After taking a shower, Charlie spent a little extra time on her primping, deciding she wanted to doll up just a little bit extra for Kevin.
She’d done the same on the morning before her first real date with Vaggie, so this wasn’t anything new, really.
Plus, she was feeling really good this morning and spent the entire time in the bathroom singing while she got ready.
Once she’d finished, Charlie got dressed in her usual red business suit, clipped on her amulet, and, feeling emboldened, decided to make some real progress on promoting the hotel and getting some new guests to check in.
With one last glance in the mirror, Charlie winked at herself and whispered, “Oh, you definitely are a sexy bitch!”
Turning the lights off with a flick of her fingers, Charlie headed to the elevator and made her way down to the kitchen.
She thought about making herself a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and tossing a couple of bowls of salad for Vaggie, who seemed to love them more than normal breakfast foods in the morning.
But when she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see her father cooking up a giant batch of pancakes.
It was late in the morning, so why now?
“Cause sleepy head slept in.” Her father had a knowing grin on his face, and Charlie blushed softly.
“And it seems to be his favorite thing to make in the morning.” Cherri Bomb smirked as she popped up from behind the counter.
“Cherri?” Charlie blinked and grinned.
“I thought you went home last night?”
“Crib’s trashed.” Cherri shrugged while dropping some chocolate chips into the mixing batter.
As she stirred, she continued, “I guess some blokes decided to nick all my shit while I was here this past month helping with the rebuild.”
“Oh, my gosh!
Cherri!
I’m so sorry!
I’ll pay for all the damages.
Just tell me what I owe.”
“No way, bitch!” Cherri’s one eye thinned, but her lips twitched with a grin.
“I’m good.
Didn’t have anything there I needed.
All I have is here with ma pals.
But, I guess I’m gonna need a room now, huh?”
“Of course!
You know we have plenty of rooms, and with all the exercises I have planned, redemption will be—”
“Whoa there, Missy!” Cherri stopped mixing and held her hand up, the mixing spoon spilling some batter on the counter.
“I’ll crash here.
I’ll help ya, but I’m good, bitch, and you know it!
I won’t bring any shit here, I promise, but when I go out to party, I’m lettin’ loose and blowin’ steam and I’m takin’ Angie with me sometimes, got it?”
“Of course.” Charlie nodded.
“Just don’t let him get carried away; he’s making good progress.”
“I know, bitch!” Cherri’s tone and smile showed she wasn’t upset at the suggestion, “I won’t enable him, I promise.
Just destressin’!”
“Got it,” Charlie smirked.
She was genuinely happy to have Cherri here, even if she was on staff, so if she needed to take Angel Dust out on occasion, all the more power to her.
“Good!
And I think I’m gonna love doin’ a lot of the cookin’.
I haven’t had such a blasted awesome kitchen to cook in, like ever, and I do know how to whip up some really tasty treats.
I promise to make sure a lot of it is vegetarian, too, though I was really shocked to hear you were one.” Cherri started dropping spoonfuls of batter onto the grill.
“Well, honestly, I wasn’t a vegetarian again until a month ago.” Charlie bit her lip at the memories.
“Come again, mate?” Cherri blinked and spilled some batter on the floor.
“Shit!” But she shrugged and continued, “To be fair, I’ve never actually seen you eat.
We’re always busy and have never had a chance to sit down to meals together yet.
But the story?”
“I grew up eating everything that mom and dad had the chefs make, and I have a few things I did enjoy.
Pepperoni, especially.” Charlie tapped the tabletop.
“But when I came back to hell, and my memories of Earth were taken, the old me was very much an omnivore.” Charlie’s voice drifted away, as did her eyes, which seemed to be looking past her father and Cherri, and her smile faded.
“Char-char?” Lucifer walked over and sat in the chair next to her.
“Are you okay?”
She paused, and her words came out slowly, as if she were discovering something for the first time: “With the amnesia, I was someone different—a version of me that hadn’t been raised as Lilith and Lucifer’s daughter among the sinners of Hell, who I saw as my people.
