Archive of Our Own ^beta

Vaggi thought life couldn’t be any better. Charlie’s dream worked and without Vox in the way of things, everything was looking up. She had picked out her new name, worked things out with Charlie, and was now a student of Carmilla. Things were going pretty well.

Sinners were constantly checking in and out of the hotel, way more than before. If Vaggi was doing it by herself, she would easily collapse within a couple days. Luckily, she had Charlie by her side. They worked as a team to make the hotel work.

Even though she thought life was great, it slowly became stressful. Without Alastor around to help, Vaggi was responsible for a lot of the handyman work. Sure, Charlie helped balance everything and they would still be able to go to sleep with each other and hang out, and just enjoy their company. 

But Vaggi was hiding something again. During the fight with Vox, Abel and Lute came down to retrieve Emily. Seeing Lute in the flesh again brought anxiety and stress to her. The fact that she was still out there, plotting revenge on them, made her feel uneasy. Many times after that, she woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare of Lute coming down to kill Charlie and her.

However, during the fight, something else happened. Vaggi thought she was done for, cornered by Lute, when Abel stepped up. She felt relief at first, but then Abel took out the mask and placed it over his face.

Vaggi couldn’t stop thinking about that. He looked so much like his father and Vaggi wasn’t sure how she felt. Thinking about it, envisioning him, made her heart race and the world seem to stop. She just recovered from seeing real life Adam from the battle they just had. Seeing him again, brought back memories she didn’t like.

Ever since then, it felt like a switch had been turned on. Seeing Adam put her mindset back in the barracks. Not the exact same though. She had all her memories but her personality seemed to have changed a little. 

Now it felt like she was walking on eggshells wherever she went. One step out of line and they would hurt her or the ones she cared about. She knew there was no one there to hurt her, but her gut kept telling her there was and she needed to protect her friends.

Charlie started noticing this behavior a day or two after it started. She knew Vaggi would act all soldier-y when stressed, but she’d usually snap out of it within a couple hours. After a day or two of this, she grew worried. Sensing her partner in distress, she knew she had to talk to her, or at least check up on her.

“Vaggi? Do you think we can talk?” She asked. Vaggi had just finished checking out a couple sinners who changed their mind. When she noticed Charlie, she straightened her posture and put on a smile.

“Yeah, of course. What do you need?” She asked. Charlie frowned a little.

“I’m a little worried about you, baby. You seem stressed,” she told her.

Vaggi looked around and upon seeing no more sinners, was about to spill her feelings. But something was stopping her. A little voice in her head with a very similar voice to her superior.

‘I would think twice if I were you, Vaj,’ the voice spat. 

She knew it was just the anxiety and PTSD speaking, but the fear of being hurt by Adam outweighed Vaggi’s ability to see the reality. She took a small breath and put on a calm, relaxed expression.

“Don’t worry about me, Char. I’m doing fine,” She pulled Charlie’s suit jacket so she leaned down to her level and pressed a kiss onto her cheek.

“Okay, Vags, but if you need anyone to talk to, you got us and Carmilla,” The princess cupped her cheek and gave her a small smile. She knew how Vaggie could get stuck in her own head sometimes, haunted by the ones who hurt her. It worried her to think that she was suffering alone. 

“I know,” Vaggi assured her.

Then a bell suddenly rang and a room number popped up on the board. This usually meant someone was calling the front to complain about a room or something. So Vaggi thought she should probably tend to it.

“I gotta get that. I’ll see you at dinner, babe,” She assured her before spreading her wings and flying to the room that needed her attention.

Charlie watched her fly off, worry written on her face. She knew Vaggi would be fine taking care of herself, but something was telling her that she wasn’t okay. It was a sinking gut feeling.

A couple more hours passed and Charlie barely got to see her girlfriend. Both of them were extremely busy doing things, but usually they got to do some tasks together. This was not one of those times though. 

As dinner time rolled around, Charlie waited for Vaggi in the dining room. She sent a text reminding her that they were meeting in the dining room for dinner, but after about 20 minutes, she didn’t show. Most of the guests were eating, or had already eaten and were now heading back to their rooms. Not wanting to wait any longer, Charlie stood up and decided to go and look for her. 

After asking Cherri and Husk if they’ve seen her, she started asking random residents. Eventually, she was led to one of the hotel’s rooms. She knocked on the door, waiting for a response.

“I’m almost done, Rooster!” She heard Vaggi yell from inside. Slowly she walked in.

Inside, Vaggi was hovering just above the ground, her hands busy and attention focused on the ceiling fan. Her wings looked so tired and overused. They also definitely needed a preening. She left a trail of feathers everywhere she went. That’s how Charlie was able to find her.

