Max woke up slowly to warmth pressing against both sides of his face.
For a moment, he stayed completely still, confused and half asleep, until his eyes finally focused.
Angel and Loona were both practically glued to him.
Angel had one arm wrapped tightly around his chest while Loona was pressed against his other side, her tail lazily curled around his waist. Somehow, during the night, both of them had ended up in their underwear, their bodies pressed close enough to make Max's brain completely short-circuit.
His face instantly turned bright red.
"H-how the hell…" he muttered quietly.
Neither girl moved. Both were still completely knocked out from all the drinking the night before. Angel was lightly snoring while Loona's ears twitched every couple seconds in her sleep.
Max carefully slipped out from between them, trying not to wake either one up. The second the cold air hit them, both girls instinctively reached for where he had been.
Max sighed softly before pulling the blanket back over them.
"There," he whispered. "At least don't freeze to death."
Angel mumbled something incoherent while Loona buried herself deeper into the pillow.
Max couldn't help smiling a little.
"I guess you two enjoyed the date…"
He leaned down and gave each of them a quick kiss on the forehead before quietly leaving the room.
The hotel was surprisingly peaceful that morning. Sunlight from Hell's crimson sky filtered through the windows while the smell of coffee drifted through the halls.
Max headed downstairs and immediately found Charlie and Vaggie in the kitchen doing dishes together.
Oddly enough, both of them looked extremely energetic.
Vaggie especially.
Max raised an eyebrow. "Guess you girls had a good night."
Charlie nearly dropped a plate while blushing hard.
Vaggie just smirked unapologetically. "Of course we did. Been a while since we had time for ourselves."
Charlie buried her face in her hands. "Vaggie!"
"What?" Vaggie laughed. "He already knows."
Max chuckled while helping dry dishes. "Remind me to soundproof your room eventually."
"Don't tease us," Charlie groaned, though she was clearly smiling. "But… thanks for the offer."
Vaggie pointed a sponge at him accusingly. "You're one to talk. We heard Angel and Loona stumbling through the halls last night."
Max immediately looked away. "They were drunk."
"Mhm."
"Very drunk."
Charlie giggled before changing the topic. "Oh! We heard you let another royal join the relationship. Octavia, right?"
"Yeah." Max nodded. "She's going through a rough time and I happened to help. I think she fell for me somewhere along the way."
Charlie smiled softly at that. "Honestly, that sounds like her."
"So," Vaggie asked while setting dishes away, "who's your next date group?"
Max leaned against the counter thoughtfully. "Millie, Poppi, Verosika, and Bee."
"That sounds chaotic already," Vaggie muttered.
"It probably will be." Max laughed. "There's this movie-bar in Pride that just opened. They remake human movies with Hell twists added in. Apparently it's insanely popular."
Charlie's eyes lit up immediately. "That sounds amazing!"
"And after that," Max continued, "I've got a surprise planned for you two. Octavia might join us too, if that's alright."
"Of course!" Charlie said instantly. "I just want to enjoy the holidays this year."
Vaggie nodded in agreement. "Loona texted us saying you won't be around on Sinsmas itself though."
Max's expression softened slightly. "Yeah… I've got something important planned that day." He smiled faintly. "But trust me. It'll be something none of you forget."
Charlie tilted her head curiously but decided not to push.
Instead, she immediately perked up again. "Oh! Since you're cooking tonight… can we request something?"
Max laughed. "Obviously."
Charlie clasped her hands excitedly. "Big buttery steaks, roasted potatoes, salad, and maybe those soft dinner rolls you made before!"
Vaggie nodded. "And wine."
"Actual wine," Charlie added quickly. "Not Beelzejuice."
Max snorted. "Yeah, I think we learned our lesson there."
Charlie's face turned red remembering the accidental drunken night.
"I'll ask Bee if she has a good bottle lying around," Max said. "And I promise nobody's getting mysteriously hammered tonight."
Vaggie smirked. "That's exactly what someone planning to get us drunk would say."
Max ignored that and pulled out his phone, texting the others about the upcoming group date.
The replies came almost instantly.
Bee spammed excited emojis and demanded snacks.
Millie sent about twelve exclamation marks.
Verosika asked if the theater had alcohol.
Poppi simply replied: "Movie cuddle night. I'm in."
Max smiled faintly while putting his phone away.
"Perfect. Now all that's left is—"
His phone suddenly rang again.
Unknown number.
The second he answered, a deep distorted voice growled through the speaker.
"Thought you could kill the Rat King that easily, huh?"
Max froze.
The cheerful atmosphere in the kitchen instantly vanished.
Charlie and Vaggie immediately noticed the shift in his expression.
Black smoke slowly curled from Max's fingertips.
"…Fuck," he muttered quietly.