Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Letting Stolas dance meant Blitz was letting him go dance.

Saying "he needs it" didn't include macking lips with the guy.

As if that wasn't to be expected.

That fucking bastard.

As much as he wanted to take Verosika's advice, a red mist had already covered his eyes and something primal had awakened deep inside.

With a clack of his heels, he rose from his seat, not worrying about the tablecloth that had fallen to the floor (it wasn't like anyone seemed to care that he was here, anyway). He took a quick step down to where the crowd of demon spawn of all sorts had congregated, his gaze fixated on only one of them.

With sharp movements of his elbows, he pushed everyone out of his way, as he had done earlier, ignoring the disgruntled cries of his brash movements.

Luckily, there was a bit of space around the prince and his current companion.

Blitz's hand gripped firmly on the incubus' shoulder. "Hey, buddy."

The incubus immediately turned to him, his questioning gaze meeting the imp's — to put it mildly, displeased look.

"This bird is already taken."

The bird-stealing incubus raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Didn't you just let him go with me?"

Blitz growled again, roughly pushing the incubus out of the way. "And now I'm taking him back." He looked up at Stolas in front of him.

“That's the way it should have been all along." He instantly climbed on top of him, looking deep into his eyes. Stolas barely had time to mutter "Blitz," before Blitz's warm, chapped lips had already locked with the owl's beak. 

That was enough to make Stolas' drunken mind shut down and succumb to what he desired all along. The sober part of his brain exulted in the realization that Blitz had come here to fight for him. A romantic dream come true, his romantic dream.

Stolas resisted for a moment, and then relaxed and let himself sink into the sweet kiss, opening his beak only to have Blitz's tongue into his mouth in the same second. That slippery, smooth and wet sensation was almost maddening. He wanted more, to do nothing but kiss, kiss, kiss.

Stolas' eyes closed in pleasure, his graceful hands slid up Blitz's thighs, his back and stopped just short of the back of his head. The imp let out a soft moan as he felt the slight pressure and his tail wrapped gently around the prince's waist. He felt like he needed to cling to Stolas with his whole body and never let go, at any cost.  Just hold on to him.

He didn't know if minutes, hours, or weeks had passed when they eventually ended the kiss, neither of them wanting to do so, and a string of saliva stretched between their mouths. The possessive rage subsided as he looked at the prince, breathing heavily and flushed. 

Just the way Blitz was used to seeing him.

The imp's palm rested gently on the owl demon's cheek.

"Blitz..." Stolas muttered, touching his beak. "Why?"

Blitz lowered his gaze. He'd already gone far enough before, hadn't he?

"Could we... Talk somewhere more private?" he asked. "I'm not doing this where there are literally hundreds of ears."

He saw Stolas hesitate and look around quickly, before stepping back into a dark corner. He opened a portal to his bedroom, and ushered Blitz through it before Stolas cautiously stepped through it, himself. They both sat down on the edge of the bed and sat in silence for a while, until Blitz eventually broke the silence:

"Look, I was serious back there. I really want to apologize.” As Blitz spoke up, Stolas responded by furrowing his eyebrows slightly again and looking away. Blitz pressed his lips into a thin line and then sighed deeply for reassurance. "I said a lot of unnecessary things, and I... It... Look, I didn't mean what I said, okay?"

Stolas said nothing while folding his arms, his fingers squeezing the soft fabric of his blouse.

Blitz went silent once more while running his hands over his head spikes. His mind feverishly trying to figure out what to say next so as not to ruin this chance he had.

"This is really hard to digest, all this shit that's going on. Shit... I admit that I fucked up, calling you… pompous, rich bastard," he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. "But I tried to... Fuck . It was so sudden! I didn't have time to orient myself, it all happened so fast..." he spat out haphazardly. The imp then fell silent and turned to Stolas, who was still looking anywhere but at Blitz.

"And what happened this morning," Blitz bit his lip, his anxiety growing. "I'm really fucking sorry, okay? What I said earlier about acting like an asshole, I meant it sincerely. I really have a lot to work on. I don't fucking want to be the cause of someone's broken heart or any other shit anymore. And I especially don't want to keep hurting you ."

