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“Daddy! I think I can see it!” Stolas flinched at the shrill screech of his toddler right in his ear, her small hands pulling at his head feathers making him regret caving to her begging to ride on his shoulders. He kept his focus on not bumping into anyone on the crowded streets, heading to the garishly yellow building he’d found online; a toddler gym that offered “Mommy and Me” type classes. The place was nestled between a gun for hire office and what looked suspiciously like a sex shop, sticking out like a sore thumb against the largely red backdrop of Pride. Right as they came to the door, it flung open, a pair of rather burly sinners tossing a much smaller body out the door.
The Goetia stopped short, hand automatically moving to Octavia’s leg to keep her steady, wondering what type of child’s space could warrant security while the man on the ground groaned. The glass doors closed slowly after the guards only to crack open a second time as a small hound slipped out, ears pinned to her head and arms around her torso. She made a beeline for the person–an imp, Stolas’s mind supplied as he watched the scene unfold– and proceeded to kick at his leg.
“Oh darling, let’s be gentle.” The words left his beak without a thought, stepping forward to lay a hand on the small girl's shoulder with the intent of leading her away from the man. As soon as his hand touched her shirt, her head snapped towards him, eyes narrowed and he found the side of his hand clamped between sharp puppy teeth. It was only the familiar weight of Octavia across his shoulder blades that stopped him from flinging his arm to dislodge the terror that was attempting to gnaw through his skin, mind moving quickly to think of anything else to get the child to release.
“Bad puppy! No biting!” The childish yell from above him, while adorable, didn’t even register with the angry hound who had stopped trying to dig deeper into his flesh, but was now growling lowly, red eyes angled up at him.
He was arguing with himself about scruffing the girl to see if it would be enough to get her to open her mouth, when a gruff voice spoke from the ground. “Loona. Drop it.” Stolas hissed in pain as he was released, the overly warm air of the Pride ring stinging against the already healing puncture wounds. “Listen, I'm sorry about that, but she’s got all her shots and you royals heal quick. She just doesn’t like being touched by strangers, but she’s a good kid. What do I have to do to make sure she’s not going to get into trouble for biting?”
While he had been inspecting his arm, the imp had sprung from the cracked concrete and had quickly pulled the hellhound behind him as he spoke, words running into each other from how quickly he was going, panic evident on his face, eyes darting around like prey looking to escape.
Taking a moment to pull his daughter from his shoulders and setting her on the ground, one hand holding tightly onto her smaller one, he tried to give the smaller man a comforting look; though by the continued apology it didn't come out as intended. “Truly no harm done. I should have known better than to touch a child I'm not acquainted with.” The imp paused with his mouth open, clearly not expecting that response from a Goetia, and Stolas watched amused as the man's child took the opportunity to edge around him. She was obviously still uncomfortable, ears still pressed against wild hair that fell down near her shoulders, eyes looking at Octavia with interest instead of him.
”Sorry I bit your daddy. It wasn’t very nice.” The little hound whispered quietly enough that Stolas was thankful for his sensitive hearing.
Thrilled to be addressed, the small owl’s down fluffed, a tiny chirp escaping as she opened her beak. “You just can’t do it again. Okay?” She waited for the older girl to nod before continuing “I’m Via!”
“My name is Loona.” Though still soft spoken, the sound of her voice snapped her guardian out of whatever state he’d been stuck in, and a large gauntleted hand reached out to grasp her paw, pulling her close to his side. Deciding this interaction had gone on long enough, Stolas crouched down to lift his daughter back into his arms.
“Come now darling, we don’t want to miss our whole class. It was nice meeting you both.” He gave a small wave to the other two before turning back to the glass doors leading into the building, only to be stopped by the others' voices.
”If you’re trying to go to the gymnastics class, they only let moms in. Some bullshit about not wanting to have anyone feel threatened.” The light growl in his voice gave Stolas the answer as to why he’d been thrown from the building in the first place.
Frowning, he looked down at Via, “Perhaps a change of plans, Starfire, I’m sure we can find something else that would be fun.” He could already feel the buzzing of anxiety under his skin as he looked around hoping to see anything even vaguely child friendly. Behind him, Loona gave her dad a pleading look, she’d been promised a trip to the park after the class and having a playmate, even one that was younger than her, would make it much more fun.
“You better keep your teeth to yourself the rest of the day young lady.” Blitzø muttered firmly, unable to stop the grin when she nodded hard enough to shake her hair in her eyes. Louder, he called out to the Goetia, “There’s a decent park not too far from here, usually not too many addicts and whores there at this time of day.” He couldn’t help the flinch back as the owl's head cracked around to stare at him, the motion only made more terrifying by the enthusiastic grin on his beak.
”Please lead the way!” He hooted, body moving to face the same way as his head, already taking bouncing steps towards Loona and Blitzø. “I'm Stolas by the way, it's lovely to meet you. Even if it wasn't under ideal circumstances.”
“Blitzø, the o's silent.” The response seemed automatic and well practiced making Stolas wonder why he even mentioned the silent letter, but he kept his beak shut. It wouldn’t be polite to pry.
