Chapter Text
"This is going to be great!" Charlie clapped her hands together as she surveyed the reconstructed hotel. There was still an unshakable air of sadness, of loss... that lingered despite the overall sense of accomplishment. "We have everything fixed up, and now we can have a grand re-opening!" She was more trying to reassure herself, trying to build back to her original sense of optimism. However, she was finding that... difficult after losing a patron who had been making such progress.
She felt as if it were her fault- if she had only been more convincing- if she had been stronger, fought harder-
"A party sounds nice." A hand on her shoulder brought Charlie back to the present. She blinked, Vaggie was beside her, smiling, though Charlie could also see the concern in her eye. "After all this hard work rebuilding, we could all use a little treat." Instantly Charlie was feeling better. Vaggie always seemed to know just what to say to her (except about her really being an Exorcist but, honestly, how does someone even broach that topic? Like: "Hey sweetie, just so you know I used to murder your people." There really was just no good way to go about it).
"Who doesn't love a good celebration after a fierce battle and a quick rebuilding?" The synthetic sounding voice caused Charlie to turn. Alastor was behind her, smiling as widely as ever.
"I mean, you only kinda showed up at the end, but yeah, might as well lump you in with everyone who did something." Charlie's father had never liked Alastor- so while the comment didn't actually surprise her, it did make her a bit sad. Alastor didn't seem to be bothered, chuckling to himself.
"I helped in the fight, didn't I?"
"You lost."
"I saw it differently."
"How can you possibly see it-"
"Cookies!" Charlie hated the arguing. For a Hellborn she had a remarkable dislike of confrontation. Alastor and her father both turned to face her; she had successfully disarmed the situation. "If we are going to have a Grand Re-Opening Party, we need cookies."
"Yes, cookies."
"Of course! I'll put Niffty on it right away!" Alastor breezed past them to where Niffty was stabbing one of the remaining angel corpses. Rosie had been gathering them up, though Charlie dared not ask why.
"You know I could probably make cookies. It's not even that hard." Her dad still seemed so awkward around her. Not that she was much better... but... with her mom away on business (at least that was the explanation Charlie told herself every time her call was ignored) she wanted to try and establish something with her dad- something more than an awkward phone call about the weather once every few weeks.
"I know, dad, but Niffty was hired to help with all of that." She gave him what she sincerely hoped was a reassuring smile. She could see her dad's posture start to droop- for the Prince of Lies, he could be an open book at times. "BUT!" She had to think quickly. "We might need decorations!" Immediately her father's expression brightened.
"Oh, you are going to see the best decorations you have ever seen, Char Char! Sinners will be coming from all over Hell just to get a look at these!"
"That sounds perfect, dad, thank you." There! Situation successfully navigated. Her dad was happy, Alastor was happy, everyone was getting along.
"So uh, are we gonna be putting anything extra in these cookies, because after all this shit we need it." Angel Dust stretched his back with a cracking sound that made Charlie squirm a bit.
"You fucking said it," Cherri rested an arm on Angel's shoulder looking to Charlie for some kind of confirmation. "Because we just fought a Goddamn army. This party needs to be more than just milk and cookies."
"I don't think a rager is exactly what this hotel needs when our focus is actually redemption." Charlie hesitated to say a direct no as they all did work very hard to protect the Hotel. "But! There will be alcohol! Just try to remember moderation!"
"Will there be cocaine in moderation?" Angel leaned forward, one hand on his waist.
"Can you do cocaine in moderation?" Cherri smirked, bumping her hip into Angel.
"If you have a moderate amount~" The two burst out laughing and Charlie did her best to laugh along, assuming, hopefully, that they were kidding. But just in case...
"There is not going to be any cocaine at the party. Sorry." She gave her best apologetic smile. Cherri snorted.
"Lame."
"Eh, go easy on her Cherri. There'll prolly be weed in the cookies or something. You know how weird shit gets when Niffty's cooking."
"They are just going to be regular cookies. If you want anything extra, supply it yourself." Luckily for Charlie, Vaggie didn't seem to mind laying down the ground rules. "Hopefully they are going to be different cookies than the ones she has been holding onto for six months." Vaggie looked briefly over to Charlie, lowering her voice. "Please tell me they are going to be different cookies."
"They should be, I'm pretty sure those got destroyed with the rest of the hotel." She genuinely hoped they had.
"She's baking new ones." Husk had finally made his way over, glancing behind him at Alastor who was still talking to Niffty in the distance. Charlie couldn't quite read his expression. "And she got rid of the roach problem, allegedly."
