Archive of Our Own

The front of Harriet Hartshorn Elementary School wasn’t that impressive.

It was a single floor brick building in the center of a predominantly imp neighborhood (though the school welcomed all hellborn species) with large, outdated windows that lined the classrooms inside. There was a pretty large playground to the side, surrounded by a tall chainlink fence that was a bit rusty with one too many holes that Stolas could see from his vantage point, but did it the job of keeping the kids contained where they needed to be. It honestly looked like it had last been painted three decades ago, if the faded and peeling facade was anything to go by, but the yellow and dark blue combo was quite charming in the afternoon light, if he was being honest.

It was nothing, really, compared the the grand palace he once lived in and the other places that he had frequented when he was still an acting prince, but Stolas was pretty sure it was one of his new favorite places. 

Stolas' preferred spot to wait for Octavia after school was at the bottom of the front steps, where most of the other parents gathered if they didn’t sit in their cars parked along the street. He would portal to the spot and then wait patiently for the school bell to ring. He enjoyed seeing the way Via would burst from the front doors, a wide smile on her face as she raced down the stairs in her effort to excitedly tell him the latest new thing she had learned in the third grade today.

Today, well…was a little different.

There was no bursting from the front doors and certainly no excited skipping down the front steps. His daughter had practically dragged her feet, taking much longer than usual to make her way to her father. Via stood in front of him, eyes downcast and shoulders scrunched up in what was a clear sign of embarrassment, her talons curled around the straps of her backpack - a large purple one covered in small, silver stars that was nearly as tall as she was, that Via had practically begged Stolas for when he had taken her shopping a few weeks ago before the school year had began. 

When Stolas had broken the news to her of her new schooling venture, once the divorce had been finalized and custody had been figured out, she had been so excited at the prospect of attending a real school; one where she would be able to mingle with children her own age and actually have classmates , not just the poor imp butler who had accompanied her to all of her tutoring sessions at Stella’s insistence. She was going to read books on a big rug and play on a playground and have nap time . She was going to make friends.

But now she just handed Stolas a crumpled up pink paper and refused to make eye contact with him as they stood at the bottom of the front steps of the school. He had become well-acquainted with these notes in the past three weeks, especially since Via seemed to keep getting them - something that baffled him completely since he had come to learn that they were disciplinary notes. 

“Don’t be mad,” Via started, her small voice cutting through Stolas’ concern. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Starfire,” he began, “Even if you didn’t mean to get in trouble –”

“I didn’t , dad!” she interrupted, eyes finally meeting his as she gazed up at him with a pleading expression. “Beau was being so mean and I just got mad, I couldn’t help it!”

Stolas sighed, opening the note in his hand to read the contents. He didn’t know Via’s teacher all that well, mostly due to the fact that he had yet to get the chance to meet him, but if there was one thing he was certain about, it was that his writing could use some improvement. The scrawl was sloppy and hastily written, almost as if the teacher had been in a hurry to write it. Stolas supposed working with nothing but third graders all day probably meant that the teacher was constantly bouncing around from one thing to the other - he probably didn’t have a lot of time to just sit and write a note.

“Via, this says you kicked him,” he exclaimed, eyes quickly scanning the hastily scrawled message that mostly just noted that Via had to spend some time in Quiet Corner.

“He was saying a bunch of stuff about us, Dad! Lots of mean stuff!” she cried, her little talons pulling on the ends of his sweater as she tried to explain herself. “He said that he saw you on the news and that you’re a terrible dad because Mom left you and that I’m only at this school because you have no more money and I told him that you have tons of money and then he called me spoiled and made fun of my backpack and I -”

He bent down, quickly pulling his daughter into his arms and silencing her with a hug. He felt her stiffening for a moment before she relaxed, wrapping her arms as much as she could around his shoulders and letting out a sniffle.

Stolas had done his best during the entirety of the divorce proceedings to keep Via out of it as much as he could, but it had nearly been impossible. There hadn’t been a divorce in the Goetia family in centuries , so as soon as Stolas had his lawyers file the paperwork, the entire thing had become front page news in what felt like hours . He had hardly been able to leave the palace in the weeks afterward without being hounded by photographers and nosy journalists determined to get the inside scoop before anyone else.

And, oh, how there had been times when he had been tempted -

Oh, I’m divorcing my wife because she’s the most horrid woman in existence with little regard for anyone else and I only married her because the Goetia are archaic when it comes to love and marriage and I would rather pull out every single one of my feathers, one by one, than have to call myself her husband for any longer. Also, I’m nearly positive I am not romantically attracted to women anyways, so this has honestly been pointless from the beginning.

But then he would remember that Via didn’t deserve to hear him speak about her mother that way, and although he wanted as little to do with Stella as physically possible, he didn’t want to ruin whatever relationship his daughter had with her mother by being, well, a petty bitch .

It had taken months for everything to finally get finalized and settled down, especially since Stella and her brother seemed intent on dragging out the entire thing for as long as possible. But eventually, even the Goetian council had grown tired of their shenanigans and declared the divorce granted under very specific stipulations - Stella had wound up with the palace and a large chunk of Stolas’ fortune, but Stolas had gotten primary custody of Via (except for a weekend every month) and the chance to break away from the Ars Goetia in a way that no one had ever done before. His father had been livid initially, of course, but Stolas had promised to continue with Via’s studies with the Grimoire once she became of age and as long as Stolas held his monthly meetings with those higher up in the Goetia family when it came to his prophecy readings, Paimon really couldn’t care less for what his son did with all his other time.

“Yes, yes, whatever - as long as she’s learning what she needs to learn, just make sure I don’t need to see your face unless absolutely necessary,” Paimon had declared before brushing him aside. 

So, he had moved into a large apartment in Pride, enrolled Via in the local public school and decided to live. 

And now, now he was doing his best to console his crying daughter.

“Via, my darling, I appreciate that you stood up for me - no, stood up for us - but you can’t always settle these things with violence,” Stolas explained, rubbing his fingers gently on the back of Via’s head as she continued to sniffle into his shoulder. “You know better than that, Starfire.”

“I’m sorry.” Via’s voice was small and wobbly in his ear and Stolas tightened his hug, desperate to give her as much comfort as he could as all the other school children rushed around them to get to their parents. 

“I know you are,” he assured, giving her a quick peck on her cheek before straightening up and holding out his hand for her to take. “Now, let’s go home and try to have a better afternoon, what do you say?”

Via rubbed her eyes one last time before nodding, slipping her hand into Stolas’ and giving it a tight squeeze. He smiled down at her, determined to not let this little mishap get the best of them, before leading the way as he portaled the two of them back to their apartment.

“I just don’t understand,” Stolas sighed. “She was so excited to go to school when I brought up the idea to her, why would she be doing so poorly now? It’s only the third week and she normally enjoys learning new things, I just assumed she would be thriving by this point.”

The small carnivorous plant that sat on the windowsill of Stolas’ kitchen didn’t say anything in return, just tilted its bulbed head at him and opened its small jaw in anticipation for dinner.

“I know, I know,” he continued, grabbing the chopped up meat he had sitting on the kitchen counter and tossing it towards the little plant’s gaping mouth. “She’s only eight, you know, and this is all so new for her - I just thought that maybe getting the chance to be just a regular child for once would be beneficial for her. I didn’t want her to be cooped up in the palace forever with a stuffy old tutor like…well, me. ”

Stolas glanced over his shoulder to the hallway off the kitchen, where Via’s room sat at the end. As soon as they had arrived home from school that afternoon, Via had stomped her way down the hall and shut the door behind her with a loud slam, refusing to come out even for her normal afterschool snack and yelling that she had homework to finish. 

“Do you think I should talk to her teacher?” he asked the plant - Harold , he had named it - as he grabbed the spray bottle from next to him and gave it a spritz. It had been something he had been thinking of doing ever since she started at school and even more so now with the sudden appearance of the pink slips. Stolas hadn’t had a chance to introduce himself to Via’s teacher both due to his schedule and Via’s hesitance to let him embarrass her in front of her class (her words, not his), so he simply hadn’t.

The most he knew about Via’s teacher was what she had deigned to tell him. Stolas knew he was an imp (“but like, tall, Dad, not like those little ones who work at the grocery store”), liked horses (if the little doodles on all Via’s homework of tiny equines proclaiming Great job! were anything to go by), and hated being called by his full last name (“it’s Mr. B only, Dad, okay?”). Besides the behavior notes that got sent home, he seemed like a fine enough teacher. To be fair, Stolas didn’t have much to compare it to - his only teacher growing up had been a rather boring elder Goetia whom Stolas’ father had tasked with the “honor” of teaching his child, but who would have rather done anything else than be forced to interact with a curious, small child who asked too many questions.

Stolas had mostly taught himself, really.

“I could send him an email,” Stolas mused, remembering the packet that Via had come home with on her first day that had all of Mr. B’s contact information that Stolas had quickly inputted into his phone. “Maybe I could set up a meeting? I haven’t had the chance to see Via’s classroom yet, it would be quite exciting to see where she spends most of the week. Maybe I can schedule it for a Friday afternoon after I drop her off at Stella’s…”

After giving Harold a pat, he pulled out his phone and sat down at the dining room table, determined to knock out this email as quickly as possible before trying to coax Via into coming out of her room so they could decide what they were going to eat for dinner. Even when she was in the worst of moods, she could never say no to a good mice and jalapeno pizza.

Dear Mr. B,

Good evening! I am Stolas, Octavia’s father, and I have noticed in the past few weeks the multitude of notes that she has been receiving for her less than ideal behavior with her fellow students. I know that she’s new to the school, but I am rather concerned that she may not be handling the change very well and I was reaching out in the hopes that I would be able to schedule a meeting with you to possibly discuss what I can do to further help her acclimate to the classroom. Your notes are very concise and Via, being only eight, can only explain the situations so well, so I would love to get some more information about what is truly happening when she’s in class. As much as I try to assure her and let her know that her behavior is not acceptable, I just want to make sure that we are on the same page as the authority figures in her life and that I am not going against what you may have possibly already told her. I am not sure if you are free this Friday afternoon around possibly 3 PM so that I may come in and speak to you in person? Via has had nothing but positive things to say about you, so I am quite curious to meet her teacher and introduce myself as well! Please let me know if this time would work for you.

Kindest regards,

Stolas 

With a sigh, Stolas closed his email application and opened the BeesEats one, scrolling through his past orders until he found the pizza place that he and Via had found their first week in the new apartment and making the order. Surprisingly, it was only a few minutes before Stolas felt his phone buzz in his hand, a signal that he had received a new email. He quickly opened it, taken slightly off guard at how soon Mr. B had replied to his inquiry. Stolas had been expecting a reply maybe in the morning or the next afternoon, if he was lucky. After all, he didn’t expect Via’s teacher to be checking his work email so late after school had been let out.

Much like his notes, the email was short and to the point.

Hey

Friday is cool. Just meet at my classroom

Mr. B

Stolas wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man.

The following Friday, Stolas picked up a much more cheerful Via from school and portaled her to her mother’s palace as was determined by the custody order. He did his best not to linger too long on the front steps of his former home, hoping to keep any and all contact with his ex-wife to a bare minimum. Luckily, Via had given him a quick hug, told him she would see him on Sunday evening, and had walked herself inside on her own after the butler had answered the door. No Stella in sight, thank Satan. He then portaled himself back outside of Hartshorn Elementary and strode inside.

Stolas had only been in the school twice before - once, when he initially showed up in the front office to have Via enrolled for the new school year. The small female imp who had been manning the front desk had stared at him for longer than Stolas had been taught was polite, but once she had gotten over the shock of having a Goetia in her lobby, she had very quickly walked him through the steps of what he needed to do. Stolas was still not entirely sure if the process was normally that quick for all parents, but he wasn’t about to complain, especially not if it gave Via the chance to start the new school year on time with the rest of her classmates.

