Blitz's Heart Was Going To Burst One Of These Days, And It Was Going To Be Moxxie's Fault. His Arms Tightened

Blitz's heart was going to burst one of these days, and it was going to be Moxxie's fault. His arms tightened and he closed his eyes, suddenly fighting tears. He wasn't going to fucking cry. He wasn't going to fucking cry--but a couple happy tears slid down his cheeks anyway.

"Damn right," he crooned, with a quiet little laugh. Blitz swallowed hard, managing to shove the tears away for now, at least. Fuck, he loved this guy. Moxxie was one of the only really good people in Hell, and while yeah, sometimes Blitz knew he went too far in mocking him, he loved him. He really fucking loved him, and so whenever it was Moxxie putting himself down? That hurt in a deep, twisting, frightening sort of way.

For a moment, he was still. Then, he let himself purr--but again, only for a moment. When Blitz let go, his pupils widened and his tail started swishing, and he took a step back, grinning in invitation to do one thing he only did with Moxxie: zoomies. Maybe this wouldn't cheer Moxxie up, but fuck it, it was worth trying, right? And the energy was all there, bursting inside Blitz and demanding to be let out somehow (totally not just because he was sometimes a little overwhelmed with how goddamn much he loved this fucker).

"One last thing, Mox... Catch me if you fucking can!" Blitz bolted, leaping over Loona's desk and making a mad scramble for the door.

Moxxie's frown transformed to a shy smile. He rested his forehead gently against Blitzo's and nodded, though it was hard for him to believe it all-- that maybe it was just that he was anopen book, not that he couldn't read others--but maybe it was something he might be able to believe in time.

"Okay..." he smiled, "I'll try, Blitz."

Huh. She wasn't at all what Blitz had been expecting. He'd barely even been sure what to look for, but had conjured up an image of a goth-punk runaway kid of some sort. Instead, this one seemed to be some kind of--what, avatar of life? Was that what the fuck fae were? Blitz stood up straighter than usual as she spoke, completely taken aback, trying to understand. She seemed so peaceful, like her energy was just some kind of mishmash of all the good things in the world smushed up together.

So what the fuck was she doing here? That was his first clear thought. His next was: no wonder that royal fucker seemed so concerned about her. If she was a halfway decent person, she didn't belong here.... although that was a whole-ass can of worms Blitz wasn't in the mood to open, so he shut down that line of thought.

Putting on a smile, he offered his hand. "I'm Blitzo, the O is silent. Nice to meet you, Zephos. Zeph? Mind if I come in? Apparently, we've got a lot to talk about. I've got a whole list of questions to ask you, if you've got the time. Genuinely just questions," he added, realizing how this might sound like the set-up to a robbery or something. He patted his pockets down, then took out a little paper packet and shook it: tiny seeds rattled inside. "I was told to give you this as a gesture of uh, you know. Good will. Thyme seeds? If that means anything to you."

The fae creature months ago had found herself hurled through fog thick on Samhain and falling beyond comprehension, to a living creature at the very least. Yet still persisting and alive, this woman was. Unlike the rest of the denizens of this cursed place.

She'd had to navigate this new world, forests of steel and metal, iron that burned ice cold to the touch, nary plants in sight, horseless metal carriages that careened at high speeds, let alone all the strange and unfamiliar species of people surrounding her. Most with ill intent.

This fae-demon hybrid at this point in reality had lost track of time, as if time was really relevant to the situation at hand. No way home, no way to return to her secluded forest, no spells or potions or items precured had proven effective. So she decided to stay in this Hell instead. The concrete jungles were much, but at the edges of the ring as it was called weren't bad in comparison to the urban landscape.

Zephos had been minding the place she'd found herself staying at, watering plants she had managed to find in this nightmare realm. A strange and twisted world this was, quite different from the one she was home to.

Then a knock was heard, along with what could be described as a bastardization of an attempt of fae speech. It was the closest, however, she'd felt to home.

When the door opened, Blitz would be greeted by a soft beauty, buxom and sweet, short by human standard. Her eyes shown curious with silver hues, shadowed by black lashes and black curls of hair cascading down her back, grey antler like horns poking through the mess of black hair. She would have a curious smile, black lips standing against the porcelain of her skin. Well...he was no fae, but anyone attempting to greet her in such a manner was welcome.

"Well, Sir, what might I be able to help you with? You're the first friendly face I've seen since arriving here. Even if the fae language needs some work." She would have a voice soft as a bell, a lilt suggesting an accent from a place one might hear of in faerie tales. Yet a warmth to it, like freshly baked bread. Her tail swished behind her, wondering who this stranger might be.