"Did she though?" Angel's skepticism was shared, but Charlie hated to admit it. "She isn't gonna like... put roaches in the food, is she?" Shit. Charlie hadn't considered that. And Husk's noncommittal shrug did absolutely nothing to reassure her.
"Fuck if I know."
"How about," she had to speak up before they were all eating King Roach Cookies, "you help her in the kitchen. As like... a supervisor?"
Husk looked back over at Niffty and Alastor, then back at Charlie. She could tell he was considering his next move carefully, his ears twitched, he crinkled his nose as he saw Niffty picking something up off the ground, show it to Alastor, and then start to walk toward the kitchen.
"You know what? It's a good plan." And just like that he was over by Niffty trying to pry something out of her hand.
"I think you just stopped a disaster." Angel made a face, watching the struggle with amusement.
"Oh, thank goodness." Charlie let out a breath she hadn't really realized she'd been holding. "Well, I am glad we are all going to be able to have a nice, relaxing celebration! And... maybe take a moment to remember..." she trailed off, her chest ached, she felt a familiar burning in her eyes.
"Hey, it's okay..." immediately she felt Vaggie's arm around her, pulling her close. She felt so much better as she put her head on Vaggie's, the soft white hair tickling her nose, strong arms embracing her. "I know how much you miss him... how much... we all miss him..."
"We really do." Another hand was on her back, Charlie sniffed, looking up, seeing Angel beside her.
"And we fucked up the sonuvabitch responsible!" Cherri gave her a reassuring grin. "It's what he woulda wanted. Guaranteed."
"Charlie~" her dad's voice cut through the somber moment as he bounded over in excitement. He paused, seeing everyone gathered around his daughter, seemingly realizing he was interrupting something. "Is... now a bad time? Are... you okay?" He seemed so genuinely concerned; Charlie was touched. It helped her try to compose herself once more.
"Yeah, just... missing Pentious, that's all." She wiped her eye on her sleeve, pulling away from Vaggie so she could smile at her dad.
"Oh, Charlie, I'm so sorry I-"
"It's fine dad." This was not the way they should be starting off a grand re-opening. "Really." She cleared her throat, "so what is it you wanted?"
"Oh... um..." he seemed a bit taken aback by her desire to change the mood. "Right! Decorations!" He grabbed her hand in his gloved one, dragging her to the front of the hotel where two lavish fountains of gold could be seen with flowing chocolate and wine where the water should have been. Ornate lighting covered the hotel facade, nearly drowning out its usual colors, a lavish red carpet was sprawling out from the door. Charlie's lips drew into a thin line as she looked it up and down.
"It's nice." It was clear he had tried hard, and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. This was the first time in... well... forever that her dad seemed to actually want to help her with something. But at the same time ... "it's just a bit..."
"Much?" Once again Vaggie was able to say the words Charlie was too polite to voice. "Angel! Get the fuck out of there!" Sure enough Angel had plunged himself into the fountain of wine, mouth open, head back, back arched as he rested on his hands. Angel didn't reply for a moment, his mouth full of wine.
"It's a fucking wine fountain, Vaggie. Why would it be here if we aren't supposed to use it." As soon as he was done talking, he resumed the position, now accompanied by Cherri Bomb, both of whom were getting absolutely drenched. Lucifer watched with his hands tented, a look of dismay on his face.
"I see the problem."
"It really was a nice gesture it's just-" Charlie didn't even get to finish before he snapped his fingers and the wine turned into regular water and Angel and Cherri both let out sounds of annoyance.
"At least we still have the chocolate one." Angel huffed, hopping out of the fountain and sticking his head under the next one. "This'll be the first time your dad got me all sticky~"
"Oh please don't." Charlie's response came so quickly she surprised herself. "That's my dad, Angel."
"He could always be my daddy-"
"Angel!"
"Fine fine." Angel seemed more interested in the chocolate anyway. Charlie looked back to her dad who went from looking distressed to perturbed.
"Dad I am so sorry about-"
"It's fine Char-Char! Nothing I haven't heard before. I assure you!" He smiled up at her and all traces of the concern were gone from his face. "What else should I change? It's your party, I want this up to your standards."
"How about less lighting and no red carpet? But maybe an open house sign? Nothing too flashy, just something hand painted! Oh! Maybe put a rainbow on it?"
"Can do!" Her dad clapped his hands and the blinding lights vanished, the carpet rolled up into nothing, and a cute hand painted sign reading: Grand Re-Opening: Open House Inside, appeared on the front lawn. A cute little rainbow framed the text. Charlie clapped her hands looking quite pleased.
"Oh thank God that got changed. What an eye sore."
"Really?" Lucifer instantly whipped around to face Alastor. "Fucking really? I want to see you do better!"
