First to Fall
It was the same screams every year, the same blood and torture, starting and ending at the same time. The start was cause for worry, the end the cause for celebration. But all Charlie had was pity and sadness.
Against the rules she went outside during the height of the Extermination. Call it her own act of rebellion, or maybe it was her sense of justice and the love she felt for her people that made her legs run through the streets, running towards the screams instead of away from them like most people would. She heard their pain, the anger, the cursing and the pleas for mercy. They all fell on deaf ears, all except for hers.
Charlie always saw beauty in Hell, in the things that the normal person would run away from, they were a daily occurrence in her life. So seeing this carnage for so many years in a row, she hated how she got used to it too. Used but not compliant to it like so many Overlords and Royals. To them it was the way things were, to her it was something to be corrected.
She kept running, racing to save as many as she could, shoving them out of the way and hopefully steering them in a safer direction. Then she saw one, an Exterminator in an alleyway, ready to exterminate… kill yet another Sinner.
She couldn't let this happen right in front of her. "Stop! You don't have to hurt-!" As soon as she got close enough the Exterminator turned to her and pinned her to the wall, the handle of their spear pressing against her throat. Charlie stood still, waiting until the Sinner ran away only to be stabbed anyway, "No! I almost… please just one, why can't you leave just one?!" Her attention was focused back on the one pinning her down her anger getting the better of her. One swipe of her claws was all it took to tear through half of the Exterminator's mask, the cry shocked and painful followed by a hiss and the sharp end of the spear pointed right back at her.
It was… a woman. Charlie wasn't sure what she expected to find under the mask but it wasn't a pretty woman that's for sure. "You're the Princess, aren't you?"
"You can talk?" That came off way more offensive then she wanted it to. Charlie cringed at herself, "No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean- I wasn't expecting you to be so… not demon-ish?"
The Exterminator narrowed her eye at her and flipped her hair away from her face. "The only demons around here are the ones we hunt. Go back to your castle Princess, you don't belong here." She started walking away before Charlie could grab her and ask more questions.
Over the next year Charlie kept her little outing and discovery a secret. The Exterminators like monsters from the books she'd read, they could be reasoned with, she could talk to at least one of them. If only she asked for her name. Do they have names? Are they Heaven born? There was so much that was unknown about them. Naturally no one ever wanted to come close to for even a moment, let alone long enough to ask them any of these questions. But if she could then maybe she could get one step closer to her dream.
She realized then that she was looking forward to finding that Exterminator again.
An odd feeling and definitely one that would brand her as even more of a weirdo then she already was.
Charlie snuck out again, this time with a more clear goal in mind. There was one thing that they did know about the Exterminators, they followed a pattern, a code, orders. Sinners only, no one else unless they're endangered. And if those patterns are true then maybe she could run into her mysterious woman again. Hopefully before she got caught by someone else.
She could feel her chest hurting as she ran towards that same place, there was no guarantee that she'd find her again but… oh. Oh fuck. There she was.
"Are you okay?!" Charlie found herself running towards her only to have a spear pointed in her face again. The Exterminator was now fully unmasked, her helmet flung off to make breathing easier, her arm shaking and the spear along with it as she kept it crushed between her side and said arm for balance. "It's okay. I… I'm gonna help you." She approached slowly only to have the angel lunge towards her and miss, crashing into the other wall and letting out a groan of pain as she lost consciousness.
When she awoke again Charlie was in the middle of reading, her sunshine smile way too bright for a place like Hell. It was hard to sneak an Exterminator Angel into her bedroom, but it wouldn't be the first time she snuck people into her bedroom. And it won't be the last.
"Where am I?" She asked, and Charlie felt so relieved to hear that voice again.
"In my bed." Fuck, again? What was it about this woman that made Charlie say all the wrong things? "I mean-! Ugh! Because you were hurt, so I snuck you in here." Charlie quickly explained but it didn't stop the Exterminator from sitting up way to quickly for someone with her injuries. "Careful! Those still aren't-!"
Wings fanned out to stop her reach, almost knocking her back, "Don't fucking touch me." She growled out in warning.
Charlie wasn't phased in the slightest, she's heard worse threats. "I've never seen Exterminator wings up close. They're kinda pretty." Compliments clearly weren't gonna get her anywhere with this one. So maybe, "I have wings too. Want to see them?"
That seemed to have gotten her attention. Charlie smiled and did a little bow of curtsy before revealing a pair of pure white wings. The woman was too stunned to speak for several moments. "Oh right. Lucifer's kid, makes sense."
