AN: Hey guys, here is another chapter. I don't have much else to say. Enjoy.
As a reminder, this entire series was planned before Episode 2 of Season 1. So everyone has a different backstory then canon.
Disclaimer: I do not own Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel
***Sixteen Years Ago***
ACDS-131524240905 didn't know if his appearance of looking nervous was authentic or if it was part of his excellent acting due to the lessons taught by his big sister, ACDI-080118120525. Reminding himself that he couldn't call himself by his real name at the moment, "Moxxie" leaned back against the car seat in the taxi that would be taking him to his new school, The Sirenis Musical Academy for Gifted Students. A school founded for usually the upper-class and high-middle-class children of Hell. However, it also opened its doors to the lower classes if they proved they had the talent. Only recently, in the past few years, did they allow Imps to become students as part of an effort to "bridge together the broken bonds between Imps and the other races of Hell."
Moxxie snorted. Lies. Just a publicity stunt. Nobody cares about Imps.
However, it was a perfect target for the I.R.A., and going through their charity efforts was the best way. Since Moxxie had the best talent in music thanks to his hobby of playing guitar, he had been chosen despite his designed role being that of a sniper.
The mission was long-term but straightforward. Mother and Father wanted to see how many children went to this school and how important they were before conducting any action against it. Chances are it would be a few assassinations, hacking of accounts, blowing up buildings, or kidnappings for ransom before killing the kids anyway. It was what they had done in the past, so why would it be any different? Moxxie supposed it was a bit sad that the children would suffer for their parent's sins, but his parents made it clear that to change things in Hell, they had to attack the next generation. They had lived long enough to see that every generation of new demons always results in the same thing: Imps being pushed around and treated like slaves without having the decency to be treated like living beings.
And Mother and Father were always right.
Always.
The car soon stopped, and Moxxie looked outside his window to see the school in all of its glory. It was more like a university despite it being for anyone between ten and eighteen years of age. The campus had four main areas with multiple buildings designed for the various musical talents you were keen on honing. Not all of it was based on instruments. Music came in numerous skills, such as singing, conducting, writing lyrics and notes, musical history and theory, and even sound mixing was becoming a thing. Even Magic had musical spells that could be used with some musicians and singers able to go on to become mystically powered bards. It didn't matter your type of music: Classical, Theater, Rock and Roll, Jazz, Blues, Rap, Pop, R&B, Folk, or more. So long as it had a tune, it counted.
Many different demons were seen walking around the front of the campus, all of various ages, but the surprising thing to Moxxie was how they interacted. Usually, demons of different types avoided each other and preferred their own kind. Not here, as it was evident before Moxxie's eyes.
He could see Goetia demons walking with Hellhounds and Sinners with Fiends. A Succubus was singing her heart out next to a Shark Demon playing guitar to a crowd, while a Kitsune dressed as Mozart was practicing his conducting out in public on the grass without anyone paying attention to him or seeing him as weird.
Moxxie got out of the car and had to admit that he was surprised by how...bright everything was here. Like there was a positivity that he rarely had ever seen. He then spotted an Imp, a female with long blond hair, talking to some kind of ape-zebra hybrid sinner demon while a Fallen Angel, much younger than the two, looked nervous and asked them something. Based on the map in his hand, it was apparent that he was lost. They didn't bow to or act shy toward him as they gave directions and waved goodbye. And the Fallen didn't demand they grovel to his feet or issue an order but smiled politely and left.
Moxxie blinked as he saw the action and tried to process what he had just seen until a voice alerted him that he was being called. Turning to his right, he saw a proud chimera-looking demon walk over to him, and he quickly recognized him as one of the judges in his performance at the contest he won, Professor Alex Esine. According to their profile of him, Alex Esine was the product of a marriage between a Sinner Demon and a Chimera Lord. His head and upper body resembled an eagle with brown downy feathers, red demonic eyes, and yellow snake-like pupils. His arms and legs were also that of an eagle, matching in fur with sharp talons that were strong enough to rip steel. His torso, upper thighs, and upper arms were entirely human but were of bronze skin, as was the color of the scorpion tail behind him, moving back and forth. Despite having a beak, his mouth occasionally had him sipping out a snake's tongue that smelled the air like their kind did.
