Author's Note: The Gift takes place exactly one year after the last successful Extermination led by Adam, prior to Season 1 of Hazbin Hotel, and six months after the Battle for Hazbin, as seen in Episode 8 'The Show Must Go On.'

THE TOAST

Vaggie put the finishing touches on her new outfit, admiring how the little black dress hugged the subtle curve of her hips and offered just the right lift in just the right places. Slender fingers brushed over her bust, smoothing the soft fabric against her skin, and she blushed when she considered the fact that she hadn't ever been out in public in such a shameless get-up.

The dress rode very high on her hips, threatening to reveal a scandalous view of her rear end just for thoughtlessly bending over. Even more embarrassing, the dress was cut very low at her chest. The back was cut even lower, though that didn't bother her so much as the length of her lush, silver-gray hair would shield her from behind. The bust, however, made her far more self-conscious than she'd anticipated. She'd never shown so much cleavage in public before, not that she had a whole lot to show. To make matters worse the dress was very nearly see through, comprised nearly entirely of thin, woven lace that left little to the imagination. And though she thought it deliciously adorable, particularly the way the delicate, frilly choker embraced her slender throat, Vaggie decided she might well just die of embarrassment tonight.

Anything for Charlie though. She had seen how Charlie had admired the dress from a distance when they'd seen it. Of course it would never have fit the princess's tall, sleek frame, so they had decided to forego the dress and shop elsewhere. But Vaggie had remembered the gleam in Charlie's eyes and had known to go back the moment she could get away. And yeah, the dress fit fantastically. Vaggie just didn't feel like she quite fit the dress.

It was cute and all, and this particular cut was well suited to her small frame, but was it her? She imagined seeing something similar on Charlie, and immediately her lilac-gray cheeks flushed a darker shade of purple. Charlie was slender with a toned, athletic build. She also happened to be blessed a wee bit more in the chest department, and she would no doubt fill out such a dress far better than Vaggie could ever dream. Oh, yes, Vaggie decided she would very much have liked to see Charlie in a dress like this.

In the long run, it didn't much matter who wore the dress. All she really wanted was to see the sparkling intensity in Charlie's bright eyes and beaming smile as her precious little heart burst with joy, regardless of who wore what. Vaggie would ride Razzle naked into a crowded street just to see the purity of her lover's elated heart. Well, probably. Charlie hadn't ever asked her to do such a thing for her, and she never would.

The thought brought a big smile to Vaggie's face, and with that smile she felt a surge of confidence in her appearance. She drew a deep, cleansing breath and cupped her hands to her chest one last time, as if one more adjustment of fabric to skin might magically make the dress fit even better—it did not—and turned to her bed. She sat on the edge to pull on her black velvet boots, with tall heels that were a bitch to walk in, but allowed for her to feel just a touch closer to heaven in height. Of course, for Vaggie, heaven was the girl that would soon be on her arm for the evening. She was giddy with excitement as she zipped her boots up and pushed herself up off the bed.

"What the fuck am I even wearing?" Vaggie asked an empty room as she took one last look at herself in the mirror. The dress was the same basic design as the white silk slip dress she wore to bed, and was practically as revealing as she was certain she could just barely see her lilac-gray skin through the tiny weave. Even so, she rejected her own query with a tight-lipped smirk, deciding that she looked smoking hot and it didn't matter so long as Charlie thought the same thing. She adjusted the violet and blue ribbon tied in a bow in her hair, clenched her small hands into easy fists and drew breath, instilling in herself a little more of that much-needed confidence. Then, adopting a feisty smirk that warned anyone in her path to step aside, she headed for the door and stepped out into the hall.

The second floor of Hazbin Hotel was a story down from the private suite she shared with Charlie, but Vaggie had chosen to get ready in one of the many empty guest rooms instead. Not because she wanted the privacy from Charlie, but rather because she wanted her new dress to be a surprise. She hadn't wanted to make a mess in the room in case they needed it for a new guest, but Niffty was nothing if not proficient in her housekeeping duties. If asked, the room would be in tip-top shape before the doors opened in the morning.

Anxiety began to bloom in Vaggie's chest as she approached the stairs leading down to the main floor, and she felt the onset of a panic attack. She stopped for a moment, hands on the banister as she gathered her thoughts. She gazed down into the lobby, but didn't immediately see anyone. She drew a breath, reigning in her emotions, and began her descent.

