Greedy or Needy?
Stitches went and stared out of the giant hole in the I.M.P. office wall and whistled in morbid appreciation. “Hey, Loona, twenty bucks says I can splatter at least an entire block if I jump right now.”
Loona finally looked up from her hellphone and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t peg you for suicide, Stitches.” It came out rather casual (she was a Sinner, so technically, she "should" regenerate), but Stitches saw the way her muscles tensed in readiness to jump across the room and the slight panic in her eyes. The Hellhound may have not have batted an eye when the helicopter came out of nowhere and whisked off the rest of the crew for a job in Greed (and boy was it tempting to sneak down to Greed and watch Millie tear up a wedding!), but she wasn’t as cold as she pretended.
Besides, they had become pretty good friends.
Stitches chuckled and moved away from the hole. “Pretty sure if I was serious about it, I wouldn’t have made a joke first,” she drawled, flopping into a chair. She looked back at the hole, felt another breeze pass through the room like a siren call, and decided that she needed to talk to Belphagor tomorrow about adjusting her medication again. “Anyway, what do we do now? I don’t know about you, but between Millie’s rampage earlier and-” she gestured toward the broken side of the building “-that, I am not really sure any clients will come by today.” She grinned mischievously and leaned toward Loona. “What do you say we ditch and leave cleanup for when they get back?”
Loona grinned back. “Fuck yeah!” She stood and stretched. “Who would have guessed you were such a rebel?”
“Why? Because I tend to put effort into my job?” Stitches groused and rolled her eyes. “This is Hell. I would think a bit of rebellion was sorta implied and expected from time to time.” Loona gave her a look, and she frowned. “What?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” Loona shrugged. “Just trying to decide which is the real you. Proud and hard working Royal or fun rebellious Sinner.”
Stitches laughed. “Why can’t it be a bit of both?” She made a shooing motion as she sent a text on her phone. “Go ahead and find something fun to do. I’ll get things closed down for the night, and then I am heading home when I am done here.”
“Yeah, they probably won’t be back tonight anyway,” Loona agreed, scrolling through her phone and then grinning. “There’s an indie band playing in a crummy bar on the other side of Imp City. Wanna tag along?”
Stitches worried her bottom lip. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I have other duties to see to tonight, and I also have a shift at my other job in the morning. Raincheck?”
Loona scoffed and gave her an affectionate smile. “Look forward to cashing it sometime.”
Once Loona left, Stitches busied herself with closing down the office. It was all a bit tedious, like setting the phone to an automated message about the office being closed for the day, hanging a sign in the window on the door, and locking up the various supply and weapon closets. By the time everything was done, a familiar knock sounded on the front door, and she giggled as she opened up.
“Ready to fuck in your boss’s office?” Verosika purred, holding up a case of beer. Her hair was covered in a large scarf, and she was wearing big sunglasses. Normal routine for those times she didn't want to go places recognized by fans. But what had Stitches drooling was the long trench coat.
“What is under that coat, love?” Stitches blurted, licking her lips.
Verosika took off the sunglasses and leaned in close. A shiver went down her spine at the hungry look in the Succubus’s eyes. She lowered her voice to a sultry whisper. “Why don’t you let me in, and you can find out yourself?”
Stitches groaned as she grabbed the woman’s free hand and pulled her inside, nearly dragging her into Blitz’s private office. Verosika just laughed loudly, trailing behind, allowing herself to be manhandled by the smaller woman. Stitches knew that past her would be embarrassed as fuck, seeing herself so untethered and ravenous, especially for a relationship that was little more than a fling at this point. But she couldn’t find herself caring. Not when it felt so good, so delicious, so natural. Would it turn into a real relationship?
That was for future them to figure out.
Stitches pinned the taller woman to the desk, her head at the perfect height to reach the soft breasts that were covered in the coat. She grinned mischievously, her eyes half-lidded in want. “You are in the office, Verosika,” she cooed. “Do I get to unwrap my present? Or are you perhaps going to put on a show for me?”
“On the way over, I was planning on having you do the honors.” Verosika licked her lips and pushed Stitches into one of the guest chairs. “But seeing how eager you are, I think it would be more fun for you to let me. Otherwise, this may end faster than either of us truly want.” She cupped Stitches' cheek, and the doll groaned, leaning into the touch. “So needy, aren’t you?” she teased. "Now, stay," she ordered.
