Chapter 1: ⋆𐙚❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*: Sinsmas Wishes ⋆𐙚❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:
Chapter Text
Charlie set the bouquet of roses onto Vaggi’s side of the bed, gently tugging their blanket over them. Vaggi had been working twice as hard trying to keep up with the constant demand from the new guests, with Alastor refusing to do any more work to assist the packed hotel; it was she and Lucifer running the whole show. And Lucifer had a tendency to get distracted with other matters, especially with Alastor lounging around the building. Charlie removed the white notecard from her breast pocket and set it on the vanity. She removed one of her tubes of black lipstick, applying a new coat to her lips and gently kissing the paper of the card. Placing the note into the red envelope, she gently nestled it into the roses. Outside the door, KeeKee mewed, scratching at the closed room. Charlie grinned, opening the door for KeeKee, who immediately leaped onto the bed, curling up on Charlie’s pillow. Charlie scratched her under the chin, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Where’s Vaggi KeeKee?” Charlie asked, petting the purring cat.
“I’m right here.” Vaggi groaned, shutting the door behind her as she walked in. “Sorry, I had a whole horde of guests come in right as I was trying to leave. Sinsmas rush, I guess.” She explained, kicking off her shoes. Her ponytail was messy from work, and the bags under her eyes were more noticeable than usual. She staggered towards the bed, falling face-first onto the mattress. Charlie sat beside her, gently undoing the ribbon from her hair as Vaggi sighed.
“I saw all the guests earlier, thank you, Vaggi. I really appreciate you handling them.” Charlie murmured, stroking Vaggi’s hair. She leaned down to kiss the back of Vaggi’s head, standing from the bed and picking up the roses. “I planned a little something for us tonight.”
Vaggi looked up from the bed, rolling onto her back and sitting up, watching Charlie with a warm smile. Charlie placed the roses into Vaggi’s lap.
“A surprise?” Vaggi asked, looking up at Charlie through her lashes. Charlie nodded, crawling onto the bed to wrap herself around Vaggi, clasping her hands in front of Vaggi. Vaggi opened the envelope with her fingernail, pulling the card out.
“Ah, the lipstick smeared,” Charlie said, nuzzling her nose into Vaggi’s hair. “Whatever, read it out loud.”
“Vaggi, meet me on the roof.” Vaggi read, turning to kiss Charlie on the chin.
“I meant for you to read this once I was already up on the rooftop, but we can walk up together,” Charlie murmured, sliding her hand under Vaggi’s and gently wrapping her fingers around Vaggi’s palm. The two stood from the bed, hands clasped as they walked side by side. Charlie pushed open the door, and KeeKee ran out from between her legs, running down the hall. The cat was gone in a flash, bounding down the hall in search of Fat Nuggets. Charlie led Vaggi down the winding hotel halls, towards a ladder with a trap door.
“I’ll go first,” Charlie explained, releasing Vaggi’s hand. “I need to set something up.” She ascended the ladder, closing the trapdoor behind her. On the rooftop, she removed a lighter from her pocket, flicking it open and lighting the candles on the table. She had disassembled a spare table and reassembled it on top of the roof, and dragged up two chairs. Husk had picked out a bottle of wine for them, and Charlie had cooked a picnic dinner for the two of them, nestled inside a wicker picnic basket. She stepped back, holding out her fingers to frame the scene.
“Okay, Vaggi, come on up.”
Vaggi’s head poked through the top of the trapdoor to the roof, taking in the sight. A small metal table sat in the center with a white tablecloth and a picnic basket. Surrounding it were 2 chairs and rings of candles, all lit. Charlie pulled out a chair for Vaggi, ushering her into it.
“For dinner, our sous chef.” Charlie cleared her throat, pressing her hand to her chest, “me, has prepared for you a delightful first course of chicken and potatoes, most of which are not burned.” She opened up the wicker basket, taking out a covered bowl of potatoes and dishing some onto Vaggi’s plate. Vaggi felt her cheeks warm at the simple gesture, reaching over in turn to uncork the wine bottle and pour two glasses for them. A portion of chicken was placed onto her plate, and the basket moved off the table as Charlie took her seat. Vaggi lifted the wine by the stem, raising it towards Charlie, who mirrored the gesture.
“First course?” She asked, taking a sip of the wine.
“I made a cake, and don’t worry. This time, I covered it with a bowl so Fat Nuggets couldn’t get into it.” Charlie explained, winking at Vaggi. Vaggi smiled, taking her first bite of the chicken. It was tender and well-spiced, a warm, comforting meal shared with her favorite person. There was nothing she could imagine that would be a better end to the day. Her smile dropped as she remembered the next day ahead of her, more guests, more orders, more cajoling the staff into doing their jobs. Charlie placed her hand onto Vaggi's, snapping her from her thoughts. She looked up at Charlie’s soft gaze.
“Sorry, I’m in my head again,” Vaggi explained, placing her other hand on top of Charlie’s. Charlie tucked a piece of hair behind Vaggi’s ear, and she leaned into the gentle touch and the warmth of her girlfriend's palm. “There’s just so much to do, and I’m worried that… I don’t know if I can do it all.” She explained. Charlie’s hand gently touched her chin, tilting her head up.
“You don’t have to do it alone. I believe in you, Vaggi, and you have already done so much for me, for the hotel, for everybody,” Charlie explained, as Vaggi leaned into her palm, sighing happily. “No matter what, I’m there for you, and I will always be.” She pulled her hand away from Vaggi’s face to spear a piece of chicken with her fork, bringing the fork to Vaggi’s lips. Vaggi took the piece of chicken from the fork, biting into the tender flesh.
