Chapter Text
It ended up being a very uneventful day at the IMP office; apparently nobody who’d died recently had been taken out by anything other than just their own stupidity, really sh*tty luck, or just plain old age. Normally, this wouldn’t bother Loona too much. It just meant she never got a chance to sneak off for a few hours while the others went off to do a hit or two, just for the sake of not being stuck in the office all day.
Today, however, had the added issue of things being tense as hell from the moment she’d told Blitzo about her plans to move out. Neither of them had actually said anything about it – at least to each other, despite how much Loona tried to just focus on her phone (and occasionally eating one of the donuts Bee had packed for her), she did overhear Blitzo having a not-so-whispered conversation with the other two that she would have known the subject of even if they had actually been quiet about it – but Loona figured the tension was palpable enough that Bee could probably still sense it down in Gluttony.
Obviously the actual work day was the same length as always, but between everything, it felt like an eternity before Blitzo decided to actually close up for the night.
Blitzo dropped off Moxxie and Millie, and instead of just going back to their apartment, he turned to look in the passenger seat and asked, “How about we get go out for dinner tonight, Loony? My treat.”
Loona rolled her eyes, the action quickly transitioning into a glare. She knew was he was trying to do; Blitzo absolutely f*cking sucked at hiding when he was trying to avoid something he didn’t want to deal with.
“Blitzo, can we just f*cking go home already? Today was boring as sh*t, and I’m not even hun-“
Her stomach growled loudly then, calling out her lie and she immediately shut her mouth, knowing any further attempts at protest would be completely ignored. Plus, as much as she still hated thinking about it, she was supposed to be eating more now, and at least Blitzo’s suggesting meant she’d get something hot and at least edible without having to waste the time cooking it herself.
“…Fine.” She consented with more than a little reluctance, narrowing her eyes at the smug look that very briefly spread over Blitzo’s face. So that was the sh*t he was trying to pull, was it? Well, not like Loona couldn’t play the same game…
She turned her attention back to her phone screen, keeping her face neutral so even if Blitzo bothered to look over at her, he’d assume she was just lazily scrolling through some website or playing one of those games that was literally made for absolute dumbsh*ts to be able to beat.
In actuality, she had already opened up a group text with Stolas and Octavia; originally she had only been planning to invite the older Goetia, but after how dull the day had been, she needed to talk with someone who she actually liked spending time with (and considering how Blitzo was acting, she had a feeling that trying to go back to Bee’s tonight to spend time with her and Tex wasn’t going to result in anything other than a grown man throwing a f*cking tantrum…).
Thankfully, they were both on board with what she had planned.
The only thing Stolas was concerned about was the location, but Loona quickly answered his concerned questioning by simply sending the name of the place she knew Blitzo would be taking her. Considering this was very clearly meant to be something of a bribe, Loona knew they weren’t going to any of the super cheap places Blitzo used to insist on taking her to all the time when he was still figuring out how IMP was going to work.
At the same time, she knew Blitzo wasn’t going to try taking her anywhere that was even close to being considered expensive; he may have considered it, if not for the fact that those places tended to actually have some form of security and those demons – usually hellhounds, of course – were much better at their job than you’d think they would be when all they were really guarding was overpriced mediocre food.
Which really meant only one place they could be going to, a place with only one location in all of Pride – and Blitzo wasn’t going to drive to any of the other rings, or use his crystal to travel between them just for dinner, even if he was desperate for something to bribe Loona with.
Sure enough, about twenty minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot of a place just a few notches above most WackDonald’s and Mandy’s burger joints.
The place was nearly empty – not at all surprising considering the time – but Loona wasn’t going to complain about that. She’d never loved eating in public, always preferring to just get take-out and eat in the van or once she got back into her room at the apartment, and the way the pregnancy had been changing her body recently made her even less enthused about the whole idea.
They stepped inside, Loona finding a booth in the corner to sit and wait at while Blitzo ordered their food; they’d been here often enough that Loona knew she didn’t need to tell him what she wanted, and he’d probably end up ordering extra anyway.
It took another five minutes before her adoptive father came back with the order.
For reasons even Loona couldn’t fully understand, she was immediately drawn to the fries, despite the fact that most of the time, she barely touched the things, only even getting them because they were included with the burgers and chicken sandwiches she usually got. She surprised herself even more when she took the fries and dunked them into the strawberry-banana milkshake Blitzo had apparently ordered to try and bribe her even more than this whole thing was already supposed to do…and actually found herself having to force her tail to stay still just because of how much she loved the way it tasted.
“…You know, you don’t have to leave, Loony. All I gotta do is move some sh*t around in the apartment and we’ll have plenty of room for the babies. I mean, they’re not gonna be moving around much for a while anyway, so how much room are they gonna need, right?”
Loona didn’t even argue with him; she knew the only person who might actually get through to Blitzo would be here any moment now, and in the meantime, she just wanted her f*cking food. Blitzo seemed ready to say more, when a familiar voice came from behind them.
“Excuse me, but we were supposed to meet someone for supper – an imp with a birthmark on his forehead and a young female hellhound?”
Stolas’s tone and wording was probably more calm and polite than anyone who’d ever been inside the restaurant had ever heard in their lives, and if him and Octavia just being there wasn’t enough for practically everyone present to assume they were having a fever dream….