Stitches swallowed thickly. “Tease me all you want, but," she begged, "if you are naked under there, don’t completely take off the coat.” She gasped as Verosika’s hand moved to wind through the hair at her nape. “It will look so hot sliding off your shoulders while you lie on the desk as I worship that body.”
Verosika’s eyes darkened with desire, and she licked her lips again. “Keep talking like that, and I may reconsider keeping this as a casual relationship.” She slowly leaned back, just out of reach of Stitches’ greedy hands. She slowly started untying the belt around the coat, swaying her hips provocatively, Stitches watching every movement with rapt attention. “Then again, I do enjoy keeping this on the down-low. It’s so hot keeping you all to myself, my secret lover.”
Stitches chuckled, her smile turning wry. Verosika kept assuming that her status as a famous pop star is what kept this from developing into a public, long-term relationship. But it was actually Stitches who needed this to be kept less-than-committing. Between her impending Magne debut, the timeline (in which she was ignoring the fact that she was ignoring it), and all the secrets she couldn’t share with Verosika, it simply felt wrong to make this more official. Casually hooking up and talking in between was enjoyable, fun, and free.
Verosika started unbuttoning the coat, each one being released with a breathy “ah!” that was driving Stitches wild. She whined as she pressed her thighs together tightly and squirmed, desperate for friction in her increasingly wetter panties. She was digging her claws into the wooden seat of the chair on either side in a desperate attempt not to pounce on the vision before her. Not yet.
“I love being your dirty little secret, babe,” she moaned, earning her a coy smile from the pink demon. “Casual works for me, as long as you are good with it.”
Verosika moaned and opened the coat, causing Stitches to gasp and nearly lose herself right then and there. Sure enough, Verosika was only wearing the coat, and fuck that was so fucking hot! Verosika smiled a downright filthy smile and leaned against the desk, posing like she was at a photo shoot as one side of the coat slid off her shoulder. “I’m beyond good with it, pretty thing,” Verosika confirmed.
Yep, that settled it. They were both consenting and communicating adults; Neither of them was in the dark on how the other viewed the situation. As long as they both agreed to it, who was to judge them?
“OH UNHOLY FUCK!”
____________________________________________________________________________
“Sweetheart, I know you are upset, but I really wish you would come home tonight.”
Stitches pinched the bridge between her eyes, and she leaned back against Verosika’s headboard, trying to remind herself that her Dad was an innocent third party in all of this. He didn’t need her blowing up on the phone at him. She took a deep breath. Two. Three.
“Dad, I know you’re worried, but I really am fine,” Stitches assured him. Again. “I just need some space to cool off. Charlie crossed several lines today.” She nodded in greeting as Verosika came into the room with a wine bottle and some glasses, dressed in lingerie and a not-really-covering-anything sheer robe. “It was bad enough coming to my place of work unannounced, when she knows there are reasons I need to keep my business in Imp City under the radar right now. But then she throws a fucking trantrum when she catches me with my lover?”
Stitches is still irate about that. Being confused or upset that she hadn’t told anyone about her relationship? Sure, normal, Charlie was her sister, she could understand why the older woman would feel hurt that she wasn’t told. But to go full-throttle into a lecture, imply that Verosika was somehow corrupting and using her, that things like sleeping with a Succubus was somehow tied into why she was so against redemption? No, that was not acceptable.
Lucifer sighed, and she could imagine him rubbing his forehead to soothe the headache that was forming. “You have every right to be upset, Duckling. I just want you safe, and I worry when you aren’t home.”
“I know, Dad,” she said as gently as she could. “But you have Verosika’s address, phone number, and Uncle Ozzie’s palace is literally just down the block.” That was one of the reasons why she had asked Verosika to take her to her residence in the Lust Ring. It was safer than in Pride, except maybe the Morningstar Palace or the Hazbin Hotel. She hadn’t met Ozzie yet, but he knew about her, at least a little. Bee had insisted on it after the drugging, as such things fell under the King of Lust's jurisdiction, too. “It is just for tonight. I will come home tomorrow after I get done working for Auntie Bel.”
“Are you sure- HEY!”
There was a light scuffle in the background, and she giggled, already knowing what was happening. Sure enough, she soon heard gagged shouting, and a smooth radio filter purred through the phone.