"Moxxie! There you are! Good thing I arrived just in time," Professor Esine said with a hearty greeting as he held his hand out for Moxxie to shake. Remembering his cover, Moxxie pretended to be nervous and gave a kind smile as he shook the hand of the hybrid. "I hope the car ride wasn't too boring."
"Oh no, sir," Moxxie answered with a pleasant fake smile. "It wasn't that bad at all."
Nodding, Professor Esine paid the taxi driver before motioning Moxxie to follow him while keeping a talon on his shoulder. "All your belongings have arrived, and we've had everything prepared for your arrival. All the paperwork is finished, and all that's left to do is give you a tour of the place before showing your class schedule." Looking down at Moxxie with a warm smile, he continued, "You're going to love it here at S.M.A.G.S. Though I can understand if it will be a bit intimidating for you. Being an orphan and all."
"I'm just surprised that I am here at all, sir," Moxxie answered with a nervous smile while doing his best to keep focus. "I've always dreamed of performing for others, but I was always afraid that I wouldn't go far since I'm an Imp and all."
To his surprise, Professor Esine knelt down before Moxxie and made him look into his snake-like eyes. With a serious expression, Professor Esine said, "Moxxie, don't think like that. I know that Hell is cruel to Imps, and it is unfair, but we made it our mission here to open our minds to care about one thing: music. Music cares not for one's origins or appearance, only that one can speak the language of the creative soul that touches us all. The ears of a Fallen Angel are no different compared to an Imp's ability to hear with their horns. What matter is how you play and how you listen. Not how you were born."
Moxxie's eyes widened as he heard this. His parents told him that all non-Imps were liars who only pretended to be caring for their kind. Yet, something inside him told him that Professor Esine was telling the truth. Maybe it was how his eyes showed pure and honest truth and gave a weird feeling in Moxxie's eyes?
Or maybe he's just a good liar? Moxxie thought before mentally kicking himself. Chances are you'll be killing him soon enough. Get your act together ACDS-131524240905.
"Now, let's get home so my wife and I can show you your room," Professor Esine said with a smile.
"W-Wait, my room? Your wife?" Moxie asked in genuine confusion before it hit him. "I'm staying over at your place?"
"Well, seeing as I picked you to be my personal student, and I want to spend as much time honing your craft as possible, I figured it wouldn't hurt for you to stay with us personally instead of the dorms," Professor Esine replied with a grin. "You get your own room and everything. Now you'll have to do chores, but we all share those equally. Come on, I'll show you the house, and we'll have dinner. My wife makes a great meatloaf."
Moxxie said nothing but let this man guide him down the street.
***Present Day***
"Moxxie?" He woke up and shot his head up upon feeling his wife's warm touch. He looked up and noticed she was looking at him warmly. "Wake up, you silly billy. Blitz and Rachmiel are done for the day."
"Oh, sorry," Moxxie said as he got up and looked around the hallway. "Where are they?"
"Blitz went to be with Stolas for a bit for comfort. Some of the memories he saw were a bit more emotional than he expected, so they're having some private time," Millie explained as Moxxie got up and rubbed his eyes. "As for the younger trio, they're hanging out at Octavia's room."
"I see," Moxie whispered as he recalled what he was dreaming. "I was dreaming about...my Dad."
"Oh, was it a good dream?" Millie asked.
"Y-Yeah," Moxxie whispered before taking a deep breath. "H-Hey, Millie? I'm going to go out for a bit. I need to clear my head on some things."
"Okay?" Millie looked at her husband weirdly, and Moxxie winced. He knew it sounded suspicious, but he...needed to do something alone. "Is everything okay?"
