Anthony had always been the spontaneous, impulsive sort—always going with the flow and living his best life. Just doing what felt right. Growing up rich shouldn't always mean you grow up spoiled and entitled, but he'd be lying if he said all that didn't apply to him back then. His self-absorbed mindset had gotten him into a lot of tricky situations when he was still alive, but his family always managed to get him out of them… until they couldn't. Too little they (or anyone) could do about overdose, sadly.
Looking back, he supposes that's why the lesson never stuck. He had been completely out of it even before he died, so how was he to understand the consequences of his actions? He still does the same shit, even with a new name and face. Sure, deep inside he regrets all the shit he's done… but not enough to actually learn anything, it seems. It's how he let himself get charmed by Valentino, after all. And how he seemingly started this whole mess with Charlie and her dad.
Husk was right. He should have just minded his own fucking business.
But what did anyone expect him to do with what he heard? Nothing? Charlie is already hurting from missing Pentious and blaming herself for his death, and now this thing with her dad happens. Sure, it's because Angel couldn't keep his mouth shut and let the Morningstars deal with their own family shit, but sue him for caring about the princess!
Sue him. Lucifer can probably do that, right? And so much more, if this mess ends up hurting more than just Charlie.
'Like the baby,' Angel Dust thinks to himself. Swallowing, he stares down at his phone, tapping his fingers on it repeatedly. Multiple notifications appear at the top of the screen, but he doesn't pay much attention to those, as he's currently preoccupied with his message thread with Lucifer. After skimming the laughably short thread for a few beats, he presses a shaking finger on one of his sent voicemails:
"—I promise I did not mean for Charlie to know! I mean, fuck, I wanted to tell her, but I wasn't really gonna, I fucking swear—"
"Fuuuuuck." Angel Dust buries his face in his second set of hands; his primary hands going limp between his bent legs. Sending all those messages seemed like a good idea at the time, but listening to them again now, Angel thinks he might have sounded more accusatory than he intended to.
… Is this why Lucifer suddenly came back? Angel Dust shudders. It's bad enough that Valentino is hounding him for information about their reclusive king, now he has to deal with the King of Hell, himself? Fuck!
"This is the last thing I need right now," Angel grouses. He feels something bump against his hand, and he looks down to see Fat Nuggets staring up at him in concern. This brings a small smile to his face, and he scoops the pig in his arms and cuddles him for a moment.
"Daddy's screwed, Fat Nuggets. And not in a good way," he says to the pig. The pig just tilts its head at him, and Angel can't help but squeeze its cheeks and kiss its snout.
The phone in his hand vibrates again, and he narrows his eyes at the incessant notifications from his employer. Shutting off the screen, he stands up and gently places Fat Nuggets on his bed. He pats him a few times on the head before saying, "Be right back, sweetie. I need to get some fresh air."
And by fresh air, he means a fucking drink.
He mutters under his breath as he leaves his bedroom, not bothering to shut the door. He looks up at the ceiling, cupping a hand over an ear. When he hears nothing but his quickening heartbeat, he sighs angrily; running a hand through his hair as he makes his way to the elevator to get to the first floor.
Make that two drinks. Or five. Surely Husk still has some of that Beelzejuice left in his stash.
The elevator open with a sharp ding, but before he can even step out of the doors, he is greeted with loud, excited chatter and… Vaggie screaming?
"Back! Back, I say!" Vaggie points her spear at the crowd of journalists in the lobby. From Angel's vantage point from around the corner, she's doing her best to keep the manic media people at bay, but… "I mean, everyone, please calm down. We've already given our statement regarding the reopening of the hotel—"
"We're not here to talk about the stinkin' hotel!" cries a cyclops sinner, waving her recorder around like some kind of lethal weapon. Like a machete or something. "We're here for Lucifer. Those hellquakes were done by him, weren't they?"
"His Majesty, King Lucifer is not available for comment right now," Vaggie says through gritted teeth. "And hellquakes happen all the time! You can't blame every natural calamity on him, you know!"
"Nuh-uh, the rings are hollow landforms suspended by a mysterious, gravitational force!" A hand shoots up from the crowd of journalists, pointing at the sky. "And unlike Earth, Hell's rings do not have a mantle, so there are no tectonic plate movements that can cause friction beneath the ground, which is what—"
"Anyway!" Vaggie yells, shaking her fist in the general direction of the hand, which falters. "His Majesty is still not available for comment, so please vacate the premises immediately, as you are causing a disturbance."
"Will you at least confirm that Lucifer is indeed in the hotel?" the reporter directly in front of Vaggie practically shoves her microphone in her face, causing Vaggie to take a few steps back. "There are varied reports of him having left the hotel or even Pride over the past few months. Is our king simply going on vacation? Or are these visits to different Rings diplomatic in nature?"
"Just vacations! You know, family visits," Vaggie answers quickly, looking between the microphone and the crowd. She takes another step back so that she can stand properly, coughing into her fist. "As you all know, the Kings and Queens of the other Rings are considered family by the Morningstars, so it's not strange for them to visit each other every now and then."
"So you're saying this happens fairly regularly?"
"Well, that depends on what you mean by regularly —"
"I don't think you're being truthful, miss!"
"Yeah, I've been covering the Morningstars for years, and I've never heard of Lucifer leaving Morningstar Palace. Not even a glimpse of him through the windows! And this was way before Queen Lilith vanished."
"Pfft, your editorials are full of pro-Infernium shit, anyway. Who fucking cares?"
"What did you say, punk?!"
"Oh God," Vaggie rubs at her temples as she watches the journalists bicker amongst themselves. She looks up at the ceiling, grimacing. "Charlie, what do I do?"
