666 NEWS ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT IT WOULD REACH a high temperature of over 120 degrees in Hell. For most sinner demons/Hellborns, they can handle an average of 90 to 100 degrees, though when it reaches 120--which is exactly what it is today--everyone is required to hide out and wait for Hell's sun to reach near sunset when the temps will then drop drastically.
But...there are of course those select few who do not heed Hell's weather warning and stay outside in Hell's heat, laboring and sweating profusely to near dehydration. Those people being you, Charlie, Lucifer, Angel Dust, Husker, Niffty, Vaggie, and even Alastor himself.
Practically everyone here has stripped down, wearing simply tank tops and shorts because of the heat. The only one who refuses to change is Alastor, who stands on the construction grounds wearing his long sleeve red pin stripe coat with his long sleeve red and black undershirt. You're shocked to see he hasn't even broken a sweat yet being under this heat, especially since he's wearing a suit that could keep you warm on a cold fall day.
But, you have noticed from time to time him tugging at the collar of his shirt, as his smile appears to struggle staying a smile. Which is enough proof for you that he's just a stubborn red ass that'd rather suffer extreme heat then take his coat off. That suit is literally his skin. He never takes it off.
Everyone else--minus Husker, who only wears his black pants and suspenders without a shirt, though he never wears a shirt due to his cat fur being thick enough to cover anything worth covering--has a T-shirt or tank top. Angel Dust wears a pink crop top that hangs off the left shoulder while wearing a pair of white shorts that has the symbol of a heart on the right leg.
Lucifer wears a yellow T shirt that has the face of a rubber duck on the front, while his shorts are blue. An odd yet cute combination, though everything about Lucifer is a child-like oddity. Vaggie's hair is tied up in a ponytail while she wears a black and grey colored tank top with ripped jean shorts, a black wrap around bracelet on her wrist that has a silver heart charm.
Charlie has her hair tied in a tight braid, being held by a pink scrunchie, while her tank top is a light pink color that goes well with her white shorts colored with black polka dots. Cute combination of clothes, just like her dad.
Niffty though--much like Alastor--wears her same white shirt with a pink skirt, though with your help, you put her hair in a cute bun and tied it with your spider web to keep it in place while she runs frantically back and forth, cleaning, picking up bricks or tools, before suddenly dropping them and running after a sudden bug that appeared in front of her, causing Niffty to completely forget the job she was in the middle of doing.
You wear a pair of green colored shorts that resemble a skirt, going down before stopping a few inches above your knees, while running up to almost your kneecaps is a pair of lace up black boots. Your tank top is black that has the silver-colored symbol of a spider on the front of your chest, while your hair is tied up in a bun, being held in place from a sharp, long, angelic steel needle that has an emerald-green gemstone attached to it. A gift from Carmilla, after you were ranked Overlord.
A couple of times you've caught Angel glancing your way, secretly smirking before playfully blowing you a kiss and winking whenever you catch him staring. Something you're beginning to grow used to, when in the beginning his flirty behavior annoyed the shit out of you.
Now, you don't really mind it, or take it personal. You know that's just him being him, and from time to time, you do admit that you can't help but get a smile from his flirty attitude every now and then, though not very often.
Glancing to your right, you see Charlie standing alone at a wall off in the distance, finishing the final touches of nailing the boards to the foundation, though despite her flicker of cheerfulness that she always has, she appears to be tired to the center of her core. Her eyes look discolored and a little baggy, while beads of sweat run down her brow and her cheeks before falling to the ground beneath everyone's feet.
Your eyes soften. Out of everyone else here, she's the one whose been working the hardest to bring this new hotel to completion. There's been some nights where you've witnessed her sneak out of her shared tent with Vaggie to continue working on the hotel, long after everyone went to sleep, when in reality she should've been sleeping as well, to get a proper full charge of her battery before having to drain it the next day.
She's been running on little to no juice, using coffee to keep her eyelids open for a few hours before running to more coffee to stay awake. It made you feel a little bad. She's passionate about this hotel, her dream to rehabilitate sinners who she sees has a second chance at a better hand in the afterlife everyone is forced to live. She's so determined about this goal that she's putting her health last.
It's a little funny, Alastor himself had to step in and confront you about the same thing you were dealing with when the hotel was entering its early stages of being rebuilt. Now, you find yourself stopping what you were doing and walking over to her with two bottles of water in hand, touching her shoulder softly when your close enough. "Need a rest?"
Charlie jumps a little from the sudden hand being placed on her shoulder, but when her eyes meet yours, she exhales a breath of relief to calm her scared heart. "Oh, no thanks, Y/N. I'm fine," she turns back to the wall, swinging her hammer back to perform the final hit to the nail head she's working on. But...she accidentally hits her finger instead.
