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I don't think any warning is needed here, you know what the fic is like by now x)

Enjoy!

Chapter 40 – Trial and error

Stolas hadn't slept so well nor so long in… He wasn't sure.

Actually, he could probably tell. It had to be the night between last Friday and Saturday, the last time he allowed himself to relax and slept through the night. He feared for a moment Blitz's presence wouldn't be enough, like it wasn't during the night between Saturday and Sunday, but having solved the problem with Stella and Andrealphus probably helped.

He only hoped it would last.

He opened his eyes with the feeling of warmth on his side, the imp already awake and playing with his feathers while he slowly woke up, smiling brightly.

"Hey there big bird. Slept well? You sure slept a lot at least, M and Loona are already off to work, but Loona promised Via she'd come back."

The owl's four eyes blinked out of sync, before he turned his head toward the light coming from the balcony.

"It's already that late?" He asked, but he didn't sound too bothered about it, sleep still heavy in his voice.

"Yes. But it's alright birdie, you got nothing planned for today, right? Your new security arrived by the way, I asked your butler to take care of it."

"Oh, thank you, that was fast."

Blitz snorted, hand still preening the feathers his hands could reach.

"Come on, you can't tell me you never asked him to fetch employees last minute?"

"I suppose it happened, but it is unusual. The events needing more staff are planned in advance, therefore there is usually no need to rush, even if mishaps do happen."

"… Yeah, makes sense", the assassin admitted, his hands stopping before they began moving through the feathers again. "So, are you ready to get up birdie? I reassured your daughter, saying you were probably catching up on sleep, but I think she'll still be reassured to see you up and about."

"You're right."

There was a bit more energy in those words, yet Stolas was making no movement to get up. At first even himself wasn't sure why, he thought he was just comfortable here, safe in Blitz's warm embrace.

Then he pictured the steps to leave the bed and get ready for the day, and he realized it involved going to the bathroom. Naked.

He stripped out of habit yesterday, he was just so tired. Meaning he just spent the whole night naked with another demon, even if he thought he felt that Blitz was wearing shorts. Naked or not, Blitz was still pressed against his own naked form, and the fact they spent the night like this wasn't a problem, but the idea to remove the covers and reveal his body was causing a whole lot of conflict in his brain for some reason.

The imp must have felt him tense because his soothing movements slowly stopped.

"Stolas? Are you okay?"

Fuck, how could he answer that? Saying "I don't want to get up" would sound so childish and whiny, and he did want to go and greet Via, see how she was digesting the news and make sure she didn't try to call her mother while he was still asleep and without Loona by her side.

No, the problem was…

"It will probably sound really silly", Stolas started with an oddly even voice, and the tip of Blitz's tail whipped the air.

"I'm pretty sure we had a discussion about that kind of language before, didn't we?" The assassin asked sternly. Stolas rotated his head like only owls could do to look at him.

"We did?"

Blitz rolled his eyes.

"Okay, maybe we didn't talk that specifically about it, but, no demeaning yourself or what you experienced, okay? You need to be honest with yourself if this is going to work. At least I guess? I'm not a specialist. Do you want to call a specialist?"

"What? No!" Stolas said, slightly sitting up, which leaned him away from Blitz's warm body, and he could already feel the loss and see a slight disappointment in the imp's eyes. "I mean, yes, I suppose seeing a therapist would be advised, but…"

"You're not ready?" Blitz suggested, gaze frank as he looked into Stolas' infinite red orbs, and the prince slowly nodded.

In theory, he knew what therapy was used for. He knew everyone should be able to need a therapist without shame.

In practice, living your whole life with people who kept repeating your emotions and opinions didn't matter and silenced what couldn't be masked with pills, only because it was something they couldn't ignore, wasn't a great way to prepare anyone to seek out help.

But like usual, Blitz simply nodded. Non-judging, simply patient and understanding, and Stolas was wondering all over again what he did to deserve such treatment after endangering him for so long. But he knew the imp would probably blame Stella instead, so he didn't say anything.

"It's okay. It's not good to force yourself. We can always discuss it later. So, what was so silly it prevents you from getting up birdie, tell old good doctor Blitz?" He ended with a playful smirk, and Stolas smiled back, feeling himself relax.

