face turned towards the window, an arm on the backrest, chin resting on his fingers.

Amused, and sort of flattered, the spider casually crossed his legs. 

“What makes you so sure you can have me?” 

“Call it intuition,” the moth demon smirked. 

The restaurant was in a good part of town, as it was very close to the V Tower studios. Anthony stepped out of the car and looked around himself, at the bright lights, well off looking people and busy-looking employees running all around the place. 

As they were so close to Vox’s domain, it should not come as any surprise, yet as soon as Valentino stood on the sidewalk, a few people brandished cameras. 

Instantly stepping away from the moth demon, Anthony crossed two pairs of arms on his chest and pulled his hat down, hoping not to be seen, or noticed. 

Loving the attention he was getting, Valentino spread his wings, revealing his handsome suit, the gold at his wrists, neck and fingers, and he posed, like an old pro. He gave a look around himself, still grinning, before he spotted Anthony, a few steps away. He reached over and pulled him in, bringing an arm around his main shoulders, smiling and waving. 

“Valentino,” a brave woman asked. “Who’s accompanying you tonight?” 

“A new partner, hopefully.” 

“Does Vox know you’re here without him?”

Very confident, Valentino started strutting towards an expensive looking restaurant, bringing the spider along. As soon as the door shut behind them and as they waited for the hostess, the moth squeezed Anthony even tighter, tone lights and teasing. 

“What’s the matter? You don’t like being seen with me?” 

“It’s not that at all, it’s just…” Anthony sighed softly, taking off his hat. “Old habits die hard. I’m a little worried about bein’ on TV dressed like this… And knowing who your boyfriend is, I’d rather avoid attention.” 

Valentino blinked before he laughed. “Is that why you’ve been so cold towards me? Because of Vox? He’s not my boyfriend.”

That was when the hostess came to welcome them. Valentino asked for a discreet spot, and she obliged, taking them towards the back of the restaurant. 

It was a very classy and typically romantic restaurant, with candles and a single delicate flower on every table. The place was bathed in yellow and gold lights, the ceilings were very tall, and Anthony’s eyes were drawn up to a beautiful stained glass skylight, of bright geometric patterns.

The pair sat down, the woman handed them their menu, and Valentino ordered an aperitif for them both, before she left. He picked up his menu, and started squinting at the entrées. 

“Are you jealous of Vox?” he casually asked. 

Raising his eyes from his own menu, Anthony thought about it for a little while before he shook his head. “Ya know, Mr. Valentino, I ain’t a naive little boy. Jealousy implies loyalty, and knowing what you do for a living, I don’t expect that from you. I don’t know how I could be jealous.” 

“Speaking of…” The moth demon lowered the menu and leaned a bit over towards him, moving the small flower vase to better look at him. “I was wondering about your ambition in the afterlife. Is there anything you aspire to be?” 

Not really expecting to be asked something like that on what he had assumed was a date, the spider hesitated. With a pleasant smile, Valentino rested his cheek on the back of his hand. 

“Did you ever want to be the boss of your family?”