Josh took Katie by the hand and led her away with surprising swiftness for the pudgy otter he was. He hurried her right past the main streets, down some alleyways, and away from the Cannibal Town.

Katie stumbled a few times while keeping up with him, blinking a little with each near fall. "Where the hell are we going?"

Josh brought her around in a quiet little nook. "We should talk. I've been, uh, putting this off, and it's not fair." He put a hand on her shoulder, stroking at her neck with the thumb. "You've been amazing, helping me every step of the way, and I want you to know it matters to me."

She squeezed his paw in her hands with a growing blush. "Aw jeeze, you go from ice cube to this?" She looked him over a few times. "You really are trying to get on my good side now, aren't you? I knew it'd happen sometime."

He lifted up her head by the chin, letting his gaze meet hers. "I care. You're an amazing person. Sure, a bit prickly." He smiled awkwardly. "A bit of a put off at first, but I'm learning to appreciate it. No more cold shoulders from me. Promise."

She tilted her head to one side. "You are just buttering me up."

"I am. I do have a request. I think we can do better than taking souls door-to-door." Josh cleared his throat. "I'm going to need a bodyguard. Someone tough, who won't let me chicken out. I want you."

Katie stepped back, patting herself on the chest. "Asshole, I'm already doing that." She rolled her eyes. "But you're pretty good at guarding your own body. You want someone calling you out on your own shit though? I'm all over that." She slapped his rear with a wink.

Josh winced at that, but was still smiling. "You're hired. Now, back to the other topic. Katie, what do you want from me?"

Katie bounced a little in place with a grin. "Cute. Smart. Way stronger than you look. Just don't get annoying, or you won't have to worry about me wanting your dick."

"Nice, but doesn't answer the question." He gently tapped Katie on the end of her nose. "Really, what do you want? If we had the relationship you wanted, right now, what would we be doing?"

Katie ran her fingers down the front of Joshua's shirt, curling her lip a little. "Let's see. We'd be enjoying ourselves. Hell's boring, especially if you keep to yourself." She curled her tail around his leg. "We'd be kicking ass in public and smooching on the downtime. We'd be a hell of a pair. You. Me." She pointed to each of them with a snicker. "Everyone else can fuck off."

"So, basically, dating, plus whatever you meant by enjoying ourselves? Which means, you probably mean sex."

She giggled gently as she buried herself into him. "Fine. Dating, as you say. But the smooches? Those are gonna lead places. Lots of places." Her hands ran down Joshua's back. "Would that be so awful?"

"No." Josh held her back at a distance, forcing a bit of distance between them. "It's not awful. You're nice, in your own way." He hesitated a moment, thick tail swaying behind him. "I'm going to kiss you."

Katie gaped. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." He pulled her in, bringing their lips together with a gentle smooch.

They lingered together like that a few moments, Katie holding onto Joshua's face as they did. It wasn't the hotly passionate exchange that Katie had in mind, but the electric charge of sincere passion was a nice touch she leaned into, melting against her dopey lover.

Her eyes fluttered open when they separated. Her grip lingered on his shoulders as he stepped back. A goofy grin spread across her cheeks, tail wagging behind her. "This... isn't a new joke, is it?"

"I don't lie to friends." He rubbed behind his head. "Unless we're playing cards. Don't trust an otter with cards, just a bad idea." He laughed as he hopped back. "But, okay. You're my girlfriend. I'm you're boyfriend. It's official."

Katie couldn't contain her excitement, bouncing a few times before throwing her arms around Joshua. "Damn, you actually did it! Took you forever."

He hugged back carefully. "I'm sorry. I'm not actually all that used to ladies actually making the first move like that." He nestled with her, hugging her close. "It's nice, but I had to figure things out, and this is a busy time. Sorry it took me a moment."

"That's fine." She waved off the concern. "You're my boyfriend, now that's all that matters. Well, you are going to have to earn that title, mister."

"Oh, I will," he assured her. He looped an arm around her midsection and led her back towards the light of the street. "Let's finish out our recruiting for the day, then we'll get something nice to eat, wherever you want."

"Hell yeah, he's buying me food!" She pumped her fists into the air excitedly.

"Well, I'd have to find out where money even comes from around here."

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"You are such an easy mark," she teased with a flick of his nose. "You're an overlord, remember? Give them a look and the food's coming. Stop acting like you're not walking around with more souls than most fuckers around here are ever gonna have."

"Right, but those souls are for helping keep the purge from hurting anyone. I shouldn't be using them on myself. It wouldn't be right."

Katie groaned, folding her arms. "You can do both at the same time." She slapped his back as they went along. "Even overlords gotta eat, damn it."

"But..." His voice trailed off as his whiskers sank. "Is it really okay to be using souls selfishly?"

