AN: Sorry everyone, I forgot to post this chapter when I updated it around Christmas time on Ao3. I guess I forgot. Not as bad as the previous two chapters I missed updating on Wattpad. Ugh. Please enjoy this and chapter 5 which is uploaded right now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel. Spiroz, Milton, and Mitzy are property of DaniDraws whose permission I have to use their characters.
It had been a month since Spiroz and Hedwig had become friends, and the former had never been happier. Whenever they weren't meeting in the woods to talk or share snacks from their respective home realms, they were texting and calling each other whenever they had free time. For Spiroz, it was a new experience to have someone outside of his family to talk to, and while he would always consider Mitzy and Milton to be his best friends, they were sometimes more like cousins due to their close parents. To have someone outside of his current family life, someone who didn't judge him by his looks, was a relief for the young teen hybrid.
Of course, there were still some things he kept from Hedwig. Such as the fact that he was born from two fathers and his imp dad was an assassin who killed humans in the human world. Hedwig might have been friendly to him, but she was still a new friend, and it would take time to trust her with that knowledge. Still, Spiroz enjoyed their growing relationship. To celebrate their first month anniversary of being friends in a few days, they decided to prepare gifts for each other.
Walking through the grand library of his home, Spiroz pressed his finger against the multiple grand tomes of the shelves while reading each of their titles. Since Hedwig always wanted to learn more about Hell and its culture, Spiroz decided to give her a book written by demons to help her. He felt a smile stretch his lips as he thought about how excited she was each time they met to learn something new about his home realm. Learning about Heaven was also exciting, and there were so many things that Spiroz didn't know that it amazed him. Such things included:
The concept of a limitless realm with no endless space.
How the Empheyan worked and modified itself through mere thought and desire.
The genealogical differences between all various angels, from the normal types to the powerful Seraphim.
Even the basic understanding of Metatron's Cube, one of the astrological wonders of creation, was like golden nuggets for the inquisitive owl imp.
Spending time with Hedwig was like an escape from the life he had. One where he felt like either a burden to those around him or a mistake in the eyes of society. Plus, she's fun to hang out with if I'm being honest. Not to mention she's as kind as...well...and angel, heh.
His finger soon stopped at one of several copies of "The Complete Goetia History From Creation To Now." It was a very common book all the Goetia Noble families had in their libraries with multiple copies to read. Figuring that his parents wouldn't miss one out of several, he took the book and put it under his wing before making his way to the exit hall. Just as he was about to leave, Stolas arrived and saw his son before smiling.
"Ah, Spiro," Stolas said with a nod. "How are you doing, my Starlight?"
"I'm fine, Father," Spiroz said with a nod back. "I was just getting a book to read for tonight."
"Oh, I was about to do the same thing. Blitzy's going to be out late again for a job, so I figured I'd get something to read before he comes home," Stolas answered.
"What is it? A magical book? Herbology?" Spiroz asked, tilting his head.
"Kama-Sutra, The Lust Edition," Stolas happily said, which made Spiroz slowly turn green upon hearing it. It didn't help that Stolas then had a perverted grin on his face with stars in his eyes as he clapped his hands together and giggled. "I only just remembered I have the old version from four hundred years ago. The one that still has that illegal position of using-"
"TMI, Father! TMI!" Spiroz shouted as he covered his ears. Ugh, I really wish brain bleach was a thing!
"Oh, sorry," Stolas muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I get carried away sometimes."
"You think?" Spiroz asked, rolling his eyes as he walked past his father. "Just please remember to put up the sound barriers this time?"
"Actually, Spiro, now that you are here, I suppose I should mention that Octavia has invited us to the Capital for a few days two weeks from now," Stolas said, stopping the young teen. He turned around and stared at his father with surprise. "It's been a while since we've been together as a family, plus it turns out she's dating someone and wants us to meet him."
"Octavia has a boyfriend?" Spiroz asked in surprise since his big sister always seemed too busy or uninterested in dating someone. He then snorted upon thinking of his other big sister. "How did Loona take it?"
"Well, let's just say the maids are complaining about the mess in her room."
