"She killed an exorcist in the last extermination. She knows how they can be harmed."
That statement alone had Vaggie floored. She became unfocused as a deafening ringing filled the room. The angel could feel her legs shake, almost giving out on her. She barely even registered herself telling Charlie that she didn't even know that was possible. She saw Charlie's lips move out of the corner of her eyes, probably a jab at the fact she kept her identity as an exorcist a secret but she couldn't hear a word falling from her lips as she walked passed her. God the ringing was so loud she couldn't even hear anyone's footsteps. Or maybe they stoped moving, she doesn't know she hasn't looked back. All Vaggie could think about was the fact an angel, an exorcist specifically, could be killed. Did Adam know that? Did Lute? She doubts they do, after all if they did then she-
She felt bile rise in her throat, threatening to spill out but she forced it back down, hands rushing up to cover her mouth as her knees buckled under forcing her to hunch over herself. She barely felt the hands touching her back and grabbing her arm. She didn't even hear the persons shout of her name. But, god could anyone blame her. All Vaggie could think about was being back in that alley. And how different things could've been. She knew Lute wasn't a merciful person. So had the lieutenant known that angels could be killed then,
"I never would've left that alley alive....."
Charlie felt bad when she had asked the woman if she would've told her had she known angels can be killed, she still held love for the angel, but she's been lied to by omission for 3 years. She has a right to be angry with her. As much as she doesn't want to be. She turned back to the exorcist when she got no reply. "Right now we have a job to do. Are you with us?" She asked with her chin up stubbornly high. She's sure she has a sour look on her face even if it pains her to look at the one she loves like that but again she's mad. So she kept the question in the air not breaking her act to hide how much this is truly breaking her but after a few minutes of silence from the unmoving from the angel had brought concern to front her emotions. Concern had been one of the many swirling emotions she's had face alone for the past few days as some pieces weren't fitting comfortably in the puzzle that was how she missed the details. The scars on her back and chronic back pain more specifically. But right now the silence had her concerned. She exchanged a confused look with Alastor. Maybe she didn't hear her? "Vaggie?" She asked, walking slowly to the woman. She finally noticed the frantic and panicked look in her eye. She jolted back when she saw it. What's going on with her girlfriend?
The angel was on her knees, covering her mouth in a matter of seconds. Charlie's eyes grew wide in shock. "Vaggie!" And before she knew it she was next to the angel, an arm reaching around her back while her free hand grabbed the fallen angels arm to try and support her. Charlie couldn't help the panic that rose in her, sure she had been mad at her but she never wanted to cause this kind of reaction from her. She tried to get Vaggie's attention, tried to get her to tell Charlie what was wrong but after some time she realized how out of it the Angel is. She didn't even turn to look at her. Charlie looked around the room to try and find something that could help in this situation but before she could even move she heard the Angel whisper "I never would've left that alley alive....." causing her head to snap back to Vaggie and a lump to form in throat.
Ok fuck being angry at this point, She's terrified to find out what Vaggie meant by that! Charlie realized that if she tried to verbally reach out to the Angel then she won't be heard, so she moved in front of the woman and gently titled her head up to look at her. Vaggie's eye was as wide as her own, fear being extremely prominent, her anxiety must be at an all time high right now. Which isn't good for anyone right now. As much as Charlie wanted her to explain, she had to calm down before she could get any answer out of her. She took the angels hand in her own and brought it to lay against her chest while placing her other hand gently on the angels chest. It's something they do if the other is non responsive, a way to signal the other to follow their breathing and help them calm down.
Charlie could feel Vaggie's chest rising and falling at an alarming rate. It's a miracle she hasn't passed out yet. Charlie took a deep breath for 8 seconds, held it for 4, and released it for another 4 seconds before repeating the pattern, waiting for Vaggie to follow suit. Eventually she did which let her exhaustion give way as she collapsed into Charlie's arms. She didn't pass out but she just lost a lot of energy so she couldn't really hold herself up right now. Charlie wrapped her arms around the woman and slightly rocked the two of them side to side to help bring her comfort. The princess looked up to readdress the smiling radio demon and while agitated that he's still smiling she doesn't comment on it only mouthing 'later' to him. The signal prompted him to nod his and walk away, probably back to the lobby. With him gone Charlie could fully pay attention to the angel in her arms. "I think..." she started but paused for a moment to take a breath and collect her thoughts. "I think we need to actually talk about this." She finished. Charlie felt the angel flinch in her hold but nodded her head against her shoulder nonetheless. They stay like that for a few more minutes before Vaggie finally pulled away. Charlie instantly missed the warm contact but knew better than to chase after it in a situation like this so she stayed put.
Both women remained silent for a while till Charlie finally asked the big question she's had. "Why didn't you tell me?" Vaggie looked away, shame written all over her face. "When I first met you, I never told you out of fear for what you'd do to me. But as I got to know you better and grew to love you it was out of the fear of losing you. I love you, more than anything in this universe, you mean the world to me. So the thought of losing you, losing what we have..." Charlie could see the tears well up in her eye. She reach out to wipe them away as Vaggie finally looked back at her, pain and sorrow in her eyes. "It took over any logic I had with the situation. I know that doesn't excuse my actions. You deserve an explanation better than that but it's all I've got. I'm sorry." She looked to her hands in her lap, not wanting to make eye contact with the princess. She didn't want to see that betrayed look again.
