Archive of Our Own ^beta

Millie smiled as she looked out of the window. Watching the buildings of Imp City pass by. She wasn’t bothered by the loud music blaring from the van’s radio, nor by her boss’ off-key singing. Blitzo was at the driver’s seat, barely keeping his eyes on the road. His daughter Loona sat beside him, absentmindedly tapping away at her phone. Millie turned to look at the imp sitting next to her. Her best friend Moxxie seemed to be lost in his thoughts, feet swaying anxiously. Normally the thespian would be annoyed and frustrated by the cacophony of obnoxious noises coming from the front seat, but right now something else was clearly occupying his mind.

‘’Whatcha thinking about, Mox?’’ she piped up. Moxxie looked up at her surprised.

‘’O-oh! It’s nothing, just…my boyfriend’s finally coming home from tour today.’’ The small imp smiled, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

‘’Oh yeah! That was today, wasn’t it?’’ Millie said, pulling away from the window fully to talk with him.

‘’I can tell you’re excited.’’

‘’I’m that obvious, huh?’’ Moxxie chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed his arm. Millie giggled.

‘’Mox, ah can read you like a picture book. And right now, what ah’m seeing is a whole bunch of hearts and wolf emojis.’’ she teased.

‘’Shuddup…’’ Mox rolled his eyes as he looked away from her, trying to hide his blush. Millie just kept on giggling.

‘’You got anything special planned?’’ she asked.

‘’Well, he’s been on the move for a whole month, so I’m sure he’ll want to take it easy for a while. But we do have our one year anniversary coming up soon, so I probably should start planning something at least.’’ Moxxie pondered.

‘’Aw, congrats! From the way you’ve been talking about him, you guys sound like the perfect pair.’’

Moxxie’s smile grew wider.

‘’Yeah. I’m really lucky to have come across a guy like him.’’ He sighed wistfully.

The duo’s conversation was abruptly cut short when their boss suddenly slammed his foot down on the brakes. Moxxie was jerked forward by the velocity and smashed his head against the seat in front of him.

‘’Watch where ya fucking going, asshole!’’ Blitzo shouted at the bright pink convertible that had suddenly cut him off when he was about to slip into the parking space that had been reserved under the company’s name.

‘’That’s my goddamn spot, you fucking-‘’ Blitzo let out a combination of curses and angry gibberish as he opened the door and stormed out of the van, leaving his three employees shaking. Loona’s right eyelid was twitching as her claws practically dug themselves into the van’s dashboard.

‘’You alright, Mox?’’ Millie asked as she helped Moxxie up from the floor.

‘’Ugh, yeah…’’ the thespian growled as he rubbed his sore face.

‘’Is my nose bleeding?’’ he asked his friend as he turned to look at her.

‘’Nah, you’re fine.’’ she shook her head.

‘’The hell happened?’’

‘’Some glittery bitch seems to have taken our parking spot.’’

The three demons got out of the van as their boss marched towards the expensive car with angry strides.

‘’Now you listen here bitch! This parking spot is already taken! So you better move that gaudy piece of junk out of here or I’ll-‘’

Blitzo’s tirade came to a halt when the convertible’s door opened and a tall succubus in a pink fur coat emerged from the driver’s seat. The harlequin’s eyes went wide as realisation hit him, before a scornful expression adorned his face. The pink skinned succubus looked equally pissed when she noticed the imp.

‘’Blitzo.’’ She growled, pronouncing the ‘o’ with extra venom.

‘’Verosika.’’ The imp snarled back in disdain.

‘’VEROSIKA?!!’’ Millie gasped.

‘’W-wait, Verosika Mayday?!’’ Moxxie’s eyes went wide in shock.

‘’YOU KNOW VEROSIKA MAYDAY???’’ Loona shouted at her dad in utter disbelief. Blitzo pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

‘’Ugh, yeah. We used to date.’’ He waved his hand dismissively. The three demons all muttered their disbelief.

‘’Was this before or after she became famous?’’ Moxxie asked.

‘’Could ya drop it already? Christ, I don’t go poking my nose in you guys’ business.’’ the taller imp said with no self-awareness whatsoever. His three employees all simultaneously argued against that statement, much to his chagrin.

‘’I see you haven’t changed a bit. Still a bottom feeder, huh?’’ Verosika smirked as she pulled out a flask and drank from it.

‘’You’re one to talk! Aren’t you supposed to be in rehab?’’ Blitzo pointed an accusatory finger.

‘’Rehab is for washed up losers who aren’t famous. Speaking of which-‘’ she grinned as she pulled down her sunglasses, staring down at her ex.

‘’Your sister says hi~<3’’

‘’What the fuck are you even doing here?’’ Blitzo asked with annoyed growl.

‘’I’m setting up my recording studio here. Landlord was even kind enough to give me my own parking spot.’’

‘’Like Hell! That’s MY spot your ugly wreck is standing on!’’

‘’Not anymore~’’

As the two demons continued to argue, Millie, Moxxie and Loona continued to stare in disbelief. Moxxie in particular was slowly coming to a realisation.

‘’Wait, if Verosika Mayday is here, that means…’’

‘’I swear, you better move that piece of shit or else I’ll-‘’ Blitzo shouted threateningly, before a tall figure suddenly loomed over him. Blitzo turned around to find an absolutely massive hellhound standing before him, growling menacingly.

‘’Or else you what?’’ the large demon asked. The imp gulped.

‘’Or else I’ll, uh, I’ll take it up with HR.’’ Blitzo said confidently. A moment of silence passed before all three demons broke down laughing.

Loona blushed as she looked at the tall, handsome hellhound. He had huge muscles, dark but well-kept fur, and an intense red glow in his eyes. Well, eye, since one of his eyes had seemingly been blinded, a large scar running along it which made him look badass as fuck. She felt her heartbeat increase as she looked at this guy. She hoped her dad wouldn’t do anything stupid that might ruin her chance at asking the guy out on a da-

Loona was knocked out of her flustered trance when Moxxie pushed her aside and began frantically running at the group.

‘’H-hey! Fucker…’’ She sputtered as she watched the diminutive imp make a mad dash towards the parking spot.

‘’The hell is up with Fatty?’’ Loona asked Millie. The country imp pondered for a second, before she let out a small gasp as realisation hit her.

‘’Blitzo, this is my new hellhound, Vo-‘’ Verosika began before she was suddenly cut off by a loud voice.

‘’Vortex!!!’’

The tall hellhound’s ears perked up as he turned to look at the source of the familiar voice.

‘’Moxxie!!!’’ he shouted as he saw the small imp sprinting at him.

The hellhound spread his large muscular arms wide as Moxxie got closer. The imp smiled ecstatically as he jumped up and was caught by the larger demon, wrapping his own arms around the hellhound’s neck.

Vortex embraced Moxxie and spun around in a circle. His tail wagged excitedly as he buried his snout in the crook of Moxxie’s neck, the imp giggling as the hellhound kissed him.

The four remaining demons stared at the duo.

‘’Uh, Mox? Mind telling me what’s going on here?’’ Blitzo looked up at his employee confused.

‘’Vortex, you know this guy?’’ Verosika asked her hellhound.

‘’This is Vortex.’’ Moxxie explained.

‘’Yeah, this is Moxxie.’’ Vortex looked down at Verosika.

‘’He’s my boyfriend.’’ They both said in unison.

‘’Excuse me, whaaaaaat?’’ Blitzo gasped in disbelief. Moxxie rolled his eyes as Vortex put him back down on the ground.

‘’I said he’s my boyfriend.’’ The smaller imp reiterated as he fixed his bowtie.

‘’I call bullshit! I’ve been sneaking into your house for a month now and I’ve never seen this guy!’’ Blitzo shouted.

‘’Wait, what?’’ Vortex turned to look at the harlequin.

‘’Well yeah, he’s been away on tour with Verosika all month.’’ Moxxie waved his hand dismissively.

‘’No seriously, what did that guy just say-‘’ Vortex said before Millie walked up to him and began shaking his large paw with her tiny claws.

‘’It’s nice to meet you, Vortex! Moxxie told me so much about you! I’m Millie!’’ she introduced herself excitedly.

‘’Oh, you’re Millie? Moxxie told me a lot about you too.’’ The hellhound smiled awkwardly down at the small country imp.

‘’Wait, Millie? You knew about this guy?’’ Blitzo asked her.

‘’Uh-huh! Moxxie and I’ve been talking about him ever since I came to work here.’’ Millie explained.

‘’What?! What the hell, Moxxie?! You tell her about your hot boyfriend but not me?!’’ Blitzo turned to Moxxie, crying dramatically. Moxxie growled in frustration.

‘’Well, yeah. She’s my best friend. You’re just the creepy weirdo who sneaks into my apartment every day.’’ Moxxie scolded him coldly. Blitzo just continued crying crocodile tears.

Loona was staring in abject horror at the scene before her. What the hell?! This hunk of a man was dating Fatty?! How the fuck was that possible??? Was he blind?! Suffering some kind of brain damage?!

Verosika for her part was looking equally shocked. The arguing had died down somewhat, Blitzo having turned his attention towards Millie to grill her for details of her and Moxxie’s conversations. She looked over at Moxxie and Vortex, who had resumed being absolutely adorable with each other. Moxxie expressing concern over Vortex’s wellbeing from being on the road for so long, while Vortex assured him he was fine and asked him how he’d been holding up the last month. The small imp giggling as the hellhound softly licked his cheek.

