#side chaggie

He sat at the bar, two fingers holding onto a thin straw as they stirred around the contents of the nearly empty drink. He hadn’t meant to drink, he was a sloppy drunk and knew that much, but Charlie wanted to celebrate now that the hotel had been rebuilt. She wanted everyone to celebrate, and so he agreed because now that he was back with his daughter, he wouldn’t do anything to disappoint her again. He couldn’t let himself drift back into the haze of never knowing what day it was, letting information just pass by him rather than taking it in and understanding it, of letting himself drift away from her again. He wouldn’t let that happen.

The look on Charlie's face when she realized that Alastor wouldn’t be joining the celebrations, was an excuse, Lucifer knew it was an excuse, about needing to prepare for one of his radio shows, or maybe he had said something about a meeting with someone, or something, it didn’t matter in the end. What had mattered was the disappointment on Charlie's face. Lucifer would absolutely not let that disappointment last on his daughter's face.

So he immediately did what he did best. Distraction. He kicked Husk out from behind the bar, having told him that even the bartender deserved a drink sometimes, and began making everyone a specialized drink. A cotton candy martini for Angel Dust, a muddled blackberry old fashioned for Husk, a cherry flavored Vegas bomb for Cherri, a simple spiked strawberry lemonade for Vaggie, and a rubber duckie-themed drink for Charlie. 

A handful of drinks later, and soon Charlie begged for him to drink with them. He tried to argue, even tried to make a mocktail for himself, but that damned cat bartender saw right through it. And so he had a few cocktails as well, and his mixing became less structured, no longer measured, and more of a free pour, which led to way too strong of drinks. The rest was a blurry mess he struggled to keep straight in his head, and now he sat alone, an empty glass with ice melting and a straw stirring it around.

As he stared into the empty glass, the devil let his head rest in his free hand, eyes closing momentarily as he took in a deep breath. Sleep wasn’t something that found him often, and he’d rather do anything besides lay in bed and stare at the wall or ceiling while his mind spun in the fuzzy state it was in currently. That would definitely be a one-way street to spiraling and he had been doing so well at staying focused and keeping his head on straight. If he spiraled now he might leave the hotel, and if he left, he knew he wouldn’t have the energy to return again. 

So Lucifer stood, stumbled, grabbed onto the edge of the bar, and groaned for a moment as the room spun around him. Sitting on the floor sounded like a good idea but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get up and what a state to find the King of Hell. No, he couldn’t do that either. It would be at least somewhat respectable if he passed out on the couch inside the parlor of the hotel rather than the floor. 

He forced himself to stand straight, focused his eyes on the couch in the near distance, and moved his legs. He kicked his apple cane, sending it to the floor and rolling away but he couldn’t have cared less about the item. No, he had a goal in mind. Couch. Make it to the couch. His hand moved, his angelic power working without his mind helping, and a small plain rubber duck appeared clutched in his hand. 

He squeaked the duck once, then twice, focus. It helped him focus as much as he hated to admit it, even in the drunken state, and he made it to the couch. Lucifer allowed himself to practically fall face-first into the couch, his entire body fitting along the length of it and he groaned. Perhaps he should’ve eaten before drinking so much, perhaps he should’ve been a bit more firm in his no.

The king really should’ve been better. Better than this, better for his daughter. He shouldn’t have just locked himself away, isolating himself from everyone. That did nothing but hurt Charlie, even if he had thought it was the best thing to do. Now there was a strain between him and her and he wasn’t sure he could ever fix it. He needed to fix it. He needed to. Needed to. 

He needed to have something in the background. Music, a show, a podcast, something to keep his mind focused and not spiraling. A squeak of his duck and he sat up on the couch, eyes searching for a remote or a TV or something. Instead, they found an old radio, one of Alastors radios, and a low grumble escaped his lips. Spiraling might be better than using that demon's radio for anything. 

A squeak of his duck told him otherwise and he sighed. Damn, his mind. Damnit it.

