Hello!

Oh gosh the trailer! I'm not fully past it but I'm better x)

Warning for this chapter: horny demons, I guess. Enjoy!

Chapter 12 – Self-defense lesson

In a blur, the two girls had greeted each other and disappeared in the palace, probably to go to Octavia's room, barely leaving enough time for their dads to wish them a good evening before they locked eyes together, being the only two left before the entrance.

"Hm, hi?" Blitz began awkwardly.

"Oh, hum, yes, sorry! Do you want to come in? Are you thirsty?"

It was still weird for the imp not to see the owl make some kind of flirtatious remark such as "As for me, I'm quite thirsty for your cock Blitzy!" It's been a while since the last time he was so forward, sure, but still.

"N… Actually yeah, I think I could use a drink. What you got?"

"Do you want coffee again?"

"Oh, no, I'll be fine! It wasn't a work day."

They kept talking about light things as Stolas led them to the kitchen. He had forgotten it was the weekend, to be honest. At first, Octavia changed home on Sundays, but it quickly got irregular with her mother's erratic schedule, cadenced mostly by parties and visit to her friends… And less respectable hobbies now.

They settled on the table where the family usually took their breakfast, each demon with a drink in front of him.

"So, do you want to move somewhere else?" Stolas suggested.

"Oh, no, let's chat a bit first! Here is… Fine, right?" Blitz answered.

"Sure, if it suits you!" The prince assured as he was making himself a bit more comfortable, trying to adopt a position that wouldn't make it too obvious to Blitz that he didn't wish to lean on the backrest.

"So, um… I've been thinking, you know, and I realized being honest with each other doesn't mean we have to share absolutely everything on the spot, and I'm sorry for trying to pry into a personal matter. It's just that… It's so weird? You asked me twice to guard your ass, and suddenly I find out you got hurt, and you refuse to explain how or why. It felt… I don't know, like if you didn't trust me."

"I'm truly sorry for that. It was a sensitive matter, but I should have simply stated so. It was unusual for me too, to handle that kind of thing."

Blitz eyed the Goetia hesitantly.

"So, you good now? Can you tell me what happened?"

Stolas rubbed his head feathers with his hand in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I still can't tell. Later, hopefully. Nothing worth to worry about, anyway! So, how are you?"

"Me? Oh, yeah, good I guess! M&M wanted to thank you for the crystal, it's really handy. We've been doing good with it, been pretty busy and all! And, huh, I had an offer for you."

The owl raised a brow, curious.

"Oh? What would that be?"

He still wasn't back on his flirtatious tone, but his demeanor was closer to how their interactions used to be, and it felt… Good, yes. It was reassuring. It was putting Blitz at ease. Choosing a drink less exciting than coffee may have helped too.

"Well, I can't speak for how you got hurt, since you can't tell me, but I've been thinking… You know, about what happened with Striker. I couldn't get there, and M&M weren't fast enough to get there before you were harmed. I take it you're quite powerless without those powers of yours, so… Did you ever took self-defense lessons?"

Stolas blinked owlishly.

"Hm, not really, no. As you said, we either rely on bodyguards or our powers to ensure our safety. What do you mean by self-defense lessons exactly?"

"I mean to teach you how to use your body, not just your powers! You're tall, and light-weighed, sure, but you could be deadly with proper training, I'm sure! There's also a few tricks and tools you can have on you in case you find yourself restrained again. It won't make you a pro, and you can't prepare for everything, but it can still buy time, and allow you to get out of some situations on your own. Better not wait for something like that to happen again, right?"

"Indeed…"

The offer was even more interesting with that Stolas was currently going through. Even if he wouldn't be able to fight back right away, when the time came, it could be an interesting asset.

"So, are you up for it? If you're free tonight, I was thinking of starting now. Dunno if I'll be able to come very often for these lessons, with work, but something like once a week sounds good to you?"

"That would be great, yes! We'll arrange that with your schedule, and I'll pay you accordingly."

Blitz paused, taken aback.

"What is it?" Stolas immediately worried, thinking of what he may have said wrong.

