Daughter Dearest

twelve

By the time Venus was dressed and back downstairs, the last dessert had come out of the oven and Charlie was greeting her dad at the door.

For a moment Venus hoped she could slip away to go help Sir Pentious and his Egg Bois transfer the dishes to where they needed to be, though, as it seemed, Charlie had other plans.

The moment Charlie's eyes locked with hers, Lucifer was being pulled across the room.

"Oh! Dad, you remember Venus, right? The two of you didn't have much time to talk last time, so you can do that while I go help Sir Pentious!"

Both parties stared at Charlie's retreating form, though Venus was the first to snap out of her thoughts and speak.

"I would like to apologize for our first meeting. I not only lost track of time, but I also acted out when Charlie wanted everyone on their best behavior. My parents raised me better than that."

Lucifer looked up at her as she stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, blonde hair resting on her shoulders and chest, just barely shielding her cleavage from view in the deep maroon and black dress.

His face showed confusion at the apology. As he remembered it, she had been occupied and then stepped in during a fight that wasn't hers, just to make sure nothing happened to those behind her.

"Shit happens, right? There have been worse first impressions, trust me." Lucifer found himself replying, watching as Venus's expression softened ever so slightly.

Venus was reminded of the first time she attended an orientation at Peter's school; how the older teacher talked down to her until one of the other parents recognized her from the news.

Even then, the older teacher wouldn't let up with the snide remarks until a news article was presented, as well as video documentation of the 2012 battle of New York.

That was the year that Tony made all of the staff and the parents of the students in Peter's classes sign non-disclosure agreements that were valid until at which point Peter no longer attended that school.

Venus chuckled, turning her head to look over the lobby that was the cleanest it had ever been in her presence.

"Yes, I suppose there have been worse ones. . . Hell, my son could likely tell you his top five favorite worst first impressions he's witnessed in the last year alone." She stated, amusement clear in her tone.

She knew she was right, too.

Her heart ached at the fact that she hadn't tried to claw her way out of Hell. . . But it was almost like a vacation for her. The team rarely got them because of work, but when they did get the vacation time, it always ended up being a 'family' vacation where they were constantly with each other.

"Your son? Is he here?" Lucifer inquired, adjusting his hat and straightening out his suit.

Venus shook her head with a small smile on her face before turning back to look at him. She knew the stories of how Lucifer had been God's favorite angel, and she could understand why; he was damn near the epitome of ethereal.

She cleared her throat before replying. "He's up on earth - in the living world - with my brothers and the remainder of our insanely blended family. I'm proud of the young man he's grown to be."

"How old is he?"

"Nearly eighteen." Venus pulled her phone's from the pocket in her dress, being sure to pick out the one that had the Stark logo and not the VoxTek one.

She pulled up a picture from his sixteenth birthday celebration. Tony had told Peter to pick anywhere in the world and Thor even expanded it to 'off world', which he ended up going for.

The palace was lively for the celebration. The moment the adoption had gone through, Frigga accepted Peter as her first grandchild, while Odin took some time to warm up to the idea. Though once he had, if Peter wanted it, he didn't have to do much to get it.

She flipped her screen so that he could see the image covering its entirety.

Sam had been the one to take the picture of Peter dressed in traditional Asgardian armor that played with the colors of his suit, dancing with Venus, who was wearing one of her favorite dresses, rather than ceremonial armor.

It was a dark blue, with gold and white detailing. Her hair was down, yet tamed as she was very clearly leading her son in the dance.

Using her index finger to swipe the screen, a video from the event began playing at almost full volume and it began with Venus taking her shoes off, alongside Wanda and Natasha.

"You gonna dance for us, Venus?" Sam questioned over the loud music in the background.

Venus laughed, dropping her shimmery heeled shoes to the floor and grabbing her tankard of mead from behind Wanda, taking a large gulp. "Of course, Samuel! Turn the camera off for a bit and dance with us!"

Sam made a noise that very clearly said 'no' and Venus gave him a faux disapproving look.

"Mom, come on!" The camera panned to Peter who was positively beaming.

Venus entered the frame seconds later, just in time for the next song to begin.

Peter danced with his mom, Natasha with Thor, Wanda with Vision. Everyone else was paired off, dancing just for the fun of it. The only ones who weren't dancing were Loki and Sam - Sam laughing at the fact that Tony and Clint, of all pairs, had been set up as dancing partners.

As each woman was spun out, their dresses flared out in an array of colors, unique to their earthly superhero personas that was caught perfectly on video, though the camera stayed mostly on the birthday boy who was happy to be learning dances with those he cared for the most.

The video cut off when the song came to an end.

"That's our family. . . I do hope they're taking good care of him - who am I kidding? I know they are because they know me." She laughed lightly.

"They seem. . . Fun to be around." Lucifer chuckled, watching closely as Venus turned off her phone and slid it back in her pocket.

"They are. . . Now, I suspect everyone is waiting for us. . . Sir Pentious and I spent all afternoon organizing a feast fit for the Asgardian royal family, which we do hope you will enjoy." Venus spoke kindly, beginning the wall towards the hallway that led back to the room she had decorated prior to his arrival.

He followed in silence, which caught her off guard momentarily, though she didn't mind. It wasn't awkward silence as she expected it to be, so she left it alone.

Entering the room, Venus immediately took a seat at one end of the rectangular table, situated between Angel Dust and Sir Pentious.

Lucifer placed himself at the other end, Charlie to his right and Vaggie to his left. Niffty and Husk were across from each other.

Alastor was nowhere to be seen; according to Angel Dust, Alastor was heading out as he was just getting back from work.

The meal went on without a hitch.

Everyone ate what they pleased and occasionally threw out compliments or conversation starters. By the end, the food was wrecked, everyone was in a good mood, and conversation was flowing long - hours - after the dishes had been cleared from the table.

Venus would call that success.