Until Now, Blitz Hadn't Even Known That Stolas Could Heal The Wounds Of Others. For Some Reason, That

Until now, Blitz hadn't even known that Stolas could heal the wounds of others. For some reason, that knowledge felt heavy, edged with some kind of pain or grief that Blitz didn't understand. He watched as his former lover got up and hurried to dress, already making plans to get too involved, to put himself into harm's way over this.

Blitz's heart broke.

I love him.

"Stolas," he said, voice gentle. Walking over, he reached up to touch his hand, hoping to stop him from his packing and his preparation. "Stolas, don't. I don't--remember. All of what happened. Some of it, but not all of it. And then I woke up this morning on the floor with him. I definitely did it, I had to have. My weapon was in his heart. So don't. Please. Please don't do this." Blitz sounded a little too calm, considering he was pleading with Stolas, but he was too exhausted to put more energy into it. His body felt strange--the places Stolas had healed felt alive, as if his skin was somehow brighter there, a strangely sharp contrast to everything else.

I love him--and I never deserved him.

"You have a daughter. What will happen to Octavia if you go missing 'cause of me? You--you've already broken demon law for me enough. Not this time, babe, okay? It means--the world. To me." Fuck, there were tears in his eyes now, why were there tears in his eyes when he was smiling and his heart suddenly feeling so full? Blitz blinked and they fell, and for once, they didn't hurt. Usually, tears seemed to burn, to demand, to take something with them as they fell, but not this time. Not tears shed out of gratitude, out of love. Not tears that fell for Stolas's kindness. Blitz didn't really know how to process it, so he didn't try. Instead, he smiled a little more.

"You. Are so fucking beautiful, Stolas. And I love you."

Stolas tried to ignore the soft touches from Blitzø as he slowly began to heal his wounds with magic. They still left scars that would take time to heal but at least the wounds closed and stopped the bleeding. He was almost frantic with the way his talons moved over the imps skin, wanting him to be whole and safe once again.

The prince was still so angry, thinking over the past few months but he would never leave Blitzø to suffer. The imp meant so much to him, perhaps too much. When Blitzø started to preen him, Stolas faltered in his healing, tears springing to his eyes at the gentle touch. Preening was such an intimate act, surly Blitzø didn't know what he was conveying?

Stolas paused in his ministrations when the imp began to confess everything that had happened before his arrival. Stolas sat back on his legs, trying to steady himself as his eyes widened in shock. "W-Why would you ever do such a thing?" Stolas could hardly believe it, was this a nightmare? Surly, he would wake up soon.

"Blitzø...killing a Goetia-it's punishable by death, I-I don't understand why you would do something so reckless? Did he attack you? If it was self defense, perhaps I can speak to the council-"

Stolas was scared, there was no other word for it. Killing a Goetia could put Blitzø in mortal peril and he refused to allow that to happen. The prince got to his feet and began to pull on the closest outfit he could find. "We should go to the human world. I will hide you there for now, until I can assure your safety. Yes, this could work. It will be fine!"

Stolas hurried around frantically-manically. He had to keep Blitzø safe, no matter the cost. He refused to lose the only person outside of Octavia that he cared about, dare he say love?

When Angel retreated from him, Vox went still. He stayed that way, very still, very calm, as the angry words came out--anger, so often the last defense of the powerless and the broken. A creature with all its limbs broken, its body exhausted and battered, might still snarl and hiss and spit when backed into a corner, even if it knew that wouldn't do it any good. Defiance might be the last thread of autonomy one could cling to, the last glimmer of an ember about to go dark, but it was still something, a sign there was life there, that it wasn't all over for them.

Recognizing that he had come at the wrong time, pushed too hard at a time when Angel already felt justifiably cornered, that he was doing all of this wrong, Vox adjusted his tack. He held still, listening until Angel was done speaking, then raised his hands, showing the empty palms, and took a step back. Then another, until his back was against the door. Lowering his hands, Vox gave the tiniest shake of his head.

"I want this to change. I make a point not to spy on the other Vees, Angel. Not unless I believe they're getting into a dangerous situation. Familiarity breeds contempt, and God knows we get enough familiarity in Hell. Maintaining our power structure means, to some degree, that it is necessary to not just look the other way, but not look at all. So, I don't. When they need me, they let me know. And at some point, that was how I began to think of you. One of us. Val's lover, someone I was..." He had to pause for a moment to take a breath and let it out slowly before admitting the next, "immensely jealous of. But one of us all the same. Until I saw your face on the balcony.