A wave of his hand and the radio turned on. Static filled the room and Lucifer the empty hand over his face before reaching over to fiddle with the knobs on the damned ancient relic, not like he had a lot of room to actually say those words out loud. He wasn’t one to usually want to watch TV, it scrambled the brain, and he was much older than the old radio was.

Turning the dial a few times to the left, and then to the right, the devil settled on a frequency that had been playing soft jazz. The music filled the air and he allowed his head to fall back against the couch as he listened, focusing on the different instruments that he could pick out and recognize. Perhaps if he could sit here long enough, he could get past the drunkenness and skip right past the hangover. Wishful thinking, drunk wishful thinking, but still. The king might not have many hopes left, let this be one that he knew was silly.

The radio started to glitch, or rather, it sounded like someone had turned the dial, interrupting the jazz and filling the room with static. An annoyed look crossed Lucifer's face and he looked up at the small radio. The dial was still pointed at the direction he had left it, but the static continued to get louder and more intense. He frowned, eyebrows furrowed, and he reached forward, turned the dial, and nothing. It remained the same. He groaned audibly now and sat up once more, the duck dropping from his hand and rolling underneath the couch. The radio suddenly shut off.

“Hahaha! What a sight to see! Truly!” The voice with the radio filter over it filled the silence and Lucifer's head snapped in its direction.

There stood Alastor, hands clasped behind his back as he leaned forward over the couch, staring down at the King. The fallen angel growled and went to grab onto the demon, however in his drunken state he had been too slow, or perhaps he overestimated how far he needed to grab, or maybe it was a mixture of both, and he ended up tumbling over the back of the couch onto the floor. A laugh track filled the air and Lucifer could feel the anger and embarrassment flowing through him more. The alcohol inside his system fueled his emotions. 

“You-” The King started as he pulled himself up off the floor, using the couch for support before whipping to face the demon once more. “You are so fucking lucky that Charlie cares for you. I would-would fuck you so hard.” His words slurred and he stumbled to find the words he wanted to say, and even when he wasn’t drunk he had a difficult time saying what he actually meant.

The Radio demon, who now stood a few feet away from the devil, raised an eyebrow, his smile tightening slightly as his head turned to the side slightly, mockingly. He stood there staring at Lucifer with that stupid face, mocking him. Oh, how he would love to wipe that smile off of the other's face.

Alastor stepped to the side as Lucifer rushed at him and watched the smaller man nearly trip and fall once more to the floor. He hummed, and laughed again, loud with the laugh track behind his voice. He was clearly entertained by the devil's inebriated state, which pissed Lucifer off even more. “Do you need help, sire?” He asked.

“Fuck you!” Lucifer snapped as he held his head, feeling a wave of nausea start to wash over him. 

“I would rather not.” Alastor mused, a taunt, and he snickered quietly. “Be careful with saying those words too loud, you might wake a certain resident who wouldn’t be so averse to spending a night with royalty.” 

That hadn’t been what he meant, the Radio demon knew that, he just wanted to get underneath the fallen angels' skin it seemed, and it was working. Lucifer's jaw clenched and he balled his hands into fists, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands before he took in a deep breath. Then he snapped his fingers, causing Alastors feet to become literally attached to the floor he was standing on.

Lucifer stalked toward him now that the other couldn’t move away and he saw Alastors eyes narrow as his smile tightened, the radio frequencies filling the air erratically. He moved the couch slightly with a wave of his hand so it was right behind the demon and then looked up at his face. The way Alastor stared down at him caused the anger to boil inside his chest more and it gave him the strength he needed. 

The apple cane suddenly appeared inside his hand and the king used it to shove Alastor, shoving him hard with the cane right in his torso, causing the other to fall over the side of the couch onto the cushions as the power holding his feet disappeared completely. 

Lucifer saw a flash of pain across the demon's face, the smile remaining couldn’t hide the pain inside the others' eyes, and for a moment he felt guilty. Then, as Lucifer stood there, stared at the demon as he laid on the couch, catching his breath, a hand over his torso, he could feel it. The fallen angel could feel the angelic energy radiating off of Alastors chest, he could feel it pulsating with every heartbeat and could feel it seeping further into the demon.

