"Honey, breakfast is ready." Bucky called, "I made hotcakes." Hazel yawned as she made her way downstairs and sat down at the table, humming and licking her lips as Bucky placed a plate with a small stack of pancakes down in front of her. "Bon appetite." "Hmmm… thank you love." Hazel laughed, reaching up and giving Bucky a peck on the cheek.
Bucky chuckled and hiccupped as he walked off to grab his own plate. The two imps laughed and clashed their forks together before digging into their food. Bucky hummed as he heard the doorbell ring and a soft knock at the front door. "Who the heck? Who'd be knocking at our door this early in the morning?" Hazel asked. "Uh… not sure." Bucky shrugged, "Lemme go have a look-see." Bucky stood up and walked over to the front door, peering through the peephole and saw a Lust Ring imp woman standing on the front porch. She looked a little bit like Hazel, except she was a bit taller with dark gray hair and thick feet rather than hooves.
"Uh… Hazel? Any chance you or Ma are expecting company?" Bucky asked. Hazel let out a curious hum as she stood up and walked to the front door, peering through the peephole before opening the door with a questioning, "Hello?" "Hazel, darling!" the imp gushed, "How've you been? Good? Oh, it's been so long, sweetie." Hazel gasped as the imp pulled her into a tight hug, squeaking as she rocked her body back and forth a few times before letting her go. "Don't you recognize me? It's me! Your Aunt Karol."
"Gee, what do ya know… you ain't welcome here!" Hazel hissed as she backed away to close the door, letting out a yelp as Karol stopped the door midway through and barged into the house. "Oh, come on, Hazel. How many years has it been? You can't seriously still be bitter about the whole 'leaving you to the sinners' thing, can you? I was young, and just not ready for parenthood." "That may be true," Bucky drawled, "But the fact is you never had any sorta role in her childhood at all. Recon that kinda soured her on you."
"That is an understatement, Bucky!" Hazel scoffed, "My dad used up a lot of favors trying to find any blood relatives of mine after my biological parents died; you were all I had left who could've taken me in. But you said, 'she's not my problem.' So, Husker adopted me, and we never heard so much as a peep out of you after that. You never visited, never called; not even so much as a 'happy birthday' card. After a while, I just accepted the fact that you didn't give two shits about me. Now you have the audacity to come out here all the way from Lust, to show up at my doorstep, and… what? What did you expect me to do? Did you expect that I would just… forgive and forget? Are you insane? Are you… are you fucking high?"
"Now, now, there's no need for that kind of language." Karol insisted, "I was just in the neighborhood and decided to come by and offer my congratulations on the new baby." Hazel's jaw dropped and she started to shiver, moving close to Bucky and wrapping an arm around his arm as she asked, "B-but… b-b-but how? H-h-how do you know? Who told you?" "Oh sweetheart, it doesn't matter how I found out." Karol said dismissively, "All that matters is that I know, I'm here, and I want to help however I can. For example, this place could use a serious overhaul."
Karol looked around, cringing at some of the couple's furniture, decorations, and photos; one in particular made her audibly gasp and groan. It was a more recent picture of Husk dressed in his barkeeper's uniform working the original bar at the Jackpot; he was smiling and flashing an 'I love you' sign with one hand and holding a bottle of his favorite whiskey in the other. Karol gagged as she picked up the photograph and held it up, "Is that supposed to be your 'daddy,' Hazel? Dear Satan, time has not been kind to the old pussycat, has it?"
"Gimme that," Bucky snapped, "Sure, Mr. H has… fallen on some hard times over the years. But he's still a good man. And he'll always have a place in this here family." "Too bad sinners can't travel between the rings," Karol sighed, saying in a sarcastic tone, "It sure would be nice if he could come down here and visit, now wouldn't it?"
"Husker's sins are his business and his burden to bare." A voice called. Everyone turned to see an older Wrath Ring imp woman coming into the living room from the kitchen. "Oh, hey there, Dalilah," Karol greeted, "I was wondering when you'd be in from milking the cows."
"Shut yer dirty pie hole!" Dalilah snapped. Karol's eyes went wide as Dalilah got right up in her face and said, "You've got a hell of a lotta nerve showing up 'round here after all these years. Yer niece needed you twenty-six years ago and yer reaction was to say, 'fuck that.' Now you show up here wanting to play aunty. You barge in here, you insult our home, our family, and you expect us to just sit back and take it? Fuck you! Now collect yerself and yer things and get the fuck outa my house!"
Karol's face scrunched up as she let out an indignant huff and said, "Fine! Be that way! See if I give a shit!" Karol let out a shriek as she threw the photo onto the floor and stomped over to the front door. Hazel gasped and rushed over as Dalilah bent down and started cleaning up the broken glass. Before she could get down on the ground, Bucky stopped Hazel and leaned down, grabbing the photograph and giving it to her before bending down and helping Dalilah to clean up.
"I don't know who you're trying to fool here, Hazel, but you and I both know what you're actually doing." Karol barked, "You might've succeeded in fooling these poor, uneducated country bumkins, but you can't fool me. I see right through your whole 'I'm so little and weak and helpless' act, and how you managed to fool that poor old fuck into giving you the world. I will get what I'm owed, Hazel. Mark my words, this is not the last you've seen of me."
And with that, Karol walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind her hard enough to make the wall shake. "What a bitch." Bucky groaned, "What the hell was that all about?" "I don't know," Hazel shivered, looking down at the photograph and bringing it close to her heart, "And I don't rightly care right now. I'm just glad she's gone… and I hope she never comes back."