The park the wound up at was well maintained by Pride’s standards, in that most of the equipment was still in usable shape and a quick scan only showed two used needles to be kicked away so no one got poked going down a slide. Park trips were common enough for Loona that she was well versed in the rules, patiently standing off to the side while her adopted dad did a sweep of the playground, occasionally tossing something while the silly sounding owls stood looking a little lost.
“Alright Loons, all clear. Have at it!” She was too slow to duck away from his hand and had her fur ruffled in the way she wasn't sure she liked or hated. Once he let up on the petting, she turned expectantly to the tall owl who was still holding her playmate.
“Mister, is Via allowed to play with me? I won't bite again, swear!” the big owl gave a hooting laugh but still bent to set his daughter onto the ground. The older girl wasted no time in linking their hands and running off towards the play structure, ignoring the call of ‘being careful’ from the adults. Eyes glued to his daughter while she shrieked happily, Stolas didn’t even notice the imp coming to stand next to him until he spoke.
”You’re watching her like she’s never been to a park before.” Blitzø chuckled at his own joke before noticing the grimace on Stolas’beak. “Oh shit, you really haven’t huh?” The avian gave a small shake of his head, still not looking away from the two girls now going across the monkey bars.
“This is the first time she’s been out of the palace” he finally muttered, shoulders hunching. He wanted things to be different for his daughter, for her not to be isolated in the palace, to have the chance to make friends even though his wife laughed every time he brought it up like she didn’t have tea with her own vapid friends twice a week.
Beside him, the smaller man was quiet, just watching his own daughter coax the smaller girl down the biggest slide. “Well, Loonie will make sure she has fun.” Blitzø finally muttered. The awkward air between them eased slightly and they were able to have decent small talk about mundane things while their children played loudly in the background.
It wasn’t until the pentagram was low in the sky that the girls were tired enough to approach the bench the two men were seated on. “You have to have Via come play with me again!” Loona demanded of her father, “Don't forget to give him your phone number.” Smile more like a grimace, Blitzø was trying to figure out how to break it to a five year old that this was likely a one time thing, that demon royalty didn’t make friends with commoners when exciting hooting started on his left.
“Oh, allow me.” The avian's black talons plucked the phone that he’d had loosely in his hands, tapping quickly on the screen before it was placed back where it’d been and he stood. “It was lovely meeting you, but we’ve got to get back home.” He gave the two a wave as he opened a shimmering purple circle, picked up his daughter and stepped through leaving the imp and hellhound alone in the fading light.
It wasn't until the following day that Stolas had a moment free to reflect on his impromptu park trip. The moment he’d stepped foot into the palace, a tired yet happy Octavia in his arms covered in gravel dust and red grass stains; he was met with his wife’s ire. She’d shoved the small imp butler that had opened the ornate door off the the side, beak already open and shrieking about allowing their child out in public looking like a commoner. He barely glanced at the peahen while setting the toddler onto the marble flooring, trusting the imp pulling himself from the floor to tend to her while he dealt with his wife.
Currently, he was lying on his side, right arm held captive beneath his napping daughter's head, her fingers curled around his free hand as she snored quietly with her other hand wrapped tightly around this week's favorite stuffed toy. They’d spent the morning in the garden tending to his less snappish plants and running around the manicured grass, tiring the toddler out enough that she’d all but collapsed onto the rug in her bedroom when they’d made it back inside.
He was meant to have put her down for her afternoon rest before retiring to his study to complete his work that was piling on top of his desk, but couldn’t bring himself to disturb her. Each time he thought about moving, possibly trading his numb arm for a pillow he was stopped by a voice in his head telling him how upset she’d be waking up to a member of their staff or alone. He’d promised himself not to be the absent parent his own father was; that any child of his would grow up knowing they were loved. It was a point of contention between himself and Stella, the woman finding nothing wrong about their chick being raised by hired help and only seeing them for meals, but it was worth the continued fights to spend the time with their daughter.
It had been a rather enjoyable afternoon, sitting on the worn bench with no expectations of how to act, Octavia acting like the toddler she was under the oddly careful guidance of the older girl, no indication of her previous hostility that had blood drying in his feathers. He truly hoped the imp contacted him, it’d been a welcome change to be around someone who treated him somewhat normally, and Octavia possibly having a friend made something loosen in his chest.
He stayed nap-trapped for close to half an hour longer until Octavia rolled over with a sleepy mumble, curling tighter around the music note plush that had spent the day with them. Freed from the unbreakable grip of a toddler he was finally able to sneak out of the room, carefully stepping over and around the blocks and markers that never made their way back to their homes with the frequency they were played with. A glance at the clock of the room told him he likely had around forty minutes before he would have Octavia vying for his attention once more and in an effort to save time opened a portal straight to his office.