"I'm not in charge of decorations, my good man." Alastor smirked as he twirled his cane and tapped it lightly on the ground. (Hadn't that been destroyed? When did he fix it? Ah well, Charlie could always ask him about that later.)
"He did his best. And I really like what we have now." Charlie waved off the comment. It was going to stress her out to have these two constantly fighting. This was supposed to try and bring Sinners in. And, while a fight might actually draw a crowd, it wasn't the kind of publicity the hotel needed. "So why don't we go inside and get this party started!?"
"I miss the wine." Cherri huffed a bit but headed inside. Charlie still wasn't sold on the fountains, but they were only temporary. At least, she hoped they were only temporary. She could always talk to her dad about it before he left. Which reminded her, she hadn't actually asked him about that.
"You... are staying for the party, right dad?"
"You want me to?" His entire demeanor perked up. "I mean, sure! I'm not busy!"
"Not busy? Then what is it you do locked in your house all day? You're not making public appearances."
"I mean," his expression instantly fell back into one of annoyance. "I am busy. Incredibly busy. But never too busy for my daughter. In fact," Lucifer pulled his phone out. He looked briefly at the screen, his eyes widened for a moment, and then he quickly shook himself. "I'm silencing my phone right now. This is about Charlie, after all. Not about work."
"Oh, I mean, dad, if you're busy I understand..." Charlie really didn't want him to get behind on any work. The expression he had made looking at his phone had her slightly concerned.
"No no no no!" He grabbed both her hands. "No, no I am definitely available. Phone's not coming out. I'm here for you. Completely."
"Aw dad..." She squeezed his hand. "I'm happy to hear that, thank you, it means a lot."
"And I will be happily in attendance as well! I can even be in charge of music! I know a thing or two about hosting ~"
"Aren't YOU busy? Don't you have a commercial break to cut to? Or someone else to bother?" Charlie tried not to sigh as her dad instantly snapped back on Alastor. "Maybe go pick up some groceries."
"Nonsense! As a long time supporter of this whole endeavor I should be there at such a milestone! Don't you agree, Charlie?"
"I mean... he is the manager, dad." Charlie rubbed her arm as she hated picking sides, but Alastor had been there from the start. He was the one who helped get her idea off the ground, though his motivations were... probably not great (no, Charlie, have some confidence in your friends... maybe... a healthy amount... of confidence). He still was a constant figure she could turn to in a time of need.
"It will be a grand gala, indeed!" Alastor mused, putting a hand to Charlie's back, gently ushering her inside. Lucifer tried to bat his hand away, but he ignored the attempts. The inside was just as perfect as Charlie could have dreamed, the picture of Pentious made her both sad and proud. Angel and Cherri were already inside talking, Charlie saw Husk with a tray of cookies in one paw and Niffty under his arm. With a wave of his cane, Alastor filled the room with upbeat, old-timey music. Charlie took a deep breath, this was the beginning of a new chapter. She could do this, she could relax, have some fun.
"Do you want to dance?" Her heart fluttered as Vaggie held out her hand. "I mean, I'm not much of a dancer, but I can certainly try."
"I would love that." Charlie instantly gripped her hand. Vaggie pulled her out into the middle of the room, an arm around her waist as the two began to move across the floor.
"I think everything is looking great, Charlie. The hotel is even better than before." She spun the princess around, drawing her close once more.
Dancing always made Charlie feel so much better. Moving to the music, or singing her own special songs, it had a way of making everything melt away into nothing. The stresses of the world rolled off her shoulders, dissipating into the air as the music swept her up. It was as if it were just her and Vaggie. She could do this all day.
"I thought you said you weren't a dancer." Charlie laughed as Vaggie twirled her around.
"I'm not, not much of one. Especially for an angel."
"I think you're amazing!" It was her turn to take the lead as she lifted Vaggie up, spinning her, before putting her down; never missing a beat.
"I am nothing compared to you." Vaggie laughed, reaching a hand up to gently caress Charlie's cheek before putting it back on her waist.
"Can we do a few more songs?" As the music started to lull, Charlie was far from ready to stop dancing. As long as she could keep moving, there was nothing else that could consume her mind.
"As many as you want~ I am pretty sure I can keep up." Vaggie gave her a little wink, and Charlie's already rosy cheeks flushed even brighter.
They danced for five more songs; Angel and Husk were on the dance floor now, Cherri was at the snack table, Alastor was tapping his foot to the music, Niffty sitting on his head. Charlie was able to survey them all as Vaggie guided her around the dance floor. For once, everything seemed back to some semblance of normal.