I no longer had those experiences and memories, so as a blank slate, I saw things differently; innocence needed to be protected, and I was ready to live my life by Kevin’s side, hunting down those who were evil.”
There was a hint of worry in her eyes when she cast them on her father.
“And yet, here?
With Heaven aiming to exterminate countless souls on the pretense of some sick shit reason of ‘overpopulation,’ I’m trying to save everyone, even the evil?” Her voice cracked, “Dad?
Am I a fucking hypocrite?”
“Whoa, mate!” Cherri piped up, “Don’t you dare start down that path.
All you’ve ever done is look out for your people.
And that fucker Samedi was no sinner; he was a monster, same as Bible!
You did good, just as you’ve been destined.”
“But before Kevin came back, I had no problem with the idea of redeeming everyone, from the evil to the strange.
Now, I’m questioning whether I should even be running this hotel at all, wondering if I should instead let evil rot.” Charlie gasped as those words left her mouth, her hand pressing against her chest, brushing against her amulet, and blinking wide owl eyes.
“Oh my god, do I think that?
Yes?
No?
Dad?
What should I do?”
Cherri butted in before he could answer, “Don’t forget.
Most of the sinners down here are as innocent as the children you saved in life.
They just made mistakes!
They need you and this bloody hotel.”
“Cyclops girl is right, sweetie.” Lucifer smiled, “You are still you, the princess destined to save souls, to see them redeemed and sent to heaven, exactly where all the good souls you’ve ever saved have and will eventually go.
You are not a hypocrite, and your mission is exactly the same as it’s ever been, and this hotel needs you, and you need this hotel.”
“But do I let anyone in?
Or do I screen?
What if…” Charlie’s eyes flashed red as certain memories flashed behind her eyes: “Bible showed up at these doors, asking for a chance?”
The question lingered silently in the air for a moment.
Lucifer popped his lips and shrugged.
“This is your endeavor and your decision, Charlie, and you already have…friends…here that have done questionable shit when he was alive.”
“You mean Alastor.” Charlie whispered, nodding slightly, “And I accepted his help as my hotel manager.”
“Ultimately, your desire to protect your people reaches out to all seven rings of Hell and all those in it.
But if you want my opinion?” Lucifer paused.
“I do!” Charlie grabbed Lucifer’s hands again, eager for his advice.
“Some souls are just destined for Hell.” Lucifer mimicked Charlie’s voice and the comment she’d made in the restaurant with Kevin long in the past.
Charlie blinked and then curled her lips into a smile, chuckling, “Yes.
Yes, indeed.
Some are just truly meant to be here.
Thank you, Dad.” Charlie leaned back and sighed, “I’m not going to set up a screening process or anything like that, but if anyone checks in who tries to abuse the system and who has no intention of redeeming themselves, then I will have to evict them.”
Cherri huffed at this, but there was a tease of a smile on her face.
“All of them?”
“Doncha start on me, ‘Missy’.” Charlie imitated an Australian accent, and they both laughed.
Charlie’s laughter died down quickly, though.
“I… I just don’t know why this all came up so suddenly.
I’m sorry, you two; I didn’t mean to dump on you.”
Lucifer shook his head.
“This last month has been a roller coaster of emotions, Char-Char, with very little downtime, what with the rebuild and then last night’s story.
So now that you’ve had some sleep and a chance to talk it out with us, you’re taking the time to process all your feelings and memories.”
He squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“You’ve lived two lives, seen things in two different ways, and you’re just now coming to terms with merging them into one.
But the truth is, before Kevin came home, you were incomplete—a caricature that required transformation into your true self.
Everyone who thinks they know you will be surprised by the woman you’ll become now that you have all of your memories together for the first time.”
Charlie sniffed, her eyes grateful for her father and friend right now, and slightly chuckled, “I guess so.
This my therapy session for the day, I guess?”
“No.
Unconditional love and support.” Lucifer smiled, “Something I’ve not been giving you for a long time.”
“Dad, please don’t.” Charlie shook her head.
“Yes.” Lucifer smiled softly, “I’ve been away far too long, not giving you the attention and support you deserved.
