Chapter Text
Stolas was, historically, not a very observant man, and Blitz was something of a closed book. Even after months of living together and a lot of effort on both sides, Stolas still struggled to understand the inner workings of his mind. However, one thing had become very clear to Stolas: Blitz spent nearly all of his time missing someone.
It shocked Stolas at first, just how little time Blitz spent alone. Part of it was by necessity, sure—a one-bedroom apartment with three people didn’t leave much room for privacy—but what caught him off guard was how regularly demons would shuffle in and out of it.
Moxxie and Millie were frequent houseguests, of course, and the four of them had recently started to have couples’ game nights that Stolas found quite charming. Loona was often out with her hellhound friends, but sometimes they would come over and gossip in the living room, seemingly unbothered by Stolas’ presence. Fizzarolli had a tendency to show up early in the morning and force Blitz—and Stolas, if he was awake enough—into getting breakfast at some fancy new place.
Stolas had spent so much of his life lonely, and a great deal of time missing people, but he could tell he had never felt quite the way Blitz did. Back in the palace, Stolas and Via were often content with just doing their own activities while knowing the other person was there. The rest of his time was spent with his books and plants and the stars, which all felt like friends in their own right. Blitz’s need for social interaction seemed to be a more permanent affliction.
The shift to spending nearly every minute with Blitz was a jarring one, as welcome as it was. They ate together, worked together, slept together—half the time, when Stolas went to the bathroom, Blitz was waiting outside with a wagging tail and a new story he’d thought up in the last five minutes. It took Stolas 3 months to finally admit that if he didn’t get an hour to be entirely alone each day, he was going to melt down and be absolutely terrible company.
Still, even with Stolas around, Blitz found time for all of these other demons. And whenever they weren’t around, Blitz was talking about them—how cool it was when Millie split a guy’s head open with her axe the other day, how annoying Moxxie was being about his idea for changing the layout of the office now that they had more clients (which Blitz clearly agreed was a good idea, even as he complained about it), how he found a new snack that he was sure Loona would like. He was starting to open up more about his sister, too, casually mentioning how she would react to certain things if she were there.
It just all came so naturally to Blitz. When Via shyly asked if she could sleepover a few weeks ago, Stolas was elated, of course. He wanted so badly to make her feel comfortable and welcomed in his life. But it was Blitz who brought out the star projector and set up the couch into a pillow fort, and Blitz who wrote “VIA DAY” in giant letters on the calendar, as though she had been a part of his family the entire time and he was just waiting for her to come home. It was Blitz who pulled together the money to finally move into a 3 bedroom with enough breathing room for everyone.
Yesterday, they’d mostly worked on putting all the beds together and then crashed—having a real bed and room for them both to spread out was something Stolas would never take for granted again—but today Stolas was unpacking as much as he could to make space for the housewarming party Blitz insisted on having tonight.
Blitz kicked open the apartment door, numerous bags of groceries in his hands, loudly talking into the phone he held up with his head and shoulder pressed together. Stolas quickly stood up to take the bags from him and start placing them on the kitchen counter.
Blitz grabbed the front of Stolas’ robe to pull him down far enough for a kiss in thanks. Then he said into the phone, “I warned you not to rent out the whole place to that asshole. I don’t care how big a deal his bachelor party is. It’s not like you guys need the money.”
“Is that Fizzarolli? Tell him I said hello!”
“Sure, babe,” Blitz responded as he opened the fridge door and threw out the old, expired milk. Then, into his phone, he said, “Stolas says he hates you.”
“Nooo!” Stolas screeched, grabbing at the phone as Blitz cackled and held it as far out as he could. Through the phone, he could hear a muffled “Wow, fuck you too, Stolas,” in Fizz’s friendly tone. “Blitz, please. I want your friends to like me.”
“Uh, he does like you? Obviously? You’re the one who keeps staying behind when he tries to take us out shopping and to the club. If you want to get on his good side, it would be soo easy for you guys to pick out some slutty little outfits and get all dressed up together, and I’m not just saying that because thinking about it makes me hard.”
