A Bittersweet Twist

by FaroeKing97

Loona was never adopted. At the age of 18, she spends her days wandering the streets of Gluttony, bitter and alone, until she decides on a whim to attend one of Beelzebub's parties. There she meets the Queen Bee herself, who quickly takes an interest in the lonely hellhound. Determined to befriend Loona, with time, the two become much more.

And now for my last and longest One-Shot I've written thus far! One I've had in the works for several months. I began working on this all the way back in mid-2023, and after proof reading it, having it Beta-Red, I'm excited to finally show the fruits of my labor.

I've wanted to do a Loona/Beelzebub fic also immediately after Queen Bee was finally released onto the internet. I've always enjoyed some good Bisexual Loona content and the idea of her having a fire/ice relationship with the party girl of Gluttony itself was too spicy to pass on.

Shortly after this idea came and I just went on from there. So after much hard work, I really hope you guys enjoy it:

Special thanks to an_undead_gamer_45, Thelunchking and redthespian for Pre-reading and Betaing my Fanfic!

Cover Art: Axellhy on Twitter

---

The one good thing about living in Gluttony, she believed at least, was the heat. The whole Ring was basically a vast, overgrown tropical jungle, filled with exotic wildlife and living plants, which all needed high humidity to grow and live. Its urban cities and towns, even the ones located a long distance away from the wildest stretches of Gluttony, were still not too far away from the untamed nature and its temperature. For some demons, that made it a nigh unbearable experience, as the hot days could have you sweating oceans if you weren't prepared.

To a newly homeless orphan with no roof over her head, though? The curse became a blessing at night.

Loona did her best to ignore the torturous grumbling of her stomach as it cried out for some small morsel of real food, after enduring nothing but scraps. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a full, big meal; the closest thing the hound could recall was her last meal from the Foundation…before they had kicked her out.

For 18 years she had rotted in that nightmarish place, the first memories she had were from her time behind one of their many cells; trapped in a glorified kennel behind bars, usually next to other rougher and jaded kids who would bully her relentlessly. It forced her to grow up fast, just to stay alive.

Her only comforts were her drawings, her phone, and the misguided hope that one day she'd finally find an out. That someone would adopt her into a forever home, where she'd finally get the familial love she had long since yearned for.

But the day never came. No matter how old she grew, one thing never changed: no one wanted her. She tried everything she could to get adopted or even noticed by the various imps, -ccubi, and hellhounds looking for a daughter; she trained her body and tried to look cute and as friendly as possible, but each and every time she had been rejected in favor of a different, better hound. Shit, sometimes she was even left in favor of the crueler dogs that would torment her relentlessly. It wasn't fucking fair! What was wrong with her? What had she done to deserve to be ignored all her life?

As she entered her teens, the years of abandonment; of feeling unwanted and unworthy - led to her developing an 'attitude problem.' Really, though, that was just code for a troublemaker - a problem child. Someone who refused to obey the rules like a good, obedient mutt. Sure, that might've worsened her chances of getting adopted, as the staff began actively advocating against adopting her, but by that point, Loona had stopped caring. She knew by now she was beyond loving, so why even bother? At least this way they couldn't hurt her any more than they already had. It wasn't like she needed them anyway.

Except…Loona knew she did need them. Longed for them even…for anyone. Just some small sign that someone cared. And yet, months turned into years, and still nothing. No one wanted to adopt her. As her final month at the Foundation drew nearer, Loona spent most nights crying herself to sleep, asking herself why. What was wrong with her? Why was she so unlovable? Why couldn't just one person see that she was more than just a dumb dog?

Finally, the day came; she had turned 18 years old, and could no longer be kept in a foundation. So they kicked her out. Pretty much the minute she had aged up, they had dragged her out, given her a meal, and thrown her into a cruel, uncaring Ring with nothing more than the clothes on her back and her phone.…and it had died from battery loss weeks ago.

Loona fought back the tears threatening to spill as she thought back to those first few days, walking tirelessly through the streets of Gluttony, without a penny to her name, looking for someplace to sleep for the night. She had tried finding a job, but given her lack of an advanced education or accomplishments few places wanted to take a chance on her. Most days she got through by eating whatever she could dig out of the garbage and huddling in benches or alleyways for sleep, in a ring where the sky was so bright even midnight felt like morning. At times she'd even miss her days at the Foundation. At least the food wasn't expired and the beds were slightly more comfortable. Now she had nothing. And no one.

As she wandered through the streets, lost in her mind, Loona heard the faint sound of music and laughter coming from the far end of the street. Despite her rotten mood, curiosity pecked at the lonely hellhound, drawing her towards the sounds of merriment. Her search led her to a large, fancy-looking building. Blinding, colorful lights were coming from the dome roof as loud, party music rocked from inside. Surrounding the outside were various hellhounds and imps either drinking, laughing, chatting, or all of the above, clearly having the time of their lives. And from what Loona could see through the door, the whole building seemed to be packed with even more people enjoying themselves.

There was obviously a party going on. And a pretty relaxed one too, considering the lack of security. Loona just scowled bitterly and tried to walk off; the last thing she needed was another reminder of the people who were better off than her. She hoped the fuckers all got diabetes or STDs from there.

Then her stomach growled again; far too heavily for her to ignore. Loona cringed and clutched herself in pain as her body cried out for nourishment. The hellhound fought back a growl, knowing she couldn't take much more of this. She needed food…REAL food, that wasn't going to get her sick the next morning.

There was no way anyone would notice if she got a few snacks right?

With a groan of irritation, Loona steeled herself and changed course towards the building, no one seeming to notice her as they were too caught up in their business to care for a hellhound nobody. She stepped inside and nearly cringed at the loud, wild atmosphere. The lights and colors were almost ten times brighter on the inside. And everywhere she turned something was going on. The roof was filled with hexagons like a fucking beehive, with hoops and rings acting like pillars, and what seemed to be honey, bubbling from the floor. On one side, people were dancing and waving to loud party music, at another they were either getting hammered or playing wild and dangerous games without any worry, one was just people chatting, and one corner had hounds stuffing themselves at the tables containing more food and drink than Loona had ever seen in her lifetime.

The experience was overwhelming to the sheltered homeless hound, who had no idea what to make of any of this. She stood in place for almost a minute just taking it all in…then scowled, shook her head and just headed towards the food tables. She was here for a free meal, nothing more. The sooner she got something to eat and then left the better. Going practically unnoticed by the engrossed partygoers, and ignoring the few demons who did stop to watch her, Looned piled food and drink onto the platter and began scarfing it down at her corner of the room. "Fuck them. Fuck them all," Loona muttered bitterly to herself, as she ate, not even caring how delicious and wonderful the food tasted, as the hound sat by her lonesome.

No one talked to her. And no one seemed to care about her. Even here that never changed.

It never would.

---

The Ring Lord prided herself on being able to bring so much joy to their no doubt hard and stressful lives. She was not the most politically active or technically the most powerful of the Sins, but she did what she could for the people of her realm. Most of them, often the hellhound, didn't live fantastic lives, so Bee made it her personal mission to at least help them relax and unwind. Somewhere they could be free from the ridiculous standards of Hell and their harsh labor and have fun no matter who they were. And seeing them happy, enjoying themselves and just having a blast brought a satisfied smile to her every time. Plus the sweet ambrosia-like taste of their fun and their newly reforged loyalty towards her and honey collecting was a pretty sweet bonus too; definitely a tasty one. The queen inhaled deeply, to get another taste of the sugary atmosphere and nigh addictive sweetness that hung over the festive air.

And then suddenly…she frowned, noticing something else. A faint, but persistent bitter, rotten taste right at the back of her tongue amidst the sweetness. It was as if she was drinking a cold strawberry milkshake, only for someone to snort a booger into it.

Someone wasn't having a good time.

But that was impossible! The Queen of Gluttony always made sure that her parties were welcoming and fun regardless of who you were, and what was going on. Her motto was that no one could leave her party unhappy. And for years she had managed to keep the streak going. So what in Hell was up?

Flying upwards from the crowd, Bee used her empathic senses to scan through the crowd for this mysterious soul that had wandered into her grand party and wasn't enjoying themselves. The Fox Demon couldn't remember the last time anyone had actually had a bad time at one of her parties; not this badly anyway. Sure it had happened on several occasions, but even the most unfortunate souls were at least a little cheered up whenever they had attended one of her gigs. It was honestly fascinating to her; whoever this stranger was, Beelzebub knew she just had to meet them.

Then, she found her. The lone silver hellhound leaning against a corner far away from the other demons. Bee found her not half bad looking despite her state, though at the moment that was the furthest thing on her mind. She noticed her platter stuffed with food, which she was scarfing down like she hadn't eaten in days. And from the looks of things she hadn't. The hellhound looked nearly malnourished and unwashed, her fur coat covered in muck and grime, and her hair in a nest of unkempt, unshed knots, wearing clothes Bee could only assume were the only things she owned. Looked like they barely fit her.

Many possibilities rang over Bee's head regarding what was going on. Despite her status, Beelzebub was no stranger to the poor lot her hellhounds suffered almost constantly. Perhaps she had been kicked out of her home? Maybe a poor girl struggling to get by? Or she was stuck in an unfair, low-play job just wanting some good food for a night. It could've been anything honestly. She seemed lonely too, the queen noted, with how she had caught the stranger side eyeing some of the people in between bites almost longingly.

The more the queen obscured this odd hound, the more bad she felt for the poor thing. That and she was a little curious about what her story might be. And so being the ever impulsive and sneaky fox that she was, Bee quietly buzzed towards the lonely hellhound, gently landing beside her and leaning in with a playful little smirk, right as she was about to tear into a drumstick.

"Sup?"

"GAAAAAH!" Loona recoiled in shock at the sudden voice, her food platter ending up on the floor in a large messy pile while she nearly fell on her back. Bee did her best to stifle the laugh threatening to come out, as the hellhound recovered growling at her in a threatened, furious fit. "The fuck's your problem asshole?"

Bee took in stride, her small peppy smile never fading as she shrugged with her upper arms, her lower ones raised. "Hey, no probs here, bitch. Just noticed you were all here by your lonesome, thought you could use some company or shit. Nobody wants to be the only single person at a party right?"

Loona's fury died down a bit, but she still glowered at the Queen. The last thing she needed was false sympathy; least of all from fucking Beelzebub herself. As if the universe wanted to mock her, they sent the Ring Lord of Gluttony herself, just to pretend to care about a lowly mutt like her. "I'm fine, thanks." Loona got up and began walking away, trying to find some other isolated spot to hide in or failing that, a nearby exit.

"Aww come on don't be like that Sour Cream, I just wanna chat." The Queen could easily sense Loona wasn't being entirely truthful, flying right next to her and giving her a playful, but genuinely friendly smile as she tried a different approach. "Look, let me at least get you a better seat and some sweets. I owe you that much, considering I ruined your little feast there. My B, BTWs."

Loona nearly brushed Bee aside but had to admit the offer sounded really good right at the moment. "I swear if this is some fucking joke-"

"It's totally not, honest! Here, have a drink and follow me, I'll get us a private table. Best seats in the building!" With a casual flick of her fingers, the Queen summoned a party cup filled with Beezlejuice right into Loona's hands; the hellhound nearly dropped the sudden gift, in surprise. Bee wrapped her arms around Loona's and led her to the upper floor, which had a more calm, lounge-like feel to it. While usually not one too comfortable with being dragged along like this, the promise of good food and seating were enough for her to tolerate this one time. And thankfully it only lasted a minute or two, Bee sitting her down on a vacant couch away from the ruckus of the party. "See, what did I tell ya! Is this comfy or is it comfy?"

Loona begrudgingly had to admit the leather couch was pretty cozy. Probably the comfiest thing she had sat on in ages, which was just so fucking sad. "It's okay, I guess."

"I'll take it. Now come on, this is a party. Enjoy your B-Juice. It's straight from my personal supply and sugary sweet," said Bee in a sing-along voice, getting herself a drink which she greedily chugged.

Loona just sneered at the gift and pushed it away, knowing better than to accept beer from strangers. Who knew what was in that stuff? "Not in the mood for a drink right now."

"Too early for you? I totally respect the shit out of that! Like mad props to you girl! Hard drinkers are cool and all, but I love seeing my guests showing restraint," The Sin said completely sincerely, snapping her fingers and changing the honey into a cold bottle of fizzy brown stuff: "Here, have some Soda. Colaine okay with you? Or are you more of a Puffpsi gal?"

This too, Loona seemed reluctant to accept, even though it was unopened as if wondering if this too was drugged somehow. Even when she finally drank the admittedly refreshing drink, it was only small sips at a time. "So, is there a reason fucking Beelzebub is bothering me? Let me guess, don't want the dirty-looking losers like me stinking up your stupid drug party? Can't believe people actually buy into your crap."

The queen's third eye and mouth twitched just for a minute at the hound's bold claim before she breathed in and gave Loona a sweet innocent smile. "Naah bitch, just making sure you're comfy and having fun is all; tis the queens' duty after all. Let me guess, first time at a party, innit?" Loona refused to meet her gaze, secretly feeling embarrassed by how easily she had figured that out. which the Sin could sense was a confirmation. With a more sympathetic posture, she smiled gently at the hound. "Hey, no need to feel like shit about it; I get it. My parties can be pretty wild and overwhelming for beginners, ain't no shame about feeling it's too much."

"No thanks, I just want my food and I'm out of this dump," Loona sneered coldly, glaring at the Sin with an impatient frown.

Bee's smile began to turn downwards, not used to her parties being insulted like that. Twice. Struggling to keep her annoyance at bay she asked. "Uh, you got a problem or something? No need for this negativity girl. If you're not having fun, you can just leave."

Loona was starting to rise to her feet. "Maybe I will, bitch. Shouldn't have come here anyways, it's all just a bunch of fake crack rager bullshit to attract drugged-up junk and junkies, so you can get them under your thumb and trick'em into brewing more of that sweet honey just for you. That's all you care about, right?"

"The FUCK YOU SAY TO ME? YOU WANNA FUCKING GO BEE-ATCH?!" Bee's finally snapped at that. The Sin of Gluttony climbed out of her booth and began towering over Loona, her fur and hair turning golden, teeth sharpening into dragon fangs and a third eye opening up at the center of her forehead, as it glared down at the hellhound, looking at the sudden display in shock. "I WILL FUCKING END YOU!"

