Chapter Text
“Charlie, hon? Can I come in?”
She heard a soft gasp from inside the room, an exclamation. “Vaggie?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
“You’re not supposed to see me!” Charlie called back. “Isn’t that bad luck?”
Vaggie only laughed. “And isn’t that an Earth thing? We’re in Hell, babe. Like, the worst place you could go. I don’t think superstitions can hurt us now.”
She heard the shifting of fabric, probably her fiancée moving around in her dress. The door creaked open. “Alright. I guess you can come in.”
The door opened all the way. Charlie stood there in the doorway, fully exposed. Vaggie felt her jaw drop open. “ Whoa, you look…” She trailed off, not finding the right word. Unbelievable? Heavenly? Ethereal? Iridescent? “Uh, whoa.”
Charlie giggled. “You already said that.”
“I know. Can I say it again?”
Charlie was wrapped in a dress that was the same shade of black as her own. It was long, tighter to her body. There was dip in the chest, revealing a shadow of her cleavage. Her makeup was done nicely, lips as black as her dress. Her hair was piled on top of her head, twisted into a bun. Her crowned veil sat against it. Her cheeks were as red as always. She looked like, well, a princess.
Charlie’s hand went to fiddle with something at her neck. Vaggie looked down and saw she was also wearing a pearl necklace. Charlie caught her eye. “My mom’s,” she said, clarifying.
Vaggie blinked, then nodded. Her mom had been a sore subject as they got closer to their big day. She wanted so badly for her mom to be there. But Vaggie wanted to prove to her they could be just as happy without her there.
She felt Charlie’s hands on her back, jolting her back into the moment. She was aware of Charlie’s gaze eyeing her up and down, the hand pressed against her lower back, herding her into the room. Inside, their bed was messied, covers ruffled. They hadn’t even bothered to make it that morning. They had been too frantic and frazzled to even think about such mundane tasks.
The bed was covered in various scraps of clothing, discarded shoes, and assorted jewelry. The desk and bathroom counter were littered with cosmetics, perfumes, and bobby pins to hold her hair in place. It looked like wedding preparations had thrown up all over the place.
Charlie’s hands trailed up her arms, brushing past the fabric of her sleeves, and rested at her shoulders, soaking in the sight of her. “Wow,” she said, breathless. “Wow.”
“Your dad outdid himself with the dresses,” Vaggie muttered.
“Just wait until you see the main course,” Charlie chimed in.
Vaggie frowned. She had told him over and over again. They did not need a big, fancy wedding. But, no, he just had to go out and—
Her thoughts were interrupted as Charlie grabbed both of her hands, lifting them up and holding them out in front of the both of them. She squeezed them once, then twice, her smile growing each time. “But that’s what he does. You know my dad.”
Yes. She did. More than she would like to, in fact. She still tried to scrub the image of him in his fuzzy, rubber duck robe out of her mind. It was late and she was sleepless, so she decided to take a walk. She went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and there he was, highlighted in the light of the open fridge, staring wide-eyed straight at her.
“But I’m glad he did,” Charlie continued. “You look beautiful.”
Vaggie shifted, raising an eyebrow. Had she seen herself? She looked like she had crawled out of Eden.
Charlie immediately widened her eyes, a scarlet blush creeping up her neck. “Did I say the wrong thing?”
“Uh,” Vaggie said. “No?”
“I mean— you’re always beautiful, but just you in that dress, and the fact I’m about to marry you, is, um, wow. I swear, you’re glowing.” Charlie sputtered, pulling at her neckline. “Ah, is it hot in here?”
“Try not to sweat on it too much,” a voice came across the room. “That silk is expensive.”
They both turned, hands still touching, to see Lucifer standing in the doorway, holding up his phone. He was standing there the whole time. And he was recording their whole exchange. Of course.
“DAD!” Charlie yelped. “What the hell?”
“Lucifer,” Vaggie huffed at the same time, raising both her eyebrows. “Don’t you have other things to do?”
He raised one eyebrow. “Like what?” She sent him a look. “Oh, I suppose I better go check on things downstairs. On your little friends, uh, the grumpy bartender and the feminine pink guy—“
“Husk and Angel,” Charlie interjected. “And please do. I think Angel was eyeing one of the sons of the friends you invited.”
“Huh.” Lucifer blinked. “Last time I saw him he was up in his room with the bartender—“
“ Husk,” Charlie interrupted.