No. It's not. My brother, who I thought I killed, has come back and wants revenge. My best friend is going through a mental healing process to save himself from eternal depression. I'm going to be a father. And I'm at risk of knowing that you married a monster, Moxxie thought before giving her a warm smile.
"Yeah, honey. Everything is fine."
"Everythin' is not fine."
Millie also knew that, but hearing her mother say that only reinforced that belief. "I know, but-"
"Millie, sweetie? Take it from someone who has been married to your Pa for so long. If a man says that 'everything is fine' and ya get that feelin' he's lyin' to ya? Then it ain't fine."
Sighing, Milie sat on the chair in her room and rubbed her growing stomach. The truth was she was getting a weird feeling every time she looked at her husband. He always seemed more stressed out than usual and looked like he was anticipating an explosion to happen. Moxxie's eyes were always zoned out, and he looked very deep in thought. This was very outside behavior from Millie's husband, who always was so calm around her, even if he sometimes got a little esoteric (or stressed out, but that was because of their most of the time). A part of her wanted to chalk it up to the pressure of becoming a father or what Blitz was going through in his treatments, but Millie suspected that it was more.
"I guess I'm just concerned, Ma," Millie sighed. "Something is bothering him, and he seems to want to keep it to himself without letting me know so I can help him."
"Men are stubborn like mules, Millie. They think they can handle it all alone with their balls instead of their brains," Millie's Mother commented with a heavy sigh. Millie giggled as she was sure they could both name numerous examples from Millie's Father or her many brothers. 'Course, the ladies in Millie's family were stubborn as well, but the men in her family sometimes had a stupid kinda stubborn to them. "Normally, I would say yer husband is just being a wimp about somethin' small, like always, but if he's got ya this worried, then I think it's somethin' he ain't tellin' ya until you pry it out of him with a crowbar. Literally, if you have to."
"You think Moxxie's keeping a secret from me?" Millie asked, confused. She wanted to dismiss this idea since Moxxie had always been so upfront and honest with her since meeting each other. He was too nice of a guy to lie to her, especially with how much he loved her.
"Well," Millie's Mother paused for a moment before sighing. "Alright, don't get too angry, but yer father and I went lookin' into yer husband's past when ya started datin'."
"Ma?! Seriously?! You said you wouldn't do that after I started going out with Jax when I was thirteen!" Millie shouted with a red blush on her cheeks.
"Hey, we were right about that son of a bitch! He deserved that pitchfork up his asshole for what he did," Millie's Mother snorted. "Regardless, we couldn't really find much about him. Just basic stuff. Nothing much about his family or his friends or where he used to live or who he worked for before joining yer company."
"Well, most of his family died in an Extermination, save for his apparently alive brother, and he lived on his own as a bodyguard and killer for hire. I told ya that," Millie said with a roll of her eyes.
"Yeah, we thought so too, until we learned something from an imp a few towns over when yer Pa and I were showin' our kids around during a farmer's market," Millie's Mother said, which interested her. "One of them swore that they saw your husband during some kind of tragedy a few years ago. Something about a high-class school being blown up and hundreds dying."
"A school?" Millie asked, confused. "What kind of school was it?"
"Some kind of school. The fella forgot most details due to his age, but he was sure your husband was among the survivors. Has he ever told ya about this?"
" No," Millie whispered, trying to figure out this new information. Far as she knew, Moxie never said anything about going to a big school, and she just assumed he got the same primary education as the rest of them. Yes, he was intelligent and well-versed in many subjects, but he liked to read a lot, and Millie assumed it came from that. "Are you sure about this information, Ma? Why didn't you ever tell me about it?"
"Well, we tried to look into more of it, but it turns out that many schools get destroyed one way or another here in Hell. Exterminations, Overlord turf wars, natural disasters, football rivalries, etc. Without a name to go on, we figured it was pointless, and we knew you wouldn't listen to us unless we had proof. The only reason I'm sayin' this to ya now is that I'm just tryin' to say maybe ya don't know yer husband as much as you might think," Millie's Mother pointed out.