Which meant it was worse than usual, and they were going to need to fix a wall or two.
"And she's gone off to do a little late-night clubbing."
Meaning she would get piss drunk and find some random guy to sleep on a one-night stand with because she still can't get a boyfriend after all these years.
"Just be sure not to bother her in the morning."
Which meant she would have a bitch of a hangover in the morning and would kill anyone that pissed her off.
"Well, good thing it's a Sunday tomorrow," Spiroz said with a smirk before he walked away.
Since Sunday was the Lord's Day, Spiroz had to wait until the afternoon to meet up with Hedwig at their usual place after she finished church mass. He arrived a little later to see her waiting for him, dressed in a long pink overcoat with a long white scarf around her neck. He, in turn, decided to wear a red sweater and black jacket with jeans. Happily, Hedwig rushed forward with a small gift box in her talons as she smiled warmly at him. "Happy friendship anniversary month!"
"Same to you," Spiroz said as he handed over his book, and they quickly exchanged gifts.
Hedwig practically tore hers apart as she gasped in joy upon reading the title. Hugging it close to her chest, she continued to say "thank you" over and over again. Spiroz beamed back at her before slowly opening his small present. What he got utterly surprised him. "Is this...a talisman?"
"Yup! An Evil Eye Talisman specifically," Hedwig said with a nod.
"...How come I'm not burning into flames then? Doesn't this ward off evil?" Spiroz asked, confused as he looked at the thing closely and didn't feel any adverse effects.
"I had it custom made so that the person who wears it is protected from negative emotions and feelings that can be used as a counter-attack to whoever is hurting you," Hedwig said as she used her hands to put the talisman around her neck. "Not all talismans hurt demons. Some can be made to protect whoever it is so long as they have a good heart. The fact you can wear it shows that I was right about you being good all along."
"Um, thanks," Spiroz said with awe in his tone. He never thought he'd be wearing such a thing, much less be given such a gift from an angel. But then again, this entire relationship has been nothing but surprises.
"Anyway, I was figuring we could go into the town nearby and get something to eat," Hedwig suggested, much to Spiroz surprise. They had never gone into a human-occupied area together before. "Do you have a human disguise?"
"Yeah, I do. One sec," Spiroz said as he closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. Blue flames enveloped him and in a split second stood a tall caucasian with red and white hair while still maintaining his current clothing. "See? But are you sure you want to go into the human town?"
"Sure! It will be fun!" Hedwig said as she snapped her fingers. Instead of blue flames, white holy light shone around Hedwig like a miniature sun before a female caucasian human appeared before Spiroz with long white hair. Smiling with excitement, the now human-looking Hedwig grabbed Spiroz hand and dragged him across the forest. "Come on! I got the perfect transportation!"
"Wait, we're not going to use a portal or teleport there?" Spiroz asked, trying to keep up with his friend.
"Nope! I figured we could do this in style, and since you told me you like horses so much, I figured I would give you a second special gift for this occasion!" Hedwig shouted as she continued to run faster.
"S-Second gift?!" Spiroz squawked in surprise. "But I didn't get you a second gift!"
"You can pay for lunch then! You're rich enough after all," Hedwig teased before coming to a stop behind a large willow tree. She then pressed her hands on his chest, much to his embarrassment, before she looked at him with a soft smile. "Okay, just remain calm. He's going to be a bit frightened since he'll be able to tell you're a demon, but I assured him you're good. Just... don't get too excited. Okay?"
"He?" Spiroz asked, now even more confused.
Hedwig didn't answer him. Instead, she slowly walked over to the other side of the tree and whispered something to walk over. Spiroz then heard clopping, and gradually a figure came over on four legs that, upon seeing it, made the hybrid demon silently open his mouth in shock and amazement.