Angel Dust smirks to himself. Well, if that isn't a sign that he should finally intervene…
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Angel Dust emerges from the corner, and almost instantly all the yelling ceases. He stands beside a gaping Vaggie and pulls her close with his second arm, grinning at the crowd even as she hisses at him. "Angel Dust, here! Director of Guest Relations—"
"Angel, what the hell are you doing?!"
"—and it seems like we're having a miscommunication of sorts," Angel says mournfully, nodding to himself solemnly. Then with a bright grin, he gives the crowd of reporters a thumbs-up. "No worries, though, it happens all the time! Fortunately for all of us, I got a solution that'll put us aaaaall on the same page."
"And what's that?" one grumpy reporter asks with a sneer.
Angel Dust grins evilly and pulls out his trusty tommy gun. And several other guns. "This."
He laughs maniacally—both from being trigger happy and the screams of horror that erupt as the reports quickly run out of the lobby, fearful for their own lives. A couple of slowpokes are, sadly, stepped on during the chaos but hey, that's life. Or afterlife? Well, at least Angel isn't actually shooting at anyone. He's still on the path to redemption, after all!
"You…" Vaggie stammers in disbelief, her grip on her spear so tight that her hands start shaking uncontrollably. When the last reporter finishes crawling out of the hotel (but not closing the door behind them; how rude), she turns to Angel, wild-eyed, and points a finger in his face. "You fucking idiot! Why did you do that? Those reporters had recorders and cameras. This shit show is going to be all over the news by tonight!"
"So? Bad publicity is still publicity, ain't it?" Angel Dust hides his guns and retracts his extra set of arms. He inspects his fingers, completely ignoring the fact that Vaggie looks like she's this close to popping a vein or two. "The important thing is I got rid of them. Let's see anyone try and get into the hotel after that."
Seething, Vaggie throws her hands in the air. "This hotel is about redeeming sinners, dumbass! The last thing it needs is a reason for people to stay away from it! For fuck's sake!"
Angel Dust scoffs and crosses his arms, turning his nose up. "Like you were doing any better handlin' them. They were unwelcome guests! Interlopers! The hotel reserves the right to turn away unruly visitors, don't it? Didn't Charlie teach us all about establishing and respecting boundaries and shit?"
"Not with a damn tommy gun of all things!"
"Oh, sorry, my bad! I guess a freakin' angelic spear is much safer to brandish around the average sinner!"
"Well, I wasn't stabbing anyone, was I?"
"And I wasn't shootin' anyone, either!"
"Why do you always act before you think?!"
"And why do you wait for things to get worse before actually doing anything?!"
"Uh, I hate to butt in on a very productive conversation." Vaggie and Angel Dust turn away from each other to glare at Husk, who up until this point has been quietly watching the proceedings from the safety of his bar. "But His Majesty and Charlie are, presumably, having some kind of important and heartfelt family talk, so if anything, we should at least be keeping quiet."
"Yeah," Angel Dust agrees with a nod, smirking down at a scowling Vaggie. "Ya see? I was right to chase those pesky reporters away. They need to learn to respect our privacy, ya know."
"There was nothing quiet about shooting at people, Angel!" Vaggie counters with a growl. She uses her spear to sweep across the room. "And look at this mess you made! All these bullets are making the lobby look like a warzone! You better clean this up before Lucifer and Charlie see any of it."
"What's the big deal? We have Niffty to clean up the place, anyway!" Angel Dust says, throwing his arms in the air. "Not that I've seen her lately or anything. Where is Niff, anyway?"
"Last time I checked, she was cackling about some sort of ambush on the Pretender Roach King, or some shit like that," Husk reveals, though he sounds like doing so physically pains him. He sets the clean beer glass down and puts it under a tap. Glimmering, honey-gold liquid flows into the glass, and Angel Dust's eyes light up almost comically at the sight of it. "You know. Normal Niffty things.
"Anyway," he says, pushing the beer glass forward as Angel Dust settles on the stool. His eyes go soft for a few beats as Angel Dust downs the drink like a man dying of thirst, but they harden as Vaggie joins them at the bar. "The reporters could have been dealt with more quietly, but what's done is done. Let's just… take it easy for a bit, all right? At least until His Majesty and Charlie are done with their talk."
Vaggie bristles a little, but upon seeing Husk's pointed look, she quickly backs down with a tiny glare at the floor. "Okay, fine, you're right. But you could have helped me out, you know. You were just hiding behind the counter while I handled them all by myself!"
"What, and let them get a good look at the fallen gambler overlord? No thanks." Husk sneers, taking Angel's empty glass to refill it. At some point he gets a glimpse of Angel's small frown, and in response he just hands the half-full glass to Angel, turning away with a scowl of his own. "... I'm sorry for not stepping in. But the last thing I want is to fuck up with the reporters, too. Not after fucking up this whole thing with His Majesty."
"Wait, what?" Angel Dust and Vaggie ask incredulously, with Angel putting the glass down the counter with a loud thud. Blinking, they both face each other. "What do you mean what?"
"Hold on. What do you mean by that, Husk?" Vaggie asks Husk, who is busying himself with cleaning the counter at the back. "How did you fuck up with Lucifer? What did you do?"
"It's nothing. I mean, it's not nothing, but," Husk trails off. After a few beats, he sighs and turns back to see the expectant looks of his friends. "Look, I thought I was helping, all right? I thought if I reached out and gave him a heads-up, it would make him less angry about it when he decides to come back. And fuck, maybe I was also looking out for my own ass, but sue me!"
Angel Dust flinches. Vaggie blinks and holds up a hand. "Wait. You reached out? As in…?"