”..The f*ck are you doing here?!” Blitzo immediately had all eyes on him as he literally stood up on the booth’s seat to shout at the two Goetia. There wasn’t much anger in his voice, it was mostly just confusion, but the sheer volume (and the way it cracked slightly just from the strain Blitzo was putting on his own vocal chords) was enough to cause the five or so other patrons to wince, before going back to seeming like they were debating if they wanted to watch this play out, or figuring it’d be safe to mind their own business and go back to eating.
Octavia flinched slightly at Blitzo’s exclamation, but quickly seemed to focus on Loona instead, giving her a wave and a smile as she started walking towards the booth, gestures which Loona returned as best as she could, being distracted by the faint ringing in her ears and the slight movements she was now feeling in her stomach.
Stolas, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice anything about Blitzo screaming, other than the fact that it allowed him to find his boyfriend. The owl demons slipped into the booth beside their companions, which seemed to be the cue for everyone else present to at least pretend like they were more interested in their own meals than the royal arrivals.
“Loona asked us to join you.” Stolas explained, clearly in response to Blitzo’s earlier exclamation. “She said you were feeling rather…anxious about her plans to move in with her partners, and thought I might be able to help.”
Blitzo stiffened as soon as Stolas mentioned his daughter’s intention to move out. He refused to look at anyone else at the booth, just peeling the cheese off a burger and shoving the stuff in his mouth.
“Don’t gotta help, Stols. Loony’s not f*cking leaving me to live with those f*ckholes.”
A growl started to form in Loona’s throat at that, but she didn’t have the time to actually make the noise. Stolas interrupted her before she even had the chance.
“Blitzo. Perhaps you and I should leave Loona and Via to themselves for a moment while we talk outside? Some fresh air may help you feel better,” he said, his tone of voice making it very clear the invitation was more to make Blitzo feel like he had a choice, rather than actually allowing for any argument.
Which was enough for everyone who really knew the prince to know how serious he was being; normally he hated making Blitzo feel even a bit like he was being forced into anything, even something as small as going somewhere else to talk, but sometimes, it needed to be done.
Blitzo grumbled under his breath, muttering various swears and just general angry noises, but slowly climbed out of the booth, allowing Octavia to take his spot across from Loona.
The hellhound mouthed a silent “thank you” to Stolas before he led Blitzo outside the restaurant, leaving the two “stepsisters” to enjoy each other’s company.
“…You doing okay? I mean, besides dealing with your dad being…like that?” Octavia asked.
Loona scoffed slightly as she dipped some more of her fries into her shake, ignoring the slightly disgusted expression that crossed the owl demon’s eyes as she ate them afterwards.
“Do I really look that much like sh*t right now?” Loona questioned back. Before Octavia could try to apologize, the hellhound gave her a small smile to help make it clear that she didn’t actually take any offense to the question.
She took a bite of one of the burgers, finding herself grimacing at the taste of the onions that she normally enjoyed – apparently the pregnancy aversion sh*t wasn’t just limited to her cigarettes. After removing the onions from both burgers, Loona actually responded to the earlier inquiry. “Could be better, honestly. I mean, besides dealing with Blitzo’s bullsh*t, I also found out I’m going to have to shove five little f*ckers out of me in less than three months and even though I’m already fat as f*ck, the asshole doctor Bee hired still says I need to gain more weight.”
As soon as Loona revealed the number of pups, Octavia just looked stunned. It took a second for her to actually reply, and when she did, she seemed to understand that voicing her surprise was completely unneeded and probably unwanted.
“You’re really not that big, you know,” Octavia finally replied, getting a scoff in response. “No, seriously. I mean, yeah, I guess I can kind of tell, but I already knew before this, so it’s not like I don’t have an idea of what I’m looking for.”
Loona snorted in response, making it clear she didn’t believe a word the younger woman said.
“Yeah, well, doesn’t matter either way,” she said, eating a few more of the fries, this time without dipping them. “Not like I’m gonna be getting any smaller over the next few weeks, and even the baggiest sh*t I own now is gonna be way too f*cking tight by the time I actually move out. Gonna need to buy so much sh*t…”
Well, technically she wouldn’t have to personally buy anything, she knew. No matter how much Loona tried to tell Bee she didn’t need to get her anything, the Sin loved to shower both of her partners with gifts of all sorts, and Loona already knew the fox-demon was planning on buying her so many new outfits from the second she’d complained about how badly most of her current clothes had started fitting her.
Loona shakes her head; she didn’t need to be worrying about that right now.
She couldn’t help but glance out the more than slightly grimy window at Blitzo and Stolas. She knew if she tried hard enough – or even at all – she could hear more or less exactly what they were saying, but at the moment, she didn’t know if she wanted to know the details.
Instead, she chose to change the subject, turning her gaze back to Octavia and asking about the first thing that came to mind that had nothing to do with her current situation: “So, you said your dad’s finally actually teaching you how to make your own disguise?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Don’t know what the f*ck you decided to drag me out here, Stolas,” Blitzo said, leaning against the back of a chair rather than actually sitting in it, despite his boyfriend’s gesturing to do just that. “Anything you gotta say to me, you could say in front of Loona. She’s a tough girl, and she’s probably said worse sh*t to me that you ever could, no matter how pissed you get.”