He sighed. A deep and long sigh as he realized what he had to do. The image of the disappointed face of Charlie flashing in his mind turned to one of grief and sadness. No, he wouldn’t let that happen to his little girl, he wouldn’t let that look ever cross her face again if there was anything he could do about it. 

And so, even in his drunken state, the anger had completely dissipated and had been replaced. He leaned over the side of the couch, fighting off the next wave of nausea that came rushing forth, and he stared at the demon who glared up at him. Alastor went to get off the couch, wanting to get out from under the King and get away from feeling like he was cornered, however, when he went to move, Lucifer's hand came down and touched his chest. 

A sharp radio noise came from Alastor at the touch, and Lucifer grunted. He undid the buttons on the demon's shirt and pulled away the soaked bandages, staring at the wound intently. “That looks like it-it hurts.” He commented offhandedly as he shook his head. Again, the cane was disregarded, no longer needing it and drunkenly not caring where it ended up at the moment. The fallen angel then hovered his hand over the wound, he knew in his current state he wouldn’t be able to heal it completely, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of the angelic radiation inside the wound that would continue to fester, but he could fight it off some and provide some pain relief. 

The Radio demon had his concerns, that much was evident as his entire body tensed at the light emanating from the king's hand, and he gripped the edge of the couch as he felt the warmth on his torso, but his body relaxed on its own as the intense pain he had been feeling subsided to almost nothing. Alastor blinked twice as he looked down at the wound, watching bright light, and Lucifer smiled confidently, smugly, as he pulled his hand back. That would be all he could feasibly do for the night unless he wanted to pass out and fall on top of the demon. Which would be worse than the floor. 

“I’m going… I’m going to… Fuck.” Lucifer moved away from the demon and shook his head a few times, grunting at his own slurring of his words. He needed to get to bed, even if he wasn’t going to sleep. If he was in his room at least then he wouldn’t embarrass himself so much. 

Alastor, always one to keep a smile on his face, to keep the show going, smirked at the perfect opportunity to spin the scenario back around. “You’re not going to do that with me, sire.”

Lucifer growled and glared at Alastor, immediately regretting what he had done for the demon. “That wasn’t what-what I was fucking saying and-nd you know it.” He snapped. “Going to bed.” Short and to the point, no chance of messing it up that time. 

So you started talking with Vaggie. You knew that Charlie would take your concerns and ideas into consideration, but you still were a stranger. It would be better coming from her girlfriend, someone she trusts entirely. You offhandedly one time while talking with Vaggie that Charlie is the princess, she could be using the power behind that title a lot more. 

It wasn’t a direct nudge, but a nudge nonetheless, however. Planted the seed inside Vaggies mind and all you had to do was wait for it to work. 

The couch was suddenly flipped over and a hiss of success came from Sir Pentious. “Aha! Sssee! I told you! You had let it ssslip between the cussshions!”

Angel groaned and grabbed the remote, and his lower two arms grabbed the couch and set it back right, brushing off the dust and dirt that had gotten on it from the floor. “I still think it was your egg bois. I was careful!”

You laughed at the argument which caused the two to stop bickering back and forth and turn to look over at you. You gave a small wave, and a small smile, and finished the rest of the steps down. 

Angel quickly jumped over the couch, “Heya toots! Maybe you know who had the remote last?”

You shrugged, thought for a moment, and answered. “That might’ve been me, actually. I am the worst about putting the remote back in place.”

You’d take the blame for the lost and quickly found remote. It was something small enough that you didn’t mind and even if it wasn’t your fault, it stopped the ever-growing argument that would surely continue to escalate. You found it fun to watch the two argue, especially when the stakes weren’t that high, but it was early in the morning, and you hadn’t had any sort of caffeine so your threshold of dealing with chaos was low. 

Within the few weeks that you had been staying in the hotel, you managed to get a hold of Mimzy. The conversation didn’t last long, and she had tried to talk her way out of fulfilling the favor you had with her until you said it would fulfill three favors instead of just one. That had changed her tune and she gladly accepted, saying that she’d stop by in her own time but promised it would be soon enough. 

