Winterfest with the Morningstars

“Come on, babe, it’s only for a week. It won’t be that bad.”

Vaggie sighed, her hands stopping from where they had been carefully folding clothes to put into her suitcase. The two of them had been invited to spend the holidays with Charlie’s parents back at the Morningstar Manor. The past few years of being together with her girlfriend had been extremely busy with getting the Hotel started, meetings with Heaven, a battle that nearly destroyed said Hotel, and so forth. Needless to say, there hadn’t been a lot of time to meet the parents outside of a brief meeting during that last fight.

The two of them having been estranged from their daughter didn’t help matters much either.

“Hon, your Dad is the King of Hell and your mom is Hell’s top musical artist and Queen of Hell. I can’t help but think of only everything that could go wrong here.” The former angel shook her head and went back to trying to pack her bag. It was only a week, why was it so difficult?

She got her answer when Charlie took her hands the first opportunity she got when they were free of clothes, forcing her to turn towards the taller woman. “They may seem intimidating, but they’re nothing more than two goofballs in love.”

Her warm smile didn’t do much to ease her nerves, but did send her heart racing, as it always did. Her words were also far more positive than Vaggie would have offered had it been her own parents that had all but abandoned her for the last several years. Hell, her mother had completely disappeared for seven of those years, only coming back just recently. It amazed her that her kindhearted girlfriend could push aside the issues that still remained in her family in favor of being able to enjoy the holidays peacefully.

“I’m still not sure…you know I’m not one for holidays that have connection to the Church or Heaven...” Vaggie pursed her lips. Ever since her secret came out to the others, and more importantly to Charlie, she had vowed to be more truthful and open. That didn’t mean it was going to be easy though.

“You said it yourself, my Dad is literally the King of Hell. He’s always kept celebrations as secular as possible to avoid those connections. Really he just enjoys the traditions that humans have come up with in an attempt to celebrate the season. I promise there will be no connections back to Heaven.” Charlie took her hands and pressed a sweet kiss to the knuckles. When she did things like that, Vaggie had no choice but to finally let go of her own concerns and at least make an effort to enjoy herself.

“Alright, fine.” She finally conceded. Not as if she had much of a choice in the matter anyways after her girlfriend had practically given her the puppy dog eyes to convince her to go in the first place. She leaned up to kiss her cheek before turning her back to her own bag. “If we’re going to go, we do have to finish packing. And I don’t want to see you just throwing things into your bag like you usually do, babe.” Charlie’s grin was so bright that it rivaled the pentacle moon in the sky. “Yes, ma’am!”

-

A few hours later saw the two of them seated in the back of the family limo, holiday music blasting throughout the vehicle as the blonde demon belted out familiar lyrics alongside what was no doubt her mother’s own Sinsmas album. Vaggie tried to force herself to relax alongside her girlfriend, but she was too focused on the changing scenery as they traveled past dilapidated buildings in the city to the more upscale Ars Goetian homes until they were finally travelling up the long driveway of the Morningstar Manor. It was well outside of the city limits, as expected of the Royal family, but the further she got from the Hotel, the more she couldn’t help the unease settling in her stomach.

“Oh, we’re almost there!” Charlie grinned as she pressed up against the window to look at her approaching home. Vaggie smiled a bit at her enthusiasm. While she may not feel comfortable with visiting the parents, she would be lying if she said her girlfriend’s excitement wasn’t at least a little bit contagious. “I can only imagine they’re both probably in the kitchen getting ready.” “Is that so?” The former angel hummed out curiously. She hadn’t been told of the various things that the family did because Charlie had wanted to keep it a “surprise” for her. “Mmhmm! To start the celebrations, we usually spent time in the kitchen making various treats to enjoy throughout the week. It was my favorite thing to do to spend time with Dad, but during the holidays, Mom always took time off of work to join us. It’ll be nice to have everyone together again.”

