THE NEXT MORNING...
It was the late morning, and the three imps were the only ones in the office after last night's fun at Queen Beelzebub's hound party.
They all sat down at either Loona's desk or the couch in peace and quiet as the crickets, who infested the building as usual, chirped.
Blitzø was still in his hungover phase the most, since he couldn't hear his phone buzzing with urgent messages from Stolas.
"Damn, what a fucking night that was." he moaned groggily.
"I'll say." concurred Millie. "I ain't never kissed a man like that since dating Moxxie."
"Wait. Like how?" replied Moxxie in concern.
"Ah, don't be so worried Moxx." chuckled Blitzø in a brotherly tone. "You were just as lucky with that 'gentle' giant of a hound."
"That one was different, sir." Moxxie protested softly. "She licked all over my face!"
Hearing him, Millie then leaned over and sniffed her husband.
"Ooh yeah, and after all that bathing this morning." she almost gagged. "What was she, a literate dog?"
"Aside from that, if I have at least a few hours without any white noise, that'd be fine." Moxxie then continued. "And before you say, my brain is the one pussing out, Blitzø."
"I feel you Moxx." replied the boss sincerely. "Morning hangovers are what I call a Monday. AND what my toilet calls Judgement Day."
Moxxie then showed a confused look of disgust, while Millie just remained cheerful.
"Anyway, sir... how was your drinking game?"
"Oh Mills. That wasn't a drinking game, but a way of life!" the imp replied with a lot more energy. "In fact... Moxx, come check this out."
Moxxie hesitantly stepped closer to Blitzø as he grabbed his hand, placed it in between his chest and stomach, and began rubbing it along his diaphragm.
"You feel that? Right there?"
"Is that the remaining Beezlejuice sir?" asked Moxxie.
"Nope. That's actually my piss." replied Blitzø with a smug grin. "It already became my piss!"
"AGH! What the fuck?!" exclaimed Moxxie as Blitzø loudly laughed. "That's! Disgusting!"
"Thanks a ton Moxx. You just made my next bathroom break easier." chuckled Blitzø wiping a tear. "This one should be done just before 10 to noon."
"Well you'd better not be shitting me." Moxxie angrily pointed. "Or else, I'll... I'll agree with Loona! I'm not joking!"
"Shhhh." Millie then gave her husband little horn scritches with a soothing look on her face. "He is, hon."
When it came to the OCD-induced imp, his wife was always the gal with a secret touch.
"Ooh, that reminds me." Blitzø then grabbed out his phone to quickly text Loona.
...
AT LOONA'S APARTMENT...
Meanwhile, as her phone buzzed with his message, Loona was fast asleep in her bed with her sharp-fanged mouth wide open and drooling as usual.
Balin on the other hand woke up in his bed in a cute yawn as he opened his eyes, but soon started feeling a little sluggish in his tummy. After digesting all that cotton candy from Bee's party, he was getting his first hangover. Even if it was a kid-friendly one.
Getting out of his bed, he slowly crept up to Loona's room to try and wake her up.
The boy leaned against the doorway to get inside trying not to make the half-open door creak, as his parents taught him to be gentle with a hungover person. He only got to do it once, since they never drank around him as much since he was born, but he was already a pro at it.
Plus, Loona was a hellhound with sensitive hearing after all.
Slowly making it to her bed, Balin started gently rubbing Loona's furry shoulder back and forth. She was a bit big for him, but he had his ways.
"Loona? Loona, wake up." he whispered.
"Ugh... five more minutes..." she snored in her sleep and rolled over with a chuff.
"Oh. Okay. I'll wait five minutes." sighed Balin softly.
He was about to walk out of her room, but picking up a little of his voice with her ears, Loona opened one of her eyes.
"Hey, Balin, wait." she softly spoke, sitting up as she looked at him. "I'm up. Everything okay?"
"Sorry for waking you, Loona." said the boy, surprised she actually woke up.
"It's okay." chuckled the hellhound in response. "I'm only hungover from this morning, as usual."
"Then, I'll let you sleep for five more minutes, while I make myself some toast." the boy was about to leave Loona's room again.
"Hey." she stopped him again and asked him: "You wanna cuddle with me?"
Balin then walked back to her bed, climbed up, and laid down next to her as she soon sensed his shivering.
"Whoa, kiddo, you feeling okay?" she asked with concern.
"I am. I just still feel a little down from last night."
"Oh yeah. How much cotton candy did you eat last night?"
"Umm... bleventeen?" replied Balin in a little gibberish as his hangover was wearing off.
Hearing that made Loona giggle a little bit, as she wrapped her arms around him.
Balin was once again melted by the warmth and softness of her fur up against his body, so the two went back to sleep in this embrace.
But not for long.