He paused for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all this, Stolas. And for that reason, I couldn't fucking believe you could think more of me than some fe-," he caught Stolas tensing up put of the corner of his eye and immediately stopped. "Shit. See? Just like I fucking said. I'm terrible person, Stolas. I don't understand how you like me. Want me."

He hoofed it up onto the bed, kicking off his boots and pulling his knees to his side.

"But I'm willing to try. To try to change. And I'm going to try my best."

The imp slowly looked back to the owl prince and realized that Stolas was staring back. There was a small flame of hope in the red eyes.

"You said a lot of terrible things." Stolas finally spoke, his gaze moving away once more. "You kept ignoring my pleas to leave me alone. It really made me furious. I'm still not too happy even now with everything that happened. But..."

Blitz saw Stolas rubbing his fingers together as well.

"Do you know why I didn't just send you out through the portal like I did yesterday?" the owl glanced at the imp and Blitz have him a questioning look. "I knew deep down I didn't want to be deprived of your presence. I wanted to hear your voice, I wanted you there, but not like this. " His voice trailed off as the prince teared up again, further ruining already ruined makeup. "You think even when I'm angry, my heart doesn't tear itself apart? You think I don't want to listen to the voice in the back of my mind that tells me to forgive you again for everything you said? That I don't want to hold you close to me and never let you go again?"

Blitz felt a prick in his chest as Stolas says all this. Did he still need him? Even after everything he had done?

The imp has a hard time allowing the thought, but Stolas seemed to be firm on his point.

At that moment, something occurred to him.

"You know, Stolas…" he said as he turned towards the owl demon. Stolas looked back at him and he kicked his gaze on those scarlett eyes. "What you said back there at the party, before that guy asked you to dance…?" he paused, clenching his fangs to the point of pain before he blurted out: 

"It was what I wanted this to be."

Stolas, still not quite sober, just blinked at Blitz in confusion, struggling to remember what his lover is talking about to his delight, the imp reminded him.

"That stuff about, 'You're the only one I want. Who I want to hold and talk to."

Hearing that come from Blitz immediately sobered him up, so much so that the memory of what they said came rushing back. As soon as the incubus stranger had led him away, Stolas had dismissed any aggravating thoughts of Blitz and their relationship. Now, he remembered how Blitz had sat there, trying to apologize to the prince, overcoming himself and his life views. 

"Because the only one I wanted to say it to… was you, Stol’s."

Tears fell from his cheeks as the prince closed his eyes with his palms. What he'd dreamed of this morning, Blitz's sincere apology, had been ignored and rejected. And if he hadn't been so drunk, oh, stars.

"H-hey, Stolas," Blitz reached out, but again never dared to touch the owl. "Did I say something wrong again? Shit, I'm sorry, I–!” Before he could finish, he found himself being pulled into a warm embrace.

"Oh, Blitz," Stolas sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I'm such an idiot... I shouldn't have visited this place at all, if I'd known... I'm so ashamed that you saw me like this!"

Finding himself so close now, Blitz couldn't help but wrap his arms around him and hold tightly on the owl demon's back. He rubbed softly and kept quiet, doing his best to console Stolas.

"It was so rude of me to ignore what you were saying to me in the moment. I was angry, upset, hurt and I didn't want to see you, so I didn't really listen to what you were trying to say... Oh, if I'd known..." he nuzzled into Blitz's neck.

"I think we both fucked up today." Blitz replied quietly, almost without thinking, and Stolas released him from the hug, wiping away the tears. "I'm sorry again for acting like a total asshole this morning. Actually, for acting like that all the time. I guess I’m just used to being like that. I'll say this for the first and last time, but without this “Fuck Blitzø” party, I wouldn't have realized what I was doing."

"That's putting it mildly," the prince still muttered a little resentfully. "Why... Why didn't you tell me about Striker?"

Blitz sighed at the mention of that bastard. He'd break every bone in his body the first chance he got and make him dig his own grave like that.

"I guess I didn't take his intentions seriously" Blitz gaze sank to the floor in guilt, and he rubbed the back of his head. "Moxxie and I, but mostly I, kicked his ass. He ran off with his tail between his legs."

