Archive of Our Own ^beta

“All of you, get a safe distance! I’ll take care of this.”

“Vaggie, wait!” Charlie shouted, but her girlfriend was already gone, having jumped through the hole in the wall and leaped at the offending demons. The princess made to follow, only for a hand on her shoulder to stop her midstep. Glancing up, Charlie found Alastor shaking his head.

“That’s inadvisable,” he told her calmly as he guided her and the others away from the direction of the threat. “As it is her duty to protect this hotel, it’s only right she do her job.”

Charlie spun to face him frantically, red eyes slowly bleeding into gold in her panic. “But there’s so many of them out there! They have a battering ram and fireballs and- and- she’s only one person!”

Angel pulled up a chair and draped himself over it with a smirk. “I dunno, I’m kinda interested ta see’er in action,” he chuckled. “I mean, she is supposed ta be protectin’ this place, right? And even though she’s quick ta pull that spear’a hers, ya never let’er actually use it, toots.”

“Because we’re trying to redeem sinners, not kill them!” Charlie exclaimed, rubbing her temples in exasperation. Why were they sitting here discussing this?! Her girlfriend was outside, in danger, and probably needed help!

“Look,” Husk snorted, crossing his arms as his wings fluttered in a mock-shrug. “I’m just sayin’, why not let us see’er skills? I mean, ya can’t seriously expect anybody to just trust they’ll be safe here. This is Hell, ya know. Maybe this’ll be a good example for future idiots.” It wasn’t clear if he meant attackers or souls seeking redemption when saying ‘idiots’, but it could work in either direction, so it didn’t matter.

Charlie’s teeth gritted together, blonde ponytail slowly coming unraveled as she glared at him. “I would rather no one be in danger at all,” she growled lowly. “Including her.”

“I don’t know,” Lucifer murmured. He tapped his chin in thought, leaning on his cane with his free hand, black fingers tapping against the apple. “It might be a good thing every once in a while. If for no other reason than to dissuade attackers.” His own red eyes narrowed on the pale woman still cowering behind the bar. “And to dissuade people like that.” Mimzy’s jaw dropped, black eyes widening in offense.

“Argh!” Charlie threw her hands up. “Okay, fine, whatever! She can fight more often. Can we please-” Several screams lit the air from outside, alongside a few explosions. “Can we at least see what’s going on?!”

The group all shared shrugs and Charlie darted for the hole in the wall now that no one was stopping her. Her horns were already growing, long blonde hair swirling around her as she prepared to jump into the fray and rescue her girlfriend from trouble. The second she reached the hole, though, the blonde princess stopped. Golden eyes reverted back to red in shock and the others hurried to her side, even Mimzy.

All jaws dropped, apart from Alastor and Lucifer, as the group stared at the scene before them.

Several bodies were strewn all over the ground already, bloodied and broken from Vaggie’s spear, punches, and kicks. Several of the sharks frantically tried racing down the hill only for Vaggie to leap after them. Her spear swung in a practiced arc, slicing the sharks in half or cutting into their limbs. Her long silver hair flowed behind her almost like a cape as she rounded on her next target.

Gunfire filled the air, not that bullets were doing any good. Vaggie pulled her hair around in front of her to catch the bullets before darting toward the shooters. Their shrieks of terror cut off mid-scream as their heads separated from their bodies, adding to the copious amounts of blood already flowing over the dry grass.

None of those in the hotel had ever seen Vaggie so focused before. Her expression was borderline unreadable as she cut through the enemy forces with expert precision. Even Niffty remained still in awe, manic grin nearly splitting her face. Alastor raised an eyebrow, somewhat impressed by the short woman’s skill. It was clear why she held no fear when threatening him those months ago.

Angel found himself suddenly very thankful she never pulled weapons on him anymore, but watching her fist practically split a guy’s head open didn’t ease the fear too much. If Charlie wasn’t constantly calming her down, he’d definitely have to regenerate a lot more often. Husk was of the same mind, happy he wasn’t as involved in things thanks to just being staff. He doubted even he’d be able to take her in a fair fight. Pentious thanked his lucky stars Charlie came to investigate his arrival when she did, or he would have found himself in much the same predicament as those sharks.

Charlie, poor conflicted Charlie, was shell-shocked. In all the time they’d been together, she had seen Vaggie fight before. She had. But it was usually just a punch to some random demon’s nose in for insulting or threatening Charlie. Even then, Vaggie’s fist hadn’t done enough damage to more than make the demon bleed a little. Nothing like the bone shattering kicks and skull-cracking punches she was displaying here. While Charlie much preferred there be no violence at all, she found herself quickly warming up to the idea of Vaggie fighting off threats a little more often. If for no other reason than to see her gorgeous girlfriend in action.

