Author's note: Ok, i'm juts gonna come forth and say, not everyone is going to like the direction i took Velvette in with this chapter, but i felt like it would fit for the sake of the tale i'm creating here, plus, it's fanfiction, i can warp stuff a bit, right?

But be warned y' all, this one is a bit heavy, and pretty damn dark.

And it'll also explain why Ashley behaves the way she does(Eyo? backstory reveal?)

DISCLAIMER/CONTENT WARNING:

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE, AS WELL AS SELF HARM,

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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Chapter 32:

NOW we can talk

Ashley had made it to the lobby of the hazbin hotel as she met up with Charlie and Vaggie "You galls found her?" she panted.

The 2 women would shake their heads "We tried all the places we know she usually retreats but, no sign of her anywhere" Charlie said in a worried tone as Vaggie snapped at the shark sinner "You know, we wouldn't be in this fucking mess if you had let her talk AS WE HAD AGREED ON"

Ashley slapped her own forehead a few times "I KNOW, I know, I let my temper get the better of me….fuck…..Velvette….in love….with ME….it all makes sense now….shit…..i gotta fix this….you don't just blurt out shit like that, not even for a lie…i….i really messed up…."

Vaggie gave her a deadpans glare as she sarcastically sneered "Well at least we agree on something, good job. What now? Want a fucking trophy?"

The shark-grinned sinner would snarl "Not the time for sarcasm Vags! You can call me out on my bullshit later, first we gotta find Velvette!" right as Angel Dust walked into the lobby "Holy shit, what's gotten you 3 all riled up?"

"Oh shit, Angel, your timing couldn't be better" Ashley said as she approached the pornstar "Seen velvette around? It's urgent"

"Uh, yea, saw her running off, she looked pretty upset. Never seen her like that before"

"Did you see where off to?" Vaggie would ask, to which the spider demon shrugged "Eh, not sure, she was too fast"

By now, they heard the radio-static laced laugh of Alastor as he piped up from one of the sofas, a mug of coffee in hand "Ohh the darling little doll, yes she looked quite distressed indeed. Such a shame, a frown really doesn't suit such a pretty face" as he chuckled for a bit.

Vaggie would grumble in an annoyed tone "uhg of course you'd get a kick out of this" as she approached him and spoke up "Just because you're an emotionless jerk doesn't mean you can take the piss on those of others, shit-ass"

"Oh come now my dear" Alastor smiled as he stood up, gently patting the fallen angel on the top of her head in a demeaning way "Just because you can't see them does not mean they are not there, I just have mine under control better then….shall we say, present company" he said in a mocking tone, gesturing to the anarchy overlord.

Ashley would narrow her gaze "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" to which Vaggie gave the shark overlord a sarcastic glance "He's got a point there, Ashley, YOU are the one who send her storming off"

The anarchy overlord would glare at the radio demon as she quickly quipped back "oh bold fucking words for someone who was dressed by the fucking great depression, grandpa"

Alastor would just casually fix the lapels of his coat "Oh come now darling, I'm just saying it as I see it. Our little darling doll ran off to the roof by the way. I guess she needed some fresh air, all tho by the way she looked, I'd say she could definitely use it too, haha" He laughed in an overly acted, mocking way as he wandered off.

The moment Ashley heard roof, she took of like a woman on a mission, followed shortly by Charlie and Vaggie in tow as she ran up stairs as fast as her legs allowed her.

Eventually, the trio reached the door to the rooftop.

Taking a deep breath, Ashley slowly creaked the door open and took a peek outside as there, leaning with her elbows on the half wall, head buried in her arms was Velvette, the soft sound of sobs only faintly hearable through the wind that blew this far up high.

The shark sinner gave the 2 other women a nod "I….i'm the one who upset her….i guess I'm the one to fix this…." To which Charlie and Vaggie nodded as they took a few steps back and stayed behind in the little shed that led to the stairs as Ashley slowly emerged and paused for a moment, a few feet behind the short fashionista.