They looked so happy together. Verosika couldn’t help but feel a stinging pain in her heart as she looked from the cute couple to her piece of shit ex standing less than two meters away from them.

‘’Vortex.’’

‘’Huh? What is it, boss?’’ Vortex turned to look at her, pulling away from Moxxie, who was squeezing his furry cheeks with his tiny hands.

‘’Come on, we got work to do.’’ She said as she walked into the building.

‘’Oh, right. Sorry…’’ the hellhound straightened his back as he looked down at his boyfriend.

‘’Sorry Mox, I gotta help my boss with stuff.’’

‘’It’s fine, Tex. We’ll talk more later.’’ Moxxie smiled as he waved him goodbye. Vortex waved back as he followed his employer into the office building, joining her in the elevator.

After an awkward moment of silence, the pink succubus clasped her hands together and took a deep breath.

‘’…’’

‘’Your boyfriend is working for my ex.’’ She finally said.

The words hit Vortex like a sack of bricks. Ah shit, here it comes. He knew this gig was too good to last. Was…was he going to get fired over this? Dammit, not again. And he actually enjoyed working with Verosika and her crew too, so for it to just end like this? Vortex softly muttered a curse under his breath as he turned to look at his employer.

‘’Look, boss, I-‘’ he began, wanting to plea for her to let him keep his job. But he was cut short as Verosika grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to eye level with her.

‘’We NEED to get him out of there!’’ she hissed, desperation in her voice.

‘’…Wait, what?’’ he stared at her, looking completely bewildered.

‘’Don’t you get it?! Your boyfriend. Is working. For Blitzo!!!’’

‘’Y-yeah?’’ Vortex asked, sounding mildly concerned by his boss’ frantic behaviour. The succubus let go off his jacket and began staring blankly ahead.

‘’That poor little fool is going to get his soul crushed by that ego-maniac!’’

‘’Blitzo will string him along, heap a load of flattery and praise onto him, then as soon as he gets bored, he’ll drop him like a bag of trash and take off with his car and leave him in the middle of nowhere with no way of getting home!’’ Verosika rambled.

‘’Moxxie doesn’t have a car…’’ Vortex chimed in, pretty sure his boss was projecting.

‘’Semantics! Point is, we need to get your boytoy away from that xenormorph knock-off before he spreads his vile taint all over the little guy!’’ she snarled.

‘’Look, ma’am. I appreciate your concern, but Moxxie is not as meek as he looks. He can take care of himself.’’ Vortex tried to calm her down. He’d rather not get his personal life mixed up with work. But Verosika wasn’t having any of it.

‘’Not against Blitzo. He doesn’t know that bastard like I do! Let me tell you, that oversized cranium is not a sign of a large brain, but of a shallow gene pool!’’ she hissed.

Verosika stormed out of the elevator as it reached the floor their new studio was on.

‘’You stand guard, I’ll inform the rest of the crew.’’ She ordered. Vortex sighed.

He had hoped he could take it easy after coming back from the tour. How foolish.

Blitzo was fuming when he, Loona and Moxxie stepped off the elevator. He had sent Millie to find them another spot to park their van for the time being, while he was going to call the landlord and give him a piece of his mind. But as he walked down the hall, he was shocked by the sight of Verosika’s initials being painted on the window of the office right next to theirs, along with a familiar hellhound standing guard by the door.

‘’Oh come the fuck on! You gotta be fucking shitting me!’’ he shouted.

Vortex looked up as he saw his boss’ lanky ex angrily marching towards him, followed by his boyfriend and another hellhound.

‘’Woah, where do you think you’re going?’’ he asked, holding up a claw to stop the guy from just barging into the room.

‘’Inside, to give that bitch what for!’’ the imp declared.

‘’Yeah, no. Verosika specifically ordered me not to let anyone in.’’ Vortex shook his head. Blitzo growled at the hellhound, ready to throw hands if need be. However, Moxxie quickly got in between the two.

‘’Sir, maybe I should go talk to her? Perhaps if she were to speak with someone she doesn’t have bad blood with, we could come to some kind of agreement.’’ The small imp offered. Blitzo rolled his eyes.

‘’Ugh, fine.’’

Moxxie looked up at Vortex. The hellhound gave him a nod and opened the door for him. As he stepped inside, the heads of every demon in the room turned towards him. Verosika included, there were about eight succubi in the studio. Moxxie gulped, before clearing his throat.

‘’E-excuse me? Miss Mayday? May I have a word with you for a minute?’’ he asked.

‘’Awwww! He’s got a widdle bow tie!’’ one short demoness gushed as she looked down at the imp.

‘’Please don’t condescend me, ma’am...’’ Moxxie said as he felt heath rushing to his face.

‘’Hey, so you’re Tex’s boyfriend, right?’’ one white haired, e-boy looking succubus asked as he leaned over a table to get face to face with the thespian.

‘’Y-yes?’’ Mox gulped as he became uncomfortably aware of the predatory looks in everyone’s eyes.

‘’Wow! Vortex said you were cute, but he didn’t mention you were adorable!’’ a blonde girl giggled as she got way too close for Moxxie’s liking.

‘’I- uhm, uh…’’ he stammered.

‘’How is he in bed?’’ an androgynous looking dude asked.

‘’Excuse me?!’’

‘’Think you two would be up for a threesome?’’ a tall man with a goatee flirted.

‘’What?!’’

‘’Alright, alright!’’ Verosika spoke up, trying her best to contain an amused chuckle.

‘’Give the little guy some space.’’ She said as she walked towards Moxxie, the other demons backing up.

‘’Well, what is it?’’ she asked, hands on her hips as she stared down at the cute little imp. She had to admit, Vortex had made quite the catch.

‘’R-right.’’ Moxxie cleared his throat and recomposed himself.

‘’I wanted to talk to you about the matter of I.M.P.’s parking spot?’’

‘’You mean my parking spot.’’ Verosika smirked smugly.

‘’I-I mean…look, my boss is really upset about it, and I just know if it’s not handled today he’s not going to let it go. Please. I don’t know exactly what kind of history you two have, but-‘’

‘’Oh, I’ll tell you what kinda history we have.’’ Verosika cut him off, taking a few steps closer. The imp gulped nervously in response.

‘’Imagine, if you will, meeting a hot demon one day. He’s loud, passionate, and not afraid to speak his mind, and you can’t help but be drawn in by that confident personality.’’ She began.

‘’I-…o-okay?’’ Moxxie nodded hesitantly.

‘’Things are going well for a while, great even. Then, you don’t know when exactly, but eventually, that loud mouthed personality starts to grate on you. He keeps getting more and more self-centred. And you begin to realise, that what you thought was a confident bad-boy, is actually just a selfish manchild with the emotional intelligence of a fucking five year old!’’

‘’Then one day, the two of you are staying at a hotel, and when you try to talk to the guy about it, he keeps being a prissy little bitch and brushing off all of your complaints and telling you you’re ‘over reacting’ and ‘killing his good vibes.’ Then you know what happened?’’

‘’W-what?’’

‘’He ran off. Left me to pay for the room. Stole my car and drove three rings to Wrath, where he fucking wrecked said car, by the way. Then when I track his ass down, I find he maxed out all of my credit cards to pay for shitty horse riding lessons!’’ Verosika shouted. The imp gulped.

‘’W-wow, that…yeah, that does sound really shitty.’’ He said nervously.

‘’You have no fucking idea!’’ Verosika growled.

‘’Actually, I think I might have a pretty good idea…’’ Moxxie said sombrely, claws clutching at his arm anxiously. Verosika looked down at him. The imp’s body language looked awfully familiar.

‘’Look-‘’ she let out a sigh.

‘’I’m going to be nice to you, since you’re Vortex’s boyfriend and all. I got no beef with you personally. But you can go back to that boss of yours, and you can tell him I said ‘Fuck You.’’’

‘’Y-yes ma’am…’’ Moxxie nodded as he walked back out of the studio. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised at all that his boss was the one mainly at fault in this whole debacle.  

Verosika watched as the imp returned to Blitzo at the other end of the glass. The little guy began talking to him, and while the succubus couldn’t hear what he was saying, the look on her ex’s face said more than enough. Eventually, Verosika saw Moxxie making air quotes with his fingers, his lips moving in a way that made it all too clear what info he was relaying to his boss. Verosika had the smuggest grin on her face when Blitzo’s rage boiled over, the tall imp pushing Vortex aside as he stormed into the room.

‘’Now you listen here, you bitch! If you think you can just walk in on my territory, take my parking spot and half my fucking floor, you’re dead wrong!’’ he pointed at her. Moxxie had walked back into the room, along with Vortex, who was hoping he could prevent whatever fight was surely about to break out.

‘’Oh yeah? And what’s your gremlin ass gonna do about it?’’ Verosika taunted him, bending over to be at eye level with him in a rather condescending gesture.

‘’I challenge you to a fucking, uh, challenge! Fuck, I said that twice….’’ Blitzo declared.

‘’Aw shit! Did you just challenge us to a Demon Duel?’’ Verosika laughed, her posse of succubi chuckling darkly.

‘’Bring it bitch! What’s the game?’’ she smiled.

“Every year, you STD spreaders go up topside for easy pickings while spring break is a prime time for crime of all kinds! So I bet you succu-bitches can’t fuck as many people as we can off by the end of the day!” Blitzo said confidently.

‘’Seriously? That’s it? You can’t possibly think you and your gaggle of misfit minions can beat me and my crew!’’