"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want Val to continue hurting you. I want you to feel like a part of the Vees, because you are. You have been for a long time. At least, in my eyes. But to get there--there's a lot of harm to undo on the way. And I'm not overly adept at... comfort. Being soft. Kind. But I'm willing to try.

"And I'm willing to listen. Do you need to talk? Or to scream? I'll stay here." He patted the door behind himself. "I won't take a step closer to you until you tell me to.

"Or, I can leave right now. And if I do?

"My door is open for you. You can come to me any time, for any reason, and we can talk. This doesn't have to happen now. I apologize if I've made things worse, or made you feel that you're about to be hurt again.

"Either way. Will you let me order you supper and have it delivered to you? It doesn't come with strings attached; you won't owe me anything, I'd just like to... know that you have some form of care tonight." Maybe it wasn't much, but it was something. Angel didn't want a hug, and Vox didn't know how else to even try to comfort him, but he could at least try to make sure the actor was fed, had something to drink, that he had the chance to decompress. To receive something approximating care, even if it wasn't enough.

If he knew what was going on in Vox's head, the next move would probably hurt his feelings. However, it was exactly the fact that he didn't know what was happening in the television demon's mind that led to the action in the first place. As Vox stepped forward, Angel instinctively stepped back. Making sure to maintain the same amount of distance between them, as if this was a tango he had danced many a time.

The door being locked caused the tension to only increase, muscles feeling incredibly stiff. If Vox looked closer into Angel Dust's eyes, he would see the panic settling there. He was locked in. He had felt trapped, and that terrified him. Not that it mattered when it came to this Overlord. Vox had plenty of cameras around the dressing room, and even if Angel had pushed him out, the other could zap his way back in.

Vox was a wild card. He had seen enough, enough to think he knew what to expect, but that didn't mean he did. Vox had so many different personalities for so many different reasons. Too many hats. One thing he hadn't expected, though, was what had come out of the older's mouth next. He was blinking, staring at Vox for a few moments, uncertain of how to speak. Denying it, well, that was surprisingly the last thing on his mind. While he hid it from the outside world, he had always assumed that Vox knew. That him and Valentino had laughed about it over fancy dinners.

That was the part he didn't believe. There was no way that Vox hadn't known. That man's surveillance was constantly on, and he was saying he just...happened to not be looking when Val would raise his hand? His eyes narrowed as he thought about this, taking another step back. "...what do yeh' want." He hated how harsh he sounded, hated how just being in this situation made him so angry, so hard, like his dad had always wanted him to be.

"Ah' know how yeh' Vees work, and ah' ain't as dumb as ah' look. There's some sort of manipulation goin' on here. Ah' ain't gonna fall f' it. So let's just make this easy on us both, because as ah'm sure yeh' can tell, ah've had a pretty fuckin' shit day." He's huffing, voice holding less malice, much more tired. Broken. "Yeh' tell me what yeh' hopin' t' gain from all this, and ah'll give it t' yeh'. Then yeh' can get out of mah' dressin' room, and leave me th' fuck alone."

Blitz's eyes had gotten huge at Chaz's outburst and he was already reaching into his jacket for a gun well before the shark calmed down. Blinking, the imp nodded slowly; at a little nudge from Demetri, he made himself relax again.

"I mean, I kind of left, you know. My clothes there, it was sort of an escape in boxers and a jacket type situation. Then the last I heard, you were dead or something. There was a rumor that fuckface calling himself Moxxie's father put in an order for another pair of jaws to be cleaned and mounted. I'm like. Uh. Fuck. Glad? You're not dead? And that you still have your teeth."

Demetri whispered something into Blitz's ear that made the imp roll his eyes and blush at the same time. He batted at his vampiric date.

"Behave."

"Make me," Demetri cooed. But then, his smile still warm as ever, eyes so much softer than either Chaz or Blitz ever tended to look, he turned back to the shark. "You get off soon, don't you? Why don't you come back to my place with Blitz and I? I won't bite. Unless either of you tell me to, of course."

Blitz had to suppress a shiver. That was actually kind of a nice thought, but--fuck. He swallowed hard. "Sexy as that visual is, I'm uh, let's, maybe, how about a um, a fucking raincheck on that, on... that particular threesome. Text me when you can, Chaz, we'll get together. If you're free tomorrow, I actually need to go to the shooting range for a bit. You wanna come with? Come get your jacket afterwards?"

The way Chaz's face heats up at the joke was very noticeable, sure people flirted with him dirtily but never so... dominant towards him so it caught him off guard even more then any flirting from Blitz would be, awkwardly chuckling, scratching his neck with a goofy grin on his face before it fell slightly "Yeah I know, I'm sorry it sucked I kno- Wait, you were using me? How? I'm the one who came on to you" Chaz questioned, he had been so preoccupied with how he felt about it during and after, he never considered Blitz used him, especially when he in hindsight did a piss poor job of giving him a pleasant lay.