Trying to gather the courage, she cleared her throat, which made the doll demoness flinch. Taking this as her cue to be a little more gentle, she softly spoke "…hey…."

Velvette did not respond, so Ashley slowly stepped closer, until she was next to the short demoness.

Gesturing next to her on the half wall, she softly asked "Got room for 1 more?"

Velvette didn't look up, however, she gently gestured with her head to the spot Ashley had pointed at as the shark-grinned girl leaned down with her elbows onto the wall.

The 2 sinners just sat there for a while as not a single word was spoken between them.

"Look…" Ashley spoke up, breaking the silence "i…..the way I acted….you didn't deserve that….." as she finally forced herself to look at the short fashionista "….i had no idea…."

"Of course you fucking didn't….the only 3 people who knew were Charlie, Vaggie and Melissa…" as the short overlord wiped away a few tears "…..i had….imagined this moment very different in my head…"

To which Ashley would respond "What moment, the moment you confessed your feelings to me?"

Giving a few sobs, Velvette would nod "I had it all planned out…I'd have finally earned your trust….i'd invite you to hang out at one of my favorite clubs….we'd have a few drinks….i'd take you to one of my favorite spots in one of the parks….where I'd have set up candles and shit…it was going to be romantic as fuck…."

She gave a defeated sigh "Instead…I never earned your trust and I ended up screaming it at you in an angry shouting match…..how pathetic is that….."

Ashley furrowed her brow as she looked over the skyline of pentagram city "…i….guess I ain't exactly the easiest with trust….especially once it's already damaged….."

This caught Velvette's attention as she wiped away a few stray tears and she looked up "You willing to share that tale?"

Ashley visibly tensed up as her face took on a thousand yard stare "I'm…..not sure if I'm ready to face that part of my past yet…..not tonight…sorry"

Velvette pondered for a moment "…..let's make it an exchange…." Causing Ashley to raise her brows "How do you mean?" Velvette responded "Simple, I'll tell you something vulnerable about my past, and you tell me your story"

The shark overlord narrowed her eyes as she held up her hand "Fine….but I lay down the conditions….it can ONLY be the truth…" as demonic energy enveloped her hand.

Velvette looked her dead in the eye, sheer determination on her face "Deal" she spoke as she shook her hand as the demonic pact was struck.

Once they had let go, the short overlord took a deep breath as she readied herself "I…wasn't always this confident….or vain….i used to be VERY insecure….i guess in a way I still am…." As she slowly began to roll down the long, near shoulder length gloves she was wearing as Ashley's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.

The entirety of both the doll demoness's lower arms were covered with very obvious, pale scars, too straight, high in number and consistent to be the result of an accident "There's a reason as to why I always wear long sleeves….or gloves….."

"Velvette….i didn't…think…." Ashley stammered over her words as the short fashionista simply answered "That I was a cutter?" as she sighed.

"I had no control over my life….i was depressed….i was bullied….you'd be surprised how long into your adulthood bullying can keep being an issue…..i just…wanted to feel anything other then that anguish….cutting was the ONE this I had control over….and another part of me still doesn't know why the fuck I did it….."

With a deep breath, she rolled her gloves back up "Well….there ya go….i fulfilled my end of our deal…." As she turned to Ashley "Your turn" as she gave a mournful smile.

Ashley was taken aback, completely caught by surprise by this revelation "Do you still….."

Velvette would finish the question " ….."get the urge"? Sometimes yes…..but I've learned to deal with it. I can suppress it now"

The shark-sinner once again looked over the city "I…I guess it's my turn to spill my guts, hu?" to which Velvette just simply responded "Pretty much yea"

She took a deep breath as she suddenly began to pull off her tank top "WHOA, WHOA, CALM THE FUCK DOWN" Velvette yelped out "Just because I'm in love with you doesn't mean I'm ready to just fuck you here and now on the roof, put your shirt back o-….." She stopped in the middle of her sentence as her eyes fell on a giant, gnarly looking scar that ran almost the entirety of Ashley's spine.

