A/N:
Hey everyone! I had a little time, so I wanted to share a second chapter this week. More fluff and impending drama and everyone trying to settle in to their new lives and relationships lol. Thank you for reading!
Partners
Chapter 80:
Fussing Over Found Families
Steve had texted Vaggie late last night to go over what he had observed so far around the tv station to prepare for the upcoming potential news special fiasco. Most people were out of the station building by 5pm but back in by 5am (except or Katie and Tom who didn't stroll in until nearly ten in the mornings). Open viewings happened during live shows but also filled up fast. And now there was a billboard over the building announcing a big story dropping this weekend.
Steve had tried to hang around near the building and listen around for clues, but nothing was getting out. So finally he had decided to get into see a live recording before the big weekend show so he could scout things out up close. His message had been to let Vaggie know his plan and to promise her any updates on what he found asap.
And now here he was this morning, watching Tom and Katie stroll in for the day and waiting eagerly in the shadows near the station building for the doors to open to the public so he could make sure to get inside. And meanwhile he continued to be on the lookout for anything odd.
He did not except the first odd thing he observed to end up being a young canine demon, maybe late teens, early twenties, scouting around near the opposite side of the building and watching it much like he was. Her actions made him curious and suspicious…especially when some stranger in a dark jacket and white hat teleported out of the shadows and began talking to her and pointing at the station. She seemed hesitant then annoyed and then resigned as he placed some bills into her hand and disappeared. She pocketed the money and then snuck behind the dumpster near the studio entrance, like she was planning to dive through the door the second a public viewing was announced.
Steve sent Vaggie another update to keep her in the loop and promised to keep an eye on the canine as well. Their plan to figure out what Katie and Tom were up to would still needed a lot more time and a lot of luck. But as long as the could help the hotel stay safe, Steve would stick with his stakeout and spying for however long it took to get answers for both Charlie and Vaggie's peace of mind.
He just hoped the dog demon wouldn't turn out to be a problem. Even though the kid didn't seem threatening, some kind of cat instinct made him leery about getting near her. Steve just steeled himself and just tried to stay focused. Whatever she was here for, he wouldn't let it interfere with his mission: find out all he could about the upcoming big show and make sure it wasn't a smear job to hurt the Hazbin Hotel.
With the studio opening again soon, Vox finally had to leave his penthouse and visit the place to get everything in order. Velvet decided to tag along with him, claiming that if she was left alone she might get into some murderous shenanigans for fun, and if she was left with Valentino the two of them would probably be at each other's throats in five minutes. "And Val's not even in a state to be a challenge, so that fight would be over pretty quickly," she had added with a shrug, skipping down the street as Vox sighed followed alongside her.
He was actually kind of glad for the company, to be honest. The people at the studio were always more inclined to follow orders from Valentino because, frankly, they feared him. Vox knew they would begrudgingly listen to him too, but eventually they might start asking questions about Val (and about the continued absences of Angel). Velvet was like a whirlwind of chaos though, and she would keep everyone so on their guard that they wouldn't have time to pick apart why the studio had been closed for so many days and why their job suddenly had a change in management. Also, seeing two members of the trio definitely made a better show of power than just one.
Sure enough, when Vox went in and calmly laid out orders for the evening while Velvet skipped through the crowd, licking a large frosting-covered knife, there were no questions and everyone immediately got to work. The more this place could get used to running itself through delegation, the better; Vox didn't want to have to start practically living here like Val did, and he also wasn't too keen on leaving Val alone or potentially in Velvet's care for too long. The moth needed someone with a calm head and steady hand, that responsibility for their trio fell to Vox.
So he supervised while Velvet kept people moving at a quick pace, and when things were mostly ready to go he left instructions with the bouncers and floor managers, turned on the light in the VIP Lounge to make it look like Valentino or Vox or Velvet were up there keeping an eye on things, and then he snuck out the back door with Velvet as the afternoon got late.
"Val's not gonna like that you left the place unsupervised…" Velvet mused to herself with a manic grin.
"Which is why we're not gonna bring it up…" Vox glanced at her. "Unless you don't want to come over for dinner and Vark time tonight."
"Oh fine." Velvet rolled her eyes. "Not like I was trying to start a problem anyway. I just figured annoying Val might fire him up a little, get him off the couch and out of his mopey boring funk." She scrunched up her nose in thought. "He's been acting weird…"
"Yeah, he's injured and depressed after getting his ass kicked by Angel's dad." Vox shrugged.
Velvet shook her head though. "No…I mean, yeah, there's that, but something else too. He's all skittish and he won't look you in the eye and he keeps getting lost in thought." She smirked. "Bet I can figure out what it is…"
Vox frowned a little. "Vel, come on, don't push him. He's been through some trauma and he's just processing."
