Happy Easter everyone! Or at least to those who celebrate it! My family does a little something something with it as a tradition but we're not religious so we just see it mainly as a holiday off with the family lol To quote my brother on this "Holy Night": Jesus is coming again, and not in a pleasure way so everyone have fun for him instead lol
Again, I'll be leaving in a few days to take a week off with my girlfriend so this might be the last update I do for a little bit and y'all might hate me for the ending here but you'll live! lol
ALSO! FF is not doing the details with italics or bold as it normally does so it might look different this chapter because of it! I will repost if I can get it fixed later but didn't want to leave this area out of the loop because of it being weird lol
Hope you all stay safe out there and have a wonderful night!
"What. The fuck. Is this?" I watched Vaggie's reaction to the liquor-filled counter that the sinner Husk was tending to as I couldn't help but echo her confusion.
"It's a bar, Toots!" Angel happily took a seat at the counter before using his four arms to lean forward and address the other sinner. "Got something hard for me, kitten? And I'm talking the liquid courage type and not what you might be thinking." He gave Husk a wink which he seemed to disregard begrudgingly.
"Oh, no." Vaggie sounded disgusted as she walked up to Alastor. "No, no." The last one was filled with disdain as she continued. "We are trying to discourage sin, not encourage it!"
"Then how are you to attract sinner initially, hm?" The sound of his hum at the end sounded oddly mechanical and horn-like as Vaggie just narrowed her gaze at him.
"Just wait till Lucifer sees this." As if on cue, one of his portals appeared in front of the bar and his smaller frame stepped out.
"Good morning, my lovely ladies and co! How is every-" My father had a bright smile on his face until he turned around and saw the grey dark bar Alastor and Husk had adorned in the main area of the hotel. "Goodness gracious! What the fuck is that?!"
"Oh, not you too Daddy Lucifer!" Angel Dust pouted as Husk slid him a small glass with about a fourth of it being filled with liquor. "What's a little bit of temptation to ease you into it, eh?"
"No, no, no~!" Lucifer seemed to mimic how Vaggie was but instead of disdain in his last response, it was in a sing-song fashion. "Nope, no." Angel Dust gave me an amused look as he took a sip out of his drink.
"I guess it's true about it women and finding partners like their daddies, huh?" I blushed at his comment as my dad turned to Vaggie who was still staring down Alastor. "You don't like this any more than I do, right?"
"Absolutely."
"It's because you're both angels, darlings." Alastor was looking at the nails on his one hand as he leaned his weight into his cane. "You both don't understand what it takes to bring in the damned. You can't get them toward redemption without some temptation."
"Okay! So we have spoken about each other's sides and how we all view the situation, right?" I tried my best to speak calmly despite all the tension that was filling the main area of the hotel. "It's completely understandable to try to make sinners avoid sins altogether, but we have to understand that to some, it would be a really big ask to cut off a lot of their habits and temptations completely cold turkey. It would be just like in the living world, right?" I walked over to my girlfriend and dad before wrapping an arm around each of them. "Every sinner is different. Each one is going to have to take baby steps toward redemption and we can ease them into it by having certain-." I searched for the right word for a moment before squeezing the two of them close to me. "Comforts, available to them." Vaggie seemed conflicted for a moment as she looked between me and the bar.
"Are you sure about this, Charlie? It's a slippery slope with these kind of things. Especially in Heaven's eyes."
"Let's think about this from a sinner's perspective, Vags." I took the arm I had around my dad to hold Vaggie's shoulders instead. "What sinner would want to come here if they think we want to strip them of everything as soon as they walk through the door? Over time, we can take the bar and alcohol away, but to start off with our first wave if sinners? We should ease into it until we can get them redeemed. They won't trust in us until we can prove it anyway." Vaggie searched my eyes for a second as if looking for any reason why I wouldn't have faith in the situation, before taking a deep sigh and releasing it.
"I trust you, babe. But if there are any slip-ups with it, the bar is going. We do not need any major mistakes happening."
"You are completely right and I'm sure Alastor can agree with that." I looked over toward the Radio Demon with a smile. I couldn't quite tell if he was pleased or disappointed in the resolution or not but he was smiling back nonetheless.
"Of course! Any slip-up and I'll get rid of it." He gave a small nod before looking over toward his acquaintance. "Right, Husky?"
"Yes, boss." I could hear a bit of disgust and disdain in the sinner's voice, but he continued cleaning the glass he had just gotten back from Angel Dust.
"See, a compromise! How wonderful, right everyone?" Alastor walked proudly over toward the bar before leaning against the counter on the opposite side of Angel Dust with his ever-smiling face looking over toward me. "A great first step toward working between a middle ground between Heaven and Hell! Sinners and winners. Each having a good and open conversation and working toward something that works for everyone, right Charlie?" I couldn't help but feel pride in the man's words as I gave a wide toothy grin of my own toward toward him.
"Right!" I moved Vaggie into my side with a tight hug as the angel just giggled into my side.
"Alright, I guess if you put it that way, it's a move in the right direction. But we have to keep redemption in mind and in heart." I nuzzled my cheek into the smaller girl's head as my smile felt like it would hurt my cheeks by the end of the day.
"Absolutely right, angel."
"Huh? But I said nothing." Angel Dust gave a knowing smirk as he turned on his bar stool to watch Vaggie and I roll our eyes at him collectively.
"Lucifer is the dad here and you're the one making puns?" Husk gave him a quirked brow as he put down the glass on the counter.
"I am the one in the entertainment industry, it's what I'm meant for."