Loona backed away at the sight of it, briefly afraid of the Queen's wrath, before, to her surprise, she kept her ground and glared right back, clenching her fists as if preparing to fight. Loona had had a shit day already, and if it was going to end with her taking on the Sin of Gluttony itself…well, at least she'd be able to work out some stress. Fuck, she'd also probably die taking on a Ring Lord. How many could boast that?

As the two of them stared each other down, the giant Beelzebub eyed the hellhound curiously, taken aback by the hound's brave response. Most demons knew better than to pick a fight with her, and those that did backed off the second she got serious. But not this one. Whoever this person was, she didn't seem to be intimidated by her at all. Imagine that, a hellhound having more courage than most Ars Goetia. This one really was something else! Kinda hot too…She was so impressed by it all, that Bee started to laugh. "Oh, ho ho ho, shit! Going right to the fucking throat huh? Fuck, you've got balls there Sour Cream!"

The reaction caught Loona by surprise, as she stood there stunned watching Bee shrink down to normal height, her lower arms clutching her lava-lamp stomach, her upper right wiping away a tear, as she gave her an impressed grin. "No seriously bitch, didn't know I was dealing with a badass over here. Never thought I'd see the day someone would actually be ballsy enough to say that to my fucking face. And-and then you just stand there, ready to take on a Sin over a fucking comment? I mean, damn girl, you sure you're a hellhound? Shit, can't remember the last time someone had the guts to try and fucking dig at me like that. I mean 'cept Levy, but dude's a serious buzzkill so they don't count. Seriously, how does an asshole like that have kids?"

Was…was she praising her? Loona had just insulted the Ring Lord to her face and was getting praise for it. Was that supposed to happen? Loona didn't know what was weirder. Bee's sudden praise or that it had likely been the first time she had ever been complimented in literal years. She was so taken aback, that she just stood there, as the Queen walked over to her and patted her- shoulder with a wide grin. "Ah, whatever, that right there? Fucking beautiful! You ain't afraid to speak your mind and I love that! I think you just might be my new favorite person."

"Great, congrats, I'm so fucking happy for you." Loona brushed off Beelzebub's hands as she tried to leave again. "Does that mean, you'll finally leave me the Hell alone? I don't want some fucking bullshit company, least of all from you, so kindly fuck off. I'm fine on my own."

Bee watched her walk away with a wide grin. There again with that blunt, feisty nature. Fuck this hound was interesting by the second. She had to actively hold back her impulsiveness, as she approached Loona again, this time more calmly. "Yeah, see, the thing is you say that and all, but I think that ain't exactly true."

"Excuse me?" The hellhound leered at the Sin as she began to explain:

"I can sense the aura and energy of everyone who comes into my party, helps me figure out how to make sure they're all having a good time. And your aura? It's sour. Reaaaaal sour and bitter, but like in a sad way more than an angry way you know? I look at you and I'm getting the feeling you ain't doing too good." Her sad smile turned into a disappointed frown as she looked back at Loona, the hound sporting an unreadable expression. She looked at her clothes, her fur, her form, having often seen it in her days, especially during one particularly dark moment of her life, and sighed: "I've had a lot of partygoers at my gigs, and plenty of them feel like you, folks with baggage, damage, hurt, who've been kicked one too many times by life and don't know what to do anymore. Sure the taste is always a little different, some are more bitter than others, but it's often the same vibes. So, trust me when I say, I get it. You don't have to talk to me about it, but you don't have to go about it alone either, you know?"

Throughout her speech Loona just stood by and listened, still feeling untrusting of the Sin but not sure how to feel about this unexpected show of care. After all, she was a Sin. Why was she telling her this? Offering her advice? Was this some kind of joke or something? It didn't feel like it but, who could tell in this damn place?

She was pulled from her thoughts as Bee motioned her to sit down again. "Look, if you ever change your mind about my 'fake crack rager bullshit all to attract a bunch of drugged-up junk and junkies, to get them under your thumb and trick'em into brewing more that sweet honey just for me' I'm throwing another one down here next Saturday at 10 PM. You don't have to come if you're not up to it, but you'll be welcome. I'll make sure you find a click somewhere if you'd like. Maybe I can finally grow on you up to it by then."

Loona didn't answer but didn't try to leave either. That was enough for the Sin as she prepared to leave her to her thoughts. "Until then, I promised you some sweeter didn't I?" Bee offered with a sly smile. "A Queen is nothing if not a generous bitch! What do ya want Sour Cream?"

"Stop fucking calling me that," The hound muttered with a roll of her eyes, annoyed at the Ring Lord's pet name. "My name is Loona."

"Loona! Nice! Pretty name to match that cute as shit face." Bee teased with an adorable coo, the hellhound rolling her eyes once more. "Now come on, tell me what you want. Everything here's all on me baby. Whether you want M&Ms, ice cream, or some fucking fine Beelzejuice, this queen always makes sure her guest leave, with their tastebuds blown to fucking bits! Give me something, girl!"

The hellhound sighed, realizing she wouldn't relent until she gave in. "I guess I could go for some brownies."

"BROWNIES! Nice! I like your taste bitch!" Bee grinned excitedly, before preparing her feast for her new favorite guest. "How do you like'em?"

"Excuse me?" asked Loona with a confused, cocked eyebrow.

"How do you like your brownies? Come on there's like a bajillion versions out there. You like them Classic? Fudgy? Chunky? Nuts? Almonds? Mint? White Chocolate? Peanut Butter? Caramel? Vegan? Nutella? Cosmic? Slutty?"

"Just, regular brownies are fine."

"Works for me," And just like that, a plate of regular, chocolate brownies was in front of Loona, as she left her alone. "Enjoy the party, have a great night. Hope to see you again, Loona." She gave her a wink, and took off into the air, to tend to her other partygoers.

Loona watched her fly off, not knowing what to think of the Queen. She figured she would've been some vindictive selfish bitch, like she had always imagined as a teen; no different from all the other assholes in her life. But instead, she turned out to be just an annoying bitch, who insisted on invading her personal space and stuffing her full of junk food.

And she had been the first one to show her real kindness in years. The first one to bother and check on her, even sitting down for a talk and some food despite how often the hound had tried to get her to leave. It was probably some kind of sick joke but still, it was kinda nice…

Loona looked down at her brownies with a cautious look, as if checking if they were secretly poisoned or something. When they didn't explode on her face after the 10th touch, she picked up the fork and slowly took a bite of some of the chocolate cake.

Her eyes widened at the almost blasphemously wonderful taste.

Holy Shit.

---

The week felt more like a month to the homeless hellhound.

Turns out, when you lived in the streets with little to no distractions other than trying to find your next meal or somewhere decent to sleep in the Lucifer-forsaken Ring, time crawled at a snail's pace.

Despite her mostly mixed night, the hellhound's luck didn't improve much afterward. Still homeless and with no good food, the hound tried her best to find some kind of work to get by; doing her damndest to apply anywhere that was looking for workers, but each time with no luck. At this point, her best options were sex work or drug selling, and even she wasn't desperate enough for that.

By the time Saturday rolled by again, Loona found herself almost in an identical spot to where she had last time; hungry, tired, and alone. She almost decided against showing up at all, mostly just to spite that annoying, peppy four-armed bitch; show her she didn't need her bullshit kindness to get by. But ultimately two things drew her back; the first being hunger. This place was the last time she had had a decent meal, in months.

And the second, oddly enough, was Beelzebub. Sure, the blueblooded fox had been immensely annoying, as well as clingy, blabbermouth who never took no for an answer, and likely only stuck around her as some kind of sick joke, pretending like she gave a shit to look good and wrap her finger around for something else…but, she had also been kind to her.

It was a little thing. A pitifully little thing, but after so many years of neglect, of being treated like a mutt, of being seen like an afterthought and dismissed as a failure, to have the Queen of Gluttony shower her with attention like that had been something else. She had given her a seat, offered food and drink, tried talking to her despite constant insults and threats, and weirdest yet, she had complimented her and asked for her to come back again. She had even sounded genuine about it too.

Loona quickly dismissed that notion. A royal giving a shit towards a lowborn? Least of all a good-for-nothing hellhound like her? What a fucking joke that was.

Still, she could use some good food and drink after a week of garbage and stolen goods. So, Loona steeled up her nerves and entered.

The place was no different from last time. Still filled with demons having fun, snacking on food and just going crazy; only now most of them had gathered at the center hall, where what looked to be a giant disco ball was shining light and various colors throughout the building.

It had seemed she had arrived right in the middle of some kind of concert. The partygoers were all cheering on a lone figure flying through the air, in the middle of a grand pop number of some kind. As Loona approached the scene, she could make out the familiar form of Beelzebub, her fur constantly shifting color like a chameleon as she zipped through the air like a bee, showering her audience with cotton candy and all manner of sweets; Loona could've sworn for a moment there it looked like she had briefly smiled at the sight of her, during one of her flybys. She was singing some kind of poppy party song about sweets, honey, and starlight or some shit; Loona hadn't arrived in time to hear the full lyrics. It was catchy though. Loona was not a big pop girl, but she had ears and knew a good singer when she heard it.

The song eventually came to an end, as the audience clapped, cheered, and indulged themselves in the shower of sugar provided by their ever-generous queen. As the party resumed and everyone went back to their routine, Loona went to find the buffet table, eager for some much-needed food. Hopefully something without so much sugar that her morals would rot. Though Loona barely made it halfway, before she heard a wild howl and the fast flutter of wings zooming behind her. She didn't even have time to turn around before she was wrapped up in a four-armed hug and practically lifted off the air.

A familiar laugh rang in her ear as Bee turned around to face her with a welcoming smile. She sounded almost relieved and excited to see her again. "Loona! So glad you could make it! Almost thought you forgot or some shit, when you didn't catch my big opening number. Sorry, you had to miss it; just not the same when you only catch the second half you know?"

Loona was seconds away from throttling the peppy little fox on the spot but stopped herself when she realized something. She had remembered her. Queen Beelzebub had remembered her name and had looked forward to seeing her again. But…but why? She had no doubt met dozens if not hundreds of new faces every night, so what about her made the Sin care enough to commit her name to memory? It was so confusing and weird and oddly enough, sweet. The Queen of Gluttony actually remembered her.

Unfortunately, the surprise of that fact had kept her stunned long enough for Bee to put her down and start blathering on again: "So what have you been up to bitch? Any exciting life changes? Stories from work? Friendship drama? Fucked someone hot recently? Come on girl, let me have the deets!"

Loona struggled to come up with answers for the excited and curious Sin, not wanting to admit what her life was actually like: "Oh, you know, it's been pretty low key you know. Work's…work; same old same old. No big news, sorry."

"Hey, no worries, we all got slow weeks. Even me! Seriously, the monthly Sins meet up at Lucy's are sooooo boooooring!" Bee let out a long tired groan as her colors paled for a second. "Won't even let me throw him a party, til we get through. Super fucking Lame. I mean, I get it's important politics stuff and all, but I swear it's like everyone just turns off their fun buttons at that place. Seriously, Loona, do NOT go into politics."

"Right…I'll keep that in mind," said Loona with a deadpanned frown, though relieved the focus had shifted onto the queen rather than her. "What about you? I'm guessing you've just been partying all day?"

"Baby you know it! It's literally what I was made for; some days it's like I barely have time for myself, you know? Haven't had a me-day in like forever." While she did sound a bit exhausted, there's also a clear sense of pride in Bee's voice. "I mean, not that I'm complaining mind you; what's not to love about raging with my lower-class peps every day? If only I could get Belphegor to let me use some of her S-Tier party drugs, this would knock your pants off."

"Sure," said Loona dryly. "Speaking of politics though, can't help but notice there's a lot of hellborn here? What, couldn't get some Ars Goetia to show up or something?" Indeed, even though she had only been here twice, Loona was a little surprised not to find a single royal demon of any kind among her. It was all the common hellborn, with not so much as a President among them. A bit odd, considering a Sin was hosting.

"Pssst. As if! I shit you not, the idea of a party for about 90% of those killjoys, is those fancy-schmancy galas and meet-ups, where everyone's dressed in 5 layers and we gotta talk like it's still the Renaissance! Fuck that noise! I've got my people right there!" She howled out to the crowd, all of whom joined in with gusto, proving the queen's point. When she noticed Loona didn't join in the mass howl, the hound still unused to the wild party atmosphere, Bee gave her a playful nudge on the shoulder. "Come on LooLoo! You gotta join in on the howl!"

That sounded absolutely horrible to Loona. She had never howled in a group before, and now she was being asked to do so with who knows how many? No fucking way! "I don't even know half of these people!"

"Neither does anyone else! Isn't stopping them," insisted the Ring Lord with a small smirk. "Come on, there's like a billion other hounds in there. No one's going to notice if one of them is slightly off-key."

"It's just…I-I-I've never done something like this, not in a crowd, so I don't know if I'm ready…" Bee finally noticed Loona was growing anxious at the idea, causing her slightly sour aura to turn a bit bitter. Realizing her attempts to get her to join were only causing the hound more grief, the Sin frowned and decided to back off.

"You know what? Forget what I said; If you're not ready for it yet, it's okay. Totally. Guess, I just got a bit carried away there after the song, with everyone cheering me on and now you being here. Easy to lose focus at a big party, you know?" Bee shook her head and gave Loona a supportive smile as she tried patting her on the back. "Important thing is that you showed up!"

The hellhound didn't answer, beyond a short grunt, just thankful the Ring Lord had finally dropped the issue. Loona had expected her to force it out of her, with how peppy she was, but no. It seemed the Sin had a decent grasp of boundaries after all.

"Now, what do you wanna do?" Bee asked her eagerly. "Second time at one of my little get-togethers. What are you in the mood for girl? The dance floor's right upstairs if you wanna show me your stuff?"

"No I'm just here for the food," Loona answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hah! More of that blunt honesty! Love it!" Bee laughed it off and pointed toward the buffet tables. "Go ahead and eat to your soul's content. And if you're up for it, find me if you wanna talk. Same table as last time, just let me take care of some stuff and I'll be there in a sec. Great seeing you here girl!"

