Chapter Twenty-One: Preparing a Dance, Raising Children and Angel's Relapse

Charlie yawned widely. Between having trouble sleeping anyway, still having bad dreams occasionally, the Abaddon and Apollyon kept them up at night. The children were extremely active during their time awake. They kept Charlie and Vaggie on their toes, along with the rest of the guests of the Hotel. Vaggie and Charlie were both tired. Fortunately, there were others at the Hotel who were willing to step up and help them raise the kids when they absolutely needed a break.

Abaddon and Apollyon weren't even quiet though. At a month and a half, both children were already showing themselves to be exceptionally gifted. Their powers weren't exactly under control, but they showed that they had wings that indicated both Demonic and Angelic heritage, just as Lucifer had intended. But their advanced abilities allowed them to be difficult to reign in, even on good days. They were learning fast and already could walk, even though it had been only a little more than a month.

In their case now, Abaddon and Apollyon were incredibly smart, and were already starting to say basic words. It had only been a month and a half, but they were making noise and starting to form simple words. Abaddon had already said "Mama" and "Mommy", referring to Charlie and Vaggie respectively. Apollyon knew how to say "Yes" and "No". They were both talking up a storm, though most of what they said was unintelligible. Charlie loved talking back with them, holding long conversations.

Though the conversations didn't go anywhere, Charlie knew that talking to them and holding conversations with them would help them develop better. Charlie and Vaggie held them while they moved their legs. They weren't able to walk on their own, but doing this would help them build muscle and coordination. In their absence, while they were focused on raising their children, Alastor and Angel, being two of the first guests at the Hotel, were stepping up and taking over much of the work that went into running the rehabilitation program.

Currently, Charlie was working with the kids, talking to them, using words that they might be able to pronounce in relatively short order. Lucifer said that it was impressive already that at a month and a half, they were already saying as many words as they were. He had offered to send over tutors to teach them the Abyssal Language. Charlie had turned him down. She said that she didn't think that they would need to learn the Abyssal Language in a classroom so young. She was speaking to them in Abyssal while Vaggie spoke to them in Spanish and Portuguese.

They were making sure that their children learned many languages. Lucifer didn't know just yet how well they had taken to some of their modifications. But already, both Demon and Angel wings had sprouted. They couldn't fly yet, but they were starting to be able to move the wings. They were struggling to stand up and walk a few steps. They'd advanced quickly. Lucifer worried that his elixirs had caused them to age faster than they should have. But given their size, they were the right size for their age. So they were just advancing socially and physically very quickly.

-0-

Charlie collapsed onto the couch, having been chasing Apollyon around the hotel for ten minutes. She finally caught him and put him back in the crib with Abaddon. She was getting cranky and short-tempered these days. She'd snapped at Angel, who Vaggie noticed was more upset than she expected him to be. He was wearing kid gloves with her now. Charlie covered her face with her hand, her body going limp as she fell asleep right on the couch. Vaggie sat with her. She was exhausted too, but she wasn't quite as bad as Charlie. Charlie's therapy was going well, but she still had traumatic nightmares sometimes.

Angel looked over nervously at Charlie. She'd actually started screaming at him that morning, going on for almost two minutes. He knew she was stressed. He could tell by how tense she was and how she looked like she was about to break down crying when she realized what she'd been doing to him. She apologized meekly and went upstairs. She only managed to sleep for about an hour before she came back down. She didn't have a nightmare. She just couldn't sleep for long because she was so stressed about the dance that they were going to be hosting.

"Toots… We need ta talk." Angel said. He knew that he had to tell someone how he felt about Charlie. He knew that it would be easier to tell Vaggie than to tell Charlie. Vaggie sighed. She just wanted to cuddle with Charlie while the blonde slept. Charlie hadn't exactly been kind to her either and she wanted a chance to feel close to her.

"What is it, Angel?" Vaggie asked impatiently.