A soft smile graced Stolas' face. "Oh, Blitz. So you were protecting me after all."

In response, the said imp shrugged his shoulders and smirked, looking more relaxed and smug.

"Well, I told you I stopped him."

"Was it the Harvest Moon?"

"Yeah."

The prince sighed, ruffling the feathers on his head. "So I need to use magic for my own defense after all. Or hire guards. But neither can provide adequate protection from angelic weapons," he rubbed the bridge of his beak. He was starting to get a headache.

"We'll figure something out, okay?" Blitz said, and then his gaze darkened with anger. "But first, I'm going to rid Hell of that bastard once and for all. He even tried to kill Fizz the last time we met. Fizz!"

Stolas looked worriedly at Blitz and made a mental note to find out more about this story later. "Oh dear, was he alright?"

"Yeah, more than that. The bastard is overconfident for deciding to contact me and threaten my family and friends. He has it coming to him." the imp said without going into detail. Stolas nodded as silence filled the room again.

"Don't keep things like that from me again, okay?" the prince finally asked, gathering his thoughts, which weren't quite in order due to the alcohol he'd drunk earlier. "I would be eternally grateful for your honesty."

"Yeah," Blitz said quietly, looking somewhere off to the side. "So...?"

Stolas looked questioningly at the imp. "So?"

Blitz grinned at this situation and shook his head. "Are we okay here?" he alternately pointed his hand at himself and Stolas with a shy smile. The owl demon didn't answer right away and it made him anxious again.

"Everything that's happened... I'm a bit of a mess right now, and there are a lot of things I'd like to think about, but my brain is still quite drunk… and I'm starting to get a headache." he explained as he rubbed the bridge of his beak again and closed his eyes. "But I can say that I'm not mad at you anymore, Blitz. I was actually more offended, and when I had to call you a motherfu..." he swallowed the word he hadn't finished abruptly, covering his beak with both palms, but Blitz rolled his eyes at that.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I guess I heard it all from start to finish, birdie."

Terror reflected in Stolas' eyes. "You did?"

"Mhm."

Stolas let out a groan of disappointment. "Ugh, of course you heard that..."

"Hey," Blitz put his hand on Stolas' forearm. "It's all right. I've earned it. Don't think about it now."

The prince exhaled, smiling gratefully at Blitz for a second. "What I was trying to say was that doing that was painful and unpleasant. I would have called you a softer word than that, but I thought it would make me feel better. And when I did that, when I saw the cake with you and other... things, I realized that I didn't have any strong feelings, like hate, for you in me. Resentment? Yeah. Anger? Maybe a little bit. But other than that, it was a pretty stupid event."

Blitz stared quietly at Stolas as he took a pause.

"I need time, Blitz. I hope you'll understand. It's a little hard for me to think right now, and I feel like I'll be worse by morning. But, if you want, we could maybe discuss it later in the week. If you want to, I mean. No pressure."

"I mean, why not tomorrow?" at those words, Stolas stared at Blitz in surprise.

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yep," Blitz replied, shrugging his shoulder, emphasizing 'p'. "Since I laid my whole soul out for you anyway, I have nothing more to lose. So I can come over, say, tomorrow after work and we'll pick up where we left off."

Stolas blinked a couple times, but quickly regained his speech. "Oh, y-yes, of course! I'd love to."

Blitz exhaled in relief and got off the bed with a clatter of hooves. "Uh, well, I'll see you tomorrow," he pulled his hoof boots on, but was in no hurry to leave. "You gonna be okay here on your own? Hangover is a bitch, I guess you already know that."

"Yeah, sure, but thanks for asking," the owl demon couldn't suppress a wide smile. "I'll manage. Good night, Blitz."

"Sure," and he took a quick step toward the balcony, jumping on the railing before stopping and looking over his shoulder. "Good night, Stol’s."

Chapter Text

It seemed like a pleasant dream as Blitz approached Stolas' palace in the evening after work. It had been a nice day, he had even managed to stop by the store to buy a bottle of wine that was more expensive than what he would usually buy and a small box of chocolates. Perhaps a little too sweet for him, but Blitz was sure Stolas would appreciate the gesture. 