Bee shot her wink before flying off, talking to the numerous other guests, her enthusiasm never dropping once. Loona watched her for a bit, before going to the buffet to get some snacks and then some place to sit.

And sure enough, there Bee was; sitting at a familiar table, waving her hand and motioning her to sit beside her with a bright happy smile. She actually looked excited to see her approaching. So much so that, despite briefly considering walking away and finding a different table, Loona ultimately decided to join her. She had been alone for so long, so why not enjoy a familiar face for once? An hour or two wouldn't kill her.

She spent the night with the Sin, talking and eating with her for a bit before Beelzebub had to go and tend to some more of her guests. She'd occasionally check up on Loona when she was nearby and saw her out as she left full, warm, and surprisingly a bit happy.

Before leaving, Bee again invited her to come for her next party in about 5 days.

Loona initially sneered at the invite.

And five days later, she arrived in time to see Bee's big number in full. It was a good song.

---

A few months went by; life didn't change much for Loona other than her occasional attendance at Bee's many parties. Loona made it a point not to attend every one, still not fully trusting the Sin and her supposedly sweet interior, but whenever she attended Bee was always there waiting for her, with a bright excited smile ready to greet her. And despite how much her overly bubbly and wild attitude irked her at times, Loona oddly stopped minding after a while.

Whenever they'd met up, the queen always made it a point to check up on her; asking how her life was going, what her work was like, how her days had been, where she lived, who her friends were, if she had any romantic partners, what her plans were, Loona doing her best answering without giving too much away; telling the Queen short answers and dismissing others. Once in a while, she had tried to ask about her past, but after a hard rebuttal or two, the Ring Lord agreed to drop it for the time being. After which, they'd make some small talk about whatever was on their mind and certain guests, just passing the time until Bee left her alone. At which point Loona would finish her meal and leave.

She didn't bother trying to talk to the other guests, especially not the beefed-up dudebros, clearly looking for a quick one-night stand. Most of the times she had tried to socialize with others it hadn't ended well for her; as far as the hound was concerned, her usual meet-ups with Beelzebub were more than enough.

Loona began appreciating these small talks a bit more with each party. Beelzebub always sounded genuinely interested to know how she was doing, often encouraging the hellhound to stay longer and even meet other people while she was there. Loona never listened to her advice, but she appreciated it. She was sure the Sin would eventually forget all about her, but for the time being, knowing that someone like that seemed actually interested in her, with seemingly no other ulterior motive, was comforting. Soon and without noticing it, the hellhound had started to relax more and open up just a bit, whenever she was with the Fox Sin.

The only weird thing now was that whenever she left the party, somehow there'd always be a small amount of money on her. Ever since her second time arriving here, she kept finding more and more change mysteriously appearing on her.

It had started during her third party when she had found a mysterious 50 $ouls in her pocket when she left. Loona had no idea where that had come from, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The next party it was 100, then 150, 200, 300, 500! It just kept on going! And sure, the money was nice, with it she had managed to get a rare night at a cheap motel, her first shower in ages; she even got a cable to recharge her phone. She had the internet again! Loona was embarrassed to admit she nearly cried when she saw her familiar desktop again. But she also didn't trust the money; no one had given her free stuff like this before, so why now? The party food was one thing, that was meant for everyone, but free money? What was going on?

"Come on, LooLoo, it's not even midnight yet!" Beelzebub pulled Loona out of her thoughts, as she tried once more to pull the white beauty back into the party, calling her by the dumb, new nickname. "Let's do karaoke! Play a little beer pong! Maybe try to talk to someone other than me for once?" asked the Sin hopefully.

Loona just wrestled her arm free from Bee's grasp, with a small annoyed if a little amused snort: "Keep telling you not to call me that. And no, I've got work tomorrow. Real important stuff," she lied as she walked out the door.

But the Ring Lord wasn't about to let her go so easily. With a small raspberry she playfully suggested: "Just call in sick, they can manage a day without you. It's just work; a Beelzebub party's only a once-in-a-week experience! Come on, I know some hounds I'm sure you'd get along with perfectly! Come on, just one more hour? Pretty please?" She closed all four of her hands together and gave Loona a big, bright, cute puppy dog-eyed look that would've melted anyone's heart right on the spot.

Unless you were Loona, who, while secretly finding it incredibly adorable, brushed it off and insisted. "No means no, you fricking party animal. Now, please let me go and I might take you up on that next time."

The Ring Lord let out a playful little sigh, before relenting. "That better be a fucking promise girl! Cause I'm not letting you walk away from that one."

Loona just gave her a small smile, before heading off. The Queen Bee was still as persistent and talkative as ever, but now it was more endearing than annoying. The Sin's bright smile, optimism, and devil-may-care attitude were almost infectious. Not just to Loona but everyone else in the party seemed to get a little bit brighter whenever Bee was around. Loona was unsure if it was her magic up sweets or something, but she didn't care anymore.

It was then that Loona remembered something. Checking her pocket, she once again found it filled with money. And when she pulled it out, the hellhound was gobsmacked to find a clean 1000 $ouls.

Something was going on; she didn't know why this was happening but it was starting to piss her off. Was this some kind of sick game? Seriously who the fuck was doing this? The only person she ever talked to was-

The pieces finally clicked together with Loona, and she was filled with embarrassed rage. Storming back into the party, she quickly found the sly fox right as she was done with a bit of dancing. "Bee!" She shouted out angrily at the Sin, who turned to her, excited to see her come back, only to look a little confused by her glare. It only irritated Loona more, as she pulled out the vat of cash and showed it to the Queen. "You wanna explain how this got into my pocket?"

After a beat, the Ring Lord's frown turned into a small, playful smirk. "Oh, that? I slipped it in your pocket while you weren't looking. Surprise!" She threw her hands up in the air with a bright happy smile, summoning small rains of confetti at her declaration.

Loona was taken aback by the Sins' quite open reveal, not expecting her to admit to it so casually, then growled at her. A confused, angry, and accusing growl at that. "Why? What the fuck are you trying to pull here?"

"Aww come on LooLoo. You gonna complain about free money now?" Beelzebub pouted comically, which only made the hound more pissed off. "Relax, it's just a little gift. I give 'em every once in a while to those who could use a few bucks."

Loona was not thankful for it at all. Her growl grew lower as she stared daggers right at her supposed friend; Bee began to frown, worried by her friend's worsening aura. "So what? Is that why you've been talking to me this whole time? You think you can just buy my time? You think I'm some kinda… conversation hooker?" The Sin looked hurt by the hound's accusation, taking a step back as Loona zeroed in. "That's why you're doing this, isn't it? Admit it, you're just doing this as some kind of stupid joke, right? Wanna bribe me into more one-on-ones so you can do…whatever it is you gain from this shit?"

The Ring Lord just shook her head lamely: "No course not, I did it cause you're homeless."

Loona blinked in surprise at that. "W-what?" How in Hell did she know about that?! She was sure she hadn't told anyone, not even referencing it. And she had made sure not to get drunk, in case of a scenario like this or possibly something worse. "How did-I'm not-What the actual FUCK! Have you been spying on me or something?"

Bee was not phased by Loona's harsh accusation; instead, she chuckled sadly as her bright smile turned into a sympathetic frown. "Come on, Loona, I'm not stupid. You don't think I can't notice how you're always wearing the same clothes each time? Or that you haven't showered in like days? Or how you keep wolfing down like it's the first good meal, you've had in weeks? Or how that same sour aura of yours only sweetens up, even if only a little, whenever you're here?" Though the fox had mentioned each detail as gently and politely as she could, each question only made the hellhound paler and more shocked; unable to come to terms that Bee had figured her out. The sight of this made Bee feel guilty. "I just didn't wanna mention it, 'cause it seemed pretty touchy for you. Last thing I wanted was to get too personal when you weren't ready for it."

Loona didn't know what to say. She felt humiliated, embarrassed, and completely stupid! She had known all this time? Oh, what was she saying? Of course, she had! Anyone with a good pair of eyes and a halfway-working brain could've figured it out from just a sideways glance! But then, why would she hang out with her? What could someone like Beelzebub possibly gain from talking and paying a homeless, poor hellhound like her all this time except…

Loona's hands tightened into fists, as a low, cold growl began to emerge from her throat and she glared at a sin, a million emotions playing in her mind. Anger, humiliation, embarrassment, betrayal, sadness. Bee had just enough time to frown worriedly before she coldly snapped. "S-so that's it huh? That's why you're always talking to me? You've just been pitying me this whole time? Treating me like some charity case for your sick amusement?!" Loona snarled as she reared her hand back, and threw the bills all over the Sin. "Fuck you! I don't want your damn pity, so shove your money up your ass for all I care!"

Loona turned and ran towards the exit, pushing aside partygoers and guests as she went for the door. "Loona wait!" Behind her, Bee flew to her, a worried, almost pleading frown on her face as she tried to talk to the hellhound. "Look, I'm sorry about the secret money, I was just worried you'd refuse it, if I gave it to you naturally. Let's just talk about it."

Loona didn't even turn to face her, as she continued running. "What, so I can give you more things to laugh about? More reasons for you to feel bad about my sad, rotten life, while you laze about in your billionaire mansion, mocking us? Fucking fat chance of that!"

Bee flinched, visibly hurt by the sudden accusations. "What are you talking about? Like, the hell is this coming from? Literally, nothing you're saying is true." She reached out for her shoulder, desperate to talk to her fleeing friend. "I was just trying to help you-"

"WELL MAYBE I DON'T WANT YOUR FUCKING HELP!" Loona ripped Bee's arm off her and snarled right to her face, shocking the Sin long enough for her to start tearing into the Ring Lord. "So just stop it! Stop trying to talk to me! Stop trying to bribe me with money! Stop inviting me to your big ego-stroking, honey-collecting, sugar parties! Stop-stop fucking pretending to be nice to me, okay? I know it's bullshit! It's all fucking bullshit! Nobody in this forsaken realm ever gave two shits about me, so why would you?"

Loona pushed through the exit door and into the hot, uncaring vast jungle of Gluttony, and by the time Bee had recovered and tried to pursue her, the hellhound was long gone from her sight. Realizing trying to pursue her now would only make things worse, Bee reluctantly sighed and went back to her party; not that she was in the mood for it anymore. She closed it up shortly after and retired to her room, not managing to sleep, as she thought about Loona, how to fix things, and what to say to her the next time they met. And most of all, hoping she was okay.

Elsewhere Loona wandered the empty streets she had made her home for so long now, refusing to even look in the direction of the party, of the building…of her. Fighting a losing battle to keep herself from breaking down, she hugged herself and did her best to sleep on the dirty floor, feeling empty, betrayed…and alone.

---

Two weeks had passed since the big blowout at Beelzebub's party, and Loona hadn't seen her since. She didn't attend the next three parties the Sin had hosted and actively made sure to stay as far away from them as possible. Their last encounter was still fresh in the hound's mind; how mad she had been and how hurt the Ring Lord looked after what she had said. For a long while, it felt good. She had told off one of the Seven Deadly Sins and lived to tell about it. It was a high she rode for a good long while.

Until it finally wore off, and Loona realized she was right back where she used to be, only now without the closet thing she had to a friend and no more delicious food or motel rooms to keep her warm and fed after she had spent what meager money she had left. Shit, she was really regretting throwing that 1000 back at the Sin. It had felt so great at the time, but now with only a few bills and coins left, she was starting to miss how good she had it, even if it had all been a fucking lie.

Fuck, at this point she was even starting to miss talking with Bee. Sure, The Ring Lord had only done it out of bullshit pity and cause she had nothing better to do with her royal life, but at least she had someone she could depend on. Someone who seemed to care about her wanted to listen to her rambling, and even offered to hang out with her; it was better than being alone again at least. Truth be told, Loona was almost starting to miss her…

The hellhound shook those thoughts away; she refused to dwell on those false sugary thoughts. Besides if Beelzebub did care about her plight she would've checked up on her by now. But no, all she cared about was her sweet precious honey and the never ending parties, like the one she was hosting right now, just a few blocks over. Fuck her. She didn't need her. Didn't need her money. Didn't need her food. She could get that on her own. Like she always did…

"Hey! You hungry over there?"

Loona flinched, having been occupied looking for something edible in a nearby can when the sudden female voice called out to her. She turned to find a hellhound waving at her. She had a pale yellow coat, a short tail, bright blue hair with a red streak in the middle, and a short, pink dress with a dark red jacket, along with black eyeliner. She gave her a small, friendly smile, one that Loona greeted back with a murderous snarl.

"Mind your own fucking business, bitch!"

The hellhound raised her hands peacefully, indicating she meant no harm, and still kept her smile. "Hey, I'm not judging or anything. Just asking cause, I'm heading to a cafe a few blocks over. Figured you'd like something better than whatever's in that messy can. All on my tab, no worries."

Loona wasn't convinced by the supposed good offer, continuing to give a rotten stink eye and barred teeth. "You really think I'm gonna fall for that? How do I know this isn't some kinda trap to sell me off or some fucked up shit like that?"

"Uh, one it's a cafe. You really think I'm gonna try anything in a public place like that?" the stranger pointed out. "Besides, even if it was, is it really any worse than eating whatever expired crap is in those dumps? You know like at least every 10 of those cans have used tampons and drug needles in 'em right?"

"Yeah well-" Loona tried to counter, but couldn't find it in her to argue with her logic. With how much crap had eaten in the last few days, it was a miracle she hadn't caught something serious yet. Begrudgingly she closed the lid and followed the mysterious hound. The yellow good breathed what sounded like a genuinely relieved sigh, as she led the way to the bistro.

Their table was at a small and nice private spot away from everyone else. The two hounds each sat at their respective ends of the table, neither of them sharing a word until the waiter came for their order. The yellow hellhound requested the small meal of a vanilla latte, a white bread sandwich with a small side of fries, a chicken salad with dressing, and finally some red velvet cake and a chocolate croissant for dessert. Along with a large glass of Colaine Soda.

Loona rolled her eyes at the ridiculous order and simply went with a cup of black coffee and the meatiest sandwich they had.

"And she'll have the brownies too. Trust me, she's a big fan of the brownies."

