In an instant, an innocent family trip had turned into a moment of heartbreak and hurt for everyone involved.
Thirty seconds. That's all it took for things to go to shit.
Arya saw herself as a sort of mirror to her brother. Whereas Andre was the wise old man who had seen everything, Arya herself was a young firecracker, trying to show people kindness with her words. She had a heart too big for Hell, many had told her.
She didn't see it that way. But her big heart certainly wouldn't be able to stand what was coming.
She'd gotten Viv's text and had immediately gone on edge, subtly brushing a hand across Madrox's arm to get his attention. When she showed him the text, his eyes shot wide open, before the two shared a discreet but determined nod of agreement while the other three were distracted.
With how good his nose was, it should've been surprisingly easy to have kept John away from Verosika. Despite having a nose to rival her own, or any hellhound, John couldn't single out someone he wasn't expecting in a place as big as Lu Lu World. Nor could he single out a particular voice among the cacophony of people.
They'd unfortunately planned for scenarios like this. Not too long after John and Arya's little Rose had broken up.
Arya didn't care if Verosika had gone back to her birth name, she knew her daughter. Verosika had kept in contact with her, at the very least. Verosika would always be her little Rose, just like John had managed to worm his way into her heart as another son.
But John's temper was something to fear, everyone knew. And even with his grudge slowly fading as it seemed, there was still that chance that he'd grow angry. And the last thing anyone wanted was for John to get kicked out or cause a ruckus. Or even worse…
She didn't see it escalating past Nea simply kicking him out at Lu Lu World, but that didn't change the fact that no one wanted to see that possibility come to pass.
Of course, just their luck that nature seemed to be looking to spite them.
If he wasn't expecting it, John couldn't single out smells or voices for the life of him. But he would always remember a face.
So when John came to an abrupt and sudden halt, eyes narrowed with a look of disbelief on his face, Arya felt her stomach drop.
"John?" Razor spoke up, ignorant to the situation at hand at the moment. "What's up, big guy? You look like you just watched someone kick a dog." He noted with an amused expression.
John's response wiped amusement away from everyone.
"Was that- is that Rose?" John's voice was low, disbelief in his tone, on his face, anywhere for it to be seen. The moment the words left his mouth, any and all signs of amusement washed away from Razor's face as his gaze snapped in the direction John was facing, as did Beartrap's own confused eyes as he turned to look for his big sister.
Arya felt panic creeping up in her, something clearly shared by Madrox as the couple shared nervous glances with each other before looking in the direction John was looking as well.
At that moment, Arya felt two very different instincts warring with each other inside of her. Because right their was her oldest, her baby, her only daughter. She stood hand in hand with some goat demon, a seductive smirk on her face as they waited in line to get on the Fire Fist ride.
On the one hand, she wanted to run up and hug the daughter she hadn't seen in person for a little over two years. To tell her how much she missed her, how much she loved her, to beg her to come back home or at least visit.
But on the other…
"Here." John spoke up, giving Razor just enough time to turn his somewhat scared attention back to the behemoth before he had his little brother in his arms. "I'll be right back."
"John, no." Arya made sure her tone was stern as she moved from Madrox's side, blocking John's path to Verosika as she came to a stop right in front of him and trained her gaze on him. "We're here to have a nice family outing. Please don't cause a scene."
"I'm not gonna start screaming at her or anything, Arya." John assured with a shake of his head as he gently nudged the hellhound out of the way and moved past her. "I'm hurt, but it's been two years. I want to at least know she's alright."
"John, Rose is a lot different now." Madrox spoke up, shaking his head. It was clear he shared the same fears that Arya herself did.
What if Verosika tried to pretend that John was just a weirdo? A stranger? What if she threw insults at him about their relationship? Though their phone conversations had never been bad, Veroiska Mayday now had a public persona she felt the need to maintain, and there was no telling if the guilt she always tried to hide would win over her need to maintain her image.
"Yeah, I've seen." John nodded his head with barely a glance at the imp, before turning back to Arya. "But come on, do you really expect me to just walk right by and pretend I didn't see her?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he gestured to the succubus, who was still ignorant to the presence of her family only twenty feet away.
"That might be best, John." Because Arya really didn't want to see either of her children at the other's throats. John had developed a different relationship with Rose than he had with her siblings, which was the main reason why he considered both Ralph and Benny brothers. Same as Vortex.