He had heard and read about such creatures before, but never did Spiroz ever imagine he would see one in his entire life. Like his Dad, Blitzo, Spiroz had heard of the mighty pegasus. The winged horse was said to be the most beautiful in all of reality as they were the mighty steeds of Heaven that were said to bring courage, joy, and hope to all who saw them. They were powerful mystical creatures that only the unicorn or alicorn could match in beauty. And Spiroz was looking at one right now. It was so tall and strong that it was obviously bred for war, yet there was a gentleness in its eyes and movements that it trotted along like a child. The pure white coat was beyond the color snow with its luscious blond mane and tail sparkling in the sunlight like diamonds. The mighty wings sounded as gentle as a breeze when they flapped, yet they looked strong enough to cause a storm.
Spiroz couldn't even believe what he was seeing, and yet he couldn't help but grin like a kid on his birthday. "Wow... he's...incredible..."
"Yup, his name is Ascarios," Hedwig said as she nuzzled the pegasus affectionately. "He's my father's warhorse. He's in the military, you know. But he's as gentle as buttercup when it comes to me."
Ascarios licked her cheeks, making Hedwig laugh a bit while Spiroz slowly inched forward. At least until Ascarios stared at him with neutral and yet piercing eyes. Freezing up, Spiroz gulped and hoped the pegasus wouldn't attack him. Their legs were said to be very powerful, and they had abilities of their own that made them quite the fighters. As if sensing this, Hedwig quickly got the pegasus to look at her and stare right into her eyes. "Ascarios, remember what I told you? He's my friend. He is a demon, but he's a good guy. Remember? Not all demons are bad. You know this is true."
Ascarios was silent for a while before looking back at Spiroz, who slowly took a deep breath and moved forward. Thanking his dad for being such a horse lover, Spiroz slowly took out some oats he had in his back pocket and held them out for Ascarios to sniff. The pegasus proceeds to do so for a few minutes before happily licking them up into his mouth. He then proceeded to lick his hand, which made Spiroz giggle a bit from the touch before gently caressing his long neck and mane. "Good boy. Good Ascarios. You're a beautiful steed you are."
Spiroz's words seemed to please Ascarios as he puffed out his chest a bit. Hedwig giggled and rolled her eyes. "Well, you seem to have flattered him easily. Where did you get the oats?"
"We have stables back at home," Spiroz answered as he continued to pet the heavenly breed horse. "I always have a few snacks for them whenever I visit."
"Great! Then this will make things a lot easier!" Hedwig said as she clicked her tongue a few times, and Ascarios slowly lowered himself. It was only then that Spiroz realized that there was a harness and saddle big enough for two on the pegasus, and he watched in anticipation as Hedwig got on while holding the ropes. "Ready for the ride of your life?"
"Do you even need to ask?!" Spiroz asked with excitement as he quickly got on and wrapped his arms around Hedwig. He then realized what he was doing and blushed. "Uh, sorry?"
"It's fine," Hedwig said softly with a slight blush. "Besides, you're very warm."
"Oh, thanks."
There was a moment of silence between the blushing teens before Hedwig cleared her voice. "Alright! Hang on! Let's fly, Ascarios!"
The pegasus reared a big and neighed before galloping forward as fast as possible. Spiroz couldn't help but grin as they rode faster through the forest, with the green around them becoming like a blur. Soon, Ascarios began to beat his wings up and down. Slowly at first, but then at a rapid pace. It felt like getting ready for an airplane to lift off and take to the skies as Sprioz felt his heart race while thinking how jealous his dad would be if he learned what his son was doing. Holy fuck! I'm going to actually ride a pegasus into the sky!
Ascarios leapt a few times before giving out one giant leap, and soon he was in the air. They were rising higher like a missile into the sky while letting out a triumphant cry. Wings spread eagle and flapping to lift the three into the clouds where the sun shined down on them both. Spiroz looked around the heavenly blue and green below before letting out a happy cry. He felt like he had become a child again, with his father lifting him high into the air and twirling him around with joy. The cool breeze of passing gales made him wish he was back in his demonic form so he could feel them against his feathers, but just feeling them against his skin was more than enough.
"Like it?!" Hedwig shouted as she turned to face him with a grin.
"I love it!" Spiroz said with a smile of his own as the two continued to fly on their winged horse. "What about humans seeing us?!"