The second time was when he had brought Via for her first day of class. She had allowed him to walk her to the door of her new classroom before she had pushed him away, insisting that she wasn’t a baby and she could go into her new classroom alone like the other kids were doing. Though a large part of himself wanted to protest, he knew how much he had already put his daughter through with the divorce and the everything that came with it, so he had merely nodded and watched as she disappeared through the door by herself, doing his best not to burst into tears in the middle of the hallway.

As he approached the outside of Via’s classroom this time, Stolas took note of all the decorations that had been taped to the outside of the door. Colorful drawings (there were quite a lot of horses, if he was being honest), what seemed to be a height chart, and a small banner proclaiming MR. B’S THIRD GRADE CLASS. 

It was quite adorable, really.

With a steadying breath, he pushed open the door, slightly worried about how this Mr. B would react to him after receiving such a long and detailed message. Stolas had been nervous about how wordy he possibly had come across, especially since Mr. B’s response had been so short, and may have spent the rest of the week leading up to today worried that he had messed up any sort of amenable relationship he could have possibly had with Via’s teacher.

He glanced around the classroom for a moment, taking in all the things that were stapled to the walls - student work and art, mixed with a large amount of inspirational posters that seemed to nearly all feature horses (again, the horse imagery was extensive ), with a large whiteboard smack to the front of the room that depicted some math problems in bright green marker. He didn’t immediately see anyone and wondered if maybe Mr. B had stepped out for a moment, until he heard a rather loud bang come from the rear of the room. His eyes snapped to the source of the sound quickly, taking in the sight of a rather tall imp trying to get something out of a storage closet. Stolas couldn’t tell what the other man was pulling on, but the imp hadn’t seemed to realize anyone had walked in, his brow scrunched in concentration as he mumbled under his breath and tugged on the offending object. Stolas took a moment to study him, curious about the teacher he had only ever heard his eight year old describe. 

He had on a plain button up, the bottom untucked from a pair of dark jeans. He was tall, like Via had said, with an impressive set of large horns. However, if there was one thing that Via’s description of her teacher had missed, it had been how handsome the man actually was. Not that he expected his eight year old daughter to notice something like that, of course - Stolas was nearly positive that she was still at the age where she thought boys were gross - but, for some reason, he had been picturing someone much different.

The man also looked oddly familiar, if the horns and brand on his forehead were anything to go by. But, if Stolas was remembering right, the imp he had played with as a child all those years ago didn’t have any white markings and he had been a circus clown, surely there was no way he’d be here of all places. With the talent he had had as a child, Stolas was sure that imp was somewhere far glitzier than an elementary school in the middle of Imp City.

Still, despite his hesitance, Stolas couldn’t stop himself from clearing his throat and softly asking, “...Blitzo?”

“The o is silent now, okay ? How many times do I gotta fucking -“ The imp suddenly turned, abandoning his task as the tub he had been pulling on refused to budged. The scowl on his face quickly morphed into one of surprise, a slightly dark tinge appearing across his cheeks as he took in Stolas. “Oh, my bad, I thought you were one of the other teachers, they usually give me shit, but you’re obviously…not.”

Stolas resisted the urge to let out a small laugh and cleared his throat. “No, I’m Octavia’s father? I’m here for the meeting?”

The other man nodded, eyes glancing towards his desk where a stack of papers sat in a messy pile. “Right, right, totally didn’t forget about that, just let me put this shit away,” he mumbled, grabbing the offending papers and hurriedly shoving them into what appeared to be a random drawer. “And I swear I don’t curse like this in front of the kids, you just caught me off guard.”

“Of course,” Stolas quickly replied. As much as he hoped it was true, he was well aware that this was Hell - cursing sort of came with the territory. 

“Okay, maybe it happens occasionally, but the kids are pretty good about making me put change in the swear jar when I do,” he answered, pointing to a mason jar covered in glitter that had PIZUH written on the side that seemed to already be a quarter of the way full. “I use the funds at the end of the year to throw them a pizza party, so good cause!”

Stolas smiled. “What a wonderful idea, Mr. B.”

“You don’t have to call me that, Blitzø is fine,” he quickly corrected, gesturing to the chair on the other side of his desk for Stolas to take a seat. “I mean, you kind of already used it.”

“Oh, right, apologies…Blitzø,” Stolas replied, lowering himself as well as he could into the slightly too small chair and doing his best to angle his legs in a way that wasn’t uncomfortable. He had become increasingly aware of how much the world outside of what he had come to know with the Ars Goetia was not really well suited for demons of his size. Especially not in the city he had decided to settle in.

Blitzø shrugged. “Yeah, weird that you know it as a parent, I do my damn hardest to keep it off the syllabus every year.”

“Well, actually,” Stolas began, fiddling with his hands in his lap. “I apologize if you don’t remember, but I believe we met as children?”

Blitzø, who had just sat down, blinked up at Stolas in confusion and eyed him speculatively.  “We have?”

“Yes, my father took me - well, he sort of took me to your family’s circus on my eighth birthday and then you came over to play?” Stolas hoped to all that was demonic that he wasn’t blushing. It had been nearly two decades since that day, but he had never forgotten it. It was one of the few bright spots in his childhood, one that he had reminisced on fondly growing up whenever life got too difficult, which had sadly been more often than he would have ever expected.

Blitzø blinked at him again, almost as if he was sorting through a category of memories before slapping the desk in front of him and loudly exclaiming, “ You’re the little fluffball?!” 

“I mean, I…guess?” Stolas answered. He had shed most of his down by the time Blitzø had been invited to play at the palace, Stolas was certain he didn’t remember still being that fluffy at the time.

“Sorry, I just - aren’t you a prince?” Blitzø asked, voice confused as he gestured to the classroom surrounding them. “Why are you here ?”

“My daughter goes to school here,” explained Stolas, only slightly thrown off by the line of questioning. “I asked to have a meeting because —“

“Yeah, I know, you should have seen my spit take when I realized there was a damn Goetia in my class during the first attendance roll call,” Blitzø interrupted, shooting Stolas a quick smirk. “But why ? Don’t you rich folks have, like, tutors and shit like that?”

Stolas nodded. “Well, yes, but I wanted Via to have the chance to experience life as a normal child so, after my divorce, I decided to enroll her into public school.”

“Here?” Blitzø asked, brow furrowed in even more confusion if possible. “In Imp City?”

“The apartment I rent is only a few blocks from here and the school has quite a nice reputation online, so it only made sense for Via to go here,” Stolas further explained. It had made sense at the time - Stolas had wanted to get as far from his old life as possible, so he had found a place to live in the last place that Stella or her horrid brother would ever think about stepping foot in. Not because it was bad or dirty or anything like that - the neighborhood was honestly one of the prettiest ones that Stolas had found and all of his neighbors were welcoming enough, even if they were little intimidated by having a Goetia living next door - but merely for the fact that the neighborhood primarily consisted of imps, a class of hellborns that Stella believed to be beneath her. Stolas had never understood her hatred for them. 

“That explains a lot,” Blitzø murmured, pulling Stolas from his thoughts.

“I beg your pardon?”

Blitzø waved his hand dismissively, leaning forward on his elbows to give Stolas a pointed look. “Listen, Mr…your highness? Via’s dad?”

“You can just call me Stolas.”

“Right,” Blitzø continued. “Listen, Stolas, your kid is a great kid, okay? She’s crazy smart and probably one of the most engaged kids I’ve ever taught. She’s, like, always asking questions and they’re good ones. Which, believe me, can be pretty fucking rare in a third grade classroom.”

Stolas felt his heart swell in pride. Via had always been a clever child and Stolas had made sure to nurture that aspect of her personality, terrified that her upbringing among the Goetia would have tried to snuff it out. He had bought her any book she showed interest in, got her that telescope for her sixth birthday when she talked about wanting to see the skies like her dad - just let her be curious. “Via has always enjoyed learning and I make sure to let her know that it’s important to be curious.”

“Exactly! She does well on any test I give and is usually the first person to wave her hand in the air when I ask a question,” Blitzø continued, a small smile appearing on the corners of his mouth before it morphed back into a concerned frown. “It’s just that, well, she’s…not very good with the other kids.”

Stolas fidgeted in his tiny seat, not surprised by this revelation but still needing some more. Those blasted notes barely gave him anything. “What do you mean?

“I mean – how do I say this?” Blitzø mumbled, before he looked up at Stolas with a sigh. “Sometimes it seems like she’s never hung out with another kid before.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve had shy kids before, sure, but Via always gets awkward when it comes to group work or going to recess. And then when she does go play, it’s usually by herself or she makes friends with the yard duty ladies. It’s almost like she’s only used to talking to grown ups or something,” Blitzø explained and Stolas felt his heart sink. It wasn’t that far off from the truth. “And then one kid will decide to be kind of a dick - which, believe me, Beau is a piece of work, his mom has gotten notes nearly everyday , but we’re working on it, I swear.”

The name was familiar from Via’s hurried explanation the other day for why she had gotten another pink note from her teacher. Blitzø’s assurance that the child’s bullying was being addressed was comforting, but he still couldn’t help but feel a pit of dread in his stomach at the thought of Via being endlessly teased, it seemed.

“The Goetia don’t -“ Stolas began, but stopped when he felt himself struggling to find the proper words to describe how children in the Ars Goetia were usually treated. They’re usually forgotten, he wanted to say, at least until they could prove useful to their elders. “The only time children usually interact with each other is when it’s beneficial for families to do so. It’s usually to secure a marriage or alliance and even then, the meetings are usually chaperoned or highly structured to the Goetian standards. Playtime isn’t really a thing , if I’m being honest.”

“That’s…really fucking depressing.”

Stolas couldn’t help the slight chuckle that escaped him. “You can see why I was so desperate to get Via away from all that.”

“Look, I really like Via and I want her to do well,” Blitzø assured, voice oddly soft as he looked up at Stolas. “That’s literally my goal with all my kids. Besides her socializing, she’s the perfect student.”

“What can I do to help? Hire a tutor?” Stolas asked.

Blitzø scoffed. “To what, teach her how to be a kid?”

Stolas blinked, shoulders scrunched in slight confusion. “…yes?”

“Stolas, you got to understand one thing, okay? None of these kids have ever interacted with a Goetia on this level before,” Blitzø explained. “Hell, the damn school had never had a Goetia student ever - Via had the damn cafeteria staff scrambling to find proper meals so she’d be comfortable eating. I’ve never seen so many frozen mice in my life .”

Stolas let his gaze roam around the walls of the classroom, taking a closer look at the posters that weren’t covered in horses. Nearly all of the official school ones depicted imps or hellhounds - not a single Goetia in sight. It wasn’t surprising, really, since most Goetian children were privately tutored, but it was something that Stolas was becoming more acutely aware of by the minute. He knew that putting Via in a school like this was a risk, but he had thought the pros had greatly outweighed the cons Stella had repeatedly complained to him about when he initially brought up his plan to have her enrolled. Via was just going to get to be a kid.

“The kids only really know what they see on TV or hear from their parents and, gotta be honest, most of them aren’t really fans of you guys,” Blitzø continued, his voice cutting through Stolas’ increasingly distressed thoughts.

“Did I make a mistake doing this?” he hurriedly asked, imagining what would happen if he had to admit to Stella, to his father, that this whole idea had been for nothing. He would be laughed out of the Goetian council chambers. “Should I pull her from the school? Via would be heartbroken, but I’m sure she’d come to understand —“

“Hey, hey, pump the damn breaks, Stolas,” Blitzø cut in. Stolas’ gaze snapped back to the other man’s face, sure that his own mouth was pulled into a frown. “I’m just trying to give you perspective, okay? Not convince you that you made a shit choice.” 

