THE NEXT MORNING...

As the pentagram sun rose in the sky, Loona and Balin were still asleep together in his spare bedroom, newly refurbished after yesterday's adventures to his home in the living world.

Balin then woke up as the light, looking up at the stars on his ceiling before looking to the sun shining through the window. He then looked to see it was shining down on Loona, who snoozed right next to him with a smile and her tail & arms wrapped around him.

Whenever Loona didn't have any slobber coming out of her mouth, she was actually a cute sleeper.

Smiling at her in gratitude for all the fun and love he had yesterday, Balin decided to get out of bed and start this one. But secretly, being the kind of person who wants to sleep in, Loona was a little awake herself and didn't want him leaving her embrace.

So when the boy tried to lift her tail off of him, she'd teasingly growl to make him freeze. Seeing the opportunity to have some fun, Balin kept lifting the tail up and down with every playful growl she'd give him, until he finally managed to break free from her grasp.

After all that, Loona although giggly was still tired, so Balin walked out of his new room to let her sleep in peace some more.

The boy then walked out to the living room to see the couch had turned into a sofa bed with little hooves sticking out from the end. He then tiptoed around to see the three imps sleeping together after their pizza party.

Blitzø snuggled a beer bottle in his arms and Millie had her tail coiled around Moxxie's waist, while the TV was still on, but it was buffering since Hell's broadcast day had ended.

Giggling at how cute they were in their sleep, Balin soon decided to rock them awake back and forth, starting with Millie.

"Aunty Millie? Millie?" he whispered to his favourite step-aunt with a nudge.

The tomboy imp soon woke up to see it was Balin waking her up. "Aww, good morning, chickpea." she gently caressed his cheek with her fingers. "So nice of you to visit me and Moxxie." she then yawned and bleeped her forked tongue out like a snake.

"Uhm, Aunty Millie?"

"Yeah?"

"You're in Loona's apartment."

Millie then widened her eyes awake and looked around the room now in fear, then saw Blitzø sleeping beside Moxxie.

"Blitzø! Hun! Wake up!" she shook them ecstatically with both hands.

Before long, the two woke up also shocked to see they still were in Loona's apartment after last night.

"Goddamn it, Moxxie!" yelled Blitzø quietly. "Didn't I tell you to wake me up after that Paw Patrol movie?!"

"I would have! If it wasn't garbage for me too!" his employee snapped back in a defensive whisper.

"Never you mind, let's go before she meats nice meat of us!" Millie lifted the two in her arms with her brute strength, before leaning down to Balin. "See ya at work, honey." she gently kissed his forehead before running out of the apartment with Blitzø and Moxxie.

Five minutes later...

Loona woke up on Balin's bed yawning in a downward dog pose and bearing her dagger-like fangs, when her ears perked up hearing high and low pitched giggles from the living room.

She came out in her usual clothing to see Balin playing with his teddy and the chicken plushy Via gave him.

"Oh Teddy, I'm so in love with you. I don't know how I can live without you."

"Well my chick, enough talk. Let's smooch."

"Awww." chuckled Loona, causing Balin to look up at her.

"Oh, good morning Loona."

"Morning, kiddo." replied the hellhound.

"Would you like to play?" the boy asked her holding the plushies

"Sure. But quickly, we wanna look good for Tex, don't we?" she smiled, as she went to get her teddy from her room.

"In that case, let's move these two to the wedding."

Loona came out laughing again as she put her teddy on the couch in between the boy's two stuffed animals, pretending it was the Justice of the Peace.

LOONA: "Do you, Teddy, take Chick to be your wife?"

BALIN: (Low voice) "I do."

LOONA: "And do you, Chick, take Teddy to be your husband?"

BALIN: (High voice) "I DO!"

LOONA: "Then I now pronounce you, bear and hen!"

As Balin made the teddies kissed, Loona made her teddy bear dance about on the couch, which made Balin giggle as well.

"Well, how 'bout some breakfast before we get 'you' ready for the day?" she cleared her throat with a smile. "Blitzø must've put our meat-lovers in the fridge last night. Wanna share?"