‘’Damn right we can! And when we do, I get the parking space that rightfully belongs to I.M.P.!’’

‘’And what do I get when I win?’’ Verosika asked.

‘’Uh, you get the satisfaction of beating me?’’ Blitzo shrugged. Verosika huffed.

‘’I already got that when I bent you over backwards and shoved your own horns up your ass after our break up.’’ she smirked. Blitzo growled. He did not appreciate being reminded of that.

‘’Well?’’ she inquired.

‘’Well, uh, I don’t know. What do you want?’’ Blitzo asked.

Verosika brought a finger to her lips, pondering as she looked around the room. Eventually, her eyes settled on the small imp standing beside her bodyguard. A wicked grin grew on her face.

‘’I want Moxxie.’’ she stated.

‘’Excuse you?’’ Blitzo raised an eyebrow.

‘’W-what?’’ Moxxie stammered.

‘’What?!’’ Vortex shouted in disbelief.

‘’Yeah. I win, and Moxxie gets to work for me for a week. I’ll even pay him a better salary than you do.’’ Verosika crossed her arms confidently.

‘’Ma’am, what the hell-‘’ Vortex protested.

‘’Deal!’’ Blitzo declared.

‘’Sir!!!’’ Moxxie shouted in disbelief.

‘’Come on, Mox! We gotta prepare for a killing spree!’’ Blitzo smiled as he walked out of the recording studio. Moxxie looked at him, at a loss for words, then turned to stare at Vortex.

‘’Jesus, Mox, I’m sorry about this.’’ The hellhound groaned exasperated, face buried in one of his large claws.

‘’It’s fine, Tex. We’ll talk about this later.’’ Moxxie sighed as he meekly scampered after the harlequin. Those last few words stung the hellhound deeply. He frowned as he turned to look at his boss.

‘’What the Hell, Verosika?!’’ he shouted as he followed after her.

‘’Relax, Vortex! I’m doing you a favour! One week of working for me, and he won’t even want to go back to Blitzo’s pathetic charade!’’ the succubus laughed. 

‘’You’re seriously using my boyfriend to get back at your ex?!’’

‘’Come on, Tex! See it as an opportunity! Now you can be around your boyfriend 24/7!’’ the blonde girl interjected.

‘’No offense, Apple, but I doubt he’d gel with the ‘office culture’ we got going on here…’’ Vortex sighed.

‘’I don’t know, Vortex. I think he’d look amazing in tight jeans. Those legs~’’ the white haired succubus bit his lip in thought. The hellhound shot him a disapproving glare.

‘’Alright sluts, listen up! Operation ‘Rescuing Vortex’s cute boyfriend from my shitty ex’ is now a go!’’ Verosika declared, the succubi in the room all standing to attention.

‘’This really isn’t necessary…’’ Vortex muttered frustrated.

The hellhound sighed in defeat as Verosika and the other succubi began planning the Spring Break Fuckfest. He had to reluctantly accept they were not going to let this go.

The sun shone brightly on the soft sands of the beach. The waves’ soothing melody giving the imp a small moment of peace to collect his thoughts. There was little time to dally, though, as the three imps and the disguised hellhound began hunting down their targets.

The beach was filled to the brim with partygoers. People were dancing, drinking, and generally having a good time. Unfortunately for them, I.M.P. was on a mission. Blitzo was hell-bent on getting his parking spot back, and Moxxie wasn’t particularly keen on spending a whole week working in an office with eight horny succubi. Even though he knew Vortex would do everything in his power to ward off any unwanted advances, he’d rather not have to put his boyfriend in that position in the first place.

So, with great determination, the four demons went about their business, killing as many humans as they could get their hands on. Things were going quite well so far, actually. They’d already bagged about a dozen targets, while Verosika’s crew hadn’t even showed up yet.

‘’Alright Spring Breakers! You ready to get fucked up and make some bitching bad choices?!’’ Verosika’s voice carried out across the beach, blasting from a large set of speakers.

God dammit.

Moxxie cringed as he watched the succubus’ performance attract hundreds of horny beachgoers. Amidst the mass of half-naked people, he could see Verosika’s posse in their human disguises, ‘working the crowd’, so to speak. The succubi were wasting no time, and were quickly catching up to the imps’ score.

Amongst the unsavoury displays, Moxxie spotted Vortex standing guard at the edge of the large stage. The disguised hellhound perked up as he spotted the imp in the distance, and gave an awkward smile and a wave. Moxxie returned the wave, smiling back at his boyfriend.

‘’Moxxie? Moxxie!’’ Blitzo shouted as he snapped his fingers in front of the imp’s face. Moxxie blinked as he turned his attention to his boss.

‘’S-sorry. What is it, sir?’’

‘’Are you done drooling over your fuck-buddy?! We gotta ramp up the kill count before Verosika and her whores catch up to us!’’ the tall imp berated his employee. Moxxie grumbled as he turned away, trying to hide his blush.

‘’Alright Loonie, who’s next on the list?’’ Blitzo asked.

‘’…’’

‘’Loona, who’s next?’’ he repeated. Again, there was no response.

‘’Loona! I swear, is everyone just spaced out right n-‘’ Blitzo shouted, before realising Loona was nowhere to be found.

‘’Wha-, where- wuh- WHERE’S MY BABY?!!’’

‘’Over there, Blitz!’’ Millie pulled on her boss’ arm. They all looked out over the crowd of humans, seeing Loona making her way through the mass of sweaty bodies.

‘’Whu- what is she doing?! Loona!’’ Blitzo shouted as he ran after her.

‘’Wait, sir! We need to focus on- aaand, he’s gone.’’ Moxxie sighed exasperated as he watched his boss run into the crowd.

‘’Don’t worry, Mox! Team M&M is gonna get shit done!’’ Millie cheered as she took out her knife and ran off, pulling Moxxie along by the wrist. The thespian chuckled at her enthusiasm.

Loona made her way through the crowd, pushing aside the drunken idiots that blocked her way.

After knocking the wind out of a white haired e-boy looking motherfucker, she managed to reach the disguised hellhound standing guard at the stage Verosika was performing at.

Loona wanted to know. She needed to know. Why? Why Moxxie of all demons? Why in Lucifer’s name would a sexy, cool guy like Vortex date an absolute dweeb like Fatty? It didn’t make any sense, and Loona was determined to get answers.

‘’Uh, hey! Vortex, right?’’ she smiled awkwardly as she walked up to him.

‘’Oh, hey. You’re Moxxie’s co-worker, right?’’ Vortex greeted her.

‘’Yeah. Name’s Loona. I was wondering if I could ask you something?’’

‘’Sure, what do you wanna know?’’

‘’So, like, I hear you and Moxxie are dating?’’

‘’Yeah?’’ he raised an eyebrow.

‘’Well, I just-…why him? Why Moxxie?’’

‘’What do you mean?’’ Vortex asked, sounding genuinely confused.

‘’Look at you! You’re hot as all get out and super fucking cool!’’ Loona shouted, before realising what she just said and blushing like mad.

‘’Uh, thanks?’’ the other hellhound said awkwardly.

‘’My point is-‘’ Loona continued, trying her best to regain her composure. ‘’You could have any guy you want and yet you settle for…Moxxie?’’

Vortex frowned.

‘’Settle? What’s that supposed to mean? You think there’s something wrong with Moxxie?’’

‘’Uh, yeah? He’s an annoying fat little prick who always bitches about every stupid thing!’’

‘’From what he’s told me, you’re not much better.’’ Vortex retorted.

‘’Wha-‘’ Loona blinked surprised before he ears drooped down ‘’…What did he say?’’

‘’Well, he said you’re lazy and don’t do your job properly.’’

‘’Little bastard…’’ Loona muttered.

‘’Look, I don’t know what kind of fights you two get into, but if you’re going to be an ass to him, then obviously he’s not going to be nice. Like how you seem to keep calling him fat, even though he isn’t.’’ Vortex said.

‘’Wuh- yes he is! Have you seen those legs of his?!’’ Loona asked bewildered.

‘’I have, actually. Up close, in fact. And let me tell you, those thighs are all muscle!’’ Vortex chuckled, a slight blush forming on his face. Loona shivered. She did not want to imagine that dork doing anything sexual with Vortex.

‘’But as to why I’m dating Moxxie, well, he’s just incredibly sweet. Like, I’m shocked a guy like him is even down here in Hell.’’ Vortex continued.

‘’He’s always looking out for me, making sure I’m doing alright. Just generally being really attentive, you know? I swear, sometimes he can tell something’s bothering me before I even realise it myself.’’ he chuckled.

‘’Never shirks on a possibility to show me how much he loves me, either. Hell, he even wrote me a song once.’’

‘’I can see him doing that. Guy’s a total dork.’’ Loona rolled her eyes. Vortex just laughed.

‘’Yeah, that’s what my friends told me too. But he’s a passionate dork. I really admire him for that. Whether it’s music, theatre or guns, when he’s passionate about something, he doesn’t mince words. He’s got a confidence I kind of envy.’’ The hellhound admitted.

‘’Seriously? The guy is, like, the size of your bicep.’’

‘’Haha, true, but he’s not some pushover. He told me you don’t come along on jobs often, so you probably haven’t seen much of it. But he’s not the type to let others walk all over him. Even if someone’s way bigger than him, which, granted, is usually the case, he’s going to stand up for himself, even if it means he’ll get hurt.’’

