When Striker, Jake, and Kaitlin were halfway to the Pride ring, Blitzo ordered food and Blitzo texted Striker letting him know it'd be here in about a half hour.
Striker texted him back saying: Sounds good. I'm starving.
"Dad, I'm hungry," Jake said.
Striker turned around and said, "It's alright, son. I am, too."
"Me, three," said Kaitlin.
"We'll be there in about a half hour since that's when the food arrives."
"What is it?" Jake asked.
"You'll find out." Striker winked at him.
"Hey, Striker. If we see Gustav, should I give him a couple fingers?"
"He does deserve it, but that wouldn't be necessary because you don't want to attract attention and that would give him a chance to seize you and Jake. Maybe if we actually see him."
Kaitlin smiled meekly as she shrugged her shoulders. "Okay then." She wanted so badly to flip Gustav off, but in the meantime, it was best for her not to worry about him. She then ruffled Jake's hair, which made him giggle.
Hearing the laughter made Striker smile warmly because that's what he'd been wanting to hear all day, considering the crappy day he had. So, he, too, laughed along with them.
…
By the time they made it to the Pride Ring, where Blitzo lived, the imp delivery man handed him a box and wished him a good night. Blitzo did the same and he closed the door and put the box on the coffee table.
Just then, he heard a knock on the door. He went to see who it was. It was none other than his three friends and he opened it for them.
"Hi, guys," Blitzo said as he let in the three imps, "You must've been starving on your way here." He closed the door once they were in the house and went to get paper plates for his guests and himself. He placed the paper plates on the table and opened up a box that looked like…
"PIZZA!" Jake shouted eagerly.
"Blitz, you sly dog!" Kaitlin said, just as excited as Jake.
"I figured you'd all want some pizza," said Blitzo and the four of them each got two slices. It was a large stuffed-crust pizza with eight slices and it was enough for four people to enjoy with two slices each. The flavor was pepperoni, Jake's and Kaitlin's favorite kind.
Blitzo got off the couch to get four drinks from the fridge. The drinks were root beer. He brought them over to the coffee table in the living room to go along with the pizza and the four imps finally ate their slices and drank the soda to wash it down.
After dinner, Striker ordered Kaitlin and Jake, "Kaitlin. Jake. I need to talk to Blitzo alone."
"Wait a minute, Strike. Didn't you tell them about your situation earlier?" Blitzo asked.
"Yep." To Kaitlin and Jake, the cowboy imp added, "It's okay. We got it covered, so bring your stuff into the other room and I'll let you know when Blitz and I are done talking."
"Alright, Jake. Let's go," Kaitlin told Jake and he obediently followed her in another room as they grabbed their things and put them in a different room.
Now that Blitzo and Striker were alone in the living room, Blitzo asked, "So you said you have some drama you wanted to talk about?"
"Yep. Gustuv, Jane's father and Jake's grandfather. He insisted on seeing Jake, but I refused."
"And you had every right to," Blitzo said, "You could use a drink. How about I get you one?"
"Sounds good, Blitz."
Blitzo went into the kitchen to grab two bottles of alcohol from the fridge. One for Striker and the other for himself. He closed the fridge, returned to the living room with the drinks, and sat down, passing the one bottle to Striker.
"What does he want with your son, anyway?" Blitzo opened his bottle of alcohol.
Striker opened his. "Well, since Jake is the only male child in Jane's family, Gustav wants him to be the next universal heir when Gustav 'kicks the bucket'." Striker used his fingers as quotes for emphasis. "I can't let Gustav make Jake into something he isn't or give him expensive gifts."
Blitzo sipped his bottle. "I see that."
Striker took a swig of his. "Oh, you have NO idea. He's also a misogynist. Not to mention, he didn't like the idea of Jane and I together because we come from different classes and he almost forced her to marry someone she didn't love. So I saved her from her nearly forced marriage and he disowned her as soon as we eloped."
"What about Kaitlin?"
"I don't want Gustav near her, either."
"Because he'd treat her the same way he treated Jane?"
"Well, that and he'd do anything to stop me from seeing them."
Blitzo set down his drink, closed it, and got off the couch. "And we can't let that happen," he assured him with determination, "If he wants to mess with you and try to take your kid and new wife, then he'll have to go through me. You don't have to go through with it alone."