“Okay, so if Stolas and I go shopping you’re definitely not coming with,” Fizz commented.
Stolas blinked at Blitz. “Oh. I assumed he was only asking you.”
“Why the fuck would he ask right in front of you if you weren’t invite—ohh this is some trauma bullshit isn’t it.” Blitz hit the speakerphone button, dropped the phone down on the counter and then hopped up onto it so he could take Stolas’ face in his hands.
“Listen to me, baby bird. Everyone here likes you. Even Loona, which is honestly kind of unfair because it took her years to warm up to me. But I’m not jealous. It’s fine. I put in all the work and you just waltz in and reap the benefits. Wait, where was I going with this?” Stolas giggled, and Blitz gave him that gratified smile that only happened whenever he got a good reaction out of Stolas. Which was often. “Oh, right. You don’t need to worry about anyone leaving you out or talking shit about you, because you’re adorable, and also ‘cause I’d kill them.”
“Hmm. I don’t think you’d really kill them,” Stolas said, leaning forward into Blitz’s touch.
Blitz’s voice got softer as he moved closer, their faces near enough for Stolas to feel his breath ghost against his face. “Mhm. I would. Ozzie’s already on thin ice after that face he made when you were talking about Celeste. Might have to pull out that angelic weapon we’ve got stashed away.” Stolas brightened at the mention of his plant, a grin splitting across his face. He let go of Blitz to shake his hands in the air.
“Oh, she’s doing so much better since we moved her outside, by the way! Did you see how much greener her leaves are?”
“Gonna be honest, I can barely tell the difference, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“I might move Oberon and Titania out there too, but they’re so small, I’m worried that they—“
“Hey asshole, did you forget about me?” Fizzarolli’s gravelly voice yelled from the counter. “At least put the camera on if you’re going to start making out.”
“Shit.” Blitz picked up the phone and sat down on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth. “No free shows for you. You’ll have to come over if you want to be our third.”
“You don’t have to twist my arm about it, I was already coming tonight. Hey, this is going to make me sound like an asshole, but how strict is the no alcohol rule for this?”
Stolas winced and opened his mouth, but Blitz waved him off.
“Uh, pretty strict, unless you plan on paying for the next round of rehab. Why?”
“It’s possible that I maay have convinced Barb to stop by.” Blitz didn’t make a sound, but Stolas didn’t miss the way his eyes got wide. “But you know how drinks and weed still count as ‘sober’ to her.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, you know I wouldn’t fuck with you about this.”
Blitz stared at the phone, and then turned back to Stolas, wheels clearly turning in his brain. His tail whipped back and forth anxiously.
“It’s fi—“ Stolas said quickly, but Blitz’s hand slammed over his mouth. Stolas pushed it off. “Really, it’s fine, darling. I’m not going to spiral because of one person.”
“Uh-huh, yeah, last time I heard that line I spent all night watching Ver puke in an alley because she couldn’t walk for long enough to get to the car.”
Stolas furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. “I’m not Verosika.”
“I know that, my point is—it’s not worth the risk. And I’m not putting you through feeling uncomfortable all night.”
“Hey, I’m sorry, I’ll talk to her. I just wanted to warn you because, well, you know how Barb can be,” Fizz said.
Stolas snatched the phone and spoke into it. “No, that’s perfectly alright, Fizzarolli.” He looked back at Blitz. “I can go somewhere else so you won’t have to worry about how I’m feeling while all your friends are here.”
“The fuck? No? It’s our party to celebrate our apartment. You have to be there.” Blitz was starting to look pissed off, which Stolas knew meant it was time for them both to take a break and cool down (therapy was doing wonders), but knowing wasn’t enough to stop him from pushing the subject when the answer seemed so straightforward.
“I’m not going to be the reason you can’t see your own family, Blitz.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Blitz let out a low growl and looked a little hurt, which made Stolas freeze, more out of confusion than anything else. Blitz interpreted the look on his face as distress, though, and softened. “It’s—I just—“ He was blushing, which only confused Stolas more. “Aren’t you my family too?” His voice broke a little as he got to the end of the question.