"Well, no offense, Ma," Millie grumbled with a glare down at the ground, "but you and the rest of the family aren't exactly the most open and friendly to Moxxie, even after I married him."
"I know, sweetie. I know he loves you, but it's more than just the fact he ain't a farmer from Wrath that we're not warm to him. I just feel like there is somethin' off about him. It's my instincts, kid. I always listened to them, and they're tellin' me that he ain't been honest with ya," Millie's Mother said. "Look, regardless of my feelings, you know he's hidin' somethin'. So find out what it is by confronting him."
"What if I can?"
"Millie? Men might be the head of the house. But women? We're the necks. "
"When you said you wanted to hang out in your room, I didn't think we would be cleaning it," Loona grumbled as she put a box of old summer clothing next to a growing pile. Octavia was going through her summer clothes to pack up while Rachmiel, who joined them, was pulling junk from one of her two closets. "Don't you have servants to do this? It would be easier."
"Dad says my room is my responsibility, so I am in charge of making sure it's clean and well cared for," Octavia replied as she folded another black shirt with a pink star.
"My parents made me do the same thing when I was living with them," Rachmiel said as he poked his head out from the closet. "I mean, mentally, we can command things to be done in our houses up in Heaven, but it's to help reach responsibility and cleanliness."
"Why are you helping out anyway?" Octavia asked curiously. "Not that I mind, but don't you have other things to do?"
"Well, I do need to write about Blitz's experiences today after our session, but I can do that later," Rachmiel said with a shrug as he came out with a board game that looked like it had chewed apart years ago. "I figured I'd just help out."
"Fine with me, Feathers," Loona snorted. "Less work for me to do."
"What have you been doing with Blitz, out of curiosity?" Octavia asked as she sat down on her bed. Loona momentarily stopped picking stuff up before continuing, but Octavia could see her ears twitch which meant she was listening. "I mean, what memories are you going through?"
"Well, I can't give the details without his permission. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that," Rachemiel answered while rubbing the back of his head. "But at the moment, we're going through things regarding his old family, specifically his father, and sisters."
"... Dad's never really talked much about them," Loona said, getting their attention as she looked back at them with crossed arms. "All I know is that they were from his time in the circus, and they died, but that's it."
"All of them?" Octavia asked curiously. "They all died on the same day?"
"That's what I'm guessing," Loona answered with a shrug. "Again, he never talks about it."
"If you want. I can encourage Blitz to speak to you about your grandfather and aunts," Rachmiel said with a warm smile. "It would help him, I think, to talk more about his past family to his current one."
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to know about my Dad's family," Loona replied with a shrug. "Although I find it strange to have my step-family be circus performers while I work for an assassination company, of all things."
"Well, we don't always have to follow in our parent's footsteps. My brother and I didn't, despite me being in the medical field like them," Rachmiel pointed out.
"What do your parents do for a living?" Octavia asks curiously.
"They're dentists," Rachmiel answered, which got him surprised looks from the demon girls. " What? Do you think it's easy for angels to maintain these perfect-looking teeth? Heck no."
The girls looked at each other and shrugged.
They went back to work, occasionally saying a few things, but it wasn't until Rachmiel found something in the closet that got Octavia's attention again.
"Aw, this is cute," Rachmiel said as the two demonesses looked over their shoulders to see Rachmiel come out of the closet with some kind of paper sheet in his hands. "Did you draw this when you were a kid, Octavia?"
Curious, she got up and took the sheet of paper. It was an old drawing of hers that took Octavia a moment to remember what it was about. It showed a very childish stick figure drawing of herself, dressed as a princess, sitting happily on a throne as two knight-like birds were standing there in her protection. The one on the right was definitely her father based on his face and feather color. But the one on the left was...
Her.