In those few weeks, you also came into ownership of a dozen souls. Someone had thought they could get the better of you, pull a cloth over your eyes, and start a rebellion against you. Dealing with that had been one of the few days you left the hotel, a day where there hadn’t been any activities planned and most of the residents were off doing their own thing as well. Owning nearly twenty souls you could feel the small surge of power inside your veins. 

It was nothing compared to the Overlords, you knew that. They still wouldn’t even give you a second glance, to them you were just like any other Overlord wannabe, who wouldn’t amount to anything. The power was enough to send a chill down the average sinner's spine, however, and people started noticing. Not great for your plan, but still manageable. You could still hide it underneath the power of the princess and the Radio demon while you were at the hotel as well.

“Perhapsss we should add a ssstring attached to the remote and attach it to the side of the couch! That way it cannot get stuck beneath the couch or between the cussshions!” Sir Pentious spoke up with a solution to the problem and Angel seemed to nod in agreement. It was a good idea.

“Great idea, you two figure out how to do that while I go get myself some coffee and maybe a bagel for breakfast.” You waved and turned. As you walked down the hall to the kitchen, you heard Angels' voice shout behind you.

“Don’t eat the last Everything bagel!”

You smiled, laughed, and shook your head. Inside the kitchen, you were thankful to find yourself alone. You weren’t ready for any more interactions yet for the day and were hoping that it would be a day without any sort of redemption activity by Charlie. The daily routine took over and you managed to start the coffee without much thought and searched through the pantry for a bagel that wasn’t the last Everything bagel. When the other bags came up empty, you threw them away and shut the pantry, opting out of a meal for breakfast. You’d just eat lunch then, and a bigger dinner, and have more than two cups of coffee. 

The mug was warm from the hot liquid inside and you took a sip. The taste wasn’t the best, you definitely preferred your own bag but the last time you had bought a bag of good coffee grounds, it was gone in two days and no one would fess up on using it. Even when Charlie made it into an activity, saying that honesty was the best policy in this situation, no one came forward. You just assumed everyone had been a culprit, even the princess herself, and opted out of buying coffee again. So everyone was stuck with the cheap coffee grounds instead.

The best coffee you had since being in Hell had been the times you had stayed at the Vee Tower in Velvettes apartment. She somehow had the best coffee grounds, the best syrups, cinnamon sticks, an espresso machine, and a dozen other coffee add-ons you weren’t entirely sure existed back on Earth while you were alive. The Overlord always made the best coffee too, though that was more rare than you staying at the Vee tower. Twice, it had happened,

You placed your mug down and leaned against the counter, eyes closed as you took in a deep breath. So much had happened in the past few weeks, so much and so little at the same time. You could tell that Charlie was getting frustrated with the lack of results on redemption, you could see the stress on her face and behind her eyes, even though she did well at trying to hide it from the others. She was concerned about everyone in the hotel, about how if redemption didn’t work, then she’d have to face failure. Not just failure, failure, and admitting it to everyone she cares for.

That was a lot, for anyone. 

“You certainly are an interesting fellow, aren’t you!” Alastors voice filled the silent air within the kitchen,

At this point, you should’ve been used to the Radio demon sneaking up on you at any moment but you still jumped slightly in surprise. You were glad you had set the mug down, knowing that you would’ve spilled some of its contents if it had still been in your grasp. “I try not to be, yet I am.” 

The much taller demon leaned against his microphone as he seemed to study you, his smile tightening ever so slightly in such a way that if you hadn’t been watching him closely you would’ve missed it. “There’s a few rumors going around about you, you know! Though I would be a gentleman and let you know.”

“Rumors?” You feigned shock as you grabbed your mug and took a sip. You knew of these ‘rumors’, they were the cause of the souls you had acquired. 

“Oh yes! You know what they say about rumors, they all stem from half-truths and jealousy.” His tone was joyful, the radio filter bouncing slightly in the air, “Rumors can be dangerous too, of course, for those who hear them and those who they are about!”

You couldn’t tell if that was a threat directly toward you or not, so you’d act like it was until proven otherwise. That was the safest option, you had learned that quickly. If you ever thought someone might be threatening you, likely they were.