"It is… Well, I don't… Want you to misunderstand or take offense, but…"

"Birdie. Spill. Whatever you're going to say, it's okay. I won't take it personally, or whatever it is you're fearing."

The owl started looking at his lap, talons fidgeting like a kid about to reveal a prank he made.

"I don't… Would it be okay, if you closed your eyes for a moment, just the time for me to get up and grab my robe?"

At first Blitz simply listened calmly, before worry settled in his eyes.

"Shit, am I being too clingy?" He asked, watching all the ways their bodies were touching but not daring to crawl away because it'd make it worse. "You need to tell me if that's the case Stolas!"

"No no, it's not about that!" The bird assured him. "I… I like our closeness, it's comforting. I just… I don't want to be seen naked. I know it's stupid, you already know what I look like, and we just slept together, but…"

"Oh. Okay, don't worry Stolas, say no more!" Blitz said with a warm voice, a hand coming to rub softly at Stolas' arm to draw his attention. "You don't need to justify yourself all the time you know, especially if you don't want to talk about it. It's okay. Just tell me when you're ready and I'll close my eyes, and reopen them only when you give me the go-ahead. Alright?"

"Alright."

So they did just that, and everything went perfectly well. Yet, the feeling lasted during all the time they got ready. Stolas bathed alone, and had to be fully clothed to join Blitz. When he saw the imp go into the bathroom too, he couldn't help his surprised blink.

"You're taking your shower now? I thought you were more of an evening shower person", Stolas asked.

"Oh, I am, I just thought you wouldn't want to see me strip. Unless you're okay with that?" Blitz explained, suddenly sounding hesitant as he looked back toward the owl.

"I… I don't know. Is that why you slept with shorts on?" Stolas asked, looking at said shorts.

"Yes, I… I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me naked either, with everything they did to you. Do you… Does it bother you?"

Stolas blinked as he kept staring at the bulge between Blitz's legs. He wasn't hard, he was fairly sure, so why did he feel like it was growing bigger the more he looked at it?

"Hm, Stol's?"

The owl chirped, embarrassed, as his cheeks flushed when he realized what he was doing.

"Apologies Blitz, I didn't realize what I was doing. I… I'm not sure honestly. I don't think it would bother me, I always enjoyed our time in bed together, and I don't want to link it to what they did."

"Yeah, okay, sure. But if you change you mind…"

"I will let you know, yes", Stolas smiled. "But it works for you too, if you don't want me to see you naked… You don't have to after all."

"It's fine", Blitz snorted as he removed his shorts, and Stolas couldn't help but tense as they slipped off his legs, but it was all. He didn't feel particularly bad at the sight of the imp's soft dick, and if anything, it brought back pleasant memories, not any of the terrible ones.

"I still need to take a quick shower though. But you can join the girls for breakfast if you want, I'll follow as soon as I'm done!"

"Oh, I… Yes, of course…"

The imp froze at the almost dejected tone in the bird's voice and stepped back to watch him, bewildered.

"You already want to get freaky in the bathroom? You just bathed!"

"Ah, no I don't want to… No, I simply wanted to help you bath, if that's alright with you? If it's weird I can just…"

"Hey", Blitz said softly, having walked to him to gently grab his hands. "It's okay. It's not weird. I could even have suggested it, if I didn't fear it was too soon. Of course you can join me if you want, even if it's just to watch from afar like the perv I know you are."

He ended with a teasing smirk, which should have reassured the owl, but he was feeling self-conscious instead, thinking of all the things he asked Blitz to do during the deal, and to the imp's answer, saying it was his night, like if he didn't have a choice…

"Wow, hey, Hell to birdie, you're still with me?"

Stolas blinked back to reality and looked down at Blitz's worried expression.

"What are you thinking, if you can share?"

"I…" Stolas hesitated. "Sorry, I got distracted thinking of… Other things. Do you… Really think you wouldn't mind if I helped you bath? I don't want to intrude, but…"

"I told you I didn't mind", Blitz assured, voice only soft and gentle again, guessing it was probably a bit too soon to joke about that, even lightly. "I'm sure it can be good for you, to be the one to decide how much you get in contact with somebody else. I swear I don't mind, and you can even use our usual safety system if you have any doubt, alright? Besides, it's just a fucking shower Stol's."

