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Stolas woke up disoriented for a moment. This wasn’t his bed, where was he…
It came back to him in a flash. The trial. Blitzø’s near execution. Losing his power, his title, his custody. He was in Blitzø’s apartment, on his couch, and there was a gaping hole beneath his ribs where his magic used to sit, spreading a gnawing, aching emptiness through his entire body. He felt drained and exhausted, and he tried to get comfortable again.
There was a pounding at the door.
Stolas looked over to see Blitzø, already halfway there, creeping quietly over to the door with a knife ready in his hand. The knocking must’ve been what woke Stolas then.
Suddenly a voice that Stolas recognized, but couldn’t quite place, yelled out, “Open up asshole!”
Blitzø’s entire posture relaxed. “Fizz,” he breathed, and set the knife on the bookshelf next to him. He crossed the rest of the room in a couple steps and called out softly, “Christ on a stick, give me a fucking second, I’m working on it. And keep it down will ya, you’ll wake Loona.” He quickly undid the lock.
Blitzø had barely cracked the door open when he stumbled back as he was tackled in a hug by an imp Stolas now realized was Fizzarolli of all people, and who wrapped his long arms all the way around him at least twice. Stolas was altogether bewildered at his appearance at Blitzø’s apartment in the small hours of the morning. The last time Stolas had seen Fizzarolli and Blitzø interact it had been… unfriendly, to put it lightly. Something had changed there, clearly, but Stolas was at a loss as to what was happening.
“Woah, hey, Fizz, you okay?” Blitzø asked as he caught him.
Fizzarolli pulled back just enough to look Blitzø in the face. “Am I okay? You nearly died, asshole!” he responded. “I almost lost you again,” he added softly.
Blitzø’s mouth opened in a silent “oh”, as his arms came to wrap around the other imp more securely. “Hey, hey. I didn’t though. I’m still here and in one piece,” he said. “Stols got to me first.”
Stolas looked up to see Asmodeus poke his head through the door, but his broad shoulders were too wide for the frame. He ducked back into the hallway, and there was a poof! of blue magic, then a smaller Asmodeus comfortably stepped into the room.
Blitzø’s attention remained on Fizzarolli. “Not that I don’t always love seeing you Fizz, and you’re always welcome here, but any particular reason you came banging on my door at 3AM?”
Asmodeus came to put a hand on Blitzø’s shoulder. “We were planning to stop by tomorrow morning anyway, but…”
“But I needed to see you,” Fizzarolli finished, slightly muffled as he buried his face in Blitzø’s shoulder. “ Now .”
“Ah. Okay,” was all Blitzø had to say about that, but he did seem to squeeze Fizzarolli a little tighter.
“I also wanted to apologize,” Asmodeus said. “For not intervening more during the trial. Satan has been on a power trip ever since Lucifer left, and today he was out of control and out of line. And you both were collateral damage.” He looked up at Stolas now and held eye contact for a moment. Stolas could see his concern and his remorse written all over his face. “So on behalf of all Seven of us, I’m sorry that this happened. I’ve already sought an audience with Lucifer to discuss the situation, and so has Bee, so assuming he actually shows up for once, this should be dealt with. At the very least, it shouldn’t happen again.” Asmodeus scrubbed a hand over his face. “Not that talking with Lucifer after the fact would’ve fixed things,” he muttered.
“No hard feelings,” Blitzø shrugged. “All that stuff’s way above my pay grade. And anywho, I made it out in one piece, head still attached and everything.”
“Still,” Asmodeus said, “for what it’s worth, I’m sorry you and your family had to go through that.” He squeezed Blitzø’s shoulder gently.
“Apology noted and appreciated,” Blitzø said. “Thanks Oz. And don’t beat yourself up too bad. It ain’t your fault Satan wanted to make an example of us, and it all worked out in the end.” He winced, and glanced at Stolas. “Er, nobody died, at least.”
Stolas gave Blitzø a small smile to let him know he was fine. Blitzø was right. No one had died, and honestly the way things had gone had been the best case scenario, all things considered. It had certainly been better than what Stolas had thought was going to happen, when he’d flipped on the news. Even if Stolas’s whole world had come crashing down, they’d all made it out alive, and mostly in one piece…
He realized he’d zoned out, and Asmodeus and Blitzø were still talking. They didn’t seem to be talking to Stolas directly though, so hopefully no one had noticed.