“That’s good.” Vaggi murmured thoughtfully, “Thank you for doing all this. I appreciate it. It’s just hard not to worry about everything.” Charlie pushed her chair back, standing up and walking around the table to Vaggi’s seat. She wrapped her arms around Vaggi, nuzzling Vaggi as she fussed with her hair. Vaggi leaned back into the touch, food forgotten as Charlie brushed out her hair.
“I know it’s hard, but it gets easier,” Charlie whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “But for tonight, we can just forget about the hotel.” She reached over Vaggi’s shoulders to top off her wine glass, pressing it into Vaggi’s hand. The two of them sat in a blissful silence, listening to the noise of Pentagram City. Below them were the sounds of club music broken by the occasional scream and gunshots, oddly peaceful in its familiarity. Vaggi finished off her wine and food, basking in the warmth of Charlie’s body pressed against her back. Charlie looked up from where she was wrapped around Vaggi, and slowly extricated herself. She gathered the plates and glasses, clearing off the table to make room for the cake. With a flourish, Charlie whipped the bowl covering the cake away, revealing the delicate pastry.
“Charlie, this is beautiful,” Vaggi whispered, swiping frosting from the serving platter to taste. The cake was chocolate with coconut flakes sprinkled on the sides and an arrangement of strawberries on top. Charlie beamed at the praise, passing Vaggi a plate and fork. Vaggi watched her silently, taking in her beauty as the light breeze rustled her hair. Her pale skin beamed against the dark sky; she smiled at Vaggi.
“Do I have something on my face?” Charlie asked, bringing her hand up to her cheek. Vaggi shook her head, smiling.
“No, you just look beautiful tonight,” Vaggi explained, tucking her hair behind her ear in the same way Charlie had a moment ago. At the compliment, Charlie flushed, red coloring her cheeks, her face open in momentary surprise, before she broke into a smile.
“You too,” Charlie said, walking over to cup Vaggi’s chin and kiss her. Warm lips pressed against each other, a gentle, brief kiss that tasted like wine and cinnamon. They broke apart moments later, gently moving back to gaze into the others' eyes.
“Merry Sinsmas, Baby.”
Niffty balanced the crate of Sinsmas decorations in her arms, scuttling towards the main lobby as Cherri followed behind her, hauling the rest of the decor that Niffty couldn’t carry in one trip. Husk was heading up the group, leaning against the door of the storage closet to keep it open for them.
“I don’t get it, Nift, where did you get the money for all this new decor?” Husk asked, letting the door slam shut behind him as he followed the group. Niffty didn’t answer him, staring ahead with a single-minded focus on her task. When he was met with silence, Husk turned towards Cherri, who was attempting to pick up a stray ornament that had rolled onto the floor.
“Alastor,” Cherri said bluntly. She snagged the ornament, dropping it into her bra for safekeeping.
“Alastor?” Husk repeated, “Since when has he given a shit about the hotel?”
“Since Niffty asked Lucifer for help decorating.” Cherri explained bluntly, “coughed up the money pretty fucking quick after that.” Husk hummed in thought, trying to figure out how he could take advantage of the rivalry between the two. Perhaps it would be easier to slip his leash if he could distract Alastor. Of course, it wasn’t like Alastor wasn’t distracted enough already; he seemed to come out of his room for two people only, Niffty and Lucifer. Behind Husk, Fat Nuggets snorted for attention, bumping against his leg and catching Husk with a horn. The little pig had been more clingy than ever since Angel Dust had… had left. Husk had been meaning to bring Fat Nuggets to Angel, but part of him refused. If Fat Nuggets were gone, that would mean Angel was gone for good. Secretly, Husk wished Angel would come back to pick up Fat Nuggets and stay. Until then, Cherri and Husk both took turns taking care of Fat Nuggets, who quickly became adored by the new guests alongside a jealous KeeKee. He bent down to lift Fat Nuggets off the ground and away from where he might trip Niffty or Cherri. The group walked out into the overcrowded lobby, sticking towards the edge of the room to avoid the mass of Sinners attempting to check in. Vaggi was swooping back and forth, holding stacks of towels and sheets for the new guests. When she saw Niffty, she touched down, skidding to a halt.
“Room 230 needs turnover. What’s this?” Vaggi asked, picking a piece of tinsel out of the box. “When did you get these?”
“Alastor took me shopping,” Niffty explained, blinking vacantly at Vaggi. Vaggi looked at Husk in confusion, only to receive a tired shrug.
“Let her decorate, Room 230 can wait.” Cherri protested, rebalancing the box in her arms. Vaggi looked between the three of them, exhaling sharply.
“Alright, just, Husk, can you tend the bar? That’ll keep the guests distracted.” Vaggi asked, pointing towards him before launching back up into the air. She circled a few times before landing next to Charlie at the front desk. Husk grunted, breaking off from the group to attend the line of guests at the bar. He set Fat Nuggets down to sniff for scraps. The pig immediately locked onto an unattended pile of peanut shells, loudly chewing the scraps. Cherri grinned at Fat Nuggets before looking down towards where Niffty had been a second ago.
“Oh bloody hell. Nifty?” Cherri called, glancing around the room, with the crowd, Niffty could be anywhere at this point. She had a tendency to get underfoot and slip between guests' legs, tripping them in her quest to clean the hotel. Cherri finally found Niffty at the bar, winding a garland around the counter, oblivious to any Sinners currently sitting at the bar. Cherri set her box of decor next to Niffty’s, unraveling the lights from where they had tangled with the rest of the decor.
“I don’t get it.” Husk complained, “It’s the same as Christmas, just slightly different?”
“Fuck yeah, it is.” Cherri responded, “Now you gonna do some eggnog or what?”
“Now what makes you think I have the stuff for eggnog?” He responded, making a sinner's order while Niffty nearly caught him in her garland.