"I-I think I love Charlie… Not romantically… It's… It's complicated. She's like the mothah I always wish I had. She saw somethin' in me that I din't even see in myself. She took my hand, even though it was covered with shit and grime and cum… Both metaphorically and literally. She risked being pimped out by Val so that he would let me go. She's… She's everythin' I coulda' evah wanted and always knew I din' deserve. I-I would worship her, but I know she'd nevah let me. She's always been too good for this shithole, and I sometimes wondah if she's secretly an angel that came down here." Angel said.

"I-point is, I know that I don't deserve her good will, but I want to be able ta do somethin' for her bettah than just bein' on my best behaviah. But I-I'm afraid she'd be disgusted if I told her how I felt. But I'm more afraid that she doesn't love me… That nobody could love me." Angel said guiltily. Angel looked away from Vaggie, afraid he'd see a scornful look in her eyes. Instead, she hugged Angel. She didn't usually hug people, and especially never men. She never had a high opinion of men. But she hugged him.
"Angel, she would never be disgusted by you. You have to know Charlie better than that by now."

As Vaggie said that, Angel admitted that yes, she would never be disgusted by him. She'd undertaken this job because she believed in Demons like him who needed a patient ear but sometimes also a firm hand. She'd even given Alastor a chance and he proved that he was able to improve himself. Whether Demons could ever redeem themselves in the sense that they would go to Heaven or not, she was improving their lives beyond anything that they could have done on their own. If Charlie hadn't gotten involved, Angel would still have been a whore. He still would be getting raped by Valentino.

"It's okay, Angel. I'm sure she'll be flattered by your feelings. You should definitely tell her. I think it will mean a lot to her, especially right now given how much stress she's under." Vaggie said, going back to the couch, cuddling up with Charlie, smiling as the blonde curled up into Vaggie's arms. The silver haired Demon stroked Charlie's hair. She'd gotten a bit shaggy. Charlie needed a haircut. Her hair was getting really long and messy. Now, that could partly be due to the fact that she hadn't had time to comb it and probably hadn't taken a shower in at least three days.

Between planning for the dance and taking care of the kids, and trying to do therapy sessions for the guests and not being able to get a full night's sleep, Charlie was completely overwhelmed. She'd finally fallen apart that day when she started screaming at Angel. Angel was happy that she was finally getting some sleep.

She slept for five hours, even through the preparations for the party. But when she woke up, she looked like she was feeling much better. She yawned, stretching and getting ready to help however she could. As she looked around though, she saw that a lot had been done already. She was impressed, walking around, offering to help.
"Hey, let me help with that." She said kindly, trying to take one end of a streamer from Husk. He grabbed it back from her though. He hadn't meant to be so brusque. He was just trying to work.

"Sorry. I'm doing okay. Please… Relax, keep relaxing I mean. We're doing fine and you need a break." Husk said. This was him being as nice as he could. He was still a grumpy, sometimes belligerent person. But he was improving. He was drinking less and smoking less. A result of Alastor coming to the Hotel had been that the rules had become a little less stringent and unforgiving. Charlie understood where Vaggie was coming from with the no drugs, no alcohol and no smoking within the hotel. The idea itself was valid. But as Alastor put it, you couldn't force a sinner to become a saint in the blink of an eye.

You had to ease them into it. Let them slip up every once in a while and help them through why they slipped up rather than denying them everything and then being surprised when they relapsed and left the hotel. Vaggie and Alastor had a number of confrontations on that front. But ultimately, Alastor, while he'd initially come to the Hotel with no greater purpose than to take pleasure from watching it fail, had become one of its greatest supporters and had brought at least two people into the Hotel due to his notoriety and charisma.