"I'm not gonna push… I'm just gonna keep an eye out." She held her head high with an innocent grin. "Besides, he'll get bored without someone keeping him on his toes, and then he'll try to drag his broken self back to the studio early — and he'll end up dead by morning cuz the second those strippers realize he's vulnerable, they'll come for him. He's pissed off too many of them too many times." She took out her knife and tried balancing it on her palm. "Really shitty management style honestly. I might terrorize people, but I only do it randomly as part of my natural charm. Val just hurts people all the time. When they've got nothing to lose and no hope, that's when the claws come out." She rolled her eyes. "Also he's a goddamn misogynist, and it sort of pisses me off. I'd like to make sure he comes out of his 'healing time' taken down a few pegs. Or maybe cut off at the knees — literally — if he starts acting like a bad friend again." She grasped the knife, gave it a little flip, caught it, and grinned wickedly.
Vox eyed her hesitantly. "Okay, yeah, humbling him a bit would be good. No hurting him though — physically or psychologically." Then he looked forward pouting. "But yeah, I agree about his management style being shit. I signed up to get a cut from sex work, not sexual assault…" His brow furrowed. "I can't blame Angel or Alastor for not wanting to be near him…or for wanting him dead."
Velvet titled her head. "If this whole embarrassing defeat doesn't change Val somehow, then I'm not sure if anything could. He's pretty addicted to feeling powerful by causing people pain. And it does work short term…it just leads to getting assassinated in the long run." She shrugged.
Vox considered, brow furrowed. "I'll…talk to him about it, when he's a little better. Who knows, maybe getting beat by that spider mobster did knock some sense into him."
"And maybe that's why Val's been acting so weird — his head's finally on straight," Velvet mused with a laugh as they neared Vox's building doors.
Before they could go inside though, she held out her arm to stop Vox. "By the way… Cherri was spying on the studio a few days ago."
"What?" Vox glitched. "When? And how do you know—"
"Not important. Just thought YOU might like to know." She smirked. "I'm guessing you should make it clear to Angel soon that his services are no longer required there. You know, before there's a misunderstanding and we start getting bombed back to the stone age or overrun with cannibals or Angel's sniper brother and skeet shooting sister. Unless you want to stir up some trouble there for fun… I wouldn't mind a dance with Cherri or Molly, they're both kind of cute."
"No, no more 'dancing', no more shooting, no more bombs or cannibals or cannibal bombs — whatever!" Vox brought a hand to his forehead. "Thank you for telling me, I'll talk to Angel…but I'll probably have to go through Alastor or at least include him. I'll need some time to work myself up to it."
"Cuz you still get all giggly deep down inside about the deer?" Velvet asked eagerly.
Vox rolled his eyes and replied dryly. "No. For real no, it's out of my system. We work better how we are now — rivals with a tentative truce. I feel better anyway. But I do need to mentally brace myself for his drama and to figure out something to offer Angel to make up for losing his job. Plus I want to let Val know." He looked at her seriously. "Until then, not a word to anyone about anything, got it?"
"Lips are sealed!" Velvet mimed dragging the flat edge of her knife across her mouth to seal it.
Vox sighed and smiled. "Great. Now let's get back to Val. He's high maintenance and he needs us." He headed inside, Velvet following, and they entered the elevator and exited on the penthouse floor. Vox was ready to show confidence and positivity — to make him feel better about the studio running without him and to help his friend feel more positive about healing.
All plans and intents went on hold for just a moment though when he and Velvet walked in only to find Val and Vark…playing together? Maybe 'playing' wasn't the right word. They were interacting though. Valentino was standing and trying to balance, one hand to the back of the couch and the other hand on Vark's head while the little shark kept close beside him. Val shuffled forward a few steps, getting used to walking again. Vark smiled up at him and licked the moth demon. Valentino just shook his head at the slobbery kiss but patted the shark's head and continued using him to help walk.
He froze of course when he realized he was no longer alone.
Velvet broke the silence first. "Oh, this is too fucking precious — stay like that for a sec." He held up her phone to snap a pic.
Valentino glared at her. "Put. That. Down."
"Vel…" Vox held his hand in front of the phone, "Come on, he's hurt."
"Oh, I was't going to post it or anything. Well…I might have made it our virtual Christmas card." She waved them off but did lower the phone. "I at least wanted a copy to put into my Vark baby scrapbook. And I could print one out for you too, Voxxy. Your little baby with your friend, to put on your desk, hmm?"
Movement caught Velvet's attention out of the corner of her eye, and she just managed to catch Valentino blushing a little before pouting and turning away. She tilted her head in interest.
Vox just shook his head with a grin. "Very funny, Vel. Come on, you're helping me make lunch so I can keep an eye on you."