‘’You make it sound like it happens a lot.’’ Loona said. She immediately realised that was a pretty stupid thing to say. Hell, she’d heaped her own fair share of abuse onto Moxxie.

‘’Yeah…yeah…’’ Vortex just sighed.

‘’I know he can handle himself most of the time. Hell, when he’s holding a gun, he can be downright scary. But that doesn’t change the fact that he barely comes up to most people’s knees.’’ he said.

‘’I just worry about him sometimes.’’

‘’Sounds to me like Fat-, uh, Moxxie’s hysteria is rubbing off on you.’’

‘’Maybe…’’ Vortex chuckled lightly.

‘’How the hell did a guy like you and a twerp like him even meet?’’ Loona asked, sounding genuinely curious.

‘’It’s a long story.’’

Loona shrugged.

‘’I got time.’’

‘’Well…’’

The beat of the loud music resonated throughout the club. The dark room was lit only by the LEDs inside the dancefloor, and a few long neon tubes above the bar. Smoke machines spewed a thick mist across the ankles of the crowd of demons dancing to the noise blaring trough the six foot tall speakers.

Vortex was standing near the back of the room, wearing a set of torn jeans and a simple black t-shirt with the word ’Security’ written on it in white.

The music wasn’t exactly his cup of tea, but the job was simple and paid well enough. Just stand around all night looking tough, and kicking out the occasionally rowdy partygoer.

His ears perked up as he noticed one of the emergency doors open. Two demons rushed inside, before slamming the door shut behind them. The duo seemed panicked and out of breath.

‘’*Huff*-, d-do you think we lost them?’’ one of them, a small imp, asked while panting heavily.

‘’I think so? I don’t think they saw us slipping in here.’’ his companion, a taller shark demon, heaved before straightening out his back.

‘’That was way too close!’’ the imp groaned in distress.

‘’Tsk, bastards were on us like whores on crack.’’ the shark dusted off his suit.

‘’Dammit, Mox, what were you thinking? Did you not think using a hand glider to try to land on the roof would be a stupid idea?’’ he continued.

‘’Wha- it was your idea!’’ the imp protested.

‘’Well, you should’ve told me it would be a bad idea.’’

‘’I did! Multiple times! But you wouldn’t listen! You said it would work!’’ the red imp sputtered in indignation.

‘’It might’ve worked if you didn’t add extra weight to the glider!’’ the shark pointed an accusatory finger at the imp’s stomach, a slight blush forming on the smaller demon’s frowning face.

‘’I didn’t even want to do this heist! I told you it would turn out bad like the last time!’’

‘’Then why did you come along, huh?’’ the shark demon crossed his arms.

‘’What was I supposed to do? Let you go get yourself killed?’’

‘’Geez, you think I’m some kinda chump, Moxxie?’’

‘’N-no, of course not. But I’m worried, Chaz! I’m always worried about you. You always go around doing these crazy things without any planning.’’

‘’Hey, the best laid out plans don’t survive contact with the enemy, or some shit like that.’’

‘’That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan at all!’’ the imp scolded him.

‘’Not really my style. Improvising is more my thing.’’ Chaz waved his hand dismissively.

‘’And where has that gotten you, huh? This is the third time in a row we screwed up a heist.’’

‘’We screwed up the heist? No, Moxxie, I’d say you’re the one that threw a wrench into things. Maybe improvising would work out for me more if I didn’t have to account for you all the time.’’

‘’What?! You’re pinning this on me?! I’ve literally done nothing but clean up after you since we started this stupid heist shit!’’ Moxxie shouted, sounding increasingly distressed. Despite the increasing volume, the loud music in the club ensured nobody else heard them, aside from Vortex, thanks to his sharp hellhound ears. He figured he should have probably stepped in at this point. The two demons were technically trespassing. But he knew from experience that arguments like this should not be budded into so carelessly.

‘’Oh, so now all of a sudden you’re too good for it, huh?’’ the shark retaliated. Moxxie buried his head in his hands in frustration.

‘’That’s not what I’m saying! God, you always do this! You never listen to me! I’m always worried sick about you and all you do in return is belittle me!’’ the imp shouted, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

‘’Why don’t you just stay home if you can’t handle it?’’ Chaz bit back coldly.

‘’And do what?! Spend all night in anxiety, knowing my boyfriend might not ever come home again? Wait for days until I finally get word that you got yourself killed in some stupid get rich quick scheme?’’ Moxxie was struggling to maintain his composure.

‘’I’m doing this for us, Moxxie. I wanna get the money so we can have it good. Don’t you want to live the high life?’’

‘’That’s never been what mattered to me, Chaz. I don’t care about the money. I care about you. I just want to be with you.’’ Moxxie tried to reach out a hand to Chaz. But the shark took a step back.

‘’Maybe you’re satisfied with being on the bottom of the food chain, but I want to be important! To matter!’’

‘’You are important! You matter to me!’’ Moxxie tried to reassure him.

‘’Well maybe that’s not good enough!’’

Moxxie froze in place as Chaz shouted at him. The imp was at a loss for words.

‘’C-chaz, I-‘’ he muttered.

‘’Maybe I’d actually pull off a successful heist if I didn’t have you weighing me down like a ball and chain all the time!’’ the shark man growled.

‘’W-wait, please just calm down-‘’

‘’I’m out here risking my neck and all you do is bitch and complain!’’

‘’Chaz, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-‘’ the imp began to panic.

‘’You know what? I’m sick of it!’’

‘’We’re done!’’

‘’Chaz, please! I’m sorry!’’ Moxxie desperately tried to defuse the situation. The little imp tried reaching for Chaz’s hand, but the shark pulled it away and began to storm off

‘’Good luck without me, Mox! Fuck you!’’ Chaz snarled as he walked into the crowd of dancing people. Moxxie tried to run after him, but his small legs made it hard for him to catch up with the shark’s long strides.

‘’Chaz! Please just wait! I’m sorry! We can talk about thi-‘’ Moxxie shouted, before he tripped over the foot of one of the patrons and fell face first onto the floor. He looked up, only to see that Chaz had already disappeared.

Vortex watched as the small imp shakily got back up from the floor. His whole body was trembling, his shoulders rocking as he quietly sobbed. He slowly began making his way towards the bar, weakly climbing up onto the stool.

The hellhound frowned as the imp ordered something and began to drink. This whole situation was incredibly awkward. On the one hand, it really wasn’t any of his business. He was only listening in on them because they had broken in through the backdoor. But on the other hand, the imp’s circumstances felt painfully familiar.

Vortex stood there for a minute or two, deciding on what he should do. He’d always preferred to refrain from getting involved with other demons’ business. It was the easiest way of staying out of trouble. But watching the small imp sit there, looking so miserable and dejected, it reminded him all too much of himself when his old flame broke up with him.

So, against better judgement, the hellhound took a deep breath and began walking towards the bar.

‘’Alright, it’s no biggie. Just tell him what the lads told you when she dumped you, and just hope he’ll feel better.’’ He thought to himself as he approached the imp’s spot at the bar.

‘’That’s it. I’m done with men forever.’’ he heard the imp grumble, his chin resting on his arms as he sombrely stared at an alcohol stain on the counter. The imp’s deflated posture quickly gave way to alertness, however, as he felt someone gently placing a large hand on his shoulder.

He turned around, feeling somewhat panicked when he saw an absolutely massive hellhound looking down at him, the gentle look of concern on his face contrasting heavily with his rough and intimidating appearance.

‘’E-excuse me? I don’t mean to pry…but I saw that fight you and that shark guy got into. Are you alright?’’ he asked, uncertainty clear in his voice. Moxxie blinked a couple of times in confusion, a strange heat rising in his face.

‘’I-I, uh, y-yeah, I’m fine…’’ he muttered, voice a bit hoarse. He shifted in his seat awkwardly as the larger demon took place on the stool next to him.

‘’That looked really intense. Was that…’normal’ behaviour for him?’’ Vortex asked hesitantly. Moxxie let out a sigh.

‘’I mean, he’s never been that hostile, but…yeah.’’ He averted his gaze from the other demon, not entirely sure of the man’s intention. He made a mental note to keep his eyes on his glass. He was already feeling a little tipsy, and Moxxie knew better than to put too much trust in strangers he met at a bar. But the hellhound just nodded and patiently waited for him to continue.

‘’I’ve always felt like my opinion didn’t really matter to him. Like he didn’t see me as an equal or something. Guess I got confirmation now.’’

‘’I know the feeling. My last girlfriend didn’t really care about any sort of relationship we had. Just kept me around like a guard dog she could sic on people she didn’t like.’’ Vortex recounted sombrely.

‘’That sounds awful.’’ Moxxie turned back to look at him.

‘’Yeah…But my friends really helped me get through it. They told me, people like that, they’re not worth your time. Why waste all  those hours and all that effort on someone who takes you for granted?’’

‘’I suppose…’’ Moxxie murmured.

‘’I just…I can’t help but think if I did things differently, he wouldn’t have left me.’’

‘’Trust me, that guy’s not worth getting hung up over. Seeing how quick he was to ditch you, pleasing him would have been impossible.’’

Moxxie let out a long sigh.

‘’Yeah, I guess you’re right…’’ he said, wiping the tears off his face before awkwardly smiling up at the hellhound. Vortex smiled back, happy to have cheered him up. He just hoped he didn’t have to kick him out of the club anytime soon. That would be real awkward.

The moment was quickly interrupted by the sound of glass shattering.