You’ve opened my eyes to the vision of your hotel, your dream, and I don’t plan to be far away anymore.”
“Are you going to get back to running Hell, then?
Like long before?” Charlie ventured.
“Yes.
I’ll visit here often, and I will answer every call and every text, but I need to go start cleaning up the messes that have formed all over the rings while I’ve been absent, and have some talks with the Sins.”
“It would be great if they all got on board with the hotel.
I know Beezlebub would love to see how we’ve improved the place.”
“Ooh!” Cherri perked up as she scooped a batch of pancakes on a plate.
“I hear she throws the best parties!
I’d love to help her host one here.”
“Eh.” Lucifer raised a brow.
“She tends to have a lot, and I mean a lot, of party favors that wouldn’t fit well with the idea of redemption.”
“Party pooper,” Cherri grumbled as she continued to toss the pancakes in the skillets.
Charlie and Lucifer smirked at each other.
“Well, if any of my extended family comes to visit, they will just have to be on their best behavior.”
“Especially Mammon.” Lucifer quipped.
Charlie nodded, then sighed, “Hell is going to be so different for Kevin.
I’m worried about him adapting.
He spent his life hunting evil, and now he’s going to be living among it, maybe even…” Charlie bit her lip and cut off the rest of her sentence.
Lucifer knew where she’d been heading in her thoughts: “Kevin believes in your dream, Charlie, so I know in my heart he will do his best to help you redeem your people.
Don’t think too far ahead, okay?”
“Right!” Charlie felt relieved.
“We haven’t even had our first night together, and here I’m wondering about the future.”
“You’re a dreamer, princess,” Cherri smirked, adding more cakes to the plate, and continued onto the next batch.
“And Hell doesn’t yet realize how lucky they are that you’ve carried on that trait from your ol’ man.”
Lucifer tilted his hat at Cherri for that, then emphasized to Charlie, “It’s a dream worth having; you’ve had two lives, two loves, and thanks to your angel girlfriend, a chance to live your new life with both of them by your side.”
“Or on top of you.” Cherri winked.
The joke did what it needed to do, and Charlie laughed freely.
Cherri’s not-so-subtle innuendo took her by surprise, and she joined in to lighten her mood.
“Or behind?” she inquired.
“Maybe on the bottom?
You do look like you take charge a lot, Missy.” Cherri returned the playfully snarky quip from earlier.
That made Charlie blush.
Lucifer had pulled his hand back by then, watched the volley of teasing between the girls, and smiled softly.
Cherri Bomb may not yet really realize it, Lucifer mused, but she was becoming family, and her heart was a lot bigger than she realized.
“I’m not going to admit or deny anything.” Charlie winked.
“Admit what?” Vaggie’s voice drifted from the doorway as she stepped into the kitchen, her face looking confused, but it warmed into a smile when she saw Charlie.
Cherri snickered as Charlie’s face burned in embarrassment, but she turned in her seat to give her girlfriend full, loving eyes.
“I promise to tell you later, when we’re alone.”
Vaggie knew she would, so she just nodded and took up the seat next to Charlie.
“I’m glad I made it in time for breakfast with you.
I had a couple of things to do before I could get here.”
“Did you talk to Kevin?” Charlie’s eyes were hopeful.
Vaggie peered past Charlie to Lucifer.
“Could we have a moment?”
Lucifer nodded silently, stood, and went over to help Cherri finish up breakfast.
When he was out of earshot, Vaggie leaned in and kissed Charlie softly on the lips, then spoke while they were intimately close, “Before you woke up, I went to his room.
I let him know how I felt, all of my feelings, and what you and I spoke about last night, and then…” She leaned in against Charlie’s ear and whispered, “I laid with him for a moment, and we kissed.”
Charlie took a sharp breath, her lips twitching upwards, and whispered back, “How was it?”
“Different.” Vaggie’s warm breath tickled Charlie’s ear, making her squirm in her seat.
“But I wanted to understand how you felt, and I think I do.
I don’t want to have sex with him, but I do feel comfortable with him.
I think this is going to work.”
