#thomas mutton

Katherine looked very angry. Her entire being exhaled a very intense murderous intent, and all eyes were fixed either on her or in the target of her killing instinct.

Vincent, like always, wasn’t sure about what to do. Of course, he could have seen this coming.

Orlando poked him in the rib, with his elbow.

“Ow!” complained Vincent. “What was that for?”

“You have to do something about Katherine, man” said Orlando. “She’s angry.”

“Seriously, man. Shouldn’t you have seen this coming?” asked Jonny.

“I could, I guess…” muttered Vincent.

“Then go do something about this.”

Vincent took a deep breath. Then, walked to Katherine, sitting right next to her, while timidly moving his hand to her shoulder.

Katherine’s look was enough to make Vincent flinch.

“Uh… are you okay, babe?” asked Vincent. “Everything’s all right?”

“What do you think?” asked Katherine, her voice so cold it could freeze the air.

“Yeah, stupid question, I mean…”

“Vincent. I know we agreed that we both would have a particular choice. But please, enlighten me.”

Katherine stood up, knocking down her drink while furiously pointing to another table.

“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU INVITE HER, OF ALL PEOPLE, TO BE OUR SON’S GODMOTHER???”

Yeah, Orlando was right. Vincent definitely should have seen that coming.

At the other table, quietly sitting with the same provocative clothes she wore everytime Vincent saw her, there was Catherine. The woman who came into Vincent life and was responsible for the most terrifying week he ever experienced in his life.

Catherine didn’t seem to be offended by Katherine’s rage. Quite the opposite, she calmly smiled, visibly enjoying this, while she raised her glass to Katherine, like making a toast to her fury.

Possibly the only reason why Katherine didn’t rush to tackle Catherine was the baby in her arms. Probably the same motive why Katherine sat down again só quickly, the small boy looking curious to her mother’s angry face while she burned Catherine with her eyes.

“I can throw hands with her if you want, Katherine” said Erica, approaching the table. “You take care of your son.”

“You go, Erica!” shouted Toby, visibly looking forward to it.

“Let’s… not throw hands with anyone here, right?” said Vincent, with a weak voice.

“Give me a good reason why I should not tell Erica to give YOU a good beat, Vincent” said Katherine. “Of all people you could choose, why did you pick HER to be our son’s godmother? Not only she tried to seduce you into cheating on me, but she’s literally a demon. A succubus, isn’t that right?”

“Well, you see… that’s the main part of the reason” muttered Vincent. “After everything that happened, we now know that demons are real. And if they’re real… I don’t know, maybe it’s for the best if our kid have someone among them who’ll care for him?”

“That’s insane, man” said Jonny. “It’s like the mafia tried to kill you, and then you invite the mafia boss for your marriage.”

“Not only that, but did it have to be her?” asked Katherine, again. “If our kid needed a demon godparent by your twisted logic, couldn’t you have invited, don’t know, Boss?”

“Oh, I’m gonna have to disagree with you there” said Erica. “Boss’ way sketchier than Catherine.”

“I heard that, Erica!” said the Boss, Thomas Mutton, from behind the counter.

“Yeah, and I mean it!”

“Also, well…  tell you the truth, Dumuzid is not that much of a big deal in hell. He’s of human origin, after all.”

Everyone was surprised to see Catherine right there with them. None of them noticed when she left her table and joined then. Immediately, Katherine hugged her son more tigher, like trying to protect him from the woman in front of her.

“Oh, no need to be so paranoid, old hag” said Catherine. “I told Vince I agree to be this kid’s godmother. But honestly, he also got a lot of nerve, asking me this kind of thing when he dumped me to be with you!”

Katherine opened her mouth to protest, but Vincent was faster.

“Don’t call Katherine that way” said Vincent. “I’m grateful that you accepted my request, but don’t disrespect my wife.”

That had the effect of calming Katherine a bit, and everyone was generally surprised by Vincent’s words. Sure, despite the problems Vincent and Katherine passed through in the past, they got married and nobody doubted that they were in love, but it wasn’t often that Vincent stood up like that, not even for himself.

Catherine seemed annoyed by his word, but just shrugged.

“Okay, sorry. Well, it was a bold request, but a smart one. After all, my father is none other than Nergal, a powerful entity in hell. No doubt, your kid has much more benefit by having me as godparent than Dumuzid over there.”

“You’re still at my establishment, you know…” muttered the Boss.

“So, your kid” continued Catherine, as if not hearing Boss’ words. “What’s his name?”

“We’re not sure yet” said Vincent.

“What? You haven’t decided a name for your kid? Are you serious?”

“Katherine wants to call him Ren. Vincent wants to call him Akira. I think they’re both adorable names, so I can see why they haven’t decided yet!”

