All it takes (A charlastor slow burn)

Chapter 8: Through the haze

It was a lazy Wednesday afternoon at the Hazbin Hotel. Charlie sat hunched over on the lounge sofa, her attention consumed by a spread of papers thickly covered with writing lying in front of her. In the span of a few months, several new sinners and hellborns had joined the hotel, and Charlie was now trying to come up with a joint event where they could get to know each other while doing something worthwhile that would bring out their good sides. As the papers rustled under her fingers and a steaming cup of tea placed beside the pile emitted a fragrant scent, Charlie brainstormed various ideas, her brow furrowed in deep thought. A cooking lesson? They've tried that before, and another fire is not what she needs. A book club? Too boring, probably. Gardening? Charlie pondered and leaned back. Hmm, that might work... She nodded her head in satisfaction and wrote the idea down. That's it, a little time out in the air should certainly put them in a good mood, and the roses are in dire need of trimming anyways...

A sudden burst of laughter pulled her away from her thoughts, and she turned her head toward the sound. She saw Angel Dust, his hair all tousled, lying on the ground, sprawled out on his stomach, laughing at Silas. The little boy was sitting in front of him, dressed in a yellow onesie with an apple print and enthusiastically shoving a colorful plastic block into his mouth. Charlie's lips curved into a soft smile as she watched her son playing happily, not having a care in the world.

Since the day she brought him to the hotel, it was Angel Dust, along with Cherri Bomb and Niffty, who started helping out Charlie the most out of all her friends. They were way more involved in Silas's care than Caiphus, but at this point, Charlie was hardly surprised. She had gradually come to terms with the realization that her one-night stand was not interested in the baby, and while it stung, she was not giving up on her attempts to make them bond.

Meanwhile, Angel often volunteered to babysit Silas and keep him occupied, allowing Charlie to attend to her duties, much like now. The princess also liked to avail herself of her friend's offers to have a lovely romantic evening here and there with Vaggie. Despite their best attempts, their relationship still needed healing very badly.

"Look at you! Bet my sis would be head over heels for you!" The spider demon poked Silas's tummy playfully. The toddler giggled and abandoned his toy-tasting expedition. Instead, he was now holding the cube mere inches in front of his face, his eyes narrowing with concentration as if he was trying to understand what he was holding and why it wasn't edible. KeeKee was sitting on top of the piano, silently watching the two demons with half-lidded eyes, lazily swishing her tail to the relaxing melodies of a jazz tune streaming from an old radio.

Silas raised the colorful block high above his head, his small fingers gripping it tightly. He'd just decided that this plastic toy wasn't the culinary masterpiece he'd hoped for, and with an annoyed grunt, he hurled it in Angel's direction. The cube hit the spider demon's forehead with a soft thud before bouncing off, causing Angel to dramatically collapse on the floor, playing dead. Silas turned his head to Charlie, hearing her chuckling.

"Careful, don't hurt Uncle Angel!" Charlie warned playfully, making a mock-threatening gesture towards her son.

"A!" The baby demon let out a happy sound to show his agreement and turned his attention back to Angel, who had already snatched up the discarded toy and was now throwing it up in the air like nothing had happened.

"Come on, pal, come get it." Angel waved his hand teasingly, nudging Silas to continue playing with him. Without hesitation, the boy began to crawl towards Angel.

Charlie returned to her work, feeling warm and content, while her son's eyes eagerly followed the movement of Angel's hands, quickly waving the plastic toy left and right. Angel's pet pig, Fat Nuggets, was happily trotting around them, his hooves clopping. Suddenly, he darted in and snatched the cube from Angel's hands before running away, squealing gleefully.