Cherri grabbed an ornament and affixed it to the red and green tinsel on the bar. “Fine, no eggnog, just give me some festive shit.” Husk handed her a bottle of beer wordlessly, the same kind she kept up in her room. Cherri raised the bottle to him in a mock toast before returning to her task of decorating. Niffty climbed up onto the bar, jumping up to try to reach the bar sign with her wreath of snowflakes. Cherri grabbed her from behind, lifting her towards the top of the bar.
“Still… can’t reach,” Niffty whined, stretching further out of Cherri’s grip. Cherri fought to keep hold of Niffty as she wriggled in her grasp. Finally, she was able to hook the wreath onto the edge of the bar sign. Cherri set her back on the counter, where she stayed for about three seconds before skittering back towards the box and grabbing an armful of red and white holly.
“What sin are you going to be committing to?” Cherri asked, finally opening her beer bottle, and pointing it towards Husk. Husk slid a glass over towards a waiting guest, turning towards Cherri and wiping down the condensation her beer had left on the bar.
“Aren’t we supposed to be working towards redemption or some crap like that?” Husk asked, raising an eyebrow at Cherri, his wing twitching alongside the gesture.
She snorted, sliding onto one of the empty barstools. “Lame, come on, we have 364 days to work on redemption and one day to fuck as much shit up as possible, I am going to party all night and beat up the dickhead in room 124.”
Husk snorted, “Weren’t you going to do that anyway?”
“Fuck yes.” Cherri responded, polishing off her beer, “but now I’m doing it in the name of Sinsmas spirit.” She spun back around on her barstool, scanning the crowd to check up on Niffty, who she found decorating the front desk, much to Vaggi’s protest. Charlie waved at them over the crowd, maneuvering her way through and towards the bar.
“Sorry, pardon me, excuse me.” Charlie apologized, sliding in between the sinners to an empty space by the bar. “Oh my gosh! This place looks incredible! Ah! Look at how pretty all the decorations are.” She exclaimed, holding her arms out as she marveled. “Vaggi told me Alastor helped with all this?”
Cherri glanced at Husk, her mouth twitching. “Apparently, not like he’s done shit elsewhere,” Husk responded, crossing his arms and settling against the wall of the bar. “This place is packed to the fucking gills, and he won’t leave his room for shit.”
“And I definitely will be talking to him about that… once I see him again,” Charlie explained, glancing around the second floor of the hotel. “He has been… avoiding me. But I’m sure he’ll be back helping in no time.” Cherri snorted, setting the bottle down onto the countertop. Charlie sighed, her eyes still tracking the second floor. “Well, he’ll come out when he’s ready. Alright,” she sucked in a deep breath, “back to the hotel!”
Cherri took the new bottle from Husk, popping the lid off. The box of Sinsmas decorations sat forgotten on the countertop, and she resumed unboxing all the baubles and lights. Fat Nuggets sniffed at her ankles, begging in his own way to be set on the countertop. Cherri obliged, dropping him onto the counter where he began snorting through the boxes, tipping one over with his head.
“Oh- really?” Husk asked, gesturing at the pig.
“What? He’s helping.” Cherri defended, scratching Fat Nuggets' back. The two had been on better terms now that Fat Nuggets had a consistent feeding schedule and Cherri’s makeup had been placed safely on a high shelf.
“Helping deplete my inventory,” Husk muttered, side eyeing the pig. Niffty ran up, carrying an empty box and holding it out to Husk, who obediently took it, placing it underneath the bar. “How’s the decorating?” He asked, looking down at Niffty.
“The lights keep the roaches away.” She explained, blinking up at him. Husk opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Niffty tugging at the full box on the counter. Fat Nuggets whined, stepping back from the movement. The box tilted, dumping its contents onto the floor, where Niffty immediately began gathering them into a pile. “So much to decorate and clean.” She said, When the spilled items had been gathered, she took off again, skittering around the lobby and towards the rooms. Fat Nuggets sulked on the countertop, disappointed that his new toys had been taken away. Husk watched Fat Nuggets, heartbreak clouding his features.
“If you're not too drunk yet, I am going to make another drink,” Husk explained, turning from Cherri towards the bar, his wings curling in to shield him. “A “harder daddy” want one?” He asked, already reaching for two glasses.
Cherri set her open drink to the side. “You know I’ll never say no to free booze.” She said, watching Husk make the drink. He tucked his wings closer around him, unconsciously. She scratched Fat Nuggets under the chin as she waited for her drink. Husk cleared his throat, setting the twin drinks onto the bar counter. “To Angie. We’re coming for you bitch.” She toasted, lifting her drink by the stem and knocking it back in a single sip.
“To Angel.” Husk mirrored.
Chapter 2: ⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆ The Sinsmas Party ⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆
Summary:
⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆
Charlie attempts to bring the guests of the hotel closer with cookie decorating
⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Charlie fidgeted with the ends of her coat, smoothing them down as she stood in front of her dad’s door. She inhaled slowly before raising her hand to the door and knocking.
“Charlie!” Lucifer exclaimed, slamming the door open. He was wearing the sweater Vaggi had bought for him for Sinsmas, red and green with apples along the edge. “How, uh, how have you been? Is the hotel going well? Lots of guests?”
“Yes, we have had so many new guests.” Charlie explained, “So we’re going to be doing some icebreakers downstairs, and I wanted to see if you could join us.”
Lucifer broke into a grin, “Wow, icebreakers? Yes! Of course, I’ll be down in a minute.” The door shut on Charlie, leaving her alone in the hall, with the sounds of crashing inside Lucifer’s room.
