Chapter Text
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, suicide attempt in this story
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It was supposed to be a win. We won...He saved me from the execution....And i saved him from the freaking ice princess....He kissed me....He actually kissed me....I had his trust back....So why does it still feel like i don't have him back?
For a fleeting second, it was perfect...Just Blitz and Stolas...dancing on the balcony... The tension in Stolas's shoulders had eased, the rigid line of his spine softening as we moved together on the balcony railing. 'Fuck why is he so fucking tall...I wish i could just dance with him without relying on a fucking railing just to reach his hight...' Blitz thought to himself.
Blitz felt the rumble of Stolas's chuckle against his own chest, a genuine sound of amusement that cut through the oppressive Sinsmas cheer. "Only as creative as you were flexible." The joke was stupid, but it worked. Stolas was actually laughing, it was the first time he saw him laugh after what happened. 'I hope i'm doing the right thing here....' Blitz thought while spinning Stolas around. 'At least i stayed this time...That's what he wanted right?'
And in that moment, looking up at the prince against the blood-red sky of the Pride Ring, Blitz felt a surge of something dangerously close to victory. He'd done it. He'd made the sad bird laugh. He'd broken through the suffocating sadness that had clung to Stolas like a shroud since he lost his daughter's trust. 'Oh shit he's looking at my lips, should i do it too?..I guess I'll..'
An awkward moment happened when Stolas stares at Blitz's eyes while Blitz was staring at Stolas' lips. Finally, they stare directly at each other. Being caught in the act..The dance ended. The moment hung between them and they just stared at each others eyes... Blitz, high on the victory of making Stolas feel a little better, did the only thing that felt right. He didn't kiss him...That wasn't what this was about....He needed to show Stolas he wasn't just here for his love....He closed the small distance between them and wrapped his arms around Stolas's waist, burying his face in the soft, cool feathers of his chest. It was a hug meant to say everything he couldn't ever say out loud: I'm here. I'm not leaving. We'll figure this shit out...I love you Stolas...
He waited for the return embrace, for his large, gentle arms to hug him back.
But they never did....
Stolas's body was a statue of ice and grief. He was stiff, unmoving, his posture as hard as the marble railing Blitz had just danced on. Blitz's initial victory changed into confusion. "Stolas?" He mumbled into his feathers, his voice soft and gentle....
There was no reply. Just the faint sounds of the party inside and the whisper of the wind. Then, he felt it. A single, warm drop that soaked through the fabric of his jacket, landing on his shoulder. Then another. He pulled back slightly, just enough to look up.
Stolas's eyes shut tightly, his face staring up at the sky. His beak was parted slightly, but no sound escaped. From the corner of his red, ruby-like eyes, a single tear traced silently over his cheek. Sparkling a path down his pale feathers. They were the hopeless, quiet tears of a man who had finally lost everything. The reality of his situation, the sheer, crushing weight of his banishment, had just landed. He was accepting it. He was miserable, and he lost everything...
A cold dread, far more chilling than the winter air, seized Blitz's insides. 'Shit. Shit, shit, fuck.' His mind raced. 'Did i push too hard? Was the hug too much? Was the dance a mistake? I made it worse. Fucking hell, i always make everything worse...What should i do?'
He wanted to let go, to step back and fill the silence with a sarcastic joke or a stupid excuse. It was his default setting, his armor. But he couldn't. The sight of Stolas, so completely shattered and silent, paralyzed him. The great Prince Stolas, who commanded thousands of demons and powers beyond Blitz's understanding, Had lost everything....All because he saved him....Now he stood there...Broken, weeping silently in Blitz's arms, and Blitz was the only one there to see it. So he held on. He didn't tighten his grip, didn't offer any supportive words. He just stood there, and let the prince cry...
Time dissolved. Blitz could feel the cold beginning to collect on his own shoulders, his muscles started to ache from the tension of holding a dead weight, but he didn't move. He just watched Stolas, the slow, steady fall of tears that seemed to have no end...
Stolas hadn't looked at him once. His gaze remained fixed on the sky, as if searching for a home that was no longer his. The palace, the title, the wealth—they were all just memories now, constellations that had already burned out. All he had left was this imp, on this balcony, at the end of the world. Stolas had traded his entire existence to save him....Blitz still couldn't understand why he would've done it...It wasn't like he was worthy of being saved...But if it wasn't for Stolas...He would've died....That guilt will never go away...
The sounds from the party began to fade. The music stopped. One by one, the lights in the apartment building next to them went out. The silence that followed was a physical presence. It was heavier than the cold, deeper than the night. It was the sound of absolute loss.
They had been standing there for hours.
Blitz's legs were numb. The cold had seeped deep into his bones. He had to do something. He had to get them inside. He slowly, carefully, loosened his grip. The separation felt strangely weird, as if he were letting go of the last piece of the man Stolas used to be. The spot on his jacket where the tears had fallen were now a cold, damp patch.
He cleared his throat, and his voice came out as a rough, alien croak. "Stolas?" No response. The prince's eyes were still locked on the heavens, but they were different now. The tears had stopped, but what was left was worse. It was a void. A complete and total absence of light. "Hey," Blitz tried again, his voice a little softer, a little more desperate. "It's...uhh.. It's getting kinda cold out here. Let's get you inside. I think the party's over.."
He reached out and gently touched Stolas's arm. The feathers were cold and damp. For a terrifying second, he thought Stolas might not move at all, that he might simply stand there until he froze to death. But then, with an impossibly slow, mechanical motion, Stolas lowered his head. He didn't look at Blitz. He looked at the ground. He gave a slight, almost unnoticeable nod.
Relief, weak and watery, washed over Blitz. He kept a gentle hand on Stolas's arm, guiding him like a zombie towards the glass doors. Stolas moved with a disconnected shuffle, his tall, regal frame lowered with each step. He didn't resist. He didn't do anything. He was just... an object being moved from one place to another.
Blitz led him past the wreckage of the party, Bottles and leftovers were scattered around the ground. He guided him towards the couch in his small apartment. He gently pushed on Stolas's shoulders, and the prince sank into the cushions without a sound, his long legs folded awkwardly.
And there he sat. He looked smaller than Blitz had ever seen him. His hands rested limply in his lap. Ruby-colored beautiful eyes that had looked at the stars for hours, were utterly broken. They were fixed on a spot on the floor, seeing nothing. Seeing everything he had lost. The crushing weight of his failure was a physical force, pressing him down into the sofa, into the floor, into the very foundations of his crumbling world.
Blitz put a blanket around him and saw Loona looking at them. He didn't know what to do, even she looked worried. She gave Blitz a little smile like 'I'll clean this all up...You take care of the birdy" Blitz smiled with gratitude and looked back at Stolas.
Blitz stood there in the echoing silence of the apartment, his heart a cold, heavy knot in his chest. He looked at the broken prince, a magnificent creature now hollowed out from the inside. He wanted to help. He wanted to be there for him as a friend, to offer some small comfort in the face of despair. But looking at the empty shell on the couch, a terrifying thought began to claw its way into his mind.
He hadn't just witnessed a breakdown. He had witnessed a broken soul. And he had no fucking idea what he was supposed to do...He wanted to leave, to give him some space. But Stolas grabbed his arm, as soon as Blitz started walking.
"Stay?"
That was the first and only word he had said in hours...