Work Text:
The Hazbin Hotel, the place of second chances and redemption for wayward Sinners who are ready to try again at a shot into Heaven. There were none in Hell, especially the Pride Ring, who did not know of the Hazbin Hotel. Its reputation was known throughout the land as the birthplace of miracles as well as the home of some of the most powerful demons in Hell, and held the unique position of both Heaven’s greatest foe and ally.
And it, more importantly, was Annabeth’s favorite place in the whole wide world.
A world that was very quite at this time of day.
And she did her best to respect that quiet as she tiptoed through the hallowed halls of the upper floors of the hotel. She trekked across glittering marble floors and plush hallway runners as quietly as possible.
Well, as quietly as hoofed feet could be, that is.
After what felt like forever, which was in fact just two minutes, she arrived at her destination.
She stood before a pair of large, ornate double doors of blood red wood trimmed in gold. Carved into the wood where weeping cypress trees and twisting snakes. A sight she knew well.
Without any hesitation or a knock, she reached up to open one of the doors. With a little boost from her still growing feathered wings, she grabbed hold of the curved door handle and gave it a good yank. The door swung open with a heavy whine, and she stepped through before it could make any more noise.
Beyond the double doors was a spacious and luxurious sitting room.
The furniture was plush and beautiful, dark polished wood mixed with crimson fabrics and gold accents. The grand fireplace housed a gentle fire that crackled and beckoned, its flames shifting through seven different, familiar colors. The walls were adorned with various rubber ducks and articulated bone features, nicknacks of conflicting personalities finding a strange, delicate harmony in the space. It was private, it was cozy, and it was filled to the brim with love.
There was a reason this was one of her favorite rooms in the hotel her mothers ran.
But Annabeth had a mission this morning, she couldn’t allow herself to be distracted. Even if the fire was cozy, the sofa had a decorative pillow with her name embroidered on it, and the coffee table had a bowl of sweets she had never noticed before.
Her Mamá had taught her the importance of focusing on her plans and following through. She also said something about “delayed gentrification” or something, but she wasn’t quite sure on that one yet.
Regardless, she carried on, walking passed the various temptations hidden in the room until she reached the discreet, dark red doors on the far wall.
Once again, she reached up and carefully opened the door. This time, the door made no sound as she slipped in.
The room was dark, but her golden eyes were well suited for it. She easily spotted the large, four-poster bed in the middle of the room and snuck closer.
From beyond the dark curtains, she could hear the gentle breathing and snoring of her two victims. With a devilish grin spreading across her angelic features, she crawled under the curtain and peered over the edge of the mattress.
In the center of the large bed slept two figures: one tall, the other short, tangled in a loose embrace. Both were deep in slumber and unaware of her presence.
Taking advantage of their unconsciousness, Annabeth climbed along the bed frame and onto the highest point of the headboard. The wood made a soft creak under her weight, but the figures beneath her made no move.
Taking a deep breath, she braced herself against the headboard, then leapt into the air. As she soared over the bed, she spread herself out wide, prepared to belly-flop onto her grandfathers.
But her descent was suddenly stopped by a black tentacle firmly wrapped around her middle. It spun her around so that her head was pointing the correct direction, then gently lowered her down onto the bed between the two men. Annabeth pouted and crossed her arms as she was deposited safely and unobtrusively over the covers. She glared up at the wall behind the bed, the tentacle retreating back into the shadows, which returned to its sleepy master.
Alastor groaned.
“Lucifer, wake up, your granddaughter is awake,” he muttered.
“Before sunrise she’s your granddaughter,” Lucifer replied.
Alastor grumbled but smiled down at his granddaughter.
“Good morning, my sweet menace,” he greeted, placing a large, clawed hand on Annabeth’s head, patting her soft white hair, “To what do I owe the pleasure of such an early wakeup call?”
“Pawpaw,” she whined, “why didn’t you let me bounce you?”
“Because I would have thrown you out the window if you had, deary. And neither your mothers nor your grandpa would have forgiven me for such a crime.”
Annabeth booed at her Pawpaw, but a quiet “he’s not wrong” came from her grandpa. She then began crawling on top of Alastor until they were chin to chin.
“Pawpaw,” she whispered with the kind of fervent energy reserved only for children on a special mission, “guess what?”
“What?” Alastor replied indulgently, his languid tone a deep contrast to his granddaughter.