“Okay… see you there, Dad!” She yelled through the door. Turning on her heel, she jogged down the hall, towards the first floor where Vaggi and Niffty were working together to set up the icebreakers. Cookie decorating was intended to bring everyone together, offering a perfect combination of fun and teamwork as guests competed for the best-decorated cookie. Once all the guests worked on their cookies, they would see the true value of teamwork and creativity. Charlie knew it. She leaned over the railing of the second floor, waving at Vaggi down below in the lobby. They had closed the hotel to new guests for the day so they could set up tables and supplies, and yes, participation was mandatory for all guests. Vaggi caught her eye, waving Charlie down. Charlie grinned, taking the stairs two at a time.
“How’s the setup going?” Charlie asked.
“Good. Niffty has been a great help with cleaning. She found these tablecloths for us.” Vaggi said, “I think these are tablecloths; they might be sheets.” Vaggi shook her head, "whatever." She lifted a container of frosting out of a grocery bag, setting it out on the table.
“Need any help?” Charlie asked, moving to unpack one of the bags without waiting for Vaggi’s response. Vaggi had already set out most of the ingredients on the table, containers of sprinkles and icing had been prepared, and knives had been set out.
Vaggi cupped her hands around her mouth, “Niffty! How are the cookies going!” she yelled, looking around towards the kitchen. “Niffty?” There was no response from the kitchen.
“I’ll go check on her.” Charlie offered. She turned and ran to the kitchen, shoving her way through the doors. The room was empty of people, but it did have roaches skittering around the floor. Niffty clearly had found something else to do, leaving the room empty and the cookies unattended. Charlie groaned, grabbing a pair of oven mitts from the counter and sliding them on, opening the oven door and pulling out the cookies. She transferred the cookies onto a cooling rack and dumped the tray into the sink. “Okay, Vaggi,” Charlie said, stepping out into the lobby. “So, Niffty is gone. But the cookies are done and mostly not burnt.”
Vaggi groaned, looking around the room. “Of course she is, thanks for pulling out the cookies.” She hesitated, grabbing a can of frosting from the table and popping the lid off. “NIFFTY!” She screamed.
Niffty’s head popped out from one of the hallways, blinking at Vaggi. She scuttled out towards Vaggi, looking up at her with a grin. “Where have you been?”
Niffty hummed, tapping her chin in thought, “I was in the kitchen, but then I saw how dirty the hotel had gotten.” Vaggi opened her mouth to protest before sighing and cutting herself off. At the very least, Niffty was being helpful to the hotel, even if it wasn’t helpful in the way Vaggi had asked for.
Charlie bent down to Niffty’s level. “Niffty, I have a very important task for you,” she said. Niffty pulled her knife from her apron. “No, not quite.” Charlie corrected, placing her hand over Niffty’s knife, tucking it back down. “I need you to go and get Alastor for me, you got it?”
“I got it!” Niffty exclaimed, turning towards the stairs and skittering away. “Get Alastor!”
Vaggi gave Charlie a hesitant thumbs-up. “Alright, Alastor is… probably going to ignore us again, but now we can say we tried.” She said, “What about your dad?”
“He’ll be on his way soon,” Charlie responded.
Fat Nuggets snorted for attention, looking up at Charlie from where he had been hiding under the table. The pig looked up at the table, sniffing for food. Charlie bent down to pick him up, tucking the pig under her arm and out of reach of the tablecloth. She balanced him in one arm and pulled her phone out with the other, checking her messages.
“What? No!” Charlie gasped, “No, shit! Cherri can’t cancel!” She flicked through the rest of her messages, “This was supposed to be a team-building exercise!”
“Who cancelled?” Vaggi asked, looking up from where she had been scooping frosting into a bowl.
“Everyone!” Charlie yelled, turning the phone towards Vaggi, “Cherri, Husk, Rooster! And all the other guests I messaged all said they couldn’t make it.” Charlie set Fat Nuggets down onto the floor and tucked her head into her hands, rubbing her forehead with the beginnings of a stress headache.
“It’s okay.” Vaggi soothed, “We have your dad on the way and maybe Alastor? I wouldn’t count on it, but Niffty might come back.”
“And me!” A voice called from below Vaggi. She glanced down to see one of the eggs tugging on her skirt.
“Uh, yeah, and him.”
Charlie exhaled, shaking her hands out. “Alright, you’re right, we can do this with a smaller group.” She lifted the egg onto the table so he could reach the ingredients. “I’ll get the cookies.”
She sprinted off towards the kitchen.
Vaggi smiled, watching her leave with Fat Nuggets on her heel. The little pig had been alerted to the food, moving as quickly as he could. “So…” Vaggi began, watching the egg eat the sprinkles out of the bowl. “How… how have you been?”
Charlie broke the silence by kicking open the kitchen door and carrying out the tray of cookies. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she dumped the cookies onto a plate. She pulled it out, swiping through her new messages. “Dad is on his way, Niffty is coming back, and Alastor apparently left for the day.”
Vaggi nodded, cracking her knuckles. “Well, that’s two-uh uh three people we know plus any new guests who come by.” She wrapped her arm around Charlie’s waist. “So, want to decorate some cookies?”
Charlie giggled, leaning into Vaggi. “Is that a metaphor for something? Because I wouldn’t say no.”
The two were interrupted by the sound of a portal opening behind them. Charlie jumped, turning around to see the familiar glow of heaven’s portals. There was silence for a brief moment before a body flew out towards them, darting in between Charlie and Vaggi.
“I got your invite!” Emily yelled, skidding to a halt just before hitting the table. “Oh my gosh! Thank you for inviting me. I am so excited to meet everyone here.”
“Actually…” Charlie muttered, “It’s going to be a small… small group. But! We still can make cookies together!”
“You’re allowed to come down here when you want now?” Vaggi asked, looking between Charlie and Emily. Emily had dressed for the occasion, dragging a red and white candy cane sweater over her dress.