-0-

Angel sighed. He couldn't be in the Hotel right now. He needed to walk and think for a while. How would he bring his feelings to Charlie's attention without scaring her, without making her disgusted with him? As much as Vaggie had tried to convince him that Charlie would never look at him with disgust, Angel felt that they both knew that wasn't true. Charlie was a saint. Charlie was an Angel in Demon's clothing. But nobody could hear a speech like Angel's without looking at the speaker and thinking they were pathetic. He sighed, looking at the machine that he'd always gotten his cocaine from.

Maybe just a little hit to help him lighten up. Maybe a little hit… Nothing major… Just give him the courage he needed to confess how he felt about Charlie… How did he feel about her though? He wondered as he put in the money and got out the bag. It was a small bag, but it would do. He shook some out into his hand and snorted it. He sighed as he felt his mind starting to race. This was the rush he'd been aching for without even realizing it. He'd gone for almost six months without even a single hit of cocaine. He'd done really well. But now, he was back in his element.

And he didn't even regret it. Charlie was stupid anyway for thinking that he could change. He didn't mind her kind of stupid, but… Maybe just one more hit. He thought, snorting a bit more… That was it. This was who he was. A crack whore stuck on his knees in a world that only valued him as far as he could suck their dick. He staggered through the streets, laughing and shouting.

"HEY, YA MUTHAHFUCKAH! GET OFF THA DAMN ROAD!" Angel roared as a car almost hit him.

He went to the bar, still high and ordered a bottle of vodka, gulping it down. The cocaine would give him the courage he needed and the alcohol would calm him down. Normally, even he would know what a terrible idea that was to mix cocaine and alcohol. But when you're high, your judgement sometimes isn't the best. He hooted and hollered drunkenly at the dancers on the floor.

"Hey, sweetie! I danced bettah than that when I was still a newbie! Yous can do bettah!" Angel shouted. He then went up to the stage and shoved the girls aside, starting to dance in their place. He was even more wasted than he usually got when he was high or drunk. Finally, the guards kicked him out of the club and he started staggering around the city.

He wasn't sure where he was going. He took a few more snorts of the cocaine, but finally ran out. He finished off the vodka and continued on drunkenly. But he finally made it back to the Hotel, still flying. He kicked in the door, wavering on his feet as he came in.
"Hey, Husky… Ya look… Ya look fuckin hot! I wan fuck yous right heah right now!" Angel said, kissing Husk passionately on the lips. The Cat Demon pushed Angel away. Charlie rushed over to Angel.

"Angel! Are you alright? She asked. He'd woken her up with his entrance. She had fallen back asleep, despite the clamor around them.

"NO AH'M NOT ALRIGHT, YA FUCKIN' BITCH!" Angel snapped. Charlie gasped at his vulgar language. He was high. He'd relapsed. He was high… She'd done something wrong. She'd upset him somehow.

"Angel… Come sit down… Let's get you something to drink." Charlie said.

"The stronges stuff ya got, sweetie! Chop chop!" He said, clapping like he was ordering around a servant. Charlie hugged him, only to be shoved off of him.

"GET OFFA ME YA DUMB BITCH! YOUS THOUGHT YOUS COULD CHANGE ME! YOUS CAN'T! Why couldn't ya jus' let me be the waste'a space ya already knew I was! Why did ya hafta take me in, make me love yous? Why do ya keep workin wit' me?" Angel sobbed, breaking down in her arms as she hugged him again.

He was finally confessing.
"I worship yous! Yous is like a god amongst the pieces a' shit that live in this Hotel! An' Ah'm the biggest piecea shit outta alla them. I coun' even stay clean for ya!" Angel sobbed, finally collapsing from drunkenness and coming down from his cocaine high. He was trembling in Charlie's arms, still crying in his sleep. Charlie held him, not letting go even for an instant.

She was going to help him get through this. She'd seen Vaggie clench her fists as Angel disrespected her. She wasn't angry though. She was worried about him. He clearly needed help. He was dealing with some really heavy issues. And whether the issues that he talked about in his drunken confession was everything that he was dealing with or not, she wanted to find out.