Husk stood in his usual place behind the bar, wiping down the counter in preparation for the evening. He looked up and blinked as she approached, and if she didn't know any better, Vaggie thought the Hazbin barkeep might mentally be lifting his jaw off the floor. A good sign, she decided. A dress like this was supposed to be eye-catching, right? Even so, Vaggie knew her face was a much darker shade of purple than her usual lilac-gray complexion as she leaned up against the bar.

"Wipe your chin, Husk." She managed as she let her eyes go to the array of bottles on the shelves behind him. "You got a little drool there."

"Uh… yeah, thanks."

Vaggie allowed a small smile. She had to admit to herself that it was actually a little fun knowing she had this kind of control over someone. She never went out of her way to tease anyone like this, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate his reaction.

She shook her head, stifling a little giggle at the unexpected glint in his eyes. "I take it you approve?"

Husk shrugged and grabbed a bottle from behind the bar. "The question is, short stuff, will Charlie approve?"

"Maybe. Something tells me she'll enjoy the opportunity to show me off. This isn't…" She lifted her arms up and sighed, giving a little shake of her head. "It's just not me, Husk. Is it?"

Husk smiled as he pushed a glass toward her, then filled it with a violet liquid from the bottle, adding a lemon peel and three jalapeño slices to garnish. "I don't know 'bout all that, kiddo. Fashion just ain't my speed, if you catch my drift. But I will tell ya this. You look fucking gorgeous. Charlie will love it."

Vaggie's eyes widened in stunned silence at Husk's unabashed declaration, her face going an even deeper shade of purple. She forced herself to accept the proffered drink and tried to use it to cover her face. "Uh… thanks Husk."

The bartender smirked, clearly savoring the opportunity to fluster the fallen angel, and he started setting glasses out on the counter. The time was fast approaching. He pulled a few select bottles down from the shelves behind the bar. The cheap shit was still up there, still on display. For some of the hotel residents, the cheap shit was a right of passage, but today was a special occasion, and the hotel didn't have to operate on the cheap quite so much as they had in the past. Vaggie noticed that he was picking out some of the Hotel's more lavish booze.

"Woah, who the fuck are you and what did you do to our resident badass?"

Vaggie turned in surprise and locked eyes with Angel Dust. The tall spider demon had come down the stairs with Cherri Bomb, and they somehow hadn't made a sound. Or perhaps Vaggie was feeling so self-conscious that she was having a hard time maintaining her usual focus. Regardless, Angel and Cherri had gotten the drop on her, and she doubted they were even trying.

"Oh… uh… hey guys," Vaggie stammered.

Cherri leaned in a little closer than Vaggie might feel comfortable with, looking her up and down. She sniffed, probably checking the scent of the soap she had used in the shower.

"Hmmm… nice dress. Good onya, mate!"

"A bit scandalous for you, though, ain't it?" Angel asked. "It's practically a sin."

Vaggie was caught somewhere between embarrassment and pride, slipping a rebellious tuft of hair back behind her right ear as she averted her gaze.

"Well, it's a good thing she already fell, ya think?" Husk asked from behind the counter. "From that height it would leave an ugly stain."

While her three friends burst into laughter, Vaggie continued to squirm uncomfortably in her seat. She still felt a little self-conscious when it came to the fallen angel jokes, but she knew her friends meant well. They all came from a place of love. She still smiled along with them, but she had to use her drink as an excuse to keep from having to come up with a quip of her own.

"The usual, buddy," Angel said after the laughter died down, sliding into a seat beside Vaggie. Cherri took her place next to him, and Husk proceeded to pour a trio of drinks. One of his better selections of whiskey.

Before he passed around the drinks, Angel reached over and set a foot-long cylindrical package on the bar top in front of Vaggie. It was about four inches in diameter and wrapped in white and lilac wrapping paper, with a blood red bow, the ribbon winding down the length of it.

"What's that?" Vaggie asked.

"It's your anniversary, ain't it?"

Vaggie considered the straight-lipped expression on Angel's face, but he gave no hints to what he was thinking. She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "Well, thank you. You didn't have to, though."

