Falling for you (Lute x Male reader)

(Amidst the Ruins) Part - 24

The rumbling of the hotel began to fill the quiet room, dust particles falling from the ceiling onto Lute and (Y/N)'s lifeless body. As the building began to collapse around them, Lute awaited her fate, indifferent to whether the extermination succeeded or Hell prevailed. To her, she had already lost and just wanted to die alongside (Y/N).

As the roof started to cave in, a sudden rush of wind and a blur of movement caught her eye. A flying figure swooped in, grabbing Lute and whisking her away from the crumbling hotel just in time. The cold air stung her skin as they flew, the noise of the collapse deafening behind them.

The figure, revealed to be Vaggie, landed outside the collapsing building, setting Lute down roughly on the hard ground. Lute's legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

Vaggie pulled out her spear and pointed it towards Lute. "I take it you killed (Y/N) and completed your 'extermination'?" Her voice was sharp, her eyes narrowed with suspicion and anger. The spear glinted menacingly.

Lute didn't respond. Tears rolled down her face, her expression empty and hollow. She looked at Vaggie but didn't really see her. Her mind was trapped in a loop of grief and guilt. She didn't swear or yell death threats at Vaggie, the so-called traitor of Heaven. Instead, she just stared, her eyes lifeless.

Vaggie paused, noting Lute's demeanor. Her grip on the spear loosened slightly. "Then again... that wouldn't explain the other dead exorcists in the room with you and (Y/N)... which means..." She lowered her spear, her voice softening.

Vaggie closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. She realized that (Y/N) had fulfilled their mission but died in the process. Understanding what Lute was about to do—die in the collapsing building

Lute's voice was barely above a whisper, filled with anguish and exhaustion as she spoke. "Why couldn't you just let me die in there... with (Y/N)?..." Her words trembled with a mix of grief and resignation, each syllable carrying the weight of her loss and guilt.

Vaggie spoke again.

"Don't give up," she urged, her tone firm but compassionate.

"You don't get off that easily." Vaggie paused, trying to balance her harshness with empathy. "B-Besides... (Y/N) wouldn't have wanted that. He would've wanted you to live".

Lute, still dazed and overwhelmed by grief, looked up at Vaggie with tear-filled eyes.

"But... I've lost him... he meant everything," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the din of the collapsing hotel.

Vaggie knelt beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't let (Y/N)'s death be in vain. Live for them, and for yourself."

Lute sniffed, wiping away the tears drying on her face. "Wh-What do I do now... I can't go back to Heaven... I... and... and Adam... he'll..."

"Oh, yeah, about Adam," Vaggie interrupted. "He, uh, he's dead. Nifty kind of stabbed him after his fight with Lucifer..."

Lute didn't respond, silently nodding her head. The news of Adam's death barely registering.

"Stay with us, Lute,"

Vaggie continued, her voice softer now. "Help us rebuild the Hazbin Hotel. The past is past, and to me, you've... changed. In a certain way, to us, you're... redeemed."

Lute looked up at Vaggie, staring into her one good eye and the X where her other eye should've been. The sincerity in Vaggie's gaze was unmistakable.