"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing! I, ah, I didn't mean to make you pay for it…"

"Come on Blitz, you are a professional, of course you deserve to be paid for such things!"

"Hey, wait til we made it through at least one lesson, I don't have experience in teaching self-defense to feathered rich pricks! I already know you're flexible but it doesn't mean you'll do well or easily at first."

The owl shrugged, not deterred in the slightest.

"We'll see that!" He smiled, as if taking the challenge.

He shouldn't be teasing, his back wasn't fully healed, but surely it wouldn't be too harsh from the start, right?

"Ok, then, once we're done with our drinks, find me a spacious and empty room, with carpets or rugs, and we'll be good to start!"

"Wonderful! In the meantime, could you tell me what you have in mind to get free of restrains? I guess a hidden knife will suffice for blessed rope, though I'd have to make sure it can cut through it without being blessed itself, but I know there are other blessed items that can block my powers."

The imp raised a brow.

"Like?"

"Well, such as handcuffs, for example. The other materials one could use to restrain someone either can be cut with the knife or can't be blessed. Though there is the possibility of chains too, but it's not really handy to tie someone up…"

Stolas was trying not to focus too much on the handcuffs, his main problem, so Blitz wouldn't wonder why he was bringing that up precisely. It worked: the smaller demon snorted.

"Thinking of everything we used in bed? I don't think there are blessed equivalents of everything, you know. This shit ain't made to be kinky."

"Some of them can have a wide range of uses outside a bedroom", the prince reminded him. "I'm merely being sagacious. Because I was once restrained by blessed rope doesn't mean it is the only thing that can be used. I can be rendered powerless by other ways too."

Blitz stared at him for a few seconds.

"You've really thought about it, huh?"

Once again, Stolas lifted his hand to his head, self-conscious.

"Well, I didn't take my own situation fully seriously at the time, and I'd rather not make that mistake again. It could have had… Unpleasant consequences."

That had Blitz tense, hands squeezing his glass, but he let go before breaking it.

"What do you mean? You never told me what happened."

You never asked, Stolas stopped himself from answering. Instead, he thought for a bit and gestured with his hands.

"Well, what's done is done, and I'm fine today, but let's just say I'm glad your employees showed up when they did."

Blitz's tail lashed out between his back and the wall.

"What do you mean? You… Surely you couldn't…"

"Oh, I wouldn't have gotten killed, don't worry", the Goetia managed to smile reassuringly.

It was only half a lie, but if Stella hadn't called off the hit, even with Blitz's employees, he'd have been dead by the time they arrived. They had saved him from becoming blind, which was already something he was greatly grateful for.

The assassin eyed him suspiciously, but relaxed slowly, though his tail was still moving quickly, a sign of clear irritation, though Stolas wasn't sure what exactly was annoying him.

"So! What are the options to get out of more… Complex restrains?" The tall demon asked.

"I'd say small blades are still your best bet, if you know how to use them you can pick locks and cut rope with it. You'd have to be able to hide several on you, in case you get checked, or simply in case you can't access some of them."

That had Stolas ponder for a moment.

"Hm. It can indeed be an issue. Back then, I'd only have been able to free myself when he was taking me to his hideout. Once there, he tied me up more thoroughly, I don't think I would have been able to even retrieve knives in my sleeves with my hands in ropes too."

Blitz grimaced.

"Well, that's the kind of case where you have to work quick, while your opponent is distracted! He let you call me, so I'm confident you'd get a chance if it was to happen again, but don't let an opportunity pass thinking you'll get another, because you never know if it's gonna me your last."

Stolas nodded. That seemed like wise thinking. After all, that was exactly what made him call Blitz as soon as he got the chance, even with Striker near him.

"I will keep that in mind."

He was slowly reaching the end of his drink, and so did Blitz, finishing his in one last gulp before setting it down a bit more forcefully than necessary.

"So! We'll see that later, when you're too tired for the physical part. You ready?"

"Hm, I guess?" Stolas hesitated, finishing his own glass before getting up, using the move to check how his back was doing.