"Fine, but I'm adding sugar to one random dish that does't need it!" She skipped to the kitchen.
Vox glanced behind him at Valentino. "She won't…Or I'll at least make sure she eats all of whatever she does that to on her own, heh." He smiled sheepishly then looked to the baby shark. "Good boy, Vark, being a helper." He glanced at the moth once more. "Glad to see you up, Val." And then he turned and headed to the kitchen as well.
In the kitchen, as Velvet found the sugar shaker while Vox went to preheat the oven, she thought to herself and decided that keeping an eye on the odd-acting moth would be her new favorite project…because something about Vox was embarrassing Valentino, and she wanted to know what it was.
Back in the living room, Valentino let out a tired sigh and sat back down on the couch, catching his breath. He rubbed the piano wire wound on his throat as Vark came around and sat in front of him with a happy panting smile. "Shit, they weren't supposed to catch us practicing walking. At least Vel didn't get any pictures… And Vox didn't want one of us anyway so…whatever."
Vark tilted his head and nuzzled under Val's arm.
Valentino sighed but patted his head. "We just have to be more careful next time. Don't want Vox to realize I'm trying to speed up getting better so I can sneak out of here, otherwise he might try to make me stay and take recovering slower. Not like he actually wants me around anyway — just like he wouldn't want a picture of me on his desk. He's just being a friend or whatever." He pouted to himself.
Vark tilted his head so that he was nearly looking at Val upside down, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
Valentino glanced at him then shook his head. "You wouldn't understand. Vox actually LIKES you. He just TOLERATES me — on a good day." He shrugged. "Hell, Vox actually LOVES you. And I'm not…I am NOT…" He glared then crossed his arms and threw himself against his pillows. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. You and me just need to be more discreet about me building up my strength, then I can leave and we can pretend none of this ever happened."
Vark answered by curling up onto the floor next to the couch and turning over onto his back for tummy rubs.
Valentino rubbed his brow in annoyance but did reach down with one hand and lightly scratch the shark's belly. "Bet Vox has got Angel performing tonight…and probably an agreement to let Alastor watch from the rafters. They have a truce now you know, that cannibal freak and Vox — again, not like I care. I just…Alastor's a crafty son-of-a-bitch, and he knows I'm usually the strongest one of the group. Who knows what could happen? I've gotta protect my investments…and my partners…or friends or whatever." His voice quieted, his eyes looked tired. "Or maybe they really can just protect themselves without me anymore." He gave the shark a final pat and closed his eyes, curling up into himself. "Wake me up when dinner's ready, Vark. I'm tired and I don't want to think about that fucking deer anymore."
Vark flipped back over and jumped on to the end of the couch. He snuggled near Valentino's legs, tail swishing lightly as he watched the moth.
Valentino rested his eyes, not wanting to risk dreaming about kissing a certain someone again but also not wanting to risk inviting anyone's conversation. He was left alone with this thoughts, which unfortunately insisted on lingering on the idea of Alastor and Vox in some kind of cozy little truce with Angel in the mix, all of it bringing the two overlords even closer together. All of it pushing himself further away. He was not feeling jealous though. Definitely absolutely positively not. Jealousy… like he would ever care about someone enough to feel that way. He was just tired. And no one could prove otherwise.
Cherri slept in late today. Every time her eye started to blink open she would make herself shut it. She needed rest and to not be on high alert for the first time in a long time. And she was finally in a safe place and nothing major was going on that couldn't wait. She was tired, and something had to give — and before it was something bad, she was going to back off and just let herself be still for a little while.
As the morning grew late though, her phone buzzed though, and she decided to at least glance at it. She finally felt rested, and besides she didn't want to disappear on anyone, after all — she just wanted some time to herself.
The message was from Niss.
'Hey Cherri! Sorry, I got kind of a late start this morning…'
Cherri paused in reading and grinned. "Niss, mister 'up at the crack of dawn' waking up late? Oh, he totally spent the night fooling around with Pen." She continued reading.
'Pen and I are heading to the hotel in a bit. I'll keep an eye on Niffty.'
Cherri breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I really hope she's feeling better." She read the rest.
'And, hey, let me know if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk or whatever. You did so much for me, bringing me to Rosie and Mimzy, and keeping me and Angel and Molly from getting in the way of being family again. And helping me get together with Pen. I want to be there for you too. I love ya, Cherri.'
Cherri sniffed, surprised to find a tear in her eye. She wiped it away and quickly typed back.
'Hey. Thanks for checking on Niffty. And…thanks for checking on me. I love you too. I'll let you know if I need anything, promise. But right now I just need rest and quiet and to think. Talk soon.'
