FROM THE HEART

After several long minutes of tears and talk and casual drinking among friends, Husk grabbed one of the packages from the bar top and set it in front of the happy couple. It was the smallest gift, a black box covered with hearts.

"I'll be honest… I ain't much of a gift-giver. But this one spoke to me and I thought it might speak to the two of you."

The couple smiled at the thoughtfulness, and Vaggie used a finger to nudge the box toward Charlie. "Here babe. You do the honors."

"Oh… Uh, kay. Sure." Charlie smiled as she pulled the thin ribbon tied around the box free and lifted the lid. Tissue paper had been stuffed inside, and she began to pull it free.

"Fuck yeah, Husk!" Cherri called out. "I was just thinkin' I needed to blow my honker."

The group laughed. From within the box Charlie located another, smaller box. A small felt ring box, black as midnight. Charlie smiled, pushing aside the gift box and lay the felt box down in its place. "Your turn, babe."

Vaggie nodded, popped open the little box, and took the card that lay across the top of the contents. A handwritten note from Husk, which she read out loud.

"'I've known for a long time that no distance is too great for an immortal connection. You two reminded me of what a beautiful thing that can be. Thank you from the bottom of this old fool's heart. Best wishes, Husk.'"

"Aw… Husk!" Charlie was a little teary-eyed as she gazed up at him, and he gave a little shrug and started wiping down an imaginary spill on the bar top in order to avoid her gaze. Everyone knew the torment Husk referred to when he mentioned his immortal connection. His deal with Alastor. Charlie lifted the two golden chains she found beneath the note. "Oh, adorable!"

The two chains each held a half of a broken heart. Engraved on one side of the right half was the letter, C, and on the back, My Naughty Devil. On the left half a heart, the letter V, and on the back, My Perfect Angel.

"Oh fuck," Vaggie mumbled. "That really is adorable. Kind of on the nose, but fucking adorable."

"Welp," Husk said as he tossed his bar rag aside. "I never been one to beat around the bush. On the nose is about all I know."

She grinned. "I guess no one's going to argue that. Thank you Husk."

Vaggie took the half with the letter C and hopped out of her seat. Being careful not to mess up Charlie's loose, sexy braid, she slipped the chain around the Princess's slender neck and closed the clasp. Then she turned around, doing the best to hold her impressive mane of silver-gray hair clear so that Charlie could return the favor.

When Vaggie turned, she saw Charlie's eyes were on the dress, and realized she must have seen just how low the black weave hung on her back, just a few scandalous inches above her rear end. She blushed, but neither spoke as Charlie reached up and gently brushed her fingers over the golden half a heart that hung beside the lavender gem on the other necklace Vaggie had selected to wear for their date night. She watched Charlie's eyes dip down, below the necklace, along the expanse of bare flesh. Gentle fingertips slid down, skimming gently over her soft lilac-grey skin, down into her exposed cleavage.

"Uh, hun?" Vaggie said. Charlie blinked and looked up in surprise, and Vaggie realized she had been lost in the moment. "I love ya to pieces, sweetheart, but we aren't alone."

Charlie flushed bright red.

"Dammit!" Cherri called. "And here I thought we'd be getting a show to go with the booze!"

The group dissolved into laughter, and Charlie turned away to hide her face, even as she broke into a giggle. Vaggie leaned toward her and hugged her head to her breasts. "Oh, babes. You are soooo getting lucky tonight."

Niffty didn't skip a beat. "Can we still watch?"

"Oh you," Charlie mumbled, struggling to control her giggles.

But then Angel gave Niffty a big high five and the laughter filled the lobby once again. Vaggie shook her head in wonder. She had never imagined even a few months ago that the hotel would ever show this level of joy. She couldn't ever remember being nearly this happy in Heaven. Who needed Heaven anyway, when all your love and happiness was with you wherever you went? These precious fools in the Hazbin Hotel were all the love and happiness she would ever need.

"Oh, oh! Mine next! Mine next!" Niffty, who had been sitting on her stool suddenly hopped up onto her feet and put her hands on the bar top, leaning forward with her big eye shining. Her impressive, pointy teeth shone brighter still as she gave them all her brightest smile. Anyone who didn't know Niffty might think it was the most demonic smile in hell, but Vaggie saw only the joy on the housekeeper's adorable little face.