He was about to climb onto the balcony, as was his habit, but at the last moment he decided that this time he would use the front door. He climbed the steps and looked around for a doorbell or something. And he found one. Mentally cursing the Goetia for their enormous stature, Blitz struggled to reach the button and then waited. To his delight, very soon the door was opened by one of Stolas' many servants. 

"Hey," he spoke before the servant did. The lean imp looked Blitz over from head to toe, then asked: 

"Did the prince make an appointment for you?" 

Blitz barely suppressed a growl, but rolled his eyes. "Well, let's start with the fact that I set an appointment for him." 

The servant gave Blitz another skeptical look and the latter let out an annoyed groan. 

"Fuck, are your eyes even in place?" he shook the bottle of wine in his hand. "Wine, sweets, of course he's expecting me!" 

The imp in front of Blitz sighed and was about to reply, but a third voice intervened in time, "Blitz, you came! Harold, please let him in." 

Harold muttered something, but stepped aside, opening the door wider in front of Blitz, and the latter threw him a smug smirk as he walked past. 

And afterward his gaze, of course, stopped on Stolas. His feathers looked like he'd spent at least a few hours grooming them the day before. He was still wearing the same robe as yesterday morning and it brought back a wave of unpleasant memories, but Blitz hoped they could both change that today. 

"Hello," Stolas smiled timidly at Blitz. 

"H-hey," Blitz tried to smile back and let out a timid chuckle. "I brought something... Yeah, sorry if it's not luxurious and expensive enough for you." 

Stolas smiled wider, his eyes sparkling and Blitz's heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight of it. It was nice to see that smile again after things had almost split. 

"Oh no, Blitz, this is a wonderful surprise, thank you very much," Stolas put his palm to his chest. "It's really a pleasure. Would you like to go through to the living room?" 

Blitz nodded momentarily and followed Stolas. It didn't seem like he'd ever been in there before. When they entered, the living room was smaller than he expected. There was a couch on the right side, and a small television on the wall opposite. A little farther away was a rather large closet, apparently Stolas's closet. While Blitz looked around, the prince arranged a place for them to sit down. 

"So," Stolas began to speak as they both sat on opposite sides of the couch in front of a small coffee table. Blitz put the wine and candy aside, focusing all of his attention on the owl in front of him. "Yesterday was... rough, to say the least, and I think we both agree on that." 

"Yeah, I guess it was," Blitz shrugged, looking somewhere off to the side. 

Stolas sighed before continuing to speak. "First of all, I want to apologize to you as well. For a lot of things. Starting with that stupid song and ending with the fact that I let your apology pass my ears. I'm not gonna lie, I vaguely remember your words, but I remember the gist of them. And I'm glad I heard it, but you deserve to hear mine too," the prince stepped closer to Blitz and gently took his hand. "I'm sorry, Blitz. Please forgive me. A lot has happened this year, and your fault is in no way greater than mine." 

Blitz listened to the prince's words mesmerized, not even removing his hand from his touch. Two months of separation had taken its toll. 

"I really don't know much about true love and its manifestations. And I've convinced myself that everything I do will be enough to tell you of my love for you," Stolas paused, himself not believing he was voicing it, saying the L-word to Blitz. Then he shook his head. "That was a stupid thing to say. I'm sorry I blamed you like that. It wasn't your fault for not guessing how I felt, you could never have guessed. That day was hard for me, but that's no excuse." 

Blitz looked away again at the mention of it. They were going to have a long conversation on the subject. 

"You are very dear to me. You've opened my eyes to many things. I really want you to stay with me, if only as a..." he paused, then timidly finished, "...friend."

Stolas sent Blitz a hopeful look, waiting for a response. Blitz looked at Stolas, then at their hands, and grinned good-naturedly. "Yeah, I guess it might be a good start." 

The prince exhaled with a smile in response. "I'm glad to hear that," but then it quickly faded, replaced by a guilty look, "Though I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for all of this. Our deal and, you know, everything else." 

He twitched slightly when Blitz's tail patted his thigh and shifted his gaze to the imp. 