The prince just sighed and sat down, reaching across the table to gently touch Blitzo’s hand, hoping the gesture would help him calm down. It did, if only the smallest bit, based on the way his tail was so longer flicking back and forth like he was literally preparing to pounce on someone.
“I just wanted to talk, Blitzo. Loona told me that you seemed…upset about her plans to move, and after what you said back there, I can tell she wasn’t exaggerating about that,” Stolas assured Blitzo, getting some grumbled nonsense for his trouble.
Blitzo refused to even look at him, just staring at the window into the restaurant; clearly not wanting to let Loona out of his sight for even the few moments they’d been outside.
Normally, Stolas would understand his desire to make sure his daughter was safe, especially now, but these weren’t exactly normal circ*mstances, and he had made a promise, one that he intended to keep.
“Blitzo. Look at me,” he demanded, though he made sure to keep his tone as gentle as he could. He didn’t want to hurt Blitzo, after all, just try to get him to see reason. There was clear reluctance in his eyes, but after a few seconds, the imp did as he was told, though there was a clear edge of annoyance in his gaze. Like he was silently demanding the taller man get to the point so he could get back to his daughter already.
“Why are you so against the idea of Loona moving in with her partners? You know you’d still see her practically every day at work, and we both know she, Beelzebub, and Vortex would likely be perfectly happy to let you over to visit….almost as much as you would like, so long as you call ahead, so why –“
“BECAUSE I DON’T WANT MY f*ckING BABY TO DIE BECAUSE OF WHAT THOSE ASSHOLES DID TO HER AND NOT AT LEAST BE ABLE TO BE THERE WITH HER THE WHOLE TIME!”
The sudden outburst actually made Stolas startle a little, and not only because of the volume of Blitzo’s voice as he unleashed what was very clearly a lot of pent of emotions – namely anger and especially fear.
All four of Stolas’s eyes went wide upon hearing Blitzo say that. It took what felt like an eternity in the span of a few seconds before he felt ready to speak, with Blitzo finally collapsing into the metal chair as though that confession took all his strength away being the sign Stolas needed to know he had to say something.
“Blitzo, I know you’re concerned about Loona not feeling well because of her pregnancy,” Stolas began, trying to choose his words carefully in order to avoid triggering his partner even more than he clearly already was. “But I assure you it’s nothing life-threatening.”
“She’s got five little f*ckers inside her because of that literal dick, Stols,” Blitzo half-said, half-snapped back. “I may not know sh*t about most baby sh*t, but even I know you don’t f*cking survive having that many. f*ck, my mom had just two of us and our dad loved to remind us that we were f*cking lucky that Barbie, me, and our mom were all at least somewhat okay after all that. And now Loony’s gonna have to have five of them and I can’t do anything about it…”
He opened his mouth again, seeming ready to continue his emotional rant, but almost immediately closed it, just shaking his head. He mumbled something that Stolas could just barely make out when he strained his hearing as far as he could: “Couldn’t do that to her.”
The Goetia demon chose not to question that last part; he knew he wasn’t really meant to here it, it was more just Blitzo thinking out loud. But the rest, he could respond to, and hopefully help calm Blitzo’s now very obvious, and from the assassin’s perspective, entirely justified, fears.
“Yes, a pregnancy like Loona’s would be considered very high risk and dangerous…for imps,” Stolas began, keeping his tone even and calm, desperately hoping that would help keep Blitzo feeling the same. “But for a hellhound like Loona, it’s actually fairly normal? Five is a bigger than average litter, but it’s not unheard of, and as long as she’s taken care of throughout the pregnancy, you have no reason to worry.”
He hoped that would be enough to convince Blitzo…until a scoff completely shattered that hope.
“Sorry, Stolas, but guessing you got that bullsh*t from those books of yours?” He didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “I don’t buy anything those moneygrubbing f*cks write. Probably just make sh*t up to try and get people to waste their hard-earned money even if it ends up with them getting f*cked over in the end.”
“You want Loona and her pups to be healthy, don’t you?”
The question made Blitzo stiffen slightly once he heard it, like he was literally snapped out of his thoughts the instant Stolas said those words. His expression changes from skepticism to one of defensive anger.
“Of course I f*cking do!” he exclaimed, clearly offended that Stolas would even consider questioning that fact.
However, Stolas kept a completely straight face in response, only calmly replying: “Then you need to realize that this behavior is only hurting all of them. You may not believe me when I tell you that Loona carrying multiple pups is perfectly natural and safe for hellhounds, but universally, it’s know that stress during pregnancy is detrimental to the health of both the mother and the babies. And I know you don’t mean to do it, but you must see that you acting this way is doing very little other than causing Loona a great deal of stress.”
The way Blitzo’s face broke into a look of horrified regret almost made Stolas want to take back what he’d just said – almost. But he knew it needed to be said, and if Blitzo reacted that way, it likely meant that something had finally gotten through to him. If nothing else, it was at least a start, a break in his stubborn armor.
For the briefest moment, Blitzo almost seemed ready to argue, before he appeared to fully accept that what Stolas said was actually true; and anyone who knew Blitzo knew that he’d never do anything to hurt his daughter if he could help it.
