Work Text:
Blitzø stared down at his phone, the words ‘ The Love Language Quiz’ flashing at him periodically from the screen.
Stolas had sent it to him a few minutes ago, saying it would be fun to take, and Blitzø didn’t know what to make of that. They’d not even said they loved each other - not in so many words - and they had only finally resolved things and started dating properly two months ago. What was this supposed to mean?
He was tempted to just ignore it, but he was trying to be better at this whole relationship thing, which meant not just ignoring everything the bird did or said that he didn’t want to deal with.
But also, what the fuck was a love language?
“Sir? Are you even listening to me?”
Blitzø looked up from his phone with a glare. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Moxxie blinked slowly at him, unamused. “Sir, we are in the middle of a meeting.”
“Who is the fucking boss, Mox?”
Moxxie sighed, pinching the skin between his eyes. He seemed about to go on one of his long winded rants about ‘appropriate workplace behavior’ when Millie chimed in, a sly smile on her face. “Are you talking to your boyfriend?”
Blitzø scowled. “I do things on my phone besides talk to him,” he grumbled. The stupid demon could see he’d read the message, so he should say something, probably. ‘K’ was always a safe response, so he sent that. He got several heart emojis in reply, so it seemed like he’d gotten his response right, at least, though he was pretty sure it meant he needed to take this love quiz.
“You have a certain face about you when the Prince does something you don’t know how to respond to,” Millie said.
Fuck. Did he really? He turned on his phone camera and switched to selfie mode to examine his expression.
“It’s fucking gross,” Loona intoned, not looking up from her phone.
“Fucking whatever!” Blitzø went back to the quiz screen, glaring at it, before turning accusing eyes to the married couple. “What the fuck is a love language?”
Loona snorted, and the two lovebirds grinned at him. Well, that couldn’t be good.
One explanation later, Blitzø was starting to get concerned about this quiz he had accidentally (sort of) agreed to take. “So you’re saying he’s testing me.”
Millie sighed. “No, B, he’s not testing you. It’s just a quiz that tells you how you most want affection.”
Blitzø huffed. “Feels like a test.”
“I think it will do both of you good,” Moxxie said. “The two of you are widely inept when it comes to healthy communication. By identifying the love languages most applicable to each of you, you will both have the tools to facilitate healthy expressions of admiration and attachment.”
“In English, Mox.”
Moxxie’s eye twitched. “Take the quiz so you two don’t break up.”
So. He took the quiz, grumbling about it the entire time and using up most of their designated meeting time for it. His employees gathered around to read the results.
“Physical touch,” Moxxie recited. “This individual feels loved and appreciated when they receive physical intimacy, including kissing, holding hands, cuddling, and sex. They also respond positively to public displays of affection.”
“Explains why he’s so obsessed with hugs,” Loona said flatly.
“I’m not obsessed with hugs,” Blitzø said. The others ignored him, passing his phone around.
“You were mighty upset at Ozzie’s when the Prince hid his face,” Millie added. “Instead of taking your hand, or somethin’.”
This was all…far too fucking vulnerable. He snatched his phone back and quickly exited the page, biting his lower lip before texting the result to Stolas. As far as results went, he supposed it could have been worse. Except all that crap about hand-holding and stuff. He added a winky face and an eggplant emoji, nodding with satisfaction at a job well done.
The results did explain why he found himself wanting to touch the stupid owl for no particular reason. But really, if they were sitting on the couch together watching a movie, it was just weird to not be touching in some way, right?
His phone buzzed. He opened his messages and blinked slowly down at Stolas’ text.
Fuck.
He dropped his head down on the meeting table with a groan. “He’s going to break up with me,” he said into the wood.
“Why do you say that, B?”
“Because his love language is apparently fucking words of affirmation.”
It didn’t surprise him that what Stolas needed to feel appreciated was nice words and compliments, especially not after putting up with his bitch of a wife for over 17 years. But that didn’t mean he was happy about it.