"Hey, come on. It doesn't matter. I deserve some of it anyway," Blitz grinned again, but it came out more fake than he would have liked, and Stolas didn't smile back. 

"No, you didn't," he shook his head. 

"Yes, I did!" Blitz snorts. "I was being an asshole to you!" 

"Was I any better?!" exclaimed the prince in response, and that silenced both of them. After a moment of silence, Stolas sighed and continued, removing his hand: "Actually... We both didn't do the best thing, so how about we stop saying 'I deserved it' to everything? Because obviously, as much as we'd like to think it excuses either of us, it doesn't." 

Blitz shrugged and replied, "Yeah. Okay. I suppose that's fair enough. We've both apologized to each other, and I hope neither of us feel that anything was left unsaid," he looked at the prince for an answer and Stolas nodded. "So it's time to leave it at that and move on?" 

The Goetia smiled again and Blitz thought the room brightened. "Yes. Let's not talk about the past," but then his face took on a slightly depressed expression again. "I'm sorry I told you this morning about Striker. You're not like him, and I don't think you are at all. I just..." he shook his head. 

"I don't know what made me think it would be appropriate after what I said the night before. I remember it was about needing to vaccinate Loona. And the fact that you decided to go there with her to be a supportive dad is very valuable and right," Stolas smiled again, this time wider, looking into Blitz's eyes. "I respect that, as a father." 

Blitz couldn't suppress a smile. "If it weren't for that, I'd have gotten there, that fucking cowboy wouldn't have had time to touch a feather of yours. But I know what a killer duo M&M can be, so I trusted them to save you."

"Oh, right... I never got around to thanking your friends, and I really want to do it," the prince worriedly clasped his hands to his fluffy chest. "Is there any way I could stop by your office sometime to do that?" 

The imp waved his hand. "Go ahead. You can bring donuts and coffee, but Mox has a very long list of coffee requirements," Blitz chuckled, remembering their little conversation with the agents. 

"Alright, you have to tell me every single thing," Stolas laughs back and the atmosphere in the room becomes more relaxed. "By the way, can you still tell me about that incident with Fizzarolli?" 

Blitz's face stretched as he realized he actually had stories to tell. After all, they really hadn't talked for a long time. "Oh, yeah, sure. But, you know, it's better if I give you the backstory, because oh , it's worth your time." 

Stolas made himself comfortable on the couch and poured himself a glass of wine, ready to listen to Blitz's stories again. It was as if the last two months hadn't existed at all. 

"So, one morning I was sitting and doing my usual fucking important stuff," Blitz began his story, gesturing." And then I got a call from some dude saying he had some important business and he wanted us to come over to his house! Do you fucking get it? I mean, can someone really be brazen enough that we have to come to our client's house and not the other way around? You're the one who needs this fucking murder, asshole." 

The Goetia chuckled quietly, because Blitz was really immersed in the story. 

"Anyway, no sooner had this dude finished talking to me — oh wait, yeah, also during that Millie broke into the office and trashed our meeting room for no known reason and ruined my collection!" the imp splashed his hands. "That was my research !" 

"You did the research?" Stolas asked with a laugh. 

"Yeah, pretty damn important research," the imp's eyes raced, but he decided to drop the subject. "So this client called us a fucking helicopter!" 

"Oh," the demon let out a whoop. "It must have been a rich client? That would explain why he didn't want to come himself." 

"Oh, bitch, trust me, you'll be even more surprised next. It was the bastards who broke down our wall, and I'll never understand why we need to break down fucking walls. Like, use the door! Because I'm not fucking rich enough to fix them every few months, it's fucking expensive."

The Prince of Goetia let out a sad coo in response, but did not comment.

"So, this helicopter took us to Greed and it turns out our client is the head of the fucking mafia!" 

With each sentence, Stolas' gaze seemed more and more interested. 

"And you won't believe it, Moxxie happens to be his son ! Moxxie is the son of a goddamn mafia boss! Would you even believe that?" 

"No, I don't think so," Stolas chuckled slightly and shook his head. 