“Well, sort of. I need approval from Sera first, but yes! I didn’t expect to be able to come down here at all, actually. After the recent… events, Sera got a little spooked.” Emily explained rapidly. “But she said yes this time!”
Niffty eventually made her way downstairs, joining Emily, Charlie, Vaggi and the egg in decorating cookies. And as a bonus, she had dragged Baxter along. The scientist had reluctantly left his room for Niffty and was now watching intently as she crushed up part of her cookie in her palm. His own cookies had been precisely decorated using a ruler to make sure they were each level. Niffty was intent on creating her own plate of cookies, her own way, which meant a lot of crushed pieces. Charlie and Vaggi had both tried to work off a reference photo, making cookies based on the hotel. It had been going well until one of the eggs tipped over the container of icing they were using, much to Fat Nuggets' delight. Emily was currently on her 10th cookie, making a batch and delegating each one to someone. She had them all nestled together on a plate.
“I made this one for Sir Pentious, and this one for Sera,” Emily said, pointing them out one by one. “This one is for Abel, and this one is Lute’s, although we’re not really on great terms, I made one anyway just in case.”
Cherri and Husk stopped by briefly to see what everyone was doing, although they didn’t stay long.
“Aw shit, Charlie, we’re busy today.” Cherri said, shrugging, “But uh, make one for me?” She was buttoning a cropped coat over her shirt as she spoke, getting ready to go out for the night.
“Wait, can’t you stay for a few minutes?” Charlie asked, “Husk?”
Husk shook his head, “We’re going to a party elsewhere. I need a break from all this for the day.” The two of them left despite Charlie’s protests, but they did promise to join the next day's activity.
Lucifer eventually showed up, a half hour after he was supposed to be there.
“Sorry about that, Charlie, I got a little distracted there.” He explained, “So Vanny, what are we doing?”
“It’s Vaggi.” Vaggi corrected. “And we’re doing cookie decorating.” She lifted up the platter of cookies to Lucifer, pointing at one in the middle, “I think this one is not crushed enough to be usable.” Lucifer smiled and took the cookie off the plate.
“So… Char-char, which one is yours?” He asked, spreading a layer of yellow frosting on his cookie. Charlie picked up one of the cookies, showing it to her dad. It had been decorated to look like KeeKee. KeeKee did not appreciate the likeness and ran away when Charlie showed it to her.
“So, not bad, right?” Vaggi asked, bumping into Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie smiled and grabbed Vaggi’s hand.
“This went amazingly, even if it didn’t go exactly how I hoped.” Charlie agreed. “I think it still worked.” She gestured towards where Emily was showing Lucifer the cookies she had decorated. Vaggi leaned her head on Charlie’s shoulder, watching the moment play out. Niffty was kneeling down, luring roaches to her with cookie crumbs while Baxter trapped them under his hand, picking them up and scrutinizing them. Emily had Lucifer enraptured as she told him about the duck section of the petting zoo, explaining how they had made the ducks even fluffier. His cookie was forgotten as he listened studiously.
“Me too,” Vaggi murmured, gently tugging Charlie over towards the couch. She wrapped her arms around Charlie, bringing her closer onto her lap. Her lips found Charlie’s chin, tilting her head up as she kissed. Her fingers wove into Charlie’s blonde hair, gently pulling at the roots. Charlie sighed into Vaggi’s collarbone as she trailed lazy kisses over her cheek. The two stayed like this for a moment before finally breaking away as Charlie stood. Her hand snaked under Vaggi’s.
“Let’s go upstairs.” She whispered, lips close to Vaggi’s ear.
“We need to clean up.” Vaggi protested, remaining seated on the couch.
Charlie tugged her off the couch, using her other hand to pull Vaggi close to her body. “Later.” She whispered, “We can do it later.”
Notes:
⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆
Okay I'm dumb and completely deleted part of the fic cause I hated it
Redoing some pieces of story LMAO
⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆
Chapter 3: ·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆ The Night Before and The Morning After ·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Vaggi sat back on the bed, leaning on her palms. She had her shoes kicked off and hair down, waiting for Charlie with a seductive smile. Charlie shut the door behind her, using her heel to keep KeeKee out of the room. She locked the door, took off her shoes, and set them in front of the door. Her blazer came off next, one button at a time, before she slipped it off, letting it hit the ground in a pile. Finally, she climbed over the back of the bed, crawling across the sheets to bracket Vaggi with her legs. Vaggi cupped her cheeks, bringing her face forward until they were nose to nose. Charlie made the first move, pushing her lips to Vaggi’s. Her lips were soft, warm, and familiar. She tasted like cookie frosting and sugar. Vaggi’s mouth opened up underneath hers, and Charlie deepened the kiss. Charlie’s hands wormed their way underneath Vaggi, pressing against her back between her wings, the spot Charlie knew was most sensitive. Vaggi’s wings jolted open at the touch, relaxing and spreading out under her.
Charlie continued pressing her fingers into Vaggi, massaging circles into her spine. Below her, Vaggi pressed her hips against Charlie, her fingers grabbing Charlie’s shirt. She pushed herself backwards with her heel, sliding out from underneath Charlie. Charlie’s mouth opened in question for a moment before she saw where Vaggi’s hand was pressed against her own breast.