The skin of the old wound looked almost…..cooked…the surface was all warped and molten looking as it was a dark red…..

Velvette stared with wide eyes at the giant scar "what….happened….to…."

"Little gift…from my mom…I was about 5 when I got this…I was being too loud…mother never liked it when I got loud….." Ashley stated, looking ahead to the city skyline with that same thousand yard stare…..

"Mother always wanted peace and quiet, she threw the salt shaker at me….that scared me, so I started crying…..so she yelled at me….."If you won't stop crying, I'll give you something to cry about"…..i still remember it to this day…."

Velvette listened wordlessly to the shark-grinned girl with wide eyes…."I got even more scared and accidentally ran into the dresser…knocking over her favorite vase…"

Ashley suddenly flinched as Velvette gently put a hand on her arm "And….w-what….what happened then…"

Ashley looked at her, but once she looked her in the eye, she saw only sympathy as Velvette gently rubbed her thumb over Ashley's arm.

Ashley took a deep breath "…..her….tone shifted, and she gave me this smile "Come to mommy, dear. Will you be a good girl and come to mommy? It's ok, you can trust me"…..and like the stupid, naïve kid I was….i listened…."

She once again stared off into nothing as she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, towards the scar on her back "When she got her hands on me…..she poured the fry oil from her pan on me…I can sometimes still feel it…..how it burned…..i never minded all my other scars too much….yes I was insecure about them, but at least I had some agency in how I got those….but this one…..i fucking hate this one…."

Velvette could see that even tho tears were beginning to well up in the corners of Ashley's eyes, her face was completely blank.

"I learned 3 important lessons that day…..1: if you can't even trust your own mother….you can't fully trust ANYONE…..ever…..….2: I would never let anyone see that they could get to me….."

"Which is why you're always goofing off? Why you always seem like you never take anything serious?" Velvette realized, to which Ashley just slowly nodded, before the short demoness asked "And 3?"

Ashley would finally make eye contact again as she spoke "…..That I really fucking hated bullies…..and that I'd never let anyone else go through what I had, ever again…..not if I could help it…"

And as Ashley returned her gaze to pentagram city in the distance, Velvette couldn't help but feel a connection….as she decided to roll down her gloves again and just drop them to the ground, next to Ashley's tanktop.

After this, she returned her gaze to the shark overlord, the only thing now covering her up on the top was a simple, black bra as Velvette leaned onto the half wall next to her and the 2 scarred women just sat there, watching the lights of the city in the distance, just basking in each other's presence as a weird energy faded from them.

Since both their respective ends of their deal had been met, the contract was broken.

They just sat there in silence, no words were spoken….none were needed as for the first time, the 2 demonesses completely understood each other….

After half an hour, Ashley would break their silence "Ya know….pentagram city is weirdly beautiful from up high…"

Velvette would slightly cock her head as she looked at the city skyline "Hu….you know what? You're right….never really gave it much thought…the view is quite lovely….."

"It really is" Ashley smiled, before she finished "I guess you could say it's a view to die for" as she gave a muffled snort and a chuckle, which caused Velvette to give her a deadpan face "Really? A fucking dad-joke?"

The 2 of them looked at each other before the absurdity of it all finally set in and the both of them erupted in laughter.

Velvette couldn't help but admire Ashley's face in-between giggle fits as all she could think of is "fuck….why did she had to have such a cute laugh…"

Once she managed to recompose herself, Ashley put an arm around the short overlord's shoulder as she spoke between chuckles "Ya know Velvette…..i was wrong about you, maybe you're not so bad" causing the short doll demoness's heart to flutter…

…she had done it…..she had finally earned Ashley's trust…next step? Win her heart…and sweep her off her feet….