Again, everyone was surprised. This time, it was Rin who showed up right next to everyone, so suddenly that Erica almost dropped the tray she was carrying.

“Oh. So you’re still here as well” said Catherine, with visible disgust in her voice.

“Yup!” answered Rin, happily. “Katherine and Vincent invited me.”

“Your request seems more and more absurd as time passes, Vince.” Catherine turned her eyes back to Vincent. “Not only you want me to be your son’s godmother, but you also call a fucking angel to the party that you want me to attend?”

“Rin is a precious friend, of course I would invite them” said Vincent, firmly.

“Also, I’m not exactly an angel, you know” said Rin.

“Whatever. Well…” Catherine looked at Katherine, who was still holding the baby. “Can I hold my godson for a moment, if that’s the way you want it?”

“You stay away from my son!” shouted Katherine.

“Kat, Kat, please…” said Rin. “I’m not gonna let her do anything to the baby. Please, trust me.”

Vincent looked at Katherine and the baby, feeling anxious. Deep down, he knew he was getting into trouble for this decision. But, somehow, he felt that having a connection to the “other side” could save his son’s life someday, and that would make all the suffering he endured under the nightmares given to him by Catherine and Mutton worthwhile.

Katherine took a breath. Then, slowly, she passed the baby in her arms to Catherine.

Catherine clearly wasn’t experienced in holding babies, and still looked more annoyed by it than any other feeling. Probably not even Catherine herself understood why she accepted Vincent’s absurd request, or why she wanted to try and hold a baby. That didn’t seem appropriate for a succubus like her, that had the ruin of men and women as his sole purpose in life.

But then, Catherine stared at the baby. The curly hair, just like Vincent’s. The narrow eyes, possibly a gift from Katherine’s japanese grandmother, that stared at her like two grey flashlights. As Catherine looked at the baby, he smiled for a moment. Children at this age normally don’t know how to express joy with face expressions, and only smile to please their parents, but that smile looked different. It was a sly smile, that reminded Catherine of a sneaky cat trying to get away with a misdeed.

Catherine’s eyes sparkled. She couldn’t avert her gaze from the baby. He looked absolutely perfect, in ways she would not expect.

“Well, look at you” said Catherine, smiling. “Aren’t you a cute boy? I bet you’re gonna destroy lots of hearts when you grow up, aren’t you? My, I guarantee, you’re gonna have so much guts than your lousy father. I looked forward to it, cutie.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough, now give him here” said Erica, taking the baby from Catherine’s arms. “I’m also his godmother, you know? Katherine picked me, specifically!”

Catherine didn’t protest, but her eyes stayed fixed at the baby, while she was still smiling softly. Then, she turned to Katherine and Vincent.

“All right” said her. “I accept this kid as my godson. And I guarantee that you won’t regret it. If by any chance he gets involved in something big… I’m gonna do everything I can to help him. You have no idea, but some powerful guys in hell owe my father some favours, and my father owes me a bunch of others. Damn, I could even ask Satanael to help this boy fight God, if needed.”

“Uh… we would prefer if he had a more normal life” said Vincent.

“Well, that’s not for you to decide, is it, Vince?” laughed Catherine. “No need to look at me like this, ol… I mean, Katherine. I’m not gonna interfere with your son’s life. But I’m not gonna abandon him either. If you can be proud of something in your life, be proud of this boy. He’s gonna steal everyone’s hearts in his life. He’s just a baby, and he already stole mine.”

Even Katherine was impressed by Catherine’s words. Vincent, Orlando, Jonny, Erica, Toby, Boss, everyone looked at Catherine in surprise. Only Rin didn’t seem surprised, but very pleased, smiling happy as they looked at Catherine.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Catherine wasn’t there anymore.

“You think she was being serious?” asked Toby.

“Dunno. What do you think, Boss?” asked Erica.

“Well, miss Catherine may not look like it, but she’s always serious” said Boss. “If she said she’s gonna protect the boy, she’s gonna protect the boy. But well… I could have done this too, you know. If only…”

“If Vincent asks you to be my son’s godfather, I’m divorcing him right now” said Katherine, taking the baby from Erica’s arms. “One demon godparent is more than enough.”

“Sorry” said Vincent.

“What’s done is done. And well… I confess that I’m starting to consider the idea that you’re not wrong all the time.”

“Haha… well, that’s something.”

Vincent looked at his son. He looked happy and peaceful in his mother’s arms, starting to look a bit drowsy. Catherine’s words ringed in his ears.

He could grow up to steal hearts. He could grow up to have a normal, boring life. Or he could change the lives of everyone around him.

Thomas "Chop" Mutton + Bartender occuden flag edit

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