But Arya had come to see John as a child of her own, even if it wasn't technically official. And seeing them, as both her children and as a former couple, possibly get into one of the most attention catching spats possible wasn't something she wanted to see.
But unfortunately for her, there was a reason everyone always joked about John's stubbornness.
"Look, I'm not walking away till I at least talk to her, alright?" John replied with an eye roll and a raised eyebrow. "She starts getting irritated, I'll just walk away. But I mean it, I'm not going into this looking for a fight."
Of course he wasn't, no one doubted that. But they doubted John truly knew what he could be walking into, and if he was caught-off guard… well, fear and anger went hand-in-hand with John Gallagher.
But she slowly realized there was nothing she could do but hope and pray as John moved past her, leaving all of them watching him as he moved towards Verosika. And with the exception of Beartrap's now joyful smile at seeing his sister again, neither Madrox nor Razor had expressions any different from her own fearful one.
All she could do was listen to the sound of her heart thumping in her ears as she watched what could very well turn into a disaster.
"Rose?"
Every muscle, every fiber, every single part of Verosika went tense as a deep, rumbling voice washed through her ears as smoothly as water. A voice she recognized. A voice that used to comfort her into a peaceful slumber whenever she'd had a bad day. A voice that used to fuel her sweetest dreams.
A voice that now haunted her darkest nightmares.
But… it couldn't be him, could it? Last she'd heard from her mother, John had gone to live and work at the Princess' new redemption Hotel. The… Hazbin Hotel, wasn't it?
There was no way John could actually be present at Lu Lu World.
Great, his voice rang so vividly through her ears at the worst time. Where was a good drink when you needed it?
Hopefully the lucky demon she had gripped by the arm would help her bury that vivid illusion back down-
"Now I know you heard me." The voice sounded out once again, and this time it sounded annoyed and irritated. Just as before, the voice was vividly clear even among the cacophony of voices of countless park goers.
In fact… it was a little too clear to have just been a hallucination.
But… it couldn't be, right?
It sounded like it had come from behind her, and considering she and her lucky winner were currently still at the back of the line…
Verosika's head slowly started to turn, silently questioning if she even wanted to turn around as the goat next to her looked at her in confusion. She paused amidst the action of twisting her head, before jerking around, expecting to see nothing more than empty air and lines of walking demons.
Instead, she found herself face to face with the midsection of a very large chest, covered by a black shirt that was ripped in various places. A shirt she recognized.
After all, she'd picked it out.
In spite of herself, of her confidence, of her position in society… Verosika Mayday gulped as her eyes began to rise.
The chest, the abs and the broad shoulders with a set of long, bony and jagged spikes jutting from the neck and running out to the edges of the arms… and finally, an oh-so-human looking face, marred only by ever-fresh gashes.
Her pink eyes stared into familiar blue orbs that were twisted in recognition, looking down at her with a… pleased expression?
"I thought you were gonna ignore me for a second." A small, ever so amused smile worked it's way onto his features as he said it. Features that should've been marred with an expression of utter hatred.
Why was he looking at her like that? Where was the hate? The cruel words? Words which would undoubtedly be true, no matter how much Rose Mayday may wish they weren't?
"J-John?" The words that left her lips were very much unlike Verosika Mayday, and very much like Rose Mayday. Rather than the confident smirk, sultry voice, and ever so alluring eyebrow… she sounded like a child who'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, her face twisted into an almost shy expression.
The goat she'd been with had been forgotten as she stared at him. As she took in his angled jaw, the way his cheeks rose with his smile, the way his sharp serrated teeth seemed to gleam in the sunlight. Even his hair was still as messy as she'd remembered, painting a picture of uncontrolled chaos atop a face that she never wanted to look away from.
"How've you been?" His voice was angry, there was no hatred or coldness to it. Only genuine curiosity about her welfare.
Rose Mayday would stutter, brushing her hair behind her ears, averting her gaze in a bashful and ashamed way as she tried to respond.
Verosika Mayday would raise an eyebrow, plant a hand on her hip, and give a disinterested expression as she asked why he cared.
"Good." Her expression went somewhat blank, giving a smile so obviously fake that you'd have to be an idiot not to notice.
John was many things. An idiot had never been one of them.