Blitzø could still hear the sniffling from behind the closed door of what used to be his bedroom and forced himself not to barge into the space and try and make everything better despite being the reason for the hounds' tears. The pair had been eating dinner–boxed Mac and cheese with hot dogs cut up in Loona’s and hot sauce dousing his own—when she had brought up for what felt like the millionth time in four days when they could see Via again. He didn’t know how to explain to a five year old that royals didn’t want to befriend peasants, that the number sitting in his phone as ‘Stolas’ was the bird being nice, not an actual invitation to actually contact the prince.
So in true Blitzø fashion he’d laid it out in those exact words, unsurprised when his daughter had promptly burst into tears and ran to her room, door slamming and her dinner left mostly unfinished on the Formica table he’d drug in from the alley ages ago. Trying to knock on the door and open it ended in him finding it locked, the childish sign declaring it ‘Loona’s Room’ mocking him as he went back to the table to pack up the uneaten food since he couldn’t really afford to waste it.
He washed the dishes as an excuse not to leave the kitchen but eventually he ran out of things to clean and found himself wandering back into the connected living room to flop on the worn sofa that had turned into his bed. There was no longer any noise coming from behind the bedroom door meaning Loona had likely cried herself to sleep and Satan’s taint did that feel like a punch to the chest. He picked at the edge of the bandage wrapped around his arm to cover the still healing bite the hound had given him—he should have known better than to keep brushing the messy hair after she’d started growling—feeling like a piece of shit for making his kid cry. Sighing, he rose to turn the lights off, using his phone screen to shuffle back to the couch where he sat with his knees pulled to his chest and tail wrapped loosely around his body.
Trying to doom scroll through his collection of social media didn’t clear his mind of the guilt over making Loona cry, and he’d already completed the day's challenges on Horsey Paradise meaning that wasn’t an option to help him dissociate. Instead he found himself pulling up Voogle, to search how to raise an adopted child. The results were…disheartening; articles about how cross species adoption was isolating for the child, statistics about how often adopted children ended up returned or in prison.
He wound up on some stupid mommy blog, the bitch boasting about having the perfect relationship with her ‘precious little angels’. He scrolled through the entries barely reading a word or two in passing, at least until his eye was caught by a title “Worried you’re fucking them up? You probably are! What parent doesn’t?” Squinting against the movement the letters made he scanned through the post, feeling oddly seen as it talked about being in over your head and making bad choices and mistakes. The final line of the woman’s ramblings preached that you couldn’t change the actions you made, but you can always redo them for a better outcome.
Thumb swiping away the internet browser, he opened his messenger app before he could talk himself out of it and sent a message to Stolas.
U fre 2moro?
The response came less than a minute later, almost like the bird had been waiting with his phone for his message.
Stolas: We can meet at the park around 10?
Blinking at the words, he gave the message a thumbs up before locking his phone and setting it face down on the floor by the couch. Loona would be ecstatic to get what she wanted, and he could handle a few hours of awkward interaction with a Goetic prince if it meant his kid was happy.
As he thought, when he mentioned to Loona the next morning that they’d be seeing the owls later that morning she was filled with the manic energy that only small children could contain. It took him way too long to get her to sit and eat her cereal and even longer to stay still long enough for him to pull her long head fur back into a braid in hopes of minimizing the amount of tangles he’d have to deal with that evening before her bath.
They were of course late in leaving their apartment and after the third time on the fifteen minute walk to the park he’d had to stop to call the small hound back to his side from where she’d run ahead out of his view he was almost wishing he could bring himself to use the safety tether the pound had given him during the adoption process. He’d finally gripped her small hand in his, refusing to let go no matter the struggle she gave to keep her close; only letting her go once the park entrance was a few feet in front of them.
“Over here!” Blitzø snorted at the call, the tall owl standing and waving an arm in the air like he wouldn’t have been the most obvious being in the park even if there had been other people. He raised a hand in greeting, detouring to do his standard check on the equipment —he wasn’t about to have his kid poked by some addicts needle they left laying around— before he headed to the other man's side.
“Thanks for meeting us. Loona’s been asking.” He offered in lieu of a proper greeting, noting he had his kid perched on his shoulders where she’d leaned sideways to chatter away to Loona, only being held up by a firm hand wrapped around one skinny leg.
”I'd been hoping you’d reach out, it’s so nice to have a friend for Via.” Little hoots interspersed his words even as he lowered into a crouch to unload the girl from his back. He watched Loona take Via’s hand and run slowly to the playground so the toddler's smaller legs could keep up with a fond smile. “She really is so nice to play with someone so young.”
“She was roomed with younger kids at the pound, she’s used to it.” Blitzø spoke without thinking, remembering the two other hounds in the cell they’d taken Loona out of when he showed interest in her that had cried when they’d learned the older girl would be leaving them. He would’ve taken all three in a heartbeat, but the lack of space in his one bedroom would have made it miserable.
“Has she been with you long?” Blitzø’s eyes snapped from watching the kids, to stare upwards, mentally doing math in his head.
“A couple months?” Uncertainty echoed in the response and, as if to reinforce it, Loona’s voice carried over from the slides.