Coming back to Ozzie's at all wasn't really on Blitz's To Do list these days, but Demetri--the sweet succubus who had tried to hook up with Stolas after Verosika's party--had invited him out. Things had been going fine-ish, but the succubus had been in the bathroom for a while now and the conversation was so fucking awkward anyway that Blitz wouldn't blame the guy if he'd taken off out the window. Needing a break himself, Blitz went to the bar...

Only to be offered a probably-drugged drink by the one shark in all of Hell that he actually wanted to kill.

Blitz recognized him in an instant, eyes sharpening, but he didn't otherwise let on. He accepted the glass with a nod and a feral little grin--remembering way too many unpleasant details about their night together, and how Millie had been absolutely destroyed just by seeing him. Blitz really couldn't fault him for trying to fuck with Crimson--more power to Chaz, really, Moxxie's dad was a dick who deserved to be conned--but this guy... He was an idiot.

Whatever was in the drink though, it had to be better than how the rest of his night was going. So, fuck it. Blitz toasted him, then took a drink--just a sip, really, hoping to get some feel for whatever it might be laced with... When he didn't taste anything off, or feel any immediate effects, it only made him that much more suspicious.

"Thanks, man. You're right. I really could use it. And you know, you've got a beautiful accent... I almost feel like we've met before," he leaned over the bar a little, as if gazing into the shark's eyes rather than his shades. Tail making tiny little twitches, Blitz was all smiles when he reached out and traced a claw down Chaz's forearm. "But I never forget an accent. So clearly, you're just a handsome stranger. Why don't you tell me about yourself, hm? Daddy's all ears." He was laying it on thick and he knew it, taking a malicious glee out of this, but fuck's sake, why not? Chaz's disguise was terrible--

But maybe, maybe, he deserved a second chance.

Fuck knew Blitz was learning a lot more about those these days. If he wanted them for himself, he damn well ought to start offering more chances to others--

But he could still fuck with Chaz a little bit first, right?

Closed Starter for @doublejango

Chaz was just coming back from the bathroom when he pratcally froze upon looking at his part of the bar at Ozzie's he was manning tonight. Blitzo, the guy he fucked and drugged, fuck what was he doing here?! Was he with someone? Did they know what happened between them, Chaz scrambled hiding behind a wall, breathing out to calm himself and push away the urge to go whining to Ozzie, he wasn't sure how the sin would help even if he wanted. After a bit of calming himself Chaz came up with a 'plan' to handle this while still doing his job.

He pulled out some dark sunglasses from his pocket, putting them on slipping them on to cover his ringed eyes before pulling off the purple scarf over his shoulders, wrapping it around his mouth to conceal his face even more, he could still breathe, even talk if muffled, but least it covered up his recognizable tooth gap. He knew he couldn't just avoid Blitzo, it would be suspiscious and even he knew that, so after he walked back behind the bar, making an effort to look calm and collected, hands behind his back professionally for once, he mixed up a nice fruity drink for the Imp and slid it over to him, topped with a blood orange slice on a neon colored toothpick. "~You looked like you needed one, on the house~" The shark said with slight bow, in an awful french accent but he was trying, getting back to his other stuff before he could give Blitz any reason to be suspiscious of him and hopefully the drink would help if he still was, the shark was sweating a bit from his nerves despite the mild club air

Hearing Stolas's voice almost echoing in the empty office was the start to a few fantasies Blitz had had since they got together, but now it just felt like a punch to the gut. He closed his eyes, trying to will away the stupid goddamn fluttering fear inside him, and pushed to his feet.

You can do this, he told himself, don't be such a little bitch about it. It was stupid to be afraid to just look at Stolas again. It wasn't like going into combat--fuck, going into combat would be easier. He swallowed hard, tugged his jacket down straight, put a smarmy grin on, and strode out.

"Stolas, you..."

Whatever rizz or jests Blitz might have intended to fall back on, the words died in his throat the moment he saw Stolas, and his heart started aching fiercely all over again, reminding him just how much this fucking bird meant to him, just how much he had truly lost when he lost Stolas. The material had nothing to do with it; even if he had lost his business, if Stolas hadn't given him the crystal, he would have lost so much more than that. Chances like this, moments like this, just to see him, to hear his voice, to smell that soft scent that always clung to his feathers. To hear the way his talons whispered over the floor, the way his clothing moved against him... Just being near him, just being in the same room as Stolas, was more valuable than anything else Blitz could ever have had...

And he'd lost it.