"Yeah. I know."

Over the next few minutes they sat, nursing drinks and settling into casual conversation as they waited for Charlie. It had been awhile since they'd had the opportunity to sit and chat like this, and the friends embraced the moment wholeheartedly. Things had been hectic of late for the hotel. They had added a couple new guests, and Vaggie had been hunting for possible new staff, as well. Unfortunately, despite a rise in public interest in the days after the battle for Hazbin, they still hadn't quite built the excitement needed to convince more people to give redemption a shot. It could be disheartening, but the truth was, despite the victory over the exorcists during the last Extermination Day, there was no actual proof that a sinner could be redeemed.

Vaggie had heard rumblings in some circles of concern that now that sinners had fought back, Hazbin Hotel might have a great big Heavenly target locked on it from above. She didn't know if that was the case, but she wouldn't put it past Heaven to make the hellish decision to wipe Hazbin from the map. More than twenty exorcists had died in the battle, not the least of which being Adam himself. If the Seraphim or the Heavenly Virtues concluded the dangers too great to ignore, they might not even bother to warn Hell before grinding Charlie's dreams to dust.

To say Vaggie's nerves were frayed was speaking mildly. Despite all of her trepidation, however, she had kept her fears to herself. Charlie had far more on her plate already to have to deal with rumors that had no actual evidence of any weight to support them.

More troubling was the simple truth that if they did decide to strike, she wasn't sure there was anything anyone could do to stop it. Vaggie liked to think the Virtues had a touch more honor in their light than Adam and his cruel exorcists. Either way, Vaggie was relatively certain if the angels were going to strike Hazbin from afar they would have already done so, and Lucifer himself had assured them they were safe, at least for the time being.

After a time, Husk lowered to a knee so that he could shuffle around under the bar again. When he came up, there were a couple of packages in his arms. He added the gifts to the one Angel had brought, and ignored the look Vaggie gave him. One was a small box, black with a pattern of tiny white, pink, and red hearts. The other was a bottle, probably champagne, in gold and red foil wrapping paper. She could see the calligraphy on the card and thought she could make out Cherri's name in the clean design.

"You guys…" she muttered, touched. "Seriously, you didn't-"

"Holy fuckin shit…"

Vaggie blinked and then turned to follow Husk's gaze to the staircase behind her. There atop the steps was the visage of an angel. Tall, slender. A brilliant, golden vesper made of light. Vaggie's mind turned to mush as she gawked, but by the time the heavenly spirit descended the stairs into the lobby, she managed to piece together the puzzle of her scattered senses.

Charlie wore a sleeveless, bell-bottom jumpsuit made of cream-colored silk, broken only at the hip by a belt of thin golden loops, each a couple inches or so in diameter, a double helix of golden chains woven through each loop. The single strap hung over her left shoulder, pinned by a small corsage of red flowers. The right shoulder was bare, and the way the fabric clung low to her pale skin gave the illusion of a loose fit. On her feet she wore what appeared to be short, tan loafers, probably chosen for comfort over fashion. She carried a small, red, heart-shaped handbag at her waist, and completing the look was a fat, loose, messy braid that fell over her bare shoulder, tied at the end with a cute little red bow.

The princess laid eyes on Vaggie and let out what must have been a squeal of delight. Vaggie was too busy being dumbstruck by Charlie's new look to see her expression. Before she could say anything, Charlie had covered the ground between them and buried her in an excited hug. It took a moment for the angel's own expression to soften from surprise to ecstasy, and she allowed herself to sink fully into her lover's arms.

"You… you went back and got it! You devil!" Charlie was nearly bouncing on her tiptoes with excitement as she let her eyes skirt the length of Vaggie's body. "I can't believe it!" She laughed ecstatically and they hugged again. Before they parted, she pressed her mouth hard over Vaggie's, and the pair shared an intimate kiss as the others watched on in silent adoration. At long last, Charlie broke the kiss and held Vaggie by the shoulders, backing up so that she could look her up and down one more time. She grinned conspiratorially. "I'm not so sure I want you down here being ogled by the peanut gallery. I mean, you're showing off a lot. Sinfully delicious." She leaned forward to tease the end of Vaggie's nose with her own. "You're gorgeous, babe."