Slowly, Vaggi popped a button out of its hole and then moved down to the next. When the last button slid out of place, Vaggi tugged her shirt off, leaving her in her skirt and bra. Despite the number of times Charlie had seen Vaggi like this, the sheer vulnerability and beauty of it all made her flush with emotion. Heat rose to her cheeks as Vaggi’s hand lifted towards Charlie’s shirt, her fingers touching the first button. Charlie leaned closer, shifting her weight to her palms so Vaggi could reach her more easily. Vaggi pulled the ends of her shirt free from where they had been tucked into her pants and started working on the first button. Charlie’s heart fluttered as Vaggi pushed it free, her fingers deftly undoing the buttons on her shirt and sliding it off Charlie’s shoulders. Charlie sat up, shifting closer to Vaggi so she could curl her legs around Vaggi, heels pressing into soft feathers. Vaggi leaned back into the pressure, unfurling her wings to their full span. Charlie brought her arms up underneath the wings, grabbing the tops of them, and feeling the soft down between her fingers. Vaggi gasped at the sudden pull, biting back a groan. She wrapped her arms around Charlie’s back in turn, finding the clasp of her bra and undoing it. Charlie smiled as she felt the fabric loosen. She slipped her arms out of the bra's straps, taking it off and dropping it to the side of the bed. Charlie’s own fingers ran down Vaggi’s wings, finding the clasp to her bra and undoing it in turn. Vaggi’s wings twitched with the feeling; she pulled at her own bra, fully removing it. Charlie’s hands slid towards her pants, undoing the button and sliding them off, until she was sitting in just her underwear. She looked up to see Vaggi staring, cheeks tinged with yellow.
She leaned forward towards her, pressing their lips together in a slow kiss. Her hands found the waistband of Vaggi’s skirt, her fingers sliding inside and running down her hips. Charlie gently tugged at the waistband, sliding the skirt off of Vaggi and pressing her hands into Vaggi’s hips, massaging the tender skin. Vaggi’s hand grabbed Charlie’s, guiding it to her breast. Charlie squeezed gently before she pushed Vaggi into the sheets, bracketing her hips with her legs and kissing her deeply. Their hands found hair and skin as the two lay, lips moving slowly against each other as their hands explored. Charlie’s favorite place to touch was Vaggi’s wings, especially where feathers met flesh. Each time her nail trailed across the seam of skin and wing, Vaggi would twitch up into her. Charlie continued to press teasing touches into her wings, grabbing fistfuls of down and rubbing them gently. Eventually, Vaggi grew tired of the teasing, rolling over so Charlie was pressed underneath her, leaving behind a trail of loosened feathers on the sheets. She leaned down, nuzzling against Charlie, pressing her nose into Charlie’s neck, and gently rocking into her. She grabbed a loose feather from the bed, dragging it down Charlie’s neck, listening to each small noise she made. Charlie responded in turn, her knee moving up and pushing against Vaggi’s back, moving Vaggi further into her. The night dragged on in lazy kisses and hands exploring underneath the sheets. It was difficult to know when they finally fell asleep, as their movements became tired and slow. Eventually, they settled into a gentle rest, arms locked around each other, trailing up and down until sleep finally overtook them both.
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4 Days until Sinsmas
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Cherri Bomb woke up to Fat Nuggets staring at her, standing on a piece of her hair. The little cretin had gotten up from the pile of clothes he slept on to wake up Cherri, pressing his nose into her forehead. She groaned, unhooking her hair from where Fat Nuggets was standing on it.
“The fuck do you want?” She asked, yawning. The pig snorted in response, jumping off the bed as best he could to whine at the door. Cherri got up, pulling a shirt off her chair and tugging it on. It took longer to find a pair of shorts, but she eventually found a clean pair buried underneath another pile of clothing. Fat Nuggets waited impatiently for her to get ready, pacing the area in front of the door, and snorting at the seam between the door and the wall. She rubbed at her eye, coming away with the smeared remains of yesterday's makeup, which she wiped off shortly after. Her hairbrush had fallen off the table, and it took her five minutes of searching before she finally found it, kicked underneath her bed. With each minute she took Fat Nuggets grew more stressed, headbutting against her ankle.
“Give me a minute, you fat fuck.” She reprimanded, tugging her hair back into a ponytail as the pig continued to hit her leg with his nose. He snuffled, finally leaving her alone for two minutes. The room grew suspiciously quiet as Cherri tied up her hair before the unmistakable sounds of teeth started.
“NO!” She screamed, wrenching Fat Nuggets off the stool leg he was chewing on. “What is your fucking problem today! God damn it!”
She kicked open the door, ushering the pig out. He immediately sprinted off as soon as he was out, bounding down the hall. Cherri watched him leave, slamming the door shut behind herself. The next night, she was going to give Fat Nuggets back to Husk, the pig had been keeping her awake all night with his constant snuffling. The number of times she had woken up to Fat Nuggets standing on her hair or trying to eat her lights was far too many. The hotel was still quiet this early in the morning, with many of the guests nursing the aftereffects of the night before. She would be one of them if Fat Nuggets weren’t so intent on keeping her awake all night babysitting him. On her way to the lobby, she passed Baxter, who had made a rare appearance from his lab to follow Niffty on her daily rounds. The two had been nearly inseparable since Vox’s attempted revolt. Nifty had both her hands in a potted plant, digging around for something before she found it and pulled it out.
“This one is Daisy,” Nifty explained, holding out the roach to Baxter. “She used to play the trumpet, but then she ran away.”
“Fascinating. So all the members of the band are alive?” Baxter asked, taking the roach from Niffty. Nifty counted on her fingers, naming each one as she went.
“All of them but Josie, she got killed after what she did,” Niffty explained.
“Interesting.” Baxter made another note in his little booklet, while Niffty took the roach off his shoulder and set it back in the pot.
Out in the lobby, a few guests mingled around, one of them had fallen asleep at the bar last night, draped over with his hand in a bowl of peanuts. Husk was already at the bar, setting up for the day, a task which primarily consisted of him counting how many bottles had been “borrowed” and refilling the bowls of nuts which nobody but Fat Nuggets touched. Cherri recognized two of the new guests sitting in front of the TV, a skeletal demon with green hair who went by Catrina and a candy demon who went by the name Kimora. The TV in front of them was on and turned to 666 News. Cherri leaned against the wall behind them, watching the television from behind the couch.