‘’Watch where you’re going, you dumb fuck!’’ a grey-furred hellhound, who was slightly shorter than Vortex, shouted at another patron. Broken glass laid scattered at their feet along with spilled alcohol.

‘’Sorry, I gotta break this up.’’ Vortex said to Moxxie as he got up from his stool.

‘’Right…’’ Moxxie nodded as the black hellhound made his way to the dancefloor where the two demons were arguing.

‘’Hey bud, you might wanna take it down a notch.’’ Vortex said sternly as he put a claw on the grey hellhound’s shoulder.

‘’This aint none of your business, punk-ass!’’ the agroed demon snapped back at Vortex.

‘’Actually, it is. You’re causing a scene. So either chill out or get out.’’ Vortex said with a calm yet intimidating aura.

‘’You don’t know who the fuck you’re messing with, bitch!’’ the grey hellhound snarled, though he seemed hesitant to make a move.

‘’Alright, I think it’s time for you to leave.’’ Vortex said as he grabbed the belligerent partygoer by the scruff of his neck and began to carry him towards the emergency exit, much to the relief of the demon that had been accosted moments prior.

Moxxie watched in awe as Vortex walked off with the struggling and snarling hellhound in his paw.

‘’Wow, he’s strong…’’ Moxxie thought to himself as he felt his heartbeat increase, a light blush on his face.

Vortex pushed open the back door to the club and threw the delinquent out onto the street. He glared down at the demon while dusting off his hands.

‘’There, and stay out. I don’t wanna see you back he-oof!’’ he gasped as the smaller hellhound got up faster than he expected and rushed him, knocking the wind out of him with a punch to the gut.

‘’Not so though now, are you, asshole!’’ the grey demon snarled as he kneed the keeled over hellhound in the jaw. Vortex was send stumbling back against the wall, before dropping to the ground. The large hellhound struggled to get back to his senses, being caught off guard by the smaller demon’s speed.

The grey demon roared as he charged towards Vortex, an animalistic fury shining in his eyes. 

But before he could sweep in for the kill, a distinctive click resonated trough the alley.

‘’Stop!’’

The hellhounds turned to look, seeing a small imp standing at the door, aiming a pistol at the grey one.

‘’Back off, now!’’ the imp said coldly as he kept his gun trained at the grey-furred demon, his arm not shaking in the slightest.

Vortex blushed slightly as he noted Moxxie’s calm demeanour. He had to admit, the imp was looking kinda hot holding a gun like that.

‘’You don’t have the guts!’’ the grey hellhound spat. Moxxie didn’t flinch.

‘’Want to test your luck?’’ he responded.

The hellhound hesitated for a moment, anxiously sizing the imp up. He then turned tail and ran, leaving the other two demons alone in the alley.

Vortex looked at Moxxie in complete awe. This guy had just stared down a demon well over twice his size and shown no signs of fear whatsoever-

‘’Holy shit, that actually worked!’’ Moxxie panted, his arm dropping down to his side as he began desperately gasping for air, breaking his cool façade in an instant. Vortex blinked surprised.

‘’Good thing I decided to check on you. Are you alright?’’ Moxxie sighed as he extended a hand to Vortex.

‘’Y-yeah. I’m fine…’’ Vortex said as he awkwardly took the offered hand. The small imp tried to help him up, but the huge size difference meant Vortex had to get up on his own power anyway, and even had to make sure he didn’t accidentally knock Moxxie over.

‘’Thank Satan, I was almost worried you’d been-‘’ Moxxie said before he froze, staring in horror at Vortex’s face.

‘’O-oh crumbs! Y-your eye!’’ Moxxie stammered as his hand shakenly pointed at the hellhound’s milky left eye, a thin scar running across his brow.

‘’Huh? Oh, this? Nah, I’ve had this for a while.’’ Vortex reassured him.

‘’Oh, s-sorry. Must not have noticed it before.’’ Moxxie chuckled awkwardly.

‘’Well, thanks for chasing that guy off. You really saved my ass there.’’

‘’Sure thing. It’s the least I could do after you helped me out.’’ Moxxie smiled. Vortex blushed as he stared in awe at the radiant smile on the small imp’s face.

‘’So, uh…want to go back inside? My shift ends pretty soon, so we can talk some more if you’d like?’’ Vortex offered.

‘’Sure, I can use another drink after all of that.’’ Moxxie smiled.

‘’So you fell in love with him ‘cuz he saved your life?’’ Loona asked.

‘’I mean, it wasn’t instantly, but it definitely made a good first impression.’’ Vortex chuckled.

‘’So how long have you guys been dating?’’

‘’About a year or so, actually. It’s just been a bit awkward the past month since I’ve been away on tour.’’ Vortex explained.

‘’Tell you the truth, I feel kinda shitty for leaving him alone for a whole month. Especially since his boss is apparently a stalk-‘’

‘’Am I interrupting something?’’ Blitzo asked as he suddenly popped up in between the two hellhounds, catching them both by surprise.

“Nah, man. Just having a conversation. Also what the hell happened to your face?” Vortex responded.

“Got in a few scraps with some fraternity douchebags but that doesn’t matter! What matters is that conversation leads to HPV!” Blitzo shouted. Loona groaned in embarrassed frustration.

‘’God dammit Blitz! Get out of here! You’re gonna get us all caught!’’ she shouted, gesturing to the un-disguised imp.

‘’I just wanna know what’s so damn important that you’d neglect your job like this! In case you forgot, we got a parking spot on the line! Oh, and Moxxie’s ass.’’

‘’Hey dude, why don’t you chill out?’’ Vortex said, getting rather annoyed by the imp’s flippant attitude towards Moxxie.

‘’Why don’t you stay the hell out of it?! I don’t want you distracting my daughter, just so you can win this duel and have Moxxie to yourself all week!’’ Blitzo spat as he pointed an accusatory finger at the disguised hellhound.

‘’Excuse you?!’’ Vortex’s eyes went wide with outrage.

‘’First of all, Moxxie is my god damn boyfriend! I don’t need to win this stupid wager you and Verosika got set up to spend time with him! Second of all, you’re the one that jumped on the opportunity to gamble the love of my life on a fucking parking spot!‘’ he roared at the imp.

‘’Hey! You have no idea how important that parking spot is! Besides, it’s not like I’m actually going to lose Moxxie for a week. Or at least, I won’t if people would just stick to the plan!’’ Blitzo glared over at Loona. The goth hound growled at her dad in frustration.

‘’I don’t care how smart you think your plan is, you don’t just use people as stakes in a wager!’’ Vortex scolded the imp.

‘’And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about how you apparently have been stalking him the past month! Because that’s not doing anything to improve my opinion of you right now!’’

‘’Oh please, it’s not like he’s the only person I’m stalking!’’ Blitzo waved his hand dismissively.

‘’That makes it worse!’’

Loona was about ready to dig a hole and burry herself to escape her absolute embarrassment of a dad.

While the argument between the two demons was getting more and more heated, Verosika was taking a quick break from her lust inducing performance. As she took a big chug from her booze flask, one of her succubi ran up to her.

‘’What’s the score so far, Josh?’’ she asked the white haired succubus.

‘’Uh, well, we’ve fucked quite a few of these losers already, but those imps are starting to gain on us. Won’t be long before they’re killing em faster than we can get to them.’’ The e-boy said.

‘’Dammit! What the hell do I pay you people for?! Can’t you go distract them or something?’’ Verosika groaned in frustration, rubbing her temples.

‘’Funny you should ask. Cause I think Vortex is already handling at least half of em.’’ Josh smirked as he pointed his thumb towards the crowd. Verosika followed his gaze to see her bodyguard yelling at her ex about something or other, while the imp’s adopted daughter was standing on the sidelines, crinching so hard her hair was in danger of falling out.

‘’Awesome! Now all you need to do is find those cute little shortstacks and keep them distracted while the rest of the crew rakes in the popped cherries.’’ The popstar ordered.

‘’Distract them? How exactly?’’

‘’I don’t know, go annoy them or something! You seem to be good at that!’’ the pink succubus shouted at him.

‘’Hey…’’ Josh pouted.

As the white haired demon left, Verosika got back up on the stage. She guzzled down another shot of the hellish booze in her flask, before tossing the container out into the sea and resuming her performance. Unbeknownst to the popstar, a curious catfish began innocently sipping away at the strangely coloured glowing booze coming out of the flask.

While Verosika’s concert raged on, Millie and Moxxie were hiding behind a table, scouting out potential targets. Or at least, Millie was.

‘’Moxxie, get ya crossbow ready! I think I found another easy mark!’’ she said as she peeked over the table filled with large jugs of alcohol.

‘’Mox?’’ the country imp turned to her partner in crime when he didn’t respond. The freckled imp was staring in distress at the sight of his boss and his boyfriend having a shouting match near the stage. It honestly was a wonder they hadn’t attracted the attention of any of the partygoers. Thankfully, most of them were either too drunk, or too busy fucking one of Verosika’s flunkies to notice much of anything.

‘’Hey, don’t worry. They’ll be fine.’’ Millie said as she patted him on the back.

‘’H-huh? Oh, right…’’ Moxxie nodded awkwardly as he sat back down next to her.

‘’What’s going on, Mox? You usually don’t get distracted so easily.’’

‘’Sorry, it’s just...First time I see Vortex after a month and we immediately get roped into Blitzo’s drama.’’ He pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh.

‘’I feel like I’m always getting him into trouble. He’s always so patient and giving me his 100%, and I’m never able to give him the same in return.’’