Stolas sighed, feeling himself slump forward in defeat. “I’m just not sure what else I could possibly do.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything, just continued to stare at one another from across the desk. Stolas felt like he was about to cry, convinced that maybe this entire thing had been for nothing when Blitzø let out a sigh.

“Alright, here’s my suggestion,” Blitzø began, standing up from behind his desk and making his way to stand in front of Stolas. At this angle, they were nearly the same height and Stolas felt his stomach give an involuntary flip at the proximity of his old friend. “I have a daughter, Loona. She’s a little older than Via, but your kid reminds me of her a bit, so I think they’d get along pretty well.”

“Does she go here?” Stolas asked, surprised to learn that Blitzø had a child of his own. To be fair, it had been a decent amount of time since they had seen each other, and Stolas had a daughter of his own - it wasn’t that strange, really. Though he briefly wondered if this meant that Blitzø wasn’t single, which was a thought he immediately shoved to the back of his mind as quickly as it had burst to the forefront of it. This was certainly not the time to be thinking of Blitzø’s marital status.

“Yeah, she’s a fifth grader, adopted her all on my own when she was three!” Blitzø proudly proclaimed, the first real genuine smile Stolas had seen on him today stretching wide across his face. “I think maybe getting Via used to hanging out with another kid one on one might help her open up a bit more to her classmates and she won’t have to worry about getting in trouble for doing something wrong, because if she tries to kick Loonie, Loonie will kick her right back.”

“Oh my.”

“She’s not a violent kid, I swear, I just meant that it might let Via get the chance to explore other ways to express herself when she’s feeling those big emotions kids get sometimes,” Blitzø quickly explained. “Meanwhile, I’ll work on some lessons for the kids about the Goetia. Nothing crazy, but maybe just something to help them understand that they’re not all evil dirtbags.”

Stolas smiled, genuinely touched at the other man’s desire to help Via adjust to her new surroundings and educate the other kids in the process. “That’s very kind of you, Blitzø.”

“Yeah, well, what are old friends for, right?” Blitzø joked and grinned at Stolas, giving the taller demon’s shoulder a quick bump with his fist. Stolas prayed to all that was demonic that he wasn’t blushing. “Besides, you could probably benefit from getting shown around town by someone who knows it pretty well. I’ll text you the details, how does next Friday sound?”

“Via will be with me next weekend, so that sounds perfect,” Stolas replied, already looking forward to whatever the other man was planning. The fact that he was going to hang out with his first ever friend after so many years was like a dream come true, especially since Stolas had been convinced that they were probably never going to see each other ever again. And now, here they were, making weekend plans.

Stolas wanted to trill.

“Awesome, it’s a date!” Blitzø exclaimed excitedly before seemingly realizing what he said and quickly backtracking. “I mean, like, a play date. For our kids. Which we both have.”

Stolas was nearly positive that the blush he had been trying to hide was now on display. “Of course! That would be wonderful! ”

Blitzø nodded, pushing a scrap piece of paper and a bright green pen towards Stolas. “Just write your number here and I’ll let you know before the weekend’s up, okay?”

Stolas quickly scribbled out his phone number on the paper, careful to keep his hand steady as he wrote out the numbers. It wasn’t every day that your childhood friend ( only childhood friend, if he was being honest with himself) appeared and offered to spend more time together now that you were both fathers and not children. He didn’t want to fuck it all up before he even had the chance to get to know this version of Blitzø.

He slid the paper back towards Blitzø, a small smile on his face. “Sounds perfect.”

Via returned the following Sunday evening, eager to let Stolas know all about what she had been up to with her mother that weekend. Stolas listened as best as he could, pleased that Via had seemingly had a good time, but his focus kept drifting to where his phone sat on the kitchen table.

Silent. 

It wasn’t that strange to check it every three minutes, was it?

If Via noticed his distracted demeanor, she didn’t comment on it, loudly declaring that she needed to check on all her stuffed animals that she had left alone for the weekend before she ran to her room. Stolas laughed. “Okay, Starfire, but before you do that, what did you want to do for dinner?”

Via spun around in the doorway of her room, hand poised on the handle as if she was going to slam the door behind it. “ You’re going to make dinner ?” she asked, her disbelief evident all over her tiny face. 

“I’ll have you know, I’ve been watching recipe videos on VeeTok and –”

“ Dadddd ,” Via whined. “Can we do Chinese instead? I’m too hungry for you to burn stuff.”

Stolas huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t always burn the food.”

“Cereal doesn’t count, dad,” Via countered.

Stolas raised his hands in defeat as he sighed, picking up his phone from the counter. “Alright, fine, but I’m going to attempt to make tacos sometime this week and you’re going to help me, little lady.”

“Okay, fine ,” Via replied with a large sigh, but she was smiling and her pink eyes were brighter than usual. “I’ll be on fire duty - Mr. B taught us how to stop, drop, and roll the other day! I can show you!”

The reminder of Blitzø made something pang in Stolas’ chest, the empty inbox in the top corner of his phone mocking him as he navigated his phone screen to the BeeEats app. He started to put the order in, trying his best to remember if Via preferred the orange chicken over the broccoli beef, when the phone suddenly buzzed in his hand, the noise causing him to fumble the small electronic before steadying it. His eyes widened at the notification at the top of his screen as he read it.

Blitz - hey stolas just wntd to cik in abut dis wknd

For being a teacher, Blitzø’s spelling was quite atrocious, even worse than it normally was on the notes home, and it took Stolas a moment to decipher what the other man had been trying to say. But Stolas couldn’t help but feel charmed by it and briefly wondered if it was intentional - he wasn’t quite up to date on what was trending or what was considered “hip,” especially things of the more technical variety. The only people who ever bothered to text him nowadays were either his lawyer or the bots who sent out those little coupon texts when you signed up for emails. 

Stolas - Good evening, Blitz! It’s so nice to hear from you. I have to admit that I have been looking forward to seeing what you have planned! I haven’t told Via yet about this weekend, mostly because I know she would be eager to ask a million questions about what we would be doing. Hope you’re having a good weekend!

When Blitzø didn’t immediately respond, Stolas swiped back to the BeeEats app to finish his to-go order before Via started asking him where her dinner was or, worse, he forgot to order it all together. It wouldn’t be the first time he had become distracted by something else and forgot to do something, though the culprit was usually the newest episode of Hella-Novela .

And a hungry Via was always a handful.

Blitz - kool i thot we culd go bowlyng fryday nght?

Stolas - Bowling sounds wonderful! Via and I have never been, so it will be quite the experience for the both of us, I’m sure!

Blitz - okies ill snd u da addris n tyme 

Stolas - Looking forward to it! Have a good rest of the week!

Blitzø didn’t reply, just sent a thumbs up in response. Stolas could feel his cheeks getting sore by how hard he was smiling and he was lucky that Via had made her way back to her room while he had been texting, otherwise she’d be questioning him about his sudden change in demeanor immediately. He’d go over their new plans for the following weekend with her when their dinner arrived and make sure that she understood how great this was going to be for the both of them. She’d probably have some hesitation with hanging out with her teacher outside of school, but once he told her about the fact that she would have a playmate, he was sure she’d be on board. Now, there was really only one thing he had to worry about – 

What the fuck was bowling?

Friday came by faster than he thought it could.

Via, as expected, had been concerned by the fact that she was going to have to see Mr. B outside of her classroom, mostly because she had convinced herself that the man never left the school. Stolas had to explain to her that teachers didn’t live at their workplace and, in fact, had entire lives outside of being teachers. 

(“He has a kid? Like me? ” she had asked.

Stolas had shrugged, not really knowing how to explain a child he had never met before. “Well, I don’t believe her daughter is a Goetia, but yes, he has a daughter a bit older than you.”

“That’s crazy ,” was all she had said in return before digging back into her lo mein.)

The address that Blitzø had texted Stolas earlier that morning led to a large building near the center of downtown, the sign brightly proclaiming Bowling For All Ages!! Stolas had spent all of Sunday night before dinner arrived trying to look up what bowling was, scrolling through endless articles and images of the so-called sport that he still wasn’t entirely sure he understood. He knew there were pins that you had to knock down with a large ball while wearing another person’s shoes, which Via had promptly declared to be “ewwww, gross!!” and that there were ten rounds.

He had spent the majority of that morning while Via was at school attempting to figure out something to wear - every image he saw online of people participating in bowling involved them wearing a brightly colored and designed button up and what appeared to be slacks. Stolas didn’t really own anything like that, so he had finally settled on a plain button up blouse and some black pants. 

He just hoped he didn’t look too much like an idiot in front of Blitzø. 

Stolas had portaled himself and Via to the parking lot of the business at the designated time that Blitzø had texted him earlier that morning, where there were a large number of vehicles scattered throughout. Via was hopping next to him, her hand curled tightly in his hand as her wide eyes took in the area around them. Despite never having heard of the activity, Stolas could immediately see that it was popular among hellborn who basically weren’t the Ars Goetia. There were so many people just milling about the parking lot.

“Stolas! Via! Over here!”

Stolas’ head turned towards the loud voice that was calling them from across the lot, somewhere closer to the entrance of the bowling alley. He was greeted by the sight of Blitzø frantically waving one hand in the air while the other was wrapped around the shoulders of a small hellhound. 

She was taller than Via, Stolas noticed, and had a look on her face that made it seem like she would have rather been anywhere else at this moment, if he had to guess. She was wearing a black shirt and some red and black striped legging. Her eyes were focused solely on the floor in front of her and she made no move to join her father in waving, keeping her arms firmly crossed in front of her chest.

Next to him, Via had stopped bouncing and Stolas gave her hand a small tug to get to her talons moving. It would be rude to keep the other two waiting for much longer now that they had been spotted and Stolas was eager to get this meeting started.

His long strides placed them in front of the other pair rather quickly and Stolas shot the two of them a wide smile that he hoped was welcoming. He felt Via tugging on the leg of his pants as she pressed herself against his thigh, almost as if she was attempting to hide herself. 

“Hey, Stolas!” Blitzø greeted. “And hello again to you too, Via!”

“Hi, Mr. B,” she mumbled, pressing herself even closer to Stolas, as if that were even physically possible, and Stolas briefly wondered if this was how the rest of the afternoon was going to go.

Blitzø shot Stolas a look that he wasn’t fully able to decipher before giving Loona’s shoulder a slight shake as he proudly presented her. “Via, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Loona. Loona, this is Via.”

Loona glared up at Blitzø before turning back towards Via and giving her a small nod. Via, for her part, merely stared at the other little girl before nodding in return and slightly disengaging herself from Stolas’ pant leg. Stolas felt his heart rate pick up slightly - what if this was all for naught? What if they hated each other immediately? What if Via kicked this girl too? Blitzø had mentioned that Loona wouldn’t be afraid to fight back, but did Stolas really want to end this attempt at giving both himself and Via a chance to be normal by having to break up a fight between two small children? In this crowded parking lot no less? How would he even begin to explain this to Stella if Via ended up with some sort of injury? Oh, hells, the headache that would bring upon.

However, before Stolas had a chance to work himself up into what was probably going to be some sort of panic attack, Loona stepped forward and pointed at Via’s chest, head tipped curiously. “Is that a My Little Hellpony shirt?”

Via looked down at the garment, eyes wide as she pulled the bottom of her shirt out to better see the small yellow and pink hellpony that graced the front of it. “Yeah,” she replied, voice soft. “It’s Princess Lavarock, she’s my favorite.”