Stolas flushed red. “Oh! Well, yes! I mean, of course I want to be. But it’s not the same, isn’t it?”
“This feels kind of private, I’m just gonna go,” Fizz interjected. Both of them ignored him.
“Yeah, you’re right, it’s not the same. You will still be there at the end of the day, and tomorrow, and next week, whether Barbie decides I’m finally good enough or not,” Blitz said, waving his hands around as he spoke. He paused, opened his mouth, then closed it like he thought better of whatever he had to say next. Stolas waited. Sometimes all Blitz needed was time—he knew that much, at least. Blitz looked down at his own hands, wringing them together. “I need you to still be here.”
Stolas cooed and leaned forward to embrace him, pressing their foreheads together. “I’ll always be here, dearest.”
The front door clicked open. “Ew,” Octavia said, and both of them turned to see her scrunching up her face. “Can you guys go 5 minutes without PDA?”
“You’re lucky you didn’t have to see them when they were still pining after each other,” Loona remarked without looking up from her phone.
“I don’t think it counts as PDA if no one else is here, Starfire,” Stolas pointed out.
“I can’t believe I agreed to move in here,” Via groaned, slumping over dramatically.
“Hey, did you get the stuff?” Blitz nodded toward the plastic bag she was holding.
Via’s entire demeanor changed and she waved the bag in the air excitedly. “Yeah!”
“What stuff?” Stolas asked.
“I’m going to paint my walls black and then we can draw on them with chalk!” Via said, bouncing up and down in the same way her father often did.
“Oh, how clever!” Stolas said. “Wait.” He narrowed his eyes at Blitz. “I thought the landlord said we weren’t allowed to paint the walls?”
“Eh, it’s fiiine. So we won’t get our deposit back, whatever,” Blitz said in a voice that definitely meant I really want your daughter to think I’m cool and refuse to say no to her. Blitz paid more of the rent than anyone else, though, so it was really his call. Stolas shrugged. “Anyway!” Blitz hopped down from the counter and clapped his hands together once. “I need all your tall asses to help with decorating!”
“Fine, but I’m taking these as payment,” Loona grabbed a box of peanut butter cookies from the half-put-away groceries and ripped it open.
After putting up a frankly unnecessary amount of string lights and streamers, the girls retired to their rooms to get ready. Once they were alone, Blitz knocked Stolas off of his feet so he fell directly into his arms, bridal-style. Stolas squealed, wrapping his arms around Blitz’s neck for balance.
“Wanna help me pick an outfit?” Blitz asked.
“Of course.”
Blitz carried him into the bedroom and tossed him down on the bed. Stolas sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, more interested in watching Blitz get changed than in getting ready himself. Blitz dug through the closet, pulling out a few options and throwing them on top of the sheets.
“Oh, you should wear the blue one!” Stolas bounced up and down on the bed.
“You think? I don’t usually wear dresses for this kind of thing. More of a “day out” than a “night in” kind of look for me.”
“We could match, though!” Stolas leaned over to reach into one of the half-unpacked boxes on the floor. He pushed objects around until he found his small jewelry box and took out a pair of earrings. They were shaped like moons, baby blue and sparkling.
“Oh, yeah, okay.” Blitz pulled on the dress and did a little twirl. Stolas clapped his hands.
Blitz sat down on the bed next to him, tail waving anxiously. “Hey, do you think we should… actually, forget it.”
“We should what?” Stolas tilted his head.
“Nothing. I don’t know.” Blitz rubbed his hand across his face as though it could wipe his thoughts away. “I was just thinking if Barbie does show up, I wanna make sure she feels welcome here. Feel like we should plan something.”
“Well, what does she like?”
“Other than drugs? Uhh, fuck, I don’t even know anymore. When we were kids, she liked a lot of circus stuff. Not the clown stuff like Fizz, but she was real good at tightrope walking and acrobatics.”
“Oh yes, you two had an act together, right?” Stolas laid down sideways on the bed, propping his head up with one hand. Whenever Blitz talked about his past, he wanted to give his full attention.