"But you're a porn star, not a comedian." Angel Dust just shrugged at the comment as his knowing smirk kept itself on display.
"All in the same industry. Even then, sounds like someone has admired my work." He shot a wink to the shorter sinner which caused Husk to roll his eyes like Vaggie and I had.
"Don't flatter yourself, Legs."
"Eh, your lost, Whiskers." He shrugged and leaned back onto the counter with his four arms sprawled out over it this time around. At this point, a smaller sinner came rushing through with a knife as she chased something small and black scurrying across the floor. This caused Angel to pull his arms and legs into himself as she scurried in front of him after whatever it was she was chasing in particular. "Who in the fuck-?"
"Niffty," The smaller sinner stopped abruptly which caused her pink hair to bounce as she snapped her attention toward Alastor. "Have you forgotten to introduce yourself to everyone?" His smile looked as if it softened while speaking with the much smaller sinner who could remind someone of a little girl.
"Oh!" She then turned at breakneck speed to give Vaggie and me her full attention before giving a small curtsy with her red and white maid dress. "My name is Niffty! Here to keep your rooms clean, food made, and bug slaughtered!" She giggled to herself as she stood back at her full height before glancing over toward where my father was. "O~! A bad boy!" She scurried just like the little creature she was chasing before over toward my dad who now made a frightened response to her.
"Um, hello?" He nearly jumped on top of the table behind him. He pointed toward the knife she still had in her one hand despite all the running around. "Got a pointy hurty thing there friend, might want to put it away when running toward others."
"Yeah, Niffty, if you could put that away when greeting others?" I was hesitant to speak with her as I let go of my girlfriend to try getting Niffty's full attention. "You can use it to do what you need it for like cooking, but please keep it away from others unless you have a valid reason." She looked up at me with her bright red eye for a second before giving me a wide smile with her sharp teeth and then nodded.
"Yes, ma'am!" She put the knife away somewhere behind her which caused me to be worried for a moment for how she had it hidden before she looked over toward Alastor. "Listen to the boss, right sir?"
"Exactly, Little Darling." She nodded to herself once more as she gave me her attention once more.
"Sir said I was to listen to whatever you say, so whatever you say!" She gave a toothy grin once more as she then walked over toward Vaggie with not as much urgentness as she did toward my father. "That goes for you too, I suppose." Vaggie gave a small smile while squatting down to Niffty's height.
"You're feisty little lady, aren't you?" I felt a warmth spread through my chest as Niffty smiled brightly at Vaggie in reply.
"So I've been told."
"You remind me a little of my hermanita, honestly." She reached out and gave Niffty a small pat on the head which she just seemed to stare up at Vaggie with her wide eye as she did so. "She was a bit of a loose cannon, but had a lot of drive and heart."
"What's a her-man-ta?" Vaggie just chuckled at her as she brought back her hand and stood back up to her full height.
"Hermanita means little sister. It's Spanish."
"I like your fancy words, angel lady." Niffty giggled to herself for a second but that changed when a small little black creature scurried across the floor again. Her attitude switched like a light switch before she pulled back out the knife she had hidden away with a sinister smile. "The bugs are back~! Come here you little-." Niffty hurried after the black dot on the floor with a loud laugh as she stabbed in quick intervals at the floor after it. Vaggie quirked an eyebrow at her actions as she let out a small amused laugh.
"She's got spirit at least." She crossed her arms over her chest as she turned toward Alastor. "How old is she anyway?"
"From what I understand, she died in her twenties but has a lot of childish tendencies. She was lucky I found her and made the deal that I did before she ended up giving her soul away to someone else."
"These two have deals with you? Husk as well?" I joined in on the conversation as Alastor turned his head toward me.
"Well, of course. I am an Overlord. Though our deals are quite leisurely in comparison to some of the other Overlords and such." I joined Vaggie's side as he continued. "Niffty after all just has to do as I ask in return for keeping her safe and protected. She's got a twisted little mind that I don't quite understand entirely, but she's wonderful company and a great companion." He gestured a hand toward Husk. "And my other companion here and I made a deal when he fell short on a gamble. Nothing too drastic beyond that. He follows certain commands and I allow him to keep the power he has despite the deal we made. I believe it was a fair enough deal to keep him from falling to rock bottom." He gave a smile toward the other sinner who just stared blankly at the Radio Demon.
Something isn't right there.
I looked over toward Vaggie in the corner of my eye who seemed to echo the same idea within her mind.
Someone isn't telling the whole truth, but what should I expect? We haven't made any strides toward redemption just yet and everyone is going to have their guard up for the time being.
"Well, that's reassuring." For now at least. "I should make some plans for our first group sessions though! You and your companions will be joining, right Alastor?"
"If you insist, I'm sure none of the three of us will mind."
"Perfect, let me know how many people I'll be working with! Are you joining too, Dad?" He jumped down from the table he was still hiding as he cleared his throat.
"I was actually here to speak with you about something important, Char-Char." I gave my Dad a confused look.
"What do you mean? What's up, Dad?"
"I got word from Heaven that they want to meet with us. You and me in particular." My brows knitted together in worry before glancing over toward Vaggie.
"Does this have to do with-?"
"I don't think it does."
"Why would you think so?" Dad took a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
"Because we're not meeting Sera."
"Who would want to meet with us then? What wouldn't this have to deal with Vaggie's situation?"
"I don't think Sera let anyone else know she's looking into everything just yet, Duckie."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because," A serious look took over my father's eyes. "We're meeting with Adam."