"But… We didn't often shower together", the owl shyly pointed out.

The assassin held back a wince, because the prince was right. It was the moment where he was still pretending not to care. They still hadn't talked about actual feelings yet, but the imp was 100% sure it was too soon.

"It's true, but it's a good first step, don't you think? Since we did worst stuff together already. But remember, no pressure. I'm perfectly alright with having someone helping clean my back, but if you stop feeling okay at any point, you can always let me finish alone, I'd understand."

"Ok, I'll… Let's try", Stolas finally decided despite his unsure voice.

Blitz had that urge to repeat once again that Stolas didn't have to and could change his mind, but he feared saying the same thing over and over would end up having the opposite effect, emptying the words of their sense and becoming a habit and not something Stolas would pay attention to.

The bath was very slow. The imp wished he could say it had been sweet, because he was sure Stolas didn't panic, but he could also feel the awkwardness in the air. Stolas did check his consent a few times, and Blitz did the same, but despite both of them giving the all clear every time, Blitz could feel something was bothering the owl. Something he wasn't willing to share yet.

It felt frustrating to the assassin. Of course, Stolas didn't owe him anything, and he could never be ready to confide that specific thing to Blitz in particular, but he didn't like knowing something was disturbing his owl. It felt like he wasn't doing a good enough job to support him.

"Are you ready for breakfast? We'll do like yesterday night, only small quantities for you. Do you want to try out fruits like yesterday? Something else?"

"Fruits sounds good", Stolas nodded as they were both finally clothed and ready to go.

"Alright, let's go!"

Since they were so late, Stolas expected the kitchen to be empty, yet when they entered, they found Via sitting there, fidgeting with her phone with a frown before she suddenly dropped it to the table when she heard them.

"Dad! How are you?!" She asked, getting up in a hurry, like if her father could disappear if she wasn't fast enough, and Stolas smiled, opening his arms to welcome her hug. Blitz couldn't help but brace his arms to catch the birds, but the prince was steadier than yesterday. The night probably helped, even if he was still low on food intake.

"I'm alright starfire, I slept very well. Sorry for getting up so late. How are you? Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, it was alright", she mumbled before finally stepping back a little to look her father over more closely. "You do look a bit better." She finally admitted.

"I certainly hope so! I felt rested when I woke up."

"Doesn't mean you don't still need to catch up on sleep", Blitz reminded him.

"He's right dad. It's okay if you get up a bit late, we got this! Do you want me to stay for breakfast or not?"

"Oh, well, it's up to you starfire! Weren't you here to take a snack?"

"Not really, I already ate. I just didn't want to miss when you'd get up. Blitz told me he'd bring you to the kitchen right away."

The owl glanced at the imp, only to find him already up on a stool, rummaging through the cupboard to find everything Stolas said he was fine to eat.

"Blitz? What do you want for breakfast? Maybe I can help you find what you need."

"Hm? Oh, no need, I was looking for things you can eat!" The assassin smiled back, and it should be illegal to look so nice and cute while working in that field.

"No need, I assure you I'm fine with fruits."

"You sure? Okay. I'm still putting these here in case you feel like taking a bit during the day, alright?"

Octavia was watching their interactions, trying to look for hints that Blitz could miss, but the imp was being extremely attentive toward her father. Stolas took a single fruit before Blitz started cooking his own breakfast, that he skipped before, even offering some to the owlet, who tentatively accepted. After all, she had woken up early, troubled by the recent revelations, and wouldn't mind a second breakfast, that would probably serve as lunch anyway given how late in the morning it now was.

Conversation was flowing naturally, so much so that she almost forgot how unusual Blitz's presence was. That is, until Stolas got up while Via and Blitz were in the middle of their plates of pancakes.

"Where are you going dad? Are you feeling ill again?"

"Yes, sorry. I'll be right back. Please finish your breakfast."

He was holding out a hand again as Blitz seemed ready to get up to go with him. The imp slowly sat back, looking concerned.

"Okay."

