Work Text:
The moment Stolas got the email, he was up off the couch and out of the apartment quickly to get to the mail room before Blitzø could, knowing his boyfriend would be getting a text about it shortly if he hadn’t already. At present, his lovely boyfriend was across the street at PicoMart picking up the Bupropion prescription Stolas’ psychologist prescribed him. Early that morning was their first session, and even though it was more of a consultation, Stolas liked to think it went rather well!
The timing for this package delivery was a bit inconvenient, and he really hoped he could get there before Blitzø left the pharmacy. Stolas was genuinely so unbelievably excited for this to arrive in the mail, and had been waiting patiently since he placed the order for it.
What was it, exactly?
It was a custom framed image of the photograph taken by Emberlyn with the title of the article above it:
Blitzø Buckzo flips off cameras as his boyfriend carries him to the elevator.
He wasn’t 100% sure how Blitzø would feel about the printed photo with himself un-cropped or scribbled out, so he had the company he got it through laminate the image so any marker scribbles could easily be cleaned up without damaging the picture. It was charmed, so that even permanent marker could be wiped off as if it were dry erase. Sure it cost a pretty penny, but this was special. He knew Blitzø would still have his bad mental days. Just because he talked with Stolas about what had happened to him, that wouldn’t just magically make all those feelings subside. Although he knew Blitzø wouldn’t do something like that to hurt or upset Stolas, there were plenty of habits that required a bit of unlearning. This charmed lamination was simply an insurance of sorts.
Blitzø scribble proof insurance.
They didn’t even have to put the picture up on the wall if Blitzø wasn’t ready for it, but one day Stolas hoped that his boyfriend would feel better enough about himself to allow for pictures displaying him to be present on their walls. Un-cropped and scribble free.
The elevator ride felt like it took years, but once he got down to ground level he sprinted his way over to the mail room. The first half of the room was lined with small, envelope sized lockers assigned to each apartment number, then the room opened up into a much bigger space with lockers of varying sizes for packages. It was probably the most hi-tech part of their building, which spoke volumes of the importance Hell placed on mail and its postal systems. The majority of the building's maintenance was dubious at best, their elevator still broke down more often than was probably normal, and they took forever to send maintenance for broken or malfunctioning appliances paid for in their lease. Like the ceiling fan in their apartment that Stolas had accidentally broken when he hit his head off it his first day here. It was nearing four months and multiple requests were sent and still nothing.
But the mail room was like stepping into a completely different building. It was all VoxTech sponsored, so everything was a mix of blues, reds and black colors, shiny metals and multiple computer terminals to type in codes to open lockers.
There were a few people getting their mail from their apartment boxes. Some gave him looks while others just paid him no mind at all. None were his boyfriend so he was counting that as a success. Stolas approached an available terminal and pulled out the email that gave him details on the locker number and the access code.
“Ok, 96.” He said to himself as he typed the number in, “442961” he keyed in the code and heard a locker pop open on the other side of the room. It was a medium sized cupboard, only a few inches wide, but two feet tall and one and a half feet deep. The package filled up a solid portion of it, containing an 11” by 17” framed picture.
He smiled as he pulled it out and shut the locker. He held it to his chest, feeling positively giddy that it had finally arrived. He turned around to exit the room then froze when he saw Blitzø staring at him with a PicoMart bag in hand.
Stolas panicked and went to hide the package behind his back, “Blitzø?”
“You know I can still see the box, right?” He asked before taking his phone out and showing him the text alert he got from the mail room, “I thought I ordered something and forgot about it, so I was gonna pick it up on my way back up.” He chuckled as he tilted his head to get a better look at the package, “Should I be worried?”
“You saw nothing,” Stolas responded before he waved him off, “At all, now shoo shoo.”
Blitzø chuckled but turned on his heels, “I saw nothing.” Then turned his head all the way up to look at Stolas upside down, “Should I be worried?”
Stolas scoffed and rolled his eyes, “No, not at all. But let’s wait till we get to the apartment.” he replied before tucking the package under one arm then ushering him out of the mail room, “How was your trip to PicoMart?”
“Uneventful.” Blitzø responded, “Outside of a Karen cussing out the pharmacist for not filling a prescription that she didn’t actually have a script for.”
“A Karen?” Stolas asked as they approached the elevator. Blitzø hit the up arrow.
“Oh, it’s a pop culture thing. Slang for someone being an entitled bitch.” His boyfriend supplied, “Happens a lot towards minimum wage workers more, or you’ll come across one being openly racist. That mainly happens to Imps and Hellhounds, but that’s just how it is.”
Stolas frowned, “I don’t love to hear that.” He felt a strong sense of anger in defense of his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s daughter. The door opened and the two of them stepped in, Stolas hit the seventh floor button and asked quietly, “Has that happened to you?”
“Oh all the time.” Blitzø said in a manner that was so casual it was somehow even more upsetting.
Stolas reached over and tugged Blitzø into a side hug. He felt a little stupid for asking, because in all honesty the signs had always been there. This was just an official confirmation of that upsetting truth. Blitzø, not having sensed Stolas’ sense of unease, nuzzled into his side and purred lightly.
The door opened and they stepped out. The trip to their apartment was quiet, and once they were in, they were met with the sound of the TV playing some movie off cable broadcasting that came on after the cheesy romantic comedy he had been watching. It must have ended after he made a mad dash to the mail room.
Stolas walked to the kitchen to grab a knife to open the package, “Go sit on the couch, I just want to see it first then I shall give it to you.”
“Ok, I’ll put something else on the TV then.” He responded as he set the PicoMart bag on the counter.
“Actually, love, would you be able to pause it?” He asked as he set the box down on the counter and watched his boyfriend walk across the apartment.
