Chapter Text
Stolas dragged his hands down his face and groaned. He’d been working on paperwork for hours, and it felt like he’d barely made a dent.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to look at the screen.
Blitzy <3 is calling.
No. Absolutely not. It had been weeks since they’d last spoken at that awful party. Stolas’s memories of that conversation were hazy at best, but he knew it hadn’t gone well. What could Blitzø possibly have to say to him now ?
The phone buzzed again. It sounded impatient somehow.
Stolas should just let it ring. He owed Blitzø nothing, they were over and done with. He really should just let it ring.
Another buzz. He was going to regret this.
He pressed the button to answer the call.
“Blitzø, what do you—“
“Stolas I’m so sorry, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now, and I don’t blame you, but I need a favor.” Blitzø sounded panicked. What in hell was going on? There was a whine in the background, and Blitzø’s voice came again, a bit muffled. “I know, I know, sweetie, it’s gonna be okay, you’ll be okay, I promise.” He started talking into the receiver again. “Just this one favor Stols, please, and you’ll never have to talk to me again.”
“Blitzø, what is this favor?”
“It’s Loona. She got hurt, bad, and I need you to call an ambulance for me.”
“Why can’t you just call it yourself?”
“Because the imp clinics near us are shit, and anywhere else is gonna make an imp calling about a hellhound their lowest priority,” Blitzø snapped. Stolas heard him take a breath, and his voice came back softer. “But they’ll listen to a prince. Please Stolas.”
“Oh. I see.” He wasn’t entirely sure he did, but Blitzø was clearly in a crisis, and Stolas didn’t see a point in wasting time arguing. “Are you at your office?”
He could feel Blitzø’s relief through the phone. “Yeah. Do you need the address?”
“No l know it.” Stolas opened a portal into IMP’s office. Loona was sprawled on the floor, blood pouring out of a gunshot wound in her side. Moxxie was attempting to keep pressure on it. There was… a lot of blood. Millie and Blitzø were by her head, Blitzø running a hand through her hair, while he held his phone in the other. He froze in shock when Stolas stepped through.
“If it’s as you say, then it’s probably best I’m here when emergency services arrives,” he said by way of explanation. “And I’m on site to answer any questions they have over the phone.”
Blitzø nodded, slid his phone into his pocket, and wordlessly traded places with Moxxie to hold pressure.
Stolas shook himself from where he’d frozen in place, and cast a quick spell to halt the bleeding. Blitzø looked up at him.
Stolas answered his wordless question. “It’s a triage spell. Functionally the magical equivalent of holding pressure. I don’t really know any more advanced healing spells, and I can’t guarantee how long it’ll hold, that depends on many factors, but it should at least prevent her bleeding out until an ambulance arrives.”
Blitzø nodded, and switched to holding Loona’s hand instead. He started running his other hand through her hair again, and Stolas saw Loona lean into his touch. He didn’t know her well of course, but what he had gathered from the handful of times they’d met was that Loona was incredibly stoic. For her to willingly accept comfort meant she was likely in a great deal of pain. Stolas dialed emergency services.
A woman answered after a couple of rings. “ Hello what is your emergency?”
“Yes, um, I have a hellhound here, who’s bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound, and is in need of immediate assistance.” What other information did they need? Oh, right. He rattled off IMP’s address.
“Well, we’re fairly busy at the moment but potentially—“
“I don’t think you understand, she is bleeding out, she needs assistance now.”
“I understand, however, the soonest we can be there is probably a couple of hours. I can’t give you a closer estimate than that.”
What? Stolas had only ever called an ambulance once, when Via had been six and fallen and broken her arm when they were on a walk. It hadn’t been anything particularly dangerous, but he had been panicking, and Via had been crying and in pain, so he’d called. He remembered thinking every moment his little Starfire was in pain was unbearably long, and even so, it felt like the ambulance had shown up almost before he’d hung up the phone. He remembered he’d been so impressed with their promptness. The idea that it would take hours to respond to an actual life-threatening emergency was absurd. He changed tactics.
“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear.” His voice was clipped and cold as he tamped down his anger. “This is Prince Stolas, of the Ars Goetia, calling on behalf of a dear friend of mine who has been gravely injured. How quickly can an ambulance get here?”