Octavia and him exchanged a glance, but before they could say anything about it, the prince was already back in the room, walking to the bowl of fruits and he ate another one in one go.

"Wow, hey Stol's, are you sure you should try again so quickly?" Blitz asked.

"It's worth a try, isn't it? At least I felt like it", Stolas shrugged with a small smile, but staying away from the table where his loved ones were eating, which didn't go unnoticed.

"You sure you okay?"

"Yes, I just think staying up might help."

Both demons at the table exchanged another glance, this time a skeptic one, but didn't say anything. Once they were done, they put away the dishes, Via quickly taking back her phone then approaching her father.

"Hm, so… You two are going to be busy today?"

"Not necessarily starfire! Do you need something?"

"Kinda… It's just, I'm going to try and call mum I think, I just wanted to let you know."

The owl tensed for barely a second before forcing his features to relax. Still, Blitz did notice, and felt his tail coil around the owl's leg in silent support while the Goetia offered a reassuring smile.

"Thank you Via. Please don't hesitate to seek me out before or after you do. Unless you want to call her right now?"

"I prefer to do it on my own. I'll probably call her in a bit. I'll be on my own until then, it's just so you know. You're okay with this? I can wait you know."

"No no, it's alright! Please do how you're most comfortable with. Take care."

Stolas approached her to press a kiss with his beak on Via's forehead, over her beanie, which earned a groan from her.

"Dad, I'm okay. You'll be nearby, and it's just a phone call, I can hang up if needed. You okay, food wise?"

"Hm? Oh, yes", Stolas smiled as he let go of his daughter. "As I thought, the second time's the charm apparently. Hopefully it'll get easier after a few days!"

"Yeah, it'd be best if you didn't need to throw up first every time", she smiled back, before nodding at the imp and leaving the room, a slight frown on her face as she looked at her phone again.

Stolas watched her leave with worry, even though he knew she was old enough to decide how to handle it, before Blitz's hand taking his almost made him jump.

"Don't fret too much. As she said, it's just a phone call, that bitch can't do shit to her that way, and at worse, she'll just show your kid that she's not worth the title of mother."

"I suppose you're right…"

Blitz hesitated, seeing as Stolas' gaze was still focused on the path Via took to leave, before he looked back at the bowl of fruit.

"Do you think you'd be able to stomach another fruit or it's too soon?"

Stolas' face turned pensive as he touched his stomach with his hand, before he winced.

"I don't think it's a good idea yet."

"Because you already ate too recently, or because something disturbed you? Was there something wrong with us, for you to stay away like that after you returned?"

From the prince's demeanor alone, slightly deflating, Blitz knew he was right even before Stolas opened his beak, a slightly guilty gaze landing on the imp.

"Ah, apologies, I didn't want you two to think that…"

"Don't worry, I don't think your kid noticed, and I know it's not against us. So, what's troubling you? If you don't mind sharing of course!"

"Oh, hm… Do you mind if we go elsewhere first? It's… The smell that was disturbing me a bit."

Both demons started to walk, Blitz still holding Stolas' hand, while the imp frowned.

"The smell? So having us eat next to you can be a problem."

"I… I really hoped not, but your pancakes smelt so good… But then I pictured myself eating them, and it just… I don't know, I seem to have a problem with warm food, which… Can be easily explained, I suppose."

"Shit, yeah, I get it", Blitz grimaced. Stolas had insisted enough on how warm his cock was when they were still having monthly sex to see exactly where this was going. "I guess we shouldn't be eating this kind of meal when you do then, at least for a while."

"I suppose so", Stolas agreed, sounding dejected. Blitz knew how much the prince wanted to continue like normal, but while the imp could get his fear that he'd end up not being able to return to normal, he was sure taking all this step by step was better than ignoring the problems at hand. At least this way they'd be able to control better what was happening and check what was a trigger and what wasn't.

"So… Do you want to distract yourself a bit until Via comes to see us, and then we'll see this afternoon to have you eat another fruit and maybe discuss more about all this?"

"It sounds like a plan", Stolas nodded with a soft smile, which was mirrored by Blitz until they both froze when they heard the prince's phone ring, showing Asmodeus' name on the screen.

20/03/2025

Hopefully see you in a month ^^ Take care!