“Well, care to tell me what these rumors are? So I can be prepared?”

Alastor seemed to mull over the request before he shook his head once. “Nope!”

“Fantastic.” You rolled your eyes at his refusal, though you weren’t entirely shocked by it, just frustrated. You wanted to know if there was more than just the one you knew of. You’d have to figure that out for yourself then.

Just as Alastor was about to make another comment, he stopped himself as Angel came into the kitchen with an annoyed huff and a frustrated look on his face. He grabbed a to-go cup, filled it up with the rest of the coffee in the pot that you had made, muttered a quick apology, and left just as quickly as he had entered.

You watched for a moment, catching a brief moment of Angel's phone with his texts open with Valentino. Another call into the studio, it seemed. You felt bad, for Angel, truly. No one deserved what he was put through in that studio, no one deserved to go through what Valentino put him through. That would be one of the first things that would change, once you got all the Vees under your thumb, setting Angel go along with every other soul Valentino has under him. 

“Well, I guess I need to go figure out what sort of rumors have been started about me and if I need to correct them or just play into them for the fun of it.” You turned to face Alastor and gave an almost mocking smile back towards the Radio demon. Before he could answer, you left the kitchen, coffee mug in hand, and sipped the contents.

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AN: due to my lack of ability of pacing things correctly, next chapter is gonna be long WHOOPS so it may take longer to get out :P

You gave a single nod as you walked over to stand by the rest of the group, standing beside Sir Pentious and slightly behind Vaggie. The snake seemed to look you over suspiciously but didn’t say anything, and you noted his hesitancy. You were the newest person in the hotel and you hadn’t been around that much, it was only reasonable that people were hesitant around you. That just meant you would need to try harder in these activities, it was a good thing you knew how to act, and how to manipulate. 

Charlie had returned to writing on the board, the word Vulnerability being at the very top. She turned and faced the group, hands clasping together as she did so, “So! We’re going to continue to build trust between everyone here, and how to build a better bond between all of us! Being vulnerable with others allows them to feel like they can be vulnerable around you! It builds a better relationship between two people.”

She looked at Vaggie and the smile she had on her face softened and became one of complete love and trust. Then she looked over at everyone and took a deep breath. “We’ll start small and simple, nothing too personal so no one feels like they can’t share. I’ll start!”

The princess took in a deep breath as she let her hands rest just over her lips, clearly thinking of something to share. “I… miss my mom.”

That was hardly something that no one knew of Charlie, but still, something vulnerable. She had said to start simple, and small, and if that was what she had been comfortable sharing for this exercise, then who were you to judge? You went over the different things you could say. There were dozens of different things you could say and there was always the option of lying. No, you wouldn’t lie about something so small, you’d make everyone believe you were a bad liar so that when you did lie, no one would be the wiser.

Something you felt vulnerable about. You licked your lips once as you took in a deep breath. “I miss my mom too. A lot actually, all the time now.”

An emotional connection. Being vulnerable while making a strong emotional connection with the princess was exactly what was needed in that moment. The look that Charlie gave you told you that it had worked. There were tears in her eyes threatening to spill and she quickly pulled you into a tight hug. 

You shifted awkwardly under the suddenness of the hug. Then, you wrapped your arms around the princess and hugged her back, giving an awkward smile. You rubbed her back a few times before pulling away from the grasp. She smiled at you, wiped her tears, and took in a deep breath to ground herself from her emotions. 

The princess was kind, she was sweet, caring, and emotional. She seemed to want to form actual true connections with the people inside the hotel, wanted to be there for them, be friends, and care for them. Her heart was on her sleeve and that was dangerous. Dangerous and so easily manipulated. It was a wonder that there weren't a dozen demons out the door just trying to get on the princess’ good side.

The residents of the hotel, specifically Sir Pentious and Angel, had no ill intentions toward Charlie, you could see that. Sir Pentious held the princess high in respect and Angel saw her as a friend. Then there was Vaggie, who was in love with Charlie, the two dating, and so you couldn’t see that she would try and betray her. Alastor on the other hand, you couldn’t quite understand why he was at the hotel. Husk and Nifty were just an extension of the Radio demon, Husk made it clear he wouldn’t be at the hotel if it were any different. 