"Okay, okay." Charlie smiled as Husk handed over the big, flat package. Vaggie was already aware of what she would find inside—the raised perimeter beneath the wrapping paper was a clear indicator—but she couldn't begin to guess just what the picture inside would show. Knowing Niffty, she very well could have a reason to be concerned. Apparently Charlie had the same mindset, because she immediately asked, "This isn't going to be a picture of you and the Battle of Roachtown is it, Niff?"

Everyone but Niffty laughed, and then, as she stared at Charlie with her most sadistic grin, she delivered a reply with a perfectly deadpan tone. "Maybe."

"Oh shit," Angel said. "We gotta hang that in the lobby."

Niffty cackled. Vaggie and Charlie shared a look, shaking their heads, but their smiles were broad. After a quick breath, the princess decided to risk it, ripping the wrapping paper free, and immediately teared up. "Oh, shit…"

"Wow," Vaggie whispered. "Niffty, where did you get this."

"I painted it." She spoke with such a matter-of-fact tone that at first Vaggie thought she was being sarcastic, but when she didn't break out into laughter Vaggie realized she was telling the truth.

"Oh… Niffty," Charlie mumbled tearfully, turning the painting around so everyone could get a good look.

"Holy shit…" Angel whispered. "How long did that take?"

The painting was of the whole of the residents of the hotel from back before the Battle for Hazbin, the old bar in the background. They stood together, glasses raised in a toast.

"'Here's to being alive today,'" Cherri quoted softly, turning her eyes somberly down to the drink in front of her, "'and not dying tomorrow.'"

Standing at the center of the painting was none other than Sir Pentious, glass raised slightly higher than the others in the painting. Charlie wiped a mess of tears and snot off of her face. "Niffty, it's gorgeous. Fuck… I can't do makeup, anymore, can I? No more makeup for Charlie."

The housekeeper nodded excitedly, looking very pleased with herself. "Thank you. I have an eye for art."

Silence took hold of the room.

"Did… did you just make a fuckin' pun?" Husk asked.

She just grinned back. Everyone laughed.

"Well, I know Angel was just being a smartass, but this is hanging in the lobby for sure." Charlie turned the painting back around to look at it. Vaggie leaned on her arm, admiring it along with her. She reached out and let her soft fingers slide over the wood frame, stained red.

"The frame," she said. "This isn't mass produced. You made it too, didn't you?"

"It's from the old bar top," Niffty replied. "I found it while we were clearing rubble after the fight. I can do more with a knife than stab, you know."

Charlie shook her head. "Fuck, girl. I'm learning new things about you people every day. And you, you're really overqualified to be a housekeeper, you know that, right?"

"Maybe. But I think I'll keep my job, okay?"

Vaggie smirked. "No worries, Niff. We wouldn't let you go that easy."

"Jeez. You cunts are gonna make me look bad," Cherri grumbled, but her smile was as bright and cheerful as Vaggie had ever seen it.

"If you ask me," the fallen angel said, "you all went above and beyond. It'll be impossible for you to look bad."

"Well let's test that theory, huh?" Husk said. "This is from Cherri."

Vaggie took the bottle, inspecting it quietly for a moment, and then she carefully began to peel away the red and gold foil wrapping paper, to find the green bottle with the white label underneath. Her eyes widened, and a big smirk stretched across her face. "What the fuck? This is awesome!"

Charlie frowned as she leaned in for a closer look. And then she grinned.

The label itself was mostly white, a big demonic grin and a huge red eye above it was the defining feature. Encircling the face was an explosion of strawberry blond hair, and the name, as if she had penned her signature directly onto the label with a silver marker, was scrawled in big looping letters, directly below the face. Essentially a lively caricature of Cherri's face. Attached via a thin leather strap to the back of the bottle was a corkscrew, wrapped in black plastic.

"Okay," Vaggie said. "Since when did you have a wine named after you?"

"I don't," Cherri said. "At least not yet. But I'm workin' on it mates. This here is a test run." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "I got a mate who supplies hooch to Klub Kaiju workin' with me to develop a wine. It's a bit of a dream of mine."

"Seriously?" Angel said. "You ain't neva told me about this dream."