Loona's ears then perked up again to pick up more texting from Blitzø. She felt like growling in annoyance, but remembered Balin was sleeping peacefully in her arms. So with an aloof attitude, she grabbed her phone from her purse and saw the text saying:
"Loonie! I kneed you to run airands 2day!"
Loona groaned knowing what he meant in that god-awful spelling, then a couple more texts rolled in saying:
"Soupermarket and office supply store! Pweease?"
"Cum on! Your my daughter!"
With a seethe, Loona finally replied saying 'whatevs', which made Blitzø send her 'two' emojis.
(Love heart, lip-mark, love heart, lip-mark, love heart) - That's how Blitzø counts up to two.
This made Loona gag with disgust and slam her phone back into her purse before continuing to cuddle with Balin.
During those five minutes, Loona unsheathed her claws and starting stroking Balin's hair and back and also began growling in his ear like a purring cat to make him more relaxed.
Soon deciding to stop Blitzø from all his bitching, Loona then woke up for real this time.
"Balin? Hey kiddo. Wake up now." she then smiled as she patted his back awake. "Good morning."
"Good morning" he giggled in response.
"You feeling better now?" Loona asked, gently feeling his tummy.
"Yep. I'm all better now." Balin replied. "Thank you for cuddling me better."
"Awww, you really are so sweet." the hellhound smiled, before holding his hand and walking out of the bedroom. "Now let's get ready for the day. Blitzø wants us to do a little shopping this morning."
A few moments later...
Balin was back in his hound disguise, walking next to Loona as she held a basket in one arm and looked at a grocery list on her phone in another.
The first place they went to run errands was the office supply store.
Along with nearly a lot of other stores in Imp City, it was like a gas 'n' gulp or a corner/liquor store you'd see during the 1970's.
As the two walked down the aisles, Balin was having fun hanging with Loona, and felt safe around her too, but he felt like she wasn't having a lot of fun herself.
"Loona? Are you okay?" he asked the hellhound quietly.
Her eyes widened out of her boredom to look down at him. "Sorry, what?"
"It's just... you're looking a little bit grumpy." he continued. "Sorry if I'm being rude."
"Oh no, you certainly aren't." assured Loona. "It's just, Blitzø asked me to do all this shopping. He means well, but he's always bugging me because I'm his little 'Looney-Tooney.'" she then imitated the boss acting like a dog trying to lick peanut butter off it's nose. "La-la-la-la!"
Seeing that playful display made Balin laugh, before she continued speaking.
"It's just, sometimes, I wish he could give me some respect as to handle his own sh... I mean, life for once."
Loona was getting really clever with catching her own swearing, something she never once thought she'd do for someone like Balin. Even another little kid.
"So you don't like shopping?" he then asked her.
"Of course I do." she replied with a playful scoff. "Why do you think I showed you around the mall the other day? Again, I just feel like a slave when Blitzø makes me do it for him and I.M.P."
Hearing that, Balin then came up with an idea to make the shopping more enjoyable.
...
FLASHBACK:
Balin remembered back when he was 3 and in Pre-K, and his teacher was reading a storybook to his class called:
"Handa's Surprise" by Eileen Browne.
The story was about a young girl from Africa who wore a basket of fruit on her head all the way home while various animals kept stealing from it.
As his classmates all laughed, Balin admired the story's art and writing, wishing he was an artist like the author.
FLASHBACK ENDS
...
With this idea, Balin then patted Loona's leg gently to get her attention.
"Hey, Loona?" he asked her politely. "Can I have a look at that shopping list please?"
Since Balin asked nicely, and he was the first person she could trust as a true friend, Loona decided to hand her phone to him as long as he didn't look in any of her apps as they were off-limits to him.
As he looked at the list, he then began to grab some of the stuff before putting them on his head then landing them in the basket as she followed.
Seeing him try to shop like that made Loona giggle in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"I once read a book about a girl who carried fruit on her head, like she was shopping, but it kept getting taken by animals." he explained to her.
"Oh shit! School!" Loona then gasped in her mind. "Does this kid still go to school in his world, or...?"
She then shook off her thoughts as she looked back at Balin with her smile.
"I like the way you think, kid." she replied with respect. "Very efficient."
She began doing the same thing as him: Grabbing a few items at a time, placing them on her head safely, and landing them into the basket.
"Two can play at that game!" she smirked at the little human lamb in wolf's clothing.
And with a nod, the two began having the fun shopping game.
Sticking together and taking turns, they laughed as they carried each item on their head before putting them in the trolley.
...
They even continued this game at the supermarket too.
One time, when Loona was about to lose her balance from a load of groceries, Balin then pointed to her hellhound ears hoping if they were perked up enough, it'd keep them from falling off her head.