‘’Hey now, don’t be silly. You’re plenty capable, and I’m sure he thinks so too. Hell, you pretty much saved his life when you first met.’’ Millie said.

‘’I suppose you’re right…’’ Moxxie smiled.

‘’You know, I’ve always had a thing for strength. I suppose I find it so attractive because I’m pretty lacking in it myself. Has let me to make some bad decisions in terms of partners, though. But Vortex is different. He’s kind, understanding, and he’s always got my back. A guy like that is a one in a million find. And here I am, getting him involved with all of this nonsense.’’

‘’Now don’t go pretending this is all your fault somehow. I hate it when you do that.’’ Millie jokingly berated him, lightly nudging him with her elbow. Moxxie chuckled.

‘’It’s not your fault your boyfriend’s boss just so happened to be Blitzo’s ex. Nor is it your fault those two got a hate boner for each other.’’

‘’Oh you wouldn’t believe the hate boner Verosika got for that guy!’’ a voice called up from above them. The two imps looked up to see a certain disguised white haired succubus.

‘’Hi, name’s Josh~’’ the e-boy winked at Moxxie.

‘’Uh, h-hi?’’ Moxxie waved awkwardly.

‘’I’ve got to say, you two have been making this hard for us. We’ve been going for hours now, and the two of you have gotten about as many bodies as the seven of us have gotten ‘bodies’, if you catch my drift.’’ Josh chuckled.

‘’Right…thanks, I guess?’’ Moxxie blushed as he averted his gaze from the handsome succubus.

‘’Hey, don’t mention it~ I can see why Vortex speaks so highly of you.’’

‘’He…h-he does?’’ the imp asked sheepishly. Millie giggled as she noticed her co-worker’s face turn a bright pink.

‘’Sure thing. He just goes on and on about how his boyfriend is a badass little sniper with amazing fashion sense.’’ Josh laid it on thick. While it was true that Vortex had nothing but praise for his boyfriend whenever the subject was brought up, the succubus was definitely exaggerating.

Moxxie chuckled awkwardly as he nervously fiddled with his bow tie.

‘’You know, you guys actually kinda remind me of Ace and me. We do our own thing most of the time, but when it comes down to it, we’ve got each other’s backs. Literally, metaphorically, and euphemistically~’’ Josh grinned as he pointed finger guns at Moxxie.

‘’I see…’’

‘’So, like, real talk…how big is Tex?’’ the tall succubus asked with a devious smirk.

‘’Uhm, t-that’s a little personal, don’t you thi-‘’

‘’Hey Josh, what’re you standing around here f- oh hey! What’s up?’’ a tall, androgynous guy with messy brown hair walked up to the trio.

‘’Dammit, Kat! I’m in the middle of something!’’ Josh berated his co-worker.

‘’Hey there! My name’s Kat!’’ Kat completely ignored Josh to lean over the table between the jugs of alcohol, staring down at the small imp down on the ground.

‘’Um, n-nice to meet you, Kat…’’ Moxxie nodded politely.

‘’Man, you guys have been going hog wild on the murderin’ thing! We’re running low on people to fuck at this point!’’ the skinny succubus chuckled.

‘’How’d you get so good at killin’ stuff?’’

‘’I, well, uh, I’ve been doing it pretty much all my life.’’ Moxxie stammered, swallowing a lump in his throat. He was suddenly getting a lot more attention than he’d really like.

‘’Wow, so, like, were you with the mob or something?’’ the brown haired demon asked with innocent curiosity.

‘’I-I’d rather not talk about-‘’

‘’Hey, you boys getting a refill or somethi- Oh my Gosh! Heeeeey!’’ another succubus, a blonde haired girl, popped in besides Josh, staring down at the white haired imp on the other side of the table.

‘’Fucks sake!’’ Josh growled in frustration.

‘’Hiii! My name’s Apple! Oh my Gosh, you’re, like, totes adorbs! I can’t even! Vortex is such a lucky guy! You’re, like, a lil’ plushie that talks!’’ the hyper active demon gushed over Moxxie’s cuteness, making the red imp shrink even further into himself as the now three pair of eyes stared down at him. Millie was quick to pick up on this and gently squeezed her partner in crime’s shoulder.

‘’Hey y’all, let’s give him some space, yea?’’ she said, her tone friendly, but nonetheless firm.

‘’Yeah, let’s. Dammit guys, what are you even doing here?! You’re supposed to be out there fucking those dweebs!’’ Josh shouted at his co-workers.

‘’I could ask the same to you. You’re the one that decided that flirting with Tex’s boyfriend was more important.’’ Kat shot back.

‘’That’s because Verosika told me to distract these guys while you go and win the bet!’’ Josh growled annoyed.

Millie gasped as she heard this.

‘’Oh shit! Right, the duel! Mox, we’ve gotta go rank up our score!’’ the country imp shouted as she ran off. Moxxie looked up surprised as she ran off, leaving him alone with the three succubi.

‘’M-millie! Wait for me!’’ Moxxie huffed as he clumsily got back up to his feet and began running after her. 

Josh panicked as his marks were getting away. He had to do something, fast! If they got back to killing, they might actually win the bet for real. Verosika would lynch him if that happened. Without thinking, he stuck out his foot just as Moxxie ran under the table to catch up with Millie.

Moxxie yelped as he tripped over the succubus’ expensive designer shoe, landing face first into the sand.

Right in the middle of a crowd of humans.

‘’Oh my fucking gawd! It’s a possum!’’ a woman shrieked as she pointed down at the small, long tailed…thing, lying in the sand.

‘’Shit…’’ Josh muttered under his breath.

‘’Shit!’’ Moxxie gulped as he tried to get back up and run away. But before he could get his bearings, he was picked up by one of the large partygoers.

‘’I’ve got it!’’ the muscular dude shouted triumphantly as he hoisted the ‘possum’ over his head, much to the excitement of the other humans and the horror of the three succubi. The lust demons watched in shock as one of the other humans grabbed a large keg of beer and held it open for the possum-catcher to throw Moxxie into it, before quickly shutting the lid.

Moxxie trashed around in a panic as the man began shaking the beer keg violently.

Josh, Apple and Kat all stared in utter disbelief as the small crowd of humans carried the beer keg off into the distance while chanting ‘’Possum Beer’’ like a bunch of lunatics.

It was at this point, Josh realised he had fucked up majorly.

‘’W-welp, I’ve done my job! I’d say that’s a pretty good distraction, r-right? Anyway, I gotta go, see ya!’’ Josh said before he ran off in the opposite direction.

‘’Goddammit, Josh!’’ Kat shouted at the e-boy.

‘’Apple, I gotta go tell Vortex about this, you go after those humans and make sure nothing else happens to Moxxie, alright? Tex will kill us if anything bad were to happen to that lil’ guy!’’ he instructed before running off towards the stage.

‘’I-, whu-, o-okay???’’ Apple shrieked in panic as she quickly ran after the crowd.

‘’-and just because I’ve memorised the contents of Moxxie’s medicine cabinet doesn’t mean I’m a creep! I’m just making sure I know what he needs if he ever runs out!’’ Blitzo argued as he stared down the disguised hellhound.

‘’You’re really not helping yourself.’’ Vortex growled impatiently. The argument had been going for a while now. Long enough that Vortex’s initial bout of fury had made way for melancholy and tired annoyance. The hellhound had roughed up plenty of depraved freaks in his bouncer days, as well as during Verosika’s tour. But actually having to hold a prolonged conversation with one of these degenerates was starting to get really taxing. Especially when the target of said freak’s morbid fantasies was his own boyfriend. It was taking all of his willpower not to just cave in the imp’s elongated skull with his fist. He was sure Moxxie wouldn’t appreciate being out of a job because his boss’ brain matter was spread out over the booze stained sand.

Loona, for her part, was the most embarrassed she’d been in her whole life. She knew her dad had issues, but listening to him ramble on about every messed up way he invaded his employee’s privacy was really putting things in perspective. What made it worse was the fact that despite having a unhealthy obsession with Moxxie, Blitzo seemed perfectly willing to throw him under the bus for something as banal as a parking space. Thoughts began to creep into her mind. Thoughts she did not like.

‘’What if Verosika had asked for me? Would he still have agreed to it?’’

If this is how he threated his supposed ‘star employee’, then what was she worth to him? Did he really give a damn? Or had he just picked her up from the pound on a whim? That seemed to be how he made practically all of his decisions. On a whim.

Loona’s self-destructive train of thought was interrupted when one of Verosika’s goons ran up to the trio, a panicked expression adorning his face.

‘’Watching him sleep does NOT make me a ‘deranged sex fiend’, as you so flatteringly put it. I’m just making sure he’s breathing right. Asthma attacks during sleep can be a very real danger and-Hey!‘’ Blitzo explained before the lanky succubus violently shoved him aside.

‘’Tex! You gotta come with me!’’ the devil pleaded.

‘’What is it, Kat? I’m kind of-‘’ Vortex raised an eyebrow, somewhat relieved by the sudden interruption of the imp’s mad ramblings.

‘’It’s Moxxie! He’s in trouble!’’

‘’Wait, what?! What happened?!’’ the hellhound shifted into panic mode near instantly.

‘’Long story! Just come with me!’’ Kat said as he ran off, Vortex not hesitating for a moment in following him.

‘’Hey, come back here! I wasn’t done insulting you yet!’’ Blitzo shook his fist at the two demons.

‘’Ugh! I can’t fucking believe you, Blitz! Why you gotta embarrass me like that in front of a guy I just met??’’ Loona growled in frustration.