Stolas had watched most of the show, usually when Via decided to commandeer the television in the living room and made him sit in a fort made of pillows as the ponies on the screen proclaimed how important the power of friendship was. For as many episodes as he had seen, however, he still had trouble remembering all the names.

For a moment, Loona didn’t say anything before a small smile graced her features and she gave Via another nod. “Princess Lavarock is cool, but Coalarity is the best. My dad got me her action figure for my birthday.”

Via perked up immediately, eyes bright and smile wide as she seemingly grasped onto the olive branch that was being handed to her. “Really? That’s so awesome, her mane is really pretty - my dad told me I can have the whole set for Sinsmas, but I have to make sure I do my chores every week –”

As the girls conversation quickly devolved into them discussing their favorite My Little Hellpony characters and what new sets were coming out (he was going to have to look that up later to make sure he got the ones Via seemed to be the most excited for), Stolas finally turned to Blitzø as the other man began leading their small group towards the main entrance of the building. He took a moment to appreciate what Blitzø was wearing - just a playing gray sweatshirt that proclaimed JUST A GIRL WHO LOVES HORSES and a pair of jeans, no brightly colored shirt or slacks in sight.

“I have to say, I was getting quite nervous that they weren’t going to warm up to each other,” Stolas admitted, watching as the girls skipped ahead of them. 

Blitzø let out a small chuckle. “Really? I couldn’t tell by how close you looked to exploding from the stress the whole time.”

“Was I?” he asked, suddenly self-conscious. “I didn’t mean to be, I was just so worried that Via –”

“Hey, hey, it’s cool ,” Blitzø interrupted, giving Stolas a small bump with his shoulders as they walked. “I was just fucking with you, Stolas - I thought you could use a laugh.”

“Dad!” Loona yelled as she pulled open the large doors and shot her father a glare over her shoulder. “You’re not supposed to say that word, remember!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know! Add it to my tab, Loonie!” Blitzø yelled back, but Loona had already disappeared inside the front entrance with Via trailing behind her, both girls eager for whatever the day had planned. “I swear she’s worse than my students sometimes.”

Stolas hid a laugh behind his hand, feeling the anxiety in his chest lighten as he realized that he wasn’t being judged or ridiculed, something he was entirely unused to. “Do you have a swear jar at home as well?”

Blitzø shook his head, holding the door to the bowling alley open to allow Stolas to walk in first. Stolas felt a slight fluttering in his stomach at the action.

“Nah,” Blitzø answered. “Loonie just keeps a tally in her head and lets me know when I hit the point where I gotta buy her a new toy. It started as a way for us to work on her math skills and then got turned into a fucking weapon against me.”

Stolas didn’t reply, too busy attempting to take in the sudden sight of the bowling alley before them to try to form a decent response. The bowling alley was loud with the sound of other hellborn hitting the pins with heavy balls and loud pop music blaring over the speakers, but that wasn’t what had Stolas so enraptured. No, it was the way that the entire building seemed to be glowing.

There were various galaxy themed decorations that adorned almost every surface including the pattern on the carpeted floor - stars, moons, planets - and blacklights everywhere that caused every single one of them to light up in a way that Stolas couldn’t help but smile at. Loona’s fur was slightly purple under the light and the white feathers on Via’s faceplate glowed as she turned her head every which way, trying to take in everything as fast as she possibly could in her awe. Stolas knew that his own faceplate was probably glowing under the light as well and the thought of it made him unbelievably giddy for some reason.

It was just so… fun.

After checking in, Stolas and Blitzø got the girls settled on a lane with their balls and shoes (well, Loona got rental shoes - the imp at the counter looked petrified when he realized that they didn’t carry any shoes fit for a Goetia and Stolas had to assure him multiple times that they would be perfectly fine without having to use them) and let them have the first few tries at rolling the ball down the lane. Blitzø had taken it upon himself to show them all the “proper” technique for how to successfully knock all the pins over, but the way that the first ball he threw ended up only hitting one lone pin in the corner caused both girls to explode into fits of laughter. 

“Listen, I am an expert , okay?” he assured them over their giggles. “I was just showing you what not to do.”

Stolas let out a laugh of his own and Blitzø’s attention immediately snapped to him.

“Oh yeah, laugh it up, buddy,” Blitzø huffed, yanking the bright purple ball Stolas had chosen for himself from the ball rack and stomping over to where he was sitting on the bench behind the scoring tablet. “Why don’t you give it a try then?”

Stolas immediately flushed pink. “Oh, no, this it for the girls, really –”

***

art by @berrytoady

***

“Come on, dad!” Via whined. “You gotta try , remember? Trying is how you learn!”

Blitzø shot the smaller girl a thumbs up after depositing the bowling ball on Stolas’ lap. “Great job remembering one of the classroom mottos, kid! And for sharing it with your dad.”

Via beamed at the praise, her little shoulders shimmying in a small dance of victory. Stolas sighed, realizing that he had no choice but to partake. 

He stood up, grasping the ball in his hand like Blitzø had done and making sure his fingers were in the right holes as he walked towards the start of the lane. The ball was much heavier than he thought it would be and he briefly wondered how anyone was able to do this without ending up with finger pain. As he lined up his shot as best as he could, he felt himself falter slightly as he released the ball awkwardly, causing the heavy ball to bounce rather loudly down the lane before rolling into the gutter at what seemed like a glacial pace.

“Wow,” Loona muttered behind him, seemingly talking to Via. “I thought my dad was bad.”

“Hey, be nice,” Blitzø quickly shot back at his daughter, though Stolas could see how the corners of his mouth were twitching up slightly, like he was fighting back the urge to laugh. “He tried. ”

Loona merely rolled her eyes, but quickly turned back to where Octavia was standing with a bowling ball held in front of her, waiting for her turn. “Okay, Via, let me teach you how to actually do this right.”

If it was possible, Via smiled even wider , her little eyes bright under the blacklight as she listened intently to what Loona was murmuring to her. Stolas couldn’t hear her over the sound of pop music blasting over the speakers in the alley, but the way that Via appeared to be focusing extremely hard on the older girl made something in his heart warm.

“See?” Blitzø suddenly said, nudging Stolas in his side with his elbow to gesture towards the bench behind their lane to sit. “They’re getting along just fine .”

Stolas shot him a small smile. “Thank you again for suggesting this. Via and I appreciate it.”

“Can’t have you living in this city and not know all the best spots,” Blitzø scoffed, slouching down on the beat up looking couch that appeared to glow neon green under the blacklight. Stolas was careful to keep a slight distance between the two of them as he took his own seat, not wanting to intrude on the other man’s personal space. 

Stolas looked around the building once more - it was certainly more lively and fun than any sort of event he had been forced to attend when he was still an acting prince. Those ones that were usually filled with nothing but harsh laughter and trying to find the best corner to hide in. He had dreaded those days. 

But this?

Via and Loona were laughing at something one of them had said as Via’s attempt at rolling the ball ended up with her knocking three pins over. Stolas made sure to clap and although Via made a face like he was being embarrassing again, he could see the pinkish hue dusting her faceplate even in the odd lighting.

“I’ve been wondering,” he murmured after a moment.

Next to him, Blitzø was pulling out his phone, presumably to take a photo of the girls. “Shoot.”

“What made you go into teaching? I would have thought for certain you’d still be performing.”

“Oh, nah, I wasn’t -,” Blitzø paused, pressing a button on his phone and causing the flash to go off on his phone. Some guy in the next lane grumbled about it blinding him and Blitzø flipped him off behind his back. “That sort of life wasn’t really for me, you know? That shit didn’t really come...naturally. Besides, there was a - an accident when I was a teenager, the whole thing went up in smoke. Literally.”

Stolas couldn’t hide his shock. “That’s horrible, I’m so sorry.”

Blitzø just shrugged, shoving his phone back in his pocket and glancing up at Stolas. “Anyways, I went to school for a little bit, fucked around a bunch , and honestly thought about dropping out before deciding I didn’t want to end up like some fucking deadbeat. And teaching - well, honestly, seemed pretty easy.”

Stolas knew that there was probably more to the story, more that made Blitzø completely change his life plans - a big office with clowns and horses - to something that to most other people would seem mundane. Stolas felt himself wanting to know the more , wanting to know everything about this man that had seemed to just appear back in his life right when he needed a friend. He held himself back, though, not wanting to push if Blitzø wasn’t willing to tell him.

“Not that it is, it’s a lot of work,” Blitzø continued. “The person who decided to put me in charge of a bunch of small children to begin with was probably out of their damn mind, but it’s been a while now and I think I got a pretty good hang of it. The kids seem to enjoy my class, at least.”

“Oh, Via is constantly going on about how much she loves it,” Stolas exclaimed, shooting a look towards his daughter who was watching Loona attempt a trick shot through her legs. “Despite her…recent troubles, she adores going to school.”

“I told you, she’s a good kid, just needs a little help,” Blitzø assured, giving Stolas a smile that made something in his stomach flutter. “Most kids do. That’s why I like doing what I do. This fucked up shit we live in can be hard on a kid, you know? Having just one person around that doesn’t think they’re a total fuckup? That can go a long way.”

Stolas thought about all the times he had been left alone as a child, with no one but his aging butler for company, who did his best to aid the young prince but it wasn’t the same. How he had buried himself in his books and his studies in an effort to just escape from the lonely world he had found himself in, a world that seemed to not really have any place for him in it - at least not until he was of age and then he was thrust into another life that he had no say in and was just as lonely, if not more. 

Stolas sighed, “Yes, I believe it could.”

“And then, then, Loona told me that there’s a monster at the end of the lane that eats up all the pins and cleans them with its tongue and then puts them back !” Via excitedly explained, her little arms shooting in the air in excitement and causing her pile of stuffed animals to go flying on to the floor. 

“Did she now?” Stolas asked, picking up each one and placing them gently around Via’s tucked in form the way that she preferred. He had been trying to get her to go to bed for the past thirty minutes, but every time he managed to get her to calm down enough, she’d suddenly remember something new from their outing today that would cause her to get excited again and they’d have to start the process all over. Stolas wasn’t going to complain, though - it was such a nice sight to see Via so excited about something, about someone.  

“Yes! And she also told me that I was cool , dad - me!” Via told him, her pink eyes wide in disbelief. “She’s in, like, fifth grade!”

“Well, you’re very cool, my Starfire,” Stolas assured her, but it just caused her to stick her tongue out at him.

“Ew, dad, no ,” she sighed. “It only sounds cool when Loona says it.”

Stolas hand flew to his chest, his head bowing in apology. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I forgot.”

Via nodded, satisfied, and Stolas had to stifle his giggle at how serious she was.

“She told me that I can play with her on the playground ‘cause our classes have recess at the same time! Isn’t that awesome?”

“That’s wonderful, my darling,” Stolas replied, his heart swelling in his chest at the notion that his daughter had finally found a friend. Maybe this entire thing hadn’t been such a terrible idea, maybe this was going to be great for both of them. But, like always, he felt himself getting ahead of things and he didn’t want to jinx this, not now. No, now – “Now, it’s time for you to sleep. Tomorrow you have to help me go grocery shopping.”

“Oh, oh, can we get that one cereal?” Via begged, clutching her pink star blanket close to his chest. “With the marshmallows in it? Please? ”

“Yes, but only if you sleep.”

Via nodded, settling down more in her bed and shutting her eyes in an effort to do just that. Stolas gave her a small peck on her forehead, lingering for just a moment before Via huffed out a quiet Dadddddd . He smiled, standing up and making his way to the small side table by the door and turning on her favorite nightlight, the one that projected stars and planets along the ceiling of her room. 