Still, there was a clear touch of reluctance in his eyes, even as his body language indicated he’d at least begun to accept what was going to happen, whether he was happy about it or not.
“I just don’t want to be – I’m gonna miss her, that’s all,” he finally admitted as Stolas grabbed his hand again, silently asking him to share his thoughts.
The prince’s expression softened considerably; Blitzo may have cut himself off, but he knew him well enough after the time they’d spent together to know what he meant.
“You wouldn’t have to be alone, you know,” he offered. “I know you said before you weren’t ready to move into the palace, but that was almost six months ago, and clearly circ*mstances have changed? And there are several guest rooms completely free, if you’d rather not fully move into my bedroom.”
Blitzo’s eyes suddenly lit up, only for that light to fade a touch when Stolas quickly interjected that no, he couldn’t just invite Loona to move into Stolas’s palace with him – that would resolve the space issue they were currently facing, but Blitzo had no right to try to keep Loona from living with her partners.
Still, the only real protest Blitzo gave to that was a bit of angry mumbling, before he finally sighed and nodded his head.
Stolas smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It ended up taking over two weeks for Loona and Blitzo to officially move out of their old apartment and into Bee and Stolas’s palaces, respectively. Mostly because of a combination of Blitzo scouring every inch of the place for his horse collection, refusing to leave anything behind, even the cheap little plastic toys he’d gotten from threatening the WackDonald’s employee into giving him a WackySnack as an adult; and their landlord being a major pain in the ass about paperwork and forcing them to make sure the place was at least clean before they left, along with being the biggest bitch in all of Hell over their lease not being up.
That last point was dropped rather quickly once both Stolas and Bee came to the apartment to see why the move was taking so long, but the rest could not be avoided, as annoying as it all was.
But it had been a couple days since the move, and Loona was still getting used to the fact that she was actually living in a palace. After nearly two decades living in literal cells, and about seven years in an apartment that wasn’t exactly much bigger, even if it was a thousand times more comfortable, the change in environment was difficult to wrap her head around.
Loona’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of both a notification from her phone, as well as her stomach growling loudly, the latter of which caused her face to begin burning as she felt herself starting to blush.
The sound of Bee chuckling softly from beside her didn’t help in the slightest.
“Bee….shut the f*ck up….” Loona groaned, covering her face with her hands to try and hide how red it was rapidly becoming.
“C’mon, girl, “ Bee cooed, nuzzling Loona’s face with her snout while resting a hand on her stomach. “It’s f*cking adorable how you get all blushy like that. You really think I’m gonna have a problem with you and our babies wanting something to munch on?”
Loona just blushed even more. “I literally just ate like twenty minutes ago, though. Shouldn’t already be this hungry again…” she protested.
The only response Bee gave to that was a shrug, clearly indicating she either didn’t understand….or more likely, she just flat out didn’t care. She gave Loona’s belly a gentle rub, smiling the whole time.
“Doc said you needed to gain some weight, so you actually wanting to eat more’s gotta be good. f*ck, with how little you usually eat at my parties, I think this is a win no matter how you slice it,” she told her girlfriend, getting a slightly annoyed growl and a pair of rolled eyes for her comment. Bee just laughed and cuddled a bit closer. “You want me to ask Tex to pick up something on his way home?”
Vortex had been working a bit more overtime with Verosika over the past couple days, and from what he’d said, he would likely be working later than normal for little while; apparently it was Verosika’s way of trying to have Vortex “make up” for the fact that once Loona got close to having the pups, and especially once they were born, he was going to have to take some leave to help take care of them.
Loona just gave a noncommittal noise in response to Bee’s question. She didn’t want Vortex to waste the little free time he had for the rest of the day grabbing some food for her…even if she swore the suggestion just made her hungrier…
A look of irritation passed over Bee’s face, though it was gone so quickly that Loona couldn’t say for certain that she hadn’t just imagined it.
“Or,” Bee continued, “if you don’t wanna wait that long, I could just order us something from my Eats – anything you want. Probably take a bit to get here, but pretty sure we can find something fun to do to pass the time…”
The tone of her voice was more than enough for Loona to know exactly what Bee had in mind for what they could do while waiting for the food to arrive, but apparently the Sin thought she needed more of a hint and started to kiss her, gently at first but very quickly becoming deeper, more passionate.
As the kiss got even deeper, Loona started to feel some movement in her stomach, either just from the pup apparently deciding they were bored, or them reacting to the fact that her heart was starting to beat a little faster than normal.
Suddenly, Bee stopped kissing her, to Loona’s confusion – and, though she wasn’t going to admit for the fear of coming across as overly needy for affection, slight concern. She was about to ask what the issue was, when she noticed the look of amazement on Bee’s face; and more importantly, the way she was looking down at Loona’s stomach.
“…Was that…?” Bee asked, the barely contained excitement indicating she already knew the answer, but wanted the confirmation anyway.
Loona just smiled a tiny bit and just barely nodded her head. That was clearly more than enough for Bee, who let out a squeal of delight and gave Loona a very quick, but still extremely loving, kiss on the mouth before directing her full attention to her belly.