Balin then jumped for joy at the thought of having pizza for breakfast, as if he thought it was a myth, making Loona giggle as she collected it and warmed it up for them.

They each had four slices of the meat-lovers sensation, with Balin using a knife and fork to eat them while Loona just scarfed it down as usual.

Once they were finished, Loona picked up Balin in her arms and carried him to the bathroom to get him in his disguise.

"Time to clean you up, little guy." she said, licking her lips.

A FEW MOMENTS LATER...

Balin was now back in his hellpup disguise and holding Loona's hand across the street back to Fire and Brimstone's to meet up with Vortex.

"Uhm, Loona?"

"Yeah?"

"Does Tex... know who I am? Or are we keeping it a secret from him too?" asked the boy.

"Oh, he knows. I told him last night." replied Loona calmly. "But I know you two'll hit it off, for real this time buddy."

"Okay." smiled Balin. "So what's Tex like?"

"Ooh... he's the best..." Loona giggled as she panted with her tongue out like a dog, before shaking it off. "Well, Tex is a hellhound like me, except he's way bigger and taller. Sort of like a gentle giant."

"A gentle giant?" Balin repeated, putting the clues together and looking a little nervous.

"Don't worry, sweetie." reassured Loona. "He won't hurt you, he's harmless."

"Yo, yo, LOONA!" a male voice called from a few feet.

The two looked in front of them to see it was Vortex, the larger-than-life hellhound in black fur and clothes with a scar over his eye, standing at one of the cafe tables.

"Hi, Tex!" Loona then waved to him with a nervous giggle.

Balin, meanwhile, gasped at the sight of him. He was both amazed and terrified at the same time to see a hellhound almost as bigger as Loona.

"Girl, it's so good to see each other again." smiled Tex. "How've you been? Still quite busy?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." replied Loona with a blush on her furry cheeks. "Still, working for my dad's lame company, both at the desk and the other side. ...You?"

"The usual too. Still, working for Verosika... and howling up a storm for Bee's parties." replied Tex next. "By the way, she wanted me to send you my hey-hey."

"Cool, cool, cool, cool. So cool." sighed Loona.

She knew he already had a girlfriend, named Bee apparently, but that didn't mean the tip of her tail could still wag in his sight.

The waiter imp then came out to the two's table.

"Sir, you ordered the seven lattes, I assume?" he asked the male hellhound, who nodded. "Well just to let you know, it'll take about six minutes to sort out, so perhaps you'd like to sample our complimentary desserts to pass the time?"

"Sure, I'd kill for a slice." he shrugged, before turning to Loona for a choice.

"Oh, a croissant for me. P-Please." she added next. "OH! And a mud-cake as well, thanks dude."

The waiter then walked off to prepare the small meals.

"Anyways, where's this little guy of yours?" asked Tex.

"I have no idea..." sighed Loona, before she snapped out of it. "Wait, I actually have no idea. Balin?!" she shouted out for him.

"Balin?" Tex joined in.

Soon, Loona saw little wolf ears perking out from her tail fur, before hiding back inside. She thought it was a pervert at first, but soon realised it was Balin's fake ears. So she smirked, coming up with an idea.

She sighed at the male hound once again, just for him to notice her tail wagging the ears back out of it.

"Uhh, Loona? Why are there lil' ears coming out of your tail?" he asked her in confusion.

"No clue. Why not ask Balin, shall we?" she then placed the tail on the table and tapped it. "Balin...?" she sang for him.

As Tex took a closer look at it, almost enough for his snout to twitch, Balin then popped his head out.

"HELLO!" he said with a goofy smile.

Tex soon broke into laughter from the surprise, and so did Loona apparently.

"Why'd you make me worry, you little...?" she cooed as she grabbed him out of her tail and tickled him gently with her claws like she was a big sister.

When she finished, she sat the kiddo on her lap and Tex cleared his throat to speak.

"So you're the little Balin I heard about last night?" he asked him.

"We also spoke on the phone." added the boy.