"Fuck. Hey. Um... You-- you look beautiful." Blitz winced even as he said it, sure that was somehow coming out wrong too; everything he'd been trying to say to Stolas had come out wrong recently, it seemed like. "Did you... uh... it's... been a while. Since that party. Did you--have a good time? I mean not like, you know, after, I'm not asking about you and Benji, especially since he's such a bottom, but did..." Rambling. Babbling. Probably coming off like an asshole. Blitz pressed a hand to his face. "Sorry. Forget I said--all of that. It's not my business anymore, is it?

"Would you... like to sit down? Tell me about this job?"

They could do this, right?

Fuck.

Somehow?

I miss him. I miss him, I miss him, I miss him.

BATED BREATH HOLDS FIRM TO LUNGS long enough Stolas worries he might lose consciousness if he holds it any longer. Stupid, that's what he was being. Blitz was busy, of course he was, Blitz was always busy. Too busy to text him, too busy to call him, to busy to rescue him and far too busy to visit when he'd been in hospital. As much as it hurt to say so Blitz was many things : disappointing being one he'd come to terms with as of late. Stolas sighs and places his phone face down on the lawn chair he sits upon. "Fucking idiot . . ." He mutters under his breath, face sinking into talons as he releases a pained groan. He's the idiot of course-- for expecting things to be different in any sort of way. He should have known better : there were entire parties dedicated to the past let downs of the imps life, why should he expect anything to have changed since then?

He'd let him leave after all, one minute he'd been sitting with Blitz, listening to an apology that, to his credit, sounded sincere and the next he was dancing with a very handsome succubi-- all because Blitz didn't want him, all because he'd wanted a romcom in place of a porno. Stomach churns and the Prince feels moisture behind his eyes. The night he'd spent with Benji had been fun but it wasn't what he truly wanted. He wanted Blitz to come running, to sweep him off his feet and proclaim his everlasting love. That he'd been a fool to act the way he had and he would never behave such a way again. But that, Stolas had come to learn, was just not something that happened in reality. Only in fiction, literature and the screen : and the owl's life was far from a picture perfect movie.

Notification ding sends stomach hurdling through feet and Stolas finds his hands peeling away from his face instantaneously. He grasps for the phone, heart beat a flutter as he reads the three individual texts. Well . . . at least he wasn't being an asshole about it. He runs a thumb alongside phone, considering the correct way to respond. He was glad the imp was willing to take the job but he was still angry with him. Stolas believed he was owed an apology-- one he could remember at the very least : and one that had a complete finish. The one at the party was blurry and interrupted. He wanted to hear Blitzo say he was sorry with his whole heart-- even if it meant the end of whatever it was they were.

>>> Sounds good. I'll be there shortly.

Thumb hits send and Stolas places his phone face down again. He doesn't want to over think things. As awkward as this may be he really does need to be protected from his ex wife and her conniving ways. - - -

His palms shouldn't be this sweaty, his chest shouldn't be heaving this hard-- he'd spoken to Blitz after the horrid full moon so why now was Stolas feeling the pangs of nerves settling in? With a deep breath he pushes himself forward, moving through the front door expecting to find hell hound receptionist at the ready-- but the desk is empty. Brows furrow as he glances around, checking for the other two imps who fulfill the back end of I.M.P. and they too seem to be missing. "Hello?" He calls out, removing top hat from head and clutching it between both hands. "IS ANYONE HERE?"

Blitz hadn't even realized how tense he was, how crushed he would be if the guy said no, until the other imp shook his head. At the contact, at hearing his real name, Blitz's eyes seemed to light up. His entire demeanor perked up as he smiled, bright and relieved and genuine, and nodded, shaking the smaller guy's hand right back.

"Well shit. Nice to meet you for real, Alfred. Alright. Let's fuckin' do this!" It was a good thing he'd driven today, he thought; he didn't know how long the other guy could be away from work, so asking him to head out and walk for a few hours there and back miiiiight not be the ticket. "Come on. Let's blow this popsicle stand!"

-

The pizza place they went to was run by a Sinner who took pizza very seriously, in their own way: they believed it should be greasy, floppy, thin, delicious, and cheap. The joint was about as far from a royal palace as you could get, but at least there was a seating section designed for imps, complete with chairs that could be adjusted readily to whatever height the imp needed--a consideration Blitz appreciated.

A pitcher of beer was left for them, along with a few glasses--one of which was smaller, intended to be more comfortable for smaller hands--so Blitz poured for each other them. "Basically water, but hey, it's cold. So. Alfred. It's been weird, all this time with us passing each other like up..." What was the saying? Shits in the night? Crickets in the creek? That one sounded right, so he went with it. "Crickets in a creek, but never really, you know. Interacting.

"Tell me about yourself?" Blitz scooted the menu over to him. This totally wasn't awkward, right? Haaa..... ha....