‘’Hey, I was trying to protect you, alright?!’’

‘’Why the fuck do you care?!’’

‘’Because I adopted you! And that should mean something!’’

“Oh, what does it matter?! You’re not my real dad! I was almost eighteen!”

‘’It still counts! I am your father, it’s my job to protect you!’’ Blitzo argued.

‘’Why should I believe you?! How am I supposed to believe you?! I don’t like Moxxie, but he trusted you, and you were ready to hand him over for a fucking parking spot! Why should I believe anything you say if I don’t even know if I’m worth the same to you as a goddamn patch of concrete!‘’ Loona shouted. Blitzo was stunned into silence as her words pierced the air.

‘’H-hey now, that’s not- I’d never-‘’ the imp stammered as he reached out a hand to his daughter.

‘’I bet this sort of shit is why you and Verosika broke up in the first place!’’ Loona continued. She watched as her father’s expression sank even further, the hurt clear on his face. It actually gave her pause, the hellhound starting to regret her words.

‘’Uh, Blitz, I…’’

‘’Its fine. Enjoy your break, Loonie. I’m going to kill something. With any luck, Mox and Mil have been keeping the body count high so we might still have a change of salvaging this mess.’’ Blitzo said as he walked off.

 ‘’-and then Josh ran off!’’ Kat was recounting what happened as he and Vortex were running towards where Kat had last seen Moxxie and the others.

‘’Remind me to kick Josh’s ass later.’’ Vortex grumbled under heavy breaths as they reached the empty patch of beach. Well, mostly empty.

The two demons saw Apple and Millie standing amidst several dozen identical beer kegs, the imp consoling the crying succubus.

‘’Apple, what happened? Where’s Moxxie?’’ Vortex huffed as he reached the two women.

‘’I don’t know!’’ Apple cried out.

‘’What do you mean ‘you don’t know?!’ I told you to go after them!’’ Kat berated her.

‘’I did! But then they started tossing the barrel around like a beach ball, and some of them were chugging down other barrels, and there was so much going on and I was so stressed out I lost track of which one’s which and I don’t know which one Moxxie’s in anymore!!’’ the blonde succubus trembled, on the verge of tears.

‘’It’s okay Apple, we’ll find him.’’ Vortex reassured her.

‘’Millie, you seen anything?’’ the hellhound turned to the imp.

‘’Nah. I noticed Moxxie wasn’t following me so I went to look for him. I got here just as those humans got bored and ran off to do something else. Apple filled me in on what’s going on.’’ Millie shook her head. Vortex sighed.

‘’Alright, could you guys help me look for him?’’

‘’Sure thing.’’ Millie and the others nodded.

Even with the four of them looking, it took a while to find the imp. Eventually though, Vortex managed to pick up a familiar scent, barely noticeable amongst the miasma of booze, sweat and sexual fluids.

‘’Coconuts…’’ the hellhound muttered as he caught a whiff of his boyfriend’s shampoo. Zeroing in on it like a bloodhound, he quickly made his way to the barrel that emanated the scent.

Quickly tipping over the barrel, Vortex and the other demons were treated to the sight of the small imp drifting down a torrent of beer onto the sand.

Looking completely shit-faced.

‘’Shit, is he alright?’’ Kat leaned over to look at Moxxie, a lazy smile plastered on his drunken face. Vortex looked down at his boyfriend with concern.

‘’Mox, hey, you okay?’’ he got on his knees in front of the imp.

‘’Vorteeeex! Heeeeeey~! When did you grow three heads? I wanna kiss em all!’’ Moxxie giggled like an idiot as he reached up his hands to squish Vortex’s cheeks.

‘’Yeah, he’s fine.’’ Millie smiled as she watched the disguised hellhound pick up his drunken boyfriend and cradle him in his large arms.

‘’Well, that’s a relief. You got it from here?’’ Kat asked.

‘’Yeah, thanks for helping me, guys.’’ Vortex smiled.

‘’Hey, no problem, Tex! Me and Apple gotta get back to the party. Later!’’ the tall succubus waved as he ran back to the stage. Apple smiled and waved too as she ran after him.

‘’See ya!’’ Millie waved after them, before turning back to her co-worker and his boyfriend, sitting down next to the duo in the sand. Moxxie was purring contently in Vortex’s arms.

‘’You two are absolutely adorable, you know that?’’ she said.

‘’Heh, thanks.’’ Vortex smiled.

‘’You know, when Mox first told me about you, I was honestly expecting you to be much more of a dork.’’ Millie confessed. Vortex chuckled.

‘’I can imagine. Most people I’ve introduced Moxxie to expected him to be this badass gangster or something. It’s not like I’m lying to them or anything. But I guess when I tell them he loves guns, has great fashion sense and is a kickass musician, they get a different picture than I do.’’ The hellhound laughed.

‘’Most people are cool about it, but some jackasses just don’t seem to get it. They tell me I shouldn’t ‘settle’ for someone like Moxxie and that I can ‘do way better.’ As if I somehow made the ‘wrong’ choice.’’ He sighed.

‘’Hey, I’m the last person to criticise your taste in men. Hell, I was gonna ask him out myself until I found out he already got someone.’’ Millie said.

‘’Can’t say I blame ya.’’ The hellhound smiled as he looked down at the imp in his arms. He let out a deep sigh.

‘’You know, sometimes I feel like I’m not giving back enough. Moxxie has done so much for me. Before I met him, I felt like I was alone in the world. I had kinda made peace with that. Just kept my head down, did my job, and didn’t get involved with anyone’s business. I had some friends, sure, but I was always hesitant to let myself be vulnerable, even to them. Didn’t help I had a pretty bad break up with the last girl I thought I had a connection with. But Moxxie was different. I honestly don’t know why I decided to approach him that night. If it was out of pity, or maybe I thought I could get over my own break up if I helped someone else? But…I could tell, even back then, that it meant a lot to him. He’s taken that one act of kindness and paid it back to me a million-fold. Moxxie showed me that I was actually worth something, that I mattered. That there was more to life than working late nightshifts and coming home to an empty apartment. That there was more to me than just a thug for hire. I just…I don’t know. I always try to do right by him. To be there for him when he needs someone to fall back on. But now I find out he’s apparently had a stalker this past month, while I was gone on tour, unable to help him at all! What the hell kind of boyfriend am I if I can’t even protect-‘’ Vortex rambled, before stopping when he noticed Millie’s giggling.

‘’S-sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just…I had this exact conversation with Moxxie several minutes ago!’’ the country imp had to contain her laughter.

‘’Wait, really?’’ Vortex blinked surprised.

‘’Yeah, he was fussing about how he’s gotten y’all in trouble and how he’s not as strong as you, and wishing he could do more, that sorta stuff.’’

‘’Huh…’’ Vortex looked down at the drunken imp in his lap.

‘’Guess we both got a bad habit of worrying too much, huh?’’ he smiled as he gently stroked Moxxie’s freckled cheek.

‘’Luv u~’’ the drunken imp smiled. Vortex let out a hearty chuckle.

‘’Love you too, big guy~’’

‘’You two really are a couple of dorks.’’ Millie giggled. The hellhound smiled in return.

‘’…Hey?’’ Vortex spoke up.

‘’Yeah?’’ she nodded.

‘’Thanks.’’

Millie smiled back warmly.

‘’No trouble.’’

The trio continued to sit down on the shore for a bit, just admiring the red glow of the setting sun. For a short while, all was peaceful. That is, until the ground began to shake, and the ocean waves became more and more frantic.

‘’Woah, what the hell is happening?!’’ Vortex struggled to maintain his balance, Moxxie rolling off his lap like a ragdoll.

Suddenly, a massive mutated catfish emerged from the water, standing at a staggering six stories tall, casting an enormous shadow over the beach. The remaining humans fled the beach in droves, the sandy shores becoming quickly abandoned, save for the three demons.

As Millie and Vortex stared in shock at the hulking leviathan, Moxxie slowly got up from the sand, squinting at the strange creature in the distance.

‘’Oooooooooooh~! Fish.’’ Moxxie smirked as he pointed at the behemoth.

Before either Millie or Vortex were able to react to Moxxie’s comment, the monster shot out its long tongue, the giant appendage hurling towards the beach in a millisecond, then wrapping itself around the drunken imp and squeezing tight, before reeling itself in just as quickly. The southern imp and the hellhound experienced a joint panic attack as the giant catfish closed its massive jaw shut, with Moxxie inside.

‘’MOXXIE!!!’’ the two demons screamed in unison.

‘’Hang on Mox! I got ya!’’ Millie shouted as she reached for her knives, only to have a gust of wind blow her hair into her face. When she brushed the bangs out of her eyes, she saw that Vortex had taken off in a mad dash towards the creature, making a running jump at the edge of the shoreline.

With a mighty leap, Vortex just about reached his target, clinging onto the creature’s belly by sinking his claws into its flesh. The hellhound began frantically climbing the oceanic kaiju, before prying open its jaw with his powerful arms. Vortex thanked Satan when he saw Moxxie had not been swallowed down into the beast’s gullet, and had instead managed to cling onto the monster’s uvula, currently punching the large red flesh bud to make it spit him out. Vortex reached out his claw towards his drunken boyfriend, whilst simultaneously struggling to keep the beast’s mouth open.