"I sent him a voicemail. It was… well." Husk sighs and rubs a hand down his face, leaning on the counter. "Looking back, I think I panicked. Charlie had found out about the pregnancy in the worst way possible and I figured it was my fault. So I tried to let him know, just in case he comes back and Charlie blows up on him. It wouldn't be good for the kid to handle all that stress. You know how much he cares for what Charlie thinks of him, right? It would break him to go through something like that.
"But this happens," Husk grouses, clenching his fists. "I should've just kept my thoughts to myself. Shit happens all the time when I try to help. I never do anything right."
"... It's not your fault, Husk." Vaggie looks away, rubbing a hand down her arm. Beside her, Angel Dust is looking anywhere but at the two of them. She runs a hand through her hair and sighs. "Or well, it might not be completely your fault. I might have… sent him a message of my own. Several of them, in fact."
"What?" Husk and Angel Dust ask simultaneously. They share a wide-eyed look with each other before turning back to Vaggie. "Explain," Husk demands.
"Look, I regretted it the moment I sent it! I even tried deleting it after, but I could only delete it on my side," Vaggie explains, waving her hands in the air. With another sigh, she adds, "But yeah, I sent a similar message to him. I told him that Charlie was very upset with what she found out and that… he could have just told her sooner to avoid all this?"
Husk blinks. Then, he swallows. "Well, fuck."
"I know! I fucked up too, and I've been on edge since he came back." Vaggie crosses her arms over her chest, biting her lip. "I didn't mean to sound so accusatory, it's just… Charlie blames herself for her father leaving the hotel! She thought she sided too much with Alastor during their fights, and she thought the worst of him during their fight in the hallway. She thinks she pushed him away, and finding out about his pregnancy from someone else made her feel even more guilty and now she thinks he doesn't want her in his life anymore.
"You guys don't ever see it, but she cries about it all the time. It's bad enough that she can't get over Pentious, and now…" Vaggie trails off and looks away to rub away the tears from her eyes. "I thought sending him a message could help bring them back together, but I realized quickly that it would just make him feel bad. And I didn't even think about the baby, fuck."
"Damn. We fucked up," Husk mutters under his breath, scratching the back of his head. "I guess that's why his reaction was as bad as it was. Do you really think he caused that hellquake?"
"... Maybe," Vaggie says, shrugging. "I haven't been here long, so I don't know how stuff like that works around here. Besides, we don't really get natural calamities in Heaven."
Husk rolls his eyes. "I bet."
"Shut up," Vaggie grumbles half-heartedly. "Anyway, this means we owe him an apology. It wasn't our place to call him out like that. I'm sure he's going through his own struggles, and we didn't help by making accusations."
"Yeah," Husk says gruffly after a few beats of silence, nodding. "After His Majesty and Charlie are done talking, the two of us should go up to him and apologize."
"Actually, make that three."
"Huh?" Vaggie and Husk turn to Angel Dust, who has been quiet for a while. The two of them exchange looks before Vaggie's face turns blank.
"... Wait a minute," she says; her right eye starting to twitch. "Are you saying you did something, too?"
"I mean." Angel Dust looks between the two of them, smiling sheepishly. "If we're all confessing our transgressions here, and all…"
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Husk slaps a hand over his face.
"Let me guess," Vaggie starts, looking absolutely done with everything. "Since we found out about his pregnancy from you and your big mouth—"
"Hey, this mouth costs millions, I'll have you know!"
"—you decided to beg for forgiveness but ended up downplaying your role to save your sorry ass by shifting the blame onto Lucifer?"
"... Well damn, you didn't have to put it like that."
"Angel!"
"What? So I tried saving my own ass! I didn't mean for it to end up like this, ya know," Angel Dust says, swiveling on the stool to face them and looking more than a little manic. "And okay, I guess I could have done it when I wasn't so fearful for my own life. I'm just… fuck, I just didn't want to get on his bad side! I was at the wrong place at the wrong time when I found out, and to top it all off I ended up blabbing his secret for all of you to hear. Husk tried to tell me to mind my own business, but I didn't. I just... I just thought that Charlie deserved to know, is all."
"She did deserve to know," Husk says gently, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder. "But it wasn't our place to decide when and how. It's His Majesty's job as her father to do that. And he deserves to do what's best for his health and for the kid he's growing."
"Well, you're right about that, at least."
"What?" all three of them ask, blinking at each other. After a few beats of squinting at each other suspiciously, they all turn around and point at the intruder with their weapons of choice. "You! How did you get in here?!"
"Uh, you left the door open. I assumed that meant anyone can just walk in," the stranger says, pointing behind them with an appendage. They are a tall, bespectacled gastropod with a set of glowing antennae on their head; deep, sunken, glowing eyes that look sleepy or fed up (Vaggie can't really tell), and dark, wavy hair that's tied up in a neat bun. They are also wearing a lab coat over their outfit and carrying a black bag, and Vaggie pauses the moment she notices a stethoscope around their neck. "I hate to interrupt, but I've been standing here for a while and I'm getting tired of just waiting for you to finish your little character development session. So… hi."
"Hello?" Vaggie says, and the three of them relax slightly, but they don't put away their weapons just yet. "Uh. Are you here to check in, or something? I'm afraid the hotel isn't officially open, so—"
"Oh, nothing like that. Redemption is too much work for me. I'm just here to check on my patient," the stranger pulls a thin, pink card out of their coat and hands it to Vaggie. "I don't feel like introducing myself so just read that, I guess."