She lifted a finger. "One, the only people around here using souls are overlords. Two, you're not trading the damn things for anything, you're just enjoying the privileges that come with power. That's why these things exist." She wiggled her fingers. "If you can grab the world by the balls, you can tell it how things are gonna go."

"I guess." He didn't sound entirely convinced, but he focused on the task at hand. Together, they shouted and preached, gathering the lost and scared to their cause. Finding scared people wasn't too hard with the doomsday clock high above, ticking down to when things would get worse. Only the truly violent or stupid weren't worried. Everyone else, however, saw doom approaching. All he had to do was convince them to offer their soul as a backup plan.

To that end, it seemed like people were drawn to Joshua. Having a girlfriend came with another perk. Those that tried to grab for Joshua in that way found they had to get through a very irritated Katie, who turned away anyone that so much as glanced at him longingly.

Some people got feisty about the soul trade, of course. More than once, Joshua ended up taking a swing at somebody who didn't want to play fair with him. With Katie to protect his flank, he felt comfortable facing off against anyone that challenged him for daring to stand up for himself.

For once, it didn't matter that he was outnumbered. The more souls he had, the more his spiritual power seemed to grow. He knocked out people who attacked him with single hits, sometimes sending them flying back from the force. Every soul he gathered brought with it more power. He started to think that maybe he could actually take on those angels, and keep the city safe from them.

"You're looking smug." Katie leaned against Joshua. "Power going to your head?"

Joshua was puffing out his chest. He relaxed after a moment. "Um, I didn't realize I was doing that." He clasped his paws together, then turned to face her properly. "It's just, you know, I feel like maybe I have a chance. And if I have a chance, so do the rest of the people in the city. So, pardon my enthusiasm."

Katie beamed, sliding into position beside him. "How many do we have?"

"I stopped keeping specific track." Joshua rubbed behind his head. "Is it important to know the specific number?"

"Not really," she assured him. "Now that we got that out of the way. You, me, dinner. My choice. You promised." She gestured about. "Lots to choose from.

He looked up and down the street, just to turn to Katie. "Why am I looking? Your pick, so you lead the way."

***

When the duo finally came back to the hideout, Joshua couldn't keep the grin off his face.

His friends paused the card game they were in the middle of, setting down cards on the table.

Winny adjusted her glasses with a growing smile. "Finally. About time you admitted to Katie she was your girlfriend. What happened?" She slid to the edge of her chair, clearly excited.

Hank chuckled softly, nodding from his place. "Looks like someone had a fun time. That took longer than usual."

"You should see it in Cannibal Town." Joshua plopped himself down at the table. "I met an overlord. You know what those are? I met one! She was actually kinda nice. But she told me more about it. That's me. An overlord."

Winny and Hank stared at Joshua, sharing a look before she gestured around the room. "Yeah, we know. The whole 'collecting souls' thing is a dead giveaway. So is that fire around your hands."

"I thought that was just spiritual power?"

Hank gave him a flat look. "Rise, ye Satan." He pointed to the flaming hand. "You are literally ready to punch people, with souls. Badass, but also overlord. Also, cut that out."

Joshua blushed brightly, rubbing at his ears with an awkward laugh. He concentrated on putting the flame down. It resisted his command, clearly ready to fight. He insisted. "Okay, so Rosie already filled me in. I learned a lot about overlording, and, um, yeah. She's my girlfriend." He reached out to gently draw the giggling Katie closer. "Officially. For now."

"For now?" Katie's smile faded as she glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hank smirked, placing the next card in their game. "It means he's scared as shit it'll all go wrong."

"He does seem the type. So sensitive. Probably has trouble handling relationships." Winny peeked over at Josh with a knowing grin. "Maybe he's worried he might mess it up."

Hank leaned back with a smile. "Sounds about right."

Josh squirmed in place. "I was feeling like a badass, then I came home to friends, who can remind me just how weak I can feel." He huffed softly. "True friends." They flashed thumbs ups at him. "Figures. Katie, sorry if that wasn't the reaction you hoped for. It's just." He shrugged helplessly. "I'm worried something will happen to you, especially with the angels coming." He gestured out. "I don't want to lose you." He offered a big hug to her. "You're special to me. Not just my bodyguard."

Katie perked up with a giggle, pushing him lightly. "You think I'll die that easily?" She kissed lightly at either of his cheeks. "Angels can fuck right off. I got myself a boyfriend, and I won't let them take him away."

"We're gonna kick ass." Joshua pulled Katie into another kiss.

Katie happily leaned into him. She held the kiss as long as possible, ignoring everything around them.

"Ew." Winny stuck her tongue out with a laugh. "Imps are kinda strange."

Hank punched her shoulder. "We're all kinda strange down here!" He watched Joshua lean away from her, rubbing at his cheek bashfully. "Do they really expect us to get used to that?"

"Nope." Winny waved him off. "Love birds. Makes me jealous."