It wasn’t hard to pick up on the sadness and longing in her voice. Vaggie had been with her girlfriend for well over three years, and had been privy to some of the voicemails Charlie would leave her mother during her absence. As much as she tried to hide it and overcompensate with her cheery and slightly manic personality, it was clear the Princess had missed her parents over the years. The angel wanted to be upset at them for practically abandoning their daughter, but she could push those thoughts aside for the week to let her enjoy the week without those thoughts weighing her down.

Vaggie gave her girlfriend a look. Her adorable, goofy, kindhearted girlfriend wearing a tacky holiday sweater as they got ready to meet her parents was the most deserving person in Hell to have a week where she didn’t have to worry about anything else other than what kind of holiday celebrations they were going to have, and damn it if she wasn’t determined to give her at least that.

Once the vehicle had been parked outside of the front doors, Charlie all but jumped out, dragging Vaggie out behind her. She tried to go back for their luggage, but was quickly brushed off with assurances that someone else would get it and bring them to her room. Instead, she found herself being led inside, the front doors being opened with ease as the familiar former patron of the home made her way inside. The former angel wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when she stepped into the Manor for the first time, but what greeted her was not exactly what she had in mind. Instead of a dark and depressing interior from lack of care over the years, she was greeted with over the top, but not completely gaudy holiday decorations. A large tree sat as tall as the ceiling in the center of the room while strings of garland and lights hung from various other structures. She was immediately hit with the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg and she could see the fireplace roaring on the other side of the room. It was…welcoming to say the least, and hit Vaggie with a sense of nostalgia for something she had never had before.

“Babe, this is…”

“I know, right? Isn’t it absolutely magical!” Charlie gasped out softly. “Oh, just wait until you see the gardens! Dad always uses his magic to freeze one of the larger ponds so we can use it to ice skate!” “Hon, you always fall flat on your ass whenever you try to roller skate.” Vaggie snorted at the idea of watching her beautiful, but clumsy girlfriend trying to maneuver on the ice.

“Skill isn’t important.” The blonde waved her off as she led her further into the Manor. The more they walked, the stronger the warm smell became, and she could only imagine they were walking towards the kitchen. “What’s important is having fun and enjoying the time with family. Though I’ll tell you who’s really good at skating is my Uncle Ozzy…”

As Charlie fell into her usual habit of rambling, Vaggie looked around them. She had been led into one of the side hallways as they walked, and she couldn’t help but look at the various portraits on the walls. They ranged from landscapes to familiar monuments, but the ones that really caught her eye were the family ones. There seemed to be very few of just Lucifer and Lilith, but quite a number that included Charlie, her bright smile present even from when she was a young girl. The portraits continued, but photographs started lining the walls as well, the glass reflecting the lights of the decorations that hung right above them. Everything she saw presented the perfect picture of a happy family. One that her girlfriend always seemed to think back on when it came to her memories of her parents.

She had been so fixated on the various pictures that she didn’t even realize that they had stopped until Charlie brought her attention back to her. “Well, here’s the kitchen! Are you ready to properly meet my parents?”

Was she ready? No. Charlie didn’t need to know that though as she forced a smile onto her face and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, though it was mostly a reassurance to herself. “As ready as I’m ever going to be, hon.”

If she hadn’t been prepared for the vast amount of holiday decorations completely covering the main room of the Manor, she certainly was not ready for what awaited her in the kitchen. Though it wasn’t nearly as decorated, various ingredients lined the counters, though there was evidence some baking had already been done as the small dining table off to the side had platters full of cookies already sitting and cooling. She spied Lucifer pulling out another tray from the oven while Lilith was mixing dough for another batch. Both were sporting just as tacky of holiday sweaters as her girlfriend was as music played in the background.

“Well, now I know where you get it from…” She murmured to Charlie, though it was enough for both parents to look over at them. Lucifer was the first to greet them as he threw off the oven mitts he had been wearing to first pull his daughter into a hug before then turning to Vaggie.

“Charlie, Maggie! I’m glad you two decided to spend the week with us for the holidays!” He grinned, stepping back just enough so they weren’t squished up against him.

“Dad, it’s Vaggie, remember?” The blonde woman shook her head as she wrapped her arm around Vaggie’s waist.

