Work Text:
The air in the office of IMP crackled with magical energy as the diamond shaped portal from the living world appeared. Stolas stopped his typing to wait for the rest of the staff to arrive from their mission. Mostly he was waiting to greet the imp he loved so dearly.
Loona jumped through the portal, a look of panic on her face. “Shit, shit, fuck, shit!” She ran in a bit of a panic on the spot, having difficulty deciding which way to go.
“Loona? What’s wrong?” Stolas stood up, his own panic starting to rise. He had never seen Loona so out of sorts, her eyes glossy with tears that threatened to burst.
Loona stopped her frantic pacing and looked at Stolas, like she just realized she wasn’t alone. Seeing the former prince seemed to help her snap out of her indecisiveness. She turned towards the bathroom, “I gotta get the first aid kit, go get some paper towels. A lot of them!” Stolas nodded silently and sprang into action.
A few seconds later the pair were back in the office’s lobby, waiting with bated breath as the three last employees slowly came through the portal. Millie and Moxxie eased themselves through as they carried Blitzø between them, his arms around their shoulders, and a knife protruding from his waist, and a strained smile on his face.
Stolas felt like his heart stopped, his breathing definitely did, as he looked at the knife sticking out of his beloved. “Blitzø! What happened?” He went to touch the knife.
“Don’t touch that, we gotta get ready to stop the bleeding once it’s out,” Millie said sternly but with kindness.
“Shouldn’t we take him to a hospital?” Stolas asked, his voice filled with more panic than he’d like.
“Fuck no, they’re too expensive,” Blitzø retorted from between M&M as they led him to the bathroom. “‘Sides, it’s fine! I’ve been stabbed a bunch of times, this didn’t hit anything important. Millie can just patch me up and I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”
Stolas didn’t like this. Hospital bills weren’t something he ever had to consider before. His magic kept him from getting sick and allowed him to heal quickly, so he’d never really had to go to a hospital, except for the time Striker had kidnapped and tortured him. Even then, he hadn’t been aware that a bill was presented afterwards. It must have been something his staff had taken care of on his behalf. Just another aspect of normal life that he was ignorant of.
In the washroom, Millie asked Stolas to hoist Blitzø onto the sink so she could get a better angle to work with. Stolas complied and then held Blitzø from behind, allowing him to rest against him.
Once the rest of the crew had gotten everything ready, Millie put a steadying hand on Blitzø’s torso, and gripped the knife handle. “Ready, B?”
Blitzø wrapped his tail around Stolas’s leg and braced himself, “ready.”
Millie pulled out the knife and they went to work. Blitzø hissed slightly in pain, squeezing his eyes closed, his tail tightening it’s grasp on Stolas’s leg. Stolas held him tighter, and rubbed his beak against his horns, breathing in his scent: gunpowder, spice, and, now, the metallic scent of blood. Stolas chittered slightly against him, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, but he held them back. This moment was not about him and his fears, but being strong for Blitzø. He could cry later.
Millie’s steady hands worked quickly, the needle and thread pulled together the edges of the torn flesh. The bathroom was thick with tension and quiet determination as they worked. Moxxie held paper towels tightly against the wound, trying to slow the bleeding, while Loona dabbed away any excess blood, keeping the wound clean for Millie. After what felt like hours, but in reality had only been a few minutes, the task was done. Stolas watched as she tightly wrapped gauze around Blitzø’s torso. He couldn’t help but be impressed with her workmanship, but felt sadness over the fact that she must have had a lot of practice to be so precise and apt at the skill. So precise that she had even had the four last stitches shaped like an “M,” signing her work.
She placed a gentle hand on Blitzø’s knee and smiled warmly at him. “Ok, that should do it. Now no more jumping in front of knives, ok? While I appreciate your bravery, it was also as dumb as fuck.”
“Whaaaaaaat? Uncle Blitzø has to protect his new niece or nephew,” he said with a guilty smile on his face.
“Sure, B,” she said, rolling her eyes, as she finished packing up the first aid kit and taking her leave. Loona gave Blitzø a light hug before following the two smaller imps out of the bathroom.
Stolas took Blitzø’s hands, “are you, ok” he asked.
“Oh yeah, big bird, I’m fine,” he said with a smile.
“I’m glad,” he said, taking in a deep breath. He knew Blitzø’s job was dangerous, but he’d never seen the assassin come back with more than a flesh wound. “What did Millie mean when she said you jumped in front of the knife?”
“Oh yeah, I saw the target throw that knife at her, so I jumped in front of her to protect her and the baby.”
“And there was no other way? You couldn’t have just pulled her out of the way? Or used your gun to block it?”
Blitzø rubbed the back of his neck, “I didn’t really stop to think about that.”
“I appreciate how fiercely you love your friends, but I wish you would have the same motivation for your own safety. This could have been much worse.”
“I mean, it’s fine if something happens to me. All of you are way more important.”
Stolas felt his heart shatter. He knew that Blitzø had self-hatred issues, but he didn’t quite realize just how deep they ran. He looked down, “what was it for?” he said in a voice so quiet, Blitzø almost didn’t hear it.
“What was that, Stols?”
“What the fuck was this all for, then!?!” Stolas yelled, dropping Blitzø’s hands. He started stomping back and forth in the washroom. “I saved your life at the cost of my home, my magic…. Via… so what, so you could just go and get yourself killed not even 6 months later?”
“Stolas, that’s not what-“
“And how do you think that makes me feel, hmmmm? Knowing you’re just fine leaving me all alone in this world?”
“You wouldn’t be alone…”
“I would be. I only have two people that I’m still living for, you and Via, and she’s gone. If you were to leave me to…,” he stopped his pacing and looked at Blitzø, tears falling from his bottom eyes, “I can’t live life without you by my side, Blitzø.”
“Hey, hey,” Blitzø grabbed one of Stolas’s hands and rubbed his knuckles with his claws. “You’d be ok. You’d find a nice demon, someone who can buy you all the nice things I can’t-“
“No! I won’t!” He pulled his hand out of Blitzø’s grasp. “There is no one else for me, not now, not ever. A world without you is not a world I want to be in. If you die, then I’d find a blessed blade and join you,” he sobbed loudly, tears now falling from all four eyes.
Blitzø stared at him with wide eyes, his red irises shrunken against the yellow sclera. He slowly lowered himself from the sink, being careful to not open any of the stitches, and went to Stolas, holding his legs tight.
“Hey there, pretty bird, don’t talk like that,” he whispered.
Stolas knelt down so they could embrace properly, his head resting on Blitzø’s shoulder, his body wracked by sobs.
After a few moments, his sobs began to taper off, and his breathing evened out. Blitzø leaned him forward so he could wipe away the tears. Stolas leaned into his touch.
“Blitzø, if you cannot live for yourself, can you please try to live for me?”
Blitzø ran his claws through Stolas’s head feathers, “yeah, I can do that,” he said as he leaned back into their embrace. “And you’ll keep living for me, right, birdie?” Stolas nodded as he leaned back to their embrace. It would be a difficult promise for Blitzø to keep, but Stolas deserved for him to at least try.