"Hmmm, well, you know. Until recently it wasn't all that realistic. But… when I was alive, my grandad owned a winery. I never been, but I always grew up thinkin' I might like ta work there someday, but I died before the opportunity came up." She rolled her finger over the rim of her glass, smiling thoughtfully as she stared down at nothing in particular. "Grandad used to say I was a real firecracker. Used to call me his li'l cherry bomb. Hence the name. Even told me he was going to introduce a line in my honor. I never saw it come to fruition, so I thought, fuck it, mates. I was gonna make my own. This ain't the real thing. Oh, the wine's real enough, but it was produced magically. Bean wanted to get a prototype right before we put a bunch of money into it. This may be the only bottle of Cherri Bomb wine you'll eva see, and I thought, what better way to honor my grandad than to give it to you. Bloke was a hard ass but he was a romantic hard ass."

"Oh. My. God. This is adorable," Vaggie announced.

She had pulled the corkscrew out of the wrapper and was holding it up for all to see. Connected to the top of the corkscrew was a thin, black spring about an inch long, and a tuft of long, strawberry blonde hair fell from the end, emulating Cherri Bomb's ponytail.

"Holy shit, Cherri Bomb!" Angel said.

"Seriously amazing!" Charlie cooed as she let her fingers slide gently over the hair atop the corkscrew. "So creative!" She looked over at Cherri, grinning. "This is really cool, Cherri! I can't believe you thought the others were going to make you look bad."

"Don't forget, babes, you haven't tried the wine yet, ya silly wanker."

"Well, I look forward to it. It'll be good. Should we pop it open?"

"Nah, don't even think about it." Cherri waved the suggestion away. "I have more for everyone else to try later, but that bottle is yours, mate. Somehow I thought you chicks might appreciate the bottle more, yeah?"

Charlie smiled. "Okay. That sounds good. Thank you, Cherri."

"I've never had a cherry wine before," Vaggie said.

"It's definitely different," Cherri said. "But you should like it."

Husk looked Cherri over for awhile. "And hey, even if it sucks, I'll keep it on hand right here, just for you."

"Fuck right you will, cobber!"

"And, if'n ya had the right bottle, this bitch can stare at everyone that walks through this place on their way to fuckin' Heaven, amirite?"

Everyone turned to stare at Angel, and again, the entire crew burst into laughter.

"You people all need to stop making me laugh so hard," Charlie said after awhile, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye as she slowly recovered from the latest bout of hysterics. "We're drinking a lot of booze and before you know it, I'm going to pee myself."

"Oh, do you need a potty break?" Niffty asked.

"Maybe," Charlie admitted, though her face was a little red at the question.

"Well, never fear," Angel said abruptly. "We're almost done here, and then you can go piss to your heart's content, or whatever it is you've got planned."

"Golden shower?" Niffty asked.

"What…" Charlie stared at them, frowning. "What is a golden sh–"

"No! Geesh, Niff," Husk said. "Stop it! I don't wanna hear this shit!"

Angel stared down at the housecleaner in amusement. "And just how do you know what a golden shower is?"

Niffty didn't miss a beat. "That's when your lov–"

"That's not what he asked!" Husk growled. "And I think this conversation is over!"

"Ah yes," Cherri said. "There it is mates."

"What?" Vaggie asked her over the top of the bar. "The asinine conversations of our weak-willed degenerates at play?"

"That's the one, baby cakes. It's why I love all you nutjobs!"

"Oddly enough, after all this time, I think I'm finally starting to agree with that."

"Speaking of degenerate conversations," Angel said suddenly. He leaned out over the bar and took the last package from its place in front of them. It had been the first package to turn up earlier, and now it was the last remaining. "Here, toots." He placed it in Vaggie's hands. "Open this. Happy anniversary."

Vaggie looked up at him, frowning. "Angel, what did you do?"

"Just open it already."

Vaggie's brow wrinkled at the package as she turned it over in her hands. Next to her Charlie leaned over curiously. They bumped shoulders as they stared at the package, and with a sigh Vaggie shot Angel a sidelong glance.

"Why don't I trust you?" she asked.

He shrugged, donning a mischievous smirk. A little of the old promiscuous Angel sparkled in his eyes.

"Grrreat…" Vaggie said under her breath, and untied the ribbon, setting it aside. She gave Charlie a look and then slowly tore off the paper.