She saw her dad; he was... distracted? Charlie craned her head a bit to watch him, he was looking uncomfortable (which wasn't all that strange for him) but he was staring at a wall in the back. His expression was surprisingly focused, like he was silently observing something. She followed his gaze to see if maybe he was having some sort of pissing contest with Alastor again but... Alastor was nowhere in his line of sight. In fact, the only thing Lucifer could really see given his angle was a window that was tinted to hide the world outside.
Charlie squinted at the window too. Was it something about the design he didn't like? It didn't look that bad. In fact, Charlie happened to like that window. She was just about to shrug it off entirely when she noticed something... moving? She squinted harder, maybe it was just her imagination, but she swore she had seen something pressing against the glass. Suddenly, Alastor's music warbled unnaturally causing her to misstep.
"Are you okay?" She was looking back at Vaggie now, the former Exorcist looking quite concerned. Charlie looked back to the window, nothing looked amiss now...
"Yeah, the music just messed up. It threw me off." Charlie laughed, doing her best to shake off a feeling of unease that had slowly creeped its way under her skin. Vaggie pulled her to the side, off the dance floor.
"I didn't hear it... but you know more about music than I do." She waved it off, taking Charlie's hand in her own. "You just looked a little... unnerved. You feeling okay?"
"Oh yeah!" She tried to dismiss the concern. "I just saw dad looking at something and honestly it just kinda looked like a window to me." She looked back to her dad who was now trying to push Niffty off of him. He didn't look quite so focused anymore. (Maybe just annoyed). "He was probably just spacing out and I overthought it. I do have a habit of doing that."
"You do." Vaggie mused. But she did look over at Lucifer trying very hard to dislodge Niffty from his leg. "He seems fine now. At least... as fine as he can be given I don't think this is really his scene."
"Actually, dad and mom used to host parties for the higher ups when I was little..." it had been so long since Charlie had thought about those lavish parties, the elegant music, the extravagant outfits... she always looked forward to them, even if she was too young to really participate. But it had been ages since they had one of those big events, maybe her dad was just out of practice? Or this was too small and intimate for his comfort.
"It's hard to imagine your dad at a party, no offense."
"You haven't seen him when he's schmoozing."
"Fair." Vaggie squeezed her hand. "Hey why don't I get us some drinks?"
"That sounds amazing..." Charlie relaxed as Vaggie headed to the bar to make them something. Maybe a drink could help take the edge off. She knew she was just stressing herself out, focused on trying to make everyone get along, expand the hotel, prove a point to Heaven. There was a lot on her plate right now.
Her dad had dislodged Niffty, and now the one-eyed girl was on her hands and knees scrubbing something on the floor. Someone must have already spilled something. That really wasn't surprising. Charlie made her way over, the least she could do was thank Niffty for her hard work in the kitchen. The scarlet haired maid was hard at work scrubbing a wine stain. That figured. "Scrub scrub scrub scrub~" She was singing to herself.
"You don't have to worry about that now! This is a party!"
"Sometimes ladies like to keep a tidy household." Niffty replied as-a-matter-of-factly. "Which you should really know cause you're a lady."
"Right..." At least she wasn't warring with the roaches... right now. "Why don't I give you a hand then?" She saw something had splashed onto the wall near where Niffty was cleaning. It must have been one of the mixed drinks, as the color was dark, almost black, and it seemed to almost be staining the wall around it. She picked up one of the rags near Niffty and squatted down to start to wipe up the mess but as she reached forward someone grabbed her wrist so suddenly it made her jump.
"Char Char! No need to be cleaning, my little apple! This is your party, isn't it?" Her dad had her wrist locked tightly in his grip as he plucked the rag from her hand. "And it looks like your lovely girlfriend has a drink ready for you~" He ushered her toward Vaggie who was coming back from the bar.
"I was just going to-"
"Cleaning at your own party? Save that for when it's over! Am I right? Of course I'm right! Here, allow me~" He snapped his fingers and a burst of light pulsed through the hotel leaving it sparklingly clean. Niffty let out an excited cry as the stain vanished.
"I HAVE VANQUISHED YOU! AND YOU SUFFERED TILL THE END!" And with that she picked up her cleaning supplies and ran off.
"Oh, um, thanks dad."
"Don't you worry about a thing! This is a celebration! It's fun!" He patted her on the back.
"I got us drinks." Vaggie handed her a cup. "Hey, Mr. Morningstar."
"Hi Vaggie!" At least he had gotten her name right this time. Charlie had to give her dad credit for the improvement.
"Dad... is..." the thought of his focused expression was still lingering in her mind. Maybe she was making assumptions based on his strange behavior. Maybe her dad was just... strange and that was something she was going to have to live with as they tried to build a sturdier relationship... but still... "Is everything... okay?"