“Right. They were in his room. Seemed to be in quite a hurry too. They looked all frantic and disheveled. One was practically dragging the other up the stairs—“
“You saw that?” Vaggie echoed. “And didn’t think to do anything about it?”
“Well, uh, noo,” Lucifer said slowly. “But now I see I probably should’ve..”
“You think?”
“Dad,” Charlie said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Please just go check on them.”
“Sure thing, Char Char. I’ll make sure to knock through. Don’t know what your friends are ever up to. Heh. It’s like a guessing game—“
She didn’t need to picture Husk and Angel— actually, you know, those fuckers were made for each other. Good for them. But did they have to be possibly hooking up on her wedding day? It was always something with these people.
“Thanks, Dad,” Charlie tried. “Bye, Dad.”
“Bye, sweetie. I’ll let you guys have your moment. See you girls soon,” Lucifer chided. To Vaggie’s relief, he started out the door, still mumbling to himself. “And then I think I’ll find Mr. Creep—“
“Alastor,” Charlie hissed
“Right.” A chuckle and a light tap as Lucifer clicked at his phone, probably looking at the video he had previously recorded. “So good! This is going straight to the family album.”
His footsteps faded away. Charlie let out a breath and gripped Vaggie’s hands again. “Where were we? Ah, right. You’re the most beautiful woman to walk the planet? Or Hell, I guess.”
“Romantic,” Vaggie quipped.
“I’m trying,” Charlie snickered. “But I can’t look at you without getting tongue tied.”
Vaggie peered up at her girlfriend, nose wrinkled. “Have you seen yourself? I’ve seen divinity, angels, Heaven, all of it, yet not even half of it compares to the woman standing in front of me.”
Charlie’s eyes shimmered, misty. She practically melted, leaning into Vaggie. “Vaggieee,” she whispered. “How am I supposed to top that?”
Vaggie smirked, side eyeing her suggestively, hopefully. “A kiss, perhaps?”
Charlie smiled, rolling her eyes. “Your wish is my command.”
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss right to Vaggie’s lips. It was warm in Charlie’s arms, tucked away in their private bedroom. It felt like their own little world. She never wanted to go. But she thought of what awaited them downstairs: their friends, guests, waiting for them to come down and get married.
Her stomach lurched. There was still a little, fuzzy buzz of excitement, and nervousness, in her chest. Right. They were getting married in, like, fifteen minutes. Woohoo.
Eventually, the need for oxygen pulled them apart. Charlie pulled away first, resting her arms on Vaggie’s shoulders. Her eyes shined like a horde of rubies. “Aren’t we supposed to wait for the wedding to do that?” She asked playfully, eyes rolling back.
“Yeah,” Vaggie said. “But I couldn’t wait. Besides, I wanted something special, all for myself.”
“Isn’t the whole wedding special?” Charlie remarked.
“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong. It is,” Vaggie claimed quickly, trailing off. “But…”
“It’s a lot?”
“Bingo.”
Charlie blinked, then nodded. “I get that. I’m glad we’re doing this, but I’m glad to have little moments like this.” She squeezed Vaggie’s hand, the other still cupping her cheek from the kiss. “The stolen moments. Just the two of us.”
“Yeah,” Vaggie rasped. “That’s exactly how I feel.”
There was silence for a moment. They both peered into each other’s eyes. Charlie smiled, then sent Vaggie a teasing glance. She leaned forward until their noses brushed, tickling. “All for yourself, huh?”
Vaggie already felt her cheeks heating up. “Huh?” She echoed dumbly.
“You said something along those lines earlier,” Charlie prodded.
Vaggie squinted. “I did?”
Charlie laughed, a sweet, beautiful thing. “You did.” She paused, sending Vaggie a suggestive smirk, that look in her eyes. “Unless I heard wrong?”
God, even her voice was tempting.
“You heard right,” Vaggie replied.
She wanted to, but it wasn’t the time. She never wished she could stop time more than in that moment.
Then she was aware of the door clicking shut with a click of Charlie’s hand. She leaned forward, feeling the poke of her chest through the thin fabric. “After tonight,” Charlie whispered in a low voice, promising. “I’ll be all yours.”
“And I’ll be yours,” Vaggie added, then began to to smile. “Officially.”
Charlie shook her head. “It’s always been official.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Charlie admitted. “Remember the day Cherri took me shopping because you insisted on me getting out of the hotel?”