A low whistle cut the air as Lucifer leaned on his cane. “Gotta say, I don’t know how long she’s been here, but she’s definitely not rusty. I’ll give it to ya, Char, having an Exorcist guarding this place was a pretty genius business move.”

The air stilled. Explosions and screams still sounded from the fight raging outside, but sound seemed to cease as thirteen eyes refocused on the King in shock. Lucifer didn’t notice for a long moment, content to continue watching Vaggie’s controlled rampage. When he realized no one else had moved, the King of Hell glanced over in confusion. “What?”

“Did you just say Exorcist?” Husk whispered, his eyes flicking from Lucifer to the fight and back.

“Uh, yeah.” Lucifer waved a hand in Vaggie’s direction. “The spear, the ever-visible X, the heavenly glow? Well, the heavenly glow is incredibly faint, probably due to her missing halo, but that’s definitely an Exorcist. I’d recognize another angel a mile away.”

Varying degrees of horror seeped into the expressions of everyone present and Lucifer realized his mistake. “None of you… knew?”

Angel and Husk rounded on Charlie furiously. “We’ve been fuckin’ livin’ under the same roof as a fuckin’ Exorcist, and ya didn’t think ta tell us?!” Angel hissed, all eight of his eyes focusing on the princess.

Charlie only continued staring at her father, seemingly not having heard Angel’s outburst. There was no way. Vaggie would have told her something that important. They’ve been together for years, after all. If she was an Exorcist, Charlie would have been the first person to know. Charlie would know period, because Vaggie would have told her.

“Dad… are you sure?”

“Ooh, shit…” Lucifer bit his thumb anxiously. “She must’ve been keeping it a secret so she didn’t scare anybody…”

Charlie’s hands came down on his shoulders, her eyes turning gold again as she pressed, “Are you sure?”

“I’m… I’m positive, Charlie,” the king responded.

Charlie’s eyes returned to normal as she backed away from him. She couldn’t believe this. Her girlfriend was an Exorcist. The woman she had held hands with, shared kisses with, slept in the same bed with was an Exorcist. Vaggie was one of the masked angels that came down every year to kill her people without remorse. The sweetest, kindest woman who held Charlie as if she were some sort of breakable China doll was an Exorcist.

On the front lawn, Vaggie pulled her spear from the head of the last shark and turned to make her way back into the hotel. She spotted everyone standing by the hole and rolled her eye. Of course Angel Dust would’ve convinced them all to come watch. She hoped they didn’t see too much. Vaggie wasn’t fond of anyone seeing her while she fought. It… wasn’t a pleasant experience.

As she neared, though, the silver-haired woman spotted the distress clear on Charlie’s face and concern overtook annoyance in an instant. “Charlie?” Vaggie called, hurrying closer. “Hey, what’s wrong? I-if it’s about the hotel, I’m sure we can fix it back up again. Alastor can call some of his minions to hel-.”

Vaggie had just reached out to lay a comforting hand on Charlie’s arm when the princess pulled away. Shock flashed across Vaggie’s face for a split second before shame replaced it. “You saw the fight. I-I’m sorry you had to see me like that. I try not to fight in front of you, I know you don’t like violence…”

She turned her eye on the rest of the group, expression hard. Angel and Husk stiffened anxiously under her glare. “It’s why I told everyone to get a safe distance away. One of those idiots could’ve gotten passed me.”

“Oh please,” Mimzy snorted, strolling out of the hole. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody escape an Exorcist before.”

Vaggie’s spear fell to the ground.

“W-what?” she croaked. How did this little nuisance know? Did someone in Hell have intel on her? She needed to get the information and dispose of whoever it was. Charlie couldn’t know-!

“Yeah, His Highness over here clocked it the second he metcha,” Mimzy shrugged, jabbing a thumb in Lucifer’s direction. “Congratulated his daughter’n everything. Sorry, uh, for the trouble, by the way. Please don’t kill me?” She made her eyes as big and pit-like as possible, putting on her sweetest, sharp-toothed smile.

Vaggie didn’t even spare her a glance as her gaze switched to Lucifer. He knew. Of course he knew, he was the fucking King of Hell. She was so stupid to think he wouldn’t know his daughter was dating an Exorcist. Fuck, fuck, fuck! If he was the one who said it, there was nothing she could do to deny it.

“Vaggie?” A pink-gold eye turned on Charlie, the princess coming closer hesitantly. “Is it true? Are you an Exorcist?”