Stella stood there, all brave and heroic, with a shield and spear, protecting Octavia from any threat that would come to her.
"Isn't that your Dad and Mo-I mean Stella?" Loona asked, having come over to see it as well.
"Yeah...I drew this after they helped me with a bully I was dealing with when I was seven years old..."
***Ten Years Ago***
When Octavia was given a choice to go to public school or stay home schooled like she had been since she was four, she chose the former because she wanted to find friends and have happy adventures like the cartoons she always watched at home.
Only reality and TV were two entirely different things.
For one thing, making friends was much more complicated than it appeared, and most of her interests didn't go well with her fellow noble heirs and seconds. While she wanted to play ball, tag, or do finger painting, they were more interested in talking about their noble lineages, boring politics, and occasionally having tea parties that were okay to take part in sometimes. Still, even then, the conversations were boring. Nothing about video games, TV shows, or even about fantastic places they had been (They mocked her for liking Loo Loo Land).
So Octavia was without a friend and mostly kept to herself. Not that she didn't keep trying, but nobody seemed interested in her, and some even jokingly called her "the underclass lover" because of how kind she was to the Imp servants the school had. She didn't see the big deal since her father was kind to the Imps. They liked to pull mean pranks and boss them around. Some even physically hit them, which hurt them badly. Her mom always said you had to treat your servants right so they could do their jobs properly, even if they had to always know their place. Whatever that meant.
So it was no surprise that she got a bully eventually. One Grand Duchess Heir Melissa Anatego. She was not part of the Goatia Bloodline but was from one of Hell's other nobilities, specifically the Military Aristocratic Society formed after Lucifer's rise. Military service was always seen as a noble duty for the demons of Hell both because they had to be prepared for their arch-enemies, Heaven, to attack them at any moment and because Hell suffered rebellions constantly. Violence in Hell was expected, and rebellions were a dime a dozen, but they rarely escalated into anything requiring full military power. When did it happen? Blood ran through the nine rings like a tidal wave without end.
Octavia had only heard of how destructive the various wars and more significant rebellions had been in the past from her history class. But one thing that was always noted was how Lucifer, to keep the military squarely in his power and debt, gave the greatest and most loyal of families nobility status. It had pissed off the Goetia nobility to no end whenever other noble families outside of their own were created, but there was nothing they could do about it. Nevertheless, there was a bitter rivalry between them, and it seemed that Melissa Anatego wanted to partake in it with Octavia for reasons beyond her.
Far as Octavia knew, she had never done anything to Melissa to warrant such bullying, but she was determined to see her suffer in school:
Rigging her desk to shoot out stink bombs whenever she opened it.
Changing her locker combo without Octavia knowing, so her books and stuff were beyond her reach.
Letting out mice in her toilet stall when she was taking a pee.
There wasn't a day or night that Octavia didn't go home crying in silence for her misery. She tried to keep it all from her parents. She wanted to prove she was a big girl, but she had been forced to confess everything because Melissa did something that finally made Octavia lash out.
The little brat told Octavia she was adopted and her parents didn't love her.
Octavia saw red and blasted her with spells that her father had been teaching her. Ones that required a hospital visit.
And Octavia was not sorry at all.
However, this led to her being forced to attend a private meeting between her parents and Octavia, with Melissa's parents in a room the school had given them to sort out their differences. Octavia was only worried about getting in more trouble than she already was, but she hated school so much that she would be fine getting kicked out.
Still, seeing Melissa's parents glaring at her like an insect made her tighten the grips he had on the helm of her purple and white school uniform. Her parents were by her side, Dad on the left and Mom on the right, being passive and calm despite this. Melissa's parents, on the other hand, looked ready to pounce. Both were cat-headed demons, with the rest of their bodies similar to giant peacocks though Melissa's father was more blue-colored on his cat side, and her mother was greener. They were dressed for the occasion, wearing white military officer uniforms that were almost matching. Obviously, a means to intimidate them, but it had no effect on Octavia's parents.