Charlie turned her face and kissed Vaggie on the lips, softly, “Thank you, Vaggie.
I promise to love both of you with all my heart.”
“You couldn’t do any less, hon.” Vaggie grinned, “Now, what’s for breakfast?
I kind of cheated and already had dessert last night.”
Charlie giggled and whispered against her ear, “So did I.
I was going to have oatmeal and fix you up your favorite salad, but Daddy and Cherri were already hard at work, so guess what we’re having instead?”
Vaggie laughed, leaned back, and loudly said, “A tower of pancakes?”
“Yes!
And while I don’t normally tout my position, I am going to act like a princess and insist on my girlfriend and me being served lots and lots of pancakes!” Charlie said, gesturing towards the plates.
“We’re starving!”
“Comin’ right up, yer majesty.” Cherri grinned and then got a mischievous smile on her face.
“But from what you denied answering earlier, all you did was confirm it!
Rock on, girl!”
“Wha—?” Vaggie narrowed her eye at Cherri, who playfully narrowed her one eye back.
“Just pile on the pancakes!” Charlie shook her head, smiled, and winked at Vaggie before saying, “Tomorrow night, I’ll show you as an explanation.”
All three laughed at Vaggie’s confused expression, and with good humor, Vaggie just shrugged, “I do like a bit of show and tell, as long as it’s not anything from Angel Dust!”
Cherri began serving pancakes, and the room felt light with joy.
Charlie loved the feel of her girlfriend leaning into her as they shared a plate together, but it dawned on her that one of her lovers was missing.
“Vaggie, if you spoke to Kevin this morning, where is he now?”
“I told him to get to work.” Vaggie said, cutting into a cake, “It’s his first day of being the security officer of the hotel, and when it comes to duty, I knew he wouldn’t want to slack off.” Before she took a bite, she gave Charlie an apologetic look.
“Do you want me to go get him?”
“No.” Charlie smiled softly, “I’ll get to see him later, and you’re right; I know him; he’s going to want to make sure everything is secure before he lets himself take a break.”
“It’s what I’d be doing right now, but it’s something Kevin told me: that he’d watch out for me, let me lower my guard a little bit, something I’ve not been letting myself do much.”
“Being my armor.” Charlie’s hand squeezed Vaggie’s upper leg, and they smiled at each other, “Just as I’ll always be his.”
“Mmhmm.” Vaggie bit into the cake, chewed, and swallowed.
“We’ll protect each other and give each of us a chance to just breathe for once.
I think it will do us all a lot of good.”
“I do, too.” Charlie smiled, “After breakfast, I’m going to the office to start working on some new exercises and think of new ways to advertise.
Now that we’ve got Hell’s attention, I think our recruiting efforts are going to work better.”
“And I’m going to go exercise in the courtyard.” Vaggie dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
“Take advantage of having a little downtime before I go meet with Carmilla this evening.
I may also spend the night there to go over some strategies.”
Charlie tilted her head.
“Oh?”
Vaggie laughed softly.
“You’re gonna be busy, sweetie, so why not take the time to train with Carmilla and give us some advantages just in case we have to deal with other issues in the future?”
The teasing of being busy made Charlie blush.
“And then I tell you all about it, right?”
Vaggie kissed her cheek.
“Every single detail, hon.”
On the other side of the table, Lucifer and Cherri ate in silence, both smirking at the couple, who were now oblivious to their surroundings.
They nudged each other, grinned, and kept on eating while Charlie and Vaggie whispered, blushed, giggled, and fed each other.
For once, life had slowed down enough for smiles to be the order of the day.
Lucifer looked upon his daughter fondly, grateful that she could finally be complete.
He knew she had been struggling to find a balance between the Charlie who aspired to redeem all of Hell and the Charlie who fought to protect the innocent.
This morning’s confession had given him and Cherri, to a degree, a chance to impress upon her that she could be both.
Because now she had two lovers who supported her, giving her the strength she needed to become who she was destined to be: Charlie Morningstar, Princess of Hell, the founder of the Hazbin Hotel, and forever more, two Angels’ Demon.