Vox Stood, His Grin Sharper And More Dangerous Now As He Adjusted His Jacket, Making Sure It Hung Perfectly.

Vox stood, his grin sharper and more dangerous now as he adjusted his jacket, making sure it hung perfectly. "You can want to ask," he said cheerfully, "but it's better that you don't. Until I know that you and your company can be trusted? If you were to end up with any of my secrets, I would have to take care of that." If I tell you the truth, I will kill you. It was as simple and heartless as that. Just because Vox didn't make a habit of killing didn't mean he was reluctant to do so when necessary. He liked this little imp. Beautiful, charming, ferocious, and adaptable, she was everything one could wish for in a contractor--

But she would be meat on the floor the moment she crossed him.

That was the ugly truth about interacting with Overlords. Even the kindest of them--of which Vox was arguably not--could never really be trusted. Her instincts had been right, to slam the door in his face, and now it was too late. Millie was on Vox's radar. IMP was on his list. There was only one way for them to get out of this, and that was through success.

Smile brighter than ever, he zapped himself away, leaving nothing but the acrid tang of burned air behind.

-

Blitz was in ridiculously good spirits when he, Moxxie, and Loona returned through the portal. With a cheerful whoop, he did a completely unnecessary somersault before going to hang his jacket up.

"Fuck, killing is the best. It's good to be good at shit!" He practically hopped over to Millie, scooped her up, and nuzzled her face. "Hey there, Millie-Billie! We missed you! How was shit here? I got you something." Blitz put her down, went back over to his coat, and dug out the paper sack with cheeseburgers in it. "Earth burgers, if you haven't had lunch yet." He tossed the bag her way. "We miss anything?"

There's a smirk rested on her face as he said that. Her being able to flatter someone was easy. It was in her genes. Learned it from her mother. Something her mother did say was 'If you can flatter someone, you'll be certain to win them over.' Her mom was right most of the time. It doesn't always work though. But she definitely didn't want to get on an overlord's bad side. That wouldn't be good, or helpful to I.M.P. Although, Blitz might enjoy it if someone like her were to get on an overlord's bad side. "I know my way around people."

Honestly, it wasn't all that much of a surprise that killing may be boring to him. It made her wonder if he just hadn't found the unique ways of killing someone. Oh well, to each their own. She listens as he began to describe someone that he wanted her to find. The second that he managed to spit out just a bit of the description she couldn't help but grin. Perfect. Her boss and coworkers already had a bone to pick with that jerk. So, it would be nice to have a reason to rough him up a bit. Take him right off that high horse that he was always on. This was definitely going to be a fun job that was certain.

Although she was already thrilled to take on this job, she was curious to know who this overlord was. Killing an overlord? That was something that they'd never done before. "You can't just tell me it's an overlord and not expect me to want to ask who you're referring too."

There it was, she was smirking again at the mention of Strikers name.

"I already have a bet to settle with him. So, count us in."

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe we should tell our boss to suck it," Blitz shouted over his shoulder, before cackling. Realizing Moxxie was absolutely going to catch him, he jumped up onto a passing car, letting it carry him about half a block, before hopping right back off, and making a mad scramble towards Moxxie. Delighted that the play was happening, Blitz did his best to tag him, and not to be tagged. Playing with Moxxie might be rare, but fuck, it was life. The tagging, the racing at top speeds, the climbing, the jumping...

Sure, maybe there were reasons that imp culture didn't exactly encourage public zoomies, at least in places as busy as Imp City, but it wasn't like it was completely taboo. How could it be, when there was nothing more fun? At one point, Blitz slid under a dumpster, panting, eyes bright with laughter. He knew Moxxie was going to find him, knew there was no hiding from or escaping from that small but fucking fierce assassin--and that knowledge was the best thing in the world. Laughing, trying to catch his breath, his attempt to hide was half-hearted at best...

And the second he saw Moxxie, he kicked off from the wall, scooting out towards those tiny little feet, fully intending to grab him by the ankles and play-chomp. Blitz made a ridiculous little growly-screech as he made his move--what even was stealth?

Moxxie had relaxed, tail swishing behind him. Though it was hard to miss the stray tears that Blitz had swept away. He went to touch his boss’ shoulder reassuringly. Then without warning– though he should have sensed it by the telltale pre-zoomie signs– Blitzo had hopped over Loona’s desk and out the front door. Remaining in the office as a stick in the mud seemed out of the question. Not only was Moxxie hardwired now to nag Blitzo about their shift not being one-hundred percent over, but one imp turning the other imp down for zoomies was just cruel. And it had infectiously jumped to him as well. Like an electric current, his tail flicking swiftly and his pupils widening as well. “BLITZ! WAIT!”

He shot out the door just as fast. Maybe faster. Having digitigrade legs had their advantages in some situations.Outside, he caught sight of Blitz right away and tailed after him.

“Our shift isn't over yet!” There was a playful tone to it, like he didn't take the shift as seriously as he did catching up with Blitzo.