”It’s been two months, twelve days and sixteen hours!” Neither Stolas nor Blitzø could stop the smiles at the kids' shout, knowing she’d likely heard their entire conversation thanks to the impeccable hearing most hounds possessed. The bird was sure that Blitzø likely hadn't had a single private moment since bringing his daughter home since he himself hadn’t since Octavia had learned to toddle around on her own talons.
“Looks like someone’s been keeping track better than you.” He joked with a nudge to the imp, immediately pulling back as though he’d done something wrong. Casual touch was frowned upon in the Goetic community, even between family members. He himself couldn’t think of an instance that his own father had touched him past a condescending pat on the head or as punishment for a faux pas he’d made without a thought.
Blitzø was watching the taller man work himself into a tizzy over something while keeping half an eye on the two girls who appeared to be playing some sort of magical girl saving the world game–he was regretting letting Loona stay up late over the weekend to watch the bootlegged copy of Sailor Moon that Voxtek had aired, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. “You good there big bird?” He finally asked when it became clear that Stolas wasn’t going to snap out of the hyperventilating he’d worked himself into. The words didn’t seem to penetrate whatever was going through his head and he found himself reaching out to touch a feathered arm.
Stolas jerked under the touch yet the fingers didn’t move away. He regained awareness quickly, reminding himself he was at a play date at the park for Via; giving her the childhood he himself didn’t have a chance at. Red eyes tracked the hand laying gently against his forearm to the scarred imp who was alternating between looking up at him in concern and to the girls running around brandishing sticks at each other.
“You good?” Blitzø asked again, only moving his hand when Stolas nodded. “Great, didn’t want you passing out on me there.”
Blitzø crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the gaze locked on him in favor of trying to work out what exactly the kids were doing to little success.
Thankfully the silence wasn't long, the bird seeming to recover and begin chattering about his work. Most of what he was saying went straight over his head, but the excitement the tall man had for the constellations he was going on about was infectious enough to keep his attention.
“Daddy! Me and Loona are hungry!” The conversation they’d been having–mostly Stolas word vomiting about stars while Blitzø listened, was interrupted by his daughter running up, small hands immediately tugging on his trouser legs. A few feet behind her stood Loona who looked confused by the whining happening in front of her.
Groaning as he stood from the bench they’d migrated to, perhaps he was getting old at his ripe twenty-two years of age, he smiled at Blitzø. “I believe that’s my cue to take this one home.”
“You’re welcome to come to ours for lunch, it’s just sandwich fare but the girls could play a little longer.” The moment the words left his fat mouth he was mentally berating himself. Why the fuck would a literal prince want to come to his shitty apartment for lunch?
His mental spiral was stopped short when Stolas replied. “We’d love to!” Complete with a little hooting laugh and clapping hands from both avians. Even Loona looked excited, her fluffy tail wagging happily behind her making the urge to rescind the offer impossible. He grinned, sure it was more like a grimace before standing and taking Loona’s hand in his.
”Great, let’s go!” He started walking towards the entrance to the park, mind going a mile a minute trying to remember if he’d bothered picking up the laundry that tended to land everywhere but the hamper. Stolas quickly and easily fell in step beside him, fledgling perched on his shoulders once more with her tiny talons gripping onto his head feathers a smidge too tightly based on the wincing.
“I wanna piggyback too.” Loona had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to voice her demand causing several sinners and hellborn that were behind them to shove past with grumbled complaints and insults. Blitzø groaned, knowing his kid would be like a dog with a bone (pun intended) with her demands until they were met and squatted down to let her clamber onto his back despite her already being half his size.
He couldn’t help but make a side glance at Stolas, noting the grin on his beak when he finally straightened back up, Loona’s legs over his shoulders and her body between the horns she was holding onto like bike handles. “This is one hundred percent your fault.” He muttered, cheeks burning as the bird laughed. Thankfully they didn’t have long to go before he was snickering at Stolas ducking through the normal sized door of their shitty apartment complex.
It took a bit of gymnastics to untangle the hound from his shoulders. How her fur had tangled as much as it did around his horns in such a short walk had been impressive and took both himself and Stolas to undo, both girls disappearing into Loona’s room the moment she’d been freed. Assuming they’d be occupied for a while, Blitzø made his way to the kitchen, hearing talons click behind him.
”Oh motherfucker” the curse came with a bang that had Blitzø spinning around and Loona and Octavia coming to stand in the doorway to stare at Stolas. The owl was clutching his forehead, smaller top eyes clenched tightly shut; the obvious culprit the wobbling ceiling fan.
”Not used to low ceilings huh birdie?” Blitzø giggled while Stolas’ faceplate flushed in embarrassment. Thankfully the girls lost interest quickly, going back to whatever toys they’d been playing with, leaving Stolas alone with the still snickering imp. “Your head okay?” He finally managed.
Bristling and feeling rather mocked, Stolas straightened as much as he could without knocking his skull a second time. “No, I can't say I am.” He said with a glower Blitzø chose to ignore.