He raises a brow at the mention of the party, realizing he remembered it half way through "O-Oh... Yeah I got an invitation somehow, Verosika Mayday used to be a celebrity crush of mine, but reading that invitation it just turned me off real quick. Maybe it's just cause I fucked up plenty but I don't want to rake someone over the coals ten times over for that shit, especially when I fully deserved what you did..." Chaz said pouring himself a drink and staring into the swirling liquid somberly

His eyes perk up however when Blitz speaks about second chances, a bit stunned how right that felt to hear. Blushing again at the proposition and stammering in response "U-Uh I guess your right, i-If you want that I'd sure be down for it, honestly!... And, thanks Blitz. I mean that believe it or not" Chaz said awkwardly, but with a warm and soft smile on his face at the end, shrugging a bit before his face twisted in confusion at seeing Demetri walk up, leaning up against Blitz all cozy as he greeted the shark. Taking a bit before gasping in realization.

"Oh he's your date. I forget that's a requirement for getting in here sometimes." Chaz said shrugging with a chuckle, a slight pang of disappointment in his voice before his eyes widened ever so slightly at Blitz looking back at him, stammering again "O-Oh yeah, sure thing, I'd... like to try again with you if Im being.. entirely honest Blitz" The shark said blushing, bashfully pulling on his collar, both nervous and excited to have a chance to redeem himself with Blitz, before his ringed eyes went very wide in realization

"YOU HAVE MY JACKET!? THE ONE WITH THE BONES ON THE SLEEVES?! Holy shit so that's where it ended up, you took it!" The shark exclaimed, suddenly leaning over the counter and accidentally getting very close to Blitz's face in the process before backing off and standing up, awkwardly chuckling, a bit embarrassed at his reaction

"B-But yeah um I'd like it back, I really like it, and it was a gift from my mom actually, so yeah if you don't mind giving it back, I'd really appreciate it Blitz..."

Cutest imp ever. No wonder the Prince fell head over heels for you

Blitz started to answer cheerfully, but then over-thought it. He was quiet for a long moment, then shook his head.

"I think maybe... maybe Stolas got really unlucky. Maybe he was, you know. So fucking lonely and neglected, and abused by that asshole of a wife, that he was ready to... I guess fall for the first person to be halfway kind to him? Which, I ain't complaining. I love him, too. Fuck, fuck me fucking dead, I love that pretty goddamn bird.

"But sometimes, I can't help wondering... is it fair, you know, to him? To be with me? When there are so many people out there who are... sweeter. Less damaged. I want him, don't get me wrong, and I'll never give him up until he wants me to. But still. It's hard not to wonder."

did you know bowling balls are just extra large jawbreakers? I can prove it! CATCH!

Blitz probably should have ducked, but he didn't. Frowning, he just caught the bowling ball when it was lobbed at his face. The imp was ridiculously strong, especially in the forearms; he dug the tips of his claws into the ball, bits of it crumbling away.

"What exactly the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked, his expression flat, his eyes angry. Blitz tossed the ball in one hand, glaring back at the person who had thrown it. He looked at them for a long moment--then grinned and tossed the ball right back at them. But almost in the same motion, he had his pistol out and the shot taken.

Throwing a bowling ball at someone's head was attempted murder. Blitz wasn't in the mood to just attempt it. Brushing his hands off, his grim expression turned to a cheerful smile.

"Never do something half-assed, bitch."

How that fight with Lucifer go? Was the king to depressed to show up?

"Hey!" Blitz snapped. "Don't talk about him that way. He showed up, and he's a fucking badass. And he fucking listened. Just because he's got depression doesn't mean he can't listen and do a good job. It got through to him, you know? At least, I'm pretty sure it did." Not to be meta, but it wasn't really over yet, so Blitz could only know so much.

He thought again about how vividly he had sensed Stolas and Visage's presence there near the end, and how he remembered Eclipse's smile, and Moxxie and Loona and Fizz, and the anger went out of him. Expression softening, he nodded to the stranger. "Drink some water and get some real food in you before you go home. All this booze is making you almost as fucked up as me. And I mean it. Don't talk shit about my king. He's the most beautiful--and he showed up. He could have ignored me. But he didn't. He showed up. Listened. Met me where I needed to be met. Lucifer is worth so much more than most of us have any fucking idea of, and I'll fight for him til the end."