"So did I! We walked into the house and that idiot Chaz came," Blitz continues to gesticulate. "He happens to be an ex of both Moxxie and Millie, and he started mashing up something about their romantic history with Moxxie, until one day Chaz dumped him during a bank robbery and Moxxie ended up in my jail cell." 

"You never mentioned being in jail before," Stolas grumbled slightly, propping his cheek up with his hand and Blitz waved at him. 

"Pfft! Like it's such an important part of my biography. I got out of there fast enough so it doesn't even count. We had dinner and we were all told to go to our rooms for the night, and then the dicks just showed up there!" 

"Dicks?" Stolas interjected in surprise. 

" Dicks !" replied the imp enthusiastically, giggling. "Fucking dicks on the walls! Oh, Satan, you should see the madness! It's hilarious!" 

"Why would anyone even want to do something like this?" Stolas asks himself in bewilderment. 

"I don't know," Blitz wiped tears from his eyes. "But then I heard Chaz trying to seduce Moxxie into fucking him. That asshole made the room into some kind of dance floor, no less! Mox seemed to kick him out, and then a couple minutes later the fish came to my room. And I made a decision I regretted very quickly." 

The prince raised an eyebrow. "What's the decision??" 

Blitz let out a groan, rubbing the flesh between his eyebrows. "You're not going to take offense or be mad at me deep down, are you?" 

Stolas tilted his head. "No, no, Blitz! Never, I promise."

"Yeah, well, he fucked me," imp grumbled at the memory. "Actually, that was part of my plan because he seemed suspicious to me from the first few minutes we met. He gave Millie a fit of rage and Mox and I had to hold her down so she didn't open his belly right there. For someone who has two dicks, this asshole knows absolutely nothing about sex. He kept pounding me and talking shit along the lines of 'that's how bitches take my cock', even though it's obvious that with his lust for fucking someone, he hasn't been fucked in years ." 

Stolas sighed sadly, and then moved over to Blitz and hugged him, and the imp didn't resist, just snuggled tighter against the bird and let out a short purr. "I hope you don't mind? I'm so sorry, Blitz," the demon began stroking his back and horns. "Are you okay now?" 

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I'm fine." 

"So, what happened next?" 

"Oh, yeah. Then he passed out and I got out of bed to try to figure out what the problem was with this guy. He was bragging about how rich he was, but it turns out he didn't have a cent in his pocket and was going to join Crimson's family by marrying Moxxie." 

"Marrying?" interjected Stolas. "But Moxxie's already married, isn't he?" 

" Of course he's married," Blitz spat out. "But apparently his fucking dad didn't care much about that. And I guess I must not have acted very carefully, because double-dick asshole came up behind me, injected me with some kind of sleeping pill, and stuffed me in the trunk of his car." 

The prince squeezed the imp in his arms tighter. "Oh, Blitz... My poor thing." 

Blitz hoped Stolas didn't see him smile. "Well, Mills found me a few hours later, and then we trashed that wedding. She was a fucking beast that morning!" he said proudly. 

"She took Moxxie and we hijacked their helicopter. Shit, it must have been a bad fate for that double-dick when Crim realized he wasn't rich." 

Stolas laughs softly as he continues to stroke Blitz's back. "Oh, yeah, the mafia is not to be trifled with. Though it's odd that someone so serious wouldn't even bother to verify the information, especially when it involves money. It was quite fascinating and exciting. But, if I understand correctly, that's not the end of the story, is it?"

"Well, not really, I guess. A couple months later I was in Greed again and went in for coffee, which was bloody disgusting! Tasted almost like piss, to be exact," and the prince chuckled again. "I didn't have much time to realize it when Fizz almost crashed into me with a bunch of those puppies. I think we exchanged a few barbs, and here we are, fighting in the middle of the street, surrounded by a mob of some randoms." 

"I see," the prince said thoughtfully, sipping his wine. 

"And that asshole, Striker, was right there for some fuckin' reason. He lassoed us both and there was Crim again," but Stolas interrupted him: 

"Wait, I think I know what you mean. That day some imp contacted Asmodeus and asked for a ransom..." he ahhed, covering his beak with his palm, his gaze darting to the imp in his hands. "Oh, Blitz... You were there too?" 