"Ascarios can be invisible to mortals, so they won't see him or us so long as we're near him! Don't worry, I thought of everything!" Hedwig shouted as they got closer to the nearby town. "Do you like ramen?!"
"Yeah, why?!"
"Because that's what we're having for lunch!"
Hedwig decided to land Ascarios in a park where he could graze for a bit while they went out to have lunch. Spiroz had only been to this town a few times in the past but never stayed for long. His friend, however, looked like she was back home as she even waved and greeted a few humans who smiled back at her with hellos of their own. Hedwig eventually took them to a large Japanese Ramen themed restaurant known as "Tonko-Retsu."
"Here you go," their waiter said as he delivered two hot bowls of miso and shrimp ramen. "Hope you enjoy them. And we added the extra egg for you, Hedwig."
"Thanks, Joe," Hedwig said as she broke her chopsticks and began swirling the broth and noodles together. "Give my compliments to the rest of the crew back there."
"No problem, you two just enjoy your dinner, you lovebirds," The waiter said with a grin as the two young disguised owls blushed and froze up.
"Uhh, f-f-funny guy, huh?" Spiroz chuckled nervously as the two looked away with red cheeks. "T-Thinking we were on a date."
"Y-Yeah," Hedwig agreed as she cleared her throat. "Anyway, try the ramen. It's great."
Spiroz nodded before taking a good portion of noodles with his chopsticks and eating them. His mouth went wide, and he swallowed them in one gulp before moaning in delight. "Mmmm, so good!"
"Told ya. My brothers and I come here a lot. Food in Heaven is great and all, but there is something unique about how humans make their food down here," Hedwig said with a smile as she began to dig into her meal.
"I was going to ask. Do you come here to this town often?" Spiroz asked.
"Yup! It's a nice place to take a break from school and such. We just have to be careful since we're not allowed down here without parents or guardians. Don't you go into the human world as well?" Hedwig asked as she took a sip from her soda.
"My Dads-I mean-my family and I used to go around the world to exotic places when I was younger," Spiroz said with a nostalgic look in his eyes as he thought about his childhood. "Paris. Madrid. Hong Kong. Tokyo. Rome. New York. Miami. Montreal. Mexico City. Warsaw. Moscow. We went to a new location each month, and it was always fun. Honestly, the reason we stopped going was that my Dad needed to focus more on his business since it was getting more successful while I had to start going to school."
"You know, I don't know much about your family," Hedwig said as Spiroz stopped eating for a second. "Why don't you tell me about them? What do your Mom and Dad do? Do you have siblings?"
"...I kinda don't want to talk about it," Spiroz whispered as he lowered his head. He gripped his hand under the desk as Hedwig tilted her head in confusion. Closing his eyes, Spiroz couldn't help but feel guilty for this. "I just...I don't want to discuss them right now."
"...They aren't horrible to you, are they?" Hedwig asked with fear in her tone.
"What? No!" Spiroz said as he shook his head. "My parents are good people! Well, as demons at least, but... it's just..."
How do you tell an angel that you were born from two fathers? How do you tell her that you're not a natural birth and are considered an abomination among your own kind? Spiroz didn't know much about Heaven as an expert, but there were plenty of times he heard Christians online saying homosexuality was a sin, and proof of that was that those of the same gender couldn't procreate together. This was especially true with men since they lacked the means to have children, while even a lesbian couple could technically have a child by sperm donation from a male partner. Even male demons were not excused from this primary biological factor.
Spiroz was about to try and continue an excuse until Hedwig slowly placed her hand on his. He looked up and saw what appeared to be understanding in her expression. "It's alright. If you don't want to talk about it, we can wait. In fact, there are some things about my parents that I...kinda hesitate to talk about."
"O-Oh, okay..." Spiroz whispered with some relief in his heart, but he knew that this was only delaying the evitable. However, for now, he could relax. "I could tell you about my siblings. My big sisters."
"Oh, what are they like?" Hedwig asked, leaning forward.
And so the conversation drifted away from the talk of parents to siblings and later other stuff as they continued to eat ramen.