It was a bit sore, but he should be able to move without betraying anything, and it shouldn't do great damage even with extensive exercise. If it ever became too much, he could always say he was tired. After all, he wasn't used to physical exercise, so his back may not even be the first thing to give up.

The start was really awkward. Blitz seemed in his element, but Stolas was greatly inexperienced in such things. Of course, that was the whole point of the lessons, but even without the fighting aspect, he was facing someone he loved, having to pretend he was a threat. Defending against someone he knew, and way smaller than him, without his powers, were things that took some time processing, and a bit of explaining from a snarky Blitz.

As long as they stayed up and apart, it was manageable. Stolas didn't really need to know martial arts to be able to throw Blitz away, and the assassin seemed to enjoy it way too much, yelling "I'm flying!" before landing with a roll and coming back excitedly.

"Hm, it's supposed to be an aggression, not a game", Stolas couldn't help but point out as the practice ended up looking more like then playing than actual training.

"As long as your body remember the moves, you'll be fine! We'll work on the psychological part later if you need, but I don't think it's the most urgent with you."

Stolas raised a brow as he dodged a new assault from Blitz.

"Psychological part?"

"Yeah, some people just freeze when they get assaulted, you know, out of fear", the assassin explained as he quickly went back to follow the owl's moves. "Come on, don't just dodge, strike back! Overpower me!"

"But, I don't want to hurt you… Wah!"

Blitz had managed to climb his back. With the adrenaline and his mind focused on the task at hand, along with the painkillers he took beforehand, Stolas didn't feel his back injuries at all, but was taken by surprise and had trouble reaching the agile imp, until said imp managed to make him loose his balance and they both fell on the floor, with Stolas managing to land on his side and grab Blitz in his arms to protect him.

"Hey! You're supposed to maim me, not protect me!" The imp told him as they recovered from the fall.

"Sorry, it's a reflex… But well, you can't move now, can you?" Stolas asked, smiling widely as he tightened his hold on the assassin.

Blitz squirmed, his arms pressed against his torso, and sighed as he met the owl's smug face.

"Well, it's nice to be trying, but you know, with the weapons I usually carry, I'd easily be able to stab or shoot you even like this?"

Stolas' face approached his, the smug look still present.

"Usually? Then it means, you're defenseless right now? So I won!"

"Nah, I'm not defenseless, I still have claws you know, and teeth, but I'm not gonna fight for real in a training…"

It was only then that they both realized how close they were. If they were laying in bed, it would be awfully close to how intimate they could be while cuddling or fucking. They both blushed. Though it was discreet on Blitz's face, it was way more obvious on the owl, who quickly got them back on their feet before releasing him.

"Oh, hm, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry, it's fine! You know, flirting in dangerous situations can be a thing, I guess you'd be good at it, must be disturbing coming from a Goetia! But that's a side trick, ok? Let's focus back on your moves! Now that I've seen what you can do without powers, let's practice a few useful moves before finishing with powers. After all, it's better if you don't get caught at all! Then we'll see what you can get to cut through eventual restrains, if you're still up for it. Sounds good?

"Oh yes, yes", Stolas answered, still a bit red from the close contact.

Blitz smirked.

"What, already tired? You can try and distract your opponent, but don't let them distract you, or else…"

Suddenly the owl was on the floor again, on his back, with the imp on top of him. He had acted so quickly, his brain hadn't even registered how he was tackled down, but what he knew was that it was getting hard to ignore the sexy imp on top of his chest.

"You'll be overpowered in no time, and that may be the few seconds they need to incapacitate you." The red demon warned him, still smiling but more serious and threatening as his knees were pressing Stolas' arms against his torso while a scarred hand moved near his neck in a suggestive manner.

The owl was trying very hard to stay on topic and not go in a rant of "oh please, incapacitate me all you want Blitzy" and other sexual fantasies. His back injuries would get found out quickly, and he still wanted to avoid any form of intercourse with the imp, for as long as Stella's threat remained, both out of guilt and to prove the red demon he wasn't interested in his dick only.

"Hey, keep your dirty thoughts out of your head, I can clearly see what you're thinking," Blitz reprimanded him, but he did so while getting his face even closer to Stolas'.