He let out a small sigh of exasperation when, instead of grabbing his hand, Moxxie decided to give Vortex a badass high five. Still, he managed to grab onto the imp’s wrist, quickly pulling him away from his precarious position at the edge of the leviathan’s throat. The hellhound smiled as he pulled the imp close to his body, ignoring the sticky fluids he was currently covered in. The triumphant mood was short lived, however, as the beast began putting more force in its attempt to close his mouth, making it harder and harder for the hellhound to keep their exit open with just one arm. Thinking fast, Vortex decided that his number one priority was getting Moxxie as far away from the creature as possible. So, he grabbed hold of Moxxie and tossed him out of the beast’s maw, right before the giant catfish managed to successfully close its jaws, trapping Vortex inside.

Millie’s eyes went wide as Moxxie came falling down from the sky. Frantically sprinting towards him, she managed to catch her friend in the nick of time.

‘’Got ya!’’ Millie cheered triumphantly as Moxxie giggled in excitement.

‘’Wait, where’s Vortex?’’ Millie looked around. The two imps stared up as the giant catfish roared in pain. Vortex let out an enraged snarl as he burst out of the creature’s stomach, before quickly climbing back up to its head and digging his way into the monster’s eyeball, to resume his rampage inside the thing’s brain.

‘’I love that man!’’ Moxxie declared proudly.

‘’Awwwww~! …you totally top him, don’t you?’’ Millie smirked as she looked down at her best friend. The imp’s drunken giggling was all the answers she needed.

Before long, the giant catfish let out a bloodcurdling screech as it fell backwards into the ocean. Quickly after, Vortex stumbled out of the water back onto the shore. The hellhound was grateful that he was in disguise at the moment, otherwise his fur would’ve been soaked.

‘’Is Moxxie okay?’’ he called out to Millie.

‘’Oh yeah, not a scratch. Here ya go!’’ Millie smiled as she held Moxxie up for his boyfriend.

‘’You good, Mox?’’ Vortex asked.

‘’I’m sooooooooooo…drinky~!’’ Moxxie exclaimed. Vortex chuckled and hugged him tightly to his muscular chest.

Millie smiled as she watched the two love birds.

‘’And where the hell have you all been?!’’ Blitzo barged in to ruin the mood, as usual.

‘’Just talking.’’ Millie said innocently.

‘’Oh yeah? Well, while you three have been ‘just talking’, our targets have been getting away! Now how the hell are we supposed to catch up to Verosika?!‘’

‘’Blitzo.’’

‘’Oh great, speaking of the whores!’’ Blitzo turned around, meeting Verosika’s scatting gaze with one of his own.

‘’That was handled rather obvious, don’t you think?’’ the succubus smirked.

‘’Ah don’t think this belongs to any of us.’’ Millie retorted, holding up a certain booze flask that had just washed up on the beach.

 “Would be a shame if anyone found out you guys were behind a giant monster fish in the human world.” The country imp smirked. Verosika’s eye twitched in frustration.

‘’Oh Satan, you’re gonna be so fuuuuucked!’’ Moxxie chuckled.

‘’Ssssh, not the time, Mox...’’ Vortex nervously shushed the drunken imp in his arms, averting his eyes from his employer’s furious expression.

“Yeah, well…you three nasty-ass gremlins will be in shit for not being in disguises!”

‘’Look around you, toots! Not exactly a whole lot of witnesses around, are there?’’ Blitzo gestured at the piles of corpses scattered about the beach.

‘’Yeah, and the few folks who saw that little guy thought he was a possum.’’ Kat chimed in, pointing at Moxxie. Apple gave Josh a nasty side eye, Josh wordlessly mouthing an exasperated ‘I’m sorry!’ to the blonde.

‘’I’m not a possum! Bleh-’’ Moxxie shouted, before going limp in his boyfriend’s arms. Verosika looked out over the whole ridiculous scene with a frustrated expression. She was so fucking pissed, but god, did those two look cute.

“Ya know~, we could keep this little B-movie scene on the down low if you agree to let us use that parking space.” Blitzo smirked, offering a hand to the succubus.

Millie and Vortex simultaneously cleared their throats, along with Loona, who had just shown up.

‘’Oh yeah, and Moxxie doesn’t have to come work for you.’’

‘’…Fine.’’ Verosika growled.

‘’WE FUCKING WON!!!’’ Blitzo cheered to the high heavens.

‘’Fuck yeah!’’ Millie shouted.

‘’Woohoo…’’ Loona said unenthusiastically, holding up a finger and circling it around in mock celebration.

‘’Come on, let’s get out of here. I need a fucking drink.’’ Verosika groaned as she walked off, her posse of succubi following after her.

‘’Hey Millie, can I ask you a favour? I gotta finish up business with the crew. Can you take Moxxie home for me?’’ Vortex asked as he handed the now half-asleep imp to Millie.

‘’Sure thing, Vortex!’’ Millie smiled as she took Moxxie into her arms.

‘’Thanks, I owe you one. Oh, and you can call me Tex if you like. All my friends do.’’ Vortex smiled.

‘’Alright, I will. Tex.’’ The country imp beamed brightly.

Vortex waved them goodbye as he followed after Verosika and the rest of the crew.

‘’So, Tex, is your boyfriend gonna come with us on bar-nights from now on?’’ Apple asked excited as she walked up next to the hellhound.

‘’Yeah, he seemed pretty cool.’’ Kat smiled.

‘’We’ll see.’’ Vortex chuckled.

‘’Heeeey, Vortex! I’m really sorry about what happened with Moxxie! W-we’re cool, right?’’ Josh smiled anxiously.

‘’We’re going to discuss this later, Josh.’’ Vortex said, glaring at him.

‘’Oh man…’’ the white haired succubus whined.

As the group of succubi reached the top of the stairs, they were immediately held at gunpoint by a large group of police officers.

‘’Put your hands up, you sick deviants!’’ one of them bellowed.

‘’Alright sluts. Get ready to suck a lot of pig dick.’’ Verosika sighed as she raised her hands in surrender. The rest of the crew groaned.

‘’This is going to be hard to explain to Moxxie.’’ Vortex thought to himself.

‘’Are you sure you’re not mad at me?’’ Vortex asked. Moxxie sat on the couch in their apartment’s living room. The small imp wrapped in a large blanket, holding a cup of hot chocolate as he was recovering from his massive hang over.

‘’It’s fine, Tex, really. You did what you had to do to get out of there. Besides, you said you only sucked two, right?’’ the imp said patiently.

‘’Yeah, Verosika was nice enough to cover most of my workload. But still…’’ the hellhound sighed.

‘’Don’t worry. I’ll think of a suitable punishment for you later.’’ Moxxie teased. Vortex chuckled.

‘’Right. And, again, I’m sorry about everything that happened today. I don’t know what got into Verosika all of a sudden.’’

‘’She was just trying to help us out. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate the gesture. At least she isn’t as bad as Blitzo.’’ Moxxie shrugged.

‘’Hey!’’

Moxxie and Vortex stared at each other in silence.

‘’…’’

‘’…shit.’’ The voice muttered. Moxxie rolled his eyes.

‘’You can come out of the closet now, sir.’’ the imp said dryly.

With some clattering and a loud ‘thunk’, Blitzo came falling out of a nearby broom closet, quickly rising to his feet and trying his best to act casual.

‘’H-hey! How y’all doing-‘’ Blitzo greeted them, before noticing that Vortex was growling at him with a menacing glare.

‘’Aaah! Get your fucking dog, bitch!’’ Blitzo screeched like a little girl as the massive hellhound rapidly marched toward him.

‘’He don’t bite~’’ Moxxie smirked smugly as he took a sip from his hot coco.

‘’Yes he do!’’ Blitzo croaked as Vortex wrapped his large paw around his throat. The lanky imp struggled as the hellhound walked towards the window and opened it up. Blitzo screamed as he was tossed out of a third-story window down onto the pavement.

Thankfully, his fall was broken by a large, soft pink fur coat.

Along with its wearer.

‘’What the hell are you doing here, you gangly-ass bitch?!’’ Verosika shouted as she threw her ex-boyfriend off of her.

‘’I could ask you the same thing, you drunken whore!’’ Blitzo spat back.

‘’I’m here to make sure you don’t ruin Vortex and Moxxie’s relationship like you do with everything else you fucking touch!’’ the succubus growled, poking him in the chest.

‘’Yeah right! I bet you just want to get a good look at Moxxie’s cute ass, you sick fuck!’’

‘’Don’t go projecting your degeneracy onto me, you freakazoid!’’

‘’Cum Guzzler!’’

‘’Man Child!’’

‘’Ass Muncher!’’

‘’Horse Fucker!’’

Vortex sighed as he closed the window, muffling the childish argument between his and Moxxie’s bosses.

‘’Well, at least they’ll be too busy fighting each other to bother us in a while.’’

‘’Let’s hope so.’’ Vortex chuckled.

‘’In all seriousness, though. Please don’t actually kill him. I need him to sign my paychecks.’’ Moxxie said.

‘’Don’t worry. I’ll just break his legs whenever I catch him snooping around. That ought to keep him out of our house for a while.’’ Vortex said half- joking, half-serious. Moxxie smiled at him as he took another sip from his hot chocolate. A comfortable silence fell over the room.

‘’…’’

‘’…So-’’       

‘’Wanna get choked out by my thighs?’’ Moxxie asked with a sheepish smile.

‘’Fuck yes. Going a full month without that was torture!’’ Vortex laughed as he hoisted his boyfriend off of the couch. Moxxie giggled as the hellhound carried him off into the bedroom.