Cherri tucked away her phone and lay back in the bed, breathing deeply in and out. She felt so safe here, ironically at a place in the middle of the fierce Cannibal Colony. No wonder Alastor had crashed here from time to time and Niss had melted here in to a big opera singing softie. She could have found perfect peace in this quaint little room.
Then of course her stomach grumbled.
She sighed. "Well, maybe I'll find peace after I eat something."
She sat up and stretched. She glanced down at her wrinkled clothes. "Damn, I should have brought some stuff from my hideout before I came here to stay." She turned to get out of bed then blinked. On a chair, several pieces of clothing were folded, all in reds and blacks. There was a note in fancy script at the top.
'Cherri dear!
We realized you didn't have any extra clothes, so Mimzy and I took the liberty of scouring the racks for something in your style and tailoring everything for you. It's just a couple of outfits and some nightclothes, but we hope you'll like them.
We'll be downstairs in the Emporium, but there's strawberry danish and fried potatoes with grits and fresh (non-demon) sausage warming on the stove for you. Please help yourself and come join us if you'd like or feel free to relax upstairs!
Love,
-Rosie'
Cherri beamed and checked out each piece of clothing — they were all a little less riddled with edgy holes and a little less modern than she was used to, but they did match her style. She threw on a pair of black slacks and comfortable red blouse with a belt then checked herself out in the mirror. "Classy! Okay, no matter what I cannot let these get full of powder burns and bullet holes." She considered then pulled back her hair and tied it up with a band around her wrist. She smiled at herself in the mirror then headed out into the main apartment.
She went right to the kitchen, and sure enough she found all the promised food kept warmed on the stove, a full pot of hot coffee, and even a pitcher of juice.
This was nice. She had no patience for cooking and rarely ate decent meals unless Angel prepped some homemade pasta and brought it over for her. Usually she had instant food or tossed some stuff between two slices of cheap bread for a sandwich.
Just the sight of the breakfast on her plate made her happy. She ate and beamed. "Oh wow…fuck this is good. They definitely got this danish recipe from Niss. Fuck yes…" She cleaned her plate, burped because she could, then rested back in her chair and thought about what to do next. Did she want to be alone with her thoughts or go for a walk or help in the Emporium…?
She decided to do a combination of the three by heading downstairs and seeing if Rosie and Mimzy needed anything restocked for the apartment. A little walk and some shopping would help her think, and she wanted to be helpful to the two kind women.
She left the apartment and went to the landing overlooking the Emporium — down below she saw customers and Rosie and Mimzy bustling around.
Cherri dashed down the stairs with a wave. "Morning, ladies!"
"Cherri!" Mimzy beamed. "Oh gosh, you look so cute in those clothes!"
"I knew they'd suit you," Rosie added with a grin. "Did you have breakfast?"
Cherri nodded. "Yes, and it was amazing! Thank you!" She almost wanted to hug the two women, but hesitated shyly when she remembered all the other people around. "Anyway, uh, I was thinking of going out, maybe picking up some things. Any groceries you guys could use? I'm even okay with picking up some demon meat as long as it's from a butcher and not, ya know, from a demon I'd have to kill and drag back." She shrugged sheepishly.
"That would be wonderful, but are you sure about going out?" Mimzy hesitated. "You can rest if you want…"
"I'm okay," Cherri assured. "If I spend too long with nothing to do, I get restless. A walk would be good. And I'm happy to help."
"If you promise not to push yourself, of course we'd love your help, Cherri." Rosie pulled a list out of her pocket and a small coin purse full of money. "Most of what's on our list this week can be picked up outside of the Colony if you prefer. And don't worry about any demon butchers — Alastor keeps us quite well stocked on his own." He smile grew, flashing her fangs playfully. "But if you could pick up some venison, we'd appreciate it."
Mimzy nodded. "Yes, we like to keep some frozen and on hand for whenever Alastor drops by. The deer meat always calms him down when he's in one of his moods."
Cherri nodded. "You got it!" She pocketed the list but held up her hand at the coin purse. "My treat though—"
Rosie pushed took her hand and dropped the purse inside. "Now, now, none of that — you do not need to pay us back in any way for staying here. And as for money, Alastor lavishly overpays Mimzy and I. We have to spend it on something." Her eyes brightened. "In fact, why don't you make an extra stop and grab some champagne — let's treat ourselves this evening."
Cherri hesitated but finally nodded and took back the purse. "Okay, if you're sure. Thanks." She smiled gratefully. "When I come back I'll make us some lunch." She saw a worried Mimzy about to protest but held up her hands. "My treat, it's the least I could do. I'm not a very good cook, but I'll try to come up with something decent. I've learned a little bit from Angel. And I'd like to try, especially for you two."
Rosie smiled and nodded. "We'll look forward to it."