It was amazing how her demeanor changed. Apparently, Blitzø had been right to call him. “Oh my, I’m so sorry, your highness, I had no idea. I’ll dispatch an ambulance immediately, it should be there within 20 minutes. What was the address again?”
It figured she hadn’t even taken the address down the first time. He gave it you her again.
“It should be there shortly. Sorry again for the confusion.”
“Quite so,” he huffed. “Thank you.” And he hung up the phone.
Blitzø shut his eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thanks Stols,” he murmured. “I owe you one.”
“You most certainly do not,” Stolas answered firmly.
The ambulance did actually arrive within about fifteen minutes or so. Stolas informed them of the spell he’d performed, and asked if they needed it removed, but the paramedics said it would actually be helpful in keeping her stable during transport, so he left it. They quickly set to work getting Loona onto a stretcher, and into the ambulance. When they asked who would be riding along, Blitzø jumped up.
“I’m her father,” he said, and hopped up to stand next to Loona.
“I’m coming too,” Stolas said, climbing up to squeeze in behind Blitzø. He was unsure whether Blitzø would want his company during this ordeal, but he was now more than a little afraid there would be more funny business once they got to the hospital, and he wanted to be there to intervene if he needed to. Blitzø glanced at him and nodded, so he felt he’d made the right choice.
“We’ll follow y’all in the van,” Millie said. “See you all soon.”
The doors shut behind them, and they were off. The trip to the hospital was a bit of a blur. Belphegor had her own teleportation crystals, so there was very little driving time at all. They were unloaded, and Loona was whisked away into surgery, and suddenly Stolas found himself standing in front of a door marked authorized personnel only, with a very shell-shocked Blitzø beside him.
After a moment, when it became clear that Blitzø was just going to keep staring at the door he’d last seen Loona go through unless someone did something, Stolas quietly shepherded Blitzø to the waiting area and found them a quiet corner to sit in that afforded them a little privacy.
There were only a handful of people in the room. “ Very busy” my ass, Stolas thought. There was no reason it could’ve possibly taken hours to dispatch help from here. He felt another flare of rage, but he pushed it aside. There would be time for that later. For now, Blitzø needed comfort, and Stolas was currently the only one available to give it.
“Can I touch you?” he asked quietly.
Blitzø managed a jerky nod, so Stolas put a hand around his shoulder. He saw Blitzø’s tail swish back and forth anxiously until it wrapped tightly around his ankles.
“It’s going to be alright,” he murmured. “You got her here, she’s getting the best care possible. They’re doing everything they can. We’re making sure of it.”
He gave Blitzø’s shoulder a squeeze, and Blitzø shuddered and then lurched forward to bury his face in Stolas’s side.
He wasn’t sure exactly how long they sat like that. Blitzø didn’t cry. He just curled against Stolas in a tightly coiled ball. Stolas brought his other hand around Blitzø to gently rub his back. After a couple of moments, he realized Blitzø was trembling. It was slight at first, becoming steadily stronger until Blitzø’s entire body shook with violent tremors. Stolas just kept his arms around him and tried to keep him from shaking himself apart.
Stolas had never seen Blitzø like this before. In Stolas’s experience, a stressed Blitzø was big and loud. He fidgeted, he paced, he yelled. Once during a full moon, when Blitzø had a major hit in two days that he still hadn’t figured out how he was going to pull off, he’d started scaling Stolas’s bookshelves to release some pent up energy. To see him shut down completely was… disconcerting. He looked so small and fragile, tucked up against Stolas’s side. Stolas wasn’t sure if this was shock, or the crash after an adrenaline rush, or simply Blitzø finally feeling all the fear he’d pushed aside while getting Loona the help she needed, or something else entirely. Probably some combination of all of that. He wasn’t at all sure what he could do for him in this situation, so he just held him and murmured soft reassurances.
Even after Blitzø’s shaking calmed down and his ragged breathing leveled out some, Stolas just kept holding him. He tried not to think about how he would react if it was Via seriously injured, and unconsciously squeezed Blitzø the slightest bit tighter. Eventually, Blitzø pulled back to look up at him.
“Sorry about that,” he whispered, almost too soft for Stolas to hear him.
“Don’t be. I imagine if I were in your situation, I would’ve done the same.”