Blitzø was not good with words. Or expressing his feelings - or really understanding his feelings, if he was being honest with himself. So knowing he needed to do all of those things to make the bird happy was…
A tad overwhelming.
Blitzø told the others they weren’t taking any clients for the rest of the day and locked himself in his office, feeling disgusted with himself as he looked up articles about how to express one's feelings .
Ugh.
In the end, he ended up screenshotting a bunch of compliments to use later. Hopefully that would be good enough.
They had plans tonight, so he could try them out then. Stolas wanted to have a movie night, so there would be snacks and blankets and other cozy shit. Probably Stolas would do something sappy like light candles. And during the movie he could use the compliments. Then Stolas could be all ‘positively enforced’ or whatever, instead of being let down like Blitzø always managed to do. Maybe that’s why he’d sent the quiz in the first place - to give Blitzø a chance to not fuck it up.
He could even pick out one ahead of time. He scanned the list for the best phrase that would work upon his arrival, then scrolled through VoxTube for a bit to calm himself down. The rest of the day crawled by, but eventually he’d dropped everyone off and it was time to face the owl.
Stolas, as always, seemed delighted to see him, eyes lighting up as soon as Blitzø stepped in the door. “Hello darling,” he cooed, bending down to peck him affectionately on the cheek. “How was your day?”
Cheeks warm, he averted his eyes. “Fine.”
“Oh good. Well I have us all set up in the den,” the bird said, reaching for Blitzø’s hand. They didn’t hold hands very often - the height difference made it fucking awkward - and Blitzø wondered if the gesture was just because of the quiz results. “Did you have any ideas about what to watch?”
“Whatever, as long as it’s not a romantic comedy.”
As Blitzø had expected, the den had been transformed. The couch was more of a nest than anything, stuffed with pillows and blankets and even a horse plushie he’d started keeping at the palace. Candles throughout the room glowed with soft light. Snacks were already set up, including tiny cubes of cheese and multiple condiments. He looked around at the set up, steeled himself, and turned to Stolas, his phrase from earlier selected and ready. He’d even practiced saying it until it sounded genuine, and not sarcastic or forced. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”
Stolas absolutely beamed at him, which made Blitzø feel pleased and guilty, since it apparently took that little to make the other happy. He’d try harder. He could do this.
He had taken notes!
Soon enough, he found himself curled in the blankets, one side pressed against Stolas’ soft feathers, the other against plush pillows. At first, the routine was peaceful. Until Stolas took his hand, talons brushing against knuckles. Until the bird leaned in to press occasional kisses to Blitzø’s cheek or horns. Until Stolas wrapped an arm around him fully.
It made him feel wanted, and cared for, and it really wasn’t fair. Stolas already touched him all the time. He was the one who needed to put in all this extra work to come up with nice words or whatever.
It was probably time for more nice words, right? Especially if Stolas was being this affectionate. But, he realized, he couldn’t exactly pull up the list he’d saved when he was pressed this close to Stolas. Instead he was going to rely on his memory or…come up with something on his own.
He fought against the urge to just give up on the whole thing. He could do this. He had to.
He looked up subtly, trying to figure out what he could say. Stolas’ eyes were bright and focused on the screen, clearly enamored with whatever was going on in the movie. The glow of the TV and light from the candles seemed to add an extra softness to him. Honestly, the bird was too pretty for his own good.
Blitzø wondered if that counted as ‘affirmation words’. No one hated being called attractive, right? “You’re pretty,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
Stolas turned to him, expression openly surprised, cheeks tinted pink. “Oh! I…thank you, Blitzø.” He smiled, almost bashful.
Blitzø nodded, pleased with a job well done, and went back to watching the movie. That should be enough for now, surely. He allowed himself to relax for the rest of the movie, happily curling into Stolas’ side. When the movie was over, he didn’t even have to move, Stolas simply using his magic to switch DVDs. “Lazy fucker,” he teased.
“I can get up,” Stolas said.
“Nah,” Blitzø dismissed, nuzzling closer in protest.