After gently closing her bedroom door, Stolas got ready to unwind for the night. There was a new episode of Hell-a-Novela that had just dropped that he had been eager to watch and Satan knew if he missed one episode, he would be completely lost for the rest of the season. He wrapped his robe tighter around his waist, grabbing his phone from the kitchen counter before settling onto the couch in front of the television.

However, before he turned it on, he opened up the message app on his phone, sending a quick text to the person that he couldn’t seem to get out of his mind.

Stolas - Thanks again for today! Via cannot stop raving about how much fun she had with Loona. She’s already telling me about their plans to play at recess on Monday.

He wasn’t expecting an immediate response, so he was surprised when his phone buzzed in his hand only a few moments later, just as he had picked up the remote to press play.

Blitzø - no wries, loonie hd fun 2

Stolas smiled, once again finding himself charmed by the other man’s way of texting. He started a reply, a generic one to wish Blitzø a good night, before he felt the urge to continue the conversation with a question that had been plaguing him since the four of them had parted ways in the parking lot in front of the bowling alley only a few hours ago.

Stolas - Maybe we could do it again sometime? No worries if not, I know you might be busy and I don’t want to assume that your initial invitation would result in repeat meetups, but I know it would mean a great deal to myself and Via if we could.

His heart was hammering in his chest. He wasn’t sure if he had been too forward with his question - after all, Blitzø didn’t owe him any more than what he had done today, really. Maybe Blitzø did this for all of his newly transferred students and parents, maybe this was just another normal Friday in his books, maybe Stolas had been thinking too much about the possible implications of all this in that way that Stella used to call satan fucking annoying, Stolas - but Blitzø had mentioned wanting to show them ‘all the cool spots in town’, didn’t he? Maybe it was just –

Blitzø - yeh sr

does via lyk moovees?

Stolas sighed in relief before replying quickly..

Stolas - Yes, she does! She’s never been to a theatre before, though. 

I’ve never been to one myself either, I’m afraid. 

Blitzø - w8t rely???????!!!!!! 

dats crayzee youd luv it 

Stolas wasn’t sure what Blitzø meant by that, but it made him feel warm all the same. The Goetia were never really big on movies - the ones Stolas had been permitted to see as a child were in the privacy of his own room and were usually dreadfully boring. And as he had grown older, he just stuck to watching things on the one television that Stella had permitted to be allowed in the palace. Since his divorce, he never even thought about taking Via to an actual movie theatre, just content to let Via build her blanket forts in the living room to watch her shows and movies.

Stolas - That’s quite nice to hear!

Blitzø - how abut nxt weak? 

Was it odd to feel giddy that Blitzø suggested a follow up hangout so soon after their first one?

Stolas - Friday? I’ll have Via again that weekend, so it would be perfect. She’ll be so excited.

Blitzø - syck itll b fun

They texted for a bit longer, mostly the details of where they were going to meet and what time, before Stolas wished Blitzø a good night to let the other man get back to whatever else he got up to on a Friday evening. When Blitzø replied with a c u soon and a smiley face, Stolas couldn’t help the small blush that crept onto his face. And if it lasted throughout the rest of his soap opera episode, well.

That was just for him to know.

“What is this film about again?” Stolas asked, seemingly to no one in particular.

The four of them stood in front of the movie theatre, only a few blocks from Stolas and Via’s apartment, the bright lights of the marquee flashing underneath the darkening Pride sky. The exterior of the building was a little worn down, a testament to how long it had presumably been around, but the posters and signs on the sides and front were flashy and colorful, boasting films that Stolas had never even heard of, let alone see the loud posters for. 

It was colder today, a slight chill running through the air that made Stolas insist that Via put on her thicker, purple coat. She had whined a bit, mostly because it was going to cover her Lavarock shirt that she had been excited to show Loona. But once he explained that they were all going to be wearing sweaters, she felt better.

However, now that they were here and Stolas had suddenly been greeted by the sight of Blitzø in a tight, black turtleneck that seemed to cling to everything , he wondered if that may have been a bad idea.

“Dad, it’s the sequel to My Little Hellpony: The Great Voyage, but this time, they’re on an airplane ,” Via explained, as if any of those words would make any sort of sense to Stolas. He had watched the show with Via whenever she begged him to join her in her blanket forts, but there were a lot of plots to follow and so many characters . He had done his best, but after a while, they all sort of blurred together in his mind.

“Horses on a plane?” he asked before he could stop himself.

“Don’t knock it ‘til you see it!” Blitzø called out from where he was currently crouching on the sidewalk, attempting to fix the zipper on Loona’s hoodie.

Loona nodded, her face serious. “Yeah, Mr. Via’s Dad, it’s going to be so sick .”

Stolas looked around at all three of their faces - he wasn’t sure he had ever seen a group of people so excited to watch a movie about hellponies. “Well, as long as you’re all looking forward to it, I am glad to be present.”

“Fuck yeah, we are!” Blitzø exclaimed, hopping up onto his two hooves and pumping his fist in the air. 

“ Dad. ”

Blitzø sighed, but shot Loona a small smile. “Yeah, yeah, start walking, missy.” 

Loona and Via hurriedly rushed ahead, their voices overlapping as they quickly recounted all that they were looking forward to seeing in this film. Via was explaining that she had never seen a movie on the big screen and how she was so happy to be doing it with her new friend. Stolas felt like his smile was going to permanently remain on his face with how much he was grinning. 

“You seem to like these movies as much as the girls do,” Stolas told Blitzø, as the other man held the door open for him. 

“Well, duh , it’s My Little Hellpony , only the best franchise to ever exist,” Blitzø replied like this was just a common fact, like it was something that Stolas was just supposed to know. “The last movie had Lavarock finding her long lost sister, Flamesword, on the high seas who actually was the bad guy in disguise the whole time.”

It was adorable how excited Blitzø was, really. Stolas couldn’t help letting out a small, “Oh my.”

“Yeah, it was a real betrayal, so I’m excited to see what shit they put in this one.”

“Dad!” Loona yelled from where her and Via had pressed their faces against the glass of the candy display.

“Tab, Loonie!” 

“She’s really good at that,” Stolas chuckled.

“I know, she’s a menace,” Blitzø muttered in return, though his tone was the fondest Stolas had ever heard it. The shorter man then quickly spun around in front of him, clearly making his way to the bored looking employee behind the concession stand.  “You want popcorn? My treat!”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Blitzø, you already got the tickets —“ Stolas began. He had barely convinced Blitzø to let him pay for the nachos at the bowling alley last weekend and he felt bad.

“Nuh uh, it was my idea, so I pay,” Blitzø insisted. “You can get next time.”

Once again, Stolas felt the telltale swoop of excitement in his stomach at the promise of next time. “If you’re sure —“

“Stop yapping and tell me what kind of slushie you want, Stols,” Blitzø cut in, shooting Stolas a look and gesturing to a brightly colored machine behind the counter that boasted a bunch of different slushie flavors. Stolas, for his part, was trying not to explode at the sudden nickname he had been given.

“Um, green apple?”

“Wow, grossest flavor of them all, but whatever you want,” Blitzø murmured, making a face at Stolas’ choice before pulling out his wallet.

“It’s not gross.”

“It’s a little gross, Dad,” Via chirped.

“Starfire! You too?” Stolas gasped. “Just for that, none of you are getting any of my popcorn!”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything ,” Loona interjected, holding up her paws in mock innocence.

“Except you, Loona dear,” Stolas assured, shooting her a smile. “You can have as much of my popcorn as you’d like.”

Blitzø huffed, shooting a look at all three of them over his shoulder as the bored looking imp at the register began taking their order. “Okay, this all implies that I’m buying any of you popcorn.”

Stolas faltered. “Oh, of course, Blitzø, silly of me to assume –”

“Stols, shut your beak, I’m getting you fucking popcorn.”

“Mr. B!” “Dad” simultaneously rang out in the mostly empty movie theatre lobby.

“Yeah, yeah,” Blitzø grumbled, shooting Stolas a wink from over his shoulder and causing Stolas’ heart to beat widely in his chest. He needed to get a grip before he got ahead of himself. “Now tell me what candy you want, you little gremlins.”

And then, it just sort of became a thing.

After the movies (which Stolas would be the first to admit - the heartfelt reunion at the end of the film of Lavarock finding her true long lost sister had made him tear up, though with the way Blitzø had been crying next to him the whole time, he figured had kind of been the intention of the filmmakers), Blitzø had reached out once again to plan the next outing. And then another and then another, until nearly every Friday - minus Stella’s weekend with Via - the four of them were meeting up at some part of Imp City to do whatever fun thing that Blitzø thought they would all enjoy.

It was nice.

Stolas had never wanted to assume that the next outing was guaranteed, but the way that Blitzø texted him every Sunday night following their previous one made him think that maybe the other man was looking forward to them as much as he was.

And the interactions didn’t stop at just their planned playdates - Stolas found himself getting into more and more text exchanges with Blitzø throughout the week. Initially, they had begun as a way for Stolas to check in on Via’s progress with the other students in her classroom and for Blitzø to assure him that while she still had her moments, they were becoming fewer and far between. She was talking to her classmates more and opening up little by little. It helped that Loona was quick to defend her when one of the more mean-spirited children targeted her on the playground - it helped to send the message that Via wasn’t someone to mess with, which was a relief.

And then, they sort of turning into conversations that had nothing to do with the meetups or their daughters, but just random stuff about their days -

Blitzø - i swr deez kids r tring 2 kil me

Stolas - I highly doubt they’re intent on murdering you, Blitzø.

Blitzø - ok, mayb not, but if i half 2 try 2 pul 1 mre leego out of sum1s noze, im quitting

Stolas - Please tell me it wasn’t Via.

Blitzø - do u thnk via wud b dum enuff 2 do that stols?? shes a smartee

- or things that Stolas had to deal with when he had his monthly Goetia meetings -

Stolas - Do you think I could get away with falling asleep with my eyes closed during this presentation? I’m nearly positive this Marquis has talked about the same topic seven times now.

Blitzø - idk, u do hv 4 of dem

Stolas - That is true, I could probably play it off really well.

Blitzø - as lng as u dnt snore

Stolas - I’ve never been told if I do, it might be fun to find out.

Blitzø - ders prolly better wayz to fnd dat out

Stolas - You think so?

Blitzø - o yeh

- or just talking about whatever random thing came into either of their heads.

Blitzø - i still thnk satan coud beat lucifurr in a arm wrestln match

Stolas - You think Satan could beat the ruler of hell?

Blitzø - hve u seen the guys arms? lucifurrs r puny

Stolas - That has nothing to do with it, he’s an immensely powerful being.

Blitzø - i mn so r u and i can beat u

Stolas - Oh, can you?

Blitzø - yeh u got newdl arms

Stolas - Noodle arms?! Really?

Blitzø - i didnt say dey wre bad arms

It was strange to have someone that Stolas could just text out of the blue if he felt like it, who would actually respond to him. It was so different from every other relationship he had had in the past with his fellow royals that Stolas still had trouble believing that it was true. He had become so accustomed to people either writing him off for being odd or different that it was strange to engage with someone who just seemed to genuinely enjoy his musings and company. 

Blitzø had been his first ever friend and it seemed like he was destined to be his best friend at this rate. Stolas wasn’t sure if feeling so giddy at that prospect was a smart thing to do, but he couldn’t help himself. 

Blitzø had a nickname for him and it wasn’t wanker or fucking idiot or useless pile of feathers . He wasn’t anyone that Stella had any sort of influence or power over, which is something that Stolas was just getting accustomed to now that he wasn’t constantly under her scrutiny all hours of the day.

He had asked Via how much of their little excursions she had told to her mother, but Via had quickly explained that Stella didn’t enjoy hearing about her little jaunts around town with a hellhound and an imp, mostly because she felt like it was unbecoming of a princess of Via’s standing.