Striker nodded as he put down his drink and closed it. "You're right. I watched the cowboy drama soaps earlier today and an episode that aired today was a lot like the situation I dealt with."
"Was some asshole determined to see his grandson, too, but the dad refused?"
"Yep."
"Follow me to the basement."
"Where's Loona?"
"Loona is at Vortex's, having a party."
Luckily, Jake and Kaitlin were listening to music with their headphones as they drew and colored, instead of hearing the conversation.
"Okay, Strike," Blitzo said, now that they were in the basement, "I'm going to show you some fighting skills in case Gustav keeps bothering you. I'm sure you have the skills, but it wouldn't hurt for me to teach you."
"Okay, Blitz. Let's do it." While Striker was confident that he had the skills for fighting, he was willing to let Blitzo teach him.
Blitzo brought out a dummy with arms and legs.
"Alrighty. Let's get the show on the road, buddy."
"Hey, old friend. Remember me? The name's Striker," Striker taunted the dummy, "If you want my kid and second wife, you'll have to go through me."
"That's the spirit!" Blitzo cheered as he clapped his hands.
Striker punched the dummy in the face.
"Very good. Try kicking it." Blitzo was eating popcorn, enjoying the show.
Striker smirked at him and went with kicking the dummy in the chin.
"Perfect! Now go with the part where it hurts."
Striker did as he was told and he turned the dummy around and kicked it in the ass.
Just then, Kaitlin and Jake stopped what they were doing and heard a loud noise. Kaitlin closed her laptop and the two put their drawings and ideas on hold to see what the commotion was.
"You kicked its ass! Congrats!"
"Thank you."
Striker and Blitzo saw two imps.
"What was that noise, Uncle Blitz?" asked Jake.
"It wasn't me." Blitzo pointed at Striker.
The cowboy imp glared at him with his hands on his hips. "Snitch." To his wife and son, Striker added, "Blitz was just teaching me some skills in case Gustav messes with me and tries anything to take you guys."
Then Kaitlin saw a knocked down dummy. "So the dummy explains the loud noise?"
Striker nodded. "Yep. Sure does."
"He did a good job, you guys," Blitzo announced proudly.
Striker stretched and yawned.
"Perfect timing." Blitzo led the imps to the bathroom, so they could all floss and brush their teeth.
"Blitzo?" Kaitlin said.
"Yes, Kaitlin?"
"Jake and I need to clean up our station in the guest room before Striker and the rest of us sleep in there."
"Sure thing."
Kaitlin and Jake went inside the guest room to clean up their stuff, so it wasn't in the way. Once they cleaned up their mess, they returned to the bathroom to floss and brush their teeth.
Striker and Blitzo finished flossing their teeth and started brushing their teeth, while Jake and Kaitlin flossed theirs. Then Kaitlin and Jake brushed their teeth after they finished flossing and soon, everyone was ready for bed.
Striker, Kaitlin, and Jake spent the night in a guest bedroom.
"Night, Blitz," they said.
"Night, guys," Blitzo replied and with a yawn, he went to his room.
…
That night, Striker, Jake, and Kaitlin slept peacefully in the guest bedroom. Kaitlin and Jake figured he needed the extra company, considering he'd had a rough day. They snuggled with each other and Jake's and Striker's tails rattled as they shook while they slept.
…
The next day, Blitzo and Striker continued practicing on how to approach Gustav if he ever bothered Striker, demanding to see his son. Sometimes, I.M.P. would accompany Blitzo and Striker in case they needed help dealing with Gustav. They'd tell him to leave Striker's son alone or they'll bring Kaitlin for backup. That would mean that Striker would get someone to babysit Jake like Sallie Mae. Knowing Kaitlin, she may be nice, but when she gets pushed around, she'd go all mama bear mode in order to defend her stepson, her husband, and friends. Sometimes, Loona would videotape the scuffles from her phone between Striker and Gustav, finding them amusing, but deep down, she'd want the cowboy imp to win. Thanks to Kaitlin's, Blitzo's, Jake's, and the I.M.P. 's confidence in Striker, he was sure to win.
A shoutout to LadyAnaconda and heart8822 for giving me an informative review on the first chapter of this story and another shoutout to Detective88 for helping me with this story.