"Yeah, real convincing there." John commented with an amused chuckle. "I see you've been doing good for yourself." He halfheartedly gestured to her attire, the same outfit she always wore and everyone recognized.
Rose Mayday would've thrown out such an outfit. Rose Mayday wasn't some flashy slut, looking for a quick fuck. Not anymore anyway.
Verosika Mayday was proud to attract attention. She felt accomplished when she felt the leering gazes of lonely men and jealous women staring at her assets that were accentuated by the outfit.
"I uh… I've put a lot of work into it." Verosika gave a half-hearted shrug, raising her gaze back up to John's own as she managed a soft smile. "How've you been?" The behemoth was here, there was no point in trying to deter him away. Better for both Rose and Verosika to simply get it over with.
"Well,I can't complain." John replied with a more heartfelt chuckle now that Verosika seemed to actively be participating in the conversation. "Took a job at that Hotel the Princess has. Work security if you can believe it."
A short laugh escaped her at the image her brain conjured up. The idea of John in any getup other than the one he wore now was jarring, but an actual security outfit would be downright amusing.
"Well, you are fit for the job." Why was this coming so easy to her? It was like the last three and a half years hadn't happened. They hadn't dated, they hadn't gotten matching tattoos, they hadn't been anchors for each other.
She hadn't cheated on him, she hadn't taken off knowing she'd left behind a broken man hiding behind a wall of fury.
She hadn't fucked up the best thing she could remember having.
They were the best friends they used to be.
"Glad you think so." John replied with a bemused smile, shaking his head slightly. "So, what brings you here?"
Looking to make a few men happy and end it off with one helluva gangbang.
"Just figured I'd take the crew out for a little fun." The seemingly innocent words rolled off her tongue as smoothly as silk, concealing the more blunt words she'd have used with anyone else. "They've busted their asses lately helping me out."
And a couple of them had ended up a little sore after the last concert in the living world. That part wasn't a lie, a part of her had organized this particular plan because she'd felt the others had truly earned a little relaxation.
How they chose to get that relaxation wasn't her concern.
"Um, do you know this guy?" The goat she'd been with for the Fire Fist came up behind her, looking confused, concerned, and jealous as he glanced at Verosika, causing the succubus to frown.
They'd barely said a word to each other outside of when they met, if it could be called that, but the guy already sounded extremely possessive.
Was he that angry that someone was cock-blocking him? He was only gonna get a handi in the first place.
"You wanna hang out for a bit?" John suddenly asked, causing Verosika to snap back to him so fast she was sure she should've had whiplash as she stared at him in shock. Was that a real offer? "It's not just me, everyone's here. Plus a couple people from the Hotel." He jerked his thumb in the direction behind him, and Verosika leaned to the side to see past him.
And her eyes shot wide.
Around twenty feet away, staring with wary gazes, was her family. Her mom, her dad, her baby brothers… they were all there.
Which meant she was positive that Andre and Viv were somewhere around the park. And she wouldn't be surprised if Vortex had decided to catch back up with everyone and joined them.
Everyone was here…
Rose Mayday wanted to feel like she belonged again.
Verosika Mayday really wanted some good sex even more now.
"Are you serious?" Verosika couldn't help but to ask, leaning back up as she turned her gaze up to John with a confused expression on her face. "You… you really want to hang out with me?" She couldn't stop the questions anymore. Because at the moment, John had already defied almost all expectations she could've had.
John simply gave a small smile. "Two years is a lot of time to think. I'm still hurt, but that doesn't mean I don't care." He reasoned with a slight chuckle. "I uh… I do miss you, Rose. It just took a while to sort a lot of things out."
…
…
… he… missed her?
He. Missed. Her?
Was he being serious? Of course he was, John had always been blunt to an almost painful degree. He wouldn't fuck around, and he definitely wouldn't have the patience for some kind of long-winded plan to get some payback.
If John said he missed her, wanted to see her again…
He definitely meant it. No matter how impossible such a scenario might seem.
He really wanted to spend time with her? After what she'd done? It seemed almost like a dream. The prospect of being around her family, of not feeling like an outcast… it was far too tempting to pass up.
"Yeah, sorry buddy." Verosika said, turning to the goat who'd been accompanying her with a disinterested look. "Feel free to ride if you want, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to change our plans."
Obviously, the goat looked massively disappointed. He opened his mouth, his expression growing angry as he looked ready to respond.