"That we did, lil' man." Tex replied, as he lifted his fist for a pump.

Balin only hesitated for a second, until he returned it with a little tap.

"NOW you're friends." smiled Loona at the kid.

"I guess we are." the kid chuckled lightly. "Even if we're a little..."

"A little what, champ?" Tex asked him with intrigue.

"A little... different."

"Don't worry, buddy. Two people make a perfect fit." replied the male hellhound kindly.

Soon, the waiter came out with their desserts. An apple crumble, a croissant with butter, and a chocolate mud cake.

"Thanks, dude." Tex said, starting his apple crumble.

"Once again, sorry for the long wait." the waiter spoke, as he began to walk away. "We'll deliver those lattes to you shortly."

"You got me a mud-cake, Loona?" Balin smiled at his new friend.

"Sure did, kiddo." she warmly smiled back.

"Wow. I thought it would be actually mud. But it's not." he smiled more.

Tex and Loona began to laugh as he dug into the sweet treat.

"What made ya think of that?" asked Tex with a chuckle.

"Well, this is Hell. Anything can happen here." replied the boy. "Just like when I first saw you, I thought you were gonna eat me."

"Eat you?" Tex then tilted his head in confusion, until he laughed again, realising what he meant. "Ooooh! You kids and your imagination. I know I look like a strong and deadly meat-eating machine, but I'm also all bark and no bite. Ever heard that saying, lil' man?"

"A few times." replied Balin. "But I understand. Thank you."

"Still no problem." the male hellhound began to rub his head to get it all neat again after being stuffed in Loona's tail. "So what brings a little human like you to Hell?" he then asked.

Loona looked to him from her croissant to see if he was brave enough to tell the story to her first friend. And with a big deep breath, he was actually ready to talk.

"You see, Loona found me one night after a few days on my own." he started explaining.

"A few days on you own?" Tex couldn't help but stop for a second. "Well, where were your parents?"

"They're in this thing called witness protection." continued the little boy. "They witnessed something scary that made them go away for a while, but... they couldn't take me, because I was deemed... a liability."

Loona thought it must've been the first time he thought or talked about it without breaking down and crying. Tex, on the other hand, had a beefy paw over his heart hearing all this from the 7-year-old boy.

"Oh my God, I-I'm so sorry." he sympathetically said.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." replied Balin. "But I'm safe now. Because even though Loona scared me at first, she became really kind in taking me here and looking after me with her friends."

"Oh Balin, I wouldn't say 'friends' completely." flushed Loona nervously, but still showed the kid a smile. "But yeah..."

"Well, I think you're both brave, indeed." spoke Tex, patting the boy's shoulders. "Especially you Balin. Takes guts telling a man like me all that."

"Yep. That's my little hellpup." joked Loona, causing them both to laugh.

"Hey, Tex? Can I feel the fur on your arm?" the boy then asked.

"Yeah, sure, go wild." Tex kept his hand on Balin's shoulder so the boy could feel his fur for a bit.

He was soon in awe of how rough AND soft it actually was at the same time.

"Wow Tex!" the boy's eyes widened. "Your arm's like a soft chicken leg."

"Thanks kid." chuckled Tex. "I work out three hours a day, every day after a day at work. From the treadmill to the dumbbells."

"I wonder how much those dumbbells weigh." purred Loona before letting out a goofy laugh.

"So... what kind of work do you do, Tex?" asked the boy.

"Well, I work as a bodyguard for a very famous popstar." replied Vortex. "Do you know someone named... Verosika Mayday?"

Balin was mind-blown to hear that, but shook his head having no idea who that was. Loona however shook hers out of her trance hearing her name.

"Speaking of which Tex, you think you can keep Verosika away from Balin?" she asked him. "I don't wanna see him get scared by her, whether it's her and Blitzø at each other's throats again or just her being intimidating to him."

"Ah, V wouldn't hurt him, Loona. She loves kids as much as the next pop idol does." reassured Tex. "Though I do believe I'm the only one in the troupe more sane."

"True, true." Loona agreed with her crush.