Blitzø hummed, then startled slightly. “Shoot! I should let M&M know we made it.” He pulled out his phone and texted them. After a moment, his phone pinged. “They’re waiting for the elevator. It’s busy down there, so it’ll probably be a bit. I let ‘em know she’s in surgery and we’ll keep them posted if there’s any updates.”
“Good. Now what do you say we try to clean you up some?”
Blitzø glanced down and seemed to notice for the first time just how much blood was on his clothes. He stared in shock for a moment, almost long enough that Stolas was about to try to get his attention again, then he shook himself and nodded. “Yeah that would… that would probably be good.”
Stolas gently steered Blitzø into the bathroom in the lobby. He helped Blitzø out of his overcoat, which luckily had helped to keep the rest of his clothing clean. Stolas folded it and set it aside. He’d have it laundered later.
He tugged off Blitzø’s arm bracers, and then started helping him clean off his hands. As Stolas cleaned his arm off, he noticed the gash on the underside of Blitzø’s left forearm. It was only about six inches long, but it was quite deep, and had started bleeding sluggishly again when they rinsed it off.
“Blitzø, you’re hurt,” he said.
Blitzø glanced at it and shrugged. “Just snagged it on something while we were running. It’s not that big a deal. Loonie’s the priority right now—“
“Loona is already being taken care of,”Stolas interrupted. “She will likely be a while yet, and you will do her no good by dripping blood all over the waiting area.” Stolas wrapped a paper towel around Blitzø’s arm and brought Blitzø’s other hand up to hold it in place. “Come on, let’s get you seen too.”
Blitzø looked like he was going to protest, but melted under Stolas’s glare. He sighed. “Fine,” he muttered, and followed Stolas out of the bathroom.
Stolas walked up to the receptionist’s desk. She looked up when he cleared his throat, and her eyes widened slightly when she recognized him. “Um, excuse me, my friend and I are waiting for his daughter to get out of surgery, and it’s come to my attention that he’s got a minor injury himself. Would it be possible to get that seen to while we wait?”
“Oh! Yes of course your Highness. Someone will be out with you very shortly.”
“Thank you. I do appreciate it.”
Within five minutes a nurse popped out to bring Blitzø back. Blitzø visibly stiffened when his name was called. Stolas hung back a moment, until Blitzø looked at him and Stolas saw the panic in his eyes and hurried to follow.
They were taken into an exam room, where Blitzø immediately hopped up on the bench, though he stayed tensed like a coiled spring. Stolas sat down in the chair next to him, and hoped that was enough to provide some moral support.
Blitzø was quiet while the doctor looked over his arm, only speaking to answer her questions in a flat voice. He didn’t make a sound while the gash in his arm was stitched up. He didn’t so much as flinch the entire time, but he also didn’t relax until he and Stolas were back in the waiting area.
Once they were settled again, Stolas took the opportunity to finally start filling out Loona’s intake paperwork. Blitzø’s handwriting and spelling were atrocious even on a good day, and today was anything but. Stolas didn’t know much of Loona’s personal information, but Blitzø provided all the answers he asked for. When it was done, Stolas walked it up to the receptionist.
After he sat back down, the two of them sat in silence for a bit. Then Stolas leaned over to Blitzø. “Thank you for allowing them to patch you up. I know that doesn’t come easily to you.”
Blitzø fidgeted with the bandage on his arm until Stolas put a hand over his to stop him. “Not really a fan of hospitals,” he said quietly. He paused a moment, then continued. “Loona isn’t either. We’ve both got our reasons for that. I don’t know hers. She’s never told me about it. We just have an understanding that we’re on the same page here. I know I don’t like to talk about it, and I’m sure she doesn’t either, so I’ve never pushed.”
Stolas sat quietly, waiting for him to continue.
“That’s a lot of why I didn’t wanna leave the waiting room because I need to be there when she wakes up. She can’t wake up here alone with no one she knows to tell her what’s happening. I can’t do that to her.”
Stolas considered his response to that briefly. “You’re a good father to her. Braving your own stress and discomfort around being here to make sure she feels safe. I’m sure she appreciates that.”
Blitzø shrugged. “She’s my little girl. Doesn’t matter if she came into my life later, I’ll always be there for her.”
Stolas hummed, and they lapsed into silence again. Stolas was the one to break it.