Mimzy smiled as well and opened the Emporium door for Cherri. "Have a nice walk! And remember if any demon in our territory or any other starts sniffing around you, just remind them that you're our guest and that we'll kill anyone who lays a hand on you."
"Heh, like I wouldn't kill them first," Cherri laughed. "But I'll remind them, Mimzy." She winked and headed out the door.
Mimzy waved, and Cherri could see Rosie waving through a window. She gave them both a wave back and then began an easy walk down the street. The occasional cannibal spotted her but only gave a quick glance or nod (they all mostly knew she was part of Alastor's crew by now), and she just gave them each a little nod back. She liked it here. This group was violent, but they also took care of their own. They were a safe place if you were part of their community, and Cherri was part of it now. And she liked being part of something.
As she continued just past the Colony to get to the nearest corner store, she let her mind wander. She thought, for the first time in a long time, about her life…before this life. She had always wanted a little apartment, maybe a part time job, and the chance to take care of herself and run errands and struggle through bad cooking and just have fun and enjoy existing.
She'd never had enough money for her own place though, and all her jobs had been full-time and grating, and she'd let…an unkind person or two take care of her, which had been a big mistake. She hadn't enjoyed existing much, even though she had wanted to so badly.
Cherri had learned from life to be tough and suspicious and loud. And she liked those parts of herself. But maybe it was okay to accept that a part of her liked peace and quiet and the little things in life too. Like going to get groceries. Because right now she felt…happy. And she wanted to stay in this happy feeling. And she was grateful that for now she could.
Cherri grinned and wiped at another tear that nearly fell as she rounded a corner and entered the full sunlight of hell. Everything really was finally okay.
Charlie had been carefully observing her girlfriend all morning. Vaggie had gotten another text, and ever since then she had been eager and enthusiastic and even smiling — which definitely meant something was up. Vaggie didn't try to match Charlie's joy unless she was worried and preparing to protect the princess. Charlie appreciated the effort, but she couldn't help worry building deep down inside of herself as well. Whatever was going on — with Steve or anything else — she just wished Vaggie would let her know. She wanted them to work through this together, no one protecting anyone all on their own.
They spent the morning doing Charlie's usual rounds of the hotel to note any needed repairs and sketch out any intended expansion plans, they cleaned their suite, and they put together some plates for breakfast and watched Razzle and Dazzle play in the garden.
When they got inside after all that and found Husk and Molly and Alastor and Angel all sitting in the dining area and having breakfast together and laughing and flirting, Charlie almost forgot about her concerns. Seeing the two couples having fun was so wonderful. She put her hands to her cheeks and rubbed them in joy.
Vaggie noticed and barely held back a giggle. But before she could say anything, Charlie took her hand and led her to the kitchen. "Sorry, Vaggie, I just didn't want us to interrupt them. Look at how happy they are! The two siblings finally reunited, and now they're going out with two demons who have been rediscovering their friendship. It's all so sweet!"
Vaggie chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, even I'll admit that when they're all getting along and sitting together like that, it's kind of cute. They're so close now. And you helped with that so much, babe."
Charlie smiled shyly before she took a breath and tried to be brave. "I just wanted them all to have people in their lives who they cared about, people they could trust to face eternity with them — whether that's redemption or anything else that comes up." She played with her hair, biting her lip, dark eyes meeting her girlfriends'. "Speaking of facing things… I…is everything okay, Vaggie?"
Vaggie hesitated then blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean?"
Charlie sighed and came closer, eyes lowered in a slightly dry look. "You're nervous about something — something about me — I can tell. Whatever it is, you can share it with me. I'll be okay, and everything will be okay. Promise." She smiled more.
Vaggie furrowed her brow and stepped back. "Charlie…it's not… There is something, but I'm not sure if it's anything serious yet, so I didn't want to upset you." She crossed her arms, frowning, looking down. "Enough people in hell make you worry. You deserve a break from it."
Charlie met her gaze. "Vaggie, I appreciate that you care so much about taking care of me. But please just tell me what it is. I can deal with the worrying as long as I have you. Besides it's less stressful for me to worry about something I understand than it is to worry about something I can only guess at. Then my imagination runs away with me, heh…"
Vaggie took a deep breath. Then she nodded and took Charlie's hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. And you're right, you don't deserve the stress of being in the dark. It's a really uncertain thing though — I still don't even know the whole story yet. It's going to be okay though. I—"
They heard the sound of knocking from the lobby followed by someone's entrance that set everyone to talking.
The ladies glanced to the kitchen door then Charlie turned back to Vaggie with a gentle smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure you're right and it'll all be okay. But for now it sounds like we've got company." She kissed her cheek then headed to the door as Vaggie blushed and followed.