“She said that it was bad enough that I go to an imp school, even though I told her it wasn’t just for imps, but she didn’t really want to listen to me,” Via had sadly explained. Stolas had quickly assured her that there was nothing wrong with Via’s school and that her mother just didn’t understand, while making a mental note to address the issue of talking down his daughter’s education the next time he had to drop Via off for her weekend with her mother.

He really didn’t understand why Stella insisted on being a terrible raincloud over Stolas’ newfound life and happiness, but well…there was a reason they had gotten divorced in the first place.

The Wally Wackford Children’s Museum and Discovery Center was an interesting place.

Stolas was nearly positive that the museum had initially began as a way to exploit parents who were looking for fun activities for their children to do outside of their homes, by charging them a huge arm and leg for the chance to get inside. But after what seemed to be a public outcry, Blitzø explained, it was now a free activity for the families of Imp City to partake in. 

(“Yeah, I’m pretty sure a bunch of dads kicked Wackford’s ass a few years back and now this place is free and runs on donations, it’s pretty sick,” was what he had actually said, but, well .)

It was a large building on the outskirts of town that boasted a multitude of different rooms that contained different activities focused on discovery and imagination. There were things involving electricity and weather patterns, large tables that were filled with nothing but large building blocks and crayons, and activities that dealt with using problem solving skills or imagination to get the job done. It was loud and bright and fun, and Loona and Via had quickly run off as soon as they had been given the all clear by their dads.

“I always wanted to come to this place when I was a kid, but my parents could never swing it with the shitty circus schedule, so now I bring Loonie all the time,” Blitzø explained, practically bouncing next to Stolas on the small bench they had managed to acquire in the busy area they were in. A few feet away, Via was desperately trying to encase Loona in a large bubble that she was creating with a bubble wand that was nearly as tall as she was. Every time it popped, their little giggles could be heard and it warmed Stolas’ heart.

“That’s so sweet.”

“Yeah, she tries to say she hates it, but she always begs me to stay an extra five minutes when I tell her it’s time to bounce,” he explained, pulling out his phone to snap a photo of the two girls that Stolas knew would be sent to him later to save to his own phone.

“You’re a great father, Blitzø,” Stolas suddenly said, his tone soft. He could see the beginnings of a blush appearing on Blitzø’s cheeks as he attempted to keep his gaze focused on the phone screen in front of him. It was moments like this where Stolas felt the desire to just reach out and touch, to place his palm against the side of Blitzø’s face and just let it rest there. Or lay his hand against the top of Blitzø’s thigh. Or maybe intertwine their fingers together. Or just lean over and press his lips –

“Yeah, well, it’s only been me and Loonie for the past few years, so we look out for each other.” Blitzø’s voice cut through the noise of Stolas’ overactive imagination and he quickly reminded himself that Blitzø was a friend.

That was all.

That was it.

Blitzø shoved his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and asked, “I told you how I became a teacher, right?”

Stolas nodded. He knew the gist of the story from what Blitzø had told him near the beginning of their friendship, and what little nuggets he had dropped throughout their conversations the past couple weeks 

“Yeah, well, the reason I wanted to do it was kind of stupid at the time,” Blitzø admitted, like it was some deep, dark secret.

“I don’t think —“ Stolas tried to quickly assure, but Blitzø held up his hand to stop him.

“I wanted to prove my dad wrong,” he admitted, looking back down at his lap. In the time that they had gotten to know each other these past few weeks, Stolas had never heard Blitzø mention any sort of family, let alone his father . “Which is dumb, because at that point, I hadn’t seen him in fucking, four, five years? He was as good as dead to me. But he was always fucking telling me when I was kid how dumb I was, how I’d never be anything . I was shit at reading and writing, could barely do math - he would call me Stupido like all the damn time. He was a mean drunk, but definitely not that fucking creative.”

Stolas didn’t say anything, afraid that if he interjected, Blitzø would just stop . This conversation was something that Stolas was positive was not coming easy to Blitzø and he didn’t want to risk this rare moment of Blitzø opening up to him by saying something completely stupid.

“And it just stuck, you know?” he continued, gaze still firmly fixed on his lap. “I thought I would never be able to do anything , especially after the fire, so I just…fucked around a lot. Didn’t take anything seriously. I only enrolled in the community college I started at on a fucking dare because some asswipe I was seeing at the time thought I wouldn’t do it.

“I got lucky - I did some pretty stupid shit, nearly dropped out, but I had a few teachers that didn’t see me as a complete write off. They showed me ways to learn that worked for my brain and let me know that everyone goes at their own pace,” Blitzø continued, his eyes finally meeting Stolas’. He was taken aback by how vulnerable they looked in that moment, even with the sound of a hundred small children screaming and shouting around them in glee. “And I just realized I wanted to be that for somebody, you know? To be someone that encourages people to not give up, even if their shit ass dad at home thinks they’re a waste of space. That just because someone said you were stupid, doesn’t mean it’s actually true.”

Before he could stop himself this time, Stolas found himself reaching out to place his hand on top of where Blitzø’s gloved one still sat on his thigh. The imp’s hand was warm under his. “I don’t think that’s a dumb reason at all,” he softly admitted.

Blitzø didn’t do anything for a moment, just glanced down at Stolas’ hand before he turned his palm in Stolas’ hand to gently squeeze their hands together. “Thanks, Stols.”

“Anytime,” he whispered, heart hammering in his chest.

Oh, he was fucked.

“This is terrible, Harold, just terrible .”

Harold just sat perched on the kitchen windowsill, his little bulbed head bopping up and down to the music that was coming from the speaker that was propped next to him. Via was locked in her room, watching the latest episode of My Little Hellpony in anticipation of seeing Loona that weekend so that they would analyze every moment of it as soon as they were in the same room together. Stolas normally would have joined her, but he had been spending the past few hours (more like past few days since the museum incident) possibly panicking and he didn’t really want to explain to his eight year old daughter why he was having a silent breakdown over his feelings.

“Okay, maybe it’s not terrible, I just -” He let out a sigh, pausing for a moment in his task of attempting to chop up Harold’s dinner for the evening. “He’s my friend, you know? And Loona and Via just adore hanging out with each other, I don’t want to miss any of that up because I can’t seem to keep these feelings of mine at bay.”

He picked up the cubes of meat, tossing the pieces into the little plant’s eager mouth as he continued to wonder how to best handle his current predicament. For as much as he enjoyed Harold’s presence in his kitchen, now would have been a great time to actually have someone to talk to that could answer back.

“Besides, it’s not like he feels the same, you know? Why would he? It’s not like I have that much to offer him, I’ve never even dated anyone before and what if I’m terrible at it? What if we do go on a date and I do something ridiculous? What if I throw up on him? What if I’m such a bad date, he never lets Loona hang out with Via again? Oh, she would never forgive me –”

Suddenly, he heard his phone going off on the counter next to him and he idly picked it up, hoping that it may be the much needed distraction he needed at the moment. Though he nearly threw it through the window as soon as he read the name on the call screen.

Blitzø calling.

Stolas’ eyes widened in shock - Blitzø never called him. Their communication outside of their family meetups had only consisted of texting, so Stolas wasn’t entirely sure what to make of what was happening at this very moment. Maybe it was an emergency? He quickly pressed the accept call button. 

“Blitzø?”

“ I thought you weren’t going to answer there for a sec, Stols. This a bad time?”

Stolas glanced around at his slightly messy kitchen, gaze falling on to where Harold seemed to be taking a nap on the lip of his pot now that he had been fed dinner. 

“Oh, no, not at all. I just wasn’t expecting you to call!”

“Yeah, sorry about that, but something kind of important came up so I figured this was faster.”

“Important?”

“Important to a ten year old, I guess? - no, Loonie, it’s very important to all of us, I swear -”

Stolas swallowed, feeling slightly relieved that everything seemed to be fine, though his heart didn’t seem to want to stop beating so hard in his chest.

“Look, I know we were going to go to that thing at the park tomorrow, but Loona got invited to a sleepover with some other kids from school and she really wants to go.”

He sighed. “Of course, that’s fine, I’m sure Via would understand.”

“Oh, no, Stols, Loona wanted me to call to ask if Via could come with her? Apparently, it’s a group of girls they normally hang with during recess and she thinks Via would have fun.”

It took a moment for Stolas to process what Blitzø was asking, mostly due to the fact that he felt a surge of pride overtake his emotions at that moment when he realized that Via had friends . Friends that she hung out with everyday at recess who wanted to invite her to a sleepover . He was nearly positive that he was going to start crying.

“I know the parents and I can promise they’re not weirdos, but I get it if you’re not comfortable with –”

Stolas quickly found his voice. “Via would love to come! I’ll talk to her right now, I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic.”

“- yeah, Loonie, Stolas said it was cool - okay, I’ll make sure to tell him that she brings her My Little Hellpony figures and yes, her own pillow - Loonie’s really excited, if you couldn’t tell.”

He smiled at the laugh he could hear at the edges of Blitzø’s voice, imagining Loona excitedly bouncing next to him on the other end of the phone. 

“I’m so glad! Via’s going to be so excited, I’ll make sure that she brings all the appropriate stuff for tomorrow.”

“You can just meet at our place if you want? I can text you the address, the family the kid belongs to lives in the same building.”

“That’s convenient.”

“It’s honestly the only damn reason I’m letting her go - keep ‘em close, you know?”

Stolas let out a small laugh. “Well, I’m glad the girls are going to have fun. I’ll see if maybe the park is doing another concert in the upcoming weeks, so we can reschedule.”

On the other end of the line, he could hear some hushed murmuring, though if he wasn’t mistaken, it almost sounded like Loona was trying to get Blitzø to do something. He couldn’t really make out what they were saying, not with the way it seemed that Blitzø had the phone pressed against something.

“Actually, that’s another reason I wanted to call, to see if maybe you still wanted to go? It would just be the two of us, but we wouldn’t have to waste our plans.”

For a moment, Stolas felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest. If he thought it had been beating hard earlier, this was like an earthquake happening in his ribcage. 

“I mean, if you don’t want to -”

“No, no, I want to!” he nearly shouted into his phone, glancing quickly to Via’s closed door to make sure that his outburst hadn’t garnered her attention. He was going to talk to her abut the sleepover, he was, but not until he got himself under control. “That - that would be great!

“Really? I mean, awesome, that’s so fucking awesome, it’s going to be so…awesome.”

Stolas felt himself blushing at Blitzø’s obvious nervousness. “Right.” 

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then! You and Via. Not just you, though seeing you will be awesome.”

Stolas couldn’t stop smiling. “Awesome.”

Via, understandably, could not have been more excited when Stolas had delivered the news to her of their new weekend plans. She quickly had dumped all of her schoolwork out of her backpack in an attempt to make room for all the things that she was eager to bring to the sleepover, ignoring Stolas’ slight protest at the mess she was making. She seemingly had a rhyme or reason for every single plushy and figurine that she wanted to bring, which seemed to be every one possibly, though Stolas had been quick to point out that it probably wasn’t feasible to try to bring every toy she owned to a friend’s house.

(“I’m sure there are going to be plenty of toys there, Starfire.”

“But Dad, what if they don’t have all the Hellpony’s? How are we going to act out the latest episode if we’re missing ponies?”)

He had eventually managed to talk her into bringing a reasonable amount of items to the sleepover, mostly because he had explained that there would be no room in her backpack for her favorite blanket if she stuffed it full of plushies and what would she sleep with if she didn’t bring it with her? 