You knew that Alastor was suspicious of you, which was why it was so important to get Charlie to like you, actually like you, consider you a friend, for that emotional bond between the two of you. Because if Charlie liked you, no matter what you might do in the future, she’d always be open to forgiving you, as long as it didn’t directly harm any of her friends. You had no qualms against anyone inside the hotel other than the Radio demon, so that wouldn’t be too difficult to complete.

“We know you have a hard time building trust, it’s why you still don’t quite trust Sir Pentious.” Angel's voice broke you from your thoughts and you looked over toward Angel and Sir Pentious. The snake looked at Vaggie with big sad eyes, one that you’d akin to puppy dog eyes, and Vaggie looked exasperated. 

She shook her head and Charlie grabbed her hand, and squeezed it once in an assuring matter, before smiling. Vaggie nodded. “I am… trying to trust everyone here more. It’s something that I’m actively working on.”

“And she’s doing such a good job at it too!” Charlie said, praising her girlfriend's attempts at trusting more people. 

“You can’t exactly blame me for not trusting Sir Pentious, we literally caught him trying to spy on us the first day he was with us.” Vaggie then pointed out. 

Charlie quickly interjected. “Well, that’s why we’re doing these exercises! So we can learn to trust one another more! And Sir Pentious has been very good at proving to everyone he can be trusted!”

Sir Pentious nodded immediately to what the princess had said and he quickly sat up straighter. “Yesss! I have been trying extremely hard to be good!”

You smiled as you watched the conversation unfold in front of you. A memory flashed in your mind, and your heart felt tight from it. 

You were sitting on the floor, an empty bottle of vodka sitting beside you, four friends in various states of consciousness. You leaned against one of your friends, hand clasping in theirs as you both laughed drunkenly. Two others were arguing over who had taken the last cookie from the jar, blaming everyone but themselves, and it quickly spiraled into an accusation of loss of trust. A broken cookie jar and an absolutely horrible morning later, the incident became one everyone laughed about. Or rather, those who could remember the incident anyway. 

Friends, you missed your friends, even if they weren’t entirely there for you or good for you, you still missed them. You missed all their stupid faces and personalities, and you wondered how many had gone to your funeral. A funny thing, being dead but living on another plane of existence. 

The memory hurt, though you weren’t sure if it hurt because you’d never see your friends again, or rather, you hoped you wouldn’t. You knew that a few of them would definitely end up in Hell for one reason or another, you just hoped it would be quite a few years before that would happen. Or if it hurt because you weren’t sure you’d ever have a group like that again. 

It was partly your fault for that, you had plenty of opportunities in Hell to form some sort of friendship bond with others, the closest you got was Velvette but even still, that was just to get her to make a deal with you. And now that deal had been struck and you weren’t sure how to feel about it. You didn’t feel guilty about the deal, and you genuinely enjoyed the time you had with the youngest Vee, but it wasn’t the same.

At the Hotel, there were plenty of opportunities to make friends or try to in a sense. Again, if you had made friends, it would be built on a house of lies as you weren’t there to actually be redeemed. You were there to hide yourself as you got closer and closer to your end goal, and to hide your power underneath the power of the princess and the Radio demon. 

No, friends weren’t something that came around in Hell, especially with those like you. Constantly searching for a leg up, a way to get to the top, or in your instance, tumble the tower and be the only one left standing in the rubble. 

Angel suddenly stood, a sour look on his face as he muttered a quick goodbye to everyone, saying that Valentino needed him in the studio. Then, without another word, he was out of the front door. Charlie seemed to have a concerned and frustrated look across her face and Vaggie in turn rubbed her back. You watched the interaction for a brief moment before turning away as you looked back at the door. Angel, the favorite star of the Moth Overlord, could certainly be a play in your favor.

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A/N: yall, writing is hard. anyway, :p i plan on updating this again shortly :3