The day she had to pull Charlie off the curtains she was clinging to like a cat, shouting about how she didn’t need a break. Yeah. Vaggie remembered that.
“Yeah?” She said instead.
“We passed a pawn shop while we were walking downtown and there was a display of rings in the window. I nearly stopped in my tracks. I thought about it.”
Vaggie blinked. “You were going to propose?”
“If you hadn’t,” Charlie said, blushing. “Very much possibly. Maybe. And, honestly? I’ve been thinking about marrying since our first kiss.”
Vaggie’s eye widened slightly. “Our first kiss?”
That had been a night. It was their first Extermination together, the one year anniversary of meeting each other, of Vaggie’s Fall. It was an emotional day for both of them. She had been crashing at Charlie’s for the time being. The princess had grown to become much more than just a roommate. Still, tensions were high, and there was a fight, and Vaggie ran. Charlie, as stubborn as she could be, came after her. Vaggie only screamed at her, telling her she was putting herself in danger, that she wasn’t worth it. She had yelled until her throat was raw and her nails were digging into her palms.
Charlie had stayed silent. She blinked and asked if she was done. Confused, Vaggie had only nodded. Then Charlie had closed the distance between them and kissed her, right on the lips, on the sidewalk outside some rundown dive bar, the neon lights flushing. Their lips brushed as the old clock tower in the middle of town came to life and tolled, signaling the end of the annual Extermination.
Exactly a year together they had spent. They started dating shortly after. Vaggie still remembered the moment clearly. One of the best days of her life, really. Well, minus the yelling and arguing and the number of corpses lining the street around them as they shared their first kiss.
Charlie bit her lip. “Is that insane?”
“No!” Vaggie exclaimed. “You know, I felt like I was married to you. Back when you were caring for me after I was injured.” She avoided the word Fell. “You used to offer to treat my wounds and bring me lunch.”
Charlie leaned forward. “Yeah?”
“My first thought was that you were being too nice,” she continued, looking away. “I didn’t deserve it. And, second, was that it was so oddly domestic, like we were two loving old ladies.”
“Oh, Vaggie,” Charlie snickered. Then her expression grew more serious, eyebrows knitting together. “You always deserved it. Everyone deserves kindness, to be helped.”
“I don’t deserve you,” Vaggie said back. “How did I get so lucky?”
Charlie shrugged, smiling. “I’m just glad I walked down that alleyway.”
“Yeah,” Vaggie said, smiling back. “Thanks for not letting me bleed out. That would’ve sucked.”
“It would’ve,” Charlie echoed, pressing a kiss to Vaggie’s cheek. “I would’ve missed out on knowing the most beautiful and wonderful and amazing person in the whole universe.”
“Okay, you’re just overdoing it now,” Vaggie retorted.
“I am not,” Charlie insisted. “You are beyond words, that’s how amazing you are.”
“Mhm.”
“You doubt me?”
“Sometimes.”
“Well, as your princess, I command you to listen. You, Vaggie, are the most beautiful, powerful, sexy—“
She thought this could go on for a while. Charlie knew a lot of adjectives. She leaned forward and interrupted her with a kiss to the lips, a quick peck.
Charlie swatted her away. “Hey!”
Vaggie raised an eyebrow. “Were you not finished?”
“Vaggie.”
“Sorry, princess,” Vaggie said. “You’ll have to punish me later, huh?”
Charlie rolled her eyes and swatted her again, though her cheeks turned even more red. Vaggie laughed, resting her forehead against Charlie’s, standing on her toes. She let out a breath. “Are you ready for this?”
“Pfft,” Charlie said. The air was cool against her face, tickling her cheek. “I was born ready. Well, ever since the day I found you, I suppose.”
Vaggie laughed again, short and sweet. “Eternity?” She asked.
“Eternity,” Charlie hummed back.
And Vaggie believed her.
After a moment, aware of the sounds coming from downstairs, they pulled away. Vaggie turned to look at the alarm clock on their bedside table. Twelve minutes.
She drew in a sharp breath. Okay. Almost time. She could do this. She absentmindedly wiped at her lips. Smeared black came back, wiping across her finger. Charlie’s lipstick.