"Uh, okay? I mean, thank you, Dr. Bel—oh. Ohhhhhhh." Vaggie's eyes widen at reading the name on the card, and both Husk and Angel Dust start going pale behind her. She forces a large smile on her face and wipes her hand on her skirt before reaching out with it. "G-Good day to you, Your Infernal Highness Belphegor! I, uh, wasn't expecting you to visit the hotel today! We definitely would have cleaned up better if we did."
"No one really expects me, to be honest. It's kinda my thing." Belphegor shrugs, allowing Vaggie to shake her appendage once. She looks at all three of them, blinking slowly as they stand up straighter and smile too widely for it to be natural. "Sooo, I eavesdropped a little on your conversation. Am I right in assuming that you three are the reason why Lucy suddenly freaked out, caused that hellquake, and left the palace when he was supposed to be resting?"
The three of them exchanged looks and swallow. Vaggie walks up to Belphegor, trying to appear confident even as Belphegor's slouched but imposing figure hulks over her, raising a brow. "T-That's true, your highness. We made assumptions about the situation and meddled when it wasn't our place to do so. We were only worried about Charlie, but we forgot to take Lu—His Majesty's situation into account. We'll gladly accept any punishment for this."
"Hey, what do you—" Husk slaps a hand over Angel Dust's mouth.
"Shut it, man," Husk whispers harshly into his ear.
Belphegor glances at the two by the bar before turning her gaze back on Vaggie. "That goes without saying, miss…?"
"Just Vaggie, your highness," she introduces herself, bowing her head shallowly. "I'm the Head of Security here at the hotel. I'm also Charlie's partner."
"I see," Belphegor says after a few beats. "Well, I hope you're not thinking that will save you, Vaggie. Whatever your relationship with Charlotte is, you and your friends have overstepped the bounds of how citizens should behave towards the Infernal royalty. Lucifer may not be interested in establishing his position on the hierarchy, but he is still very much your king, and you will treat him as such. Is that clear?"
"Yes, your highness," the three of them squeak, nodding profusely.
"Another issue is that Lucifer is currently pregnant with twins," Belphegor says. The three of them stare up at her in awe, but she ignores it. "His powers of creation mimic that of our father, but he is still bound by a few physical limitations. The healthy gestation of the children heavily relies on his mental state, and I fear that if something were to threaten that, it may result in termination."
Vaggie swallows. Then, she asks, "Wait, it may result in termination? So you don't know for sure?"
Belphegor sighs and nods, adjusting her glasses. "I'm afraid that it's not fully clear how exactly Lucifer was able to conceive, though we do have our theories. The true magic scholar among us is Satan, but he and Lucifer aren't… well, I suppose you can say we haven't had the opportunity to discuss this with him. He is likely to have the answers, but getting them will take time.
"In the meantime, however, I am treating his situation like any other pregnancy. Which means he needs adequate nutrition and a place to to rest properly." Belphegor starts gliding deeper into the hotel, stopping by the corridor where the elevator is located to face Vaggie expectantly. "Now, Miss Vaggie, if you can direct me to his rooms so that I can assess his current state and give him a well-deserved talking to, I would very much appreciate it."
"Um, that may be a little difficult right now, your highness," Vaggie starts placatingly, her eyes shifting towards Husk and Angel Dust. Both of them nod in agreement, forcing wide smiles on their faces. "His Majesty and Charlie are currently talking things through, so if I can offer you some food or a beverage first while you wait?"
Belphegor blinks, then looks down at her watch. "I was hoping to do this quickly. I actually have to perform a surgery in thirty minutes."
"Oh shit, um, well, if you can wait here for a bit while I go check on them? Husk over here can still make you a drink!"
"Well, I guess I can wait. The poor idiot won't die from late surgery." Belphegor shrugs and glides back to the bar, leaving a trail of light pink mucus in her wake. Angel Dust quickly offers her his seat, which she accepts. She looks down at the drink Husk quietly offers her, and she raises a brow at it. "Is this Beelzejuice?"
"Yes, ma'am—err, your highness," Husk responds, nodding. "Her highness Beelzebub dropped by before and gave us some as a gift."
Belphegor swivels the glass on the counter with her appendage, considering. "Normally, I'd accept, but I don't like drinking on the job. Get me something sweet and light but hydrating. Nothing salty. Got it?"
"Yes, ma— your highness!"
"I-I'll bring out something for you to eat!" Angel Dust offers. At Belphegor's raised brow, he says, "Our facility manager, Alastor, is a really good cook and made some of his famous jambalaya earlier! I'm sure there's some left. Would you like to try some?"
Belphegor pauses. "Alastor, you say? And… jambalaya?"
"Yea— yes! Would you like a plate, your highness?"
"... Interesting. Maybe I can finally see why Lucy likes it so much."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. I'd like a plate, please."
"Coming right up!" Angel says, quickly running towards the kitchens.
"So I'll just check on His Majesty and Charlie, then!" Vaggie announces. "Please wait right here, your highness. I'll be back in no time."
"You could have left a few minutes ago, to be honest," Belphegor says, watching as Husk prepares her drink. "But whatever. I'll be here, I guess."
"Right," Vaggie says with a forced smile. She quickly runs towards the elevator, pressing the button repeatedly. When the elevator doors open, she runs inside and waits for it to close before sliding down to the ground, holding her head in her hands. "¡Dios mío!"
Vaggie hopes that Lucifer and Charlie are at least a bit done. Something tells her that despite Belphegor's lazy countenance, she won't appreciate being forced to wait. Especially when Lucifer's health is on the line.
Razzle pops in the room with a tray of glasses of water, offering them to Lucifer who gives him an appreciative smile. Razzle shakes his head fondly at him before popping out of existence, likely to give him and Charlie some privacy.
