The taxi Balin and Loona were riding in from the No-Name Town city council soon dropped them off at the McDonald's where they had lunch last time they were there.
The two hopped out of the car, and Loona tipped the driver with a neutral smile, having respected that he was an elderly gentleman.
She then looked at that McDonald's as the taxi drove away, thinking about the handsome human worker friend of Balin's with a blush on her face.
As the two started journeyed up the hill once again, with Loona holding the boy's hand, she decided to get a little bit cheeky.
"So Balin." she grinned at him. "Is there any exciting grub you wish you'd see at this picnic?"
"Come on, Loona." said Balin playfully. "We shopped for groceries together. You know what we could be having. Chocolate."
Hearing that part made her chuckle with a snort.
"Aww, you little squirts and your candy." the 'booze and meth-addicted' hellhound joked. "At least you have a healthier addiction than I do. Anything else we're having?"
"Let's see... sandwiches with cheese, sandwiches with jelly, sandwiches with Vegemite,"
Loona made a 'bleh!' sound at that, making Balin laugh as he continued.
"Sausage rolls, cupcakes, oranges, Nutella dips, and Cheese-&-Owen chips."
"Whoa, time out there, fatty Jr." giggled Loona again. "Don't you think that's a lot for kids your age?"
Soon, they reached the corner of his old street, giving the hellhound the moment to raise her trickery to the next base.
"What else do we need, huh?" she then teased jiggling her breasts. "What about some... milk?"
"Hmm... nope." Balin replied, pretending to not get her joke. "I do prefer strawberry milk though."
"Oooh. Sounds tasty." Loona then retorted back. "How about some raspberry milk?"
She then ducked into one of the house's bushes to lift his shirt up and give him her beloved raspberry tickles.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Balin laughed. "Loona! That, HAHAHAHAHA, tickles!"
The home owner was a small elderly couple who was watching the football on their arm-couches next to the windows as they read their daily newspaper and magazine.
Hearing the laughter, the husband looked at the two with his reading glasses still on, and smiled seeing this affectionate yet secret moment before reading his paper again.
"Alright, c'mon now, we're not that far." chuckled Loona from the tickles, as she and the kid held each other's hands and walked through the rest of his old neighbourhood.
They soon passed the house which still had the 'For Sale' sign still nailed in the lawn.
"Say hi, Balin." cooed Loona cheekily as he waved to his old house.
As the two went through the shortcut to the park, Balin was surprised to see the IMP gang, along with Verosika, the Goetias, and Tex already set up for the picnic.
The two were right about the snacks they had brought and prepared, as they had the sandwiches, chocolate, and even some Earl grey tea.
"Why hey there, darling." said Millie, as Balin sat between her and Loona. "How'd it go?"
"It went great, Millie." he kindly said. "Loona's like a ninja. She's the best."
Normally, she wasn't used to compliments after a few of them, but this one made Loona blush a little once again.
Balin then giggled a little at the imps, who unlike the rest of everyone else, were not in their human disguises but wore clown wigs/face-paint and 70s moustaches for improv.
"What's so funny?" Blitzø said with a mouthful of jelly sandwich, making Verosika a little disgusted.
"Why are you guys wearing those weird costumes?" asked Balin with his giggly smile.
"Oh, we're just in our human disguises." replied Moxxie. "Ya know. Because we're demons?"
"Ohhhh." Balin got the picture, but still chucked lightly underneath his breath.
"Well, let's not just sit here playing spin the bottle. Everyone dig in." sighed Loona.
"What's spin the bottle?"
"Ohh, definitely adult stuff." said the three imps, before Blitzø winked seductively to Stolas.
"Ugh, that Blitzø." growled Loona in annoyance.
"He's a weird one, isn't he?" said Balin.
"Kiddo, you have no idea."
With that, everyone started having their little picnic fun. Millie poured some Earl grey into Moxxie's teacup, and he lifted his pinkie in pretend arousal, earning a playful punch from her.
