divinetree | Charlie & Vox

"Oh, come on-- I barely got tumbled around! You were the one who basically speed-ran like a hundred years of blood donations every time that creepy thing fired," Charlie laughed a little, brushing off the worst of it.

"And besides. It was... really scary and rough, sure, but everything's been turning out right after all of it..."

Well... save for an Angel Dust shaped hole in the space...

"I'm feeling... pretty good about things. About letting Vaggi take up more of the decisions and responsibilities than me, and letting her tell me what to do and trusting her. I was... kind of floundering and being a huge jerk, acting like I had to figure it out myself."

"Ahaha... yeeeeah..." He tried not to think about the very laser-shaped slashes of complete devastation in the city. And the gate chunks sitting roped off in the center. Pete's gotta be pretty upset-

It was weird not having Angel around. Guy seemed to be doing pretty okay right up until everything. Cherri and Husk definitely missed the hell out of him. Hope he figures his stuff out.

But Lucifer reached out with a sleeve-covered hand to touch her arm. "Hey. What you're doing? Noooot easy, trust me. I quit pretty... pretty fast, when I tried. But the difference between you and me is that you've got Vaggi and the others. ...Golly, and HELL, too! You proved the naysayers wrong, Charlie! Your determination saved us all from getting us blown to smithereens, too! Maybe you goofed for a while, but... hey, you know better now. You picked yourself up and you're a little wiser now. You have people you can lean on! Just... keep that in mind. We're all here for you."

"Guuuh, yeah... Vaggi and I talked it out a lot, and just-- I got it in my head that I had to personally FIX things and not fuck it all up like I always do--"

"Thank you, princess... for SUCKING at everything you do!"

"Lilith would be ashamed."

Gah...

"But! I can't! Always be the person that fixes it. I have to trust people, I have to let them make mistakes because I'd be a big ol' hypocrite if I flipped out about everyone else's mistakes but I still make them..."

"E-exactly...!"

He thought of the rally. What he did. A small ball of nausea twisted in his gut, but he smiled through it.

"...And you need to keep in mind that this whole... shitty... system is super old and you've only been at this for about a year. It's gonna be slow, and some of the Sinners down there are going to keep being frustrated in their honeymoon phase of everything that's happened. But there's so much we still don't know, and I don't want you thinking you're screwing up because what happened with the snake fella isn't happening all lickety-split with anyone else. Mistakes are gonna keep being made, but we're all in this together, right? You're not gonna be The One Who Fixes Everything. We all are. You've just... been the spark that finally inspired everyone, after I've- we've- ...so many of us have been so freakin' hopeless for so long."

He looked up. The nausea was gone. "...And I couldn't be more proud of you for that. You really fit your name, huh, Miss Morningstar?"

"Dad..."

She sniffed, a little, feeling grounded by his pride. She leaned down so she could give him a hug, grateful to have him and have earned his pride.

"I'm sorry I got mad and threw the couch and yelled at you. I was freaking out that things were going to get worse-- I shouldn't have acted like that. It wasn't nice."

His shoulders hitched minutely, momentary nerves, before those arms found their way around him.

They relaxed. Standing on tip toes, he returned the gesture, and his heart felt full again.

"N-no, I'm sorry. ...You were right, to... to be as pissed as you were. I've fucked things up enough, for so long, and I don't want to be that screw-up any more."

His voice thickened. "...Thank you for not giving up on me."

"I won't," she promised. And it felt true - if she believed in the worst Sinners here being able to find their way to change, of course she felt that way about her dad. "Even if I get frustrated - it's just... it's just because you and mom... what you guys think about me matters a lot."

Dismissiveness, being brushed off, chided, considered naive, or annoying, or childish...

But he was here, now. And... whenever mom was finally done with whatever she disappeared to do, she would be too. Hopefully.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Yeah. Me, too." He'd been so terrified of going back out here after so long. This room was filling with ducks, but... he was so, so glad he was here now. He was glad to be back, and the more he looked at those gifts on the bed, the more he wondered if he could go even further and see the gang again.

Maybe... maybe soon. He missed them so much. He sniffled, and fought to get his voice back.

"What, um- whatcha got planned for today, kiddo? Anything else I can help you out with?"

"I'm gonna see if I can convince the other Vees to let me take Vox's shark pet with me to the hotel. If I caaaan... well, maybe making a place for him to swim would be good? But I want it to be a surprise for Vox."

GOD that does sound weird--

"He's a HUGE jerk, I know, I know-- but I wonder how often he had someone do something just... genuinely nice for him? And the way he talks about Shokky makes it obvious he loves him, so. I think it'll be good all around if I can get him."

"Hohhhhh...'kay..." That is a LOT to take in.

"A pool of some kind would be fun if we can keep out the acid rain, but-- hold on, shark? The guy's got a SHARK?"