“Vaggi? Baby? You okay?” Charlie asked, making her presence known.

“Charlie?” Vaggi’s attention was quickly turned to her. However, her hand slipped and she lost her grip on the fan. It stayed up for about 2 seconds before falling, dragging Vaggi down with it. The fallen angel hit the floor, the ceiling fan on top of her.

“Shit, Vaggi!” Charlie rushed over and immediately lifted the fan off of her. She kneeled down and checked her for any injuries.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. That’s gonna take me another 20 minutes to get back up though. My stupid hand can’t get a good fucking grip anymore,” Vaggi said, gesturing to her right hand, the one that Lute had stabbed through during the battle with heaven. They have been meaning to get it checked out by someone in the sloth ring, but all the hospitals were pretty busy with sinners.

“Don’t worry about the fan, baby. Are you sure you’re okay? You weren’t at dinner…” Charlie said, helping her stand up. Vaggi immediately paled. It had completely slipped her mind

“Shit, I must’ve forgotten. I’m so sorry, Charlie,” She apologized, her wings drooping a little.

“It’s alright. But when was the last time you took a break, sweetheart? Not including sleeping,” The princess asked.

Vaggi stayed silent. She was fighting an internal battle with herself.

‘You don’t want her to end up like ____ do you?’ the voice in her head told her, reminding her of her old friend. How her friend was tortured worse than she was because she spoke out against Adam’s behaviors towards Vaggi. A small flashback of her time in the barracks washed over her. She remembered the beatings, the emotional abuse, how she hurt her friend. 

“Vaggi?” Charlie brought her back to the present, “Are you having another flashback?” 

Vaggi realized that she had unconsciously started to curl in on herself while staring into the floor. Barely moving her head, she nodded.

“It’s alright, sweetie, you’re not there anymore. You’re safe,” Charlie wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. Even though the flashback wasn’t nearly as bad as her other’s, Vaggi still appreciated Charlie’s comfort. It managed to ground her and make the voice in her head quiet down.

“Y-yeah. Thanks.” She responded after a couple seconds, “I think probably yesterday at lunch?”

Charlie let out a soft sigh. She had been afraid of that. Vaggi always tended to overwork herself, even when she had help so she wouldn’t overwork herself. 

“Lets get you something to eat and then we’re gonna go upstairs and you’re gonna relax for the rest of the evening,” Charlie declared.

“But who’s gonna-”

“Shut up, that’s enough of this spiral, you know that I love you.” Charlie quoted out of order. Vaggi fell silent, being bested by her own words. Charlie held out her hand, waiting for her to take it. The fallen angel looked at it and smiled, placing her hand in her’s.

The two walked downstairs into the dining room and Charlie got Vaggi something to eat. There was barely anything left of the dinner Nifty cooked up, so Charlie decided to make her some comfort food herself. 

Once dinner had been consumed and their bellies satisfied, they took the elevator up to the penthouse. They passed a few guests who waved at them and said hi. It was very unusual for sinners, so it was well appreciated and made Charlie feel happy that her hotel was already working. 

Right when they got to their room, Vaggi immediately flopped into bed, face first. Charlie let out a small chuckle before lifting her up playfully.

“Come on, let’s clean these wings up,” She said. Vaggi giggled as she was carried into the bathroom.

Charlie turned on the shower and began undressing the both of them. Although they usually got a bit…grabby, when showering together, Charlie wanted to show Vaggi how much she cared without getting sexual. They both loved non-sexual intimacy, it being a great way for them to show their love for each other.

When they stepped in, Charlie began running her fingers through Vaggi’s wings, trying to get all the loose feathers out before rubbing soap all along her wings. Her fingers were soft and gentle, and the warm water against their backs was soothing.

Her wings took a while to get done, especially since Charlie spent a lot of the time massaging them instead of washing them, but Vaggi didn’t mind. She liked being this close with her. And the massage felt great on her sore wings.

They spent another 30 minutes washing each other and being in close proximity. A small make-out session did appear, but it quickly ended as they realized how long they’ve been standing in the shower for.

When they stepped out, Vaggi had a playful smirk on her face as an idea came up. Charlie looked at her and immediately knew what she was thinking.

“Vaggi…” she warned, but it was too late. Vaggi flapped her wings vigorously, shaking all the water droplets off of her, drenching their bathroom. Charlie laughed and tried to tackle them lightly with a towel. 

Once they were all dried off and in their pajamas, they fell into bed. Vaggi pressed a kiss to Charlie’s lips before snuggling into her chest. She felt the love Charlie gave her and took some time to really enjoy and savor the moment.

Even though Vaggi could get caught up in her head sometimes, Charlie was always able to pull her out of it and get her to see the good things in her new life, safe from anyone who could hurt her.