The hound's sudden addendum caught Loona by surprise. They hadn't talked much until now, so why was this stranger suddenly ordering for her? And how did she know her favorite dessert? The only one who knew about that was…

It was only then that Loona noticed the hound had a familiar yellowish coat, oddly pointed ears, and paler eyes than the usual red. And then, of course, there was that same damn, cocky smile aimed right at her.

Loona almost groaned as she recognized the demon. "Oh for the love of…you again?"

Bee couldn't help but chuckle a bit, as she relaxed and motioned Loona to calm down. "Pretty clever right? Usually, I take this little number out, whenever I need a little escape from the migraines of royal life, without them trashy gossip mags sniffing my ass every block. A girl's gotta have some privacy once in a while, you know?"

The hellhound was not amused by the Ring Lord's jovial reply, still sending her a cold glare and almost left on the spot. "And let me guess, you've been trying to follow me this whole time; So you are a stalker after all!"

"Yeeesh, it's always the worst-case scenario with you, isn't it LooLoo?" Bee sighed annoyed though clearly concerned by the hound's constant negativity. "I've got no idea where that ugly pessimism came from, but it seriously won't kill you to just…like, tone it down like a one or two bar, you know? You're giving me some not-good vibes and trust me, you don't wanna know what that's gonna do to your body."

"Right, like you actually give a shit about my body. Or anything about me," Loona snapped, not at all amused by the Ring Lord's advice. "You know what, we're done-"

Loona stood up to leave, but Bee was quicker, her left hand gently grabbing hers as she cried. "Wait, wait. Please," Loona pulled her hand free from Bee's hold, glaring at the Ring Lord angrily, who returned it with a pleading look. "You don't have to believe me, but I really wasn't looking for you. Well, not this time anyway." She admitted a little bashfully as the Fox Sin explained. "I left you alone for a day to give you some space, then I tried to find you after that but turns out you're a fucking good hider when you wanna be. Was almost about to give up, when I finally managed to find you now during my quick day off."

"Day off? Don't you have a party to host in an hour or something?" asked the hound unconvinced.

Bee waved it off, a bit of playfulness returning. "I was mostly just getting some fresh air, before my big moment. Got plenty of staff hired to make sure no one tries anything while I'm away, and most of the time no one minds me being a few seconds late if the party's still good." It was right then that the waiter had arrived with their drinks. "I have more than enough time for a quick snack and chat. You know, if you're up for it."

She had looked at the hellhound hopefully, not moving to touch her food as she waited for a reply. Loona stood unmoving for a few seconds, silently contemplating whether to leave or to humor the Sin who was no doubt looking for another joke. Ultimately, having nothing more to lose anymore, the hellhound exhaled tiredly and sat back down, Bee smiling thankfully as she did. That didn't mean they went right to talking though; it took Loona getting through her coffee and half her sandwich for her to finally start asking: "How long did you know about me? From day one?"

"Like I had my suspicions when you first arrived, I've had a few poor and homeless people come to my parties for food, but I wasn't 100% on it, til about our third meet-up," The Ring Lord admitted as she nibbled at one of her fries.

Loona nodded and pressed on, still on edge with the Sin. "What else do you know about me? Beyond what I've told you?"

"I haven't been spying on you if that's what you're still thinking. I'm a Sin, not a creep," Beelzebub casually answered the question she figured the hellhound was asking. Loona's frown didn't disappear but her guard did drop at that. Just a bit. Enough for Bee to notice anyway. "I am guessing you don't have a job or a place to stay, given you don't seem to be able to get food. Is that right?" Loona didn't respond verbally, shifting her eyes away from the sin as her frown turned bitter, but to the Sin, that was all the answer she needed. Bee frowned asking her with complete sincerity. "How long have you been on the streets?"

Loona didn't seem to want to answer at first, not fully comfortable with sharing such a private piece of her past with anyone. After a long pause, she finally muttered: "Since I turned 18."

Bee got the clue immediately. "Oh…you're a foundation kid huh?" She asked more so to herself than to Loona as she exhaled in disappointment, her fur subconsciously turning a light blue. "Yeah, you're not the first one I've met; seems like more hounds age out before they get adopted. Fucking sucks every time."

Loona couldn't help but snark. "Yeah, well apparently not enough to actually do something about it. I mean you're the literal queen of the hounds, right? Wasn't this your fucking idea?"

That got the queen boiling as she seethed at the defiant hound. "Ex-fucking-cuse me? You think I haven't tried to change things?!" For a brief moment, her disguise almost dropped as the Ring Lord started growing in size, her pupils turning red, her hair became magma and a third eye opened up on her forehead, glaring at the surprised hellhound. "You think I like knowing what happens to my people every day? That I get kicks out of seeing their pain. That I don't regret ever-"

Bee had to force herself to calm down, remembering they were currently in a restaurant and she didn't want to expose either of them. Taking deep breaths she reverted to her hellhound form and continued. "I'm sorry, sorry, it's just…it's fucking complicated alright?" She tore off a small piece of the Red Velvet cake with her fork and stared at it nostalgically. As if she was thinking back to every decision in her long sinful life. Despite her youthful appearance, just looking at her eyes made her seem as ancient as Hell itself. "Yeah, I did build the foundations, ages ago. And in my list of fucks ups, that one's easily in my top 3."

After a long pause, she ate the small bit of cake and began to speak: "I know you're not a fan of me right now, but fucking trust me, just be thankful you never meet the bitch that was old me. You know those pure evil demons them holy fucks badmouth about up in Heaven? Yeah, that was me; was all the sins really. Imagine me now but 100 times worse. Didn't give a shit about standards or health, I was actively encouraging people to OD and eat themselves to death. Didn't even care much about my hellhounds, what they were going through, or how the rest of Hell was treating them. As long as they were making me honey, that was all that mattered. Shit, I was practically the one who made things so rotten in France, they had their little revolution. Bitch was a reaaaal asshole."

"So, what the fuck happened to you?" Loona asked hesitantly, intrigued about where this was going even with her complicated feelings.

"Long story short, after nearly half of my life in fun, voracious ignorance, spreading the unending message of Gluttony through Hell and Earth, eventually everyone had enough of my bullshit and tried to assassinate me. Came close too, had holy weapons and everything," Bee instinctively moved her hand to guard the upper right side of her body and paused before the next part, a sad, guilty frown emerging as she continued. "I spent the next 3 weeks powerless on the streets, struggling to get by, and finally got a good look at my Ring for the first time ever; I saw how desolated it was and all the horrific shit, the hellhounds were going through on the daily. Saw what my shitty, selfish, gluttonous behavior was doing to my Ring and my people. Learned how many were suffering from my work and how much they hated me for it. Served as a Hell of a wake-up call." The Sin cringed in pain at the next part, as if she was back there again. Witnessing everything she had caused back when she had truly been a demon. All the while Loona looked at her with an unreadable frown. She was disturbed to hear what the Queen had once been like and yet, seeing how much it pained Bee, how much she had regretted her actions, there was a small part of her that felt…something for the Sin.

"I realized, my lifestyle wasn't worth it anymore, not if everyone else had to suffer for it. I swore to myself I'd be better. Be an actual queen and not some biblical monster finally. And after I got my throne back, I spent the next centuries rebuilding Gluttony and my image. I seriously reigned in with going overboard and did the same to anyone else ODing, helped replant the jungles, fought for more rights for my hellhounds, improved working conditions at the Honey factories, and made sure the hounds were doing better. And after that, I was going to rework the foundations and make sure the hellhounds were given higher ranks." Bee started to laugh bitterly. "But turns out, even the fucking Queen of Gluttony can only do so much for her own ring, when she's six other demons writing the rules alongside her, each of them their own bag of dicks, agendas, and goals, making it almost fucking impossible to change anything around here, no matter how hard you try."

Now Bee was starting to get angry, her voice getting deeper as she continued with a frustrated frown. "Time after time I pleaded to the other Sins. Tried to explain how this could be helpful and shit! But every time, it was the same thing. Outvoted 4-3!" Some of the other patrons turned to them, as Bee's voice turned booming with the last exclamation, Loona even flinching a bit, as the Sin pounded on the table. Bee took a moment to collect herself, drinking her soda and finishing her salad before continuing somberly. "Sure, I've always got Ozzie on my back, and even Belle sometimes. But Mammon doesn't want to lose the precious pennies it'd cost to improve things, Satan thinks giving them better treatment will only encourage them to rebel again, Leviathan's a racist prick and Lucy's too depressed to want to change things. It fucking sucks! My people are getting treated like shit and no one fucking cares."

Loona didn't think she had ever seen Beelzebub so sad, as her voice cracked and she seemed nearly on the verge of tears. The hellhound wanted to believe it was all an act, but after such an emotional confession, that was getting harder for the hound. "So what? Did you just give up on trying?" She asked after the Ring Lord didn't talk.

The Queen rubbed her eyes and continued: "After a while of the same song and dance, it made me realize most of Hell doesn't give a shit about the hounds; 'the bottoms of the Inferno'. Not enough to change things. Didn't help that I was the second youngest Sins behind Belle. Everyone treats me like the baby; the teenage party girl and queen bee, who only cares about drugs, sex, and fun, too wild and irresponsible for real work. It's why they mostly keep me out of their big important stuff, 'cause they don't think I can handle it. Didn't mind too much at first but now? I hate it." Her hands turned to fists as she breathed out annoyed. "I mean, I'm not stupid. I can do politics, but everyone either doesn't take me seriously, thinks I'm not responsible enough, or hates me 'cause of how I used to be. So I did my best to help however else I could." As she went on, Beelzebub slowly began to regain a bit of her previous upbeat mood, looking back at Loona who was still listening to this silently.

"Was so busy, I didn't even throw a party for what felt like several lifetimes. I used to only do them for those rich, royal assholes, but after my near-death experience, it just didn't feel right anymore, you know? Still, I missed it; the thrill of planning a god-like rager, being the center of attention, and the fucking delicious taste of everyone having the time of their lives! Then, it hit me! Instead of hosting them for the boring dickheads running the place, I could open it up and throw'em for the rest of Hell!" She declared with an excited grin like she was much more known to sport. "So, I began hosting parties for all demons in Gluttony! Anyone and everyone, whether you were a hellhound, imp, -ccubi, or whatever, could join in free of charge to hang out, eat good, have fun, and just forget about how shit life is for a night. Kept it going until today. It's not much, but for the hounds who aren't even allowed at most clubs or live out on the street it's a lot."

"And of course, there are the occasional thousand $oul donations you hand," Loona pointed out with a knowing look.

Bee just shrugged carelessly. "Hey, if you got the money you might as well spend it right? You'd be surprised how many anonymous tips get sent to shelters and organizations when the other higher-ups aren't looking." The Sin briefly chuckled at herself before looking back at the hellhound, with a sad smile. "It's not perfect, I'll give you that, and I know I can never make up for the shit I've done, but it's better than nothing right?"

"Great. Good to know politics are screwed, no matter how much time passes…" Loona sighed as she processed all she had learned. It was certainly a lot; so much that she didn't even know what to process first or how to feel about any of it. Or Bee for that matter. Sure, Bee had done some horrible things in the past, but that was centuries ago, and from what she had seen, it seemed the Fox truly did feel bad about it and tried to change things. Some of it was her fault, but also not? The whole conundrum left her confused and not sure what to think; so instead, she just decided to ask what was really burning inside of her at the moment:
"So, why are you here really? Did you just come to check up on me and explain things or what? Or did you run out of material to laugh at me for, so you came back for more?"

Beelzebub blinked at the confusing question. "Seriously, you still think that shit?" she asked, visibly concerned that she'd think something so negative about someone. "Loona, where in Hell did you ever get an idea like that? I have literally never laughed at you once in my life."

"Right, like you don't fucking treat us like your prop for sick jokes, the moment we're out of sight," said Loona her voice dripping his sarcasm, as she glared accusingly at the Sin. "I know how you popular bitches are; we're all just your sick punchlines, to step on whenever you're bored and wanna gloat about how awesome you are."

"Oooh, no. I mean, sure I like gossip as much as the next bee and I don't mind a good laugh here and there, but I'm not some kinda petty bitch who just talks shit about my friends when they're not looking," Bee insisted, feeling offended by the accusation. "Especially not when I know you wouldn't be cool with any of that shit."

"Oh, so we're friends now?" Loona snorted out a bitter laugh at that. "The hyper-rich queen and the gutter-living bum being besties. How's that for a joke right there?"

Bee stopped herself from trying to argue as she didn't glare back but just sighed defeatedly: "Look, I didn't come here to laugh at you or excuse myself or whatever else you think. I just wanted to see you again so I could say, I'm sorry." Loona paused for a moment, her expression softening as Beelzebub sincerely apologized. "I'm sorry for a lot of things. Sorry for the secret donations; should've just told you about it from day one and offered it to you like a normal person. And I'm sorry, that I drive you up the wall a lot of times. I know I'm a total jackass most of the time, and pretty fucking proud of it too, but I get it can be too much for some people you know? I'm sorry that I betrayed your trust, and caused you to doubt yourself like that. And most of all, I'm sorry you had to go through so much hardship. I'm sorry you had to live your whole childhood in one of those pieces of shit kennels, only to not even get adopted. You deserved better and I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help you with that. I'm so so sorry."

Loona didn't know what to say. Beelzebub, the Sin of Gluttony and one of the most powerful demons of all time was actually apologizing to her? Something most of the adults in her life had refused to do? It caught the hound so off guard that she was at a loss for words. "Please. It's not like you locked me up there or anything," she eventually scoffed, pretending like she didn't care. Even if her shifting aura told Bee differently.

"Yeah, well, I'm still sorry about it all. I made you uncomfortable and betrayed your trust. That's not something I'm proud of."

An uncomfortable pause lingered after that, neither hound said a word, just finishing their meals in silence. It was only after Loona was done with her sandwich that she asked: "Why didn't you tell me about the money? I get why you gave me it, but you could've just asked if I wanted it like a normal person."

"I was afraid you'd turn it down," Bee answered ashamedly after finishing her salad. "I mean, you were always so skeptical of me whenever I gave you drinks or treats, that I figured you'd do the same for money. I was planning on telling you at our next party, after you seemed to finally trust me, but then you found out about it and flipped out before I could."