“I was wondering,” Stolas began, “is it always like this?”
Blitzø looked up at him. “Is what always like this?”
Stolas waved his hands vaguely. “Like the— the way that woman talked to me on the phone, before she knew who I was, are you… is that how they usually treat you?”
Blitzø shrugged. “Pretty much yeah. That’s about par for the course for folks like us.”
Stolas supposed it was a rather stupid question. Obviously that was the treatment Blitzø expected, otherwise he wouldn’t have called, and Stolas wouldn’t even be sitting here right now. But he’d needed to actually hear it to know for sure, and — Wait a moment. A new thought occurred to him.
“So then the time with, with Striker, when I called, and Loona had an appointment you couldn’t miss…” Stolas trailed off, and hoped Blitzø understood what he was asking.
Blitzø ran his hands over his face. “Took me five fucking years to get her in for that appointment. For a shot she’s supposed to get annually. If we’d missed that appointment the next one would’ve probably also been a couple years away. And Loonie’s terrified of needles, she couldn’t go alone.” Blitzø glanced across the room at the door they’d come through, as if hoping to summon the answers he wanted. Then he jolted up. “Oh shit, I should schedule her next one. I could’ve tried at the office, but Loonie was so stressed at that point, we both just wanted to leave, and then you got hurt and everything’s just been all over the place and— You know what, this is a later Blitzø problem.” He took a breath, and when he spoke again, he’d slowed back down. “I did send M and M after you though. They said they could handle it, and I believed them. And they got you out and I am so so grateful to them.” Blitzø finally looked up at Stolas, pleading with him to believe him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I would’ve come if I could, honest . But Loonie needed me.”
Stolas blinked. He hadn’t expected Blitzø to be so forthcoming, and he certainly hadn’t expected an apology. He collected his words for a movement before he spoke. “Your daughter came first, and she should come first. I have a daughter too, I understand that. But I accept your apology. And I’m sorry too, for bringing that up against you that day. It was unfair of me in that situation, especially with the context you just gave me.”
“Thanks, Stols. And if we’re saying sorries, I’m sorry for…” Blitzø waved his hand vaguely. “All the shit I said the last time I saw you. None of it was ok, and I definitely shouldn’t’ve yelled, so I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” Stolas’s mind had been spinning a bit all afternoon trying to process the implications of the differences in treatment he’d seen. If this was the way Blitzø was used to being treated in so many places, was it any wonder he had a hard time believing Stolas didn’t intend to treat him that way? “I’ve realized that I rather sprung that conversation on you, and neither of us responded very well.”
“Yeah.”
“If you’re amenable, I would very much like to try again. Even if you don’t reciprocate my feelings, I’d still like to have you as a friend.”
Blitzø smiled, a small smile, but a real one. “I think I’d like that Stols, really, I just—
Stolas held up a hand. “There will be time enough for all of that later. I think this is a conversation best saved for when Loona is recovered and you’re not in crisis mode.”
“Yeah,” Blitzø said with a nod. “I think that’s… yeah.”
Stolas brought his arm back up around Blitzø’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’re exhausted Blitzø. Why don’t you rest a bit? They’ll let us know if there’s any change.”
Blitzø leaned against Stolas’s side and closed his eyes after a moment, but he didn’t actually doze off, if the continued anxious flicking of his tail was anything to go by. Stolas drummed the fingers of the hand not holding Blitzø against his thigh to release some pent up nervous energy. It had been over an hour and a half, and while he knew these things took time, he wondered if he should go ask if they had any news.
After Blitzø shifted against him for the third time, at which point Stolas was fairly certain he wasn’t going to manage to sleep, Stolas poked him and said softly, “By the way, if you haven’t figured it out by now, you should know that I’m paying for all of this.”
Blitzø opened his eyes and blinked up at him. “Stolas, you don’t have to—“
“I know,” Stolas interrupted. “But I am. And if you want to try to stop me, you should also know I already put my payment information on file when I turned in the intake paperwork.”
Blitzø opened his mouth like he was going to protest, then seemed to think better of it. He breathed out a sigh. “Thanks, Stols. I really owe you big time.”
“I said it back at the office, and I’ll say it again: you owe me nothing, Blitzø. I am more than willing to help. If any of you ever find yourselves in this situation again, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you can’t reach me for whatever reason, reach out to Via.”