“What? You don’t like me kissing your mom?” she playfully asked, addressing the unborn pups. “How do you guys think you got in there, huh?”
The question seemed to get the pups to start moving even more, which caused Loona to let out a small groan.
“Bee, I know you can afford it, but can we not f*cking make them need therapy before they’re even born?” she asked, mostly joking but not entirely.
Bee playfully stuck her tongue out, her attention still mostly on Loona’s stomach, which she kept stroking lovingly, very obviously mesmerized by what she was feeling. And while the feeling of the pups moving around so much felt really weird, Loona didn’t want it to stop for a bit, just because of how happy Bee clearly was; her eyes were super bright, and Loona swore the colors in her hair and middle were glowing a bit brighter than they normally did.
After a few moments, it seemed like the pups had all settled down and Bee moved away just the tiniest bit, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
“Gonna order everything from your favorite place, Loon,” Bee announced, already tapping on the screen to order before Loona could even open her mouth to protest. Not that she really would have protested that much even if she could, as the fact that her stomach was once again growling proved. There was no way she was going to turn down something from her favorite place....at least, not the food itself.
“You know there’s no way I can eat all of that, Bee,” Loona pointed out as soon as Bee finished placing the order. And she was right about that – even with the increased appetite that had started hitting her recently, the hellhound was certain her stomach could literally only hold so much, and even if the restaurant they ordered from didn’t have the largest menu, it was definitely more than enough food for her.
However, Bee just shrugged as she set an alarm on her phone for when the food was supposed to arrive. “Not saying you have to eat it all, hon, especially right now. I’m probably gonna have some and we can put anything that’s left away for later so Tex can have something when he gets home, or you can have more when you get hungry again.”
The Sin allowed a small laugh to escape from her lips as she added, “Probably not gonna be too long before that happens. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess that our pups got their appetite from me, with how much they’ve been making you wanna eat lately…”
There was a slight wistfulness to her voice as she placed her hand back onto Loona’s stomach, clearly hoping to feel more movements from the pups. All she got were a few little nudges against her palm, but with the way she smiled, you’d have sworn it was much, much more.
Loona found herself smirking a little as she reached over to stroke Bee’s neck, getting a delighted sound in return.
“Yeah, well, kinda hope you’re wrong about that, because otherwise it’s really going to f*cking suck when they’re out and I have to deal with actually feeding them,” she said.
Bee smiled back at her, giving her a kiss on the cheek, followed immediately by one on the nose.
“Don’t worry about that, girl,” Bee told her, starting to run one of her hands down Loona’s back while another stroked her hair. “Know you’re going to do f*cking amazing with that, and you know me and Tex are gonna help with all the other sh*t that we gotta deal with when it comes to having pups.”
“…And you’re not just saying I’m gonna do alright with feeding them because you really like what that’s done to my tit*?” Loona asked, trying to sound casual and avoid blushing at the same time.
She had a feeling she failed at doing either, but Bee didn’t comment on the attempt. She did, however, burst out into peals of laughter for a few second, which did actually make Loona smile a little more as well.
When Bee stopped laughing, she gave Loona a grin.
“What can I say? I already loved them before, and now there’s just more to love. Really think I’m gonna bitch about that? No f*cking way,” she said, continuing to run her hands down Loona’s body, ending the statement by giving the smallest nip to her throat, just barely putting enough pressure for the hellhound to feel it at all.
But even that tiny bite is enough to cause Loona to have to suppress a shudder, something she was unable to do all that well, if the almost hungry look Bee gave her was any indication.
“Bee, I – “ Loona’s words were cut off as her stomach once again growled loudly, and whatever she wanted to say was forgotten as she buried her now burning face into her palms. To her credit, Bee just brushed her hair away, just enough to plant a kiss on her forehead.
“Food’s supposed to be here in ‘bout fifteen, but sounds like my babies wanna snack now. Be right back, Loon.”
Loona didn’t move her hands away from her face until she was sure Bee was out of the room. When she did uncover her face, she sighed and rolled onto her back – a task that felt like it took much more energy than she wanted to admit, even to herself – adjusting herself to get as comfortable as she could before resting her hand on her belly, frowning slightly at the series of movements she felt from within.
“f*ck, can you guys calm down already?” she inquired, rubbing slow circles in what was quickly proving to be a pointless attempt to get the pups to settle down. “I know the bastard doctor said I needed to gain some more weight, but that doesn’t mean you have to make me feel like I’m constantly desperate for stuff to eat.”
In response, she just got a particularly hard kick to her ribs, causing her to wince for a split second – which happened to be just as Bee returned, carrying a package each of cookies, spicy cheese chips, and a jar of peanut butter.
“You okay?” Bee asked, the concern clear in both her tone and her expression as she buzzed over to the bed, dropping the food onto the mattress before landing herself.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Loona quickly assured her. “But I think the pups are really f*cking down waiting for something to eat so I’m so f*cking glad you showed up when you did, Bee.”
“And I know you’re going to be happy with what I got for you,” Bee said. She opened up each of the packages she’d brought, combined the three food items into a makeshift sandwich – two of the cinnamon-sugar cookies with peanut butter and crushed up chips spread between them – and handed it to Loona.