In fact, they looked hardly bothered at all.
"First off, I want to apologize for Octavia using those spells on your daughter. I heard she is recovering quite nicely," Prince Stolas said as he smiled softly at the couple.
"Yes, but she's now got a phobia of mushrooms thanks to your daughter having them pop out of her skin like that!" Mrs. Anatego answered with a scowl. "You will be paying not just for my daughter's medical bills but also her future therapy bills!"
"Quite frankly, I believe it is your daughter who should be paying for our daughter's therapy bills," Princess Stella said coldly.
"What?! Why?!" Mr. Anatego demanded with a hiss.
"Your daughter was bullying Octavia. According to our daughter, Melissa has been physically and emotionally abused by your brat of a girl," Prince Stolas said, narrowing his eyes and growing colder in tone. "Far as I am concerned, your little pathetic excuse of a child can rot in that hospital, and you can pay your own damn bills."
"How dare you!" Mrs. Anatego shouted as she and her husband sat up. "I hope you like homeschooling your daughter because we will make sure that not only is she expelled but will never get into another school again! Including college! We'll also be sure to sue you for every-"
"Let me ask you something, Mr. and Mrs. Anatego," Princess Stella asked with a sweet-like tone.
"That is Grand Duke Anatego and Grand Duchess Anatego!"
"Yeah, I don't care," Princess Stella said with a wave of dismissal. "Is it four hundred and sixty years or four hundred and sixty-one?"
"What years?" Mrs. Anatego asked in confusion.
"The number of years you've spent avoiding paying your proper amount of taxes to the Crown?"
Suddenly, the two loudmouth cat-peacock hybrids went silent and wide-eyed. Octavia looked at her parents and, as if they were twins, both gave devilish smiles that made her shiver. Her parents could really be scary when they work together. Because whatever it was that her parents had said, it was turning the two hybrids pale in the face. She wasn't even sure what 'taxes' were except something her parents and every other adult hated with a passion for some reason."
"I...I don't know what-" A snap of Prince Stolas's fingers and Mr. Anatego went silent as a large pile of files landed on the table from his magic.
"Oh, we dug into your financial records and found a few...shall we say...irregularities?" Prince Stolas said with a giggle. "I believe that the punishment for falsifying even a year's worth of tax records is about sixteen hundred years in Tartarus Prison? Plus, an additional sixteen hundred for each additional year falsely given?"
Prince Stolas then turned to Octavia and smiled. "Via? What is sixteen hundred times four hundred and sixty-two?"
It took Octavia a moment to think before answering, "Seven hundred and thirty-nine thousand and two hundred?"
"Perfect answer! " She's such a smart girl," Prince Stolas said as he ruffled his daughter's hair, making her giggle.
"So that would be about seven hundred and thirty-nine thousand and two hundred years in jail," Princess Stella said with a curvy grin. "Not to mention the huge fees the criminal party has to pay. Why, it would even make a King-level Goetia fall into poverty, last I heard. Plus, there is also the fact that any title held will be removed, and any children the criminals have will be taken from their custody. Of course, I doubt anyone in her immediate family would want to associate with such a disgraced set of parents, so chances are that they'll put them into the foster system instead."
Now the two parents of Octavia's bully looked ready to faint and barely stood to the point they had to lean on each other for support. That was until Prince Stolas cleared his throat. "Unless we just put this all behind us and simply state it was a bad misunderstanding between two girls. We leave each other alone, and that ends the problem. Agreed?"
"Y-Y-Y-Yes!" Mr. Anatego said with a nervous smile. "We were just thinking the same thing! Right, darling?"
"Y-Yes, children just tend to go a little too far sometimes. We'll be sure to discipline our daughter, and you do the same for yours," Mrs. Anatego said as she looked like she swallowed a lemon. "I think we'll be leaving now. "
"So everything is settled then?" Princess Stella asked.