"Ouch!" she drops the hammer and nail, aggressively swinging her hand as if it's on fire before bringing her hurt finger to her lips to suck a little. "Damn it," she sighs deeply, which you can tell is not only because of the pain in her finger, but about the entire situation everyone has been thrown into and forced to endure and try to make the best out of.
She's overwhelmed. A feeling you live with most of everyday.
You wrap your arm around her, patting her shoulder as you turn to bring her away from the construction site to go and sit under the only shade tree on this hill that overlooks Pentagram city. "Ten minutes won't kill you. Besides, you need the break. You look like you're getting heatstroke and sunburn." You pass her your bottle of water along with hers when you notice how her pale skin is beginning to turn red. "You probably need the water more than I do. Now come on, let's go sit in the shade."
"Y/N--" Charlie starts to protest, obviously not waiting to follow you, but in the end, she forces herself to be led by you to the shade tree, where you both then sit down, legs tucked under your bodies while hands rest on top hers and your kneecaps. Even she herself can't deny that she feels like she might throw up any second if she continues to stay out in the sunlight. So, though she won't admit it just yet, she's glad you took the initiative to drag her away when she herself was incapable of leaving on her own.
Charlie twists the bottle cap open to take a few long drinks of fresh water imported from the Earth realm for the Morningstar family. After her final swallow, she sighs deeply in content, feeling the little bit of water running down her dry and cracked throat before she leans her back up against the tree to get comfortable. "Earth water tastes so much better then Hell's version of water."
You chuckle at this. "Isn't Hell's water demon piss that's been mixed with Earth's water and a tad bit of diluted alcohol?"
Charlie groans in a disgusted way, holding a hand to her stomach as if she feels sick. "Yes. I swear one day I'll make sure all of Hell gets fresh water. Not even the worst sinner imaginable should be forced to drink...THAT!"
You laugh aloud, your head softly shaking at her somewhat child-like attitude and doll like face scrunching up at the mere thought of a demon forced to consume a dozen's others urine diluted in water and alcohol to cover up the piss flavor. It's an unimaginable thing, yet it is the truth. Poor souls are indeed forced to drink it, because it's all they have that isn't JUST alcohol.
"Alas, even I myself can agree with you," you remark as you tilt your head to the side. "My father refuses to eat or drink anything Hell provides. He has our servants teleport to the mortal realm to steal supplies." Your face scrunches up then at the thought of your father eating dinners. "Actually...he doesn't really eat human food. He does a little here and there, but not consistently. I swear he lives on tea most of the time."
Charlie chuckles a little, before remembering that you and Zestial had an argument almost a week ago, and she shells up a little. "How are things between you and your dad, by the way?" she asks, almost hesitantly, afraid of your possible out-lash at her for asking such a personal question that she truly doesn't have the right to know unless given permission.
You glance at her at her sudden change in topic. "We're fine," you respond, when in reality, your honest response is...we could be better. It's been about two days since you and Zestial had resolved the tension between the two of you. Though despite feeling pleased that your back on good terms with him, you're still somewhat upset on the inside. Especially when this morning your father gave you a letter sent by Andrealphus.
The letter was the same as all the others. Long winded, pointless empty words, though the one thing that perturbed you the most was Andrealphus's finishing sentence, which Zestial found quite sweet.
Andrealphus called you his darling bride. A nickname you had no hesitation in hating, especially knowing the fact that your father thought the sentiment was loving, when in reality, it's manipulation. Zestial's just ignorant or too blind to see it.
With a soft exhale, you force yourself to raise your lips in a small smile, hiding your distressed emotions from Charlie, not wanting her to be worried or concerned over something that is your business, and something that you will keep to yourself at all costs. "Don't worry over it, we're doing fine," you respond, before changing the subject when Charlie opens her mouth to reply to what you said.
"I'm glad to see you and your dad are doing good as well," you can't help but glance towards Lucifer's direction to watch as he helps Vaggie with some painting on the hotel walls, while Husker does some technician work beside them, putting in some power outlets, and connecting all the proper wires to each other for electricity to flow through with no issues.
Surprisingly...for being a bartender and drunk most days, he's good at working with wiring.
Charlie smiles, tucking some of hair that escaped her braid behind her ear. "I am too. When he and mom spilt, he...he wasn't doing well at all," she points out in a somewhat saddened tone.
Lilith. You had remembered her a little bit from your youth whenever Zestial would bring you to Lucifer's palace to play with Charlie while the adults discussed Hell and its business.
Some of your playing sessions with Charlie were interrupted by Lilith, her cold demeanor entering the room as she would cross her arms, looking down at you and Charlie who played with Lucifer's rubber ducks on the carpet flooring. Charlie was always overjoyed to see her mother, Lilith, though to you...she somewhat scared you.
Whenever Lilith would smile at you, it felt forced and cold, as if you were an unwelcomed guest in her home that she's required to treat with respect despite her true feelings. Though she never spoke ill words at you or about you, you knew deep down...she never liked you. But then again, it probably had nothing to do with you, she was most likely like that towards everyone else who wasn't her daughter or husband. But in the end, you suppose Lilith ended up showing that same attitude to her own family, by suddenly leaving her husband, and refusing to reach out to her daughter.