But Vox apparently... loves... this shark. Weirdo. He can see Charlie's angle in this- give the guy who got dumped here his beloved critter and maybe he'll start taking things seriously. But Lucifer looked unsure, and scratched the back of his head.

He made a slow pace of the room.

"...I think that's gonna be a real test of what I told you about taking shit from other demons, that's for sure! ...Man... I don't like the idea of somebody holding someone's pet hostage, though. Even if the pet belongs to a mega-dick. ...And even if it is a shark."

He frowned. HMM. He had to think about this.

"Good chance they'll say no. But maybe keeping the shark is a pain in the butt? You're doing them a favor, maybe? Gotta work out an angle that isn't 'it'd make Vox happy', because they're still pretty pissed at him, right?"

"YEAH, gosh... it's... hmm...! Maybe like... 'he keeps talking about his shark and wanting to come get him, what if I take him so you don't have to see Vox until you're ready?' Does that sound... reasonable?? I guess??"

How do you TALK to people like the Vees........

"Perfectly reasonable, if you ask me! But, ah... I've briefly met those Vees, and they're awful. They won't budge if you make a demand, so I'm afraid I can't help you on that front."

AND FOR NO OTHER REASON!! They're just rude! He's not physically unable to threaten them or anything, don't be silly--

"Oof, and you can't ask Vox, since you wanna keep this a surprise." He tapped his chin.

"...Is busting in and stealing the shark out of the question??"

"Ugh, no... I don't... really want to rile them up. Since Angel's there, and... if I screw this up too bad, I'll just make things even worse for him..."

Like last time... hopefully she'll talk to Velvette, not Valentino. Velvette was a huge bitch, but she seemed at least some kind of level-headed...? And uh. Charlie didn't set her studio on fire.

So that's where Angel went, huh? That makes it tougher, for sure. Lucifer can't imagine working for those guys...

"Okay. ...Hmm. There's gotta be a more reasonable one of the other two. And... maybe I can stick around? Like in your pocket as a mouse or something. If things go bad, I'm a 'get the heck OUTTA there' card, at least?"

!! Dad...

Having an emergency bailout actually wouldn't be so bad. The Vees definitely remember that he can't do anything to them, but... nothing says they can't portal out if a fight starts.

"And you can give me a bite if I say something stupid!" she added with a laugh.

He snickered.

"That'd look a little nuts, wouldn't it? 'So I'm just thinking, pretty pleaseOW, it would be super cool if you'dOWOWOW'-- hey, maybe they'll take a little pity and hand over the shark that way, huh?"

"Or 'There's that princess being cringe and weird again!', haha!" Charlie laughed at the image of it. She didn't really care if the Vees thought she was cringe or weird - Vox was the one whose words had cut the deepest, finding her insecurity about failing her mother's legacy.

"...They helped save hell in the end, so maybe it won't be impossible to reach out to them! There might be a side of them that can understand... I mean, one or both of them left Vox here instead of just on the street, right?"

"...Ohhh yeah, you're right. I've seen just about the bottom of the barrel on how cruel a Sinner can be, but leaving the guy here instead of in the gutter is a curious choice."

He shrugged a shoulder. "Well, y'know- I say just go with your gut and I'll back you up. If they did help you out, then that's gotta amount to something, right?"

"I don't know if any of them - even Vox - wants to try for redemption, but... maybe they can be better people while they're in Hell. I dunno. I'm... feeling kinda optimistic."

She paused to streeeetch, feeling more confident now that a solid plan was in mind. Right - the absolute worst case scenario was getting chased out through an emergency portal. If she makes it SUUUUUPER clear that it's not about trying to see Angel, it's about Shokky... that should keep any backlash from going to Angel, right?

Hopefully.

"Okay. Well, they both blocked me on social media and my email, soooo... I guess I'm taking a walk! Ready when you are?"

"On it!"

He disappeared with a poof, only for a puff of red smoke to pop from Charlie's shoulder. A very dapper white mouse with red eyes offered a tiny thumbs up.

"Pocket Papa is ready to rock! Let's cheese it!"

"Pocket pop! Pop-cket?" Charlie laughed, scooping him up and emptying one of her jacket pockets so that the ride wouldn't be uncomfortable. "Let me know if you get motion sickness in there! I'll try and get this done as quick as we can..."

"Got my air legs, car legs and sea legs! Just keep an eye out for cats, though."

He tucked himself in and got comfy. He was honestly curious how these Vees were without all that nonsense happening. Self-preservation was one thing, explaining helping with the cannon, but leaving Vox at the door rather than putting him in the trash...? It seemed like that sort of group to happily cannibalize and usurp each other given the chance. He'd seen all sorts...

Charlie & Vox

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