Gingerly, he pads over to where Charlie is, careful not to step on any debris. She's sitting on the edge of her newly-repaired bed, sniffling and twiddling her thumbs. Her eyes, puffy and red from crying, are closed even as she accepts the glass of water Lucifer offers her.
"Thanks, dad," she says softly, taking a large gulp of water.
"Don't mention it, sweetie," Lucifer says. He downs his own glass, levitating their empty glasses to the side when Charlie finishes with hers.
He waddles to her side and slowly sits down beside her. Both of them don't say anything at first, and Lucifer can practically feel his own quickening pulse ringing in his head. He holds onto his large tummy as he tries to calm himself down, not wanting the first thing Charlie hears from him to be a freakout she doesn't deserve.
Charlie watches him from the corner of her eye. She opens her mouth a few times to speak, but she falters when she realizes that she doesn't actually know what to say. She sees him holding his belly, which is a lot bigger than she was expecting it to be.
She wonders if he was already pregnant during that fight with Alastor. He had to be, right? That was probably when Alastor found out about the baby, too… and why they fought in the first place.
Thinking about Alastor makes her scowl and turn away. There is rage bubbling in her core obviously, but deep down she knows that there is a mix of betrayal and sorrow somewhere there, as well. Alastor has done so much for the hotel, and while she knows that he clearly has his own reasons for doing so, it doesn't change the fact that this hotel wouldn't be here without him. She puts up with his sadism and cruelty so much, and she has even forgiven him for tricking her into that deal.
But to talk about eating his own child in front of her? Her own sibling? She knows he can be an asshole, but what he said was too much. Knowing Alastor, he could have just said that to get a reaction out of her, but knowing how he reacted to being the father of her sibling…
Charlie blinks. Alastor is the father of her sibling. What does that make him, then? Is he Charlie's stepfather now? But he and her dad aren't married or anything! They're not even going out.
Or are they? Were they ? Did they have that kind of relationship up until the point her dad got pregnant? Were those petty fights some kind of, eugh, foreplay or something? Did Alastor break up with him because of the pregnancy? And was that why they fought that day?
"Yikes," Charlie says out loud at the thought. When she hears a loud laugh beside her, she freezes.
"Yeah. Yikes." Lucifer sounds defeated even as he smiles down at his form, rubbing a hand over the crest of his large tummy. "It probably bothers you, doesn't it? Seeing me like this. I won't stay like this for long though, so you don't have to worry."
"Oh, no, no, no, I wasn't talking about the way you look, dad!" Charlie frets, waving her hands wildly in front of her. "I mean—god, I wasn't expecting any of this at all, but I would never be disgusted or anything like that! You're my dad! And while I don't really know you that well or understand the things that you do, I'm not…"
"Charlie," Lucifer says after several beats of silence. He swallows and reaches out tentatively to put a hand over hers. "Charlie, sweetie, it's okay. You're allowed to be upset. I should have told you much sooner—"
"Dad, you don't have to take the blame for this. I'm the one who messed up!" Charlie stands up and starts pacing, running a hand through her messy hair as her inverted eyes look everywhere and anywhere but at Lucifer. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. You already told me that you were going to tell me, and that you just needed time. I was just… I thought you were sick, or something! I thought you were dying. I thought you were making up excuses to stay away from me because you hate me and I just—"
"Charlie, please don't think that way," Lucifer begs as he stands up to hold her hands in his. Tears well up in his eyes as he brings her hands close to his heart. "None of this is your fault, you hear me? You have every right to be upset with me. Hell, you can even hate me and I wouldn't ever blame you. I've been… I've been a very bad father to you. Not just now, but for a long, long time. I understand that you don't trust me, and that everything I say is like an empty promise—"
"Dad, no, that's not true at all," Charlie cries, tears streaming down her face.
"It is!" Lucifer shouts back. He lets go of her hands and steps back, showing her that he's in his feral, demonic state. His voice cracks as he sweeps his hands over himself. "Look at me! I'm fucked up. I've been fucked in the head for a very long time, Charlie, because I'm a prideful prick and a coward. I made the biggest mistake in Creation history, but instead of doing something about it, I hid away because I couldn't bear to see the results of my failure. I can't bring myself to be the king I was supposed to be, to be the husband your mother deserved—to be the father you deserve! And now I have the fucking gall to get knocked up with kids I'm going to fuck up, too. Just like I did with you!"
"Dad, you didn't fuck me up," Charlie whimpers, reaching out to him. She grabs onto his shoulders to prevent him from turning away from her. "Dad, listen to me. There are so many things I wish you did or didn't do, but I'd be lying if I said that I was faultless. You're my dad; I should have trusted you. Or at least I should have given you the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming the worst of you all the time."
"Sweetie, that's not your responsibility," Lucifer says, shaking his head. He holds Charlie's face in his hands, cradling her close till their foreheads were touching. "At the end of the day, I am your father. I am responsible for you. I'm supposed to nurture and teach you, but I failed at all of that. And now I'm failing too after we both promised that we'll start again—"
"Exactly, dad. We both promised." Charlie holds her dad's wrists, and this time it's her turn to bring his hands close to her heart. "That means I'm responsible, too. Whatever you failed at before… that ship has sailed. We can't turn back time no matter how much we want to."
"Charlie…"
"But now we can rebuild our relationship. We can get to know each other. Understand one another! And that means trusting each other. But I failed to do that. I assumed the worst of you because that's all I ever knew, but that's wrong and I should have known better."
Lucifer looks up at her with misty eyes. He closes them as he turns away and bites his lip. "But I hid my pregnancy from you. I made excuses when I could have just told you. I went as far as to remove you from the wards of our home just to avoid telling you the truth. You have every right to be angry that I hid something so important from you."