The imp turned before rolling his eyes at the dramatics, reminding himself to play nice so his kid had a friend. He motioned to the bird to follow him into the kitchen where he felt his cheeks flush at the mess of dinner and breakfast dishes piled on the sink. “Sorry about the mess, rough morning, ya know?” The words left his stupid mouth and he wanted to smack himself, opting instead to rub a hand over the back of his neck. Of course the Royal standing in his kitchen didn’t know about rough mornings. Hell the guy had probably never had a rough anything in his life.
“How can I help?” Stolas questioned rather than respond to the question he assumed was rhetorical, and even if it hadn’t been the palace had an army of staff to handle any cleaning and he didn’t even know where the dish soap at home was located. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, watching Blitzø rummage around the fridge for an armload of packages, tail grabbing an open loaf of bread from the counter and depositing everything on the small table and handing a butter knife to the owl.
“You’ve never done this before have you?” Blitzø asked carefully after watching Stolas massacre his third slice of bread trying to spread mayo of all things across it.
“Is it that obvious?” The dejected tone made Blitzø want to lie, but they'd need at least some of the bread usable if they wanted to eat.
“I'll take over the condiments, you can do the fillings.” Gently, he plucked the knife from black talons wondering why he was being nice to the taller man when normally he wouldn't hesitate to insult anyone he thought deserved it. Giving his head a small shake, he reached for the bread; he had to be nice because his kid decided who his friends were and he wasn’t about to tell Loona she couldn’t see Via again because he was an asshole to her father after the fit she threw.
He passed the first slices of bread over to Stolas, watching out of the corner of his eye as the man started layering on slices of lunchmeat and cheese with surgical precision. Shaking his head he chuckled silently to himself, prepping a few more pieces for meat sandwiches knowing his kid could pack them away before moving on to make pb&j’s, his preferred option from when he was growing up.
They called out the girls once he’d walked Stolas through cutting the crusts off the completed sandwiches; a preference both girls and the owl all shared. As he expected Loona fell on her bologna and cheese like a small starving wolf, pretty sure she didn’t breathe until she’d inhaled the first of three stacked on her plate. It was a far cry from Via who was daintily nibbling at her food, much like her dad next to her.
Once lunch had been eaten they’d sent the kids off to play, Stolas hovering awkwardly while Blitzø cleaned the mess from the table and did dishes. “You’re welcome to watch tv or something, should be done here soon.” The imp had offered, shrugging when the offer was declined. Instead the owl came to lean against the counter next to the sink, asking after the various horse drawings pinned along the walls of the small apartment, knowing Blitzø could talk for hours about his characters.
The pair had migrated to the worn couch, Blitzø still describing his latest story arc when a crying, overtired Octavia came running out of Loona’s room to bury her head in her dad’s stomach. “Someone missed their n-a-p.” He chuckled, standing and gathering the sobbing owlet in his arms. “Let me know when you have time to get together again.” He gave a wave to Loona where she stood in the bedroom doorway before opening a portal to Via's room, intending to put her down for a late rest.
Later in the evening while he was tucking her into bed his half thought was solidified when a half asleep Octavia had grabbed his fingers and whispered “Daddy, I think Loona is my bestest friend.” The solemn voice she used had him holding back laughter, finishing up their bedtime routine.
”I’m glad to hear it Starfire.” He whispered back, leaving the room after clicking the small nightlight on. Retiring to his chambers where Stella was already asleep and probably wine drunk wearing the gaudy eye mask he hated, he lost himself in thought.
Blitzø was crass, yet Stolas found him hilarious, despite that the smaller man was obviously well aware of the class difference just as he was. Their children were luckily young enough that the divide wasn’t present between them, but how long would that last? Changed into pajamas he slid beneath the covers next to his ‘wife’, staring at the layered canopy above their bed.
Octavia didn’t have many options of what most Goetia would consider “the right sort”. Aside from his father, it was few and far between for a couple to have more than one fledgling unless something turned out wrong with the first child or a replacement was needed for one of their numbers that met an untimely end. As it stood he believed Octavia was the only child born for her generation; the last egg announcement had been at least a decade ago, a replacement for a distant relative he didn’t care to remember.
A glance beside him was a reminder that Stella was more than willing to have their child completely isolated rather than befriending anyone below them, having never seen how happy the little owl was running around after the bigger girl. It was also refreshing to be around someone who didn’t act like his existence was an inconvenience, who seemed happy to see him unlike the majority of the Goetia who would rather pretend he didn’t exist.
Sighing quietly—the last thing he wanted to do was wake Stella, he shifted until he was comfortable and closed his eyes. The following day was a rare one, where he’d be sequestered away in his study for most of it; meaning he’d need enough sleep to get through it.
“Loona hasta come daddy.” Octavia chirped for the third time since they’d sat down to finalize the list for the princesses' fourth birthday. He and Stella had already had two screaming matches over the expectation that both Loona and Blitzø be part of the festivities, and he’d finally put his foot down as the head of their household that the pair would be allowed on the premises and treated with respect.
“You’ll be able to give her the invitation tomorrow during our play date.” he reminded her gently once again. The little girl nodded happily, attention turning back to the coloring book she was scribbling across.