"So now that we established we have something in common can you please let me take another look at your wound? I don't know how your powers work but that seems pretty nasty."
"My wound? Wait… hold on… what time is it?! Is the Extermination over?!" She looked around suddenly scared and remembering in whose home she was in. If Lucifer found her here…
"The Extermination is over. Your… friends went back into Heaven but I'm sure they'll understand if you explain." Her laugh. Oh God. It was beautiful, but why was she laughing? "Did I say something funny?"
She stopped and looked at her, the smirk on her face painful, her hair parting to reveal her eye-patch, "You have a very interesting idea of how things work up there. Is that why you saved me? To be some kind of… test subject for your curiosity?"
"No, I am curious about you but I saved you because I waited for a year to see you again and I wasn't gonna let you die on my watch." There were probably way more reasons then just wanting to see her again but Charlie was not gonna unpack that yet. Nope.
"Y-You waited for me?" Her cheeks darkened a bit but then she shook it off. "You're so weird."
Charlie giggled, "So I've been told." She walked a bit closer, "I'm Charlie. Charlie Morningstar." She bowed again, taking another step, "What do I call you? I don't think calling you Exterminator is gonna cut it if we're gonna be friends from now on."
"We're not friends Princess. And you made one mistake." The woman scooted closer, to the edge of the bed where she was quite a bit closer to Charlie then she thought. She could see the Princess blushing as she tried not to look below her neckline. Then her eyes widened as she felt the sacred metal of the spear against her throat, "You left my spear within arms reach." She whispered, wondering how Charlie would react now.
To her surprise she wasn't moving, she wasn't scared. She moaned. The fuck was wrong with this girl?! "H-Hey, at least tell me your name before you put sharp objects against my throat."
Oh no. Fuck this shit.
"Perverted little… fucking… ugh. Forget it, I'm leaving before you get me into even more trouble." She grabbed her spear and her mask, quickly before Charlie could say anything else. If only she didn't turn around and tell her, "The name's Vaggie. Don't look for me next year Princess. It's for your own good." And Vaggie's.
The next year turned into two, three, and then four. Each year Charlie looked for her, and each year for a day Vaggie would stay a bit longer until she found herself knocking on Charlie's window a little after the Extermination started.
"Vaggie! Don't fly out there! What if someone sees you?" Charlie hurried to open the window and let Vaggie in. The mask came off right away, and Vaggie found herself wearing it less and less. "Is that blood?"
"Duh. What else would it be?" She set her helmet next to the nightstand on Charlie's bed.
"Oh. Right." When Vaggie didn't wear her helmet it was easy to forget she was here for the yearly purge. Not for Charlie. She was just… a detour. "Will you stay all day?"
"I killed some Sinners on my way here so I should be fine." For her it was her job, her duty, but Charlie wasn't any of those things. She was here because she wanted to be. As hard as it was to admit. "You don't need to worry about me hon, I'll be just fine."
Vaggie stretched her hands above her head and flexed her wings, letting out a long sigh of relief. She didn't notice how Charlie's cheeks heated up and her mouth fell open at the petname. Over the years they've gotten much closer, Vaggie even let Charlie hold her hand last year, that was a big step. But Charlie hesitated with petnames.
"Did you just… call me hon?" Vaggie paused and looked at the big winning grin on Charlie's face.
"No. You're hearing things." No hiding it now. Doesn't mean Vaggie can't try! "Let's read some books! Last year we started on-"
"Hon." Charlie echoed, "I like it. Please never stop calling me that." She could feel Vaggie shiver when she hugged her from behind. "How do you feel about sweetheart?" She heard her gulp too. "Vaggie?"
"I can't take this shit anymore." Vaggie turned around, cupped Charlie's red cheeks and pulled her down into a kiss. The surprise of it made Charlie's horns come out. "Horny princess." The words were mumbled against Charlie's lips. "Did you… was that okay? I should have asked before-"
"Do it again." Arms wrapped around Vaggie's back and pulled their bodies closer, "Kiss me and don't stop until tomorrow. Please." Charlie looked like she was about to cry, her grin threatened to split her face in half, "I wanted this since I first saw you. It was amazing! Like a fairy tail! I think I'm in love with y-"
No, she can't hear that. Not now. "Don't talk too much."
From then on forward they kept kissing, taking clothes off little by little, falling into Charlie's bed, most words being each others name. Charlie did cry but it wasn't because she was sad.