You nod. "I can understand that," you reply, your eyes still watching Lucifer who is oblivious to you and his daughter conversating about him under the shade tree. As ridiculous you may sound right now--though you're mostly saying this as a joke--why couldn't Lucifer be a suitor for your arranged marriage? Under different circumstances...he would be a better choice than Andrealphus.
Though you feel no romantic feelings towards him, or anyone else on that matter, if circumstances were different, then he would have been good option. Not just for you, but for anyone whose forced into the fate of arranged marriage.
Charlie begins to pinch the tips of her fingers as if something is on her mind, though she can't find the right words to describe it properly. With an inhale, she speaks the words that's been hanging in the back of her throat for days.
"I wanted to thank you, for everything you've done, everything you're doing. It...means so much to me." A tear forms in her eye, and embarrassed, she wipes it away using the back of her hand, hoping you didn't just see that. But you did, and you respond with a gentle smile.
"It's been an honor being committed to this goal of yours. You have my word," you raise a hand over your chest, "I will do all I can to make sure that this hotel is a success. Besides," you smile a little, nudging her with your right shoulder in a playful manner. "What are friends for, huh?"
The tears form in her eyes again at full blast when you consider her your friend. Something she didn't think would ever be said. In the beginning when you first joined the hotel, you appeared cold, your eyes piercing everyone and everything from a simple glance. But hearing you say that you think of her as a friend--after going years without seeing or talking to you due to family issues on both ends--she feels overjoyed.
If she's being honest, she always saw you as her friend ever since she and you were just children playing with Lucifer's ducks or going out in the palace garden to play imagination, or Charlie simply standing and watching as you would take the risk to climb a tree and dangle off of it dangerously, while wearing the biggest smile on your face.
Each and every time she and you would hang out as kids, you unknowingly showed her that sometimes in life, you have to take risks if you ever want to know what will happen, whether it be a good or bad situation, or simply dangling upside down off a tree, taking the risk of losing your grip and facing an injury, or enjoying the thrill of being an upside down being in a world that is straight up.
She always carried that point of view with her, and it was because of you.
Charlie throws her arms around you, hugging you as tight as she can, to the point where you grunt a little from feeling your ribs being squeezed to uncomfortable measures. She's just like Lucifer.
Chuckling, you pat the top of her head, hoping it's enough of a sign that you can't breathe and need her to loosen her grip.
When she does, her face is full of a joy you've yet to see, and you can't help but smile a little wider.
"Thank you, Y/N. For everything," she lets you go, helping herself to her knees to then push herself to a standing up position, but before she leaves, she gives you one more look. "After the hotel is built, would you like to do something fun with me? Just the two of us, since we're friends?"
You nod. "I'd like that."
"Great!" Charlie hugs you one last time, before waving you goodbye excitedly to go and get back to work with the others. Her tired demeanor, now changed to her bubbly, bright self.
May she never lose that part of herself to anyone or anything in this realm.
You stand up to stretch your back that suddenly felt stiff as you walk forward to get back to what you were doing before taking the break with Charlie. But while you walk, you can't help but feel as if a weight had been lifted from your chest.
You always believed that there was something unfinished between you and her. Lilith's sudden departure caused Lucifer to fall into his pit of depression, separating himself from the world and his daughter included, while your father took his step back away from Lucifer, taking you with him. Both those things ending up separating you and Charlie. But you're happy to see that you're working at her hotel, aiding her dream.
In some way, you and Charlie are similar. You've both have had issues with parents. Charlie's father shutting everyone out, while Charlie's mother suddenly disappears and hasn't contact Charlie in seven years. While your father's expectations and over-protectiveness kept you in a state of solitude, the pressure of being the perfect daughter the cherry on top, while your mother left you the moment you took your first breath of Hell's polluted air.
Though having this in common, you both are very much opposite. But as the saying goes, opposites attract. And maybe, that's what you and her need. She's able to bring out the light and soft heart in you, while your able to bring out the somewhat cold heart in her, to help her make sure that she won't be Hell's pushover. And for her to help you make sure that you don't have to always be closed off, and that you can try and welcome those who want to be your friends.
And honestly? You're happy she's your friend. Your first real friend, because as a child, you grew up without too many friends. There were Carmilla's daughters, but they always stared at you differently, like...there was something out of place. You couldn't understand why, and overtime, you gave up wanting to try and be close to them. It could be the fact that they are older than you, but still, that doesn't feel like it's the whole reason to their odd behavior.
So, you're glad to have a first real friend. And this is one you feel will be lifelong, despite the ups and downs, lefts and rights. Real friendship goes through thick and thin, and that's what you'll do for Charlie, as you feel she'll do the same for you.