"And you have every right to do that, dad," Charlie says. When Lucifer turns to look at her incredulously, she shakes her head. "I mean… yes , I would have wanted to know a lot sooner, and not gonna lie, it stung to realize I was barred from visiting the palace. But this isn't about me. It's about you and what's best for you and the baby. And you said you made excuses… that just means you weren't comfortable telling me yet, right? Isn't your comfort important to your health and the baby's?"
"Babies'," Lucifer corrects softly. At Charlie's confused stare, he says, "I mean more than one baby. There's two of them. You have two siblings on the way."
"Really? Two?" Charlie says, her voice full of wonder.
Lucifer laughs. He stretches out his hand and says, "Do you want to meet them? They're a little young, but I can feel their minds already. And they can feel mine. I'm sure they wanna meet their big sister, too."
Charlie doesn't say anything, but she does offer him her hand. She watches, awestruck, as Lucifer places her hand on the crest of his tummy. She frowns, unsure what's supposed to happen at first—but then she feels it. Feels them.
Tiny slivers of consciousness lightly touch hers, as if saying hello. Instinctively, she reaches out with her mind, letting her whole being caress theirs. At first they seem surprised, but in no time at all, Charlie feels them swirling excitedly around her. For a moment, she can picture two sets of fawn-like souls dancing around hers—one with quite a big kick in their frolicking, and another with a clumsy kind of grace that reminds her a bit of her own father.
Siblings. These are her baby siblings.
By the time she comes back to reality, her cheeks are damp with dried tears, and looking at her dad's equally tearful face, it seems he has been watching their interaction from afar.
"They love you," Lucifer says quietly. Almost reverently, even. With a laugh, he brings her close to him, crying. "Oh Father, I knew they'd love you."
"Oh my God," Charlie whispers, smiling widely. She embraces him back, nuzzling him. "I love them, too, dad. I can't wait to meet them! I'll be the best big sister ever."
"I don't doubt that, duckling," Lucifer says, chuckling. They pull apart, and he pats her on the head lovingly. "And I'll do my best in being the father they deserve."
Charlie smiles softly even as tears well up in her eyes. "I'm sure you will, dad."
"And that includes you, all right?" Lucifer reaches out to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Don't ever think for a second that I'm going to forget about you, or that the twins will replace you. You'll always be my first greatest creation. Your needs are just as valid as these babies', and moving forward, I will try harder to consider your feelings for every choice I make."
"That's—" Charlie cuts herself off, feeling a lump in her throat. Alastor's taunts echo in her head— "What if it becomes more powerful than you?" —but she shakes those thoughts away. She can't have those thoughts right now. Especially not about family.
"Teach them," a distant voice in her head speaks. "Guide them to do what's right."
Charlie nods to herself. Yeah, she'll do exactly that.
"Thank you, dad," she says earnestly, her shining eyes turning to their original colors. "And I'll try not to jump to conclusions anymore. I always thought it wasn't fair that you have such a bad reputation among the humans… but here I am perpetuating that by thinking so lowly of you."
"Well, to be fair, I did do all those things back in Heaven," Lucifer says, chuckling a little. "But the other stuff? It's all weird. I know I joked about the sacrificial lamb thing but I never asked for virgins. What would I do with a virgin, of all things?"
"You really want me to answer that, dad?"
"Hey, none of that. Get your head out of the gutter, young lady!"
"Dad, I have a girlfriend. And we live together. Do you honestly think I just sleep next to her at night, or something?"
"Charlie!"
"What are you so upset about? Besides, it's funny that you don't know what to do with virgins, considering you and Alastor…"
Charlie snaps her mouth shut, but the damage is done. She winces as Lucifer's eyes widen, grinning sheepishly and saying, "Sorry. Too soon?"
"How—" Lucifer cuts himself off, staring down at his tummy. He looks back at her and asks, "Why did you mention Alastor? Did he say something about my pregnancy, after all?"
"I mean he's the father, right?"
"Wait, how do you know that?!"
"I mean, everyone knows? And Alastor never really hid the fact that he hated being the father—"
"Holy FUCK, he knows he's the father?!"
"... Why does it seem like we know more about your pregnancy than you do, dad?"
"But that's—" Lucifer's eyes are wide and inverted, and he starts pacing the length of the room while cradling his large belly. "But that's impossible. There's no way he could have known. Unless… Unless I told him? But I don't remember doing anything like that!"
"Isn't that what you fought about in the hallway?" Charlie asks, blinking. "I mean that's why he was so upset and lashed out at you first, right? That's what he said, anyway."
Lucifer blinks one eye after another before laughing nervously. "I-I mean, yeah, he definitely started it, but—"
A gentle knock on the door interrupts them. Father and daughter exchange looks before Charlie calls out, "Come in."
The door opens, and slowly Vaggie's pink bow comes into view. Charlie smiles fondly as she eventually shows her entire face, and she looks between the two Morningstars before coming into the room with a strained smile. "H-Hi! Uh, is everything okay? Do you guys need drinks or snacks or… dammit, why would anyone need snacks for this—"
"It's all right, Vaggie. I'm sure we need to have a deeper discussion eventually, but for now, we're okay." Charlie turns to Lucifer, and she smiles brightly, but shakily. "We are okay, aren't we, dad?"
"Of course, duckling!" Lucifer says hurriedly, latching onto Charlie like a koala. Charlie lets out a huff of air as she is tightly squeezed by her dad's inhuman strength. "I'll be the greatest dad ever. You won't be sorry, I promise!"
"O-Okay, dad, if you can let me breathe now, please?"
"Oh, shit, sorry, sweetie!"