Behind her, Vaggie heard Husk's soft grunt. It spoke to her without words: Nailed it.

Glowing with a blush, Vaggie swallowed and lay her hands atop Charlie's on her shoulders. "I just find it ironic that somehow I get to be the devil today, and you're my angel."

Charlie froze at the comment, and went bright red.

Their three friends nearby burst into laughter, and Vaggie could hear Angel's voice as he leaned toward Cherri Bomb. "It's official. The corniest fucking thing I've heard all day."

"Yep. That was adorable," Cherri agreed. "Gag me."

Vaggie blushed. "Shut up…"

"Charlie, sit your happy ass down and have a drink with us," Husk said chipperly as he poured something completely different for the princess. The couple laughed, and hand in hand went back to the bar to sit. Husk dropped a straw and umbrella into a pink, bubbly drink in front of Charlie, who bent down to look the liquid over before lifting the glass by the stem.

"Hey, anyone seen Niff?" Vaggie asked.

"She'll be here," Angel said.

"Hopefully soon," Charlie said. She was clinging to Vaggie's arm, holding her hand in her lap, fingers interlocked over her knuckles. The couple tapped the rims of their glasses together and shared their first private toast of the night. She sipped her drink, taking a moment to savor the delightful bubbles that tickled her throat. "It's hard to get things started without her. It just… wouldn't be the same."

Her eyes shifted past Vaggie's to somewhere off in the corner of the lobby, and the angel knew. The portrait of Sir Pentious, watching over them. She flexed the fingers of the hand Charlie was holding, a show of solemn support and mutual loss and remembrance. They all missed Pentious so much. Despite the months that had passed, it seemed the pain had only just begun to numb.

"So what is all this?" Charlie suddenly asked. Her eyes sparkled as she perused the gifts on the bar top.

"What's it look like, mate?"

"You… you all did this for us?"

"I told them they didn't have to," Vaggie said. "But they're as stubborn as you are."

Charlie grinned, reaching out to brush a hair off Vaggie's brow. "So we're the stubborn ones?" she said gently. "That's pretty much the pot calling the kettle black."

"What can I say? Black is the most badass color."

The group laughed, and Charlie leaned in for another kiss. "Happy anniversary, babe."

"Happy anniversary."

"Not to be that guy," Husk said suddenly. "Black ain't a color."

"Oh fuck you!" Vaggie said through a snort of laughter.

"There he is," Angel grinned. "The resident asshole we all know and love."

Booming laughter echoed through the lobby and Vaggie thought that it had been a very long time since she had been quite this happy. Life had been a struggle since the Battle for Hazbin all those months ago, but things were finally beginning to look up.

Another round of drinks followed. Charlie and Vaggie entertained them with a few stories that none of the others had heard before regarding their early history, including how they met on that fateful Extermination Day years ago, and of course the shenanigans detailing those first few months as Charlie courted Vaggie. It was no big surprise to anyone that Charlie was the aggressor, but everyone, including the Princess, was stunned when Vaggie admitted she had intentionally played hard to get for a handful of weeks because Charlie's desperation had been adorable.

"And what would you have done if she decided to take the hint?" Husk asked as he poured himself his third drink.

"Yeah," Angel said, leaning over to look at Vaggie with renewed interest in the story. "One misstep and she might have left you before you ever got started."

Vaggie smiled as she lay her head lovingly on Charlie's shoulder. "Are you kidding? You know Charlie, right?" She nuzzled Charlie's neck and gave her hand a squeeze. "Girl didn't know the meaning of the word no."

Charlie flushed as everyone turned their gaze toward her, and Angel started to laugh.

"Uh… within the acceptable parameters of consent, of course." Charlie mumbled. "I wouldn't force her like that."

"I like being forced."

Everyone turned to see the hotel's short housekeeper as she clamored up to the bar, balancing a large flat package in front of her. The illusion of a present with legs sent Charlie into a fit of giggles, and she covered her mouth in a show of trying to save face. Beside her, Angel stood with a roll of his eyes.

"Geez Niff, how can you even see where you're goin'?"

He leaned down and lifted the package from her arms, revealing a very excitable Niffty. She was giggling as hard as Charlie, her hair bobbing slightly as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Her great big red eye sparkled up at him. "I can smell it."

