All it takes (A charlastor slow burn)

Chapter 3: An unexpected guest

"Of all the bastards in this shithole, you chose HIM?!"

"Vaggie, wait!"

Charlie sat up sharply on her bed, drenched in sweat, breathing rapidly into the silence of the night. A streak of moonlight was shining through a gap in the curtain covering the balcony door, directly on Vaggie, who was breathing peacefully in her sleep, huddled in a duvet. Relieved that it was all just a bad dream and calmed down enough, Charlie quietly slipped out from under the covers and put on black furry slippers that matched her negligee. The movement woke up Keekee sleeping on the pillow. The cat has been following Charlie everywhere, and not even pleas and persuasions could stop her from sleeping in the bed with them. Since Charlie had fallen pregnant, Keekee has been overly protective of her, not allowing anyone even mildly suspicious anywhere near her master. Vaggie yawned and opened her eyes a little.

"I'm going for a walk, can't sleep," Charlie whispered towards her.

"Mhm," Vaggie murmured in agreement, turning on her other side and going back to sleep.

On the surface, she appeared to be sleeping peacefully, but Charlie knew that she was troubled by the same thoughts as herself. Is their relationship strong enough to withstand this? Can Vaggie really forgive her and take care of a stranger's child? And can Charlie live with the guilt and the knowledge that she was the one who caused it all? These and other questions haunted her daily in her dreams, taking the form of nightmares in which Vaggie repeatedly broke up with her. On the outside, they both pretended everything was fine, but on the inside...on the inside, they were still consumed by thinking about what if...what if the party had never happened...what if they had stayed together that night...what if...

Charlie grabbed a pastel pink cotton knee-length sweater from the closet and pulled it over her nightgown. She was glad to still be able to wear most of her clothes, although she was slowly starting to transition to looser dresses and oversized sweaters. She was 5 months along, and her condition had just recently started to make itself known. She caressed her small baby bump lovingly with a bittersweet smile and reached for the handle.

Immediately after the TV report, the news of Charlie's pregnancy spread through Hell like wildfire, and hardly anybody hadn't heard about it. Both sinners and demons loved gossip and took particular delight in the misfortune of others. Wherever Charlie went, there was always someone pointing at her or at least laughing behind her back. Vaggie kept scowling at the mockers, but as long as no one threatened her girlfriend, she wasted no time with them. On the other hand, Charlie didn't even seem to notice them. She was proudly showing off her growing baby bump for all of Hell to see, shining like a happy ray of sunshine. She still couldn't stand the smell of coffee and got tired pretty quickly, but luckily, morning sickness and other problems avoided her the entire time. However, the doctor, whom she started seeing on her mother's recommendation, assured her that everything was alright and the baby was growing well. On the contrary, according to her, Charlie should consider herself very lucky that the pregnancy is going so smoothly. Still, the princess didn't want to leave anything to chance. She regularly went shopping in Hell and the human world alike, buying all the parenting guidebooks she could find and then reading them over and over in an attempt to remember as much advice as possible. Vaggie already considered herself tripping over books lying on the floor every morning a ritual. Following the recommendations, Charlie decided to eat healthily and therefore asked the kitchen staff to only cook meals according to the recipes in the books. But when the hotel guests began to rebel against the new menu, she ditched the idea and let the cooks prepare her a separate dish from everyone else. Then, during dinner, she would walk around the dining room with a salad in hand, praising loudly about how good it was, hoping that she would get others to follow her example voluntarily. Only Vaggie knew that her girlfriend had been secretly stuffing herself with chocolate at night. The little weight she gained as a result only added to her beauty, and the moth demon couldn't help but be fascinated by how much she blossomed and beamed with positive energy. Lately, Charlie would often wake up at night unable to rest, but a little stroll around the hotel would wear her down enough so she could fall asleep again, which was what she hoped for even now.