My Idiot And A New Activity
Stitches hums as she adds a final stroke to the canvas, finishing the painting that she had been working on for the last week. She had been spending a lot of time in the art room since Lucifer and Alastor had unveiled it, and even though anyone was welcome to use it, she was well aware that she had been the one it was made for. Other than the occasional guest using it or the scheduled art therapy exercises Charlie led, she mostly had the space to herself, and she quickly settled into creating, bouncing from medium to medium as the mood struck.
She put down the brush and sat back to admire her work. It was a nighttime scene of a single tree on a hill, the sky showing more stars than anything she had personally ever seen, the dark backdrop more of a violet hue under the black of night. The tree was a blossoming cherry tree, glowing with unnatural pinks and whites, with carved initials in it’s trunk. The ground immediately around it was alive with spring, soft grass, and blooming flowers basking in the ethereal glow of the tree. Where the light of the tree began to fade, snow lay silently as though banished from the warmth, white and gray with shadows of icy blue. The contrast was at war with each other, the cold vs the heat, the winter vs the spring, and life vs death. Yet in their division, they enhanced each other, and brought out the infinite beauty and details in one another, until it was obvious that one could not exist without the other.
Sighing, she picked up the tray holding her palette, dirty brushes, and murky water cup, and heading to the sink to clean up. Normally, she would let Niffty clean up any messes she made since the tiny woman loved to clean, but this was a task she had always enjoyed. There was something so cathartic about peeling the half-dried paint off, scrubbing the brush fibers gently until the water ran clear, and preparing the supplies for a future project. It was soothing and felt more like a continuation of the creation than a chore.
Finally finished, she laid everything on a towel on the counter to dry. She would leave the final clean up, putting away the supplies and tidying up the workspace, to Niffty, so the little maid could feel included. Satisfied, she went to collapse in a bean bag by the window, picking up a crochet project that was nearly done, and would hopefully be completed soon.
She loved crocheting, no matter the project. It reminded her of her biological grandmother, one of four true family members she had been allowed to know, not including her siblings. The few times they had been allowed to meet, she was always crocheting something when she visited. It had looked like magic to her childish eyes, and she had always been eager to learn. But of course, her adoptive mother, ready to squish any sentiments towards Brandi and her biological family, wouldn’t encourage it after the all-too-short visits. She highly suspected the woman was jealous that Brandi could bond so naturally with someone other than her. Fucking spiteful bitch.
But as an adult, Brandi had flourished once she picked it up. Before long, she was writing her own patterns or simply freehanding her projects. She loved making amigurumi the most, the way she could take lengths of yarn and sculpt whatever animal or creature she desired. Clothes were fun and all, but there was just something about being able to create more and more realistic creatures that she just found so… satisfying.
She smiled at the finished hell roach in her hands. She hadn’t even noticed the time going by as she had put the last touches on it. It was a gift for Niffty, a giant, stuffed bug she could cuddle. There was a hidden pocket in the belly, where six baby roaches were stored, smaller replicas of the big “mother” roach. Niffty was going to have so much fun with it, “killing” the big roach in front of the small ones, and vice versa, over and over again. She giggled at the thought and placed it in a box to give to her later.
“Was that a giggle I heard?” Angel Dust asked, coming in the room with a food tray. She glanced up at the clock and realized it was indeed lunch time. Her stomach growled in anticipation, and she laughed as she rolled out of the bean bag so they could eat at one of the desks. Angel had brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, strawberries, and some chocolate milk.
“What, no dessert?” she asked, disappointed. She knew for a fact that Lucifer had made apple pie this morning.
Angel rolled his eyes. “Ya don’t need sweets every meal, brat. Besides, I brought chocolate milk. Isn’t that enough sweets?”
Now it was Stitches' turn to roll her eyes. “Chocolate milk is just healthy shit in disguise.” She smirked. “Though, if you are going to make that argument, I can make Dad’s apple pie sound HELL of healthy! Let’s see, there are apples, milk, eggs-”
Angel shoved a strawberry in her mouth, shutting her up for a minute as she glared at him. “Sorry, kid, wrong person to levy complaints on nutrition to. Ya want junk food? Go make puppy eyes at Lucifer.” His eyes glanced behind her, then did a double take. He stood up and walked to the painting she had just finished earlier. She turned to watch him, chewing on the juicy strawberry, which she was not going to admit was actually amazing and did, in fact, satisfy her sweet tooth. Angel turned and looked at her incredulously. “Ya made this?”