His eyes flicked over to John.
He closed his mouth. He turned around and began moving forward in the line for the Fire Fist.
She turned her gaze back to John with a small smile, earning herself a grin from the behemoth as he shook his head with a chuckle.
"Well, come on then." John instructed as he waved a hand, gesturing for her to follow as he turned around and began making his way back towards Arya and Madrox. All Verosika could do was move to follow after.
Outside of Beartrap, who had the absolute biggest smile he possibly could've, everyone else was staring in absolute shock as she followed behind the behemoth.
"I can safely say that I think y'all might've overreacted a bit." John sounded as if he were joking, an amused grin on his face as he spoke, slowing to halt as he looked at everyone's shell shocked faces.
"Apparently…" Razor mumbled absent-mindedly as he continued to stare in baffled shock at his sister, obviously still comprehending how easily John had managed to convince her to join them.
Beartrap, however…
"Rosey!" Beartrap managed to push himself out of his startled brother's grasp, dropping immediately into a run as he practically jumped and entangled himself around Verosika's waist.
"Hey, Benny." Her voice was so soft. Why was it so soft?
Because she couldn't help it. Not when it came to her baby brother.
She gladly wrapped her arms around the pup, returning a hug that had been two years overdue. Pink arms gently cradled black fur as she let her head droop, tucking her chin against Beartrap's head.
And then another person slammed into her, catching her off guard as she found her vision half-obscured by soft, white fur.
It took Verosika a moment to recognize her mother's form, before she gladly let an arm fall away from Beartrap, moving to instead wrap around Arya as she smiled.
"Hi, Mom."
Rose Mayday was climbing to the surface, clawing her way out, ripping every bit of foundation Verosika had to stand on.. For the moment, the controversial popstar was losing her footing, while every second the young heartbroken girl was rising.
The heavy shudder that Verosika could feel rolling over the hellhound was what did her in.
"It's so good to see you." The words were quiet, breathless, and Verosika didn't need to see her face to hear the hitch in her voice, the way she was crying on her shoulder. At the sound of her mothers restrained sobs, Verosika found her composure failing.
"It's okay, Mom." Verosika assured, finding herself thankful when her dad stepped forward with a smile on his face, taking Beartrap from her arm and allowing her to focus all her attention on her mother as she wrapped both arms around the woman. "Please… stop crying, I'm here."
"I missed you." Arya muttered, hugging the succubus even closer as she nuzzled her head against Verosika's own. Verosika could feel the wet liquid of her tears in her eyes rubbing into her hair, and it only made Verosika feel worse.
The last thing anyone ever wanted to see was their mother crying. Especially when one had a mother like Arya.
She caught a glimpse of John, watching the scene with a fond smile on his face. He looked genuinely happy to see the reunion unfold. Upon meeting her eyes, he gestured towards Arya with a near silent chuckle.
Verosika got the message.
"John invited me to hang out with you." Verosika informed her mom as she gently pulled out of the hug, making sure to meet her mom's eyes with a smile as she did so. "Are… are you okay with that?"
"You can hang out with your parents any time, Rose." Arya assured with a small giggle-sob fusion, bringing a hand up her tears as she did so. "You'll always be my little girl." Her hands came up to cradle Verosika's cheeks, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her forehead as if she were the same girl she'd been a few years ago.
And in some ways, she still was.
"Mooom…" Verosika groaned in embarrassment in spite of herself, earning herself a few chuckles. She even had a smile herself in spite of her embarrassment.
"It's good to see you again, kiddo." Madrox placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she approached, causing the succubus to turn to her dad as well. "Glad to have you back for a bit."
"Thanks, Dad." Considering the circumstances of her departure and the way she'd always been raised, Verosika had honestly not expected such a happy reception to her return in any way. Getting such from her immediate family, let alone John, was a miracle that she didn't want to end.
She didn't hesitate to pull the imp into a hug, a grunt of surprise escaping Madrox at the action, before he let a chuckle leave him as he brought his own arms around Verosika.
"We missed you too, Rose."
For a time, hearing that name spoken with anything but hatred or disappointment had always felt like the only reality, the only way things could play out. But being called that name again with genuine joy was having quite the effect on the succubus.
Verosika Mayday, at least for the moment, was gone. Rose Mayday stood in her place. Not a famous popstar, not a sensual succubus… just a loving daughter.