They re-entered the lobby where Sir Pentious and Niss had just arrived, and everyone from the table had come to greet them. Niss was right between his brother and sister, and Pen was watching them in delight before his eyes instantly found Charlie. "Oh, Princess Charlie! And your charming paramourVaggie ! Good day!" He waved and doffed his hat.
Charlie smiled and waved back. "Good morning, Sir Pentious! Nice to see you! And you too, Niss!"
"Pleasure, Charlie, Vaggie!" Niss smiled at them and tipped his own hat.
The shared gesture between them made Charlie beam. She recalled the news that Niss and Pen were dating and was suddenly even more taken with the scene of all the spider siblings and all their boyfriends together having breakfast.
"Uh, hun?" Vaggie grinned and nudged her gently. "You look like you're going to squeal and giggle then break into song about the six of them."
Charlie's eyes shone with stars. "I know, but I'm just so happy to see them all together!" She took a deep breath to get herself under control then glanced at her girlfriend. "But you're right, we should still give them privacy. Why don't we go check in with Abel and Louise to see if they need any wedding prep help?"
Vaggie hesitated, voice low. "Didn't you want me to tell you about…"
"I want you to tell me when you have time and the story feels clear enough to you to share. For now let's keep enjoying our morning. We'll talk later when things have quieted down." Charlie gave her a reassuring smile and then took her hand.
Vaggie smiled and nodded in return. Charlie waved goodbye to the three happy couples and then led her girlfriend upstairs, already feeling calmer and like her usual optimistic self again.
Hellos and greetings had just been exchanged between Sir Pentious and Niss and Angel and Molly and Husk and Alastor when Charlie and Vaggie had walked in to say hello.
Now, as the two ladies left, Niss realized he was alone with his siblings (and their boyfriends) and his boyfriend for the first time.
Niss just tried to breathe evenly as he took Sir Pentious's hand in his own, standing here for the first time in front of his family with his special someone, no more secrets. He cleared his throat and smiled a little, trying not to blush as he stood tall. "We didn't, uh…mean to drop by in the middle of your breakfast. Pen and I just finished ours on the ship and couldn't think of any place we'd rather be than checking up on all of you. So, here we are."
"Just finished breakfast?" Molly grinned. "You're usually in the kitchen eating before 7am. Is Penny finally getting you to let yourself relax and sleep in late?"
Niss blushed and couldn't help smiling more. "Well, uh…kinda…"
Sir Pentious came through with a charming save, "Oh, I've been dreadfully exhausted lately, and Niss has just been kind enough to stay up late with me if needed and to wait for me to get up so we can have breakfast together. I really can't think of any other demon who would have done so much for me," he finished humbly, looking down. Then his gaze found Niss, and all of him perked back up again as he added, "And look at me know, I'm at the pinnacle of health once again, all thanks to him!"
"Yeah, what he said!" Niss's voice cracked and he tried not to notice the sly look Angel was giving him. He cleared his throat and just tried to resume his usual calm and serious demeanor. "And…anyone would be honored to help take care of ya, Pen…" he added softly.
"Sounds like you two have a pretty nice situation going on up in that ship." Angel held back a chuckle as Niss blushed and Pen beamed. "Hey, why don't you two pull up some chairs anyway? We can still get ya some coffee. Sit, relax… It's not like you interrupted the four of us on a da—" He caught himself just in time, a panicked look in Alastor's eyes making him hesitate. "I-I mean, it's not like Molly and Husk were on a date, and me and Al are just keeping 'em company anyway."
Niss sighed, wondering if Angel realized how obvious he was being. If Pen hadn't already secretly known about him and Alastor dating before, he would have figured it out now.
"Yeah!" Molly nodded eagerly, ready to cover as well. "I can grab you two some cups and extra coffee from the kitchen. I'll just be a—Oh!" She blinked when Alastor's shadow appeared and gave her two fresh cups and a fresh pot of coffee. She smiled as he looked on with pride. "Aww grazie, oscurito." She kissed his cheek, and the shadow beamed then did a little twirl before disappearing. She laughed turned back to the boys. "We'd love to have our brother and his ragazzo here with us."
Alastor held his head up high with a smug grin, ready to explain for their guest. "Ragazzo is Italian for—"
"Boyfriend!" Sir Pentious instantly answered, beaming. "Yes, yes indeed! We're…official now and everything after all. Er… Niss è il mio ragazzo!"
Alastor's eyes went wide as he deflated a little. "Right. Ragazzo is…boyfriend. I… I'm sorry, do you speak…?"
"You know Italian?" All three spider's asked Pen at once, Niss with an especially shocked (though slightly aroused) look on his face.