"Yes?" He looked genuinely confused by the question. "Why?"
"I just... saw you kinda spacing out earlier... I got worried."
"Was I?" He gave a shrug. "I guess I'm just taking it all in. My baby girl, growing up, living her life, accomplishing so much..." tears started to well in his yellow and crimson eyes.
"Dad please don't-"
"HELLO HOTEL!" The doors flew open, and the music screeched to a halt as a plump blonde woman burst her way headfirst into the party. "It's me! I'm back! You're all so welcome~"
"Who did you piss off this time, Mimzy?" Alastor looked mildly annoyed, through the smile. Charlie knew he didn't really like interruptions at the best of times, but these two seemed to have a history so Charlie wasn't particularly concerned.
"No one! And even if I did I don't need your help." She scoffed at the notion. "I have new friends, who support me!"
"You joined a cult?"
"Of course not! But I am going to join: this hotel!" She made a grand gesture around her to the rather confused onlookers. "I am ready for redemption!"
"Seriously, what do you want?"
"Now Alastor," Charlie took a deep breath, she didn't even get a chance to enjoy her drink. "The hotel is open to everyone. But... um... why the change of heart?"
"Because I see what you're trying to do here, and I support it! I am a business owner myself. Owned a club when I was alive, and now I own a small business selling wonderful products to Demons like yourself! Have you ever heard of DamnWay?"
"I have used their shampoo..." Charlie tried her best to know most of the bigger companies in Hell. It was her job as Princess, after all. "But what does this have to do with redemption?"
"What's more redeeming than two small business owners trying to help each other!? Plus staying in this business is expensive and I heard this hotel is free." Mimzy pulled her down so she could put an arm around Charlie's shoulders, drawing her close.
"You know if you stay here you have to do the activities, right?" Charlie had a feeling the housing was the real reason Mimzy was here. But that's how Angel got his start. And Pentious got his by actively trying to sabotage the hotel. So, she couldn't exactly turn Mimzy away based solely on ulterior motives. She looked to Alastor who simply shrugged. It seemed the decision was hers and hers alone.
"Of course, of course! And you know I have some products that could really help get these activities up and going." She made a broad gesture in the direction of the foyer. "I'll even give you a friends and family discount on account of the fact that you and Alastor are so buddy-buddy."
"You can stay here." Charlie sighed; she really didn't have to heart to turn someone away. "But you can't bring trouble here. And you have to participate. The purpose of this hotel is redemption. "
"Right, sure honey."
"Have you thought about joining full time?" Charlie had her doubts about Mimzy, but she still had Cherri as a potential recruit. The demon looked from Charlie to Angel, then back to Charlie.
"I dunno about all that, princess." She made a face. "I may come visit from time to time, but I'm not looking for a quick trip upstairs, especially not after slaughtering a whole lot of 'em. I doubt that'll make me very popular."
"Awe, c'mon Cherri! You get to stay with meeeee~" Angel leaned his body weight into Cherri, squishing their cheeks together. "Plus, we're probably on some kinda Celestial Hit List. And you love fucking shit up!"
"You got me there." She grinned at him, leaning right back against him, poking his cheek playfully with her index finger. "Ahhhh, fine. I might stay for a few, see what this is about."
"That's great! Not the thing about the hit list. I don't love that image being put in my head. But having you on board will be just fantastic!" Charlie hadn't really considered Heaven' response to their struggle. She doubted they were just going to wave off the fact that they had slaughtered quite a few Exorcists. Her dad put a hand on her, smiling reassuringly.
"It is a good idea, Charlie. I think you can really accomplish something. And if Heaven doesn't agree, they can get fucked."
"Thanks dad." That did really make her feel better. He tugged gently on her arm, pulling her closer so he could whisper in her ear.
"Seriously though, don't join DamnWay when it's offered to you. I know the Sinner who runs it. It's a Pyramid Scheme."
"O-okay dad." That was completely unsurprising, if she was being honest. He released her arm and patted her on the back.
"And with that! I am off! I have a lot of important business to attend to." He spun around tipping his hat to Charlie. She returned to Vaggie's side, looping an arm in hers, sipping her drink.
"Thanks for coming, dad!"
"I love visiting! Anytime! I mean it." And with that, he spread his wings and took off, back to the sky. He seemed to be in a better mood- if he had even been in a bad one to begin with. Charlie was, honestly, not sure. All in all, things were starting to resemble normal again.
There were still a lot of unknown factors: the Exterminations, Heaven's response, the very concept of Redemption... but the Hotel was back together, and everyone seemed to be in okay spirits. Maybe things were finally starting to improve.