"Well, that is, hm… That is unfair, the training his harder than any real situation would be! No one's as sexy as you, you know."

Shit, he hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut. It wasn't his worst sexual remark, sure, but still, he had wanted to avoid that.

At least, it made the imp stand off his chest, laughing.

"Don't lie, you called Striker sexy too! Do you just let anyone you find sexy kidnap you? Because I gotta tell ya, as you probably noticed, it ain't a great idea!"

Stolas got back to his feet too, dusting himself off and trying to regain his composure.

"Oh, no, I was very much trying to escape him, I simply didn't expect him to use blessed rope as a lasso", he admitted.

"Well, you should have! You saw him in the games, he was good with it, and you can't say you didn't see, he did his lasso thing on me", Blitz grumbled.

"You sure looked sexy like this", Stolas smirked.

"Oh shut up! Now get ready for round two!"

They avoided anything related to wrestling after one or two other close interactions that got them equally distracted. They both were trying to ignore it, but even Blitz was obviously affected, and there were plenty enough things to work on to be able to avoid that dangerous ground.

Still, they found themselves close again as Blitz intended to show him how to get out of some locks, only demonstrating once without practicing afterwards, because they could both feel it would quickly turn into something else. Because they hadn't been intimate in a long time, and they both seemed to miss it, which was both a surprise and a reassurance to Stolas. Maybe it was more than just obligation and money that were pushing Blitz back to him in the end? Which, well, was great, that was his intention in the first place after all!

By the end of it, Stolas was pretty tired, but Blitz still insisted to see how he could put his powers to use.

"So, portals are out of the question, in a fight you can't afford to lose whole seconds like this, and it's too easy to spot. But that shadow form you showed me, I'm sure you can do great deadly stuff with it!" Blitz assured him, smiling brightly at the endless possibilities. "Let's give it a try!"

In the end, they gave it several tries, with Stolas ending up behind the imp several times with his taloned fingers as blades near the imp's throat, and that seemed to only excite him even more.

"Oh yeah, that could be really fun if you knew how to use it! We'll have to work on that next time! You did great today!" Blitz complimented him.

"Really?" Stolas asked, slightly blushing, pleased by the recognition from one of his favorite persons.

"Yeah, sure! Now, let's get back to the kitchen for the end of the talking, my throat's drier than a puss in the desert."

The owl giggled.

"Where did that one come from?" He asked.

"Dunno, they're spontaneous. Now come on, we'll make quick work of what weapons you can hide in your usual outfits and we'll see next time how to use them."

The prince heartily nodded as he followed the imp, before quickly leading the way once he realized Blitz had no idea where he was going.

All in all, it went quite well, better than he expected even. Though he feared what to do once came the time to sleep, because with Loona sleeping with Via, he couldn't just sent Blitz home, but he couldn't invite him to his bed like usual either, Blitz would either notice the bandages or wonder why he was sleeping clothed.

He was exempted from finding a solution to this problem as Blitz himself went to bother the girls by the end of the night, and they ended up piling blankets and pillows on the floor in the living room, couch pushed to one side, so they could sit down together, first to watch a movie, then look at the stars, and they all slept here in pajamas… More or less, Blitz not having taken one.

They didn't stay long in the morning, just enough for breakfast since they already had plans, but it has been a great sleepover for everyone, including Octavia and Loona who had plenty of time to do things together before their dads came to bring them in.

Now, once again, Stolas only hoped it wouldn't be snatched away in a few days. In the meantime, it gave him renewed motivation to advance his plans as much as he could. Until then, just spending time with Blitz was, as he thought, bringing so much happiness it was overwhelming, and even Loona had seem comfortable, from what he knew of her.

It didn't matter if things were meant to go south again, he would cling onto the hope and happiness from that night for as long as he could.

01/05/2024

I'm so excited to share all the chapters already done, but I don't want to rush. Once I'm done with the "hurt" part of the story and started the "comfort" one, maybe I'll post two chapters a week instead of one, we'll see!

Til then, see you! ;)