“And if you all need anything, anything at all, you call us, got it?” Asmodeus was saying.
“Yeah yeah, I got it,” Blitzø said. He squirmed a bit under the combined attention of Asmodeus and Fizzarolli. Although he couldn’t really scoot away much, considering Fizzarolli was still clinging to him tightly. “We’re doing alright here for now, honest, but I appreciate the offer, and if that changes, you’ll be the first ones to know.”
“Good,” Fizzarolli said. He paused for a moment. “And I’m glad you’re okay,” he added softly. “Sorry I woke you up. I was gonna wait till tomorrow, to come see you, and check in and stuff, but I just—“ His voice caught. “I needed to see you. To know you were still here .”
“It’s fine, Fizz.” Blitzø shivered. “I get it.” He sank down to settle them both on the floor. “Don’t worry about it. You’re both welcome to stick around as long as you want.”
Stolas understood what Fizzarolli meant. He was selfishly glad Blitzø had decided to stay out in the living room with Stolas because Stolas’s mind was still running wild with possible scenarios of what could’ve happened that afternoon. If Stolas had been slower, if he hadn’t turned on the news at just the right time, if Satan hadn’t been willing to listen to him and let Blitzø go…
Having Blitzø there, in front of him, healthy and whole and alive, was a great comfort. Having him close, to talk to, or touch, or simply to just watch him breathe, helped Stolas to stop thinking about the versions of today that ended with Blitzø gone. Whatever history there was between the two imps in front of him, whatever had happened since that night at Ozzie’s, they were clearly important to each other, so of course Fizzarolli also wanted to see him, late hour or not.
Asmodeus sat down next to him on the couch, and Stolas jumped. “And how are you holding up, birdy babe?” he said softly.
“Oh, um, hello Asmodeus,” he stammered, trying to put his thoughts back in order. He glanced over to see the two imps whispering together. Blitzø’s eyes looked slightly damp. He looked back at Asmodeus. “I’m… I’m alright, really, all things considered.”
“You can call me Ozzie,” he said, not unkindly. “And while I’m glad you’re alright, it’s okay if you’re not right now. You don’t have to talk to me, but if you want to talk about it, I’m more than happy to listen.”
“Oh. Um, thank you?” Stolas said. He wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that.
“Can I give you a hug?” Ozzie asked.
Stolas just nodded, and then Asmodeus wrapped his arms around him. Stolas honestly wasn’t sure when the last time he’d been hugged was, and something in him broke, or maybe shifted back into place, at the contact.
“It hurts,” he whispered. “Losing the magic. There’s this… emptiness in me and it’s draining everything out of me and I’m so damn tired, and it hurts so much.” The dam was open now and he kept talking. Somehow it was easier to talk to Ozzie about this. Blitzø was already doing so much for him, and he was already so worried about Stolas as it was. Stolas didn’t want to put anything else on him, especially after what Blitzø himself had gone through today. Ozzie had magic of his own, he understood what it was like, to feel it flowing though everything you did. He understood exactly what Stolas had lost. Why Stolas would feel so bereft without it.
Ozzie ran a hand up and down his back. “I’m sorry, Stolas. That sounds awful.”
Stolas sniffled. “I wouldn’t even—“ His voice hitched. “I wouldn’t care , about any of it, except that Stella has Octavia. And I won’t get to see her for a hundred years.” He could feel tears running down his beak now, and distantly he worried he was ruining Ozzie’s nice coat. “I don’t know what she’s going to do, having her alone. At best, she’ll make her hate me. At worst…” He trailed off. He didn’t want to say it out loud. Stella wouldn’t hurt Via, she never had before. It was Stolas she hated, and she’d won, truly gotten rid of him this time, so Via should be alright, but what if, with him gone now, she—
Ozzie squeezed him tighter, breaking him from his spiral. “Don’t you worry. We’ll make sure your daughter’s alright, I promise.” He paused, thinking. “If you don’t hear from her by tomorrow, I’ll stop by myself. Make sure she’s alright, pass on any messages you need. Maybe I can pull some strings to get you the chance for some visitation.”