There was silence between the two again. Charlie sighed and moved closer to wrap the angel in a warm embrace. Said Angel could only stare at the wall behind the princess in shock, new tears welling up in her eye. "I would've preferred hearing it from you over Adam but I think I'm done being upset about this. I'm sorry you were so afraid." Vaggie finally wrapped her arms around the princess and buried her head in the crook between her shoulder and neck. Charlie's hold tightened around the angel as she felt the wetness hit her shoulder. Her fingers carded through the long grey hair as she thought about her next words. She closed her eyes and held the woman tightly. "I love you." Charlie felt a weight off her chest as she finally said it. She could feel the wet spot on her shoulder spread as more tears fell from the angels eye. They stayed there for a while before the princess pulled away but kept her hands on the angels face, wiping away the tears that fell from her eye. She leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead before returning to look her in the eye, her hand absentmindedly brushing the tuft of hair away from her eyepatch with a frown on her face. "The day I found you," she started, "was that the same day you fell?" Vaggie nodded mutely at that. Charlie's breath hitched. She found the angel with dark empty eye socket. Not only that, as they got closer, Vaggie trusted the princess enough to bare her scars on her back to the woman and Charlie knew she would get back pains where the scars lie. If both of those injuries were from that exact extermination, then what the here had happened to her that day. "What happened?" She asked. Vaggie tensed, her face showing pure discomfort at the memory. Charlie pulled her closer to try and bring her more comfortability. "You don't have to talk about it if it's uncomfortable for you." She added but Vaggie shook her head. "No. No more secrets."
Vaggie took a shaky breath before starting. "Prior to that extermination I had started doubting that what we were doing was for the good of heaven. And as a result, I started letting more people go free without being caught. I would lie about my numbers in order to avoid suspicion but I guess that wasn't enough. The night you found me I guess Lute was suspicious enough to follow me into the alley that I chased a kid into. The kid couldn't have been more than 5 years old and he was so scared. I couldn't do it, I thought I was alone so I let him go. Lute saw that and decided to punish me for it." She paused and scrunched into herself more. "She cut out my eye and ripped off my wings. Adam came over soon after and they both left with my halo in his hands." She felt the princess hold on her tighten, her hand reaching up to her shoulder blades and rubbing circles between them. "Once the extermination was over I discarded my uniform and tried to distance myself from the alley but I couldn't get too far without help. And that's when you found me." She looked to the floor with a smile. "I could never be more grateful for that." Vaggie felt Charlie smile against her shoulder. But the joy was short lived as the princess pulled away, her hand placed gently on the angels cheek. "They hurt you for showing mercy." She spoke softly. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to control the anger she felt towards the first man and his lieutenant. Once Charlie's eyes connected with Vaggie's gaze, she softened and rubbed her thumb against her cheek. A motion that the angel greatly appreciated as she melted into the touch. "No one should ever have to go through something like that." she brought the woman into her chest and gently massaged her shoulders.
They stayed there, soaking in the other's warmth and love. Sharing quick, gentle pecks on various parts of their bodies. Well, above the shoulders that is. They weren't getting that heated this soon. Although that may be in the cards for them tonight. There was still one thing Charlie had left unasked. She looked to the side and bit her lip, anxious to even speak the earlier statement into existence once more. "Vaggie?" The angel hummed into her shoulder, prompting the princess to continue. "Earlier you said you wouldn't have left that alleyway alive..." Vaggie tensed up at the topic. "As much as I hate bringing up, I feel the need to know. What did you mean by that?"
Charlie could feel Vaggie gulp before she took a sharp intake of breath and wearily releasing it. The angel buried herself further into her hold. "Lute isn't a very.....merciful exorcist." She started quietly. "So when you told me exorcist could be killed I realized that if she knew that three years ago..." she paused and took a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm herself. "Then I wouldn't have just lost my eye and my wings..." she left the end of the statement open for Charlie's interpretation. Charlie's hold tightened as the princess protective instinct kicked in. Vaggie felt her tail gently wrap around her arm. She could also hear the princess's growl at the thought of someone hurting her. The protectiveness was sweat but she needed to calm down so they could finally get back to what's important for the hotel. Vaggie pushed against the princess to look into her now red eyes. She brought her hand up to rest on her cheek and gave the best smile she could given the situation. "It ok hun, I'm right here." She brought their foreheads together. "I'm not going anywhere any time soon." Charlie finally calmed down enough to loosen her grip around the angel and her eyes returned to normal but her tail remained where it was. "I can't stand the thought of losing you. I can't lose you Vaggie." The princess spoke quietly. Vaggie smiled and gave a quick kiss to the Hellborn's nose. "And I can't lose you either. Neither of us are going to lose the other, ok? We'll be here for each other when the dust clears." Vaggie assured the woman. Charlie smiled at that. "I love you." She said. Vaggie leaned forward til the princess could feel her breath against her lips. "I love you too. More than anything." Charlie's smile grew more before repeating the phrase. "More than anything." And just like that. The two finally closed the distance between them.
The kiss was passionate and sweet. Both of them pressing into each other more as they begged the other for more. Vaggie could feel Charlie's tongue against her lips, asking for entrance. A request the angel greedily accepted as their tongues began to fight for dominance. After some time they finally pulled away for air, a string of saliva connecting their lips. "As much as I would love to continue this" Charlie said between breaths. "we still have to find out what Carmilla knows and apparently Alastor has someone I need to see." Vaggie puffed out her cheeks in annoyance but understood that they probably shouldn't push this off until tomorrow. They need to figure this stuff out as soon as possible to be as ready as they can be in the next few days.
They both reluctantly stood up from the ground, stretching their limbs out briefly to loosen any tight muscles in their body's. Charlie opened the door but paused and turned back to Vaggie before stepping out. She shyly reached her hand to the angel. The exorcist smiled and placed her hand in the princess outstretched one. With a smile on both of their faces, Charlie turned back to the doors exit and the two walked out, closing the door behind them, hand in hand.