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Pentious was such a loser.
Honestly, they had a whole day to catch up, hang out, he'd been let out of those angel's sights for fucking once – was Heaven a utopia or a prison, jeez – and instead of asking Cherri to stay in for some VoxFlix and chill, he'd planned a whole day on the town.
Cherri grinned at her own reflection as she finished putting her hair up, tapping at the ribbon Charlie had given her for a moment, genuinely thinking about it – before deciding it really wasn't her. She didn't need to go too wild, here, she was already wearing her nicest jumper, the one Angel had bought her ages ago. It had a heart cut out of the chest, giving any lucky onlooker a nice little window to admire her tank top and her tits, and the hem of it stopped a few inches above the waistband of her jeans.
She was even wearing matching boots for once. See, she’d made an effort, alright? And not for nothing, because she didn't exactly go on a lot of dates. Most people she met were down for a quick fuck and that was it. Nice to meet you, lose my number in the morning.
Pentious was different.
The jury was still out on whether that was a good different or a bad different, but Cherri was still answering his texts, so he must be doing something right. She tugged her door shut behind her – and whirled in place as a wolf-whistle echoed down the hall.
“Lookin' good, baby. Hey, you wanna go back to my place and have a drink?” Angel sauntered up to her, pushing himself off the wall and expertly slipping away from her swung fist. She grinned, batting his hands away – no small feat, if she did say so herself, considering there were fucking four of them – when he tried to fix up her hair.
“Leave it. I spent ten minutes teasing the goddamn thing, I don't need your grubby fingers ruining the look,” she scolded, falling into step beside him as they headed towards the lift. It was nice of him – to be here today.
“Oh? You only want a certain other set of grubby fingers gettin' all tangled in that bird's nest? Hey, is that your plan – make it so he can't escape, trap him in your ponytail?” Angel laughed, and Cherri swung her hips to knock him into the wall as she walked. He stumbled – which gave her the perfect opportunity to jump into the lift and start slamming the close door button, shooting him a sharp-toothed grin when he pushed himself upright.
“Cher–!”
She gave him the finger as the doors whooshed shut, the idea of him slamming his fists against the wall briefly taking her mind off the thought of how weird it was to be going on a date with the guy she'd tried to kill – and not just once.
Cherri double-checked her reflection in the mirrored surface of the lift, pushing her tits up with a nod. Yeah. She looked great. Pentious was gonna pop his hood the moment he saw her.
* * * * * *
Pentious's hood flared as the doors to the lift slid open, pink smoke drifting around the feet of the woman of his dreams. It swirled around her ankles as she stepped out, and he had to admire her commitment to making an entrance. His gaze was drawn to the suggestively cut hole in her jumper, but he was a gentleman – he dragged his eyes up and thrust his fist forward, clutching a bouquet of flowers in his claws.
“Miss – Cherri! These are for you.” An unnecessary announcement, but his pulse was beating so loudly in his ears that it was a wonder he managed to think of anything to say at all. The flowers were already wilting, plucked from their native realm and dragged into Hell – but their bright splash of blues and greens and yellows were a welcome reprieve from the ordinary colour scheme of their – well, Cherri's – home.
“Uh... thanks?” Cherri accepted them with an awkward grin, seemingly a bit taken aback by the gesture. Pentious dearly hoped he hadn't overstepped. “Hey – Niff. Chuck these in some water for me, would you?”
“Okay!” Niffty popped out from under a sofa, scurrying over to grab a coffee mug with an artfully drawn deer on it. She raced off, returning moments later with water splashing over the rim, grabbing the flowers from Cherri's outstretched hands and jamming them into the mug. Stalks cracked and bent, and Pentious winced – but Cherri was already stepping closer, close enough that the warmth of her body was almost tangible to his own cold skin.
“So what's the plan? Breakfast and a sex club, or are we catching the latest porno that's come out? If it's got Angel in it, I'd rather not, 'cause I've seen enough of his holes – just letting you know,” Cherri said as she traced the gold thread on the cuff of Pentious's sleeve with one finger. The way she peered up at him through her eyelashes coaxed a flush onto his cheeks, his swallow audible as he recovered his composure.
“Actually, I have purchased – er, well, that is to say that Charlie assisted – by asking her father, and–” So much for recovering his composure. He stuffed a hand inside his jacket pocket and brandished two tickets close enough to Cherri's face that – had she had two eyes available to do so – she would have gone cross-eyed.
She stepped back and snatched them from his claws. Pentious watched as she took them in – and barely suppressed a sigh of relief when her face lit up in a smile, the kind of excitement he'd only ever witnessed after she'd thrown a bomb his way brightening her expression.