Balin then broke a piece of chocolate and was about to put some in his mouth, before looking at Loona.
"What are you looking at?" she cheekily asked him with kindness.
As the boy held up the piece for her, seeing if she'd like one, she couldn't help but smile at his kind heart and take it, tossing it in her mouth. Ruffling his head in a motherly manner, she soon noticed a little melted cheese on his cheek from one of the sandwiches.
"Hang on, kid. I'll just grab you a napkin." she said.
She grabbed a napkin out of her pocket, gave it a soft lick, and wiped the boy's cheek and lips, careful not to get any of her slobber in his mouth.
Blitzø watched as the two enjoyed their precious picnic time together, and gave a sad sigh knowing if Balin was about to decide if he wanted to go home or not. It was like, him being here with Loona made her the most happy he's ever seen since adopting her. Happy enough to maybe adopt him as her own son, or pup.
"Alright guys, I have a surprise for y'all." he then shook it off. "I thought to myself, why not a picnic and a show?"
"I swear to Satan, Blitzø, if you make that frosting joke again, so help me!" growled Verosika.
"Of course not!" scoffed Blitzø. "But Fizzarolli could do that if you'd like him to." he then whistled for his childhood friend, before he appeared from the trees in his demon form as people could mistake him for an actual clown.
After all, people in the living world have seen movies where clowns just wanna murder Batman.
But Balin did look surprised to see him again so soon, after meeting him at the office during Millie's kitty cat cuddle party yesterday.
"G'day mates!" Fizz greeted the boy in an Aussie accent before going back to his normal voice for everyone else. "Thanks for inviting me Blitzø. Twice. This'll totally add to my pay. And just as much joy as I have, getting to entertain this little guy."
Blitzø smiled as his former enemy-turned friend, the clown demon, ruffled Balin's hair while he was still standing next to him.
"Okay... let's see what's in here." Fizz began looking through his robotic body for any props to use, and soon started sprouting balls from his jester ears by magic. With those balls, he juggled for a record-breaking 15 seconds without dropping them.
Millie's childish side was just so excited seeing this, she gave him some fast cheerful claps.
"Hey kid, Balin, I never really got to tell you this yesterday, but uh..." Balin leaned closer to the clown as he kneeled down to his level. "I think you have something behind your ear."
"Oh, really? I guess you forgot to clean me there today, Loona." Balin jokingly whispered to her, making her laugh the red wine out of her snout.
"No, silly!" laughed Fizz also. "I mean... this!" he then pulled a gold coin AND a $100 note out of his left ear.
"WHOA...!" the three imps' eyes widened seeing this coming from Fizz.
"Damn, kid. You been dealing?" joked Blitzø.
"BLITZØ! Adult, stuff!" the demons shouted, other than the Goetias.
"Sos." he sheepishly whispered, zipping his mouth.
"How cool is that, sweetie?" asked Via. "You must be rich."
"Let me check my other ear." Balin then grabbed a random wallet from his right ear and checked it. "Nope." he said making a cute face.
"Damn buddy, I like your style." said Fizz, as he remained kneeling down with a gentle expression. "Listen, um... Blitzø and his lil' daredevil told me about what happened, and I'm glad to hear you fought through it. Takes a natural performer to do something like that with such kindness, believe me."
"Why is that?" asked Balin.
"Kid, things haven't been so easy for Fizz either." answered Blitzø for him. "Like you, he's also lived one hardship after another for a while. A couple of times, even with me." he then sighed remembering his long-time rivalry with his own best friend after a traumatising incident that hit him long ago.
"Yep, so for all that, I respect you, kiddo." the clown snapped his fingers. "Pass me one of those sandwiches, would ya?"
Balin then passed Fizzarolli a Vegemite sandwich, which he then threw into the air and then jumped even higher to catch it in his mouth with no hands. As he then landed onto the ground, he then pulled the sandwich out of his hat, making Millie clap even harder.