“It’s Mother’s Day,” she squeaked, her excitement barely contained.
“Hm,” he replied, taking in the little fact before fully processing it and its implication. “Ah~ Yes, Mother’s Day.”
Annabeth giggled.
Then a grin stretched across Alastor's features.
“A completely unremarkable day with no promises made,” he announced, enjoying the scandalized look on his granddaughter’s face. “Let us return to bed and sleep another hour.”
With that, he grabbed the blankets and turned onto his side, taking her with him and wrapping her in blankets. As he swaddled her up, she squeaked and giggled in affronted delight. From the other side of bed, a quiet chuckle could be heard.
“Pawpaw! No!” Annabeth shrieked as she wriggled herself out of his grip. “You promised!”
“I recall no such promise,” he replied, "Now let me sleep, you little terror." He could see her eyebrows furrow in frustration.
“Yes, you did!” she asserted. “You promised you’d help me make Mamá and Mommy breakfast. French toast with cinnamon sugar and caramelized bananas and your special omelet! Two weeks ago, right after brunch in the library. We shook on it!”
Ah, yes, leave it to the child surrounded by powerful demons to be fully aware of the importance of a promise. She even recounted details of the moment the deal was made.
He was so proud of her.
“Oh, of course,” he exclaimed, “How could I have forgotten. Silly me. Yes, breakfast for your mothers. I remember now, thank you for reminding me.”
Annabeth’s pout eased into a triumphant little smile as Alastor let her go and patted down her hair. Clearly, he wasn’t getting any extra sleep this morning. Especially not after having made a Deal.
But that didn’t mean he wanted to get out of bed.
Alastor grabbed Annabeth by the back of the shirt and gently deposited her onto the ground. As her hoofed feet touched the ground, her face scrunched up in suspicion.
It was almost eerie how similar to Vaggie she looked when she did it.
“I’m up,” he assured her, “I promise, I’m up. Go wait for me in the sitting room. I’ll be out in a moment.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he replied.
“Promise?” she asked.
“I promise,” he promised.
“........ Okay!” And with that, she trotted out the door.
As the door closed behind her, Alastor slumped forward.
Oh, his greatest weakness, energetic children.
Slowly, he shrank back under the covers. The warm covers that were dark and soft and so comfortable.
There was a gentle chuckle behind him, then a warm hand began petting his head.
“If you fall asleep, you’re gonna be in trouble~” Lucifer sang.
Alastor flipped over to face his husband, then surged forward and latched onto Lucifer. The angel yelped as Alastor pulled him under the covers into a bone crushing hug. His yelp soon morphed into a laugh as Alastor began nipping and gnawing on Lucifer’s bare chest.
Eventually, Alastor stopped biting, instead pushing and rubbing his face into his chest. He could feel Lucifer’s laughter around him, his hands smoothing out his ruffled hair, and his lips kissing the tips of his ears.
Alastor counted down from ten, breathing in Lucifer’s scent and tightening his grip.
He really didn’t want to get out of bed.
He wanted to stay here.
But he had to.
He would.
For her.
Three.
Two.
One.
With a huff, Alastor let go of Lucifer and melted into his shadows.
He reappeared before his closet, his Shadow already holding out his clothing for him. As he slipped into his clothes, tentacles brushed out and tied his hair back, cleaned his glasses, tied his shoelaces, and pulled up his suspenders onto his ready shoulders. Dressed to perfection, as he always was, Alastor turned to face his Shadow who held out his apron for him.
But before he took the apron, he walked over to the bed. He parted the curtains and sat down beside Lucifer, the man having migrated to his side of the bed and stolen his pillow the moment he left.
Alastor brushed the hair away from Lucifer’s face and leaned down.
“If all goes well, breakfast will be ready in 30 minutes. I expect to see you dressed and ready by their bedroom door.”
As he pressed a kiss to his temple, Lucifer groaned and whined.
“Mmnghf....Fine, I’ll be there with Razzle.”
“Good.”
They shared one last kiss before Alastor walked to the door, taking the apron from his waiting Shadow and opened the door.
To absolutely no surprise, Annabeth fell forward by his feet.
He smiled down at her with a soft shake of the head.
“Annabeth?” he chided. She sighed as she got up off the floor and dusted herself off.
“I know,” she groaned. “Never lean your whole body on the door, you might fall over. Once the conversation is over, always return to your seat or you’ll be caught.”