When Stolas picked her up from school that Friday afternoon, she had been nearly vibrating from the excitement. Stolas was nearly positive that he had never seen her look so eager for anything and he couldn’t help the swell of pride he felt once again at the realization that his daughter had managed to finally make friends . 

He also couldn’t help but share in her excitement, since he was nearly eighty-two percent positive that he was going to be going on a maybe date with Blitzø that very same evening. He had been doing his best to not get his hopes too high, but every time he remembered his conversation with Blitzø from the previous night, he couldn’t get the image of Blitzø being adorably nervous at the end of it all out of his brain.

Maybe it wasn’t completely hopeless.

Maybe he wasn’t totally fucked.

After making sure Via had everything that she needed for the night, he quickly portaled the two of them to Blitzø’s front door. For as often as they had been hanging out, he had yet to actually see the inside of it, since they usually just met up at the location of choice for that day. It wasn’t that strange, since Blitzø hadn’t seen his and Via’s apartment either. 

Before he could think about it too much, Via beat him to the punch and quickly rapped against the door. Almost as if she had been waiting at the door for them to show up, Loona threw it open and grinned at the pair of them.

“Via!”

“Loona!”

And then the two of them were off like they always were, quickly speaking over each other as they excitedly went over every plan and idea that they had for the night to come. Stolas caught snippets of different things, like s’mores and ghost stories and making friendship bracelets, before his attention was caught by the sight of Blitzø standing just inside the doorframe, a small smile on his face as he looked down at the two girls.

Stolas took a moment to appreciate the other man’s outfit - a dark green fitted button up, black jeans, and his usual boots that Stolas noted had recently been shined. Stolas himself had stressed about what he was going to wear for the three hours before he had to go pick up Via from school. He had settled on a light blue blouse that he had tucked into dark slacks and had only put on a little bit of mascara - only because he didn’t want to come across like he was trying too hard, especially if this wasn’t a date like he was hoping it was.

“Hi,” he blurted, face hot as Blitzø’s gaze met his.

“Hi yourself,” he replied, a small smirk on his face that had Stolas feeling like he was going to combust on the spot.

From below, he heard Loona let out an exaggerated sigh. “Can you two stop being weird ? We have a sleepover to get to.”

“Yeah,” Via agreed, though Stolas was nearly positive she was only trying to emulate Loona. “Stop being weird .”

“Hey, we are not being weird, you haters,” Blitzø scoffed, grabbing two backpacks from behind the door and scooting Loona out into the hallway with Stolas and Via. “We were saying hello .”

“Yeah, but like, weird ,” Loona insisted, taking the red backpack from Blitzø to hold in one hand while she grabbed Via’s hand in the other. “Now, we gotta go or else we’ll be late.”

It didn’t take long to drop the girls off for their sleepover, mostly because the apartment the other child lived in was just down the hall from Blitzø’s. Stolas made sure to exchange phone numbers with the other parent, just in case he needed to come back. It was Via’s first sleepover and she had never slept away from either of her parents before, he felt like it was okay to be a little worried, even if it meant Via told him he was being embarrassing again.

“She’s going to be fine , Stols,” Blitzø insisted once he was able to pull Stolas away from his neighbor’s front door. 

Stolas sighed. “I know, but I’m just -”

“Hey, she has Loona with her, okay? You think Loonie’s going to let some little shit fuck with Via?”

It was fairly obvious from his own observations and Blitzø’s weekly updates from how Via was doing in his class that Loona was very fond of Via and would go out of her way to make sure that she was okay. Any time Stolas thought about it for too long, he felt his chest tighten and his eyes water - for someone to care that much for his Starfire was truly a blessing.

“No, no, you’re right, I’m being silly,” he admitted, allowing Blitzø to lead him to the elevator.

Blitzø let out a small chuckle. “You’re not being silly, you’re just being a dad.”

The decision to portal to the park was an easy one.

Once Blitzø had shown Stolas was in his backpack - a large picnic blanket, a plethora of snacks that included both beef jerky and frozen mice (“Via said you really liked those”), and two large bottles of wine - it had just made sense. It also meant that they wouldn’t risk being late, since the traffic in Imp City at this hour was abysmal at best and downright insufferable at its worst.

This wasn’t the first time that they had visited this particular park. The first time had been on an excursion to try to find the best hot dog stand in Imp City, a trek that Blitzø swore would be worth it once they got their hands on the right one (in Stolas’ opinion, it had tasted just like any other hot dog he had ever had, but there was something about watching Blitzø attempt to lick mustard off his wrist that made Stolas feel like he was about to pass out and it was honestly worth it). He had ended up portalling the four of them to three different parks before this one had been declared the best, but Stolas was pretty sure it had more to do with the fact that they had each eaten approximately seven hotdogs up until that point and felt like puking.

It was while they were on that adventure that Stolas had noticed the posters up around the park that were advertising an upcoming concert that was going to be happening in a few weeks - a popular string quartet that boasted their proficiency at covering popular mainstream songs. Stolas had thought it would be a fun thing for them all to do that was something different. Via and Loona both loved listening to music, and the few times that Blitzø had driven them places in his van meant listening to him trying to karaoke to the latest Your Acid Acquaintance album in an effort to get them all to laugh.

They found a decent enough spot not too far from the stage, laying out the large blanket covered in galloping horses before getting comfortable themselves. Stolas made sure to keep enough distance between the two of them, just to be safe.

“There’s a lot of people at this thing, huh?” Blitzø observed, using his claws to pop open the first bottle of wine and offering it to Stolas. He hadn’t brought cups, so Stolas assumed they would each get their own bottle. 

“Oh, yes, it seems to be quite a popular event,” Stolas replied, biting back the urge to comment on the fact that the park seemed to be filled with nothing but couples , all cozied up together on their respective blankets across the large expanse of lawn where the event was being held. Stolas didn’t remember anything about the ad for the concert that screamed it was exclusively for romantic pairings, but it was hard to ignore the air of romance that seemed to surround them.

Blitzø had to have noticed, right? It would be weird if he hadn’t. Was Stolas weird for noticing it? Was he putting too much thought into this whole thing? They were supposed to bring the girls to do, so it wasn’t like they had planned this to be a date -

“You good, Stols?” Blitzø asked, his voice drawing Stolas back from the ever present ledge of overthinking he often found himself at. 

“Yes, sorry, I’m just…excited for this, that’s all!” he assured, taking a swig from his newly acquired wine bottle. 

“Strings instruments get you going that hard, huh?” Blitzø mused, giving Stolas a look that he couldn’t quite place in his harried state. “Good to know.”

Stolas felt himself flush and he quickly took another drink from his bottle in an attempt to mask it. What did that even mean? He watched carefully as Blitzø pulled out the rest of the items from his backpack, arranging them as best as he could on the blanket in front of them so that they were able to reach easily. There was even more of an assortment than he had been privy to before. Besides the frozen mice and beef jerky, there were crackers and fruits and so many cheeses. There was candy too, chocolates and sour looking things in the shape of mini ponies. 

“You didn’t have to do all this, Blitzø,” Stolas admonished. “I would have gladly helped to contribute if you had just asked.”

Blitzø shrugged, popping open his own bottle with a quick flick of his claws. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

Stolas shook his head. “It is to me . No one’s ever done anything like this for me before, it’s honestly quite amazing.”

He couldn’t help but notice how Blitzø’s cheeks darkened as he very pointedly kept his gaze on the platter of cheese in front of him. It wasn’t often that Stolas was able to fluster him.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like you don’t deserve shit like this,” Blitzø muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he finally made eye contact with Stolas and gave him a small smile. “It’s the least I can do. You’re just….really great, Stols.”

Stolas felt his breath catch in his throat, overwhelmed by all the feelings that suddenly flooded into his system as he stared down at the man that seemingly had walked into his life at just the right moment. Joy, longing, awe - all of those emotions were swirling in the back of his mind, just waiting for him to open his mouth and blurt them all out at once. 

“You’re one to talk,” he finally managed to choke out. “I’m not sure where Via and I would be right now if it wasn’t for your help. I probably would have been the laughingstock of all the Goetia at this point, but you helped me to see that it is possible to do all of this, be normal , and just enjoy life. I didn’t know that was something I could do before I met you.”

The blush on Blitzø’s cheeks darkened even more as he just blinked up at Stolas, his mouth moving almost as if he was going to say something else. Just then, the sound of the strings warming up blasted through the loudspeakers by the stage, breaking whatever moment the two of them were having and causing Stolas to finally look away.

“Ready for some music, birdie?” Blitzø asked, leaving slightly closer to Stolas and shooting him a warm smile. Birdie, he thought, his heart swelling in his chest.

“Let’s do it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, the original versions are always better, Stols.”

“I don’t know, there’s something so romantic and beautiful about a string cover, don’t you think?”

The walk to Blitzø’s apartment was a quick one, even if it was a little silly that Stolas had seemingly been unable to produce a portal directly to it and could only manage one on the street to the front of the building. He had blamed it on his slight inebriation, though Stolas knew that it had more to do with the fact that he didn’t really want the night to end just yet, desperate to hold on to this feeling of pure bliss. Blitzø had only teased him a little about the amount of wine he had consumed, though they both seemed to be pretty sober.

“Okay, that’s it,” Blitzø scoffed, bumping his shoulder into Stolas’ side as they walked next to each other, each casual brush of contact making Stolas’ cheeks flush. “Next time we do this, I’m making you listen to all the original songs and then you’ll see how much better they are than some lame ass violin covers.”

His heart fluttered in his chest. Next time . 

“That would be wonderful, Blitzø,” he replied, his voice much softer than he intended it to be. Blitzø looked up at him, eyes wide, but a small smile creeping on the corners of his mouth. 

It wasn’t long, though, until they found themselves standing in front of Blitzø’s door, staring at the small horse charm that he had managed to hang from his peephole. Stolas wasn’t sure what the protocol was for something like this, mostly because he had never been in anything close to this situation before - were they just supposed to part ways? Say goodbye awkwardly and then Stolas leave to go to his own place? Would it be odd if he just asked if this had been a date? Would it be odder if he didn’t and just assumed ? What was the protocol for dating your daughter’s teacher, anyways? Should he have looked it up before? 

Should he be saying something right now instead of just staring at Blitzø for the past two minutes?

“This has been –”

“Thanks for –”

They both paused, eyes wide, before breaking out into laughter. Blitzø rubbed the back of his head with one gloved hand and shot Stolas a sheepish look.

“Did you want to come inside for a bit?” he asked. “It’s kind of early and I think I have some beers in the fridge if you want.”

“Oh,” Stolas blurted before he could stop himself, cheeks growing warmer by the minute. “I would love to.”

Blitzø took a moment just looking up at him, almost as if he was trying to find some hidden answer in Stolas’ face. He must have found what he had been looking for, however, because he quickly nodded and jammed his key in the lock of the door to throw it open.

Stolas hadn’t had the chance to really get a good look at Blitzø’s apartment when they had first arrived, mostly because the girls had been so eager to get to their sleepover and Stolas hadn’t wanted to be late to the concert. Now, though, he took his time looking around at all that the space had to offer.

It was smaller than Stolas’ own apartment, though not by that much. There was a small kitchenette and dining table in one corner, with a decently sized television propped up in front of a plush looking couch in another. There was a hallway off to the side that Stolas presumed lead to Blitzø’s and Loona’s respective rooms. The walls were covered in every sort of picture frame imaginable, most of the photos depicting Loona, with some showcasing some other people that Stolas didn’t know or recognize. The frames didn’t match, nor did there seem to be any sort of reasoning behind their placement or organization. There was also just as much horse memorabilia here as there had been in Blitzø’s classroom, and Stolas found himself smiling.

“Your home is so quaint, Blitzø,” he said after a moment.