As the opening credits began, a talon tilted Blitzø’s chin up. He met Stolas’ eyes, warm and adoring, before the owl leaned in and kissed him with far more tenderness than Hell should ever allow. It was a short kiss, but it left him breathless, gaping at Stolas who stroked a talon along his cheek, terribly gently, before turning back to the screen.
Fuck . Blitzø had never stood a chance against these feelings, though he’d fought against him as much as he could. But he liked this. He liked feeling cared for. He’d longed for affection like this for years, but had been too afraid to let himself have it.
The idea of losing it, of fucking it up (because he was Blitzø, it was what he did ) made his head spin and chest spasm. He couldn’t fuck it up this time. He didn’t know if he’d survive it.
He could do…words of affirmation. If that’s what Stolas needed to keep him around, Blitzø could do that. He should say something. Anything, really, after a kiss like that. But every thought that crossed his mind didn’t feel right. Blitzø wasn’t good with words - he always fucked up with them - and he really couldn’t trust himself with something as important as this.
Slowly, he slipped his tail into his pocket and tugged out his phone, just enough to see the screen. He’d just managed to get the screenshot open when Stolas shifted, head turning towards him-
“You inspire me,” he said quickly, reading the first phrase he saw and shoving the phone back into his pocket.
Stolas blinked at him. Shit on a blueballed cock, fuck, why had he said that one?
“I do? Why?” the owl asked.
Okay, he could salvage this. He just needed to come up with a reason. Any reason. Shouldn’t be hard, Stolas was great, and kind, and terribly strong even though he looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over. “Because you’re so powerful.” No, that made it sound like he wanted power and it wasn’t really romantic. Something else. “And you’re smart and…” Why had he added an ‘and’? Now he needed a third thing. “You love your kid.”
Stolas still seemed perplexed, but he did smile. “Oh well, thank you, Blitzy. You know, you are quite the inspiration yourself. You’re so very perseverant, and so unapologetically yourself.”
“Yeah thanks,” he mumbled, scooching further into Stolas’ side and hiding his face in his feathers.
Stolas was quiet, long enough that Blitzø thought he’d gotten away with the misstep. Until. “You know, Blitzø, I don’t expect you to change.”
Fuck. He blinked up at Stolas, attempting to convey innocent confusion. “Hm?”
Stolas’ smile was disgustingly fond. Blitzø looked back to the TV quickly. “Blitzy,” he said, voice soft. “I appreciate you using words of affirmation, but please don’t stress yourself out about it.”
The bird was too smart for his own good. “Not stressed.”
“Truly,” Stolas said, turning Blitzø’s head to meet his eyes. “It is lovely to hear, but you don’t need to go out of your way. Your comments today alone are more than I ever heard from Stella,” he said with a chuckle.
Blitzø’s eyes narrowed, a flare of anger rippling through his chest. He hated that bitch for making someone as caring and beautiful as Stolas feel so unworthy. That she’d been so awful to him that he found Blitzø’s scraps of affection at all sufficient. “Don’t do that. Act like you don’t fucking deserve compliments and shit. Cause you do.” He poked Stolas in the chest for emphasis. “That harpy is fucked up in the head for not wanting you.”
Stolas’ eyes widened, a shy smile growing on his face. “Blitzø…”
“So just let me…do it.” Blitzø said, wrapping his tail around Stolas’ leg in a bid to keep it from flicking with anxiety. “I’ll probably be bad at it but wanna…you know. Do good for you. Make you happy.” He wanted to crawl out of his own skin, even if it was true. “Okay I’m tapped out. Can we just watch this? Or skip straight to the part where I fuck your brains out?”
Stolas hummed and nuzzled into his face, letting out a small hoot as Blitzø’s tail squeezed around his leg. “Of course, darling.” He hesitated, just for a moment. “And. Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
They fell into comfortable silence as the movie went on, Stolas wearing a stupid, pleased little smile the whole time.
Well fuck me sideways , Blitzø thought to himself. Maybe I really can do this.