They’d been meeting with Blitzø for close to four months at that point, usually once, but sometimes twice a week at various parks or the short lived kid friendly places that opened for weeks before being destroyed in the ever present turf wars. He and Blitzø had even become close enough for him to call them friends. Their conversations moved from the stilted small talk of their first meet ups to talking about their interests, and they’d even started texting often enough that Stolas fancied himself a relative pro at deciphering the mess of letters Blitzø passed off as spelling.
It had been nice, having another adult who seemed interested when he talked about the stars or his plants instead of the obvious disinterest or outright ridicule he received from his wife or the other Goetia. In return he was treated to the complicated horse themed drama that the imp was concocting in his spare time when he wasn’t working odd jobs to support himself. He and Stella rarely talked these days unless it was for a disagreement, or mentioning in passing what he’d be taking their daughter to do as he was the only one of them taking an active role in parenting.
After a lifetime of largely being alone, having a friend was a novel experience but even he knew the way his heart sped up when he looked at Blitzø was more than simply enjoying the man’s company. He enjoyed the terrible jokes the man made, especially when laughing at them had him beaming with happiness. He even found himself missing the man when they weren’t around each other and their text chain had quickly risen to the most used in his phone. Were he being honest, he thought he may be just as excited as his daughter about Blitzø and Loona attending the party; assuming they accepted the invitation.
The following morning had Octavia bouncing on her feet excitedly, clutching a cream envelope in her hands as her father opened a portal to the mouse themed pizza place Blitzø had sent to him a few days earlier; something some sinner had recreated from their life. Immediately upon stepping through the portal which snapped shut behind him, Stolas found himself overwhelmed with the noise of screaming children and high pitched sounds that seemed to affect Octavia just as badly based on her hiding her face in his leg.
His height was an advantage, managing to spot the now familiar curved horns amid the chaos and was quick to sweep Via into his arms lest he lose her. “I didn’t realise it would be so…” he’d leaned down to speak close enough for Blitzø to hear him over the racket once he’d made his way over, waving his free hand as he searched for the right word.
”Fucking loud?” The other man finished bluntly.
“Well…yes.” Stolas agreed even though he preferred not to use such language around the children.
Both men looked at their group of four, Via still hiding her face against her father and Loona while standing on her own had her tail wrapped around her leg, ears pinned tight against her head. “I think this is a wash. The pizza looks like crap anyways.”
Spilling out of the doors onto the streets of hell was almost enjoyable, the general sounds of fighting and explosions feeling normal and quiet compared to whatever they’d just left. Stolas made a mental note to thoroughly vet any other sinner developed activities they thought to do.
The four of them wound up sitting at a smaller cafe that had a tiny outdoor playspace—truly just some repurposed tires and some half deflated balls; the girls running off to play some sort of explorer game, leaving their fathers with their drinks. Stolas watched as Blitzø took a long drink of his iced coffee, his own tea cooling in front of him before sliding the envelope Octavia had left with him across the stained table.
”It would mean the world to Via if you and Loona came.” He admitted while watching the expressive yellow eyes scan the invitation.
“Yeah, we’ll be there.” Stolas’ feathers fluffed at the confirmation, a small hoot escaping him.
“Excellent! It will likely be just the four of us for the majority. Stella usually hosts a large party, but it’s really just for herself.” He explained quickly, going over the plans he’d been privy to and what they’d be doing instead. Blitzø nodded along, happy to listen to the bird talk as he finished his drink.
“Daddy! Help.” Via’s voice rang across the small patio, catching both men’s attention. Stolas offered an apologetic smile while rising from his seat to jog over to where the small girl was struggling to climb onto one of the larger tires set into the ground. He watched, slurping at his half empty coffee as Stolas lifted his own kid onto the top, not even hesitating to do the same for Loona when she asked. His mind wandered, trying to pinpoint when his spitfire of a kid got so comfortable with the other man, a far cry from their first meeting that started with biting.
For a royal, Stolas was decent. Sure he had his moments when the things that left his beak were condescending, but never seemed to mean them in the way they sounded and over the past months Blitzø had begun to look forward to their meetings as much, if not more than Loona. It helped that the bird was attractive, not that he was looking for a date; but he had eyes. He also enjoyed listening to the man talk, even when he barely understood what the hell he was going on about.
Only when Stolas turned and headed back to their table did he realise he'd been staring and jerked his eyes down to the weatherworn table. He was thankful that his coloring hid the heat rising on his face, knowing he’d been caught staring. Thankfully whatever fancy training they forced the Goetia through didn’t allow the owl to call him out on it, simply sitting down and picking his drink back up to sip at before jumping right back into his abandoned explanation.
Twenty more minutes. The time frame was repeating in his mind as he stood in the corner of the pastel pink decorated ballroom with a fake smile plastered on his beak and a champagne glass loosely held in one hand. Beside him stood Blitzø who outwardly looked as uncomfortable as he felt but doing a commendable job of ignoring the looks the various royals milling about the room were shooting at them. The prince had given the imp an out when he and Loona had arrived, offering to have him escort the two girls to the playroom while he finished his required presence at the party.
