Chapter Text
Verostika’s had been a rebirth for Stolas. Dancing with a handsome man, drinking and partying away like he was still young - it was thrilling! Enticing! Intoxicating!
Still, the resulting hangover and Blitzo related angst dragged him back to hell with the crash the next morning. Strangely pleased he had declined the offer of quick sex from his new…friend?… Stolas spent the morning showering, preening and getting his eyes to stop facing in different directions. He compulsively checked his phone every few minutes, lying to himself that he was just catch up on his socials instead of waiting for a text from Blitzo.
Blitzo, who had crashed his own haters party to talk to him…
Stolas wondered if Blitzo had seen him making out with…with…Greg? Steve? Oh- what was it?
“Your highness?”
Stolas let out a startled squawk, almost dropping his cup of tea. Blinking away his shock, he started down at the imp butler, who stared back impassively.
“You have a guest…a Mr Blitzo, in the parlour,” he drawled, looking unimpressed and uninterested.
Stolas felt his heart clench, his stomach roll and his feathers puff.
“Blitzo? Here? But, how…why…ho-“
”He knocked the door your Highness…” Pringles( was that his name?) drawled. “Shall I evict him Sir?”
“No!” Stolas all but shouted. “No, no…Thank you, I shall be with him in a moment. We won’t need your services.”
With a vaguely respectful nod, the short imp sauntered from the room, leaving Stolas to his panic attack.
Part of him was angry that once again, Blitzo was bursting into his life and his bruised and aching heart…another part was excited to see him again, thrilled that Blitzo seemed unable to stay away.
Taking deep breaths, and quickly made himself presentable, giving himself a small pep talk before entering the large parlour.
Blitzo looked so small…
Stolas had expected him sprawled on the furniture, or climbing up high to look at the ornaments. Instead, Blitzo was standing still in the middle of the room, looking tired. As much as Stolas wanted to hug him, greet him warmly and ask what was wrong, the royal kept his gaze cool and his movements slow.
“Hey…Stolas…Knocked like a normal person this time!” Blitzo greeted, a sheepish smile on his face.
Why did he have to be so charming…
”What do you want Blitzo?” Stolas asked, nose in the air to hide his eyes. He decided against sitting, wanting to match Blitzo and stand tall.
“I just…I just thought…Look, I get it. I do. I’m going to get out of your feathers I promise but, last night…I figured I owed you…I don’t know…’closure’ or some shit,” Blitzo mumbled, face burning and tongue heavy.
The guilt of the tears, sobs and homicidal rage last night had cut him deep…he didn’t want to do that anymore - didn’t want to leave anyone like that…least of all Stolas.
“Closure? You closed things perfectly well when I opened my heart to you and you stomped all over it!” Stolas snapped, eyes flaring. “If anyone can’t seem to walk away from this, it’s you!”
“I didn’t close shit - you just ‘ported me away like I was a bad smell,” Blitzo shot back, chin in the air and finger pointing. “Then you jumped all over the ‘hate Blitzo’ bandwagon even though I didn’t do a fucking thing to you!”
“”Are you really claiming you didn’t do anything wrong? Well, guess it was all me then,” Stolas said, smiling sharply and giving a condescending smile. “I guess I was unreasonable in gifting you the crystal for your business and in baring my feelings for you, only for you to mock them and me!”
“A night of passionate fornication,” Blitzo said, voice flat and staring into Stolas’s eyes. “Those were your words Stolas. Your offer back when this shit show got started. That’s…that’s what we were. And…yeah, you’re…I mean…It wasnt exactly hard - well I mean my dick got real hard - you’re hot as fuck. I mean, shit…The rom-com you’re dreaming of? Pretty sure it shouldn’t start with transactional fucking.”
Stolas gulped around a pain in his throat, the words haunting him. The reminder that to Blitzo, that’s all this was…
“I tried!” He cut in, anger smoothing guilt. “Yes it wasn’t ideal, but I always…you were my first friend Blitzo! I cared for you ever since we were children! I tried inviting you places, and asking you to stay after for cuddles. When I needed help with the Striker fellow- you were the one I called for help! I tried my hardest to get you to just…look my way! To see me - as me! Not as a, a Prince or a Goethia or just an…an obligation. ”
Blitzo swallowed hard, tears pressing at his eyes but he grinned them away.
“See you? You don’t see me Stolas! You have this fantasy and I … I’m not your hero. I’m just an imp. A fucked up, selfish, angry imp. I’m not a character in your love story! I didn’t… you know what fuck you!” Blitzo spat out, his words failing him as feelings choked him. Taking an angry breath, he forced himself to look up, hands clenched at his sides. “And fuck you twice! - when Striker took you I was with my daughter! I don’t care who you are - noone comes before her - not even…not even you.”
Stolas blinked, the sudden change in Blitzo’s mood spiking a fear he hated still having. Blitzo was leaving.
“You know,” Blitzo declared, finger pointing into Stolas’s face. “I put so much effort in getting that sex shit for you that night - all the stuff you like! I tried so fucking hard to make you happy the only way I could! It’s not my fault you flipped the script without warning.”