Vaggie wiped her hand on a tissue pulled from the box on the desk (Charlie often teared up each time she added a new reservation to the guest book) and moved to the bathroom doorway. She stood in front of the mirror and dabbed at her mouth, wiping away every trace of Charlie’s lips on hers. In private, she’d wear it with pride, but not at her wedding. The others would probably tease them anyway, or Lucifer would freak out that it clashed with her eye makeup. Probably both.
She sighed. It was chaotic, but it was theirs. No matter how it went today, she was happy as long as everyone they cared about was there and that they got married. At the end of the day, it was all that mattered.
She finished up and threw the tissue in the trashcan in the corner of the bathroom. She exited the room and nearly paused in the doorway. She saw Charlie sitting on the bed, slumping over. She was looking over at something on her phone, frowning. She looked almost.. sad?
What could have her down? It took a lot to make Charlie sad. It was supposed to be a happy day!
Vaggie came over, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” She tried to quip. “Get a low score on Candy Crush?”
No reply. Charlie swallowed thickly, sniffling.
Confused, Vaggie peered over her shoulder and stole a glance at her phone screen. Oh. She was looking back at old messages. With her mom. That made sense. She scanned the nearest one, sent only a few weeks ago. The delivered icon stood out under it.
ME, 7:38PM
Hi, Mom! It’s me again. I know you’re probably busy, off doing whatever you’re doing. I’m sure it’s SUPER important, but I just wanted to tell you something. I have some REALLY GOOD NEWS! I’m getting MARRIED!! Remember Vaggie? I told you about her a few times. Anyway, we’re tying the knot in a few weeks. The wedding is at the hotel. It would mean a lot if you were here. I want you to be there. I want you to see me get married and meet Vaggie. I really love her, and I think you would too. She’s just as fiercely protective as you. Ha. Anyways, if you get this, stop by anytime. I miss you. Dad does too. I know it’s complicated, but I worked through things with him. Mostly. Maybe we could try again? Be a family? I’ve built a lot here, something I’m proud of, and I want to share it with you. See you there, hopefully. I love you.
Vaggie felt her heart drop. Sending paragraphs, pouring your heart out to no avail. Not even a reply. Poor Charlie.
“She didn’t even look at it,” Charlie said sadly. She sighed down at it, then put her phone face down on the bed. With a pang in her chest, Vaggie realized Charlie was wiping at her eyes.
Wordlessly, Vaggie opened her arms. Charlie looked down at her for a moment, then took the offer. She embraced Vaggie, head resting on her shoulder despite their height difference, curling into her. They stayed that way for a moment: embracing, holding each other close. Charlie sniffing into her shoulder, Vaggie wishing she could take all her pain away with a snap of her finger like Lucifer or Alastor.
“It’s enough,” Vaggie whispered into Charlie’s ear, ruffling a piece of her honey blonde hair.
Charlie only sniffled, confused. “What?”
“You. Me. Your dad. Our friends. Everyone here to watch us get married in the place we built together,the place where your dreams will come true,” Vaggie said. “We have a nice courtyard, and beautiful dresses and rings, and a fancy ass buffet, courtesy of your father.”
Charlie snorted into Vaggie’s sleeve, laughing. Her laughter made Vaggie smile. “We’re getting married, Charlie,” she said. “That’s hell of enough for me.”
“Me too,” Charlie spoke up. “It’s just.. I..”
“I know,” Vaggie sighed. “It’s hard. But, if you took all these nice things away, it would still be enough for me. You’re enough for me.” Vaggie shrugged. “And if it’s not for her, that’s her problem. It’s her loss. I’ll tell you right now— this is going to be one fun wedding.”
Charlie snorted again, swiping at her eyes. “It will be. Do you think Nif will put on another puppet show?”
“Oh, I missed those,” Vaggie replied, shaking her head. “Curse Alastor and that fancy roach spray.”
Charlie curled closer to Vaggie. “Thank you.”
Vaggie pressed a gentle kiss to her hairline, her movements light and tender. Genuine. She held her closer, tighter, in response. For you? Anything.
It wasn’t even a full minute before there was a loud set of knocks at the door. Both brides sat up, looked at each other, and turned to the door. Argh. Couldn’t they have five minutes?
“Uh,” Charlie said. “Come in?”
“Lucifer,” Vaggie added, crossing her arms. “I swear to Satan, no more videos, you sentimental sap—“
“Not Lucifer,” said a voice that wasn’t Lucifer’s. Vaggie held back her groan. Alastor slowly pushed open the door, grinning widely as per usual. “Why, don’t you look pretty? Sorry to interrupt, my dears. Charlotte, you have a guest.”