He found himself envious of his daughter who, dressed in a bright pink taffeta monstrosity her mother picked out–Stolas knew Via would have preferred purple– was only expected to make a small appearance at her own party. She'd been in the room just long enough to blow out the four candles on the three tier cake and be paraded through the room in her mother's arms to say hello to adults she didn't know before being handed over to a member of their staff to go upstairs.
He had modified the time on the invitation he’d given to Blitzø so the pair hadn’t arrived until after the dog and pony show Stella subjected their child to each year was done with, knowing the toddler wouldn't be nearly as well behaved had her friend been waiting on the sidelines. It had the added bonus of minimizing the ire he'd be dealing with afterwards if Stella didn't have to see the ‘commoners he was debasing himself with’. Loona had been sent off with Via to the playroom after the imp that collected her got her changed into clothing she could move freely in, their father's planning to join them as soon as possible.
“Please tell me we're almost done here. I swear on Satan's taint I'm going to punch that tiger bitch if he stares at me and whispers something again.” Stolas looked down at the grumbled words to see barely concealed rage on the smaller man. Considering his temper he was doing an admirable job dealing with being the only imp not carrying a tray of drinks or finger food, but clearly there was a limit.
A quick glance at the clock showed two minutes before five. “Fuck it, close enough.” He decided, throwing back the rest of the bubbly drink he’d been nursing. He’d agreed to stay until five, skipping the catered dinner Stella arranged in favor of eating privately with Via. The party was really just an excuse for the peahen to flash her status; the only people he or Via wanted to interact with were not welcome at the table.
Motioning for Blitzø to follow him he led the way out of the ballroom, avoiding eye contact at all costs to avoid getting caught up in any conversation. The occasional glance behind him showed the imp trailing behind him, hands in his jacket pockets. The tension left his body the moment the ornate doors shut behind them, sealing the din of conversation away. “We can peek in on the girls, and then I need to get out of this.” Black talons plucked at the over the top party clothes he’d allowed Stella to arrange for him.
Outside of the ballroom where the bottom half of the door was closed, allowing them to look in on their children. The two girls didn't notice them, engrossed in what appeared to be an elaborate kidnapping scenario amongst Via's collection of stuffed toys. They left them to their game, sneaking away quietly down the hall and into another that looked identical to all the others to Blitzø.
Stolas’ bedroom was exactly what Blitzø thought it would be, not that he'd given it much thought to begin with. A massive bed took up its center draped in white and pink bedding–clearly his wife's doing–and half the room covered in tall bookshelves overfilled with expensive looking titles he couldn't read. The owl immediately headed to the closet, doors thrown open to reveal rows of outfits he began swiping to the side leaving Blitzø to wander the rest of the room.
He didn't bother looking through the side of the large room the prince's wife obviously used based on the makeup-covered vanity. The closet wasn't an option since Stolas was using it as a dressing room and he found himself rifling through the owl’s bedside table. The drawer held the expected items, spare cords and a couple orange medication bottles bearing Stolas’ name beneath Belphgor’s sigil. He closed the drawer quietly, aware he’d seen something he probably shouldn’t have, eyes moving to the tabletop where a small lamp sat next to a stack of books. Unlike the pristine spines lining the shelves, these were well-read with cracked spines and folded pages, the titles proclaiming them as parenting books.
”I was raised by imps. But I didn’t want that for Octavia.” The soft explanation was enough to send Blitzø jumping, having not realised the bird had finished dressing.
“Christ on a stick, put a bell on or something.” He wheeled around to the bird’s chuckling, heart beating a mile a minute. As he calmed down, the comment Stolas made registered, annoyance creeping up at the ignorance that sometimes came out of his beak. One of these days he’d call him out, there wasn’t anything wrong with imps, and he knew the owl didn’t mean it rudely, but it still rubbed him the wrong way.
“My apologies, I thought you'd heard me.” Stolas, now dressed more like Blitzø was used to in gray pants and a button down shirt, sat on the edge of the bed. “Stella thinks it's silly of me to be so fussed about development.”
Channeling the acrobatics he hadn't used in years, Blitzø launched himself onto the bed next to the other man. “You wouldn't believe the amount of shit I read the first couple weeks after adopting Loonie. I didn't even know how much to feed her!” With his declaration, he flopped onto his back to stare at the sheer fabric covering the bed only to look to his right when Stolas flopped down as well.
“I don't think I slept the first three days after Stella laid. I was too worried that she would hatch with no one there.” Stolas made a snorting sound before continuing, “they take over a month to hatch.” His upper eyes crinkled shut as he laughed at himself, Blitzø’s shoulders shaking as he thought about Stolas, sleep deprived and staring at an egg for days.
“I bought Loona a bunch of dog toys before I picked her up.” He whispered conspiratorially, “She bit me the only time I tried to get her to play fetch.” The giggles that Stolas had managed to quiet started up again, the unimpressed stare being leveled at him only adding fuel to the fire.