“Well, thank you then, I guess. That really means a lot. And if there’s anything we can ever do to help either of you out, just let us know. Even if it’s just being a nuisance to your ex wife for a bit.”
Stolas chuckled. “While I’m sure that would be highly entertaining, I would never inflict Stella on any of you.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the door opening, and Millie and Moxxie coming in. Blitzø stood and waved wildly to get their attention, and they made their way over to their little corner.
“Any news?” Millie asked as soon as she was close enough not to have to yell.
“No,” Blitzø said. “She’s still in surgery. That’s all they’ve told us.”
Stolas once again considered asking the receptionist if she’d heard any news, but if they were still in surgery he didn’t want her to interrupt anything to ask on his behalf.
Millie sat in the empty seat on the other side of Blitzø, and Moxxie sat on her other side. She gave Blitzø’s hand a light squeeze. “I’m sure we’ll hear before too long,” she said quietly.
“Sorry we took so long,” Moxxie said. “Traffic on and off the elevator was ridiculous. And it took us forever to find parking around here.”
“No worries,” Blitzø said. “You haven’t missed much here so far. Thanks for bringing the van.”
“Of course. Depending on how the rest of the day shakes out, we can also take it back to your place if we need to,” Moxxie continued.
“I might take you up on that, but we’ll play it by ear for now.”
It was another two and a half hours before they got news. They passed the time with quiet conversation. Twice Blitzø got up and paced for a while. Stolas was starting to consider opening a portal to his room to grab a deck of cards to pass some time, when a nurse entered the waiting room.
“Family of Loona Buckzo?” they called.
Blitzø was up before they finished talking. Millie, Moxxie, and Stolas followed close behind. They were led through a series of winding corridors until they reached the room. The nurse opened the door and showed them in.
Loona was still asleep on the bed. Blitzø walked straight over to the chair beside it, sat down, and then took Loona’s hand.
The nurse spoke up quietly. “The anesthetic takes a little while to wear off completely. She should be waking up soon. It could be anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour, but you’re more than welcome to stay as long as you like.” They went over in detail what specifically they had done, and what recovery was likely to look like once she was discharged, which would be a few days at least. Stolas pulled a notebook out of his pocket and wrote down everything she said. Blitzø seemed to be listening, but a solid chunk of his attention was (quite reasonably) devoted to his daughter, and it was simply a substantial amount of information, even for someone with Stolas’s excellent memory. The gist, however, was that Loona would be alright. She would recover, likely without any additional complications. Stolas felt a weight lift off his chest that he hadn’t even realized was there. It had been close though. If she hadn’t gotten help when she had… well, they may quite well have been having a very different conversation at this point. He pushed the thought away.
“Thank you,” Stolas said to the nurse. “We appreciate the work you’ve done.”
The nurse seemed a bit overwhelmed at being complimented by a Goetia, but they held their professional composure.
“Of course your highness. Let us know if you need anything else.” Then they quietly left the room.
The room lapsed into silence. Millie and Moxxie had settled into the chair on Loona’s other side. (It was made for demons much larger than they were, so they could fit comfortably, albeit pressed close together, which they certainly didn’t seem to mind). Stolas settled himself into the only remaining chair in the far corner of the room.
He should leave. He had done his part, all he had been brought here to do was make sure Loona was seen to with the care and promptness she deserved. Now that she was safe and recovering, he felt like he was intruding. He barely knew Loona, he was practically a stranger, especially here with those closest to her waiting for her to wake up. He wasn’t even sure she’d want him here when she did wake. Not to mention, that while he was pretty sure he and Blitzø had come to an understanding in the last few hours and that they were at least approaching being on okay terms now, the last time they’d interacted had still been… a lot. For both of them.
But he couldn’t bring himself to go. First of all, while he had only met her a couple of times, he did in fact care about Loona’s wellbeing, very much. He liked the brash young hellhound, and she had been a good friend to Via when they’d met in LA. Stolas knew they texted each other from time to time, and he was more grateful than he could express that Via had at least one friend to talk to during the very tumultuous period of his divorce. (Speaking of, he should let Via know what had happened. She might like to visit, or at least send some well wishes Loona’s way). Seeing her so badly injured had shaken him quite a lot, he realized. He wanted to see Loona awake to reassure himself that she really would be alright.