Blitz's eyes widened. "Y-you knew?" 

Stolas sighed, resuming his stroking. "I met with Asmodeus that day to talk about your crystal," and the prince reached out one hand to swipe at said crystal on Blitz's glove. "Oh, if I had known you were there too, Blitz... I would have surely come to you. I would have torn apart anyone who tried to harm you." 

The imp blushed again. "W-well, ahem... Yeah. Thanks, I guess." 

The owl demon chuckled. "I'm sorry about that, sweetie. Go on." 

And Blitz continued. "I'm not sure what they were going to do with us, but they put us in a huge cage in some hangar and left the snake bastard to watch us. But I got us out of there without much trouble. Fizz and I..." he was quiet for a couple seconds. "We had time to talk. At first we kept biting, but at some point Fizz finally paid attention to the elephant in the room. You know, it's funny, but all those fifteen years of our animosity... It's probably not the fault of either of us." 

He heard a coo beside him. 

"I'll tell you later. Right now I don't think I'm ready," he shrugged again. "After that, the atmosphere between us became mostly friendly. He proved himself to be a great performer again. Distracted that whole Crim gang while I was busy organizing our escape." 

"Hmm, I have to admit, Blitz, he has his charm," Stolas smiles.

"Yeah, he definitely has one," the imp grinned slightly. "I blew the place up and we got out, but somehow Striker got out of there and caught up with us," Stolas hooted excitedly again. "He grabbed Fizz and I swear by Satan, the guy had clearly reached the extreme point. He looked like he was about to lose his mind. And, you know, it's an understatement to say that I was terrified at that moment. I had to think fast, but as luck would have it, there was a gas can, so I just shot it. And it worked, but Fizz..." 

Blitz suppressed the unpleasant memory. "He needed me to give him a helping hand again."

He fell silent and Stolas timidly asked after a few seconds, "And you did?" 

" Of course I did," the imp replied seriously. "I mean, fuck , we just made up after fifteen years. How could I have left him there to die? I'd never forgive myself for that. We got out of there in the end, he even gave me a hug. We've been in good touch ever since. He was even the one who helped me pick up all the shit I brought last night." 

"Really?" grinned Stolas. "How nice of him."

"It would be foolish not to go to him," Blitz shrugged.

"Yes, indeed." 

"Not long after that, by the way, I went with him as a bodyguard to that stupid annual Mammon contest. I wasn't the initiator, Oz was the one who asked me." 

"Oh yeah, I remember the demons screamed from everywhere about Asmodeus telling his feelings for Fizzarolli right there. Mammon's a real bastard, isn't he?" 

"Fuck him," Blitz rolled his eyes. "But at least Fizz doesn't have anything to do with him anymore. I hope so." 

"Fizzarolli would really be better off staying with Asmodeus. Ozzie seems to be crazy about him."

"Yeah, well, they're too sentimental." 

"And I know someone who is just as crazy about one imp," Stolas ran a claw along Blitz's chin with a sly grin and the latter smirked, peering into the bird's eyes, sticking out his tongue in a playful manner. 

"Oh, yeah? I have no idea who the fuck that is."

The prince, giggling, touches Blitz's nose with his beak, and imp can't deny himself to reciprocate the gesture, pressing first his nose and then his lips against Stolas's beak, who, to his delight, let out a surprised squeak but kissed back eagerly. This kiss was not like the others. Gentle, almost innocent. 

But they parted after only a few seconds. Blitz spoke first: "Uh, Stolas..." the bird cooed questioningly in response. "Thanks. You know, for the crystal, and for forgiving me. And I'm still sorry I yelled at you and made you cry. That was not a nice way to say “thank you”. After all, you let me use your fancy book for a year and then you found a perfect replacement. Any other demon would have killed me immediately." 

Stolas rubbed his beak against the imp's horn. "You're welcome, Blitz. I would do much, much more for you. I'd do anything you asked," and his warm palm lay on the back of Blitz's neck, stroking. 

Blitz grinned in the owl's embrace. "Okay, you big bird. How about we watch something? And maybe cuddle?" 

Stolas smiles widely, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "Of course, Blitz. I'm all for it."