"So does this mean you're back for good?" Beartrap asked with an eager grin, having been passed to Razor while Verosika had her moment with her mom, and Verosika couldn't help but to wince.
"Not… not quite yet." Verosika unfortunately admitted, causing a look of disappointment to cross Beartrap's face. Upon seeing the look, the succubus spoke once more. "But it's a start."
"A start's all any of us can ask for." John spoke up, smile still bright on his face as he took a few steps closer. "Some of us, more than others." He joked, earning him smiles all around.
"Maybe we shouldn't have jumped the gun." Razor joked as he moved to stand next to John, giving the behemoth a friendly slap to the arm with a grin as he turned to his sister. "It's good to have you back, sis."
"You too." Verosika meant her words as she spoke them, because she was truly happy to see him. However… this was her younger brother… a brother she'd always had a rivalry with… and old habits like that don't go away. "Even if you're a dork." She smirked.
"Oh, screw you." Razor rolled his eyes as he promptly gave her the universal gesture for 'go fuck yourself', earning a few laughs at the old yet familiar antics of the siblings.
"I thought that was my job." John commented off-handedly, looking around as if he'd said nothing and earning him a wince from Verosika, a laugh from her two brothers, and looks of disgust from her parents.
"Ew, John, that's not something I needed to imagine." Arya immediately shook her head, a look of genuine amusement mixed in with the disgust as she eyed John. "You can save those jokes for when we're not around."
"You volunteered to hear those jokes the moment you invited me." John retorted with a chuckle. "Besides, the family's back together again. We're all happy about that."
Hearing that John was actually happy with her presence, even if for the moment, was startling to Verosika even still. Even despite having faced no retribution for her wrongdoing, it was still so hard for her to grasp the fact that John genuinely was glad to see her again.
A series of rapid footsteps could be heard approaching quickly, and Verosika instinctively turned her head, expecting to either see some crazed fan or an openly creepy admirer. But what she saw was neither.
The only family member she actually saw on a regular basis entered her vision, as Vortex approached with a look of complete surprise on his face. He was accompanied by Bee, which wasn't really a surprise, but there was also someone else.
A relatively young-looking sinner accompanied the couple, dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a pink long-sleeved shirt with a purple butterfly. But what really caught Verosika's attention was the fact that the sinner was a succubus.
Verosika could easily spot the small but noticeable differences between sinner and hellborn succubi. It was almost always a toss-up, but there were always signs that were apparent from the get-go.
For example, unlike herself, the sinner in front of her lacked the pair of wings that most succubi have, herself included. Even the rest of her posse all had wings, they simply chose to conceal them with the same magic that gave them their human disguises.
Unlike most succubi one would expect to see, however, this one dressed modestly, refusing to put her body on any kind of display for attention. All the same, she looked rather… nervous, glancing around at all the faces that were now around her.
She… looked a lot like Verosika herself used to be at one point. A shy, lonely girl who's only friendships tended to lay in her family and her community.
"Well… this is not what I was expecting to walk up on." Vortex admittedly openly as the three walked up, and it didn't escape Verosika's notice how the sinner succubus immediately moved next to John, catching the behemoth's attention and watching as he gave a smile and pulled her into his side for a quick hug.
The two were close, that much was apparent. But John had an almost… brotherly way he held himself during the hug, glancing down at the girl with a reassuring smile and earning a relaxed and calm one in response.
"I don't think any of us expected it." Arya admitted with a small giggle as she turned to her nephew. "But it looks like we were scared for nothing."
"Ya'll are acting like I was planning on hooting and hollering." John joked with a chuckle and an amused shake of his head. "Jesus Christ, do you have that little faith in me?"
"In you? Never." Bee took the chance to joke, glancing at the behemoth with a grin and earning a middle finger in response, to her own amusement. The Sin turned her gaze to Verosika with a smile as she approached. "Hey, girl! It's good to see you."
"Hi, Bee." Verosika greeted with a smile, genuinely happy to see the woman as she gave a small wave.
"So, looks like you finally decided to spend some time with your family." Vortex grinned as he spoke, moving forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I told you, everyone misses you."
"Forgive me if that was a bit hard to believe at the moment." Verosika joked, earning herself giggles, chuckles, and genuine laughter and causing a small bit of pride to swell in the succubus.