However the weirdest thing happened in the morning. Charlie was still sleeping, trying to find Vaggie. Then she felt weight settle on top of her. But when she turned on her back and instead of Vaggie's face she was met with the sharp end of a spear at her throat. Under normal circumstances Charlie would be startled, but looking past the spear she saw Vaggie, she saw her face, her teeth clenched, her hands shaking as she held the spear.
Charlie was perfectly calm. "Do you want to kill me?"
Vaggie flinched, pain visible on her face as the spear inched closer, "No." She couldn't kill Charlie. Literally. But most importantly she didn't want to.
Instead of simply pushing the spear away Charlie traced her fingers over the blade, slowly upwards and then wrapped them around Vaggie's shaking hand. "It's okay Vaggie."
"No it's not! We fucked Charlie! Do you have any idea what could happen now?! He's gonna be fucking pissed, and so will your parents! I need to leave before anyone-" Before Vaggie could though Charlie grabbed the spear with her hand, hissing at the stinging and burning. "Charlie!" Vaggie tried to pull away but Charlie wouldn't budge, "Let go!"
"I love you Vaggie. I don't care if I shouldn't or if it hurts. I love you." Charlie sat up slowly, moving the spear to the side as she did. She was face to face with Vaggie who, for the first time since she can remember in this new life, cried. "I love how strong you are. I love how soft your hands are when I hold them. I love how you get tongue tied when complimenting me. I love how you point out illogical things in the musicals that we watch. I love how you look at me."
Charlie didn't have to say it. Vaggie knew because she could see that same look in Charlie's eyes. The same one she tried to hide. Love. "I'm not strong. I'm a coward."
"You're an Exterminator who slept with the Princess of Hell. If that's not brave I don't know what is." Gentle hands cupped Vaggie's cheeks, the burn already healing itself.
"That's foolish." And more importantly traitorous. The more she looked at Charlie's face, her smile, her eyes filled with love, the more Vaggie's resolve crumbled. "You know I still have to go back right?" And face whatever consequences are waiting for her.
Yes. Charlie knew. Didn't mean she liked it. But Charlie couldn't tell her that. Vaggie already looked to be struggling between her duty and her heart. "I'll miss you Vaggie." This next year was bound to be harder to get through then any before, now that they know what loving each other is like.
"I'll miss you too Princess." Vaggie kissed her as a parting gift. She didn't risk looking back while she was putting her clothes on, or while flying away.
Charlie looked though, she always found herself looking Vaggie's way. All the way until… wait what was going on up there? Why wasn't she going further up? Why was she coming back. Fast! Really fast!
"Those nosy motherfuckers!" Vaggie shouted as she threw off her mask and slashed it with her spear. "Agh! I can't fucking believe-!" She cringed as she felt her halo vanish. "Fuck!" She threw her spear right into the center of the bedroom door. All the while Charlie still had no idea what was happening with her… girlfriend? Lover? Friend with benefits? "They… wouldn't even let me back in. I couldn't even…" Vaggie's voice was broken both by the rage and the sadness.
"Vaggie I… I had no idea this would happen. I can ask my dad to talk to-"
"No! Do you have any idea what Lucifer would do to me if he knew I fucked his daughter?!" This situation was going from bad to worse. Vaggie was actually scared now. She needed to get out of here, she shouldn't have even landed here but Charlie felt safe… now though…
"Probably give you the same dad talk he gave to all my exes." Charlie shrugged. "I don't think you have a very accurate picture of my dad. I'm sure he'd be willing to talk to… his dad?"
"If you think He can be reasoned with you have a very wrong perception of God. These days he hardly even listens unless you're directly in his face about the problem. That's why his underlings have to do all the grunt work." Vaggie walked over to her spear and ran her hands over it. "I can't go back. They called me a traitor. Because of you."
As her hands wrapped around the spear the weight of it felt like it was one of the only familiar things to her now, the only thing that grounded her and kept her from losing her mind.
"You don't have to go." Charlie loosely wrapped her arms around Vaggie's shoulders and pulled her into a hug from behind, "You could stay here."
"And do what Charlie? I'm… just like the rest of them. I'm… a Sinner now." For all both of them knew Vaggie could very well be a target now.
"Well… funny you should say that…" Charlie grinned and grabbed Vaggie by the shoulders. "I've been working on a little project called the Happy Hotel. Wanna hear about I?"