"Y-Yes! Well, we better go see our daughter and how she is doing! Farewell!"
The Anategos couldn't have run faster if they had tried.
***Present Day***
"Wow, your parents totally kicked ass," Loona said with a grin.
"Yeah," Octavia replied with a small smile as she looked at the childhood painting she had made. "They didn't get along, but...they always worked together whenever they needed to focus on me."
However, that was all ruined now. Because of her . The same swan woman who Octavia had seen as her kind and defending knight betrayed her. She betrayed everyone Octavia loved with her selfish action. And because of Stella , they were in the situation they were in now, with Blitzo needing to be healed by the angel in front of her. Octavia scowled before handing the paper back to Rachmiel. "Get rid of it."
"Huh? Don't you want to keep it? I mean, it is your parents and-"
"I don't want anything with her face on it," Octavia growled before making for the door. "I'm going to get a drink. Just...take a break for now."
She opened and slammed the door behind her.
"...I know what her mother did was wrong, and I understand the anger everyone has for her," Rachmiel said with a shake of his head. "But surely she doesn't want to forget everything about her mother. I mean..."
Loona rolled her eyes and snorted. "Not every family is a happy-go-lucky one like yours, Feathers. Whatever love Octavia had for her mother? It's been ruined because of what she did. And before you go thinking I should feel any sympathy or desire to see them get back together, I want you to remember one thing. My Dad is in the state he is because Stella took part in the bullshit that caused him to end up like this. I don't care if Stella is sorry or helped us out of guilt. She still caused it all to happen. Forgiveness doesn't happen that easily down here, Feathers. When you break someone's trust, even if it's family, chances are it's dead for good. We don't give second chances that easily like you do up there. If ever. Especially when it comes from betrayal."
Rachmiel looked at the art in his hands before turning to Loona. "Did...you ever get betrayed too?"
Loona was quiet at first before she walked over to Rachmiel and gave him the coldest glare he had ever seen that made him freeze. " Word of advice? Never ask that of me ever again. You don't know the first thing about betrayal, Feathers. We do. And we'll handle it how we see fit. Because you'll never understand what it feels like. Never."
Loona then walked away and left Rachmiel alone in the room to keep staring at the drawing of a once-happy family that was ruined in what seemed beyond any form of repair. Rachmiel knew the right thing to do would be to fix this broken family...but the truth was he didn't just know how to do it.
He was afraid to attempt to do so in the first place.
Looking back now, Blitzo wished he had cuddled with Stolas more often before his kidnapping. Something about his soft, cozy feathers made him more relaxed than any blanket ever could. The way he wrapped his long arms around Blitzo as he buried his face deep into his lover's chest made him feel safe. Wrapped around in a cocoon of care and comfort. The two of them had been doing this since he returned from the hospital. Shirtless, in their underwear, and holding each other, the Imp used his lover's body as a pillow while the owl prince kissed his forehead and rubbed his hands over his long thick horns. There was no sex involved in this recurrent ritual they had developed for themselves, but the feeling was still there.
It also helped that it lessened the nightmares he had at night.
"How are you doing?" Stolas whispered as he nuzzled Blitzo's left horn with his cheek, making the Imp shiver. "Are the memories getting harder?"
"Sometimes," Blitzo whispered as he closed his eyes. The vivid images of his father, Tilla, and Barbie Wire were inescapable now that he saw them daily during his treatment. So far, they had avoided any meaningful visions of Fizzarolli, the only other person from his past who held pain in his heart. But this was because they only showed them as friends, not as the future lovers they would become. "But I know the hardest is yet to come."
"You'll face them, my love. And you will be stronger for it," Stolas proclaimed.
Blitzo closed his eyes as moments of that night appeared in his head.
His father's last look before his head was gone in a pile of mush.
Blitzo looked up through the cracks as red and white liquid from his sister's body dripped down upon him.
Holding Barbie as they took one last leap of faith before a shot rang out.
"I hope you're right..."