“Right, right, Vaggie. You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve got a terrible memory.” He laughed, tapping his temple. “Things were a little hectic when I first got the chance to meet you. I’ll get it eventually, I promise.”

“It’s okay, sir, really.” She tried to insist.

“No need to call me Sir, please just call me Lucifer. Or Dad.” The King gave her a cheeky grin and winked at her before gesturing to Lilith, ignoring the way her cheeks turned a bright gold at the implication. “Lili, dear, come over and meet our daughter’s beautiful girlfriend.”

It appeared that Vaggie was just overall not fully prepared for the extent of what meeting Charlie’s parents entailed, especially not her mother, as when the woman finally joined the three of them, she easily towered over even Charlie. As the smallest of the group, Vaggie was already feeling intimidated, but Lilith seemed to pick up on that. She reached down to take her hands. The Queen’s were warm from working on the dough, but in a pleasant way. When she finally met her gaze, it was clear to see where Charlie got her smile from.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet the woman who has been making our dear Charlie happy all these years in our absence. Thank you, Vaggie.” Lilith spoke so genuinely that it almost made her tear up, but she held back, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her girlfriend’s parents. Clearing her throat, she just offered an awkward nod of her head.

“O-Of course. It’s what I live to do.” Vaggie managed to get out, looking up at Charlie. Her red eyes were full of so much love that it managed to melt any tension she had in these initial meetings. “She…also makes me just as happy, if not more.”

What she missed was the fond look Lilith and Lucifer seemed to share between the two of them as her attention was fixated on the Princess next to her. It wasn’t until Lilith spoke again that her attention was pulled back to the King and Queen. “Regardless, we’re happy that the two of you could make it for the week. With everything else going on, we were concerned you would decide against it.” “As if I’m going to miss my first holidays with both my parents back in my life.” Charlie grinned. What Vaggie didn’t miss was the way both monarchs flinched slightly as their daughter unintentionally dug into still fresh wounds. Something to be ignored for the moment, but they would all have to approach again once the week was over. Thankfully for them, their daughter seemed ignorant to their shared regret as she moved to get a few more aprons for the two of them. “So! You two got started baking without us?”

“Ahh, well, we got a bit ahead of ourselves trying to make things nice for Ma-Vaggie, so we did get a head start on baking some of the cookies. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty to be made!” Lucifer was happy enough for the topic to be changed as he made a move back towards the abandoned dough. “We wouldn’t want to miss out on something like this without you or our guest, after all.”

Charlie grinned as she slipped an apron over Vaggie’s head before getting her own on. In what felt like a matter of seconds they were swept right back into working on different types of cookies, this time with Charlie and Vaggie helping them. The music was put back on and all three Morningstars fell into what was no doubt a familiar routine for them, picking up on a tradition as if there hadn’t been any time in between then and the last time they had done it years prior. Vaggie could feel herself relaxing the longer she spent in the kitchen with them.

“Why are we making so many cookies if it’s just the four of us?” The former exorcist finally asked during one of the brief breaks in the music. Charlie laughed softly.

“It’s not just for the four of us. We’ve always made more to share with the staff that helps keep the Manor running, as well as for the other Sins. The rest after that will all get eaten throughout the week. Don’t underestimate the amount of cookies and other treats us Morningstars can consume.” The Princess explained kindly with a soft snort.

“Oh believe me, I don’t doubt it, babe. I think your diet would be about ninety percent sugar if I didn’t force some sort of vegetable or protein onto your plate.” Vaggie chuckled and shook her head. Her expression then softened a bit. “Really though, that’s amazing that you do all of that for the staff here. Even though it’s not completely surprising coming from you, it’s not something I would have imagined the three of you doing.” “Well of course. It wasn’t even my idea when we started it. It was actually Dad who started it. He wanted to show gratitude to the imps and hellhounds that worked here, and once I could start helping more in the kitchen, we ended up making way more food than we needed so it was common sense.” Charlie hummed softly as she carefully rolled out more dough. Vaggie glanced up at her. That was surprising to her, and the look of shock didn’t go unnoticed.