Blitzø huffed from where he was tossing his keys into a small bowl near the front door. “I know that’s just fancy people talk for ugly and small, Stolas.”

“What? No!” Stolas exclaimed, turning around in affronted shock as he quickly tried to explain himself. He wasn’t trying to offend . “I meant it just - it feels like a home , you know? You can feel how much love and heart you put into making it into a place for both yourself and Loona, it’s beautiful. I can only hope that my place could feel like this one day.”

“Well, it’s not much, but it’s definitely better than the first place Loonie and I shared,” Blitzø responded, making his way to where Stolas was standing near the opening to the kitchenette. “That one only had one bedroom, so my ass slept on the couch every night. I’m pretty sure I’m still paying for the damages it did to my fucking back.”

Stolas couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped his throat. “Thank you for doing this with me, Blitzø, I had a lot of fun.”

And he genuinely did - Stolas couldn’t remember the last time he had enjoyed himself so much in the company of another person. Sure, their meet-ups with the girls brought him an immense amount of joy, but there was something different about being in Blitzø’s presence without having to worry about anything else that just made him feel like he was worth hanging around with. 

Blitzø didn’t say anything in response, just continued to look up at Stolas with an odd look in his eyes. Stolas wondered if maybe he had said the wrong thing, been too forward or something, but before he could ask, he felt the tips of Blitzø’s claws brush against the back of his hand.

Stolas was nearly positive he forgot how to breathe.

“Stolas, I –” Blitzø started, looking frustrated with himself for a moment before continuing. “Am I reading this wrong? Because if I am, I will fuck off right now and we can forget any of this ever fucking happened and we never have to talk about -”

He thought about every single time he had ever thought about Blitzø during their friendship - every smile, every laugh, every joke, every possibly flirtatious remark that left Stolas reeling hours after they parted ways. He thought about just a few hours ago, when Blitzø had sat so close to him on that picnic blanket that Stolas had been tempted to just press himself against the other man just to see what would happen. He thought about how he hadn’t been sure if he would ever experience anything like this in his life, post-divorce, how he had been so sure that he was doomed to be alone forever with nothing but the love for his daughter to keep him going.

He thought and thought.

“You’re not reading it wrong,” he whispered, finding it in himself to intertwine their fingers together and squeeze.

“Thank fucking Satan,” Blitzø breathed and then suddenly –

Stolas wasn’t sure which one of them moved first, but he suddenly found himself yanked down as Blitzø all but climbed up his body in an attempt to press his lips against Stolas’ beak. He had never kissed anyone like this before, not unless you counted the poor attempts he had made with Stella when he was still pretending like he could make their sham of a marriage work. 

However, all thoughts of Stella were quickly pushed out of his mind when he felt Blitzø gasp against his mouth as his hips gave a jerk against Stolas’ stomach, fingers gripping the feathers on the back of Stolas’ head in a way that had him immediately feeling that familiar warmth pooling in his stomach. He couldn’t help but let out a moan, his own hands finding purchase on Blitzø’s back as he held him up, his talons slotting themselves perfectly between the spikes on the other man’s back.

He wasn’t sure when he had started moving, but he felt the back of his legs collide with top of the kitchen counter, causing him to let out a small gasp in surprise, which Blitzø took as an opportunity to finally slide his tongue into Stolas’ mouth. 

Everything was hot, so hot - the points where their bodies were pressed together, Blitzø’s hand carding through his feathers, Blitzø’s fucking tongue ravaging his mouth, Stolas’ throbbing cunt that was desperately begging for attention.

“I have been thinking about this for weeks , fuck -” Blitzø bit out, trailing his mouth against the column of Stolas’ neck before nipping at the skin beneath the feathers there. “You are just so - fuck, do you have any idea what you’ve been doing to me?”

Stolas was pretty sure that he was going to spontaneously combust on the spot if something didn’t happen, if Blitzø didn’t get his hands on the place Stolas very much needed him to touch. “Fuck, Blitzø, please - ” he whined, not sure how to ask for what he needed. Blitzø seemed to understand, though, nodding slightly with one last lick to Stolas' neck.

“Yeah, I got you, birdie, don’t worry.”

And then suddenly, Blitzø was sliding down the length of his body to plop his hooves on the floor. Stolas had never been more aware of their height difference than in that moment, as Blitzø stared hungrily at Stolas’ rapidly dampening crotch. He made quick work of the buttons on the front, sliding each one out in nearly perfect precision, though Stolas was nearly positive he wouldn’t have cared if Blitzø had just ripped them off at this point and yanking them halfway down Stolas' thighs -

The first touch of Blitzø’s mouth against him had Stolas seeing stars. The other man's touch was gentle, but insistent, prodding at the edges of Stolas' cloaca in a way that had his knees shaking and his heart thudding out of his chest. Blitzø's grip was tight on his thighs, his hands keeping them apart as he continued to mouth at his entrance. Stolas was nearly positive that he was going to die before he came and then he felt Blitzø's tongue enter him and --

"Holy fucking -," he moaned, head thrown back as he canted his hips up in a desperate attempt to get Blitzø closer. "Blitzø, your mouth."

Blitzø didn't answer, just let out a small hum that had Stolas gripping his horns in his hands to steady himself. He had touched himself before, sure, but this was entirely different sensation. The feeling of Blitzø pressing against his walls in just the right way, finding spots with his tongue that caused Stolas to make noises he hadn't known he was capable of making, the way Blitzø's claws were digging into the back of his thighs harder enough to leave marks under the feathers, the way Stolas kept wanting to watch Blitzø's blissed out face as he ate him out - Stolas had nothing to compare this to, nothing that would even come close to the amount of pleasure he was currently experiencing. 

He could feel his climax quickly approaching, hips rolling as he found himself attempting to ride Blitzø's face. “Blitzø, I can’t - fuck, please, I’m so close.”

Blitzø pulled away then, and Stolas let out a whine before his tongue was quickly replace with two of his fingers and he was moaning again. “Yeah, yeah, come on, birdie,” he growled, the space around his lips shiny with Stolas' slick in the glow of the kitchen light. “Give it to me.”

And then Stolas was cumming harder then he ever had before - a long, drawn out moan being pulled from him as his hands scrambled behind him for purchase on the counter he was pressed against so he wouldn’t fall into a heap on the floor. He rode out his orgasm the best he could, Blitzø continuing to thrust his fingers into him until Stolas stilled him with the press of his fingertips against Blitzø's wrist when it got to be too much.

Blitzø didn't give him a lot of time to recover, sweeping him into his arms in a way that would honestly be much more impressive if Stolas's brain wasn't rattled from the orgasm he was pretty sure he was still experiencing.

"Where are we going?" he asked, noting that Blitzø was carrying him down the hallway towards a door at the end, which Stolas presumed was Blitzø's room. Blitzø kicked it open with a huff, maneuvering Stolas' long limbs through the doorway so that he wouldn't bang against the frame. 

"If you think I'm not going to take full advantage of the fact that neither of our daughters are here right now and fuck you hard into my mattress, you're even sillier than I thought, birdie."

Considering the fact that he was currently sitting Blitzø's arms half naked, Stolas was surprised at how flustered Blitzø’s comment made me feel. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Blitzø teased, giving Stolas one more kiss before he dropped him on the bed.

It quickly devolved into a battle of who could get the other undressed quicker. Blitzø had the upper hand, mostly due to the fact that Stolas' pants had been left somewhere on the kitchen floor, but Stolas used his longer limbs to his advantage, managing to pull off Blitzø's shirt and belt before the other man even had a chance to get his bearings. The giggling, the quickly stolen kisses, the way that Blitzø's touch was so tender - Stolas had seen plenty of romantic comedies and had read a lot of romance novels, but there were only so many ways that fiction could depict intimacy and Stolas found himself marveling at the way that most of those depictions were lacking. 

This was what had been missing from most of his life.

This was where he was meant to be. 

Before long, they were back to where they had left off, with Blitzø's fingers buried deep in his cunt and Stolas desperately needing more.

"Blitzø, I can't - I need you to fill me up, please," Stolas begged, his hands gripping the sheets as Blitzø brushed against a sensitive spot inside him and made his talons curl in pleasure.

Blitzø couldn't have looked more smug. "I gotta get you ready -"

Stolas shook his head. "I'm ready, so ready, please, I want to feel your cock inside me right now."

"Impatient, huh?" Blitzø teased, but his fingers were withdrawing and he was shifting between Stolas' legs, lining up his cock with Stolas' entrance. "We'll have to work on that later."

Stolas would have agreed to anything at that point, the way he was so needy for Blitzø to fill him up again. He had never been fucked by anyone like this, and yet he couldn't imagine how he was just supposed to feel this fucking empty. A whine worked it's way up the back of his throat, ready to demand Blitzø to get a damn move on when he felt the tip of Blitzø's cock nudge against his entrance. He nodded, throat dry.

"Blitzø, I -"

"I told you, I got you, Stols," Blitzø murmured softly, and then he was sheathing himself fully inside Stolas with a gasp.

It started off slow, which Stolas was grateful for. As much as he had desperately wanted Blitzø to fuck him nine ways to Sunday, he was nearly positive that he had never felt so fucking full in his whole life, his head spinning as Blitzø's pace increased little by little until he was slamming his hips against Stolas' in an attempt to get as deep as possible. Stolas felt words tumbling from his beak, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying, too wrapped up in trying to keep Blitzø as close as possible. Whatever it was, Blitzø didn't seem to mind, his hands on Stolas' thighs gripping harder every time another garble of nonsense worked it's way out of his mouth. His fingers found their way between the spaces of the imp's spikes on his back, gripping hard as Blitzø pressed his forehead into the feathers of Stolas' chest with a soft groan.

“No one’s ever -” he found himself saying, cutting off with a gasp after a particularly hard thrust. 

“No one? Fuckers missed out because this -” and he twisted his hips in such a way that Stolas couldn’t help but gasp, “- this is fucking heaven.”

Stolas moaned, lifting his hips up as best as he could to meet Blitzø thrust for thrust, chasing the high of being so completely connected until his felt his climax approaching once again. 

"Fuck, Blitzø, I'm going to -"

"Yes, fuck, please, wanna feel you come on my cock."

"Blitzø, Blitzø, Blitzø, fuck -"

And then Stolas was coming again, his cunt clenching around Blitzø's cock as the other man continued to thrust erratically, chasing his own release before he grunted against Stolas' chest and stilled. Stolas was nearly positive that he had never been more full in his life, and he felt their combined spend dripping out of where they were still joined onto the sheet underneath. Blitzø slumped down on top of him with a sigh, his body warm against where he was resting his weight on Stolas. He found himself idly running the tips of his fingers along where Blitzø's horns met skin, scratching gently. They were going to have to move eventually, but Stolas found that he didn't want to break the moment, not just yet.

"Fuck, birdie," Blitzø mumbled against where his cheek was still pressed against feathers. Stolas let out a hooting laugh.

"That was quite a nice ending to the night," Stolas murmured.

Blitzø propped his head up, making eye contact with Stolas with a warm, but slightly nervous looking smile on his face. Stolas had no idea what was about to come out of his mouth.

"You want to stay for breakfast?" Blitzø asked, voice soft. "I make a mean pancake."

Stolas once again felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest. How was this his life? How he had managed to get so lucky to enroll in the one school that his man, his first ever friend, worked at? And what did he ever do in his life to ever deserve his kindness, his grace?

"We do have to pick up the girls -" Stolas started.

"Via likes pancakes, right? I think I have some leftover frozen mice I can toss in there if that'll work - omph!"

Stolas didn't let him finish, angling his head down in just a way to silence whatever Blitzø was about to say with a deep press of his lips against his.

"That sounds perfect, darling."