"Did I really get that angry that often that you all thought it's my first instinct?" John couldn't help but to ask, sounding genuinely amused. But there was an undercurrent in his voice that Verosika could detect just as easily as she always could. A hidden, disguised tone of hurt.
But of course, no one else noticed or questioned it like she did within her head, simply laughing in response.
"To be fair, four years ago your first response would've been to walk out of the park and dent Andre's RV." Razor pointed out with a small grin, earning himself a chuckle from the behemoth.
"I tripped."
"Sure."
"So… this is the real Verosika Mayday?" The unknown succubus piped up, looking up at John for answers as she voiced the question.
"Yeah." John nodded his head, before glancing down at her with a small smile. "I take it you've heard of her?"
"I snuck off with my best friend and her girlfriend to her last Ohio concert." The girl explained as she glanced back to Verosika herself. "At least, her last PG concert."
"Ha!" Vortex seemed to get a genuine laugh out of that, turning to the succubus with a grin as he did so. "If that's PG, I'd hate to see what you call the R rating."
"You know, I keep forgetting you've only been dead for about three months." John admitted with a chuckle and a shake of his head as he looked down at the succubus. "I got your age locked in, but I ain't quite got that part down."
"Eh, like you always say, you can't change reality." The succubus commented with a smile as she met the behemoth's gaze, before letting a small laugh escape her. "Unless you're a half-angelic demon who's into random musical numbers."
"So unless your name's Charlie Morningstar." John elaborated with a grin of his own. "Fucking woman can't go more than a week without breaking out into some reality warping musical number."
"Apparently randomly singing in Hell is pretty common." The succubus remarked with an amused smile, looking up at John with a raised eyebrow. "I wonder what kind of song you'd sing?"
A memory washed up in Verosika's head, coming to the surface at that sentence. A memory of her and John, sitting in his apartment, next to each other on the couch… and singing away their frustrations together.
"I'd bet rock." Razor piped up, a grin on his own face as well as he glanced at the behemoth. "He was always blasting that in his apartment."
"Among country, techno, synth, metal, rap…" Arya couldn't help but to pipe in as well with a small shake of her head. "I could see him just snagging a guitar and singing through the streets of Hell."
"I'd bet metal." Vortex gave his two cents with a chuckle. "He's always listening to these weird death metal songs that are somehow inspiring."
They were guessing, but Verosika herself knew the answer better than anyone.
"It'd be country." Verosika spoke, gaining all attention as she met John's gaze with a knowing grin. "Country can be a variety of different songs. And you can't take the country out of a country boy."
"Haha!" John threw his head back at that, a hearty laugh escaping his throat as his chest visibly rumbled and shook in amusement. "Yeah, that's true." He conceded Verosika's point, knowing that she was completely right. "But the day I break out into a musical number is the day-"
"That Hell freezes over, yeah, we know." Madrox interrupted John with a chuckle as he glanced up at the behemoth. "You know that phrase makes absolutely no sense, right?"
"Sure it does." John replied with a small shrug. "Hell will never freeze over, and I'll never start singing out my ass." He joked with a small chuckle of his own.
God… Verosika hadn't realized how much she truly missed this. Not being surrounded by rabid fans from all angles, not being on a stage or in some booth singing about sex… just her, surrounded by family, and laughing.
"Huh, looks like we were worried for nothing." A new, vaguely familiar voice suddenly entered Verosika's ears, causing her gaze to shift towards the source.
There was another group approaching. She recognized most of them, despite having only met two out of the group of five. Uncle Andre and Vivienne were the easiest two pick out and notice, followed immediately by… Angel Dust? The porn star?
And with them was the Princess of Hell herself, Charlie Morningstar, and some gray skinned sinner who vaguely resembled a moth. Though, there were other similarities to different people that Verosika recognized.
Not many sinners, or any demon for that matter, walked around with an X over their eye. Usually because that was a design on the Exorcists' masks.
For reasons that Verosika wasn't privileged to know, both the Princess and the moth were giving her funny looks. The Princess looked at her almost as a wary and untrustworthy stranger, while the moth seemed to be highly suspicious of the pop star's presence in general, giving her a scrutinizing and distrustful gaze.
"Yeah, no shit." Viv muttered, still staring at Verosika in complete bewilderment as she just barely made the words audible.