She laughed and stood to join him. “Yeah, I have been working on it for about a week. It was the first that came to mind when Dad and Alastor showed me the room, so I have been working on it since then. I just finished it, so I’ll have to let the gauche dry before I varnish it.”
Angel stared back at the canvas. “It’s… fucking gorgeous.” He leaned in to inspect it closer. “What are the initials in the trunk?”
Stitches smiled sadly and turned to walk back to the desk, sitting down and picking up her sandwich. “B.L. and K.W.” She took a bite and took her time chewing it before swallowing, chasing it down with a mouthful of chocolate milk. “Brandi Lyle and Kace White. My adoptive parents’ last name was Lyle, so it was my maiden name before we got married.”
Angel sat back down across from her, and when she didn’t continue, he leaned forward hesitantly. “You… have never named your spouse before…” It was a gentle offer to continue, open-ended, the chance to end the discussion unspoken, if she so wished. But, strangely, she didn’t even consider taking the offered out.
She wanted to talk about this.
“I wasn’t trying to hide it, I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t really give myself time to grieve before I came here. After all, they died only 3 months before I did, and I used that time to…” Nope, not ready for that conversation yet. “... Let’s just say, I was busy.” Angel nodded, not prying further, for now, letting her decide what she was ready for, so she continued. “Kace was… well, an idiot!” she laughed.
“Not… exactly what I thought ya would say…” Angel admitted.
Stitches smiled and wiped a tear from her eyes, holding her milk in both hands and staring into it. “Yeah, well, when you love someone so deeply, you can be honest about what attracted you to them.” She chuckled. “They were truly an idiot. Goofy and nerdy, and when it came to me, such a love-crazed simp. The way they would just melt into me like putty from the simplest kiss or the softest touch. Always wanting, needing to make me smile. With such tiny dog energy, my god! They were only a few inches taller, six years younger, and yet, they always acted like they could protect me from anything!”
“They sound sweet.” Angel nibbled on a strawberry. “How did ya two lovebirds meet?”
Stitches smirked. “They were horny and I wanted to get knocked up, so we hooked up after talking to each other through an anonymous website for a few days. They drilled me into their mom’s mattress for what was supposed to be a one-night stand.” Angel choked and coughed at the news, and she laughed. “Though it was the middle of the day, so more like a one-day stand?”
Angel drank some milk. “Sis, I love you, but what the actual fuck!” She gave him an amused look, enjoying making the Hotel Pervert squirm. “Why were you trying to get knocked up? And why would you fuck some random person off the internet, in their mother’s bed of all places!?!”
Stitches pretended to contemplate it for a moment. “Well, to be fair, I wasn’t aware that it was their mom’s bed, at the time. But their futon in their room wouldn’t have held up well anyway.” She smirked at his ‘that doesn’t make it much better’ face. “But as far as the getting knocked up part… well…” She shrugged. “Honestly, I had finally gotten away from my toxic off/on boyfriend, and after so many failed relationships, I decided if I couldn’t have love, I might as well try to have kids. I was 25 and just so done with trying to find love.”
“That’s-”
“Super short-sighted and stupid?” Stitches laughed. “Yeah, trust me, I totally get it. I’m glad it never worked- don’t give me that look, of course Kace wasn’t the first one I did that with, just the last- especially because it wouldn’t have been fair to the kid. I spent my whole life upset because I didn’t know much about my biological family. The last thing I ever want is to do that to my child. It was selfish, and I would never repeat that mistake.” Stitches chuckled sadly. “Though, I doubt I would have met Kace otherwise.”
“So, if it was supposed to be a one-time deal, how did ya get together?” Angel wiggled his eyebrows. “Were they really that good in the sack?”
Stitches burst out laughing. “I mean, kinda yeah, absolutely, but that wasn’t what got me to change my mind.” She sighed and let herself bask in the memories. “They were just… kind. They were the first person to ask me what I liked in bed, check in as we went to make sure I was enjoying it, adjusting as needed to make sure I was satisfied. They went out of their way to provide refreshments between rounds, cuz the kid had stamina back then, and it was just so… cute. Sweet. Idiotic in all the best ways. So, after struggling with my doubts for a week, I asked them out. The rest was history, as they say. We dated, got engaged, got married, started trying for a baby…”
Angel finished his sandwich and chugged the rest of his milk. “Sounds like a perfect relationship.”