“Oh?” Blitzø asked, “Am I about to get lucky?”
Stolas chuckled, “Perhaps afterwards, so long as Loona does not return until later this afternoon.”
Blitzø threw his fists in the air and whooped before hopping over the back of the couch. That made Stolas chuckle more before returning his focus to the package. He carefully cut through the tape with a knife then pried the box open with a mounting sense of anticipation. He took the receipt invoice, folded it small and tucked it into his pants pocket, then pulled out the bubble wrap.
His heart skipped a beat when he finally pulled out the frame. The frame itself was black and slate gray rococo style rectangle, with small blue gems embedded that were very close to the ones from the chandelier in the palace. It was a small touch, but Stolas felt as though it was a significant symbol for the two of them. Often, he found himself staring at the small fragment of it hanging in their window. He couldn’t fully explain why, but it just felt so special for them.
The photo was perfectly framed, with a dark charcoal border that had the story headline embedded in gold leaf. As a concept in his head, it sounded nice. The actual thing was just stunning. It was worth every penny he dropped on it, and he hoped Blitzø would like it. Carefully, Stolas set it back in the box and covered it in bubble wrap, then closed the flaps over it before bringing it over to his boyfriend.
“Ok, so to preface, this is your late birthday present.” He began a bit nervously as he took a seat next to Blitzø, “The order was expedited, and honestly even then I was not expecting it to be delivered so soon.” He passed it over to Blitzø, “I had wanted to wrap it, but since I’ve been caught already I would like for you to have it now.”
“Stols, you didn’t have to get me anything…” he said a bit quietly, looking from the package, then up to Stolas. His expression was a little fragile, full of self doubt and a look that he believed he was not worth spending the money on.
“I suppose I did not, but I wanted to.” Stolas responded before nudging his head in the box's direction, “Now open it.” He said nervously.
Following his boyfriend’s request, Blitzø opened the package carefully and slowly. He set aside the bubble wrap and pulled out the framed photo. Stolas watched him carefully, taking in every little minute change in his boyfriend’s expression as he processed the framed picture now being held delicately in his hands. Blitzø set the box aside and just looked at the picture frame, his expression borderline unreadable. Lightly, he traced his fingers down the side of the frame, following every dip and curve on the wood’s ornate design. His fingers passed over the little blue jewels embedded into the frame as well, pressing lightly against the polished facets of them curiously.
“They are only polished blue acrylic, but that was unfortunate the only thing in my—“
Blitzø leaned against Stolas’ side, still fixated on the little blue gems, “No, it’s nice.” He said quietly.
Stolas wrapped his arm around him in a side hug, and only after a moment did Stolas notice Blitzø was crying. The give away being the tears that landed against the glass pane protecting the picture, “Blitzø, dear are you ok?”
Slowly, his boyfriend nodded before wiping away the tears on the frame with the cloth of his sweater sleeve and the heel of his palm, “I’m…” he took a deep breath, “It’s ok. I’m just scared I’ll ruin it…” he said in a voice just barely above a whisper, “It’s too nice a gift and I’m scared…”
Stolas knew full well what Blitzø meant when he said he was scared. He wouldn’t smash it or anything, but the urge to scribble himself out of things was sometimes too much, and when he was in a poor mental state he tended to do things he didn’t mean.
“My love, it is ok I promise.” Stolas reassured him and rubbed comforting circles on his back below the spines that emerged from between his shoulder blades, “You cannot ruin it, even if you tried. It is laminated and charmed. Any marker or pen used will wipe away as if it were dry erase.”
Blitzø was silent for a moment before looking up at Stolas curiously.
Stolas leaned in and kissed his forehead before continuing to speak, “I know old habits can be hard to break, and just because you have spoken with me about some things that have troubled you, that does not mean you no longer struggle with them.” He rested their foreheads together, “We do not have to put it on the wall if you do not feel you are ready. But I hope that someday you will be; and when that day comes I hope that this can be the first.”
Blitzø pulled away just long enough to set the frame back in the box, then just crawled onto Stolas’ lap and hugged him. Stolas hugged him back and rested his chin on the crown of his head. He did not mind the tears dampening the collar of his own sweater, and he did not mind the spikes on Blitzø’s head which dug into the flesh and feathers of his cheek. Softly, Stolas cooed to comfort his boyfriend in a similar manner that purring for an Imp was linked to comforting. He could not purr, he was not capable of making such sounds, but he could do this. He could only hope it was enough.
After a long moment of Blitzø crying and calming down, his boyfriend finally spoke, “I’m sorry, I’m not ready for it to go on the wall, not yet…”
Stolas figured as much, “Darling it is ok to not be ready. You need not apologize or feel bad about it.” He responded and rocked him ever so slightly, “We can keep it in the box for now, and when you are ready we can find a spot for it together.”
Blitzø took in a deep, shuddering breath before responding, “Thank you…”
Stolas hugged him a little bit tighter, “Of course, my love.”
As Blitzø nuzzled further into Stolas’ embrace, the Goetic demon continued to coo softly. They did not end up having sex, and instead sat there in comforting silence. For a while, they eventually dozed off into a mid-morning to late afternoon nap. Loona did not wake them when she returned home after lunch with Bee and Tex, but she did snap a picture of them before retiring for the afternoon in her room.
When they did wake, Stolas remembered to quickly take his new meds without paying much attention to the side effects warning, and the majority of the rest of their day was then spent with Stolas fighting a killer migraine, and Blitzø doting over him trying to alleviate any of his discomfort. This side effect was only temporary, but no less debilitating.
Here's some artwork I've posted on Tumblr for the AU recently:
Blitzø Fighting Concept Sketches
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