“Lu Lu World? Fuck yes – I can never get tickets to this place, they charge out the arse and I'm always busy on those half-price days. Oh, this is gonna be sick,” Cherri exclaimed, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the tickets before handing them back to Pentious, presumably for safe-keeping. “This is gonna shit Angel up the wall. Alright – you sure you can keep up with me, old man? None of those rides are gonna give you a heart attack or something?”
Pentious had his doubts, but he wasn't going to admit to them. Gratitude for His Majesty welled in his chest, though he was sure the king had no idea as to whom he'd been procuring the tickets for. He probably thought his own daughter was to be using them, but Pentious silently thanked him nonetheless.
“Shall we, M-Cherri?” Pentious offered his arm. Cherri stared at his elbow for a second, like she had no idea what he was doing sticking it all the way out there – and he lowered it with a self-conscious clearing of his throat. “Right – well. Our chariot awaits!”
* * * * * *
Look, you could call Cherri whatever names you wanted, that didn't stop her from being excited about going to Lu Lu World. She'd never had the chance to go to Dreamworld when it had opened, she'd died just a few years after they'd finally finished building it. And what with trying to secure her territory, stay alive and just generally making sure things didn't suck too bad for her in Hell (plus, you know, the cost), Lu Lu World had never really been an option.
Had Pentious known about that? No – he couldn't have. It was a lucky break for him that he'd somehow managed to pick something even better than organising a car bombing would've been – she was still sore about Russell Street. To top things off, he'd even ordered his last little minion to stay at the hotel when the tiny fella had scampered up to them, staring at Pentious with those huge puppy-dog eyes. He was really taking this seriously, and it made a girl feel...
Well, special.
And Lu Lu World was better than she'd imagined. A giant golden apple rotated slowly up and down the biggest turret in the fantasy-looking castle in the middle of the park, with windows on all sides. She'd bet you could see all the way to the outer points of the Pentagram from up there, and she was keen to try it – but it was a restaurant, and she didn't wanna fill her stomach only to empty it after one or two roller coasters. That was a destination for later.
“Did you have a preference as to which area you'd like to explore first?” Pentious asked, trying to peer at the huge fold-out map they'd picked up at the entry whilst he slithered along. It looked like the place was split into sections, and she briefly wondered if Lucifer himself had any say in it – seeing as how there were areas labelled 'Heaven', 'Earth' and 'Hell'. She would've thought it'd be a bit of a sore spot for him, but hey, if the marketing worked, who was she to argue?
Cherri forced Pentious to a halt by swinging around in front of him, curling her fingers around the top of the map and pushing it down. She met his quizzical blink with a wide smile, gesturing towards the biggest ride in the Heaven section. Nobody needed a map to see it; the flames spewing from all sides of the huge tower coupled with the screams of other park-goers when the seats they were strapped to suddenly rocketed towards the ground made it pretty damn noticeable.
It was the ride of the park. And the tickets Charlie's dad had gotten them gave them premium access, so that was pretty fucking bonza.
“Angel's Fall. Come on, I'll bet even the rich people queue is starting to fill up. After that we can do whatever, any order – but I am not missing out on that drop.” Cherri wondered if they sold souvenirs, because she was absolutely gonna get the photo if they had it. Maybe a snow globe or some shit.
Pentious's eyes widened, his skinny throat bobbing as he swallowed. That was fear on his face, Cherri knew it well, and sue her if she didn't get a little bit of a sadistic thrill from it. She leant in closer, lowering her eyelashes and peering up at him through the line of them. Her smile took on a glint of cruelty, but it was all in good fun – Pentious was just being a pussy about it.
“Unless you're scared? Come on, don't tell me The Great Sir Pentious is afraid of a little drop ride?” She stepped even closer, the paper map crinkling where Pentious's claws tightened on it. “Want me to hold your hand, huh? Promise you're not gonna munt all over me and I will.”
Ignore the tiny spark that went through her when her fingers brushed his claws, that was dumb – and her heart was only pounding with the excitement of getting to go on the best near-death experience Hell had to offer, nothing else. Pentious's cheeks darkened in a flush, the gold tinge of them attracting a few curious stares – but there were plenty of people wearing overpriced halos, so at least that went unnoticed. Huh – she hadn't even thought about whether him being out in public would be an issue. Fuck it, Charlie and her dad would've mentioned if there was a problem, so Cherri wasn't gonna give it much thought.
“Of course not,” Pentious denied, his lie more obvious than the way a passing incubus was eyeing Cherri's tits. “I – I can't wait. To the Angel's Fall!”
Cherri shook her head as his claws slipped in between her fingers, a casual enough movement as he tucked the map back into his pocket with his other hand. She laughed as he lurched into motion, slithering purposefully towards that giant, flaming tower.