Loona wanted to argue, but couldn't deny the Sin's reasoning; given how reluctant she had been to trust Bee and her food at first. She still felt betrayed by the secrecy, something that the Ring Lord could sense further adding to her guilt. An idea then popped into the Ring Lord's head causing her to smile. "Let me make it up to you. How'd you like a job?" Loona blinked, surprised by the sudden offer, as Bee explained: "A real one. And nothing having to do with one of my honey plants."

"I already told you, I don't need pity," Loona rebuffed, irritated.

Bee couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance at Loona's continued stubborn refusal. "Fuck's sake it ain't pity girl! You're my friend bitch! Have been for a long while now. And I don't like the idea of one of my friends, out on the street with no roof over her head, eating out of trash and not being able to use a private bathroom most of the time." She gave her a knowing frown. "And I don't think you do either."

When Loona refused to respond Bee continued her pitch. "Look, I'm not gonna force you into this or anything, but I know a shop place a few blocks from here, that specializes in selling exotic plants, feeding them, keeping them, care and delivery all that jazz, and wouldn't cha know it, they're looking for a few extra hands to meet up with demand and they ain't picky." Bee started writing the address on a paper she materialized out of air. "Show up at 9 in the morning and ask for a job. Tell 'em Bee sent you, and they'll probably pay you upfront too."

Loona examined the card thoroughly, then after a long pause asked: "Why?"

Bee just shrugged innocently as if not understanding the question: "Well, for one thing, it's easy as tits and pays ok. Plus, I'm sure a tough-as-nails hound like you shouldn't have any problems wrangling in the feisty ones-"

"Not that!" Loona exclaimed, pounding onto the table finally causing Bee to stop. "Why do you care? Why are you pitching a job to me? Why do you wanna know so much about my life? Why do you wanna talk to me? I'm just something fucking nobody!"

"What, afraid I'm gonna feed you to a plant, Sour Cream?" She tried to joke, but it did nothing to improve Loona's mood. In fact, it made the hound growl at the mention of her old nickname. Sensing this Bee dropped her peppy act and frowned. "Come on Loona, is it really that hard to believe I just wanna help someone out, who could use it?"

The hellhound almost laughed hysterically at that. "Are you serious? You barely even know me! We've met only about 12 times and each time we talked for about twenty, sixty minutes tops! Do you actually think I'm going to trust you based solely on that?!"

"Yeah, pretty much. I like you, Loona." The hellhound scoffed disbelieving but the Sin insisted. "I'm serious, you don't take any bullshit from anyone, don't give two shits about what anyone thinks of you, you're ballsy enough to pick a fight with a royal, and best of all, you're as blunt and true as a sledgehammer to the skull!"

"That's a good thing?" Loona asked sarcastically.

"Are you kidding? That's fucking beautiful!" Bee proclaimed with a wide ecstatic grin that went from ear to ear. "You know how many people have come to my parties thinking they can take advantage of my generosity. Or go around, acting like we're friends, pretending to like me, when really they only care about my parties, and how it's an easy way for them to boost up their cred and prey on half-drunks and easily influenced newbies. Like I can't see their bullshit a mile away?" After a bit of annoyance at some of her past encounters, she returned to praising Loona, not a single drop of falseness in her voice.

"I've been around since Hell was created, and in all that time, you're one of the only ones who actively disliked this place. Even the biggest sourpuss, stick-in-the-muds bothered to fake it or tried to enjoy themselves. And sometimes it feels like most of my friends only hang out with me cause they like my parties but not me you know? And that sucks. but not you." Bee started getting more excited and energetic with each passing sentence. All the while Loona looked at her unbelieving that the Sin was actually talking to her of all hounds. "At first I was just curious. Wanted to know what was so rotten in your life that you'd turn out like that. Then I got to know you, and the more we talked, the more you grew on me. You were always saying what was on your mind, no matter who you were talking to or whatever your mood was, I loved that! Finally someone with balls enough to talk shit to a Sin, without giving a damn how you came across! It was so cool, you know?"

Loona, completely unused to being praised like that, or praised at all, had no fucking clue how to respond. All that coming from a Sin, that couldn't be real. There was no way it was real! No fucking way! "I don't believe you."

Beelzebub shrugged at the hound's cold reply. "Well, can't say I can blame you Sour Cream, but it's the Lucifer honest truth. I don't swear on him like…ever."

"Bullshit!" Loona exclaimed furiously, pounding her fits on the table, sending food and silverware everywhere as she snarled at the stunned Bee. "You expect me to believe all that crap? I don't know what you're trying to get out of me, but it won't work!"

Beelzebub frowned deeply, now growing very concerned by the hound's self-loathing and denial. "Okay, for realsies LooLoo, I have no idea who's been feeding you that mental junk food, but we have got to get you on a brain diet or something, cause it's been telling you nothing but lies."

"Shut up! Stop lying to me, I know you don't give two shits about me."

"That's what I'm talking about. Of course, I care about you-"

"NOBODY CARES ABOUT ME!" The shout was so loud that practically everyone in the cafe heard it. If they had turned to watch Loona did not care, as she continued. "Everyone made that abundantly clear my entire life! Even as a fucking baby I was left out to die in the trash! No one bothered to take me in until I was fucking skin and bone! Then they tossed in their fucking foundations for unwanted shits! I grew up watching every other kid get adopted, while I wasn't even given a second thought! After all, nobody wanted the shit-problem child with anger issues and a disobedience streak. I wasted 18 years hoping someone, fucking ANYONE would come for me; But all I got was SHIT. The second I grew out they dropped me onto the streets, not giving a single fuck what would happen to me! And guess what? Things didn't fucking change after that!"

Didn't realize she was crying until she was done, or at how horrified and saddened Beelzebub looked at her as she took long, labored, pained breaths, her body shivering and her voice breaking down as she went on. "So stop lying to me! Stop pretending that you care about me! Just admit it! I'm not stupid okay? I know nobody cares about me; least of all the Sin of Gluttony herself. I'm just a prop for you to pity and laugh at. Some dumb…stupid…worthless problem to deal with. I'm not worth a damn…not, n-n-not-not to anyone-"

Loona finally stopped when she felt two pairs of arms wrapping around her. She looked up to see that it was Bee, her disguise partially faded, doing her best to comfort her the best way one could. With a hug. And despite her lengthy and tired rant, Loona didn't fight it. Instead, she leaned her head into the Ring Lord's shoulder, enjoying the comforting warmth coming from another.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. No one should have to feel unloved."

When they finally broke up Bee offered Loona something she was holding in her hand. It took Loona's misty eyes a bit to recognize it was a handkerchief. With shaking hands, the hellhound slowly reached out and after a moment's hesitation, accepted it.

Beelzebub watched her dry her eyes and blow her nose, with no judgment towards how she looked or acted, just letting her finish cleaning herself in silence.

"For what little it is worth, every one of those assholes that didn't don't know what they were missing out on. You're worth so fucking much more than you give yourself credit for Loona." Bee slowly grabbed Loona by the shoulder, looking into her eyes with love and care, even as the still-shaken hellhound struggled to meet her gaze. "I mean you're snarky, you're tough as balls, you're honest, you're brave, you're blunt, you're fun to listen to, and you're adorable whenever you smile. I fucking love seeing you whenever you show up at my party and just be you, girl! It's fucking inspiring."

That caught Loona by surprise, her eyes wide and her face turning red at the compliments as Bee went on. "And just for the record, I never gave you money 'cause you were some pity case, I never talked to you just because I was bored, and I didn't keep hanging out with you, just so I could laugh about it to a bunch of assholes and bitches later. I did it cause…because I fucking loved hanging out with you and wanted to make sure you were having fun. Just like everybody else." It seemed like Bee had wanted to say something else, but Loona didn't fully make it out, too focused on whatever the Sin would say next. "You're my friend Loona, you got that? I wanna keep being your friend and hang out with you more. So yeah, screw me for wanting to help but, I wanna make sure you're okay out there, because…I do care about you, even if you don't wanna believe it."

Once more the hellhound was taken aback by the praise; still not believing Queen Beelzebub of all people was telling her all this. And yet, not a word of it seemed like a lie. It had sounded so sincere and kind that even as her brain was yelling at her, trying to make her realize it was all bullshit, she couldn't believe it. It all sounded too true to be a lie. Someone actually cared about her.

Loona was brought back to reality, when Bee handed her the address to the flower shop again, the hound almost dropping it in the confusion. "Just…just think about it, alright? If you don't want the job, you don't have to take it. But…I do hope you do. Or at least get some kinda job soon." It was just then that a beep-beep, came from her watch, alerting Bee she was running late. With a disappointed sigh, she stood up, paid for the food, added a big tip, and looked at Loone one more time. "I gotta go. See you again some other time?" She gave Loona a hopeful smile, one that the hellhound was unable to fully reciprocate before Bee left her alone to her thoughts.

"Your brownies ma'am. Sorry for the wait. We hope you and your friend enjoyed your meal," the waiter placed a plate of plain chocolate brownies in front of Loona, as they collected the payment & tip and went to see to another table.

Loona looked at the address Bee had given her, thinking her friend's words over to herself as she took a bite of the dessert. She couldn't help but feel a little…underwhelmed. They weren't bad or anything but…they just didn't taste as good as Bee's.

---

It was a while before Loona attended another Beelzebub party. Not out of animosity or anything, she had just been too nervous and busy to make them.

Loona had spent the last few weeks getting used to her new job and life. The exotic plant shop wasn't exciting or hard work, but she often had to work long, stressful hours, spending most of the time shifting between answering calls, managing orders, and occasionally watering and feeding some of the smaller critters on display. It was monotonous work that any idiot could do, but it was easy, and more importantly, it could pay the bills.

With her first two paychecks, Loona had finally managed to rent a cheap apartment. Sure it was a shitty, glorified room with a toilet, but after months on the streets, sleeping on concrete and contemplating eating rotten food, it was like a gift from Heaven itself.

It was during one weekend after a particularly rough work week, that she finally decided to see her friend again. She was looking for something to get her mind off things and to relax for a bit, and her usual internet surfing just wasn't cutting it anymore. It was there however that she found an ad for another Bee party not far from where she lived.

A part of Loona didn't want to go; she felt embarrassed by the idea of showing up again after being gone for so long. For all she knew Bee had forgotten about her and moved on to someone else. Maybe she had gotten so offended by her long absence, she didn't want to talk to her again. Not that Loona could blame her. Still, on the off chance that she did…

Loona stepped inside the hall, for the first time feeling nervous about being at one of Bee's parties. She dreaded to think what Bee what think of her now. And how she looked. Thanks to her new job, Loona could finally get rid of the dusty rags she had worn all year and afford some new clothes. Not many though, and certainly not anything fancy. Most of what Loona owned was the discounted wares from cheap clothing stores and the lowest-grade makeup she could find. But it was better than nothing, and at the least it was comfortable.

As she walked through the crowd, she began to notice a few more people looking at her than usual. Most of them were still too engrossed in their own business to care, but the few hounds and imps who had seen her before were taking notice of her sudden change. Loona did her best to ignore them, trying to just find Bee.

It didn't take her long as she spotted the Ring Lord having just finished another big number. She was currently chatting with a few hounds when she noticed Loona. And upon seeing her, the Sin immediately lit up with an excited, toothy smile. Squeeing in delight she leaped from the floor and flew right towards Loona, the hellhound barely having a chance to react before Bee swept her off her feet and pulled her in for a four-armed bearhug.

Loona flinched uncomfortably, at the sudden invasion of personal space. Her instincts told her to punch Bee across the face for her brazen act but oddly she couldn't bring herself to go through with it, soon finding herself melting into it instead. Loona reasoned it was because it had been so long since she and Bee had last seen each other. And thankfully the Gluttonous Fox departed and backed off a bit shortly after, to properly welcome Loona.

"Loona! It's been way too fucking long bitch! How in Hell have you been doing? Look at you!" She cheerfully examined Loona's new clothes and make-up, her smile growing more excited and bright when she faced her again. "Who the shit gave you those expert fashion tips? Seriously, give me the person's number, you look fucking beautiful girl!"

Loona couldn't help but blush from embarrassment, her tail wagging as she looked away; the hellhound knew she looked like crap. She was just wearing the only somewhat decent stuff from her wardrobe, which was barely over 30 $ouls. Compared to everyone else, especially the shining beauty that was the Ring Lord, she didn't even hold a candle. "Bee, stop it," she brushed off the praise embarrassed. "You know I look like crap. It's all just discount junk I found at a crummy thrift store. The makeup's not even-

"Nonononono, none of that here bitch. Don't you let that little liar in your brain tell yah what to think! You're looking gorgeous, got it Moon Cake? Here, come on, let me give you another looksie!" The Queen of Gluttony wrapped her arms around Loona and buzzed off through the halls, past the guests and the partying over to a small, empty loopy, and gently placed her down in front of a full-body mirror.

Loona looked at her reflection, Bee standing beside her, her upper arms wrapping caringly around the hellhound's shoulders as she pointed at the mirror Loona. "You see that? See that fucking beautiful hottie there, standing in front of me? The one with the killer ass makeup and the dress she is rocking like an electric guitar? That's you! Not whatever loser you're imagining in your head. It's just Loona! And you look fucking beautiful, you hear?"

The hellhound took a moment to register the word she had just heard. Beautiful; Queen Beelzebub thought she was beautiful! She didn't feel it herself, but Loona knew from her voice that the Sin had meant it. So much so that the hellhound could nearly see it herself. Loona didn't know what to say or think, tail wagging like mad, her face turning bright red as she blushed and stammered: "T-thanks, Bee. I…Thanks."

"Anytime, Loona," The Fox Demon gently patted her on the shoulder, with a small smile of support; one that Loona nervously returned. After which, The Sin smirked with glee. "Now come on! Let's get this party started! AWOOO!" Bee raised her head to the sky and let loose another wolf-like howl out, which was soon joined by everyone else.

The sound of it reminded Loona of the first time the Ring Lord had tried to get her to join in. She had refused back then, still not fully trusting the Sin. But now? Fuck it. With a shaky smile, Loona took a breath and joined in with the Ring Lord and the growing choir of hounds. To Loona, her howl had sounded hollow, phoned-in, and completely off tempo with the others, making her very relieved it was no doubt drowned out by the other howls. Bee, on the other hand, looked at her with pride as she squealed as soon as the howl was over.