“Good morning, Pentagram City! I’m Katie Killjoy.”
“And I’m Tom Tr-”
“Shut the fuck up, Tom! Later today, we have exclusive news as head hottie of the Vee’s, and hell's darling Velvette unveils her new line for Sinsmas. Now, onto today's top story, Sir Pentious, hell's first redeemed soul? Or has the Hazbin Hotel lied yet again? We have with us Hazbin Hotel truther and local star, Angel Dust, to give us the truth about Sir Pentious getting “redeemed.”
Cherri stood from the wall, moving behind the couch to lean on the back. The two sinners who were sitting down scooted to the sides as Cherri leaned towards the TV. Katie Killjoy disappeared from the screen, cutting to a dark room where a tired-looking Angel Dust sat. He was in his typical pink suit, but his bowtie was missing, and his hair was tied back. He was alone in the room, seated upon a velvet chair.
“I was one of the Hotel’s first residents.” Angel began. His legs were crossed, with one pair of arms resting by his side, the other crossed over his knee. “I met Sir Pentious when he first joined the Hotel. From the start, Charlie was intent that he would be redeemed, almost too sure, later I discovered he had been planted by heaven to revive Charlie’s failing hotel. Sir Pentious’ redemption was a scam.” Fat Nuggets appeared from behind the TV, whining at Angel’s voice. The pig sniffed at the set, using his foot to paw at the television. “Hell’s souls can not be redeemed. You have all been tricked by heaven. Take it from me, heaven doesn’t care about redemption; they care about their reputation. Don’t let yourself be tricked by them and their games.” Angel’s eyes bore into Cherri’s. His gaze was dazed and vacant as he stared into the barrel of the camera. Fat Nuggets continued whining, pawing with more desperation as the news cut back to Katie Killjoy.
“Fascinating! Sounds like the Hazbin Hotel is back to its usual lies. Am I right, Tom?”
“Yes, you are Katie!”
“We’ll be back soon with an exclusive interview with Velvette to discuss her new show after these ads. Voxtek, we are workshopping new names.”
Numbness ran over Cherri as she watched the TV switch to an insurance ad. At the very least, she had seen Angel again, but he wasn’t acting like himself. The numbness was replaced with a fury, more intense than the baseline Cherri usually felt when seeing Angel working.
“What the actual fuck was that?” She yelled, gesturing violently at the TV. Without Angel’s voice on TV, Fat Nuggets trotted over to brush up against Cherri’s calf like a cat. “Husk, are you seeing the shit they got Ang saying?”
Husk looked up from his bar in confusion, having missed the entire news segment. “Angel was on TV?” He asked, voice cracking on Angel’s name.
“Yeah! And those cunts had him spewing shit about the hotel, and now they got Fat fucking nuggets all worked up!” She pointed to where Fat Nuggets was gnawing on the couch's corner.
Husk looked solemnly at the pig, sighing and grabbing a bowl from below the counter, and dumping half a container of nuts into it. At the sound of the bowl hitting the floor, Fat Nuggets trotted over, momentarily distracted.
At the sound of Vaggi’s wings, Cherri turned around, watching Vaggi land in front of the bar, carrying Charlie in her arms. Charlie reached up to kiss Vaggi’s cheek before extracting herself from Vaggi’s arms. The fallen angel stretched out, reaching her arm to the sky with a groan and pulling out her phone to check the time.
“Okay, I’m going over to train with Carmila Carmine,” Vaggi announced, “Call me if you need anything.” She punctuated the last sentence with a pointed look towards Charlie.
“Vaggi, focus on your training, you know I got the hotel totally under control.” Charlie reminded her. Vaggi nodded, giving Charlie and the Hotel a wave goodbye before heading out for the day. She walked over to the bar, sliding onto the barstool. “Okay, so with Vaggi gone for the day, we have a group talk it out at 3:00 and tree decorating at 7:00.” Cherri glanced between Charlie and Husk, who held out his hand to interrupt, bringing Charlie’s attention over to him.
“Not to kill your buzz, princess, but they had Angel on TV again.” He said.
“Wait, really? Shit, I hope he’s okay.” Charlie said, pulling her phone out of her pocket and opening Sinstagram. “Oh gosh… Angel.”
“Can’t you like, go over there and beat the shit out of those cunts?” Cherri asked, “Like, break his contract or some shit?”
Charlie pressed her fingers into her temple, “I’m not an overlord, and even if I was, there is no way Angel’s Boss is going to let go of the contract. I tried once and it just made everything worse.”
“Piece of Shit moth.” Cherri agreed, crossing her arms. “The only good thing that cunt ever did was give Angel the pig.”
Husk looked down at his feet towards the food bowl that was sitting on the floor. “Speaking of the pig, where did he go?” He asked, bending down to pick up the bowl of nuts off the ground, setting it on the counter. The bowl was only half eaten, leaving a pile of almonds at the bottom. Cherri grabbed the bowl from Husk, lifting it up in the air and shaking it.
“Fat Nuggets! Come on out, you little shit!” She yelled, rattling the bowl. All three of them waited in silence for the patter of Fat Nugget's feet. All that they could hear was the sounds of the hotel guests mingling for the day. Cherri set the bowl down with a loud bang, briefly startling the sinner who was asleep across from her. Still, nothing. “Shit, where the hell did he go?” she asked, standing from the barstool and bending down to examine underneath the bar.
“Do you think he ran away?” Charlie asked.