Vaggie shakes her head and smiles fondly as she watches Lucifer fuss over Charlie. Then, her eyes travel to Lucifer's disheveled form, and she stiffens. "Oh, wait, sir, are you all right? Do you need to lie down or anything?"
"Huh?" Lucifer asks, turning away from Charlie. He looks down at himself and rubs his chin. "I mean—I'm okay, I guess? And I just spent the last few days lying down, so I'm feeling a little woozy, to be honest—"
"Oh, no! Dad, why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?"
"I'm perfectly fine, dear. I just need proper clothes, to be honest. This robe is a little too… uh, well, it doesn't leave much to the imagination, at least!"
"No dad, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept you on your feet for so long."
"I'm fine, kiddo, this isn't my first rodeo! My pregnancy with you was far more uncomfortable, but that's 'cause perfection takes time to make, doesn't it? My lovely, perfect little Char-Char!"
"Wait, WHAT? You gave birth to me?"
"... Oh shit, uh—"
"Wait, wait, what about mom?! What's her role in this? How do you even conceive in the first place, dad?!"
"Well, Char-Char, do I have the book for you—"
They jump at a loud bang sound, and they turn to see Vaggie barreling in with… a wheelchair?
"Here you go, Your Majesty!" she says brightly, pushing the wheelchair in until she's right behind Lucifer. She pulls him by the collar of his robe and sits him on the wheelchair, and he lands on the cushion with a high-pitched quack sound. "There you go! Let me take you to your rooms, sir. Niffty cleaned it up right before she went off to ambush the Pretender Roach King!"
"Pretender what now?" Charlie asks as Lucifer blinks down at his belly, obviously confused by everything.
"Don't ask. Please," Vaggie says tiredly. Then she takes a deep breath and steers Lucifer out of the room with breakneck speed. "Now, let's get you settled properly, Your Majesty!"
"Vaggie?!" Charlie calls out worriedly as she runs after them. "What's going on? What's the rush?"
"Well, Dr. Belphegor is here to check on His Majesty," Vaggie explains over her shoulder. At Charlie's stunned expression, she nods and says, "Yeah, I know. And she has like, a surgery an hour ago so it's best that we get His Majesty settled in his rooms ASAP."
"Oh, Belphy's here," Lucifer says, blinking. Then his eyes turn into slits as he grabs onto the wheelchair's armrests for dear life. "Holy shit, Belphy's here!!"
"You," Belphegor begins slowly as a vein starts throbbing ominously on her forehead. Everyone in the room has their head bowed—even Niffty, though that's because she is busy searching for bugs in Lucifer's room. "Are the most infuriating patient I have ever had! What were you thinking? I told you that stress is the last thing you need right now, didn't I?"
Lucifer pouts and plays with the hem of his brand new pajama top. He flops against the large pillows on his bed and says, "Actually, I think you told me not to eat food that gave me gas—"
"Lucifer!"
"What? I really don't remember anything like that!"
Belphegor growls as she presses her curled appendages against her tired eyes. She takes a few deep breaths before relaxing visibly. With a sharp glare, she points at him and says, "You will stay put from now on, do you hear me? There is so much we don't know about your pregnancy! Things can go south very quickly if you even feel the slightest bit of distress."
"I feel perfectly fine, though?" Lucifer says, holding his hands out in defeat. He grumbles as he hugs a pancake-shaped pillow to his chest. "It's not like I've never done this before. I had Charlie all those years ago, didn't I?"
A loud chorus of "WHAT?!" resounds behind Belphegor, but she chooses to ignore it in favor of glaring down at Lucifer. She lightly slaps a slick appendage against Lucifer's forehead—"FUCK THAT FEELS GROSS!"—and says, "Every pregnancy is different, you numbskull. Also, this isn't just about you. The twins were made almost purely out of intent. What if you reach a point where you feel so terrible that you don't want them anymore? What becomes of them?"
Lucifer opens his mouth to argue, but stops himself. He looks away and scowls, saying, "That won't happen. I'll die before letting anything happen to them."
Charlie looks up and stares fearfully at him. Belphegor shakes her head and says, "You can't hope to control everything, Lucifer. You didn't even know you were pregnant until weeks after the fact. With a pregnancy that's so unpredictable and precarious, don't you think it's best to stay on the safe side and relax?"
Lucifer narrows his eyes at the covers. After a few beats, he sighs and nods. "Yeah. Of course. I'm sorry for making you worried, I was just…"
"It's fine. I understand you were thinking about Charlotte's wellbeing." Belphegor turns to face the others, and they all flinch at her sharp stare. "Speaking of, I believe the three of you have something important to say?"
Vaggie, Husk, and Angel Dust exchange queasy looks. They all nod solemnly and approach the foot of the bed, and Charlie watches on, confused and concerned.
"Vaggie? Guys?" she asks.
"Your Majesty. Lucifer, sir," Vaggie starts. She turns to Husk and Angel Dust who nod, and she takes a deep breath before speaking. "We all owe you an apology. The voicemails we sent you were highly inappropriate, not to mention we put your health at risk by causing you unnecessary stress."
"Voicemails?" Charlie echoes, looking between her friends and her father. "What voicemails?"
"We thought we were looking out for Charlie when we sent them, but in the end we just made things worse," Vaggie says with a trembling lip. She bows her head, and both Husk and Angel Dust follow suit. "We're sorry, Your Majesty."
"I apologize for my behavior, Your Majesty. My message to you was uncalled for," says Husk, sounding more solemn than he usually does.
"Me, too. Like," Angel Dust starts, scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't thinking straight when I sent those voicemails. I promise not to do anything like that ever again."