“Apologies, my dear!” Alastor drawled. “You know how your father gets when it’s past his bedtime.” More muffled, angry shouts in the background were followed by Alastor leaning away from the phone to taunt Lucifer verbally for a moment. “Enjoy your evening, and we can discuss your bonnie bedmate upon your return. I look forward to meeting the minx who is smitten with my Little Vixen.”
“You can’t eat her, Al,” Stitches deadpanned.
Alastor laughed. “Ah, shame! So hard to get good quality Hellborn meat.”
Stitches rolled her eyes. “Uh huh, sure.” She grinned at Verosika, who was tilting her head curiously. “I’ll talk to you later. Tell Dad I love him once you are done with your kinky tentacle play!”
Did Stitches want to think about what Dad and Alastor got up to behind closed doors? Absolutely not. Was the shriek of radio static that nearly blew out her ear drum as she hit the button to hang up totally worth it? Definitely!
“So, who is Al, and why does he want to eat me?” Verosika asked.
Stitches looked at Verosika and took an offered glass of wine, smiling gratefully. “You know the Radio Demon, right?” she asked, watching the other woman’s face for a reaction. Verosika nodded slowly. “Yeah, he’s my mentor and sorta parental figure. He was kidding. Mostly.”
Verosika snorted, gently pulling her closer so they were side by side, her arm over Stitches’ shoulders. “How do you get more and more interesting? This morning, I believed my life was the more complicated one. Now I find out that you are the Magne everyone’s been talking about. You come from a whole other reality, and you would fight Princess Charlotte to protect my honor?” She gave a teasing nuzzle to Stitches’ temple. “I think you have me beat, sweet thing.”
Stitches growled. “Charlie is my sister, unfortunately, at least that's how I feel right now. I have never wanted to strangle her as badly as I did when she called you all those demeaning things! Everyone thinks she’s some sort of sweet little cinnamon roll, but she’s a fucking bitch when she wants to be!”
Verosika made soft shushing noises and moved her hand to pet through Stitches hair, immediately calming her down. “I know, darling, I know.” They sat in silence for a while, sipping their wine and soaking in each other’s presence. Stitches relaxed into the embrace. “So,” Verosika hedged. “I suppose this means our relationship is going to remain temporary.”
“Oh.” Stitches tensed and downed the rest of the glass. “I guess this is a lot to take in. I can go, I-”
Veroika sighed and took her glass away, tossing it aside before she straddled Stitches’ lap and looked down at the startled Sinner with passionate eyes. “Always assuming the worst things when it comes to yourself and how others view you,” she reprimanded, cupping the doll’s face in her hands. “I meant that given our lives and titles, and the fact that I don’t want to give up my lifestyle, this-” she motioned between the two of them “-can only go so far. I am not meant to be a royal’s partner; I prefer to be more free than the restrictions that life can give. That being said, though…” She leaned in, hovering just shy of Stitches’ lips. “I am totally fine with continuing our secret affair for a while longer, until you decide to find someone who can love you and stand by you like you need.”
Stitches gasped out a pathetic whine. “You are truly okay with that? You hate Blitz for what he did-”
Verosika lunged forward and shut her up with a short but demanding kiss. She pulled away just as quickly and stared into Stitches’ eyes. “You are nothing like that bastard, you hear me?” she hissed. “You are honest about your feelings, communicate boundaries and expectations, and give as good as you get, in and out of the bedroom. You are passionate and sensitive and not afraid to be vulnerable.” Her face softened, and she leaned forward to press their foreheads together, both of them closing their eyes. “You are perfect,” she whispered. “I want you until you are ready to move on, and then I want to watch you to be happy and whole with someone worthy of you. So let me be your lover for a little longer, and show you just how perfect you are until you truly believe it.”
Stitches choked out a sob, tears running down her face. She didn’t answer, just pulled the warm body close, burying her face into that lovely chest, and let Verosika quietly comfort and praise her. She had never felt so adored and cared for, even from those who had been in much more official and long-term relationships with her. Her own spouse had never treated her to such kindness, especially as time went on, preferring the company of their many bedmates over the warmth of their marital bed. Yet, here was a woman, a Hellborn, giving her all the things she had ever craved, and it was only a temporary fling.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, she was waking up with the morning light, under the covers and tangled in Verosika’s limbs. She smiled and snuggled in closer, letting herself get just a few more minutes of sleep with her lovely sleeping Succubus.