The first rays of Hell's eerie red "morning light" seeped through the warped blinds, casting long, slanted shadows across the bedroom walls. The glow wasn't warm in the human sense, but it was familiar—soft in its own infernal way, like the city itself was reluctantly admitting a new day had begun.
Charlie was the first to stir.
Her wings twitched instinctively, feathers ruffling as she shifted beneath the blankets. One leg moved, then stopped when she realized she couldn't quite move the way she wanted to. Something heavy—but warm—was wrapped around her waist.
She blinked the sleep from her eyes.
Max's arm—his remaining one—was securely looped around her middle, holding her close as if she might vanish if he let go. His tail had wrapped around both her and Vaggie sometime in the night, thick, fluffy fur creating a cocoon that trapped warmth and comfort alike. The tail twitched faintly, reacting to Charlie's movement, and tightened just a little more.
Charlie bit her lip to suppress a giggle.
Vaggie stirred next.
She shifted her shoulder and immediately froze when she felt resistance. Her eye snapped open.
"…How did—?" she whispered, voice low and confused.
She tried to move again. The moment she did, Max responded on instinct—his arm tightening slightly, tail pulling her back in with possessive, half-asleep certainty.
Charlie covered her mouth, shoulders shaking silently. She leaned closer and whispered, "He cuddles like a hellhound puppy. Once you're in his grip, you're not going anywhere."
Vaggie shot her a look. "This is not funny."
"It's a little funny."
It took another full minute of careful coordination—Charlie easing one side of the tail away while Vaggie gently pried the other—to finally free themselves. Even then, Max made a small, displeased noise in his sleep, brow furrowing as if personally offended by the loss of contact.
Once they were standing, Charlie stretched, rolling her shoulders and smoothing her pajama top. As she did, her eyes drifted back to the bed.
Max had rolled onto his stomach.
His shirt had ridden up slightly during the night, exposing the small of his back.
Charlie froze.
Just above his waistband, burned into his skin like glowing digital ink, were numbers—clear, sharp, and faintly pulsing with crimson light.
30:43
"…Vaggie," Charlie whispered.
Vaggie followed her gaze and stiffened instantly.
"That looks like a timer."
Charlie stepped closer, heart pounding. She reached out hesitantly and touched the glowing numbers with the tip of her finger.
They shifted.
Not disappearing—moving. Sliding away from her touch like something alive, avoiding contact.
Charlie pulled her hand back, breath hitching. "A countdown. But… for what?"
They exchanged a look—shared worry, shared fear.
Vaggie lowered her voice. "We should wake him. Carefully."
Then, after a beat, her lips curled into a smirk. "Or… we could do it the way you like. You know. Morning kiss. Gentle nudge. Something sweet and romantic."
Charlie's face went bright pink. "Tempting. Very tempting."
She paused, then smiled mischievously.
"But I have a better idea."
She clapped her hands softly.
"Razzle. Dazzle. Wake him up, please."
The two goat demons teleported into existence with far too much enthusiasm for such an early hour.
Razzle didn't hesitate. He charged forward and bit down hard on Max's tail.
Dazzle followed immediately, launching himself belly-first onto Max's back like a bowling ball.
Max jolted awake with a strangled shout, thrashing violently as he rolled halfway off the bed. He hacked, coughed, grabbed his tail with his one arm.
"G–gah—damn it!" he yelled hoarsely. "I was hoping for a kiss, not a hit squad—ow!"
Vaggie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Charlie, I thought we were trying to take care of him. Not traumatize him."
Charlie leaned down and kissed Max's cheek, quick and affectionate. "What can I say? He can be a bad influence."
Max groaned, then cracked a smirk. "Yeah. Noticed."
Charlie disappeared into the bathroom to change, leaving Max glaring daggers at the goat demons.
"I gave you donuts after your bath last week," he said accusingly. "Donuts. And this is how you repay me?"
He pointed at them dramatically. "Remind me not to buy you any next time. I don't even have to hide my powers anymore—I can teleport you into bubbles for baths now."
Razzle and Dazzle froze, eyes wide, then whimpered in unison and clung to each other.
Satisfied, Max rolled off the bed and stretched—then winced as the missing arm pulled at his balance.
"…Right," he muttered. "Still getting used to that."
He straightened and turned to Vaggie. "I'll leave so you can change. I'm just a guest here. Thanks for taking care of me, by the way. And changing the bandages—even if it was, uh… a little pointless. Still appreciate it."
He leaned in and hugged her gently.
"Wait," Vaggie said suddenly. "We have questions. Small ones."
Charlie stepped back into the room at that moment, fully dressed—white jacket pristine, bowtie perfectly aligned, hair immaculate despite just waking up.
Max whistled softly. "Someone's looking heavenly today."
Charlie rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"Sit," Vaggie said firmly. "We need to talk."
Max sat back down on the bed, tail wagging lightly despite the tension.
"So," he said casually, "what do you wanna know? How I get my looks? Why my tail fluff stays soft? I swear I don't know. I think it's genetic."
Charlie giggled. "I thought you used that hellhound shampoo Loona showed you."
Vaggie cleared her throat loudly.
Charlie nodded, turning serious. "Max… we saw numbers on your lower back. A timer. Do you know what that is?"
Max blinked. "Numbers? On my back?"
He stood, walked to the mirror, and peeled off his shirt.
Both girls blushed faintly—despite themselves.
Max stared at the reflection.
"…Damn," he muttered. "That's what he meant by glitches."
Charlie stepped closer. "So you do know?"
"Kind of," Max admitted. "Part of my deal with God was getting access to the human world for forty-eight hours total. I didn't know it'd manifest like this… guess it's counting down permanently."
Charlie gasped. "So you were there for—what—eighteen hours?"
"About that," Max shrugged. "Maybe more. Some probably got burned when we visited Heaven."
Vaggie crossed her arms tightly. "What happens when it hits zero?"
Max blinked. "Nothing dramatic. I just can't go back unless summoned or I possess someone. No danger."
Charlie swallowed, unconvinced.
She retrieved his rings and slid them back onto his fingers one by one, carefully, like she was dressing a prince for court.
"Come back safe," she whispered.
Vaggie kissed him next—brief, firm, sincere.
Max smiled, tail wagging.
"Always."
With a soft pulse of red mist, he vanished.