Sir Pentious shrugged. "Oh, enough to understand and read a little, but I'm not very confident speaking — I can piece together a few phrases, that's about it. I had an education in the classics as a lad, so my Latin and Greek are much better. And of course I have a smattering of French."
Alastor's ears went down and he pouted. Angel noticed and started to reach out a hand but hesitated, eyeing Sir Pentious once again — the only one in the room whom they hadn't yet told that they were dating.
Niss smirked at his siblings. "Mine knows Italiano."
Molly rolled her eyes then glanced at Husk. "Husky, any big language reveals you wanna share?"
He shrugged. "Not for Italian, no. I mean, I maybe know enough to order a drink at bar, and of course I know a few swears. But I'm much better in German, Russian, a little Polish and some Mandarin."
Molly's eyes brightened. "Husky, ya never told me you're so educated!"
He blushed a little. "Just picked up a lot whenever I was stationed overseas in life. Europe and Hong Kong… Wouldn't mind picking up some more Italian though. Already, uh, picked up some French down here." He quickly glanced at Alastor then looked away.
Angel rolled his eyes and then gave Alastor an encouragingly glance to speak up. But the deer demon just sat quietly and almost shyly, hands gripped together and gaze down at his breakfast. Angel raised an eyebrow.
Niss noticed out of the corner of his eye, but he was mostly focused on gazing very intently at Sir Pentious at the moment. "You speakin' some Italian is real—" He stopped himself from possibly saying 'sexy' and instead went with, "—nice. It's real nice." He blushed.
Sir Pentious noticed the reaction and giggled. Niss had to resist the urge to giggle too.
Angel and Molly smiled and shared one of their all knowing looks that always made Niss nervous even if the two of them meant well. Then they looked back to him.
Molly stood up and helped Angel get standing. They approached. Molly looked to Niss. "I'm real happy for you two, you know. I've been rootin' for ya. And I'm glad you're sharin' about your relationship with everyone else too now." She wiped away a happy tear.
Niss shrugged. "Yeah, well…Thanks, Molly."
Now Angel turned to Sir Pentious who seemed perplexed but intrigued. "And Pen…You and I have…well, frankly we've kicked the crap out of each other for years. And I have made some amazing sexual jokes at your expense. And you've gotten off a few witty jabs against me. And now you're doing with my brother… So I just got one thing to say to you…"
Sir Pentious blinked in curiosity as Niss cringed a little inside.
Angel beamed. "Welcome to the family, ya giant noodle!" Then he dove at Pen in a big hug.
Molly quickly joined in, hugging tight as well. "We think you're just great! Ya pulled Archie out of his shell and everything!"
"Oh my god…" Niss rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried not tot laugh. "Guys, come on, get off him, he gets mobbed by Egg Bois enough already."
Sir Pentious just laughed and hugged the spider twins back though, even wrapping his tail around all three of them to lift them off the ground a little before setting them down and pulling back. He wiped away happy tears. "And I'm so happy to be with Archie and to be closer to the two of you as well! Molly, you are a delight, and Angel you've been a formidable foe and I'm certain you'll be a formidable friend as well."
"Right back at ya!" Angel winked and went to step backward toward the table but stumbled.
On instinct Alastor caught him, cradling him tenderly. Quickly though the deer's eyes went wide and righted Angel and then stepped to the side and became very interested in his microphone.
Niss just sighed while Sir Pentious rolled his eyes away, pretending not to have noticed.
Husk had noticed every detail of Alastor's nervous and flustered response though. He cleared his throat, ready to move things along. "Hey, uh, let's all go sit down!" He went back over to the table and pointed at the two fresh cups. "Niss, Pen, how do you take your coffee?"
"Black," Niss answered as he approached the table with the rest of the group.
Husk nodded. "Guy after my own heart. Pen?"
"Usually I prefer hot cocoa, but two lumps and just a dollop of cream would be delightful."
"You got it." Husk poured and slid the cups toward them as the snake and the spider approached, settling in between the others.
Alastor abandoned his pouting for a moment to raise an eyebrow and brightly ask. "Shall I snap you both up some seats?" He held up his fingers proudly, clearly ready to show off.
"Oh, I'll be fine," Pen settled down onto a coil of his tail. "Regular chairs are a bit of a challenge for me. But perhaps for Niss…" He turned to his boyfriend and coiled up the rest of his tail at his side, stacking the layers high. "Unless you'd like to do me the honor…?"
Angel and Molly both squealed at the same time.
Niss blushed but smiled sheepishly and sat himself on the coil of Pen's tail. They shared a special look for a moment then held hands again as they sipped coffee.
Alastor pouted a little again as he lowered his fingers but managed to regain his smile once more. "Yes, well, cheers to the spider siblings and their partners — their two partners, ha! And Angel's fellow, of course, wherever he is!" His eyes darted around, not at all suspiciously.