After a great meal with Hedwig, Spiroz spent a little more time admiring Ascarios before returning to his room. Just as he arrived, he heard knocking on his door and his big sister shouting his name. "For crying out loud, Spiro! Are you going to answer the door, or will I have to bust it open! You better not be masturbating in there either cause I do not want to see my little brother spanking himself!"
Spiro rolled his eyes upon hearing this and opened his door with a deadpan expression. "Why do you guys always think I masturbate in my room when I'm alone?"
"What? Don't you? What kind of teenager are you?" Loona said, folding her arms with amusement. "Shit, are you trying to wait until you become a married man?"
"Considering you've been trying to get a steady boyfriend for how long? I guess masturbation is the only thing that will be your afternoon version of fun," Spiroz teased, which made him nearly get decked in the head by his sister, who missed when he ducked. "You finally calmed down from learning Octavia's got a boyfriend?"
Loona snarled for a bit before sighing. "Seriously, what am I doing wrong? You'd think I'd have plenty of guys wanting to be with me now that I live in this fancy mansion."
"Wow, that's a great way to find love. I'm sure all the gold diggers in the Pride Realm are lining up for you," Spiroz replied.
"Shut up," Loona grumbled as she looked down with a bit of sorrow in her eyes. "I'm going to be thirty-eight this year. Sure, it's not close to the halfway point of a Hellhound's age, but I still feel like I'm letting life pass me by not having a mate of my own. Every guy Hellhound I find is either gay, a jerk, or already with someone."
"Have you ever thought about dating someone outside of your race?" Spiroz suggested, which made Loona raise an eyebrow. "I mean, you don't have to date someone of your own kind. Dad and Father are proof of that, and Octavia's boyfriend isn't even avian from what I hear."
"You do realize most other demons, save for the furry freaks, date Hellhounds, right?" Loona pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "Some demons think having sex with my kind is akin to bestiality. Which is ironic considering how many demons in Hell make us look like a fricken furry convention."
"Well, you never know. You might find someone willing to look past that," Spiroz said with a shrug. "What have you got to lose?"
"My dignity?"
"You do realize who our fathers are, right?"
"...Good point," Loona agreed before sighing. "Anyway, my pathetic love life aside, I figured you and I could do something together since it's been a while since we hung out. Wanna get something to eat?"
Nervously, Spiroz rubbed the back of his head. "Um, I kinda ate already. But we can do something next time."
"Well, I guess and...wait a minute," Loona looked down and narrowed her eyes before leaning back in shock. "What the fuck?! Is that an Evil Eye Talisman?!"
SHIT! Spiro thought as he looked down and saw that he was still wearing Hedwig's gift. Quickly hiding it under his shirt, Spiro nervously raised his hand. "Y-Yeah, but don't worry it's-"
"Don't worry?! Holy shit, Spiro, why aren't you dead right now from wearing that?! You know what that does to demons, right?!" Loona asked in a panic as she grabbed him by the shoulders. "Come on! We'll get bird ass to look you over and-"
"Loona! I'm fine! It's designed not to hurt me!" Spiro shouted as he pushed her away. Rubbing his forehead, he continued, "Relax. I'm fine. The thing is made to hurt those who seek to hurt me. Otherwise, it's just a normal necklace. I got it from...someone..."
"Someone?" Loona asked, raising her eyebrow. "Who?"
"...I can't tell you."
"Why can't you..." Her eyes then widened, and she gave a sneaky grin. "Ohhh, so that's how it is."
"What?" Spiro asked, tilting his head.
"Nothing, just glad my little bro's getting out there and dating is all," Loona said, rubbing his head while Spiro's jaw dropped upon hearing this. "I'll keep it a secret from the rest until you're ready to tell everyone about your little girlfriend or boyfriend."
"H-Hedwig's not my girlfriend!" Spiroz shouted but soon covered his mouth upon realizing he blurted it out.
"Hedwig, huh? Like Hedwig and the Angry Itch? Nice name," Loona said as she walked away, chuckling. "See ya later, lover boy."
Spiroz tried to say something, but Loona was already gone. Groaning, he facepalmed and shook his head. It's official. Big sisters are annoying as hell.