Soon, the waiter came out with the hellhound's coffees. "Here you are, sir."

Tex took the coffees and then threw the entire apple crumble into his mouth before swallowing it and letting out a small relief burp, making Balin and Loona look each other very surprised.

"Well, gotta finish this coffee run here. Pleasure talking with you as always, Lunes." Tex patted Loona's back as her tail swished in a flush and he then knelt down to Balin. "And an absolute pleasure meeting you, Balin. Stay safe down here, ya promise?"

"Pinkie-promise." Balin then held out his pinkie for a shake, then Tex used his pinkie to give him one last ticklish head-rub as he left.

"See you two around!" he waved to them with his free paw as he carried the coffees, setting off for work.

Loona blushed the entire time before looking back at Balin and nuzzling her cheek into his. "I'm proud of you, kid." she softly said.

"Thanks, Loona." smiled Balin.

"Well, aren't you gonna eat your mud-cake?" she asked him teasingly.

Giggling, Balin grabbed a cake fork and began digging more into his sweet treat, as Loona kept her arms wrapped around him, having finished her treat, as he was still sitting on her lap.

AT VEROSIKA MAYDAY'S OFFICE...

Tex soon came into Verosika's office with the lattes, having not spilt or left cold a single one.

Soon, he was almost blinded but stunned by what he was seeing.

"What the fuck...?" he said to himself.

Strobe lights were on all over the room as Verosika's posse (Coco, Apple, Kiki, Josh, Ace, Kat, and Milky) all danced to her music.

"Did I, uh... did I miss anything?" Tex asked in surprise.

"Uhh, fuck yeah ya did." Ace said nestled under his armpit like a cat.

"We just got breakin' news that 'Over U' just went multi-platinum!" Apple nearly squealed. "OOOH, so exciting!"

Soon, the male hellhound felt two arms wrap around his waist, as she entered the room from behind him.

"Told y'all that 'Fuck You Blitzø' party was worth the wait, didn't I, Tex?" purred Verosika Mayday.

Verosika was one real Hell of a succubus demon, with light pink skin, a long snake-like tail, the best locks of hair, a black and white feathered mini-dress, along with gloves and boots.

"Guess we should listen to you more often, V." joked Josh.

"You already do, Josh." Verosika sternly but sexily slapped his ass with her tail. "And don't you forget it, you scrub."

"Yes ma'am." Ace sounded like he was about to cry from how hard that slap was.

"So Tex...? What took you so long? Just got the party started six minutes ago." she asked the buff male hellhound as she filled up three shots of tequila.

"Oh, well, they needed six minutes to make the coffees, funny story, and I had a little chat with some friends whilst I waited."

"Friends?" chuckled Verosika. "Like who? The hound who caught your eye at the beach, that limp... dick... ex's stubborn little fleabag?"

"Hey! C'mon now." Vortex then said defensively. "Loona's a cool girl, alright? Just like y'all."

"Yeah, and look on the bright side Mayday, at least they aren't cold as Hell." Kiki said as she grabbed a coffee from the tray.

"If I didn't know any better, Tex..."

"Ma'am, you know I have a girlfriend already." continued Tex's defending. "Sure she's fine, but I consider her a friend. End of story."

"Fair's fair." shrugged Verosika, walking a few steps away with a scoff.

...Suddenly,

"Wait..."

The succubus popstar then started sniffing around Tex like she was a hound herself, climbing and crawling around him like a scanning insect.

"Uhh, ma'am? I know I'M the bodyguard here, but... boundaries...?" Tex uncomfortably said.

By the time she was done, she had her arms around his neck gasping at the scent she just picked up.

"I know that scent anywhere." she thought out loud quietly, making Tex widen his eyes in shock. "There's only one species I know with that..."

As she took one more scent, she let go of Tex and slid down beside him... before pulling him close to her with a glare.

"Who ELSE did you meet during that coffee run?!" she snarled at him like a jaguar, bearing her fangs as Tex gulped, now feeling anxious.

A/N: See y'all in the next chapter.