Vaggie bit back her scowl. What now? Who was it?
“Thank you!” Charlie beamed, then looked curious. “Who is it?”
Alastor only stepped aside to reveal a tall woman adorned with a long dress and hat. Vaggie had a guess to who she was.
“Oh!” Charlie exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. “Rosie!”
She confirmed Vaggie’s suspicions. Vaggie peered up at the Sinner in front of her, still sitting on the edge of the bed. She had heard a lot about this lady. Charlie visited her shop regularly to have a cup of tea and gossip or when she needed advice on anything ranging from the hotel to her relationships. She knew when Charlie went down to Cannibal Town because of the smell. She always had to shower after.
This Rosie character seemed sweet, something unbefitting of a Cannibal, but Vaggie had seen stranger things here in Hell.
“Charlie!” Rosie said now. “Oh, look at you. Come over here. Let me see you in the light.” She beckoned Charlie over, who happily obeyed, standing up and striding over. She examined Charlie, hands on her shoulders. “Oh, so beautiful, like a porcelain doll.”
She pinched Charlie’s cheek and she chuckled. “Oh, stop. You’re making me blush.”
Rosie withdrew with a grin as wide as Alastor’s. Speaking of Alastor, he still stood there in the doorway, surveying the scene in front of him with ever watchful eyes. Vaggie watched as Rosie leaned over and jabbed him with an elbow. “Get out of here, won’t ya, Al? We need some girl time.”
Alastor blinked, dipped his hand, and listened. “As you wish.”
With that, he was gone, slipping into the shadows. the door shutting behind him. Huh. She got Alastor to stop lurking and piss off. Maybe Vaggie would like her.
“Oh, it’s always the theatrics with him,” Rosie said, hands on her hips, tsk ing her tongue. She turned back to them, black gaze falling to Vaggie. “So this is the little wife-to-be, huh?”
Charlie began to beam at Vaggie being referred as her wife. “Yep!” She replied. “She sure is.”
Vaggie scrambled up, smoothing down her dress. She met Rosie in the middle of the bedroom, taking her offered hand and shaking it. She looked into her eyes and hoped the flake of something in her teeth wasn’t Sinner meat. Vaggie swallowed.
“Vaggie, wasn’t it?” Rouse asked airily. “I’ve heard so much about you from Charlie.”
“You’re, like, the first person to get that right,” Vaggie chuckled, taking back her hand. She realized how sweaty her palms were now.
“Of course!” Rosie exclaimed. “I hear it so often after all. When I ask about you, Charlie starts talking, and I can barely get her to stop. It’s adorable.”
Vaggie snuck a look to Charlie, who was turning red. “Yeah,” she agreed, bumping her hip. “She’s cute when she rambles.”
“Aww,” Rosie hummed. “Let me say, congratulations. When I got the invitation, I wasn’t surprised. The way you talk about her, how your eyes light up.” She shook her head. “It was almost the way I was with my first husband, before his.. tragic disappearance, of course.”
There was awkward silence for a moment. Vaggie let out a dry cough.
“I knew it was bound to happen,” Rosie continued. “You two are so cute together.” She tilted her head. “I’m so glad you two worked out that whole Exorcist-Angel-who-killed-your-people thing.”
“Oh!” Charlie said, clearing her throat. “Yeah.”
They were just getting over that.
“I understand part of that was your doing,” Vaggie said, gaze low. “Thank you for talking to Charlie when I wasn’t there. And, you know, not leaving us completely defenseless on Extermination Day.”
“And thank you for that marvelous feast!” Rosie replied. “My, I think the butcher still has left overs. Let me know if you two ever need anything.”
She swore she had Charlie audibly gag. “No thanks,” she managed.
As if on cue, after she finished, another knock was pressed to the door, Lucifer’s familiar light, rhythmic knocking. “Five minutes!” He said. “The guests are taking their seats. Get downstairs.”
They heard his footsteps trail away. Knowing him, he was making his last rounds, making sure everyone and everything was in place. Vaggie took a deep breath. She and Charlie exchanged equally happy and scared looks. They found each other’s hands and squeezed.
“Well,” Rosie spoke up, picking up her skirt and already heading toward the door. “You gals ready to get hitched?”