Stitches barked out a laugh, and couldn’t help her face falling. “Hah! Yeah, maybe at first. We always loved each other, there was no problem there, but-” she set the glass on the table and leaned back. “- when you have two people with trauma, both with different levels of needs, ability to communicate, and opposing ideas on what ‘intimacy’ is? Yeah, there is a lot of clashing. They grew tired of my frequent bouts of depression and low libido. I grew weary of their temper tantrums and inability to give me the emotional intimacy I craved. We butted heads constantly, both of us would have meltdowns every so often, and neither of us felt the other was trying hard enough. It was exhausting, especially with the later fertility issues.”
Angel was quiet for a minute. “So why did ya stay together?”
Stitches shrugged. “Because we loved each other. Because neither of us wanted to be alone. Because even at our worst, neither of us ever crossed boundaries or physically tried to hurt the other. We were never upset with each other for longer than a day. After a bad day, we would cuddle and talk it out like adults. Love is stupid like that. And Kace was an idiot, but they were my idiot. Just like I was their’s… up until the very end.”
“And they were good in the sack.”
Stitches laughed and finished her milk. “And they were good in the sack.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Charlie skipped into the art room to find Stitches and Angel finishing up lunch. Perfect! “Oh, good! I am so so SO happy you are both here! OMG, you are going to LOVE this afternoon’s bonding activity!”
Stitches looked up at her, an indulgent smile on her face. It was so beyond nice to see how expressive she was now, compared to when she had first walked into the hotel, and especially during the bad time not that long ago… It was so incredibly nice to see how bright and relaxed she was now. Stitches having become her adopted little sister, thanks to the father/daughter relationship between Charlie’s dad and the little doll demon was an unexpected (yet incredibly amazing) bonus!
“Whatcha mean, Charlie?” Angel asked, expression mildly annoyed. “I thought ya said today was a free day?”
“Well, I mean, yeah, I did…” She bit her bottom lip and held her left arm close to her by gripping the upper arm with her right hand. Stupid Charlie, of course, no one wants to participate on such short notice… You should have just scheduled it for a future time.
Angel’s startled yelp drew her attention from her feet back up to the sibling pair in front of her. Stitches had apparently kicked his shin under the desk, seeing how he was nursing it now, and she was glaring at him in reproach. Then, she turned to look at Charlie, her expression settling into a gentle, encouraging smile. “Tony’s an idiot, ignore him. He will happily join in on the activity, like a good sinner trying to get redeemed, won’t you?” She narrowed her eyes on Angel Dust, who immediately, if not a bit reluctantly, nodded obediently. Grinning smugly at him, she turned back to Charle. “What’s the activity?”
Charlie smiled back gratefully and cleared her throat. “Well, I thought it might be fun, as a treat for everyone, if we had a spa day!” Angel seemed to perk up at this, though he quickly tried to hide it. “Dad helped me convert one of the larger meeting rooms into a spa, with various booths for massages, manicures and pedicures, makeup, hair washing and treatment, skin masks… tons of awesome activities! We can all help each other relax, take turns giving each other services, and just spend a delightful afternoon having fun until dinner.”
Stitches grinned. “Oh, hell yeah! I haven’t been to a spa since…” She stopped to think about it. “Huh, I guess since I was a cosmetologist.” Angel made an incredulous gasp, and she shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I was a hairstylist for about a decade. I was also trained to do makeup, manicures, pedicures, and some less extensive spa stuff. I loved it, but by the time I was 30, I got bored with it. Plus it REALLY fucked up my back and legs. I still cut and colored hair for family and friends though.”
“O. M. G.!” Charlie exclaimed. “I can’t believe I didn’t know this! I could have had a real stylist helping me with my hair and makeup! You HAVE to partner with me for some of the activities! Please please please!”
Stitches laughed. “Well, pick what you want to do, then. I am also pretty good at nail art.”
“Ooh! Dibs!” Angel jumped up, already excited. “I’ll trade ya a massage!”
Charlie laughed as she led them to the spa. Maybe we should consider making it a permanent feature.