“Thank you.” He was crying in earnest now, big heaving sobs, but he couldn’t stop. It was all hitting him now, how much everything in his life was falling apart on him. He’d been numb before, in shock, when Blitzø had first brought him home, but now that he was starting to process it all, the enormity of what he had done was starting to hit him. He wanted to go home, he missed his house and his plants and his bed, but most importantly he just wanted to hug his little girl. Tell her how sorry he was to have left her behind. Even if Asmodeus managed to secure him visitation rights, he still wasn’t sure she’d want to see him. He didn’t regret what he’d done, couldn’t regret it, seeing Blitzø here and whole, and knowing that he very nearly wasn’t, but he did regret that it had necessitated doing the one thing he’d told Via he’d never do: running off somewhere she couldn’t reach him. If he’d had more time, maybe he could’ve handled things differently, made a plan, but he hadn’t, and he was sure that was by design on Andrealphus’s part. He needed to see her, to talk to her, try to explain, to apologize, and in a hundred years it might be too late. He buried his face into Ozzie’s shoulder and sobbed.
Blitzø spoke up, likely hearing Stolas crying. “Hey Stols, you, uh, you okay?” he asked, his own voice suspiciously thick.
Stolas tried to give him a shaky thumbs up, though his continued sobs probably undermined the point.
“I’ve got him, Blitzø,” Ozzie said softly. “You just let Fizzie take care of you right now.”
Blitzø didn’t say anything, so Stolas assumed he must’ve gone back to his conversation with Fizzarolli. Stolas wasn’t sure how long he sat there crying into Asmodeus’s shoulder, but eventually his sobs slowed and he started to run out of tears for the time being.
He pulled back and wiped at his eyes. He looked up at the Sin in front of him, who still had an arm around his shoulders, and suddenly felt very self conscious. “I’m— I’m sorry…”
Asmodeus immediately shook his head. “Don’t apologize, that’s what I came here for.”
“Oh,” he said. “ Well. Then thank you, Asm— Ozzie. It helped.”
Ozzie smiled at him gently. He squeezed Stolas’s shoulder again. “I’m glad. And if you ever need a shoulder to cry on again, or just an ear to listen, you know who to call.” He paused, then went on more seriously. “I mean it, Stolas. It’s not just you and Blitzø in this. Fizz and I are both happy to let you lean on us if you need it.”
“Thank you, I— that is we— I’m sure Blitzø does as well, and I… I appreciate it. I’m very grateful.”
“Don’t mention it.” They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments. Stolas suddenly felt a fresh wave of exhaustion wash over him. He leaned back against Ozzie’s side and rested his head on his shoulder.
Ozzie nodded at the two imps tangled in a pile on the floor. Both of their eyes were red from crying, although when Stolas looked up at them, Blitzø was laughing and shoving Fizzarolli’s shoulder. Fizzarolli had an arm around Blitzø’s shoulders, and Blitzø’s tail was wrapped around Fizzarolli’s waist. “The two of them go way back,” Ozzie said softly. “They were friends as kids, I guess, and there was some kind of falling out in the middle there for a while, but they managed to patch that up recently, and they’ve gotten pretty close. Happened right around when you came to ask me about the crystal, actually.”
Stolas hummed as he took that information in. He’d known Blitzø since he was a child, technically, yet he knew so little about Blitzø’s actual past. He vaguely remembered another little imp clown alongside Blitzø’s act, but he’d never actually connected that young imp to the Fizzarolli on all the billboards. He really knew so little about Blitzø’s personal life at all, aside from the fact that he ran his own business, although he supposed now he would have the chance to see more of it first hand. “I take it that’s why you changed your mind about giving me one?”
“Yeah. You’ve got Fizzie to thank for that. I see he’s gotten good use out of it.”
“It seems so.” Their conversation lagged again. The stress and fatigue of the day was starting to catch up to him, and Stolas was having a hard time coming up with anything to stay.