"YEAH! Baby's first howl!" She cheered absolutely ecstatic, bringing Loona in for another hug, that had the hound blushing even more, all the while she gushed about how incredible she had been. "So fucking proud of you girl! You're one of us now girl, how's it feel?"

"G-good, I-I-I guess." shrugged Loona with a fluster. "A little awkward."

"Come on! We gotta go tear up the dance floor!"

Riding her newfound high, Loona allowed the party fox to lead her to the dance floor for the first time, the hellhound doing her best to stay with Bee for as long as she could.

The party went by with a bit of a blur, Loona unable to remember when she left or how long she had been dancing with Bee; just that when it was over, she was tired, could barely stand, and she felt great.

If anyone had watched her, Loona hadn't fully noticed, as her attention had been drawn to one particular person. Beelzebub. She couldn't help but be drawn to her friend, who had helped her through hard times, been there despite her attitude, and always greeted her with a smile. Watching as she dominated the dance floor, moving with grace and perfect skill, her movements drawing in a crowd of onlookers and admirers.

Loona could feel herself blush as she thought of her. She had always found the Sin pretty, even before she started to open up to her but…holy shit. Bee was HOT!

The hellhound did her best to hide her growing lustful feelings, throughout the party. Struggling even after things had cooled down and they had just moved on to talk and drink at the bar before she had to leave. The hellhound prayed to whatever sin or god would listen, that Bee hadn't noticed her, as she walked home after a wonderful night.

She'd have to come to the next party.

---

"I-I-I don't know about this Bee, maybe I can try some other time?" Loona looked at the massive gathering of demons already chatting with their social groups, which only made the hound more anxious.

"That's what you've been saying for weeks now, Moon Cake," sighed Bee, trying her best not to pout at her friend's attempt to delay again. "You ain't going to get better at this if you don't take the first step."

It had been months now since Loona had started coming back to Bee's magnificent parties. And in that time, things had been going pretty okay given Loona's luck. She still had her job and her apartment, and of course, the epic Bee parties whenever they were on; for once things were looking up for the hellhound. Which left Loona a bit on edge at times. After all, her and luck had never been quite friendly; the hound was constantly waiting for something to go wrong and send her falling into the pit of misery. Be it her work firing her or Bee finally growing tired of hanging out with her. Eventually, something had to go wrong right?

The thought kept Loona wracking at her nerves at times, though for now, she tried just to enjoy the good times for as long as they would last. Especially if it meant spending more time with Bee. Whether it was venting her frustrations, talking about some funny thing that had happened or just sharing a beer and getting ready to dance. For as busy Bee was, making sure her party was in order, Loona appreciated every moment spent with her. Sometimes, Bee would surprise her with a visit in hellhound form, the two frequenting Loona's other haunts and even showcasing the hound's limited training in the local gym. Given her frequent recommendations to join the security forces at her party halls, it seemed enough to impress the Sin of Gluttony, which made Loona proud.

Then recently Bee had suggested that perhaps it was time for Loona to make some new friends. Carefully explaining that, while she loved hanging out with her, she had noticed that the hellhound had kept primarily either to herself or the Sin both at and outside of parties. The Ring thought it would do Loona some good to try and interact with others, make some bonds outside of her, and possibly form a little mini-pack of her own. While Loona had been initially unsure about the idea, with time she realized that Sin had a good point.

Making sure no one else was eavesdropping, Loona sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. "I know, I fucking know alright. It's just…shit, I haven't talked to anyone but you in forever. I mean, sure I have some small chats with my coworkers once or twice, but not something like this. You know, I never had any friends, even back at the Foundation, fuck most of them hated me. I don't know how to do this shit; what if I fuck up and look like an idiot?"

Bee could tell how terrified Loona was feeling without asking. It had taken her a week to finally talk Loona into it and she could still taste the sour anxiety coming from her, as she eyed the chatting hounds, her tail wrapped around her waist, unable to make the first step. The Ring Lord patted the hound on the shoulder and motioned her to sit down. "Hey, I get it. I mean sure, I'm flooding with demons who love me both platonically and really fucking literally," The Ring Lord shuddered disturbed before continuing. "But even I didn't start that popular back in the day. Being a sinful tyrant for a good few centuries doesn't exactly boost your rep, you know?"

She slowly went to grab Loona's hand as the Ring Lord looked her in the eye. "And more importantly, I've met, like, a lot of introverts over the years; most who just have no idea how to talk to anyone 'cause they're afraid of rejection. Someone's gotta give 'em a little push or two, so why not me?" She smirked playfully at the last bit, Loona catching her meaning.

"Seems a little beneath you, don't you think?" The hellhound cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Well, I don't do it for all of them, even I can't perform miracles, but I'm the Queen Bee party host, remember?" She said with a prideful smile as she gestured to the crowd, filled with people enjoying themselves. "The only thing I love more than throwing killer ragers, drinking that fucking sweet honey, and sneaking some of Bel's top-shelf party drugs, it's making sure everyone has a killer time. Including cute, shy little dorks like you." She said the last part teasingly. Loona scowled back, attempting to look offended, but the corner of her lip shyly fidgeted at the small rip.

"O-ok, I got it," the hound playfully pushed the Ring Lord off as she fought back a light laugh. "Just a little hard when there's a fuck ton of options out there." Loona gestured to the hall, crowded with demons and partygoers. On paper, this might've been a benefit; with so many demons Loona was all but guaranteed to find someone she'd connect with. But to someone like her, so used to rejection and failed bonds, it just made it harder. The thought of meeting a potential bad match was making Loona anxious, something Bee immediately noticed.

"That's what you got me for bitch! My vibe senses are good for more than just picking up people who are going a little too buck wild. How about you start with…" Bee scanned her party for someone of a bunch of someone who'd make a good fit for Loona. She quickly dismissed the trio of popular girls led by the bespeckled poodle and after a bit of looking, found a different one, giving off very casual and chill vibes, seemingly perfect for a more awkward hound like Loona. "…those little chestnuts over there?"

Loona looked over the selected trio a bit skeptically. There was nothing wrong with them, the husky looked a little hot even, but still felt unsure. "I don't know Bee, kinda looks like they've got their own thing going-"

But Bee was insistent, giving her friend a wide encouraging grin. "Come on Loona, don't let your cold feet drag you down like that. You got this Moon Cake! Now go make some mother fucking friends already!" She let out a loud howl for double encouragement, which was soon repeated by the rest of the partygoers, and motioned Loona towards the trio, the hellhound finally working up the nerves to go talk to them.

"H-hey…you guys," Loona began awkwardly, as she approached the trio, the husky, the dark brown poodle, and the short, pudgy dog turning to face her. For a moment Loona considered backing away, as she fumbled for what to say next. The long delay in follow-up words no doubt made her look like a total idiot, in front of the three cool dogs. Fuck why did she think this was-

"Oh hey, you're that hottie who's always talking to Bee right?" The cute husky stated completely bluntly.

Loona was completely taken aback by the casual query. Shit! Had she been that obvious? Did everyone know about her? All this time she had hoped no one cared. Her words became even more fumbled, as hid herself from embarrassment. If they knew, did that mean so did everyone else? Did all of Gluttony know about her at this point? The thought made her want to disappear.

"Dude! Don't fucking start like that," the shortest of the trio chastised the husky, no doubt sensing he had made Loona a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh, I didn't think anyone noticed…Y-yeah, that's me." Loona muttered very shyly, as she grabbed her hair and looked away, "Sorry if that's weird, I can leave now-"

She went to retreat, only for the darker-furred poodle to stop her. "No, no, don't go, it's all good. Sorry about Pinkle over here; he's a nice guy and all, but his mouth moves faster than his pull-out game." She roughly elbowed the husky in the ribs. The hound gave Loona a supportive smile as she extended a hand to introduce herself and their shorter, sheepdog friend. "I'm Esther and that's Murphy."

Loona looked at it a bit uncomfortably, before finally accepting the shake. She did the same with Murphy before turning back to the husky. "Wait…Your name is Pinkle?" she asked him, amused by the name, Esther and Murphy laughed to themselves over it.

"Nah, it's just a dumb nickname, I got stuck with after a dare. Call me Bruce," the husky extended a hand for a high five, which Loona hesitantly accepted.

"H-hi, cool to meet you guys," The female hound greeted back. "I'm…I'm Loona."

"Hey, nice to finally meet the mystery woman who's always hanging around the Queen," Murphy greeted with a good-natured smile. "You liking the party so far?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Good music, great food, you know, the usual good stuff." Loona stumbled through her response, not used to casual conversations with strangers like this. She was just thankful they hadn't tried to ditch her yet. "Do you guys come here often?"

"Of course. I mean we don't make it to every party 'cause of real life and junk, but whenever we have the time, we try to show up. Nothing like a Bee party to end a shitty week, right boys?" Esther said cheekily, the hounds merrily agreeing.

"Oh, I can totally relate to that. Work sucks right?" Loona attempted to join in, with an awkward chuckle. It sounded so lame in Loona's head, but to her surprise, the trio agreed, cheering it on like some kinda epic burn. The hound didn't know if it was because they were a little tipsy or not, but to her surprise, things were going well. Good even. Imagine that.

"Hey, we're gonna go play some beer pong. You wanna join?"

Beer Pong? Oh right, that was a party game. Bee had offered to play with her sometimes. Never took her up on it though. "Oh…well, I've never actually played so-"

"Hey don't worry about it, we'll teach you, it's super easy." Bruce began to explain the rules and he and the trio gestured for Loona to follow, which she did still thankful things were going okay. "See all you gotta do is try and get the little ball inside these cups. The cups are obviously full of beer and-"

The trio quickly welcomed her into their fold without a bit of hassle. Her first round did not go well; Loona had completely missed the cups and almost hit Bruce right in the eye. She nearly fled the table in shame at that, but the hounds just laughed it off and told her not to worry. Even Bruce was completely relaxed over the whole thing.

"I've had so many close calls, it's a fucking miracle I'm not blind."

It put Loona at ease, to know that they seemed cool with her joining them. That and they enjoyed her company enough to encourage her to try again. And even after she lost her round and only barely managed to land one cup, she surprisingly didn't mind. She was having fun; talking to these guys, getting drinks, doing a bit of dancing and just enjoying the party with this newfound trio. She had never felt so much at ease with others, aside from Bee, before. Sure, she spent the majority of the time dreading a potential twist, where these supposedly nice guys would pull the rug from under her, but it never came. With time, her insecurities and worries quieted down, allowing her to have fun with her new friends, something she had thought impossible. The only thing that was bothering her, was Bruce's first comment about her and Bee.

Eventually, the party had to end. Guests left, with Loona saying goodbye to her new friends, Esther being the one to see her out while suggesting locations for a potential hang out.

"You know there's this great bar near the old, condemned library? We should totally go whenever you've got the time."

"Y-yeah. Sounds great," nodded Loona, though only half listening. With the party over and no distractions on her mind, the hound was free to ponder to herself, and it didn't take long for Esther to notice.

"Hey, are you alright? Seem a little…lost in thought," asked Esther.

Flustered at being caught, Loona shook her head. "No no, I'm fine, I'm fine, it's just," Loona paused, trying to figure out a good lie, before shyly admitting: "I didn't think anyone would notice me always hanging out with Beelzebub. Or that they'd care."

Esther shrugged with a small nod. "I mean, Bee's usually talking to other hounds when she's not partying; making sure everyone's having a blast and all that. But I don't think she's talked to anyone as much as she had with you." The hound gained an ever-so-tiny smirk as she whispered. "There's even some rumors floating around you two were like an item or something."

Loona blushed beet red and denied it, completely flustered by the reveal. "W-what? No, no way, I mean, how would that even work? She's a Sin and I'm just…". A lowly hellhound. An unloveable failure. A pathetic, good-for-nothing. A piece of shit hound who'd never amount to anything. Loona didn't finish the sentence.

"Hey, don't worry about that. It's not a big deal or anything, people are just curious, y'know?" said Esther. "Whatever you've got going on with the Queen, it's all good. As long as you're happy right?"

Loona didn't respond to that, still a little taken lost in thought. The Party Poddle didn't press the issue further, deciding to head off with a wave: "Take care," Loona watched her walk, while she stood in place. Happy. Now that was an experience she had forgotten for so long. She had thought that too had been robbed by the foundation but to her surprise…Loona was happy. She had a job, an apartment, wifi, and food, and had just gotten friends. Friends she didn't deserve, who she still wasn't convinced wouldn't leave her given the chance, but ones she had grown fond of.

And then there was Bee. The party-crazy, sweet-toothed Ring Lord and Gluttony Incarnate, who just wouldn't leave her alone no matter how hard she tried to push her away. She was annoying as fuck and the best friend Loona could ask for. Patient, caring, supportive, lively, encouraging, beautiful. And currently flying towards her beaming from ear to ear.

"So how did it go?" Bee zipped over to Loona's side in an instant, excited and hopeful with how Loona looked. "Wait, don't tell me. It went amazing, didn't it? Didn't it? I see that happy smile. And your aura's so bright and juicy and sweet! FUCK, it's like I'm swimming in a flood of honey right now! Come on, spill it on me LooLoo! Give me the juicy bits!"

Loona looked away with a small shy smile and nodded. "Y-yeah, it worked. You were right about them. We got along great; probably going to hang out next week."

"YES!" Bee howled out excitedly, before bringing the hellhound into a big, four-armed bear hug, which only made the shy Loona more flustered. "I fucking knew they were perfect for you! I'm so fucking happy for you Loona! Little Birdie's finally leaving the nest and spreading her badassery to others. It's fucking beautiful!" She pulled away from Loona, to look at her with a sincere proud nod. "Seriously, congrats girl!"

"T-thanks," Loona fought back her embarrassed smile as she started looking for a cab ride home. "I-I-I should go. See you next time."

"You know it BITCH!" The Ring Lord shouted before flying off, Loona watching her fly until she disappeared, finding a ride shortly after and driving home in silence.