Blitz heard him out, taking in every word. Some of them hurt, some of them felt like bliss, and the mixture was a bittersweet one. They had gone too far into the pain, they had hurt each other too badly, for this to just be brushed away like nothing had happened. But we can't brush things away or ignore them anymore, he reminded himself firmly, trying to quash that old fucking instinct that always insisted it was better, better to ignore the problems, better to run, better to be safe and alone than vulnerable and with someone else.

His throat was tight by the time Stolas finished, and since Blitz was still standing up on the furniture, tall enough to do this for once, he pulled the beautiful bird into his arms. Gently, more gently than he wanted to, afraid he might break him somehow, or break this moment, this careful peace they finally had. Closing his eyes, Blitz rubbed his cheek against Stolas's shoulder.

"I'm gonna answer," he said, stomach tight enough that he thought he might be sick, but in a good way, an overwhelmingly good way. "I just... I need a minute. To breathe. Please. Don't--don't leave this time. Because I'm not fast enough to..." He swallowed against tears and hugged Stolas a little tighter, holding onto the lifeline that was this warm body. Fuck, it ached to know a body so well, but feel a million miles away from the person inside it. And right now, until they got onto the same page? They were a million miles apart, if not more. Stolas just said so much, made himself so vulnerable, and Blitz knew that if he fucked this up? Stolas might never be able to open up like this with him again. Why would he want to?

Don't be afraid. Even if he's planning on breaking your heart, you owe it to him to let him. Stop being a little bitch about love, he told himself, trying to find the courage. Fuck, why the fuck was this so terrifying?

"I love you, too," he said, the words coming out softly, before Blitz had even fully decided to say them. "Stolas. I love you, too. I wanted to tell you at your house. It took me--way too long. Into that fight. To realize that you and me, we weren't talking about the same thing, we weren't fighting about the same thing. We were on way fucking different pages, and when I realized it, I tried to reach out but you--you needed to get away. And I. Fuck. I'm the captain of cutting and running. Of getting overwhelmed and freaking the fuck out and needing to just... so I, I get it, Stolas. I get it. Why you didn't stay.

"And I was shitty to you. All the time. But then at the party, after you sang... I wanted to tell you so many things. You were too drunk, I don't know if any of it would have sunk in. And it wouldn't... it wouldn't have been fair? To tell you the things, the things that... that really matter? When maybe you wouldn't remember them.

"I love you. I'm in love with you. And I want you? I don't know what you, why you, why you would want me, but I'm learning to accept that you do. And maybe you're sorry for the deal, but I ain't. Cause that deal? The chance to get close to you? I wouldn't change that for the fucking world.

"I don't know how you can trust me. There's... nothing. That I can fucking say, to convince you. But if you'll let me, I'll try, Stolas. For you. I will try--anything. And I am sorry. For everything. All the times I left you feeling alone. One more asshole in your life who turned away. I'm sorry for everything. Stolas, I'm sorry. For hurting you. For all of it.

"What do..." His heart was racing a million miles a minute. How could it be so terrifying, admitting love to someone else? Trying to work a relationship out? Why did hope have to hurt to experience?

"What do you need? From me. To feel--safe. Wanted. To feel like, like maybe you can start believing, or risk believing, that I care...?"

Stolas held Blitzø's hands in his as the imp confessed everything he had only longed to hear. They were beautiful, hopeful words that Stolas had only dreamt of hearing. Now that they were spoken aloud from the very person he had wanted to hear them from, it was hard to process. Part of Stolas wondered if Blitzø was only saying all of these beautiful things to get back in his good graces and not because he truly felt them. Satan, he hoped that the imp truly meant it. All of it.

He couldn't help but reach out and cup Blitzø's face adoringly, though a sad smile graced his features. Blitzø had been so resistant to telling Stolas how he felt, the prince was stealing himself for it all to slip away in an instant.

"You know how I feel Blitzø, I have told you how much you mean to me and all I have wanted was to hear that you felt the same. How can I trust anything that you have to say? I want to Blitzø, more than anything."

Stolas dropped his hand and hugged himself, needing comfort. "I understand that you do not like to speak about feelings Blitzø but I need you to. I have to hear the words or I will always doubt that you truly care for me as anything other than a convenient fuck. Do you understand? I want more. I deserve more.

"I apologize for ever starting the deal in the first place, I simply wished to spend time with you. I had no frame of reference for how to do that. You were my first and only ever friend Blitzø. I thought about you constantly after that night. I debated over and over how I could get you to come visit once again and that is why the deal was made. I was never going to hold the grimoire over you, I would have let you use it for as long as you needed. I should have never proposed such a deal, for that I am truly sorry.

"Somewhere along the way, I have come to love you Blitzø. Truly, deeply, love you. I can only hope you feel the same but I need to hear the words Blitzø. Please tell me that you love me as well."

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."

Just look my way ♥️🌙

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..."