The princess spared Verosika herself another view seconds worth of eye contact, before turning her gaze to John as her hooves carried her closer to the behemoth, resting a hand upon his forearm as she looked up at him with… concern?
Ah, they knew. That explained the looks.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, looking up at John with soft, worry-filled eyes as she voiced the question.
John simply smiled, raising an arm and wrapping it around Charlie for a quick and appreciative side hug as he nodded. "I'm fine, Charlie."
Upon hearing those words, Charlie offered the behemoth a smile, leaning her head against his side as she returned the side hug as best as she could. For her part, the moth as well seemed to visibly relax, though she kept her gaze trained on Verosika for a few extra moments before turning to the behemoth.
"So, what the hell happened, then?" Angel asked, confirming that he'd been the voice Verosika had heard approaching as the spider stepped forward with a raised eyebrow. "Are we all buddy buddy, now?"
"Yes, Angel." John answered with an eye roll, and it took a moment for Verosika to remember that the porn star was apparently the first guest at the Princess' Hotel. It would make sense for John to know him.
A hand on her shoulder pulled Verosika's attention from the behemoth, and she turned just in time to find herself pulled into yet another hug, this time Vivienne.
"It's good to see you, girl." Viv's voice was much softer than she remembered the hellhound ever sounding, pulling away and giving the succubus a heartfelt smile.
Before it turned into a smirk.
"Ow!" Verosika found herself rubbing her now aching arm from where the surprisingly strong hellhound had punched her, looking slightly hurt as she met the woman's gaze.
"That's for taking off on us." Viv laughed as she wrapped a friendly arm around Verosika's shoulder, gently pulling succubus into her side with a grin. "You better start coming around some more."
"Damn straight, we've all missed you." Andre piped up, moving closer as well as he eyed his niece with a happy smile.
First John… then her parents… her siblings… now Viv and Andre…
Accounting for Vortex even agreeing to be her bodyguard in the first place…
She couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Aren't any of you angry?" Verosika finally asked, her face twisting in slightly scared confusion as her gaze ran across each and every person she considered family. "There's no way that all of you are this happy to see me…" She couldn't help the way her gaze slowly landed upon John, causing the behemoth to frown.
It wasn't any surprise when all eyes turned to look at the goliath, his own eyes scanning across everyone, before he let out a sigh and actually gave Verosika a small smile.
"It's been two years. That's a lot of time to think." John spoke as he moved past everyone, slowly moving closer to Verosika as he held her gaze. "I can't pretend that I ain't still hurting, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the girl I used to bullshit the day away with." He came to a stop in front of Verosika, letting a hand come up and gently rest upon her shoulder, giving it a soft gentle squeeze. "We all missed you. I just took a bit to realize that fact."
"But I-"
"Topic for later." John immediately waved off her words, already knowing exactly what she was about to bring up as he turned and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his side. "We ain't here to bring up old wounds. We're here to have fun. That can go a long way in the healing process, in my experience." He offered the succubus a reassuring grin, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting his arm fall to his side. "So for god's sake, enjoy some time with us and start smiling."
Of course, Verosika couldn't refuse the instruction, and she could admit that John made many good points. Two years was a lot of time to think. Something Verosika had done a lot of. Something she'd tormented herself with.
It would be nice… to start healing.
Suddenly, Bee was between the two of them with an arm around both of their shoulders, smiling brightly as she looked at both of them.
"The first one to the Fire Fist is a sore loser."
"FUCK YOU!" Suddenly, the other succubus was off like a missile, bolting towards the line for the ride twenty feet away as she yelled back. "I WILL NOT BE A SORE LOSER!"
It would seem John had rubbed off on the succubus considering the action, as well as the way John immediately took off after her, the ground shaking beneath his feet as he moved far too fast than to be reasonably expected of someone of his size.
"Good luck outrunning me, you can be happy with second place!"
And with that, it became a game of sorts, everyone running and chasing after one another, trying desperately to achieve second place since John would inevitably win the little contest.
Verosika wasn't even paying any attention to the fact that she'd started running like a, as John would say, bat out of hell. She didn't realize she'd had such broad grin on her face as she ran along, allowing a competitive rivalry to reform with Viv. She didn't even realize how good it felt.
All she really knew… was that she was happy.
And as an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time… Verosika was more than glad to feel it properly for once.