Esther's words danced in her head through the drive, no matter how much Loona tried to ignore them. Was she right? Had she grown feelings for Beelzebub? Sure, she was beautiful, Loona would always be thankful for all she had done and her endless energy and positivity were surprisingly endearing but…did that mean she was in love with her? Could…could she and her…

Loona shook her head and pushed that thought as far back as she could. Being friends with Bee was one thing, but a relationship? No fucking way that was gonna work. Besides, even if she tried expressing her feelings that was guaranteed to ruin whatever they had now.

The ride stopped at her home. Loona paid and headed inside, ignoring the thoughts slowly plaguing her mind. Her sleepless night was wasted with her trying to deny her feelings. Hoping they would go away and that she could forget they ever existed before they could hurt her.

---

The little white ball hit the cup right on the edge, seemingly threatening to tip it over and spill its contents all over the table. For a moment there, everyone cringed tensely, only for the cup to straighten out and the ball to land right into the alcohol.

The crowd cheered at Loona's victory, while Murphy removed the ball and drank from his last cup, a little wobbly from 3 rounds of Beer Pong, but stable enough to stand and talk properly. The little guy was generous enough to decline the traditional rebuttal, insisting the other team had earned their win. Loona meanwhile was starting to feel the buzz after so many drinks, but thankfully not so much she was about to hurl up her guts yet. Instead, she let out a long celebratory howl, her friends and onlookers joining in, till half the place echoed in it.

Fuck, it felt good to have friends. To finally have someone to talk to, hang out with, and share a drink with besides just Beelzebub all the time. Sure, she'd still hang out with the Sin whenever Bee was available, but now she also had her new posse of hounds and the occasional imp. Loona felt happier than she had in a while, and she'd never realized how much she needed it until Bee had convinced her to give it a chance. Fuck, she had so much to thank that wonderful, beautiful-

The hellhound quickly pushed back that thought, drowning it out with a swing of a nearby can, with her friend's encouragement. She couldn't let herself think that stuff now.

"Loona! That's my fucking, badass girl!" Speak of the Devil. Bee quickly buzzed over to her favorite hound, patting her on the back with a proud smirk at her recent victory; the drunken hellhound nearly stumbling from the sudden gesture. "Woah LooLoo, you're fucking shitfaced girl. Need a glass of water or something?"

The sin offered Loona a glass of iced water, as she gently led the nearly wasted hound to a seat and motioned her to sit down. "Naaah, I'm fine, really, I'm fine. Just so fucking happy right now you know?" Loona slurred her words before fighting back a sudden nausea spell, forcing her to accept the water glass, sipping at it as she sighed. "Ahhh, life's good."

It really was for Loona. It was so hard to believe things could improve so much after what felt like so little time. Just a few months ago, she had been alone, eating garbage and sleeping on concrete. Now she had a whole pack of mates, a soft bed at her place, and had eaten better than she ever had in her whole life. Despite what everyone, including herself, had tried to hammer into her since a child, she had somehow managed to turn out okay. Even after Loona had resigned herself to her miserable fate, things had improved thanks to a bit of stubbornness and…

…and Bee. It was thanks to her that Loona had managed to finally push herself to improve things. To get out of her slump and not feel like a piece of shit for the longest time. She was just a lowly hound and yet…the Sin of Gluttony saw her as worthy enough of her time and help. And as she leaned against Beelzebub's warm side, she couldn't help but feel better still.

The queen seemed to be talking with some of the other hounds, but Loona couldn't make out what was being said, just loving looking at the Ring Lord despite her tipsy state. After so much booze, it was hard to keep control of herself, and being this close to Beelzebub, feeling her soft fur against hers, smelling the simply intoxicating aroma from her body, staring into her beautiful pink eyes, Loona couldn't resist. When Bee turned back to face her, finally taking notice of her state, Loona wrapped her hand around her face and leaned in right to her lips, for a quick peck. Just a short one, but DAMN if it didn't feel so good.

No one was quite prepared for that. Not her buddies whose jaws were currently unhinged by how close they were to hitting the ground. And certainly not Bee, who just sat there quietly with a surprised look, not saying a word. It was only after she separated that Loona sobered up enough to fully realize what had just occurred. Her first kiss. She had had her first real kiss. And it had been on fucking Beelzebub, the fuckmothering Queen of Gluttony herself.

Suddenly everything faded into silence, as Loona's mind turned into a chaotic hurricane of terror that overwhelmed how much she had enjoyed her kiss. She had tried to fucking hard to keep her lustful desires in check, only for her to slip up in possibly the worst way imaginable! All the eyes now looking at her felt like the pupils of the angels judging her for her sinful ways, and preparing to strike her down for what she had done. The ground beneath her turned into water, threatening to drag her down to the crushing bottom and inside her being, her worst insecurities floated up like bubbles, her heart felt like a timebomb about to explode out of her chest and threatened to choke her up as if the air was fading from her lungs.

What had she done? Oh fuck, fuck fuck FUCK! What had she done?!

Panicking Loona bolted out of the mansion before anyone could stop her. Refusing to turn around or even think about Bee's response to all of this, too afraid and overwhelmed by what was likely to happen next.

She couldn't come back here now; not after she had publicly made out with a Sin in front of everyone. Not only were her old friends and the guys there no doubt weren't currently mocking her for her drunken acts, but Bee was absolutely going to have her banned for life. She'd never want to see her again, after what she had done. Fuck! How could she just lose control of herself like that? She had to get the fuck out of here.

Spotting the front door, Loona immediately rushed outside, ignoring anyone calling out to her as she tried to run away, terrified, embarrassed tears flooding her eyes as she ran towards the empty streets. She didn't get far though as someone stopped her. A figure appeared in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere, forcing the hound to stop dead in her tracks.
Loona's vision cleared, and there was Bee, her arms spread and a worried frown on her face, as she stepped towards the hound.

The two started at each other for a moment, the awkward tension hanging before Loona lowly growled: "Get the fuck outta my way Bee!"

She tried to walk past her side, only for the Sin to cut her off, looking worried as she tried to talk to Loona. "Loona wait, let's just talk for a sec-"

"I already know what you're going to say. I'm not an idiot!" shouted Loona, fighting back tears and something else as she looked away. "I know I embarrassed myself, I know how fucking stupid that was and I know you don't want me around anymore. I got it. So just leave me alone!"

"But-that's literally not at all what I wanna say," Bee pleaded, slowly grabbing her hand as she gently approached her. "Loona, I'm not mad at you. Seriously, it's totally cool. You don't have to leave or anything, let's just cool down for a minute here."

The hellhound ripped her arm away from the Sin's grip with a murderous snarl. "I'm not fucking around here Bee! I'm not going back just so you and everyone in that building can make me your-" Loona stopped for a bit as if fighting a heave. "-your fucking clown. Now buzz off. I've had enough of y-your dumb party so just-" As she went on, the hound's face started becoming progressively greener with every word. Loona struggled to keep the growing puke from flying with each passing word, as the combination of alcohol and the constant motions were taking their effect.

Loona's cheeks began bulging and Bee reacted instantly. Summoning a puke bucket in her hands, the Queen handed it to the hound who instinctively accepted it, turned from her, and began purging. Several liters of beer, chicken, cotton candy, and fuck-knows what else, all left her mouth in turrent and flew into the bucket in a series of retches.

"Shhh, there there Mooncake. It's alright, it's alright. Just get it all out." Gently, Bee's hands rubbed her back and soothed her until the hellhound had gotten it all out. Loona felt like a mess and just wanted to drown herself in the bucket of vomit. FUCK! Loona didn't know what was worse. How she looked right now, or how she felt.

And yet, Bee never left her side during the whole messy affair, instead doing her best to ease her friend. And once Loona was finally done, Bee took the bucket from her hands and dismissed it with a wave.

By that point, Loona had small tears welling up in her eyes. Part of her hoped Beelzebub was disgusted by what she had done, and finally left her after this. It was what she deserved, wasn't it? For making a complete ass of herself in front of her best friend. The hellhound looked away from the Fox Sin, ashamed of herself, her left hand on her right arm, tail wrapped around her waist as she awaited whatever Bee would do next.

"Here, you look like you need it." What Beelzebub did next was to hand her what looked to be a regular bottle of cold water. she had summoned from seemingly nowhere.

Despite her miserable state, Loona accepted it, taking small sips from the refreshing water. As she did, the hellhound felt her headache beginning to fade, her mind growing clearer, her body more stable and any effects from her drunkenness cleared out almost instantly.

When she had emptied it, the hound looked at the bottle in astonishment. "Okay, what the fuck kind of water is this? That was like some kind of super hangover cure."

"Just a little something I whooped up with some help from Bel. Helps to ease the super drunks before they hurt themselves," Bee took the bottle and tossed it over her shoulder, where it vanished into nothingness. "You feeling better?"

She did. Sure, emotionally speaking Loona felt like a fucking wreck, but all traces of her previous sickness, nausea, and her leftover inebriation, had almost completely vanished thanks to the bottle. "Yeah, thanks."

"You're welcome Sour Cream. So, do you feel ready to talk? Or do you still wanna head home and never see me again?" Bee sat beside the now sobered hellhound hopeful she'd finally talk to her, if only a little.

Loona hated it. Even now, after she had completely embarrassed herself and ruined whatever they had, Bee was still insisting on being so damn…caring about her. She was supposed to be mad, or offended or mocking her for doing something so stupid in front of her, and instead, her friend was insisting on being so fucking kind to her; giving her that supportive smile and keeping a small distance, as if telling her there was so hard feelings. It didn't make any fucking sense. The hound wanted to just flee again, but Bee was this close and she was looking so worried…it didn't feel right.

Loona sighed and gave up. Well, if she had already dug her grave this deep, she may as well get inside the coffin already.

"I like you," Loona whispered so low, that Bee could barely hear if she had said anything.

"Yeah, gonna need you to say that a little bit louder there-"

"I FUCKING LIKE YOU OKAY?"

She had yelled louder than she had meant to. Enough to cause an echo, Loona dreaded that some of the other partygoers had heard her. One thing was for sure, Bee had. The fox Sin had been taken aback by the sudden loud shout but didn't say anything in response. She just looked at her with an unreadable expression, that Loona couldn't tell what in Hell she was thinking right now. After a long awkward pause, the hound continued with a growing blush as she continued.

"I…I've got a crush on you. Have for a while now. And yeah, I know it's wrong but, I just can't fucking help it. I think you're beautiful, I love how much work and energy you put into what you do, and I appreciate everything you've done for me all this time. You've helped me so much, even though you had no reason to do it, and I don't why you do it, but I'm so…thankful." She had been so busy pouring her heart that Loona didn't notice her eyes were welling up again. Rubbing away any building tears, she looked away unable to face the queen, not ready for how she might react to all of it. "I know you don't feel the same way and that you probably don't wanna see me again but…thank you, for everything." She stood and turned to leave, holding her arm in defeat. "Bye."

Loona went to walk away, only to be stopped as a hand grabbed hers. Hesitantly, the hellhound turned and saw Bee, looking at her with a smile unlike any she had seen from the Ring Lord.

"Loona…I've literally, and I do mean literally, been crushing on you for months! Like, almost since the day we've met months."

It took a few seconds for Loona to understand what she had heard. Then a few more to fully process it and then some more to realize it wasn't a joke, all the while she kept a goofy, slack-jawed stunned expression throughout. "WHAT?!"

"I SAID I FUCKING LOVE YOU BITCH!" shouted Bee almost at the top of her lungs, as all four of her arms wrapped around Loona's chest and she flew into the air, twirling the hound around while beaming like the sun. The two of them spun around the air like they were the leads of a romantic fairy tale, the hellhound being pressed directly against the sin in a way she had never expected to happen. Sure she had been hugged by Bee before but never in this context.

Bee finally put her down after a few spins as she felt out a long-held breath. "Oh fuck me, I've been waiting to say that for fucking forever. Shit, that felt so good!"

Loona, face more red than an imp, was less thrilled, still not fully believing Bee's words even after her loud public declaration. "Did…did that just actually happen? This isn't some kinda joke is it?" she asked hesitantly, worried she had just imagined the last few seconds.

But as Bee looked at her, with no hint of deceit or manipulation, that was starting to become harder to deny. "Loona, I've literally never lied to you once since we met, why would I start now?"

"It's just, kinda fucking unbelievable you know? The literal Sin of Gluttony loving a common hellhound?" Loona said exasperated, trying to figure out how this had happened. As if trying to put a puzzle together while missing several pieces. "I mean for fuck's sake, there's like rules and shit about that isn't there?"

Bee fought back an amused snort. "Bitch, you think you're the first hound I've dated?"

Loona blinked at that. "Wait…what?! You've been dating hounds?"

Beelzebub shrugged innocently like it was no big deal. "Well, most of them were behind closed doors, anyway from the media hounds' spying eyes, but I've been in like eight…no wait, nine hound relationships in my lifetime. Shit, one of those was a throuple," Loona looked completely stunned by the casual reveal and blushed at the throuple mention, while the Sin just smirked mischievously. "I mean technically I'm not supposed to get all lovey and committed with non-royal demons but hey, the fuck's Hell going to do about it? I'm a Deadly Sin bitch! I'm the one who makes life here interesting. Even Lucy can't fucking touch me."

Loona felt that she should've been surprised by that but after all her time with Bee, she wasn't. In retrospect, the more surprising part was that she hadn't even considered this possibility until right now.

"So…what do we do now?" She tentatively asked, sitting on a nearby bench, not fully knowing herself.

"Well, what do you want to do next?" asked Bee. "You wanna give this thing a shot or not? Cause I'm single and totally down if you wanna go for it."

Loona didn't know how to answer. Sure, they both had feelings for each other and there wouldn't be much trouble apparently but, having a Sin be your first real romantic partner? That had to be a recipe for disaster right? She had only just started making friends, but romantic partners were an entirely different field! Already she began imaging the worst-case scenarios of being with someone like Beelzebub. "I-I-I don't know Bee, I mean…I've never fucking done this shit before. And if I screw this up then-"

The Ring Lord couldn't help but let out a small amused chuckle. "You're talking like we've gotta have sex day one. I mean, I'm not turning that down if you're up for it, but I know it takes a while for you to start going with new shit." With an easygoing smile, Beelzebub gently reassured the worried hellhound that she understood her plight. "And luckily for you, I'm okay with taking it slow. Sure it's been forever since I tried the whole dating thing, but I'm still totally down. We can have our usual fun shit at the parties and whenever you've got the time, we can, like, go out for drinks or dinner at some place. I'll even do it in my sexy hound form that I know you love."