To her embarrassment, Loona found her mouth starting to water and even her tail beginning to wag the tiniest bit as Bee handed her the snack. The embarrassment wasn’t nearly enough to stop her from eating it, however, or the next two that Bee handed to her.
Though she did pause before eating the fourth one she was given when she noticed Bee actually trying one of the concoctions for herself.
She gave her girlfriend an incredulous look upon seeing that.
“You’re actually eating one?” she asked, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing without having it confirmed.
Bee waited until she finished eating before responding, and even then, all she did was shrug.
“First weird craving you’ve had, so figured might as well try it. Actually not bad. Pretty sure I’ve seen people come up with weirder sh*t after a couple drinks at my parties…”
As she mentioned her parties, she gave Loona a hopeful look, which quickly transformed into a pout when she saw the look Loona gave her in return.
“C’mon, Loon! If you still won’t let me tell everyone you’re my girl, you gotta at least let me throw a party for the pups before they come!” Bee had been asking to throw some kind of party related to the pups – technically it’d presumably be something like a baby shower, but Loona knew Bee had already ordered literally everything they’d need for the pups literally the day she’d moved in, meaning the actual purpose of one of those would be gone – and every day, Loona had given the same answer.
“You don’t think people are gonna figure out that I’m dating you and Tex if you throw a party for me and the pups?” she asked. “I mean, some of the people who show up can be complete and total f*cking dumbasses, but most aren’t and even half of the ones that are don’t get that way until they’ve been at the party for a few hours.”
All that got her in response was a set of rolled eyes. Then Bee just got a look on her face that Loona knew all too well after over two years of knowing her and close to a year and a half of dating her.
“…You’re gonna throw a party anyway, aren’t you?”
Bee’s smile just grew as she wrapped all four arms around Loona, drawing her in as close as she possibly could. She kissed her softly before answering the question, even if Loona more or less already knew what she was going to say.
“Bitch, you know it,” the Sin replied. She took one hand and stroked the fur on Loona’s cheek when she couldn’t help but let out a low whine upon hearing that. “Hey, hey, girl, don’t worry. Might not get why you’re so worried ‘bout everyone knowing me and Tex are with the cutest f*cking MILF in Hell, but I get you don’t want all the partygoers in the loop just yet. Gonna have the party, but not tell everyone what it’s actually for. Sound good?”
“…Yeah…it’s fine,” Loona replied, still trying to stop herself from blushing at hearing Bee flat out call her a MILF…as well as the fact that her tail had actually started wagging a little bit upon hearing that, something Bee clearly took notice of considering one of her hands had moved down to the base of Loona’s tail.
To Loona’s relief, she didn’t say anything, just gave her another kiss and started gently stroking her back in what was clearly a silent way of showing gratitude.
The two of them just laid together until the alarm on Bee’s phone went off, alerting them to the arrival of the food she’d ordered before. Loona was left alone in their bedroom while Bee went to grab the food and tip the delivery guy, but even without being there to see it, the hellhound knew the face of stunned amazement on the demon’s face when Bee handed them no doubt more than they made in a month normally in wadded up bills for a tip.
Bee returned a few moments later, each of her arms carrying at least one bag undoubtedly filled nearly to the brim with food – as well as one hand balancing a cardboard tray holding three different milkshakes. Loona immediately grabbed a shake and without even being asked, Bee handed her some fries (special ones from this place that had some super spicy seasoning added to them).
A small part of Loona was embarrassed at how excited she was for the food – a small part that was quickly overshadowed by the simple fact that now that the food was in front of her, she felt so f*cking hungry, and if the movements she was feeling were any indication, the pups were just as eager for the meal right now as she was.
So she just dug in, happily eating whatever she started craving, with Bee following suit. They did make sure to put aside a bag full of items they knew Vortex enjoyed, ensuring that he wouldn’t be left out despite not being present for the meal. And, as Bee had predicted, there actually ended up being a decent amount left over even besides that, meaning Loona wouldn’t have to worry about late night cravings…again.
She wasn’t sure if it was pure coincidence or if Bee had somehow actually planned this, but either way, she wasn’t going to complain in the slightest. Just meant she didn’t have to wake up Bee or Tex to get her something to eat; something that had happened every night since Loona had moved in, much as she was loathe to think about it. The only thing that would have made things better at that moment was if Vortex was actually able to be home with them.
But hopefully he’d be able to get off work within the next hour or two, and when he did, he always came straight home, especially now that Loona had officially moved in.
When Loona had tried to insist he could go out and have fun if he wanted, he just said he didn’t want to be away from her – or Bee – longer than he had to, and that he had plenty of fun just being with them.
Loona couldn’t help but think that was bullsh*t, especially considering he’d barely be willing to touch her since she actually started showing…But it was bullsh*t that was at least meant to be comforting and the last thing she needed right now was to cause a clusterf*ck by calling Vortex out on it. Not when she knew he meant well, whether it was actually all true or not.
Besides, she was starting to get tired and her letting herself get worked up thinking about it was just getting the pups to go absolutely f*cking feral and that was the last thing she needed when she seriously just wanted to relax…
So she closed her eyes, expecting she’d just be out for half an hour, maybe a bit longer.