It was fine. Maybe things were starting off awkward, but Blitz had faith that the night was going to be worth it.

New friends almost always were.

'I'm happy with just one Goetia' was perhaps the strangest sentence he'd ever heard fall from another imp's lips, even if it was coming from THE homewrecker of the Pride ring. But as Blitz continued to talk, Alfred began to realize just how sincere he sounded. Even a bit uneasy.

He stared at the offered hand uncertainly. Even something as simple as introducing himself was a bit odd in such circumstances; if for some reason a Goetia needed to know his name, he would have introduced himself as 'Pringles'. That was who he was to Stolas, Stella, and Octavia. That is who he would be to any other one of his master's peers if they for any reason needed to know his name. When talking with other members of the staff—his peers—it was always 'Alfred' unless there was an outsider present.

So where did this man fall? Stolas treated him as a peer, or at least, closer to one than most imps could dream of. But that didn't change how Stella spoke of him, that didn't change what he was. And perhaps they did still have more in common than not, despite everything. There was really only way way of knowing.

After staring at the hand for a solid five seconds, he reached out his own to take it, and lifted his gaze to meet Blitz's to shake.

"I am Alfred."

Pizza sounded...very good, in all honesty. But Alfred rarely left the house outside of work-related errands. That said, his duties were technically done for the day, and there was little chance of him being needed in the next few hours.

"I should be able to step away for a little while, yes."

"Right, fuck. I didn't explain that for shit, did I? All of these protests and parades? They call it Pride. Gay pride--well, queer shit of every fucking flavor." Realizing just how much rambling he had done, and how going off about a niche interest of his--because what the hell did Pride parades matter to Hell?--was probably not the best way to make a good first impression, Blitz awkwardly put his phone back into his jacket pocket.

"Sorry. Guess I uh, got a little... carried away there. And I've only seen a real rainbow, like an up in the fucking sky one, once. It was nice, though. I mean, there was a lot of nature all around, which wasn't, uh. Necessarily my thing? But the rainbow was nice. It just sort of... hung there. Like the moment before a trapeze artist starts to fall, right when everything is just all graceful and shit..." And he was doing it again. Fuck, what even was wrong with him tonight? Blitz frowned, shook his head, and rolled his eyes at himself. "Anyway. Earth seems like it's come a long way. I don't know what it was like up until like the last ten years, but from everything I understand, shit's getting like... at least a little better.

"Anyway. You're from New York, right? We missed Pride, but... Wanna go hit up a gay bar in the city, see how much shit has changed since your time?" Inviting him out like this was a stupid thing to do, most likely. Why the fuck would Angel Dust want to go traipsing off to a world he'd left behind? But all the same, the idea was there in the imp's mind now, and whether or not Angel decided to come with him, Blitz had every intention of killing the rest of his night dancing too hard to music that was too loud.

Everything about this interaction was....a lot. Not in a bad way, per se, but Angel Dust wasn't quite sure how to respond. People hitting on him? Groping him? Drugging him? He was used to that. Yet here was this imp, Blitz, acting like they had been best friends their entire lives. Just drinks between two lost buddies that were catching up. Even though he had just met the guy not even moments prior.

He didn't want to ask how the other was so connected to Earth. He would never go back, not in a million years, because Hell had admittedly treated him better and been more accepting of him than anyone had been when he was alive. But with the way this man talked, he did find himself curious. Hands moving to grab at the phone that was thrust at him, blinking as he stared at it.

"Cos...what now?" He questioned - must be something new and hip. While Angel did his best to keep up with everything new and modern, there were still things that proved his age and the times that he was alive. Certain things that went over his head. Lingo he didn't understand. His magenta hues were staring at the screen, raising an eyebrow at the video that had come on. How did Blitz have such quick access to these....or was it just that common now?

While the imp didn't seem to shut up, Angel had remained in complete silence. He didn't take his eyes away from the parade, the dancing, the cheering. All the colors, and the fashion, and the happiness and celebration. He had barely been able to process it all before the other was starting the next video, and if Angel's heart was still beating, he could feel it tighten in that moment. How many times had he been beaten for being gay? How many times had it been his own father?

"Pride? But...that's.....we're in Pride." He finally managed, blinking at the other. He didn't know what going to Pride had to do with it, but if anything, Angel wanted to get out of there. "...rainbows are beautiful." He finally added, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "Lots a' smog where ah'm from so yeh' don't always get tah' see 'em, but when the sky clears, it's pretty gorgeous." A grin, though he shook his head. "Ah' don't mind Hell, though. It really ain't as bad as all those religious fanatics make it out tah' be."