So with enough concentration, Loona moved slowly to the trolley before letting them slide down her hair into the cart.
As the two cheered, Loona then knelt down and ruffled Balin's hair.
"Smart thinking, lil' buddy." she said happily. "You're such a creative little guy."
"Oh. Thanks, Loona." flushed Balin in response.
As he twirled his hair in his finger, Loona then chuckled as it reminded her of herself. Like looking in a mirror.
Just then, she saw that Verosika was walking up to them with a trolley full of food.
"Oh hey there... Loona? Was it?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Yeah, like the hound working for my ex?"
"Hey, I'm not sharing any involvements with him." she replied defensively. "What Blitzø does is what he does."
"It's cool." she shrugged before turning to Balin, who held onto Loona's leg. "Hello again, Balin sweetheart. Remember me?"
"V-Verosika?" he stuttered.
"Yep. That's me, the popstar." she replied softly. "And what did I say about kids?"
"You... love them?" he replied.
"Can I hold him for a bit, Loona?" the succubus looked up to the hellhound with stars in her eyes.
"Go 'head, Mayday." chuckled Loona.
Verosika then held out her arms to Balin and gently picked him up, cradling him again.
"Are you still keeping yourself safe out there, baby?" she softly asked.
"Uh-huh?" he replied.
"I heard from Tex that you were almost killed by hellhounds last night." she continued. "Sorry to bring it up, but..."
"I'm okay. It's okay." he interrupted her softly, replying with a small smile. "It was a little scary, but I'm glad to be safe."
"Hmm... you have a very nice smile. Is being coddled in my arms making you happy?" she cooed, planting a couple of small kisses onto his cheek before handing him back to Loona. "So Loona, aside from raising this little pup, how's everything else been?"
"Ah, just the usual. Working for Blitzø from receptionist to killer hellhound." she replied.
Hearing that last part made Balin a little nervous, still knowing what she could do.
"Don't worry cutie. Loona only kills bad people, don't ya girl?" said Verosika softly.
"Yeah, I'd never kill you. I promise." added Loona with a giggle.
"I know. I'll just... keep on seeing it as a superhero thing." he spoke out loud before whispering to Verosika. "After all, she's my hero."
"Is that so?" giggled Verosika, winking that she'd keep him saying that a secret.
"Well, other than that, I've just been here for this little pup for only a week now." Loona continued her conversation. "Who I will say has listened to some of your music."
"Really?" gasped Verosika. "What did he think of it?"
"Oh he listened to 'Over U' and he said, and I quote..." Loona then handled Balin's mouth like a puppet. "She's a really beautiful singer."
The succubus popstar then laughed at the impersonation. "Well I'm glad you loved it, sweetie."
"Either way, he's handling Hell like a champion. Always returning the favour of me saving him with lots of love and kindness. Towards us demons, believe it or not." Loona then looked at Balin. "Isn't that right, kiddo?"
Balin then responded by giving her a kiss on her furry cheek.
"Oh?" she was stunned at first before giving a warm smile. "Awwww." she then gave him a gentle lick on each cheek, making him giggle.
Verosika then wiped a couple of happy tears from her eye seeing this beautiful display. "What a beautiful bond you two have."
"Yeah. I guess we do." Balin said, as Loona then nuzzled her snout across his nose to make a point.
He then saw a Granny-Smith apple lodged into her hair from the shopping and pulled it out for Loona.
"Oh! What's that doing in there?" she chuckled anxiously at Verosika before taking a bite out of it.
"Ma'am? You're gonna need to pay for that." a teenage grocery store worker demon said in a squeaky voice.
"No means no, pervert." Loona still looked at Verosika with an anxious blush, as she slapped the demon away with her strong tail. "...Anywho... speaking of Tex's party, where's the rest of your crew? I assume Tex is at home, but aren't you quite vulnerable out here by yourself?"
"Nah, it's cool." replied Verosika. "Everyone's at the salon and Tex is out in fact, at the mall with his girl. ...And a couple more girls too."
Just then, Loona got a text from Tex, ironically. It said:
"Hey Loona. Bee and I are at the mall right now, and we're wondering if you and Bay-Bay would like to hang with us."
and another one saying:
"I know I'm texting after the party, but there's two special guests from it who'd love to meet him."
Loona then replied saying to him:
"Sure. Sounds cool. Uhh, who are they?"
"Two hellhounds named Neptune and Marijiana."
replied Tex in another message.
Loona then had a thought about it, showing the messages to Balin to see if he wanted to come and he soon responded with a yes. It was gonna be a big step for Loona, knowing she had two more hellhounds to meet and/or call good friends.
Smiling back at her phone, she then responded with:
"C U there Tex."
A/N: See y'all in the next chapter.