“Yeah, when we were older. That was when she started to lose interest in it, though. Just needed a way to make money.” Blitz looked off in thought for a minute. “She was always into sort of weird stuff. She liked collecting the plushies from the claw machine, but only the ugly, fucked up ones that nobody wanted. The ones that were missing an eye or had stitches ripped open or whatever.”
“Like you with your horses.” Stolas nodded.
“Yeah, sorta,” Blitz smiled at the thought, but he wrapped his arms around himself, like he needed comfort. Stolas reached forward and rested a hand on his thigh. Blitz grabbed it and squeezed. “But I doubt she does that anymore. When we were like 14, there was this kid at the circus who had a crush on her, and he kept winning them and leaving them outside our tent. She liked it at first, but he was kind of an obsessive creep. I think it ruined the whole thing for her.”
“How unfortunate.”
“Yeah, between her and Fizz I was pretty much always on bodyguard duty. This one day, she rejected the kid who was into her and he called her a slut, so I took one of the throwing knives and threatened to stab him if he went near her again.”
It was such a Blitz thing to do that Stolas laughed. He tried to picture a slightly ganglier version of the Blitz he met as a child threatening someone, but it just sounded cute.
Blitz threw a pillow at him. “Hey, you think violence is funny, you sick bastard? You think murdering children is some kind of joke?” This, of course, made Stolas laugh harder. “Wow, you really don’t respect the law. I guess I’m going to have to punish you.”
“Oh? And how will you punish me?” Stolas put a hand on his hip and used what Blitz usually referred to as his “hot sassy bitch” voice.
“I’ll, uhh…” Blitz’s eyes flitted around the room. Then he smirked. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the blanket and jumped onto Stolas, pushing him flat onto the bed before wrapping the blanket around him and attempting to roll him over.
Stolas squirmed, half-heartedly attempting to push him off. “What are you even trying to do?” He said through giggles.
“I’m burritoing you. Obviously. Wait, is this you trying to fight back? We gotta get you some fucking self defense classes, birdie.” Blitz easily grabbed his wrists and pinned them down.
“I’m not actually trying, I—here—“ Stolas put as much force as he could into freeing his arms, but they stayed in place under Blitz’s strong hands. “I…” Stolas flushed red as he realized that for one of the first times in his life, he actually was physically trapped. He knew he was far less strong without his magic, but between being busy and lacking privacy, they hadn’t had many opportunities to test it. “Oh. I suppose so.”
Realization dawned on Blitz’s face. “Ohh, this will be fun.”
“You could really do whatever you wanted to me right now, huh?” Stolas said, nervousness edging into his voice.
“Mmm. Good thing I’m so nice and respectful,” Blitz said, continuing to wrap Stolas tightly inside the blanket. Stolas pouted.
“What if I don’t want you to be nice?” He batted his eyelashes dramatically. Blitz tried to keep a straight face, but Stolas could tell he was fighting off a smile.
“Chill. I’m planning to plow that birdpuss allll night after everyone leaves. I need to preserve my energy.”
“Darling, I don’t think either of us will have the energy for ‘all night’ after entertaining everyone we know for hours.”
“Nah, but I can probably give you head before we pass out. Orrr I could do that right now–” he glanced at the clock that currently sat on the floor, since they didn’t have a nightstand yet. “Damn it, there’s no time.”
“I’m sure anything we do will be lovely. I’m just happy to spend time with you.”
Blitz laughed. “Gay ass.” Then he sighed and collapsed next to him on the bed. “I guess I don’t really know her anymore. Fuuuck. That feels so wrong.”
Stolas frowned, feeling at a loss. For Stolas, being apart from someone he loved for that long would be devastating, but he was used to long stretches of loneliness. It was hard to even imagine how it felt for Blitz, who could barely handle going a day without seeing his family. “Perhaps she hasn’t changed as much as you think. If she’s interested in reconciling, I’m sure that you’ll find some common ground.”
“Maybe.” Blitz groaned and pressed his face into the mattress.
“And if it gets too awkward, I’ll just say something unreasonable and you can complain about me together.”
Blitz turned toward him and grinned, all traces of stress suddenly gone. “There’s that smart bird brain,” he said, and then kissed him hard.