Ozzie watched Stolas for a moment, then leaned forward. “Hey Froggie,” he called softly. Fizzarolli looked up. “I think we might want to consider letting these guys get some shut eye after their day today. Blitzø, just so you know, we are taking you all out for breakfast tomorrow. Feel free to invite your other two employees as well, if they’d like to join. Now, we’re more than happy to stay here tonight as long as you need us, but if you want us out of your house to let you get some peace and quiet, you say the word and we’ll leave and come back.”
Blitzø yawned. “You’re welcome to stay over, if you want, although I’m not sure there’s space for all of us.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. “It’s not that big a place, unfortunately. This is pretty much it. But if you don’t mind being a bit cramped I don’t have a problem with you staying till breakfast.”
“Hmm.” Ozzie looked thoughtful. “In that case, how about this? I’m going to open a portal to our bedroom at our place, and leave it open while I go sleep in my own bed, to free up some space in your living room. Froggie, you’re welcome to come with me, or crash wherever Blitzø is sleeping, or go back and forth. If any of you need anything, just yell. Sound good?”
“Works for me,” Blitzø said.
“Excellent!” Ozzie opened a portal to a lavish bedroom and stepped through with a wave and a flourish. “In that case, I will bid you all good night, but don’t hesitate to call me if you need me.”
Blitzø stood and stretched, though he kept his tail wrapped around Fizzarolli’s wrist. “I should try to get some sleep. Fizz, you joining me on the beanbag?”
Fizzarolli nodded and got to his feet as well. As Blitzø crossed back to the beanbag chair he’d apparently been sleeping on, he looked back at Stolas. “Stols, you need anything, before I turn in for the night?”
Stolas shook his head. “I’m alright but thank you. Sleep well.”
Fizzarolli stepped closer to Stolas. “I wanted to say thank you,” he said softly. “For saving my best friend. I don’t know what I would’ve done if…” He trailed off.
“Of course,” he whispered. “I also care very deeply for him, and I am so glad he’s safe.”
“I know it cost you, and I’m sorry that it did. I’m sure Oz already said it, and I know we don’t really know each other that well, but any friend of Blitzø’s is a friend of mine. If you need anything, or even just some moral support or whatever, I’m here.”
“I appreciate that Fizzarolli,” Stolas said. “Thank you.” Something warmed in his chest at his words. Stolas had never had friends before. Just Blitzø, and Stolas was beginning to realize that having a friend for only one day during one’s entire childhood didn’t truly count when it came to learning what friendship was supposed to be. Yet another thing he was having to learn now, though perhaps this would be a nicer lesson than most of the ones he’d gotten today.
“You can call me Fizz if you want. Fizzarolli’s a mouthful sometimes.”
“Right. Well thank you, Fizz, for taking care of him tonight.”
“‘Course.” Fizz grinned. “It’s what friends are for, and contrary to what he thinks,” he said, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder, “he’s a decent one to have around.”
Stolas nodded with a small smile. As he opened his beak to respond, Blitzø spoke up from across the room, “Hey, are you two gonna sleep or you just gonna sit and gossip all night?”
Fizzarolli rolled his eyes. “Guess I should go hit the sack. Good night Stolas.” And he walked over and joined Blitzø under the blanket Blitzø was holding up for him to crawl into.
“Good night,” Stolas murmured, as he laid back down on the couch and adjusted his own blanket over himself. As he watched the two imps settle together on the beanbag, wrapping arms and legs and tails around each other, he felt a twinge of jealousy. He’d never had that kind of easy intimacy with anyone, either platonically or romantically. Even with Blitzø, before things got complicated, there had always been the deal standing between them. He wished he’d gotten the chance. Maybe there was still time, heaven knew he and Blitzø would be sharing quarters for some time now.
Stolas yawned and settled more into the couch. All of that was something he could reflect on later. For now, he was drained and exhausted and according to the clock on the bookshelf, it was 3:47 in the morning. The room was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of the portal in the corner, and he shut his eyes and listened to the imps’ breathing on the other side of the room.
For now he was safe, and he wasn’t alone, and he apparently had a breakfast date with his friends to look forward to in the morning. He’d take tomorrow as it came, and the day after that, and for now, that was enough.