“I know it seems out of character for him, but he has always had a soft spot for the Hellborn. It’s my Mom that favors the Sinners more.” Her girlfriend stopped what she was doing to turn towards her. Despite her hands being covered in flour, she still reached out to tuck a stray piece of hair away from her face, leaving a streak of the white powder on her cheek. Vaggie snorted softly and reached up to take her hand, but a shout startled both of them from where they were standing in the kitchen.

“Lucifer!”

Out of instinct, Vaggie’s hand reached for a spear that was not there, nor had it even traveled with them. Instead she made a move to step in front of Vaggie until she realized the shout was not malicious in intent. Instead it was just a shout of surprise as Lilith now stood almost entirely covered in flour. The culprit responsible didn’t even look remotely remorseful as he was too busy laughing. That is, until he got a face full of flour himself. A tense moment passed until they were both laughing at the mess they had made between the two of them. She didn’t know why, but seeing them interact in a way that was similar to how she and Charlie would be on their own finally got her to realize that there was no real reason to be nervous around the two of them. When she let out a snort of laughter of her own, Charlie glanced down at her.

“Vaggie?”

“I guess you were right, hon. They really are two goofballs in love.” Vaggie managed to calm herself down enough to look up at the taller woman. “I may not fully understand your family dynamics quite yet, but it’s like no time has passed between any of you.”

“Well…” Charlie smiled a bit, looking at her parents who had moved on from whatever food fight they had gotten into to go back to making cookies. Vaggie could see it in her eyes that she knew there was more to it than what was just at the surface level. “I know it’s not perfect yet. Our family has been broken for a long time and a single week won’t do much to fix that. But we can at least try to pretend like we’re normal, just for this one moment in time. Like nothing ever happened between us.”

“Oh, Charlie…”

“Please, don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. Let’s just focus on enjoying the holidays together as a family. Everything else can come later.”

Vaggie smiled a bit and leaned up on her tiptoes to peck her girlfriend’s lips. She was proud of how far she had come in emotional maturity over the years of knowing her. Before she could turn back to the dough still on the counter to start cutting shapes into them, Charlie grabbed her cheeks, pulled her in for one last kiss, and turned away. In all her time of knowing her, her poker face hadn’t gotten any better and the angel could tell immediately there was flour all over her face and probably in her hair as well.

“Charlie!”

With a laugh, the blonde barely managed to dodge the fistful of flour thrown back at her before turning, taking her hand and spinning her along to the song that had just started on the radio. Vaggie tried so hard to be mad at her, but when she did things like that, it was hard to keep up the act. “I love you so much.”

“It’s impossible not to love you too, mi amor.” Vaggie chuckled before leaning up to kiss the tip of her nose. With a final look of adoration, Charlie finally let go of her so they could return to making cookies. The angel had completely forgotten about her parents for the moment until the sound of a camera going off snapped behind them. Turning around, she noticed Lucifer holding up the camera with a proud smile on his face.

“That one is definitely going into the album.” He grinned up at Lilith before turning it towards her. “Welcome to the family, Vaggie.

“Thank you…Lucifer.”

That seemed to set off waterworks with the man as she found herself engulfed in another bone crushing hug. Instead of it feeling awkward, it was warm, and for the second time in her life, Vaggie found herself feeling like she finally belonged somewhere. It came as no surprise that the only other time was when Charlie welcomed her into the Hotel after her initial banishment from Heaven. She shared a look with her girlfriend, who looked on the verge of tears herself at the interaction. After that, she let herself fully be engulfed in the rest of the baking, relaxing as the music was turned up and she was pulled into the routine the three of them had established over the years of baking as a family. And maybe she managed to get her girlfriend back for getting flour all over her face when a well-placed spill made her land ass first in a pile of the white powder, but it was nothing a good laugh over the way they were now all covered in the stuff couldn’t fix. It all felt…nice.

Maybe a week with Charlie’s parents wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all?