"Smell?" Angel said with a raised brow.

"Sure. I got a good nose!"

Angel gave a half shrug as if to ask why he had even asked, and turned the gift over in his hands, inspecting the butterfly pattern of silver and a variety of deep blues and reds on the wrapping paper. He followed Niffty back to the bar, and she gave her friends the biggest, toothiest grin she could manage and scurried up the side of an empty barstool.

"Somethin' to drink Niff?" Husk asked.

"Ooh, yeah!" She threw her scrawny arms up and announced to the world, "I want one of the flaming ones!"

Husk arched an eyebrow. "A flaming one."

"Yeah! The bright red one!"

Husk snapped his fingers in recognition. "Dragon's Blood it is," he said with a grin, and proceeded to gather the ingredients. Soon he had a martini glass filled with a red concoction and used a spoon to add a very thin layer of overproof rum to the top. He set the drink in front of Niffty, who practically bounced with glee on her bottom. Everyone watched as Husk pulled out a small gun from his pocket. Not a gun, but a lighter. The powerful little blue flame sprang to life from the barrel when he squeezed the trigger. He lit the drink, and the flames rose a good eight to ten inches off the rim of the glass, glimmering in Niffty's eyes as she stared in awe at her burning drink.

"Now that looks good. What is that? Raspberry?"

"Raspberry daiquiri," Husk confirmed as Niffty batted her hand toward the flame, just close enough to feel the heat. Vaggie had to avert her eyes, not really caring to see the housekeeper's hand burnt by the flames.

"All here?" Cherri asked. She was watching the group with a happy smile on her face. Vaggie had to admire the growth of the sinner. Just a few months ago she had come to help them do battle against the Angels when they had come with the intent of wiping Hazbin from the map. But then, after their victory, it had taken surprisingly little effort to convince Cherri to move in. She had never declared a desire toward redemption, but just having her foot in the door was enough for Charlie and her friends. She was family now.

"I guess we are," Charlie said. "Alastor won't be back from New Brimstone for a few hours, and I don't think anyone here wants to sit around waiting for him."

"Preach it, sister," Husk muttered. He was topping off everyone's drinks in preparation for a toast. "We got shit to do. Besides, I don't think either of you want to sit around drinking with a bunch of fools like us when you should go out and celebrate. So let's get this show on the road."

Angel rose to his feet as Husk pushed a fully topped whiskey toward him. "And that's my cue," he said slowly, reaching down to lift his glass off the table. He drew a long, slow breath, and then he turned to Vaggie and Charlie, and there was a tremendous amount of emotion in his eyes as he stared down at them.

He smiled somberly. "It's been what? A year and two weeks? A year and two weeks. Three hundred and seventy-nine days?"

"If you're talking about when we met you, we're just a couple hours shy from being three hundred eighty-one days on the dot," Charlie acknowledged. "It took you a day or so before you were willing to move in. But I remember it pretty vividly. It was early evening. You'd been doing some pretty shady shit for Valentino, against his wishes. So he had you working on a street corner to make up some money he decided you owed him."

"Yeah," Angel said, a sad expression on his face as he thought back to much harsher times. He still had to deal with Valentino on a regular basis, but porn was porn. That was his deal with Val, at the studio. He had completely removed himself from the darker dealings of Val's organization. He didn't work street corners anymore. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, and when he opened them again he was smiling. "It's been three hundred and eighty days since I walked through that door for the first time. Still thirsting for that release from reality. For the poison. I was fucked, Charlie, Vaggie. I wasn't a man. I was barely a ghost of myself. The best of me was in Val's studio, and that ain't sayin' much. It's gross, really. The best part of me was the effort I put in to making a bunch of fucking porn. I was such a fucking loser, you know."

Charlie's hand went out to take one of his, and he accepted the show of affection with a tender smile, squeezing her hand.