The tube was made of clear plastic, and at the bottom end was a picture of the famous imp clown Fizzarolli. Vaggie stared at the image grinning back at her and pursed her lips tight, her good eye twitching ever so slightly at what she beheld.

On display in the tube was a translucent silicone phallic sporting a bright rainbow design. Vaggie's jaw dropped, and she slowly set the gift on the bar top in front of her. She could feel Charlie squirming uncomfortably on her arm, and saw her put her hand over her mouth as she averted her gaze.

A nervous silence consumed the room. Vaggie stared down at the colorful dildo and used two fingers to slowly push it away. Her face was flushed.

"Angel?"

"Yeah, what?"

"What the actual fuck is this?"

"It's a dildo, baby!"

"I know what it is, pendejo. What makes you think in a gazillion years we would want something like this?"

Angel frowned, shifting his gaze over to Charlie. She was looking away, her mouth covered by a hand, and she trembled slightly. She refused to meet anyone's gaze. Vaggie knew the others had gone completely silent, both surprised by her sudden outburst, but really not all that surprised at all, given the context.

"Look, toots, experiment! You might be surprised at what you might want."

"What part of 'lesbian' screams I like fake dick to you? The fuck is-"

"Vaggie, stop!" Charlie put a hand on Vaggie's shoulder and turned her so that they faced one another. "Stop yelling, please. It's… not that big a deal, is it?"

Vaggie took one look at her girlfriend and realized with a start what she was doing. She closed her mouth, closing her teeth over the inside of her lips as if to close off the path for the words she had been about to say. The anger she had felt abruptly vacated, and she let out a soft sigh before nodding.

Charlie continued: "I just want to be happy today, okay? Angel didn't do anything wrong."

Vaggie frowned at the comment but didn't argue. She gave Charlie a big hug. "Okay, okay." She looked back at Angel and gave him a small smile. "Maybe I overreacted. It's the thought that counts, right?"

"No big deal," Angel said, but Vaggie could see he was a bit hurt by the whole ordeal. She immediately felt bad for her reaction.

She leaned over and gave him a big hug. "Seriously, Angel. I'm so sorry. Charlie's right… you didn't deserve that."

"And I said no big deal, toots," he said, and a very real smile returned to his features. "Don't worry about it. I'm a big boy. I can take some criticism. I learned from Mr. Grumpypants himself."

Husk rolled his eyes. "And somehow it all comes back full circle in the end." He chuckled softly. "Who needs another fuckin' drink?"

"Shit, mates! If ya ask me," Cherri said as Husk poured a few more drinks for the demons that needed refills, "you really do all sound like fuckin' siblings."

"Well," Charlie said smiling over at the bombmaker. "I hate to burst your bubble but your one of my sisters too. In fact, we're doing a sleepover someday. Sisters have sleepovers. And pillow fights. I fucking want to have a pillow fight with my sisters."

Vaggie frowned. "A pillow fight? With sisters? I never heard that one before."

"I have," Husker said. "But I don't know for sure about the sister part."

"I do know if I were straight I'd probably want to watch," Angel said.

"Yeah," Husk said. "If you were straight."

"As gay as you are, you'd probably want to join in," Cherri said.

"You guys don't know straight people," Niffty said abruptly. "A bad boy jumps right on in. Too much tits and ass available. He's gonna wanna get hold of that shit."

Everyone looked at Niffty.

"That… makes a tremendously sad amount of sense," Charlie said.

Vaggie frowned. "And I… I don't really wanna know. Straight people freak me out. Present company excluded, of course."

"No worries," Niffty said. "I wouldn't mind if I did. Everyone needs to be freaked out occasionally."

"Well mission accomplished, girl," Vaggie said. "But I think Charlie was seeing someone else in her head entirely."

Niffty shrugged, her big eye locking onto Vaggie as a smirk stretched over her razor-sharp teeth. "I know who she thought about. Straight women aren't gonna freak out lesbians. It's the straight bad boys that leave a mark. She was thinking about Adam."

"All right! That's enough!" Charlie said, throwing her hands up abruptly. "We are not talking about that douchebag right now!"

Niffty cackled. "Now, she's sufficiently freaked out." She leaned as close as she could to the bar so that she could sip on her drink.

"Leave it to Niff," Husk grumbled.

"Everyone's favorite little psychopath," Angel agreed wholeheartedly.