“Good, you remembered,” he said and held out his hand. Annabeth took it in hers and swung it as they walked.
Hand in hand, they made their way through Alastor and Lucifer's sitting room without too much distraction (yes, the candy was new, no, she couldn't have any before breakfast, but after breakfast was fair game), and out into the hall. From there they made their way to the shared staff kitchen.
“I must say though," Alastor mused, "while the end was unfortunate, you still did very well at eavesdropping on us. Why, I didn’t hear your sneak up to the door at all!”
Annabeth grinned up at him, the epitome of pride, and giggled.
“That’s because I flew myself over,” she boasted. “I can’t give myself away with my feet if I don’t use them!” With an exclamation, Annabeth took a running start, jumped up, and hovered in the air, wings flapping wildly behind her.
When she landed, she skipped forward and twirled, smile brighter than heavenly light.
“Oh my!” he cooed with a subdued applause, “I’m sure your mothers will be delighted to see you flying.”
Annabeth cheered as they made it to the kitchen.
The rest of the morning was spent making breakfast, just as promised.
It had taken a bit longer than he had hoped, but Annabeth showed true potential in the kitchen, unlike some of her family members. She not only followed instructions well, but observed well too, taking note of how Alastor held his knife and mimicking him, double checking her measuring instruments, and kept her station as neat and tidy as a child could. Truly, the Hazbin Hotel was a place of miracles, which Alastor was sure was granted to Annabeth entirely by her more Heavenly mother.
Once done, the two journeyed to Charlie and Vaggie’s bedroom, breakfast, coffee, handmade card, and fresh flowers from Rosie's arranged neatly on two trays which Alastor insisted he would hold until they made it to their bedroom.
When they arrived, Lucifer and Razzle stood by the door waiting for them, both dressed and groomed appropriately for the occasion. This meant that Razzle now worn two silk sashes, one pink and one silver, which were far too large for their small body, which read "Best Mothers in Hell."
The four made their way quietly (read: giggling and shushing each other) into the sitting room of the two sleeping women. In front of their bedroom door, Alastor made Annabeth promise him she would not jump or fly until the trays were in the hands of her mothers.
With a precautionary Pinky Promise made, Annabeth held one tray and Razzle took the other, and Alastor's Shadow slipped into Annabeth's shadow and stayed poised and ready in the case of any emergency. The three entered while quietly cheered on by Alastor and Lucifer.
Vaggie was the first to rise at the sound of the opening door, the veteran soldier having been awake since the moment their front door was opened. It only took four hurried slaps to the arm to awaken the slumbering Charlie, who had to rub her eyes and yawn twice before her eyes properly registered the sight before her. She sputtered like a revving engine as she lost her ability to speak, and her hands and arms moved at light speed as her brain struggled to decide what to do to express her excitement.
Alastor and Lucifer watched on from the sitting room as Annabeth successfully made it to the bed and wished the two women a good morning and a happy mother’s day.
There were cheers of delight, lots of hugs and kisses, and a surprising amount of tears as the two women received their Best Mother sashes, breakfasts, and handmade cards. With Annabeth and the two trays now securely on the bed and Razzle at the ready to tend to any other needs, Alastor's Shadow returned home and the two men retreated after receiving a subtle thumbs-up from the teary Vaggie.
They closed the bedroom door and then Lucifer warded their front door. The family would have plenty of well-deserved alone time as Alastor and Lucifer handled guests and staff for the rest of the morning.
Alastor and Lucifer walked side by side down the hall, luxuriating in the feeling of a job well done, and made their way back to the kitchen to have their own breakfast. While time had marched on, the hotel was still quiet, and the two men breathed easy in the silence.
“So,” Lucifer began, “how was it?”
“Not as bad as I imagined,” Alastor admitted truthfully, “There’s hope for her still, unlike you and Charlie.”
“Hey!" Lucifer cried, offended, "I can bake!”
“Not without making a mess that extends to the ceiling, mon amour,” Alastor reminded.
Lucifer rolled his eyes, but the two laughed. A look of fondness spread across Lucifer’s face and lightly elbowed his husband.
“And to think you were so worried about domestic life all those years ago.”
Alastor shrugged.
“Things change as time passes. And, after all, this is a place for second chances. I simply gave myself one.”
“And the verdict?”
“It’s perfect.”