The pair fell into an easy back and forth, revealing their fumbling as they navigated fatherhood. Stolas was retelling the first time he ever tried to feed Via once she hatched, an embarrassed flush shining through his faceplate as he explained how he tried to give his newborn a whole rat. They’re both out of breath from laughing, having shifted to their sides to face each other on the bed. Blitzø was howling with laughter at his story, body curling as he clutched his stomach and rolled closer to Stolas.
All four of Stolas’ eyes widened at the close proximity; aside from children, royals rarely got within a foot of each other out of respect. His eyes traced over the other’s face; the wrinkles around his closed eyes, the white patches that covered half of his face, even the strange little tattoo on his forehead. During his studying he’d unconsciously leaned into Blitzø’s space, not noticing until yellow eyes flicked open. It was a barely there thought that had him jerking forward to smash his beak against his lips. He was shocked when the clumsy kiss was reciprocated, one hand hovering in the air unsure of where to lay it.
Too soon for his liking Blitzø was pulling away and he had to force himself not to follow. Opening his eyes slowly he saw Blitzø had sat up, his gaze on his lap and an unreadable expression on his face. Doubt started creeping in, had he been imagining that he’d been kissed back? He’d probably ruined everything with his impulsivity and Via was going to lose her only friend and she’d never forgive him. The edges of the room started to blur as he panicked, his hands shaking where they lay on the bed.
“—should probably go check on the girls.” The imp’s voice broke through his spiraling thoughts and the sound of his heart racing through his ears, the room coming back in focus to see Blitzø had jumped from the bed and was looking up at him expectantly. “Loona gets a little antsy when I’ve been gone for too long.” Stolas took the obvious hint, pulling himself off the bed and leading the way back to the playroom.
“Daddy!” The cry came from both girls as they entered, the staff member watching them bowing slightly as he left the room, knowing she’d be called back in if needed. The pair found themselves bombarded by their children, first for hugs and then being dragged across the room and shoved into the too-small chairs made for small children around Via’s tea table.
”We’re going to make you guys dinner cause you’re on a date.” Loona informed them before dashing over to the play kitchen with Via in tow. Blitzø coughed awkwardly as they both avoided eye contact with one another. Leave it to a child to make an already embarrassing situation worse.
Clearing his throat, Stolas raised his head to actually look at the other man. “I’m sorry I presumed you were interested in me in that manner.” He spoke quietly, hoping between the distance and amount of noise being made by plastic cookware that neither girl would hear him, upset sinking into his mood when Blitzø didn’t respond.
Of course he wasn’t interested in him, not like it was a new development he thought angrily in the silence. He was doomed to be stuck with Stella for eternity and probably just drove away the only person who seemed to like spending time with him.
“You didn’t presume shit.” The muttered words had him staring, beak open as all his thoughts screeched to a halt. “It caught me off guard but–”
Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Via, apparently playing the part of a waitress, coming to take their orders. The entire time the pair sat scrunched at the small table became a game of trying to finish a sentence before either Loona or Via came back around, which they didn't manage to win once. It was as though the girls didn't want them to have any chances to start a conversation lest they stopped playing.
They’d both given up by the fourth time one of the girls had interrupted them, resigned to playing the roles given to them. After playing restaurant, they were treated to a rather confusing play done with Via’s stuffies before being roped into a dance party. Stolas had only been taught formal dancing, something Blitzø declared a tragedy he immediately tried and failed at rectifying by attempting to teach him how to ‘twerk’. He knew the blush he had was shining through his feathers while Blitzø as well as the girls laughed at his attempts, beyond thankful when a member of staff came in with the cart holding plates of dinner and cake.
It was drawing close to Via’s bedtime when the desert plates were removed, the female staff member coming back to collect the chick for her evening bath while Stolas walked their guests out; meaning she would be ready for tuck in once he made it back. Blitzø ended up carrying Loona after the pup whined about her feet being tired, and she was half asleep by the time they made it to the front door.
Stolas walked with him out to the dented van parked at the edge of the circle drive, drawing out the time spent with the other man while also avoiding having to go back to his wife’s side. “I really appreciate you coming.” He said quietly, “I’m still terribly sorry about my earlier slip up.” He was twisting his fingers together, staring resolutely ahead.
“If you ever wanna slip up again, I wouldn’t mind.” It was like his brain crashed and had to reboot at the words, the horned man already buckling Loona into a car seat by the time he’d shaken himself back to awareness.
”You wouldn’t?” He was blinking owlishly at Blitzø while he closed the door of the van and spun to face him. He felt frozen in place as the imp closed the gap, reached up and yanked him down to his level and brought their lips together. All four of his eyes closed as he practically melted against the other man, letting him take charge. When he was released he felt dazed, eyes half open and staring dumbly at the smug look on Blitø’s face.
”Any time birdy. Text me when you wanna hang again.” He made his way to the driver's seat of the van, waving as he pulled out the driveway leaving Stolas standing in the low light in front of the palace, beak still tingling from their kiss and hopeful he and Blitzø could grow their relationship.