Instead, she was still half-asleep when she heard excited whispering from Bee, followed closely by what she quickly identified as Tex’s hand on her stomach. That alone probably wouldn’t have done anything to interrupt her sleep, but the pups all starting to move around certainly did. Loona groaned and opened her eyes, not without some reluctance.
“Sorry,” Vortex said, moving his hand away – not that it did anything to get the pups to settle down. “Didn’t want to wake you, but Bee really wanted me to feel. Practically dragged me upstairs as soon as I got inside.”
There was a bit of laughter underneath his words as he spoke, making the affection behind them clear even with the slightly accusatory tone that was also present. Bee didn’t even try to look sorry, or even guilty. She just shrugged. “You know you wanted to feel them, too, Tex.”
Vortex made no attempt to deny what she said, just smiled a little more and ran one hands through Loona’s hair even while the other kept stroking her stomach.
“It’s fine,” Loona finally managed to say once she was a little more awake. “Get the feeling they weren’t going to stay asleep much longer anyway, and not exactly f*cking easy to sleep when they’re all moving around like that…”
Vortex gave her a gentle smile and continued what he was doing, though now it seemed clear that the gentle stroking was being done at least in part to soothe both Loona and the pups back to sleep. It wasn’t helping in the slightest, but this was a situation where it really was the thought that counted.
So Loona tried to distract from it by bringing up something else, anything else; and the first thing that came to mind was the party Bee had already made it clear she was throwing, likely much sooner than later.
“Guessing you already know about Bee’s next party?”
Vortex nodded, the tiniest chuckle escaping from his lips. “You know she’s not good at keeping quiet about that sort of thing, and I think we all know she’s going to be putting all the energy she wants to spend on telling everyone in Hell about the pups into making this one of the biggest parties she’s ever thrown.”
“f*ck yeah, I am,” Bee immediately confirmed with a grin, literally starting to buzz a little in excitement at her own plans. “Only reason I’m not literally throwing the whole thing soon as the sun’s up tomorrow is ‘cuz I wanna make sure it’s sweet as can f*cking be. And don’t say anything to try and stop me, Loon – you know you f*cking deserve the best, even if you don’t wanna admit it.”
Loona shut her mouth, the protest she was ready to give dying on her tongue. Instead she just sighed, changing her position slightly to both get a little more comfortable and lean into the hand that Vortex was using to stroke her head.
“Just don’t expect me to stay the whole time, okay?” she asked, already knowing that she didn’t really have to. From the start of them dating, Bee had made it very clear Loona was never under any obligation to attend her parties in the first place, much less stay for the entirety of their near-marathon duration.
Bee just gave the smallest nod and kissed each of her partners quickly before announcing that she was going to warm up the food they’d saved for Tex and darting off, leaving the two hellhounds alone in the bed. Loona moved slightly in order to place her head on Vortex’s chest, feeling herself relax from the combination of the feel of the soft fur and the sound of his heartbeat, along with him still stroking her hair and stomach.
And maybe it was all of that, or maybe it was just the fact that she was still drained from before, but before Loona knew it, she had fallen back to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loona clutched her cup tightly as she looked around the packed foyer, trying to locate her friends. The party had already been going on for a few hours, but Esme and the guys were never the first to arrive so she figured they’d be showing up soon enough.
As she waited, she occasionally engaged in the briefest of conversations with other hounds and the occasional imp; not so much out of a desire to interact a ton, but just because they spoke to her first and since they weren’t being assholes about it, she knew it’d be a bitch move to completely ignore them.
Some people had clearly taken notice of her pregnancy – at this point, literally nothing she wore could come close to hiding it – but to her relief, nobody actually said anything about it. There were a few that came close; Loona wasn’t like Bee, she couldn’t literally sense emotions, but she could read people well enough to be able to use common sense.
But thankfully nobody said anything or asked any questions, because she wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of that.
“Oh, wow…Thought everyone was just messing with me, but looks like Lunatic Loona did manage to find someone who wanted her to spread her legs for them.”
Loona couldn’t stop the growl from escaping her lips or her fur starting to bristle as she heard the voice of probably the last person she wanted to see at the moment…or ever again. She tried her best to pretend that she hadn’t heard Vikki, instead just taking a sip of her drink (she didn’t even remember what it was exactly, some kinda mocktail since she couldn’t drink anything Bee normally served) and once again scanning the room for any sign of her friends.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Vikki and her posse coming a bit closer, but she didn’t try to move, not knowing for sure if they were actually coming over to her, or they were just happening to come in her direction – she was close to one of the snack tables, after all….
”So, who’s the dad? Guessing one of those two you always hang out with.”
Well, so much for the hope that they weren’t trying to get at her. Loona knew they were trying to get her to spill something to use against her, or maybe to just have some new source of gossip since apparently they had nothing else they considered worth spreading.
But she still felt herself blush slightly when Vikki suggested that one of her friends was the pups’ father; not because it was even remotely possible, but just because it reminded her of something she tried to forget – the fact that she had “dated” (in the loosest definition possible) Pink for about a week before finally realizing it wasn’t working.
Obviously they were still friends after all that, to her relief, but that didn’t mean she liked being reminded of it.
