Another month, another full moon rendezvous.
Stolas wore a rather satisfied grin as he watched Blitzo hop down from a bed too tall for the little imp in search of his pants. The owl prince reached an arm out towards the retreating back of his diminutive paramour. "Blitzy? Must you go so soon?"
"What, like I haven't already given you more than enough?" Blitzo teased with an arrogant smirk.
"Oh, I am thoroughly satisfied," Stolas confirmed in a husky tone. "But you're always so quick to leave! I almost feel like you don't like me." He added a giggle to emphasize his words were in jest.
Blitzo sighed. "I told you at the top of this thing, I don't do that cuddlebug shit."
"Not even one night?" Stolas continued to tease.
"I got shit to do and people to kill," Blitzo coldly reminded the prince as he shouldered his coat. "And besides, I'd rather not run the risk of running into your wife. Where's the book?"
The Grimoire...
"What if I said you had to spend the night to get it?" Stolas asked.
Blitzo suppressed a groan. As much as he liked to brag about getting one over on the Goetic Prince, deep down he knew Stolas held all the power. If he ever decided to end their deal, Blitzo would be physically incapable of forcing the owl's hand. The entrepreneurial imp slapped on a smile and mustered up what cheer he could. "I guess I wouldn't have much of a choice, huh?"
Blitzo tried to make his words come off as a joke, but he missed how Stolas flinched at them nonetheless. The princes mischievous smile returned quickly after, seeming none the worse for wear. Before the imp could take his coat back off, Stolas was in front of him handing the book. Blitzo took the book with a grunt of confusion.
"I may be a Prince in Hell, but I'm not evil," Stolas assured, his voice as flirty as ever. "I'm not going to alter the terms of our arrangement on a whim. Go, take care of your company."
"Right well..." don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Blitzo. "Thanks for the book!"
"I look forward to next month."
Blitzo left, closing the door behind him and shutting him away for another month. Finally alone, the mask fell. Stolas's smile failed, and he settled into his bed with a sigh. Something had changed recently, ever since that incident with the human government. Stolas could feel it. He had hoped Blitzo could feel it too, but the imp remained the same as always. Treating their arrangement as it appeared on paper and nothing more. To be fair, that used to be enough for Stolas too.
Used to be.
Yes, at first Blitzo was simply the best lay of his life and a little thief besides. But in said thievery lie an opportunity to secure that fat red dick for himself. He could hardly contain himself as he found the phone number and made that first call. He really couldn't contain himself in the end, and made promises involving jelly sandwiches and bodily fluids that he fully intended to cash in someday. And while the sex was certainly still fun, Stolas realized that it may no longer be enough. One doesn't simply drop everything to save someone they don't care for, after all. Even if the one they care for is oblivious to the fact themselves.
He knew he couldn't come out and say it. Blitzo's intimacy issues aside, he was Prince Stolas Ars Goetia. As his wife was eager to remind him, they simply didn't associate with the lower class. They certainly don't fall in love with them. However, one might be able to sneak more intimately aligned moments within an existing accord. At least, that was the plan until...
I guess I wouldn't have much of a choice, huh?
Stolas knew he couldn't go through with it in that moment. He didn't want Blitzo to feel forced to interact with him. He wanted it to be mutual... but he also feared it couldn't be. All he could do, it seemed, was get dicked down and spend the following night daydreaming. He had officially broken the cardinal rule of booty calls. Perhaps he was as pathetic as Stella claimed. The least he could do was not trick his poor, foolish, adorable Blitzy...
Except you already are.
The harsh thought came from some cynical part of Stolas's mind he wasn't aware he had. And worse, it wasn't wrong. When was the last time he actually needed the Grimoire to open his gates? It made things easier, sure, and a bit more opulent, but it was ultimately not necessary. After decades using the book, he had long since memorized the pages front to back. Not only could he recite the spells in his sleep, he could likely write out a copy of the grimoire from memory alone. So why did he insist he needed it for the full moon? The answer was too obvious for him to deny. And why should he deny it? Why should it even be a problem? It wasn't one at first. Of course, then he 'caught feelings' as his Blitzy would likely describe in his crude and uniquely honest manner. And now he, Prince Ars Goetia, royalty to literal Hell, felt guilty.
A curious human phrase came to Stolas in that moment. If you love someone, let them go. If he wasn't mistaken, the idea behind it was that if your love was truly returned, the 'someone' would come back on their own. Perhaps that's what he should do? Just give Blitzo the Grimoire? Or at least a copy good enough to serve Blitzo's purposes. Let him out of their arrangment and trust that he would find his way back to Stolas without manipulation?
I guess I wouldn't have much of a choice, huh?
The problem there, is that Stolas wasn't so confident Blitzo would return. And he didn't know if he could handle that. First love, then guilt, now the owl demon discovered he was afraid of rejection as well. It was almost funny. He had enough money and status to buy nearly everything under the earth, except for the one thing he found he truly wanted. So he would keep things as they were, and cherish what little he had been given already. Even if it ultimately hurt more than it helped.
The conclusion wasn't very surprising, the Prince realized. It was the same conclusion he came to the last three moons as this internal argument slowly became a ritual. And he doubted the conclusion would change over the course of the next three moons. Here he was, mighty Stolas, crippled by love and fear like any common being would be. All he could hope to do was tread water until he drowned. As with everything else, this thought left him in two minds. On one hand, he hoped he could tread water forever. On the other, he secretly desired the metaphorical water to fill his metaphorical lungs. He had no idea what was waiting on the other side of that future, but maybe... just maybe... he could finally be happy.