* * * * * *
Scared? No, Pentious wasn't scared. Terrified might be a more accurate descriptor for his emotions, petrified beyond what his mind was capable of comprehending as they neared the front of the queue, and he stared up at the dangling legs of those sinners unfortunate enough to have gone before them, being dragged up towards the abyss.
The only thing keeping him anything close to functional was the feeling of Cherri's hand in his, warm skin against cool, and though they'd long since stopped needing to hold hands to avoid getting separated in the crowds, still she hadn't snatched it back. His heart pressed at the top of his stomach – or perhaps his stomach pressed up towards his heart – as his nerves fluttered under his skin, his eyes impossibly wide on his face as he watched the group ahead of them scream and plummet towards the ground.
“Hey.” Cherri's voice broke into his thoughts, and he dragged himself back to the present as his hood widened, betraying how little he'd been paying attention. “Are you scared? Like, really? Fess up, I promise I'll only make fun of you for... five months.”
He turned to face her, a wobbly smile on his lips. Her expression was an intoxicating mixture of excitement, sarcastic mockery – and just a speck of concern thrown in to add flavour. Her mouth was quirked in a lopsided smile, her grin widening as the attendant called for the next set of riders to step forward as others made their shaky way from the seats and stumbled towards the exit.
Cherri was excited for this; he would have to be blind to miss such a thing. He shook his head, mustering up as much false bravado as he could manage.
“Perhaps a little nervous – but it's nothing I can't handle. Besides, I'm sure these rides have been built and tested to pass the very strictest of safety standards, so we've nothing to fear. It can't be worse than–”
“You getting on or what?” A bored attendant interrupted him, and Pentious glanced around to realise they were holding up the queue. Heat flooded his cheeks as Cherri snorted, tugging at his hand to get him moving as the worker rolled her eyes.
“Oh, shit – hang on. Uh...” The worker called after them, brows furrowed down at Pentious's tail even as Cherri was ushered into a seat. Pentious followed the line of the attendant's gaze as it flicked up to the chairs; to the bar between Cherri's thighs that she was wiggling against with a muttered curse as the other worker pulled down a chest barrier – and unceremoniously grabbed one of Cherri's breasts, shifting it out of the way.
“Excuse–!” Pentious tried to interject, to defend her from that sinner's groping, only to yelp as a pair of hands landed on the back of his tail.
“Yeah, this'll be a problem. Guess you can squeeze it all down one thigh hole? You'll have to hold on pretty tight, otherwise – ha. Well, you can let us know what the Angel's Fall really feels like, huh?” The attendant behind him shoved him forward, grabbing him around the waist and pushing him down into the seat at Cherri's side before he had a chance to say so much as 'now wait just a moment.'
He tried to push himself out, fear sinking into the pit of his guts as he finally processed what they were saying – but the male worker was already fastening the harness over his chest, clicking it into the bar that was designed to go between thighs Pentious didn't have. Cherri shot him a look, her brow lowering as she must have witnessed in real time the way the colour drained from his face – and Pentious squeezed his eyes shut as he wrapped his claws around the chest bar, his heart trying to crawl out of his throat.
Unbidden – and despite the complaints of their neighbours – his tail wound its way up onto the other seats, wrapping around flesh and metal alike as the whirr of machinery hissed into the air, the entire contraption launching into motion as their seats creaked their way to the top of the tower.
At least Cherri's fingers curled their way over his, though he barely managed to slit his eyes open long enough to see the attempt at a reassuring smile she gave him.
* * * * * *
He really was a loser.
Cherri rubbed Pentious's back as he hunched over what should be his knees, the pair of them sat on a bench a few metres away from the ride exit. He was sucking in air like it was about to shoot up in price, shaking like a leaf in a hailstorm.
“You good?” Cherri asked, impressed that he'd somehow managed not to scream. If he hadn't already been dead, his teeth probably would've cracked with how hard he'd been clenching them – and the sinner he'd wrapped his tail around must've dropped about two dress sizes in the waist.
She'd had a great time. Feeling like her stomach was about to get piffed right out of her throat, that exciting little thrill when the seats had tipped forward so they were facing the ground right before their descent – it was enough to get a girl going. She shook her head, an undeniably affectionate smile tugging at her lips when Pentious straightened up, giving her the wobbliest grin she'd ever seen.
“P-positively peachy, my dear. That was a – a t-thrilling experience,” he insisted. Cherri's grin widened.
“Yeah? Wanna go again?”
She cackled a laugh as his face drained of colour, turning a sickly sort of pale blue. Cherri patted him on the shoulder, holding her hand out as she got to her feet. The bag of souvenirs swung in her other hand, their photo – and her shitty, overpriced snow globe – securely packed within.
“Kidding, old man. Come on, let's do the fucking teacups.”
Cherri shook her head at herself. Yeah, Pentious was a loser.
And if anyone tried to take him away from her again, she was shoving a bomb up their–
~fin~