"Yeah, heh…" Angel quickly added before lifting his coffee cup with the others and drinking.
"Yes, cheers!" Pen chuckled and drank then put down his cup and grinned at Angel. "Now, I want to hear all about your recovery and how you're feeling, Angel. And you as well, Molly. And Husk and Alastor too of course — I'm glad to see you're all in such good spirits today."
Alastor blinked at being included. Husk eyed him and cleared his throat, "And we want to hear how you're feeling too Pen, right, Alastor? Niss said you weren't doing the best the last few days after all." He nudged the deer gently.
"Yes, right!" Alastor quickly managed. "We…want to hear all about your miraculous recovery."
Sir Pentious shrugged awkwardly and waved them off. "Oh, it's a long story, no need to get into all that. There's simply nothing I need more than a good rest after a vigorous round of fisticuffs!" He gazed at his boyfriend." I'm just glad I had Nissy to help me."
Niss blushed but smiled but tried not to smile. "I, uh…just like helping. And I…I like you, Pen." He squeezed his hand.
Molly's eyes hazed. "I'm real happy you two are public now, this is the sweetest thing ever."
"For real, you have no idea how hard it is to get Niss's soft side out, and now he's acting like a smitten bambino," Angel grinned. "I do admire tough guys who turn out to have big, tender hearts inside…"
He let his gaze subtly linger on Alastor who finally did perk up a little when he noticed Angel's attention. "Yes," the deer agreed, "they…are a charming couple." He cleared his throat and quickly added, "And then we should hear all about Angel's return to the land of the living. His recovery has been the first miracle this hotel has ever seen ha!"
"Yeah, and I'm so happy to have him back!" Molly hugged her brother across the table. Then she pulled back. "Then let's talk about all the bullets Husky took." Molly beamed, looking at Husk with pride.
Husk grinned a little. "Only cuz you like telling that story and I like hearing it. And you did take all the bullets out for me." She giggled as he sat closer and put a wing around her.
Both couples — Molly and her boyfriend, and Niss and his boyfriend — were both so cozy in this moment.
Angel and Al shared a glance, both clearly wanting to be cozy too.
But finally one of Alastor's ears went down he just turned back to his coffee, and Angel cleared his throat and just grabbed a croissant. He dropped it and winced suddenly though.
"Angel?" Molly and Niss asked at once in concern.
Alastor just looked on with wide, attentive eyes.
"I'm fine!" Angel quickly assured, reaching out and rubbing his ankle on the chair. "Just a little sting from those angelic bullet wounds. Comes and goes." He put on his best smile. "Let's keep chatting about everyone. And then maybe we can talk about Al helping save me — he's been a real trooper too, ya know. I wouldn't be as okay as I am now if it weren't for him." He gave Alastor a gentle smile, and received a grateful one in return. "We couldn't have done it — defeating our pops and the mob — without any of ya. And we're real grateful." He glanced to Husk and Pen now too.
Husk nodded. "Anytime."
Sir Pentious nodded as well. "Agreed!"
Alastor perked back up. "Happy to assist, my dear."
Angel smirked a little. "Happy to have ya, Smiles."
They let their hands rest beside each other on the table, just barely not touching, and finally the conversation grew easy and took its course. Though Alastor, usually so chatty, mostly just observed. He managed an interjection or two, but at any enthusiastic response from Sir Pentious he would clam up. And Angel kept smiling and doting on Sir Pentious and Husk but sometimes Niss would detect a faint wince he was trying to hide and knew it was his ankle again.
All of this made Niss nervous. As for Angel, he knew divine wounds could be very tricky and had their healing connected to sin — each person had to heal theirs in their own way. So not being able to give his brother a clear method for healing up worried him a lot.
As for Alastor, the deer being nervous at the idea of Pen discovering that he was dating Angel tracked. But something else was going on here — Alastor was almost acting like Pen being here was a challenge of some kind. Niss knew that Pen and Al had fought as overlords before, maybe more seriously than Pen and Angel had ever fought. What if there was some bad blood between them still, and Alastor felt threatened or like he couldn't address it? Niss wanted the three boyfriends to like each other more than anything.
Though he couldn't deny his own worry, Niss tried to just keep a smile on his face and take comfort from the feeling of Sir Pentious's strong tail beneath his body. He could talk to Angel or Pen about the issue later and then maybe Alastor himself. For now it was okay for the six of them to just enjoy themselves. They would find a way to be together and completely open with each other soon.
A/N:
That's all for now! The spiders and their boyfriends still have some small things to work out, and Val is emotionally reeling, and Charlie and Vaggie are just super good at communication lol. Things with the news story and Luci and Lilith will keep developing soon — thanks for your support and for reading!
Take care!
-Azure129