"Three hundred eighty days. Fuck. I was such a dick. A cynical crackhead. I did everything I could to put you both down, because I couldn't find it in my heart to believe in anything. It was easier to take what Val forced upon me, and then just fade away into booze and drugs. I let the world outside the studio fuck me as much as I got fucked inside. Because I was trying to break myself." Tears started to form in his eyes. "I didn't know it three hundred and eighty days ago. But while I was out there trying to break myself, something remarkable happened. You dumb bitches took in this broken loser, and before I knew it this place I was crashin' in, just so I could save a little money to waste on fuckin' drugs and booze, and maybe a place where I might find a little peace instead of suffering at that nutjob's fuckin' studio…

"This place somehow became a home. And the people in it went from obstacles I feared would only let me down… You fuckin' people." He grinned big and used his two hands to scrub his face, to remove the excess tears that were beginning to flow down his cheeks. "Even the cranky barkeep, the creepy housekeeper, and that freaky radio demon. You went from strangers to friends, and then something more." He wobbled slightly as he stood there, breathing heavily, looking a pathetic mess but feeling all the more wholesome for it. "I lost everything I ever loved when I died. And so I fell into the few powerful vices that had been my crutch in life. In death, they were the only thing I had worth living for. Isn't that sad? You can hate everything about yourself including the vices that are killing you, and somehow the only thing you really live for are those same fuckin' vices."

There was a long silence as they all stared at Angel. He was staring off into nothingness as he considered something.

"We're not entirely whole. And I don't mean Alastor. I'm talking about that other loser. As we all know, Charlie has a thing for strays. I'm sure wherever he is out there in the great unknown, Pentious must be smilin'. If I'm being perfectly honest, part of the change in me came about because I saw in him somebody who was entirely more worthy than me. Yeah, he came in like a dumbass trying to dig up dirt for the Vees, but the great big dumbass that he is, he ended up fallin' for this place, hook line and sinker. Sure, there were other things… like Husk showin' me that I wasn't alone in this fuckin' hotel. Like Niffty, showing me that no matter how small the task, you should always put forth a hundred percent of yourself to get the job done. Like Charlie, just for being so damn insistent on fuckin' caring about me. And then Vaggie. Miss Vagina herself. Practically strongarming me into caring in return."

Vaggie smirked, pounding a fist into an open palm. "You got that right. Trust falls, bitch. Catch him or die."

The group had a much-needed moment of laughter. Vaggie couldn't remember the last time she had seen so many teary eyes. Scratch that… Extermination Day, without a doubt. But these were tears of a happier sort. The memories may be painful, but it was the end game that truly mattered.

Angel shook his head, grinning as he continued. "This fuckin' group. Like a whole goddamn ice cream sundae, and I even get my best pal in the world Cherri on top." He reached back and gave Cherri a fist bump. "You guys are my rock. My foundation. You are the reason I'm here today and actually feeling pretty fucking proud of the man I've become. Something about shedding blood with the people I've come to love, I guess. We ain't just acquaintances. We're far more than the best of friends. You motherfuckers are my family." His tears were flowing freely again, and this time he didn't bother fighting them. "I love you guys. Each and every one of ya. I was a shell of myself three hundred and eighty days ago. Thank you all for proving each and every day that there is a better life out there for me. And it's here with you."

He turned and raised his glass. "To my sisters," he said softly, his eyes locked onto Charlie and Vaggie. "So proud of you two. So eternally grateful for showing me a better path. I can't ever appropriately apologize for all the shit I gave ya back when I thought you were just a couple of crazy bitches. Now that I know for sure just how fuckin' crazy you really are, I don't want to apologize. I just want to do everything I possibly can to prove that you were right all this time. Not about redemption. That's too big. What the fuck do I know about redemption, anyway? Just between you and me, it really ain't all that complicated. This was never about Heaven for me. I don't care where I end up in the long run. Redemption or not, all that matters right now, between us, is that you were right about me. You were right. I can be more than what I was. A good man.

"Happy anniversary to the lovebirds." He held up his glass. "I'll keep it simple. Just be happy, okay? Whatever it takes."

"Here here!" Cherri called out.

The others echoed, and then they all drank. And just when Angel thought the moment might be over, a pair of girls crashed into him. He let his newfound sisters, Charlie and Vaggie, squeeze what was left of the living daylights out of him for several long moments while the others watched on. More tears were shed. More laughter and joy.

"I think we might have to retire toasts from the hotel," Husk muttered. "Ain't nobody wanna follow that shit."

"I'm gonna have to fix my makeup now," Charlie blubbered as she buried her face in Angel's chest. Everyone howled with laughter.