"Shit. Guys, look!" said Moxxie quietly. "A human!"
This human was a young male adult jogging past in his exercise gear wearing a headband, sorta like the one Pat Cash wears.
"Psst! Where's your disguise, Fizz?" Balin asked his new friend softly.
"Don't worry, Balin. All clowns look like this up here." replied Fizz assuringly. "At least, most of them."
Loona, meanwhile, looked up at him knowing exactly who it was. Soon, Balin saw who it was too.
"Hello, Dylan!"
"Oh. G'day buddy." said Dylan, running up to him and patting his back. "Sorry if I'm all sweaty champ. Just having a bit of a run."
"N-No problem." chuckled Loona nervously.
This made Blitzø suspicious. "Oh fuck me..." he whispered under his breath. "Loonie, how do you know this pervert?"
"Blitzø...! Behave." groaned Loona. "He's a friend of the boy's we met at McDonald's during our day off."
"Oh yeah, that confirms it." retorted Blitzø. "Heard that chain hires ex-convicts now."
This made Loona growl so hard in her human form, she wanted to give Blitzø a slap on the head that would almost knock his wig off.
"How've you been lately buddy?" asked Dylan. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." replied Balin. "I'm about to see my mommy and daddy again."
"Oh, crap, really?" he was actually stunned to hear that from him already.
"Mm-hmm."
"Well that's exciting." he replied happily, before noticing the imp gang. "Who are you friends?"
"These are the people who have been looking after me." Balin replied. "This is Blitzø, the O is silent, and these are my Uncle Moxxie and Aunty Millie."
The married imps both blushed upon hearing that from the kind-hearted human kid.
"It's a pleasure to meet you three." Dylan bowed meekly, making Blitzø nod in respect.
"Meh, otherwise."
"Nice clown costume, mate." Dylan said to Fizzarolli before waving to everyone else at the picnic rug, including Loona. "Oh. Hi again Loona."
She then looked flabbergasted seeing his small arms yet strong body, and his black and blue frosted-tipped hair not hiding in his work hat. She was about to pant with her tongue out like the hound she was, until Balin snapped her out of it.
"Whoa! Where! What the fu...?" she gasped, before sighing at Balin with a relieved smile. "Thanks, mini dude. *to Dylan* Uhh, hey again. Dylan, was it?"
"Uh-huh. Always has been."
"What brings you out here?"
"Oh, I was just telling the little guy I've been getting some reps in. Gotta keep myself from bedrest, one way or another." replied Dylan.
"HA! Totally." Loona scrunched her hair nervously.
"So, I also hear from him he's about to see his parents." he continued.
"Well, yeah. But the thing is, where actually doing it today."
"Oh, shit. Really?" Stolas asked swallowing one of his cupcakes.
"Yep. Booked the flight tickets, got the permit, all that jazz." Loona lied blankly.
"Well lucky you, mate." Dylan said to Balin giving him a fist-bump. "Hope it goes well. If you end up living with them, it was great serving you every weekend."
"Same here, sweetie-pie." said Via.
"But remember." Moxxie and Millie walked up to him and crouched down to his level. "You're always welcome to visit us with Loona. Just call her up and she'll come pick you right up. Or... you could, stay with us longer. Like you said, just in case."
"Okay." smiled Balin.
"And trust your Uncle Moxxie. She never gets off her phone." the little white-haired imp whispered.
"HEY! Keep those words out your mouth if you don't want trouble!" Loona stormed at him before gasping nervously at Dylan. "Sorry."
"It's fine. You know I have the same fling with my manager." said Dylan. "Stayed out of my personal space since your advice. You really know you're way around magic, like that clown."
Hearing that made Fizz chuckle a little and Loona blush a lot, while Blitzø's fatherly instincts kicked in a little more seeing the near-romantic activity from the two, before he breathed in and out and read more of his 'Demon Daily' magazine.