“W-what? No, I- I mean that’s ridiculous- I- Why would-.” Vaggie pressed a hand over her face in frustration. Of all the times for her to have to lie!

There was silence for a long moment before Angel Dust laughed. It still held a bit of tension, but there was genuine mirth in it. “Yeah, she’s an angel alright,” he snickered, crossing his two upper arms. “Can’t lie for shit.”

“Hey!” Vaggie huffed. “Have you lied to Charlie recently?”

“Come on, toots, you and I both know that ain’t the reason.” Angel smirked, further getting under Vaggie’s skin. This was good. It was familiar. Riling her up so easily made her seem less scary with the new information.

“Okay, yes!” she grumbled with a continued glare at the spider-demon. “I-I… I’m an Exorcist. Or, was. I-I’m not anymore, I swear.”

Husk scoffed, crossing his own arms as one of his wings wrapped around Niffty protectively. “Ya know, ya coulda told us that when we came to stay here.”

Vaggie glared at him, gesturing to both Angel and Sir Pentious, the latter of whom had been trying to disappear into the background to avoid her wrath turning on him. “Do you seriously think anyone would give this place a chance if they knew an angel was the manager? It would endanger Charlie’s dream if people knew!”

“Then why didn’t I?” Charlie whispered, breaking into the conversation.

That brought the mood back down immediately. While Angel, Husk, Mimzy, and Pentious all grabbed popcorn to watch the show, Lucifer cringed and turned away slightly, lowering his hat over his eyes. He hadn’t intended for things to get so… tense. He really had thought everyone was already aware.

Vaggie opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. She swallowed thickly, trying to find something to say that would ease any fears Charlie had. “Charlie, I… I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Charlie pressed, her voice strained, her fists clenched anxiously. “Am I… Do you not… Was I…” She couldn’t find the words. She didn’t even fully know what she was trying to ask.

“It wasn’t you, Charlie,” Vaggie reassured her quickly. Her hand lifted to reach out again, but she hesitated and let it drop. “At first it was. I was terrified you would kill me if you knew what I was.” Pain flashed across Charlie’s face, a grimace twisting her lips and Vaggie blurted, “Only for the first month, I swear!”

“And after that?” the princess croaked. Her throat was dry, but she was easing into calm. Slowly, but getting there.

Her girlfriend lowered her head, shame prominent in her expression once more. “I didn’t want to hurt you that way. I’m- I was the exact thing you hate most, Charlie. I hurt your kingdom, I killed your people. I’ve caused you unimaginable pain without even realizing it. I didn’t…” Vaggie’s eye closed. “I didn’t want to see that look on your face.”

No one said anything for a long moment. Vaggie waited for the axe to fall. With the secret out, she knew it was only a matter of time before Charlie got rid of her. With Lucifer back in her life, there was someone to support her, and with Alastor’s power, there was someone to protect the hotel. Charlie could get rid of Vaggie and lose nothing…

Charlie stared down at the woman she trusted more than anyone else in the world. She had shared her life with Vaggie for three years. The two of them told each other everything. Charlie had made it clear time and again that Vaggie could come to her about anything. Anything. But this… this wasn’t something she knew.

There had to be more. Or maybe it really was just Vaggie not wanting to hurt her, but that couldn’t be it. There had to be some deeper reason behind Vaggie keeping it hidden. Charlie wanted that reason, but she knew Vaggie would start to shut down if she persisted while others were present. Vaggie was a private person, something else Charlie would have to delve into later.

The princess took in a deep breath and everyone tensed. Vaggie’s teeth gritted as she fought tears, ready for her punishment. Angel, Husk, and Mimzy leaned forward in anticipation, and Lucifer watched his daughter fearfully. He would never forgive himself if he was the cause of her relationship ending.

“We’ll need to talk about this later,” Charlie stated, her voice stern and more than a little sad, but still soothing as she gently placed a hand on Vaggie’s shoulder. “For now… I really wish you had been the one to tell me.”

“I wanted to,” Vaggie rasped. “I really did. I’m sorry, Charlie.”

“Like I said, later.” Charlie turned to the rest of the group. Sir Pentious’ eyes were brimming with tears of happiness and Angel sent her a thumbs-up and a smirk. Husk nodded as well, both of them proud of how she was handling the situation. “Right now, we need to fix the hotel up.”

“I can do that,” Lucifer coughed. “Consider it an apology for, uh, outing your girlfriend.” He glanced at Angel. “Did I use that right?”

Angel switched the thumbs-up to him. “Nailed it, Big Daddy.”

