Daughter Dearest

nineteen

As it turned out, Niffty could have thirteen rooms available in less than three hours with her working at full speed. Venus knew it was a large task, and made sure to thank her profusely upon its completion. 

The night passed without fuss, although when Venus woke up, there was more than one person in her bed, which came off as odd, but it had happened before, especially living in a tower where some of the the inhabitants were oddly affectionate after long periods of time away from each other. 

She could tell just by placement that Peter's back was against hers and Wanda was curled up near her stomach. She could sort of see Pietro's silver hair over the fluffiness of her red comforter, signaling that he was somewhere near the end. 

What caught her off guard though, was the super soldier that was just barely visible over her shoulder, his vibranium arm glinting in the pinkish morning light. Bucky was laying halfway down the bed, his legs dangling off. 

He had joined the therapeutic sleeping sessions all of once, when Venus got badly injured on a mission one time. It only happened once, but it scared him, showing him that even thousand year old beings weren't truly immortal. 

They didn't speak often due to him still working through some of his past traumas, but he considered her a good friend. She was family, after all. 

While mildly surprising, he was welcomed there just as everyone else was. 

Venus didn't have the heart to get up and risk waking them, so she laid there, resting her eyes and listening to their different breathing patterns.

She got maybe two additional hours of sleep after dozing off again, before someone was shaking her awake. 

“What?” She breathed the question, mind hazy with sleep as she attempted to fully regain consciousness. 

“Lucifer is kinda sorta downstairs waitin’ to talk to you.” Angel Dust spoke in a near whisper, eyeing the four other people in her bed. 

“Can he not wait?” 

“Apparently he can't. . . Wanted someone to come get you immediately. It was either me or Whiskers. If one of us didn't, he'd be standin’ here instead.” 

Venus frustratedly buried her face in one of her pillows before inhaling deeply and cracking her eyes open. The displeasure was clear on her face as she sat up with wild hair tangled around her horns. 

“I'll be down in ten minutes.” Venus sighed. Her voice came out calmer than she looked, which came as a slight shock. In her half awake state, she looked deranged. 

The moment Angel left, Venus set out to remove herself from the bed without waking the others, though she should've known that Wanda would've woken up with both the talking and the sudden weight shift on the mattress. 

The Maximoff witch watched as the Asgardian Princess managed to get off, having to stand up on the bed and step over Peter and Bucky. 

Venus closed herself within the bathroom and true to her word, she was downstairs before the King of Hell in nine minutes and forty-five seconds, fully dressed for the day. She strayed away from her usual dress, knowing she would have to run errands. 

She barely noticed she was wearing the exact same outfit she was wearing when she landed in Hell. 

“What can I do for you, Lucifer?” She questioned, still in a slightly groggy state, a glass of amber liquid appearing in one hand and the leftover takeout from the night before in the other. 

Taking a seat on the plush red couch, she took a sip of the ale before setting it down and grabbing the small bag that held two egg rolls. 

“I uh. . . I told you that we needed to talk when you got back.” He raised his eyebrows leaning against his cane as he watched the foreign princess bite the top off of the egg roll before using her teeth to tear open a sauce packet, squeezing some of it on top.