So this chapter is going to go over to the Hazbin side with Husk and Nifty. This idea just came to me and I was like "I want to write this. :)" Now just a heads up, Husk will be a bit OOC for this chapter.

Chapter 23

It was a quiet day at the hotel, one that Husk was glad for. It had been a month since the battle and things were finally feeling settled down.

Everyone except for Nifty was out at the moment and Husk was humming as he wiped down the bar, smiling as it shined. When the hotel had been rebuilt, Charlie had made plans to make the bar better and a bit larger and get some more equipment in for Husk to use, which he was grateful for.

He had just finished fixing up a new drink mix when he heard someone walking up and he turned to find it was Nifty. But to his utter surprise, she looked a wreck.

Cobwebs were in her hair and her dress skirt was torn a little. She had stains all over her dress and even her hands were filthy. But what was worse was her expression.

Nifty was always happy and wearing a smile, but this time, she looked utterly miserable and sad. She just sat at a barstool and rested her head on the clean counter. Husk would normally be upset as he had just cleaned the counter, but seeing Nifty's expression, he couldn't bring himself to be upset.

"You alright, Nift?" He asked her.

"No," she said miserably.

He handed her a glass of water. "What happened?" He asked, feeling protective as he wondered if someone had pranked the young woman who loved to clean.

"I fell down the chimney," she said.

Husk blinked. "Um, which chimney?" He asked as he hadn't seen her fall in the chimney in the sitting area.

"The old one in the attic," she said. "It was so dirty! I went to clean it and all of a sudden, it grabbed me and chewed me up! And I came out like this!"

Tears fell from her eye as she cried and Husk sighed. He figured from Nifty's story that she had tried to clean the old chimney and got tangled up in it, thus resulting in her looking like the chimney had indeed chewed her up and spat her out.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll fix you up your favorite drink?" He offered.

She peeked up at him, sniffling a little. "The blue one?" She asked in a small voice.

"The blue one," he said, nodding with a smile, knowing she was referring to a Blue Hawaiian. "I'll even add a slice of pineapple, some whipped cream, and a few cherries on top."

She perked up a little bit before hopping off the stool and running to her room to get cleaned up while Husk cleaned the counter and got to mixing the young woman's drink. Surprisingly, Nifty wasn't back quickly like he thought, but he gathered she must have decided to take a shower, not that he blamed her.

Twenty minutes later though, she was back at the bar, her hair damp but clean and she looked better, having changed into another one of her duplicate dresses. Husk handed her the drink and she smiled. "Thanks, Kitty," she said before taking a sip of the drink.

Husk usually hated when he was called that, but he let it slide this time. "I hope you're not going to let that big bully of a chimney win, are you?" He asked teasingly.

She didn't reply and that stunned him. "Alright, something else is up," he said. "What's going on, Nift? Someone say something to you?"

She shook her head. "No," she said.

Husk waited patiently and after a moment, she looked up at him. "Kitty, am I annoying?" She asked.

He blinked. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"With my cleaning quirk and...my voice?"

The cat-like being shook his head. "Nift, you're not annoying," he said. "You might do things that can drive the rest of us crazy, but you're not annoying at all. What made you think that?"

She sighed. "Before I came here, I worked at other places and...they always called me annoying and a nuisance, but there was so much cleaning to be done! If you're having guests, do you want your guests to be in a dirty room?! Rooms need to be cleaned to make a good first impression on guests. Cannot be dirty! Unkempt rooms tell a guest they are not welcomed or their comfort is not a concern!"

Husk hadn't known that Nifty worked as a cleaning lady in other places. "Well, that is all true," he said. "Why do you think I keep the bar clean? I don't want people to think that this place is a piece of junk."

"Exactly!" She said, looking relieved. "You get it."

He nodded. "Didn't know you had cleaned other places before. Bet those guests were glad to have clean rooms," he said.

Nifty looked away. "Yeah, but then the owners would get mad because they couldn't get more money from their guests," she said. "The owners expected the rooms to look unkempt because they owned a cheap hotel, but just because you don't charge a lot doesn't mean you can be lax on making sure it's clean."

"I'm with you on that," Husk said with a nod.

"One time, the owners were so mad that I had cleaned all the rooms and the guests were asking how the rest of the hotel looked so bad yet their rooms were well kept. Well, they tied me up and were about to toss me into the shark tank to feed to their pets when Alastor stopped them."

"He did?" The cat-like being asked in surprise.

Nifty nodded. "Oh, he was really mad that they were going to do that and he punished them," he said. "That's when he decided he'd go to hotels and see if my cleaning services would be appreciated. I think it's the reason he had me come here when Charlie first opened the hotel."

She sighed. "Still, sometimes I wonder if my incessant cleaning is bugging others," she said.

Husk looked around before smirking as he had an idea. "Hey, Nift? Can you come around her for a second? I see a spot on the floor here behind the bar and I can't seem to get it cleaned up," he said.

Nifty at once perked up. "No, no! No dirty spots with food and drink!" She said, quickly moving, but pausing as she was poised to attack the mess since she could not see it. "Um...where is it?" She asked.

"Right here," Husk said before playfully poking Nifty's sides and tickling her.

The shorter being squealed before falling down and laughing as Husk kept tickling her sides and stomach. "There you are, Nift. That mess doesn't stand a chance," he said, smirking as Nifty was squirming and giggling like crazy.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHO! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAD KIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHTTY!" Nifty laughed out. "IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI'LL SPRAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAY YOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO WITH WAHAHAHAHAHATER!"

"Like to see you try," he said teasingly. "I might be old, but I'm still quick on my feet."

Nifty squealed when Husk tickled her underarms and she couldn't escape, but after a bit, the cat-like being let up the shorter being and she pouted at him. "You're a bad kitty," she said, but a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"That's right," Husk said, grinning. "I'm the baddest cat around and none can escape my ticklish grasp."

Realizing he was messing with her, Nifty laughed and Husk laughed too before the shorter being hugged him. "Thanks, Kitty,"

"You're welcome," he said. "Why don't you take a break from cleaning for the rest of today? I'll tell Charlie to take care of that mean old chimney."

Nifty giggled, but nodded. Neither noticed that Alastor had seen their interaction, but the radio being decided to keep quiet and not say a word to anyone.

Though he was going to ask Charlie about giving Nifty some days off in the near future as the shorter being deserved it for her hard work.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418