Lucifer decided to ignore the nickname and tapped his cane, using his magic to begin fixing up the broken areas. Mimzy wiped her brow and turned to Vaggie. “Uh, again, sorry for the trouble. Thanks for, um, taking care of that.”

A single golden eye narrowed on her and Vaggie’s spear materialized in hand immediately. Mimzy gulped, lifting her hands above her head frantically as Vaggie took a threatening step closer, ready to split her from ass to mouth. “You little rat-!”

A hand came down on her shoulder and Vaggie turned her snarl on Alastor as he stepped up beside her. Mimzy smiled up at him in relief. “I’ll handle this, my dear,” Alastor stated calmly.

Vaggie huffed and allowed her spear to fade, stepping back. She hesitated, glancing up at Charlie for a moment. The princess gave her a small, strained smile and nodded. Vaggie settled at Charlie’s side once more as Alastor turned his gaze on Mimzy.

“Thanks for the quick save, Alastor,” Mimzy laughed, hands on her wide hips as she looked up at the radio host. “Was sure she was gonna skewer me for a sec there!”

“I think you should go, Mimzy,” Alastor stated, not looking at her.

“Aw, come on, Al, you don’t mean that,” Mimzy laughed. She made her eyes big again, putting on the same sweet smile as before. “You like havin’ me around.”

Alastor still didn’t look down at her as he said, “You got yourself into trouble just as you always do. If not for our dear manager’s efforts, I would have been the one cleaning your mess once again. You deliberately brought danger to this place, and I can’t have that here. It’s best if you go.”

“You can’t be serious, Alastor,” Mimzy snorted, her cute persona fading the more it became clear Alastor was indeed serious. “You don’t actually believe this bullshit could work.”

“You are welcome if you actually wish to give redemption a shot,” Alastor told her, taking off his monocle and cleaning it against his suit jacket. “But we both know that’s not really your style. You should leave.”

A scowl spread over Mimzy’s face as she realized Alastor genuinely meant his words. He actually was kicking her to the curb for some tacky-ass hotel and some fucking bluebloods! What the fuck! “Well, fine!” she huffed, eyes narrowed up at him. “Who needs ya. Have fun with your hotel and your princess and this whole dumb shit. See if I care!”

Without another word, the small woman stomped her way out the newly fixed up front door. She didn’t need him! She didn’t need anyone! Hmph! Alastor made no reaction to her departure, turning to Charlie and Vaggie with his usual smile in place. “Apologies for the trouble, my dears! I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

“Right.” Vaggie rolled her eye. She really didn’t care either way. She just wanted to go shower the blood off her body.

A throat cleared and all eyes switched to the king. Charlie hurried toward her father, wringing her hands. “Dad, this isn’t-!” Lucifer lifted a hand and his daughter stopped, fear of his next move evident on her face.

“Look, Charlie, I…” The king placed a hand against his white top hat with a frustrated sigh. “I know you want this place to work. I can feel it. I just… I really just don’t want you to get hurt. Heaven isn’t as great as you think. I don’t… I don’t want you getting your hopes crushed.”

“Dad, please just give me a chance,” Charlie pleaded. “Please. You don’t know if it can work if you don’t try.”

“I did try!” Lucifer exclaimed. “I tried for years! Sinners just didn’t bother.” He glared at where the hole once was. “They wanted to be awful, Charlie. They didn’t want to be better. This, what Hell is, that’s what they wanted! And when I tried to help them be better, they refused and Heaven didn’t listen.” Lucifer gently gripped his daughter’s hands. “I don’t want them beating you down,” he whispered, sadness brimming his eyes. “I won’t let them hurt you like they hurt me.”

Charlie shook her head, squeezing her father’s hands in her own. “That’s not the kind of support I need from you,” she told him quietly. “I already have someone here to protect me.” She glanced back at Vaggie with a small smile and the petite woman perked up hopefully. Charlie’s expression softened as she turned back to her father determinedly. “I don’t need you to protect me from them right now, Dad. I need you to believe in me. To believe I can do this, that no matter what Heaven tries, I can succeed.”

She lifted their joined hands to her chest. “You’re the one who showed me that there’s something more for me than just sitting and watching. That I can do something and make a difference. I’m supposed to be queen one day. I need to be able to protect my kingdom. Please.”

Lucifer gave a deep sigh, but he couldn’t keep the tears from his eyes. It wasn’t fair. He hadn’t gotten a chance to see her get to this point. He was so stuck in his own head, he didn’t bother seeing how much she had grown these past several years. His little duck wasn’t a duckling anymore.

But she still needed him.

“Okay.”