"But…what if I fuck it up?" asked Loona, her fears still veining over her. "All I know about romance is from trashy romcoms and porn! What if I ruin it and…and-I ruin what we have now?" That terrified Loona much more than the prospect of a relationship with Bee. The Sin had become one of Loona's closest friends and the rock that had helped keep her steady at some of her lowest points. And if she were to lose that, Loona didn't know how she'd take such a loss.

The Sin picked up her fear, placing one of her hands on Loona's shoulder: "And what if you don't fuck it up? What if things turn out okay, despite all the complicated drama and whatnot, we make it work?" Her encouragement seemed to work a little as Loona's frown loosened just a bit. "Besides, even if you do fuck it up, there's no chance you're worse than my first boyfriend. Now that guy was an emotionally abusive shit right there! Compared to that, you're already a billion times a better partner."

The two shared a small laugh at that, Bee then taking Loona by the hand as carefully robbed it and offered a smile. "Hey, if you're still doubting this whole thing, I'm also super okay with just being friends. Sure I'd fucking love to be with you, but what we have now would also be good enough for me."

"I guess. But…" With most of her worries spoken out, Loona couldn't hold her biggest back any further, as she looked at Bee and let out a confused: "Why? Why me of all hounds? I mean, you're the Queen of Gluttony for fucks sake, you can have whoever you want. So what in Hell is wrong with you to pick someone so-"

"Aha!" Bee held up a finger to silence the hound with a stern look. "No, no! Not another self-deprecating word out of you. I'm not going to let you talk shit about yourself like that, as long as you're close to me."

When Loona tried to argue, Bee just kept on shushing her until she finally gave up, this went on for a minute before the hound relented. "Okay fine, you persistent little bee. But seriously. What do you see in me? I mean, I know we're friends but I'm just-"

"A badass, beautiful, snappy bitch with the balls hard enough to insult a Sin to her face and even throw hands with her in full demon mode." Beelzebub cut her off with a huge, proud, loving smile, a bit of awe in her declaration. "You know how many demons I've met, who can claim to be all those glorious things at once? I can't even count the number of drunks who've had the balls to badmouth me when I tell'em to GTFO."

Beelzebub looked right into Loona's eyes, the hellhound getting drawn in by their beauty as the Ring Lord began pouring her heart out. "From the moment you stood up and told me off to my face, even wanting to fight me in full kaiju, I knew you were something special. It's one of the reasons why I always tried to hang out with you and did my best to help you along. Sure you were a loner, aggressive to everyone, and had a bit of a temper, but you had spirit, snark, guts, and beneath all that plenty of kindness. And as I spent more time with you and saw you slowly become more of an open, beautiful, fun girl who never lost any of that badassery she had when I met you, it made me love you all the more." Loona's eyes widened at Beelzebub's sincere confession, not saying a word as she looked at her with sincere love and admiration, as she gently held her by the shoulders and smiled warmly. "I'm so fucking proud of how far you've come Loona. Even if I gave you some nudges, you still took the steps forward to make yourself better and I love you for it. I've loved seeing you make friends, I've loved hearing about your work day, I love it when you show up at my parties, I love getting to talk with you, I've loved seeing you grow over time, and most of all…I love you Loona."

Loona couldn't believe this was actually happening. Beelzebub loved her. Loved her just as much as she did her. For the first time in a while, the hound was close to tears from something other than sadness. Bee's words caused Loona to blush and smile, so relieved and happy to know she had felt this way. There was just one thing holding her back.

"If…if we do this, am I going to end up like one of your old flings?" she asked with a hint of fear. "Just one of your endless line of exes and partners you keep for a few centuries, til they age you out. When I die are you just going to forget about me, once you find the next juicy piece of meat to replace me?"

Bee held her lovingly by the hand and shook her head. "Trust me, I could never forget someone like you. Heck, aside from the really bad ones, I don't ever forget my past lovers; not really. I just feel like they'd want me to find someone else and be happy, you know? And right now, that someone is you, Loona."

Once again, Loona found herself looking deep into the Sin's beautiful eyes and her wonderful face, Bee's warm smile easing the worries and growing fears Loona had. After all they had been through and their deep confessions, the hound couldn't help herself. Slowly she leaned towards the Ring Lord, only for Beelzebub to close the distance. Loona melted into it with ease.

The kiss was unlike anything Loona could've imagined. The moment her lips touched that of the Sin's, it was as if a damn of flavor exploded in her mouth and she could taste every one of her favorite sweets and tastes at once. Brownies, bacon, boba tea, bubblegum, strawberries, mint chocolate, all of them blended in an entrancing, beautiful kiss, that lit up her every nerve and made her heart soar out of her mouth. It was almost as if her feet were no longer touching the ground. Loona never wanted it to stop.

And neither did Bee. The two women held the kiss for as long as they could, not giving a flying fuck if anyone saw them or what they thought, simply engrossing themselves into each other until they finally had to separate for air.

"Holy shit…"

Beelzebub giggled at her now girlfriend's reaction. "I never get tired of baby's first real kiss. You're not so bad yourself Mooncake. Wasn't expecting you to taste like vanilla though. Knew there was a sweet side in there somewhere."

Slowly standing up, she offered one of her hands to her dear friend. "So…you wanna get back to the party?" And give this a shot, is what Loona imagined she had meant.

Even after such a loving moment, Loona still found herself hesitating as if her mind were trying to warn her of an obvious trick that she was too blind to see. But for once, Loona ignored those voices in the back of her mind, smiled back, and grabbed the outstretched hand. "Fuck it. Yeah, let's do it."

"YES! FUCK YEAH!" Beelzebub cheered as soon as Loona climbed back on her feet, the Ring Lord buzzing into the air with excited laughter and jubilation, as she howled in excitement. When the rush wore off and she came back to earth, Bee sheepishly rubbed her head with a faint, almost nervous blush. "Sorry. Got a little carried away there."

"I'm used to it," Loona shrugged with a light chuckle. "Come on, night's still young and all."

The two of them went back to the party, hand-in-hand, where good company, great food, music, and dance awaited them long into the night; and for the new couple, long after everyone had already left. When Loona returned home early in the morning, she wondered if this technically counted as her first date with Bee. And if so, she didn't mind it at all.

---

Loona couldn't help but find it funny how time could fly by.

When she was homeless and alone, every second felt like an eternity. But now? The hellhound's life had completely flipped on its head and she still couldn't believe it had been 5 years. Felt more like 5 days at times.

Much had changed in between that time; with three big ones coming to mind. The first was that her test dates with Bee had gone well enough that they were now dating full-time. They had tried to keep it hidden from the press, mostly out of Loona's dislike of being the center of attention. But Bee, despite her best efforts, wasn't one able to keep a secret for long, and within a year all of Hell knew, with most of Gluttony worshiping them as the latest OTP of Hell, next to Asmodeus and Fizzarolli. Not that the royals tried to stop anyone; they had long since given up on keeping Bee's love life under control. The second part was she had only recently quit her old job at the plant shop. Loona had stuck around for a good few years, even after being outed, wanting to feel like didn't need to rely solely on her awesome girlfriend for money and comfort. But eventually, the mundane tedium of retail proved too much and she moved onto the easier, more fulfilling job of part-time security for Beelzebub's parties. Sometimes she wondered how her old coworkers were doing. She followed a few of them on Sinstagram, but never really talked much with them anymore. And the last one was moving out of her shithole apartment and into her girlfriend's magnificent penthouse suite. I mean, if you were dating a Queen, you may as well reap some of the benefits, right?

When she wasn't on duty, or hanging out with her usual posse, Loona spent most of the days browsing the internet, reading, catching up on her favorite shows in between the usual five ads (including that annoying one for that imp assassination business in Pride. What was it called again? I.M.P.?), and just lounging on Bee's bed, which was about as big as her old room and definitely the softest, most incredible than Loona had ever felt in her life. Loona never wanted to get off it. Fuck she could sleep on it forever.

"Hmmm, anyone ever told you, you're fucking adorable when you sleep? Like a little kitten dozing on a sheep."

Loona blushed at the cutesy squee coming from her girlfriend, turning over to see Bee, lying right beside her in her birthday suit, with a giddy smile. Even after all this time, the Sin always knew how to get her flustered.

"Should I be worried that you like watching me while I sleep, you creep?" Loona asked with sarcastic annoyance, a playful smirk aimed at the sleepy fox.

Bee responded with a playful raspberry, as she leaned against her girlfriend's shoulder. "Not my fault if it's the truth. And you know how much I love cute things, like you and my niece Charlie's big sappy smile, whenever she's about to sing. 'Sides, I know you do the same when you think I'm too tired to notice. No shame in admiring beauty."

Loona rolled her eyes, yawning as put her phone down and tried to get back to sleep. "It's getting late, I need some fucking sleep. You got that big thing with Ozzie and Charlie, planning that big community thing in Pride right? After that huge rager yesterday, you're probably exhausted as fuck."

"Wow, you don't know me at all do you bitch?" laughed Bee boastfully. "You know this body was built to last til Armaggedon! I've had ragers that lasted months. Belphegor still won't let me have some of her Blue Sky after that. This was nothing." The Sin then started moving right up towards Loona, pressing her body against the hounds' as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and purred into her ears, causing her to blush. "But, if you want me to sleep, I can think of a few ways to we can tire us both out."

The hellhound had to fight herself not to orgasm right on the spot. Some nights Loona wondered if Bee wasn't actually a Second Sin of Lust. Sure, she could throw a party unlike any in the multiverse, and drink and eat any creature under the table but in bed…good Satan, Loona knew what it was like to fuck a God and never wanted to go back.

But as tempting as the offer was, the hound gently declined it, pushing her girlfriend off her, content with the peacefulness she had found now. "Let's just, enjoy this little quiet for a minute, okay? This is nice too isn't it?"

The Ring Lord backed away, her thirsty smile turning to a more, relaxed one as she lay on the bed. "Yeah. I guess this is pretty fucking sweet too." With one quick peck on the cheek, the pair of them sat shoulder-to-shoulder with each other, silent but content with the quiet. As she felt her girlfriend's soft fur against her Loona had everything she could need right now.

It wasn't perfect sadly; few things were. Despite all their time together Loona still felt like she didn't deserve any of this. That it was all a cruel joke leading up to a horrific punchline; that any day now Bee would finally find someone better, dump her, and leave her as the pitiful hound she always was, undeserving of love or respect. But she did her best to ignore it and every day it got just a bit quieter, thanks to the new life she had built, her close network of friends she had forged over the years, and Bee reminding her every day how much she loved her and how important she was.

And even if one day, this would all end…Loona was happy; happier than she had been in years. And she refused to give it up on some small chance that it was all a lie. Loona had spent so much of her life being so angry at the world, distancing herself from everyone else, afraid they would betray her for no reason other than cruelty. And she didn't want to live like that anymore; letting fear keep her from being happy. Holding one of her loving girlfriend's hands fondly, Loona smiled warmly.

"Hey uh Bee, I know I say this all the time but…thank you. Thank you so much."

Beelzebub smiled back as she leaned lovingly against her girlfriend's head. "Of course, sweetie." Closing her eyes, the hellhound prepared to go to sleep.

"Soo anyway, remember what we talked about out a while back?"

Loona let out a small groan, a bit irritated at her quiet getting disturbed by a recurring question: "Bee, I told you, I'm not ready for marriage yet."

"Nonono, the other thing," Bee corrected, as she leaned on her arms to get a clear look at her girlfriend. "Remember how we've talked about maybe making this relationship a little open at some point? You know, if we ever found the right fuck partner?"

"I guess…" Loona answered hesitantly, a bit nervous about where this was going.

"Bitchin! Cause, I just met this freelance bodyguard guy a few weeks ago, and he's just the pitch-perfect package. Seriously, you'll love him; Name's Vortex. Dude's a fucking gentleman, a party animal, and best of all, guy's ripped!" Bee gushed as she pulled out her phone, scrolling to find pictures of this mysterious new hound. "Seriously, I've seen Big Bro Satan half-naked, and this guy, I'm telling you Mooncake, you can grind meat on them abs. Here, sending you pics."

"Bee, come on, stop fucking with me. There's no way he's that…ooooh," Loona's words died in her words as she stared at the pics Bee had sent here. At the buff, dark-furred, one-eyed hellhound, his open vest revealing his bare chest for all to see. And fuck was there a lot.

"Fucking…meat Loona," Bee whispered teasingly in her ear, causing her to blush even deeper.

"S-shut up," Loona stammered embarrassed, still unable to take her eyes off the hound's chest."Fine, he's cute I guess-"

"Great! I'll invite him over for brunch next Monday and introduce you. Trust me, you'll love Tex!" gushed Bee excitedly. "He's just the cutest fucking beefy himbo boy you'll ever meet. And if for some reason you don't, that's totally cool too. He can just be one of our regulars or something else like that. No pressure or anything. Seriously."

"Alright, alright, I'll give him a chance. I'm sure he's a great guy, can't wait to meet him," Loona relented, though still very curious to meet this 'Vortex', based on the praise Bee was singing. Looking over the many pics Bee had sent her, she thought maybe this open relationship thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

"There's my wonderful girlfriend! Seriously, thanks for this; I swear you won't regret it, I know you're gonna love Tex." Beelzebub assured Loona before she began inching closer. "And don't worry, he's not gonna make me forget about my favorite Brownie-loving, steel-balled cutie. Come'ere." Bee pulled Loona to her side, playfully nuzzling her cheek and planting a small kiss on her neck causing the hound to laugh.

The two women play fought in the bed as the Sin kept pelting Loona with lover pecks, which then escalated to hugs, tickles, and tongue and from there things began to really heat up, the pair's night ending with the bed thoroughly ruffled and the couple sharing one last passionate kiss before they collapsed on top of each other and finally drifting off into the night.

And before she entered the whimsical land of dreams, Loona snuggling against her girlfriend's loving embrace, the taste of bacon and chocolate still fresh in her mouth, the hound smiled, thankful that no matter what would befall her in the coming years, she, at last, had found people that cared about her.

And a Sin that loved her.