“I really don’t get how you figure that’s any of your business…” Loona couldn’t stop herself from responding, despite knowing saying anything was just going to make Vikki and her friends think they had any reason at all to keep bothering her.
She looked around, hoping to spot Bee or Tex, since she knew these three weren’t stupid enough to start sh*t if either of them was around, even if they had no idea about Loona dating them. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t see – or even hear – either of them, meaning they were probably dealing with some of their usual host duties somewhere else.
Fortunately, she was given a different distraction, as while she searched for her partners, she happened to spot Esme in the crowd.
Loona quickly walked away, pushing past Missy – and ignoring the Dalmatian’s comment about her being a rude bitch – as she made her way to Esme, glad to see someone she actually wanted to be around at the party already. Not that most of the people here were bad; she just didn’t like being around a ton of near strangers for long with her friends or partners nearby, and with how big this party was, Bee and Tex couldn’t hang around for long before they needed to handle something else. Which Loona understood, but it didn’t stop her from feeling…not left out, but…weird in the crowd.
“Hey, Loona,” Esme smiled at her as she approached, only for the smile to fade slightly due to concern as she noticed how her friend was panting slightly from the relatively short walk. “…You okay? Need to sit down or something?”
Loona took a second to catch her breath before shaking her head.
“No, no, I’m fine…Just give me a second…” She couldn’t believe she was tired from just that short distance; but in her defense, she had been going fairly fast and with five pups taking space pretty much right below her lungs, it wasn’t like she had much breath to spare even when she was able to catch it…
Once she was able to breathe normally again, she glanced around before speaking to Esme again.
“Are Pink or Oskar here? Was kinda hoping we could all hang out for a while – get the feeling Bee and Tex are gonna be way too f*cking busy for me to spending much time with me, and I’m not hanging around them all night since I don’t wanna come across like a f*cking leech or have assholes asking questions…”
As she spoke she unconsciously place a hand on her stomach, where the pups had started kicking like mad for what she swore was no reason other than to get her more stressed than she already was. Even without being able to see her eyes very well, Loona could tell that Esme wanted to say something about that, but to her relief, she didn’t.
She just answered the question about the guys: “Oskar’s just talking to a couple guys he knows from work, then he’ll be over here. But Pink sent me a text on my way here – said he’s sorry but a family emergency came up, so he’s probably not gonna be able to show.”
Loona was slightly disappointed that one of her friends was going to be absent – and wished that she’d thought to invite Via, especially since the Goetia princess had enjoyed herself the handful of times she’d been to one of Bee’s parties and it’d at least give her someone else to talk to – but she didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like it was Esme’s fault Pink wouldn’t be around, and she’d still have a good time with her and Oskar anyway. She just wished he’d finish up with those other friends of his already…
Her ears twitched slightly as she heard Vikki, Missy, and Fifi whispering, just far enough away that she could hear that they were no doubt gossiping to each other, but couldn’t quite pick up anything they were actually saying. But she just knew they were talking about her…though without being able to prove it, she couldn’t f*cking do anything to stop it, not without coming across like she was violent and hormonal at best, and just a crazy bitch who snapped for no good reason at worst. Neither of which was a reputation she wanted to garner among all the demons present.
She winced slightly as she got a particularly hard blow to her ribs from one of the pups, and had to insist to a clearly concerned Esme that she was fine. But she couldn’t deal with being as close as she was to Vikki and her friends for any long, and just walked away, only taking a second to tell Esme that she was just going to find Oskar herself, rather than waiting. Maybe it’d be a little awkward to have to stand around and wait for him to finish talking to his friends, but Loona’d rather feel a little awkward than deal with knowing someone was talking sh*t about her behind her back when she was literally just out of earshot.
But, to her genuine amazement, when she and Esme found Oskar with his other friends….they were actually really nice?
Granted, Loona was fairly sure one of them – a baphomet and borzoi hound hybrid named Sparky – was already wasted considering how much she was blushing whenever Loona said anything to her, but she wasn’t going to hold that against her. At least a quarter of the people who came to any of Bee’s parties got wasted; that was legitimately one of the main purposes of them happening, after all. And while she wasn’t sure how likely she’d be to hang out with Sparky – or Oskar’s other friend, Kayem – without Oskar being there as a sort of buffer…Loona couldn’t deny that she actually had a good time with them.
Enough that she just decided to stay around, along with Esme, for the rest of the party’s runtime…which ended up being until close to midnight, and even then, it only fully ended because, despite Loona’s attempts to hide it, Vortex had noticed how tired she was and ushered the stragglers out.
There had been some grumbling, as there always was, but thankfully it didn’t take long before the three of them were left alone in the palace. Which was a total mess, as expected, but Loona knew Bee would just literally zap away all the mess in a second before coming upstairs to join Vortex and Loona in bed.
While Bee handled that, Loona tried to keep herself awake at least long enough for the Sin to join them, but Vortex seemed determined to get her to sleep.
“You know you’ll get to see her all you want tomorrow,” he reminded her, very gently rubbing her back with one hand and her belly with the other – a gesture that seemed particularly good at helping Loona relax, but only when he did it for some reason…And as much as Loona wanted to fight it, the motions did their jobs too well, and she ended up falling asleep within moments, more content than she would have imagined feeling when the day had begun.