Charlie blinked as black hands gently cradled her face. “If that’s what you need me to do, I’ll do it. But… even if I get the meeting set up…” A flash of pain sliced through his chest as he whispered, “I can’t go with you…”

A large pale hand covered his smaller one, the fingers entwining as Charlie whispered, “It’s okay, Dad. Thank you. For listening.”

“I’ll make more of an effort from now on,” Lucifer whispered. He stepped back slightly so he could look at her fully. His little girl was setting her path. He couldn’t lay the stones for her anymore. All he could do was walk alongside her and try to catch her if she tripped. “Good luck.”

He switched his gaze to Vaggie and said, “Both of you.” Her eye widened in shock. Was that…? Did the king just give her his blessing?

Lucifer released Charlie’s cheeks and tapped his cane, sending his daughter one last smile before he disappeared. He would be her support as she needed. And whatever that pretty little angel couldn’t protect her from, Lucifer would. It was the least he could do to start making up for the years of estrangement.

Charlie released a soft breath as the last of her father’s fire dissipated. With a small smile, she turned back to the group at large. Most of them had wandered off once the king had taken his leave, but Vaggie, Niffty, and Alastor remained.

“Again, deepest apologies for Mimzy’s behavior,” Alastor stated.

“It happens, Alastor,” Charlie chuckled, rubbing her neck. “We’ll just have to be more careful of that kind of thing in the future, I guess.”

“Indeed!” Alastor chirped. “Well, this has been quite eventful. I think I’ll be retiring for the night.” He cast a small glance in Vaggie and Niffty’s direction before heading down the hall, humming a tune to himself.

Niffty stared up at Vaggie in unrestrained glee. “Will you stab me with your spear?” she begged eagerly, almost drooling in her excitement.

“I’d rather not,” Vaggie grumbled. “It would take a while to heal and we need you around here.”

“But you’re a baaaad girl!” Niffty whined with an extra pout for emphasis.

“This is a redemption hotel, Niffty,” Vaggie reminded her dryly.

The little housekeeper grumbled petulantly. “If you ever change your mind, just call for me.” She skittered off to occupy herself now that the excitement had passed. No doubt, there would be plenty of tortured, traumatized, and dead bugs in the near future.

And then there were two.

Vaggie clasped her hands in front of her as she faced Charlie. The princess eyed her speculatively for a long moment. Vaggie rubbed her neck anxiously and asked, “Are you going to be okay? Going to Heaven?”

“Of course,” Charlie replied, moving closer. “You’ll be with me.”

“I'll…” Vaggie blinked. “In spirit, right?”

“No, silly,” the blonde snorted. It held a little mirth behind it, which was a good sign. “You’ll be with me in Heaven.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Vaggie inquired, her words halted. Charlie wanted her in Heaven. Heaven, the place Vaggie was originally from. Heaven, the place that made Vaggie into the thing Charlie despised in the first place.

Charlie ran a hand through her hair. “No one else would be suitable for going. But, I guess you’re right. It’s… better to figure out where we are before making a decision like that.”

The words hurt to say. They left a sour, burning taste in Charlie’s throat. She didn’t want to have to figure out where they were. They hadn’t needed to do that for over a year. Usually, they were on the same, or at least a similar, wavelength. However, in the face of the truth of Vaggie’s past, they… they needed to check in. The small wince Vaggie gave indicated she understood that, too.

The elephant in the room was starting to get a bit suffocating. They needed to talk about it, and they needed to do so before Charlie’s meeting with Heaven. The two women surveyed one another, trying to find a way to even begin the discussion. Charlie finally took a slow breath.

“Was it my fault?” she asked quietly.

The answer was instantaneous. “Never.”

“Will you tell me why?” Charlie tried, hoping the questions didn’t make Vaggie close off.

A soft sigh left the smaller woman and Vaggie gestured to the hallway. “Um, it’s all kind of a… long story. If you… wanna hear it all?”

A small smile curled Charlie’s lips. Even with a little hesitance behind it, it was another good sign. “We’ve got at least all night,” she shrugged, holding out her hand. Vaggie caught it immediately, entwining their fingers. “So… from the top?”

They were tentative, and they had a lot to talk about, but they could be fixed. There was damage, but it wasn’t irreparable. It was more than Vaggie could’ve hoped for. So, thanking whatever higher power she could think of, Vaggie began recounting how she had ended up in Charlie’s care all those years ago.

And if any of the other residents felt the building shaking around the time Vaggie told Charlie about what Lute did to her that fateful Extetmination Day, none of them said a word. Their girls would figure themselves out.