Cherri’s eye widened in realisation. “Fuck, he’s gone looking for Angel.” She grabbed the bowl from the bar, shaking it with renewed interest. As the moment dragged on, it became clear that Fat Nuggets was either gone or refusing to respond. Cherri lowered the bowl back onto the counter. Behind her, Niffty and Baxter were continuing their rounds with Niffty pushing a cleaning cart twice her size.
“Hey, Nift,” Husk called, waving her over. “Did you happen to see Nuggets?”
Nifty hummed in thought, tapping her finger on her chin. “I don’t remember seeing the piggy.” She turned to Baxter, blinking at him. Baxter immediately opened his notebook, running his pen down the pages.
“Two rats, seven roaches, but zero pigs.” He responded, flipping the notebook shut. “Why? Did you lose the pig, perhaps?”
“Listen here, you little shit, it’s none of your goddamn business." Cherri snapped, pointing at Baxter.
“Hmm, touchy today, now are we? Regardless, I did not see the pig, but I will help you look for him if you need.” Baxter amended, clasping his hands together. “Now, where was the last place you saw him?”
“I saw him over here.” Charlie offered, raising her hand.
“And then?”
“And then he went towards the front door nearby the TV… right when Vaggi left.” Realization dawned on Charlie.
Cherri balled her hands into fists, pressing them to her forehead. “Shit!” She yelled, slamming her fist on the bar, “How the fuck are we supposed to find him? He’s probably bacon by now.”
“Well, he’s a simple creature, isn’t he? If you find food, you’ll find the pig.” Baxter explained, shrugging.
“If he doesn’t become food,” Husk muttered under his breath, discarding the rag he had been using to wipe down the bar. He stepped out from behind the bar, stretching out his wings. Baxter walked behind him, holding out a hand to touch Husk’s wing. Immediately, the wing shook his hand off, moving on its own as Husk growled in warning. Baxter held up both his hands in surrender, turning around to secretly make a note in his little book. Husk stretched his wings, stepping away from Baxter to extend them to their full length. Bending down, he took off from the ground, pushing himself up towards the ceiling and flying in circles. Baxter watched with a grin, looking between Husk and his notepad. Finally, after he was done stretching, Husk came to land again. “Alright, let’s go.”
The trio walked out into the warm haze of the city, splitting up to cover more ground. Husk took to the sky, alternating between flying above Cherri and Baxter. The streets of Pentagram city were littered with glass bottles and trash, as was typical for them. Cherri found it difficult to focus on finding food when the air reeked of piss and beer, overpowering any smells that could have been helpful. Besides the wretched scent of the city, the noise was overpowering, thumping bass and screams marked the early morning. Cherri unlocked her phone, searching for nearby restaurants. She scrolled through the list, dismissing any that would be too far away for the fat little pig to walk to. Her boot hooked on somebody's sleeping form. Sleeping or dead, it was hell; nobody really gave a fuck. There was no sign of Fat Nuggets anywhere throughout the block. She expected to find him face-first in a dumpster or begging for food from a passerby, yet the cretin was nowhere to be found. Of course, a small animal like him was probably long gone by now. The minutes ticked on as Cherri searched every single fucking crevice of the city, occasionally coming across drug stashes that had been jammed into the walls. She debated slipping them into her pocket, but ultimately decided not to fuck with junkies. Her phone buzzed with an update from Baxter.
“Did either of you check Angel Dust’s room, perhaps?"
Up above her, she saw Husk turn tail back to the hotel. She sprinted behind him, leather boots slapping the pavement. How could she have gotten this far without thinking of that? As much as she would rather swallow a lit bomb than admit Baxter had a point, he was correct in this case. When the two of them burst into Angel’s abandoned room, they found Fat Nuggets huddled underneath Angel’s bed.
“Fucking hell, Nuggets,” Husk muttered, dragging the pig out by his waist. He held Nuggets close to him, looking around the empty room. Everything was in the same place it was when Angel left. Nifty had been barred from cleaning, and it remained untouched. It even still smelled like him, a mix of cheap booze and perfume.
“He misses Angie,” Cherri murmured, tapping her finger against her lip idly reaching to reset Angel’s makeup from where Fat Nuggets had knocked it down.
Husk snorted, “We all do, but we can’t do shit about it.” He looked around the room. “Fuck.” he cursed, placing Fat Nuggets on the bed. “Fuck.” He turned on his heel and left, storming down the hall. Cherri followed behind him.
“Husk, where are you going?” She asked, following on his heels. He slowed down, coming to a stop. His wings quivered with tension, displaying the emotion Cherri couldn’t see with his back turned to her. She reached out for his shoulder before deciding against it and retracting her hand. His wings curled protectively around his body, and his tail lashed, the tip curling around his ankle. Cherri walked around him, coming to stand in front of him. “You…uh…You alright?”
“Fuck if I know,” Husk muttered, wrapping his arms around himself. He was half covered by his wings, although when he saw Cherri, he uncovered himself enough for her to see his face. His eyes were wet, but he wasn’t crying just yet; still, he hated being seen like this. The wings moved in closer again, covering his face again. Cherri looked away, staring at one of the sconces, giving Husk a moment alone for him to recoup, as she leaned against the wall. Finally, his wings dropped again, as he heaved a sigh. “I need a drink.”
“What should we do about the fatass?” Cherri asked, nodding towards Angel’s room.
“I’ll take him tonight, and tomorrow…” Husk looked away, staring up at the ceiling. “Tomorrow I’ll bring him to Angel, like I should have done in the first place.”
Notes:
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Longer chapters on the way.
I shouldn’t have split up chapters 1 and 2 lol
Anyways if stuff changes with this fic its because im basically winging it
I literally just finish one chapter and then move on to the next there is like zero backlog here so please enjoy despite the many mistakes T.T
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