A Christmas Cocktail

Chapter 1

A day off. Finally, after what felt like weeks, he had a day off. And that alone was a Christmas miracle. Not like it mattered too much, since he'd worked late the night before, like always. Could it really be called an off day if you didn't even get the full twenty-four hours? Either way, he didn't care. It was something. Sitting up in the bed, he looked around the room with sleep still blurring his vision. The soft snorts of the pygmy pig snuggled up beside him filled the air with a comforting familiarity, a unique sound that he only heard at home. Despite the comforts of the hotel he'd been calling his home for months now, something felt off today.

Pulling himself reluctantly out of bed, he moved into the bathroom on the other side and cringed at his own reflection. He definitely looked like he hadn't had a day off in years, much less weeks. The dark shadows beneath his magenta eyes tarnished the white of his fur, simply proving that even arachnids needed their beauty sleep. Splashing his face with cold water to attempt to perk himself up, the spider heard a light knock at his door. "Fuck, not today. I just wanna hide today." After a few moments of him seriously debating ignoring it and pretending he wasn't home, there was a second knock.

"Angel? Are you awake?" Charlie's voice easily carried through the door panel. The indignant scoff that followed her concerned words was distinctive and did nothing but make him roll his eyes.

"If he's even home, hon. Honestly, he's probably out doing what he always does. Drugs, guys and causing us all sorts of -" Yanking the door open, he crossed his arms and stared down at the much smaller woman.

"Can I help you ladies with somethin'?" A huff of air and Vaggie was turning her gaze down the hall as Charlie gave him an apologetic look.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to invite some friends to the party tonight." Charlie smiled widely at him while Angel simply stared at her in confusion. When Vaggie lightly elbowed her, the blond jumped and threw her hands up. "Oh yeah, we're having a party tonight! To celebrate the holidays, of course, cause today is... you know, Christmas. I thought it might be a good idea to get people to come and relax, and just have fun. Maybe even see the hotel and take an interest or something." The princess gave him another smile, a much weaker one this time. A glance between the two told him that Vaggie had most likely tried to shoot the idea down, like she did a lot of the more wild ones Charlie came up with. Clearly, she'd failed, and yet she was still here at Charlie's side with the sales pitch.

"I have a question, first." The two looked at him in surprise. Focusing his gaze on Charlie, Angel prepared himself for the possible backlash from Vaggie at his curiosity. "Why do you even care?" Charlie blinked.

"Well... It's like I've said before, I hate to see my people simply exterminated every-"

"No, no, not that. I get that. I'm talking about Christmas. What do you even care about Christmas for? It's not like you believed in any of the religious drivel that we got shoved in our faces our whole lives, cause you grew up with the truth of it all. There's no traditions in it for you that you have to keep in the family, or whatever, and it ain't a part of your job. So... why bother throwin' a Christmas party in Hell?" Charlie turned her attention to her hands while Vaggie jabbed a finger in his direction.

"Oh please! What, were you an atheist in life or something? Never actually celebrated it, so now you're just a scrooge? Did you die on Christmas or something, to make you so cynical about it? If you don't want to come, just say so." Angel couldn't help but laugh.

"Never celebrated Christmas? Now that's rich, sweetheart. You do realize that, in a family like mine, that is an impossible task. Even if I was an atheist, I still woulda been forced to partake in all the holiday "cheer" whether I liked it or not." Besides, look around you! Hell ain't exactly the best place to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. At least it's more honest here, though. Shows what Christmas is really all about instead of all that shit they preached to us in life." Vaggie opened her mouth to argue, but Charlie put a hand on her shoulder first.