"Alright, gotta get back to my runs. Nice meeting you all!" Dylan called out his goodbyes.
"Bye Dylan!" Balin waved to him the most.
"What a nice human." admitted Millie, in a nearly seductive but admirable tone. "He must know this town inside out."
Soon, Loona opened a portal in the trees at of the park they sat next to.
"Hey kid, why don't you pack what snacks you want for the trip?"
"Okay, Loona."
As Balin began packing, Tex gently put his hand on his back.
"Hey, lil' man. Before you two go, I just wanna say." he cleared his throat. "It's been a pleasure knowing you, if it was only for a little while. I just wanna thank you for touching these old demon hearts over the last couple of weeks."
"Even Verosika's, I'll admit." Blitzø interrupted, rolling his eyes in respect.
"But even then, sorry if things have been a little weird or chaotic over that time." continued Tex with a chuckle. "Loona says it's mainly Blitzø."
During the talk, Balin was starting to wonder if he wanted to stay with the demons his young heart grew to know and love for a little while longer, or go home and still hang out with them. This decision was now his, as the three imps wrapped their arms around Balin for a group hug, while Loona rubbed his head admiring the affectionate scene.
Once they were ready, Balin and Loona held each other's hands through the portal while it was still open, and the little boy waved goodbye to his new pals as it closed, having set foot in:
...
TATHRA
As they arrived at the welcome sign of the small town, Loona changed into her human form and held Balin's hand across the coastal-smelling neighbourhood.
"Well, we're almost there now." said Balin out loud. "Can I ask you something, Loona?"
"Sure sweetie." she replied. "Hit me up."
"If I do end up staying with mommy and daddy again, can you pinkie-swear me something?" he asked with a nod from Loona. "Could you call Uncle Moxxie by his actual name?"
"What?!" gasped Loona as she chuckled, before going 'meh' since she knew he was a little right. "I'll try, kiddo. Believe me, I just joke about him being fat. But I am still getting used to this whole 'heart of gold' thing you have, with everyone else."
Moxxie could be grouchy and rude just as much as Loona was, but only when he wanted to since he was an assassin after all, but he still meant well.
After a few minutes of walking, the two made it to the safe house in the middle of the street.
"...This is it." whispered the boy to himself, out loud again.
Loona then kneeled down to Balin's level, having heard that, and gave him a soft and long kiss on each cheek.
"Here. Some good luck kisses." she smiled, before rubbing her nose against his. "If you choose them, I want you to know, I'll miss having those everyday. It's been a joy to take care of you."
"Come on, Loona. Don't say that." reminded Balin. "I'll still see you if I do. But... I don't know..."
"Hey, don't worry. Just remember what I told you. Your parents still love you, and they always will. In here." Loona then placed her hand over his heart still kneeling down. "All you have to do is be brave. Like I know you are."
Balin then looked at the house, and the door in front of them, before nodding to Loona bravely.
"Okay. Come on."
She then held his hand as she typed in the security panel code at the gate, which granted them the access to the lawn as they slowly made their way to the door.
Balin soon lifted his finger, and shaking, he mustered the courage to press the doorbell.
Feeling nervous, but still wanting to surprise them, he then got behind Loona. She was confused, seeing this from him, but then remembered the first meeting with the imps and Tex.
Taking a deep breath, feeling nervous herself, she was also ready to be nice to both parents, after everything the kid has done for her and her heart.
The door soon opened to reveal two people, both with Elton's golden brown beard and Raven's long locks of black hair, who stood next to each other cautiously as they looked at Loona.
"G'day, young lady..." Elton said. "Can we... help you?" added Raven.
Before long, Balin peaked his head from behind Loona's hips, sending gasps from the two adults.
The woman's voice inaudibly shivered seeing him, knowing exactly who he was.
...
"B-B-B-B... Balin?"
A/N: See y'all in the next chapter.