"Hey now," Lucifer says, smiling awkwardly as he waves his hands in the air. "It's fine. You were all just looking out for Charlie, and I appreciate you being there for her in my absence. In a lot of ways, you've done more for her in the past year than I did throughout her life."
"Dad!" Charlie cries out, aghast.
"And you didn't say anything that isn't true," Lucifer glances in Charlie's direction before facing the trio again. "I wasn't in the proper headspace to be receiving so much criticism in such a short span of time, but… yeah. I was already feeling guilty about keeping this pregnancy from my daughter, anyway. If anything, I should be thanking you for giving me the push I needed to stop running away from my problems."
"Still, we obviously caused so much trouble," Vaggie says.
"Yeah, you were all kinda jerky to me, weren't you?" Lucifer says playfully. He laughs a little at their crestfallen expressions, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "But it's no biggie. If it will help you feel more at ease, then I forgive you. Maybe we can all learn from this experience and move forward together, yeah?"
"Yeah," Vaggie echoes, and they all relax visibly. "Thank you, sir. And we're sorry again for the mess. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask us for help."
"Thank you." Lucifer pauses, staring down at his belly. With a small smile, he stretches out to them. "...So, do you wanna meet them? The twins are kinda curious about you."
"Oh, we don't want to impose—"
"No, I insist. Come here, please."
After a few beats of hesitation, the three of them approach by Lucifer's bedside. Charlie watches as Lucifer instructs them all—wait, where did Niffty come from?—to put their hands on his belly, and she smiles as they are all slowly pulled into the twins' mindscape. She notices movement in the corner of her eye, and she watches as Belphegor puts all her medical tools in her bag.
"Are you leaving now, Aunt Belphegor?" she asks just as Belphegor opens the doors.
Belphegor nods. "Yeah. Your dad's vitals are fine, though his blood pressure is a little high. I'm not just being a nag by saying he needs to relax; he really needs to take care of himself. I hope you can help make sure nothing bothers him. Nothing and no one."
Charlie frowns and nods solemnly. "So I guess you know about… the other father, then?"
"More or less," Belphegor says. She pauses for a beat before saying, "Just so you know, I don't care if you think of this Alastor as a friend. If he ever does anything to endanger the lives of Lucifer and the twins, I won't hesitate to kill him. He's already on thin ice for that deal he made with you, you know."
"Wait, you know about that, too?"
"Bee and Mammon told us. They have no reason to hide it. If he ever pulls anything like that with family again, he's double dead. Understand?"
Charlie swallows, nodding again. "Crystal."
"Good." Belphegor nods back. Then, with a soft smile, she reaches out to pat Charlie a few times on the head. "It's nice to finally meet you, Charlotte. Maybe in the future we can meet again under better circumstances, but for now, I'll have to prioritize your father and siblings first. Is that all right?"
"Of course, Aunt Belphegor. Do what you need to do," Charlie says, smiling brightly.
"Call me Aunt Belphy," Belphegor says with a smile of her own. With another nod, she leaves the room and shuts the door closed with a soft click.
Belphegor glides down the hallway, looking pensive, and the shadows on the walls shift in response to her presence. She glances at the moving shadows, narrowing her eyes slightly, but eventually she shrugs it off.
Whatever. At least she is now able to confirm her suspicions about the strange shadow creature lurking in Lucifer's room. She had thought about sharing its existence with the others, but as it hadn't been a threat to Lucifer in any way, she decided against it and chose to observe it quietly. She's glad she made that choice, because it's all so fascinating.
After all, shadows are manifestations of a person's hidden nature and desires. That this shadow had decided to care for Lucifer during its brief stay in the palace... It's almost as if its owner also cares, deep down.
'And yet this so-called Alastor supposedly wants nothing to do with the twins,' she thinks, smiling a little. 'How curious.'
Belphegor shrugs to herself as she gets off the elevator, uncaring of the eyes in the shadows that watch her every move. Well, that's a mystery for another day. Right now, she needs to go back to Sloth and see if her patient is still alive for that surgery.
Notes:YOOOOO, happy PregnantLuciferWeek! <3 I want to do something special while it's still ongoing, but I'm still on self-imposed X jail, so I thought it would be nice to update this fic XD Not much progression plot-wise, but it was a very necessary chapter for many reasons.
Vaggie, Husk, and Angel Dust were rightfully chastised in this chapter, as they should be, but I also showed their thought process and motivations for doing what they did. I do think that they will choose Charlie over Lucifer if given the choice, because they don't really know the guy, plus all they see is how much he stresses Charlie out. Things aren't COMPLETELY okay, of course, but obviously it matters that they owned up to what they did.
Charlie is definitely a lot more understandable than the other three, but I feel like she is also in the wrong in some ways. When I watched the show, I could totally relate to her because she was so triggered by the thought of just talking to her dad. She reminds me of myself sometimes, 'cause I get a little defensive whenever my dad tries to help me or correct me. I do recognize that I'm in the wrong though, and my reactions are most of the time unwarranted. Charlie obviously struggles to trust her dad, and rightfully so, but since they both promised to work on their relationship together, that means Charlie should also meet Lucifer halfway and stop jumping to conclusions about him. At least that's how I see it! Feel free to disagree, but that's where I'm going with this xD
And ohhh, Lucifer. Poor guy can't catch a break, but hopefully things will start looking up! He's back at the hotel, so shenanigans can start all over again. And Alastor's juuuust down the hall, hehe. Now that he thinks that Alastor knows, it'll be fun to write out their interactions moving forward xD
Once again, thank you sooo much for taking the time to read <3 I'm always grateful for every read, kudos, comment, saves, shares--what have you! Updates are kinda slow compared to when we first started, but such is the life of an adult ; u ;