”Without warning!?” Stolas burst out, feathers fluffing in frustration and anger. As much as he wanted to stop the argument, stop poking the hurt, he was more afraid of letting Blitzo walk away. “I practically shouted it! I called you, I text you, I asked you out, I went out with you on what I thought was a date to Ozzies - I saved you from those little agent people! Do you really think I would go to all that effort just for- just for a fuck buddy!?”
”I, DON’T, KNOW, STOLAS!” Blitzo screamed, frustration boiling over into anger. “I never knew what you were doing! And guess what fuck-face - I was too scared to ask!”
Stolas blinked, holding himself as Blitzo started to pace around, teeth grinding and tail whipping as he worked himself up into a frenzy.
”Nothing ever made any fucking sense with you! ‘Oh Blitzy, I need a body guard at Looloo land but I’ll save you from the humans my ‘impish little play thing’. And now I need saving from Striker, who just as weak an imp as you!” Blitzo spat out, yellow eyes wide and frantic. ‘I control legions of Hell, but I need you specifically to save my feathered ass’”. Make it make sense Stolas! But you would pout or whine or dangle the fucking book and the deal over me and I just had to fucking go along with it! Because that was my job!”
Blitzo screamed the last words, and Stolas felt his heart break once more. Blitzo seemed to break too, his words echoing back to him and making him flinch.
“You…you hired me, Stolas. ‘Favours for favours’. The book for the fuck. You set the date, the time…I…I didn’t mind…good fucking deal if you ask me. You could have killed my red ass and no one would have objected or even cared.” Blitzo forced himself to look at the tall royal, feeling his eyes threatening tears. “It was my job to give you what you wanted. And I…I was fine with that. I was good at it! We were working, so fucking well! Why did you have to change it?”
Stolas couldn’t breathe. He tried but he just could not make his lungs expand.
It was all true….He was…he had….Oh, by all the fires of Hell what had he done?
”Sto- Stolas?”
Blinking all four eyes wide, Stolas gulped in a shock of air that felt like swallowing razors. In a pitch of panic, he raised his arm, calling for the cloying touch of the universe -
and was promptly tackled to the ground.
“Don’t you fucking DARE poof me away again you prick! You OWE me this!” Blitzo raged, eyes alarmingly wet as he looked down on the tall prince. “This is what I fucking mean! The moment I stop being just exactly what you say you want, you toss my ass to the curb! I can’t make a single fucking mistake or else-“
Blitzo cut himself off, biting his lips hard and growling as he shoved himself off Stolas.
“Fuck it - it’s the Stolas Show! I keep forgetting I’m just a side character to your epic journey of self-discovery - eat, pray, fuck an imp. I’m just the shitty fuck buddy you have until you get wise enough to move on. Maybe the asshole last night is your real Prince Charming!”
”No,” Stolas spat out, staring at the ceiling. “I care for you Blitzo. I feel-“
”How many siblings do I have?”
“What?” Stolas whispered, pushing himself to his elbows in confusion. “Why-”
”What was my job before this? How did I meet M&M? Where was I born? What’s my favourite colour?”
Stolas could only stare in silence as he desperately racked his memories for any hint to the answers. The Circus - what ring was it in again? Or had they moved there? He had done all sorts of work, but Stolas could not find any specific…
He didn’t have any answers. He…he had never asked.
Blitzo smiled, and it would have looked cruel had his eyes not been so sad.
“You were born a Prince but you wanted to be a gardener. You were raised by an imp you called Mr Butler and only met your dad in person like 8 times in your life. You have a big ass family but you can’t stand most of them. You learned to bake for Octavia and your favourite plant is that big fucking cunt looking thing right in the middle of the green house. The one that tried to eat me. Your favourite colour is dark blue.”
Blitzo shook his head, smile wobbling.
“You don’t know me Stolas. If you did, you wouldn’t want anything to do with me. It’s just a fantasy. I…I can’t be what you think I am…you want more than I can give you…deserve more then me…”
”You never talked to me about those things,” Stolas whispered, getting to his knees and facing the imp. “Whenever I tried, you would change the subject or, or distract me - or spy on your friends! I want to know those things about you Blitzo! I want to know you!”
Blitzo shook his head, feeling so, so tired.
Why was he even fighting? What was he fighting for? He knew this was coming - even if it wasn’t for this reason. He had the crystal. He didn’t need this…It was better for both of them if he just stopped. Hopefully, he hadn’t fucked things up anymore…
“I think you were right,” Blitzo said, taking a deep wet sniff he hid with a cough. “I think I’m just going to leave you alone now. You…you don’t deserve any of the shit I put you though. Good…good luck Stolas. You deserve a good life - the kind they make sappy movies about... Thanks for…Thanks.”
Stolas wanted to beg and plead, but he would not find the words. Instead all he could do was shed silent tears as Blitzo walked away, out of the front door and out of his life.
Through the haze of tears, Stolas saw Blitzo wiping at his own eyes…