Additionally, he did want to be there to support Blitzø, and Millie and Moxxie as well of course. Blitzø had seemed to find his presence comforting back in the waiting room, and Stolas hoped he could continue to be that.
But the biggest reason was that, between getting Loona here and the conversation with Blitzø in the waiting room, Stolas’s protective instincts had flared up fiercely. And he’d developed a (probably) irrational fear that if he left, then the staff would just turn all of IMP out to make room for more “important” patients. He thought it unlikely. The notion was honestly a bit ridiculous. Loona was already in a bed, it’d surely be more work to clean and make over this room than to just put someone in one of the other empty rooms in this hospital. But he couldn’t be sure that it wouldn’t happen, so he simply refused to allow for the possibility.
He sent off a quick text to Via, letting her know where he was and why, and most importantly that Loona was recovering. He’d let her know when she was up to visitors if Via would like to stop by. Via responded almost immediately, expressing relief that she was going to be okay and asking Stolas to pass on some well wishes and to tell Loona to let her know when she was ready for visitors so she could come say hi. Stolas said that he would, and asked if Via happened to know what sort of things Loona liked: favorite candies or treats, or any other things. He’d like to put together some kind of care package for her stay here, but he was at a loss of what to actually put in it. He’d also ask Blitzø of course, but that would have to wait a little while until Blitzø had another free moment to talk. Via told him she’d think on it and get back to him with some ideas.
He heard a quiet groan and looked up to see Loona stirring in the bed. She woke up slowly at first, her eyes half open and not truly seeing anything around as she moved her head slightly. She opened her eyes fully and blinked a few times like she was trying to focus her vision. Stolas saw the moment she regained lucidity and finally took in her surroundings. Half a second later, he also saw her eyes widen in panic when she registered where she was. She let out a whine, and the hand not in Blitzø’s started scrabbling on the bed next to her like she was trying to get up and run.
Blitzø was on his feet instantly, grabbing her free hand so he was holding both of hers and putting himself into Loona’s line of sight. “Loonie! LoonieLoonieLoonie. Loona. Look at me Loona, just at me. I’m here, I’ve got you, you’re safe.” When Loona’s eyes stopped darting around the room to focus on Blitzø, he continued, “That’s it, you’re doing great, sweetie.” He put both her paws on his chest. “Breathe with me now. In. Out.” And he punctuated his words with an inhale and an exhale.
It took a few more breaths but eventually Loona calmed down enough to breathe out a shaky “What happened?”
Blitzø looked at her for a second. “Do you want a hug?” When she nodded, he leaned in and helped her sit up just enough to bury her face in his chest. Stolas suddenly felt very much like he was intruding on an intimate moment, and busied himself with looking at his phone to give them both some privacy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Millie and Moxxie do the same.
After a few moments of silence, Blitzø said softly, “You got hurt. It was—“ His voice caught. “It was real bad. So I called the bird back there to get us a lift to the hospital and they patched you up.” He paused for another moment. “We’re going to stay here as long as we need to make sure you’re okay, but I promise we won’t stay a minute longer than that. From what they said it’s going to be at least a couple days, but I’ll be here the whole time. And if something happens where I have to leave briefly for whatever reason, someone else will be here. I promise you won’t be alone, okay?”
Loona sniffled softly. “Okay,” she whispered.
“I’ve got you, Loonie,” Blitzø murmured. “It’ll be alright.”
It was quiet for a second, then Stolas heard soft purring. He glanced up in time to see Loona turn her head to put her ear against Blitzø’s chest. Blitzø had both arms wrapped tightly around her. Stolas had only heard Blitzø purr once, late in the evening on a full moon night, when he was almost asleep himself. From what he could gather, it was something imps did when contented and comfortable, but he also remembered reading how it was something imps did to provide comfort. Stolas went back to playing on his phone.
After a few minutes, he heard Blitzø ask quietly, “I’m supposed to let them know when you wake up. Are you ready for me to call them?” Loona must’ve given some kind of affirmative because he saw Blitzø reach over to press the call button.
A few minutes later, a nurse came bustling in. Blitzø didn’t let go of Loona’s hand while she ran tests and asked questions. He saw Blitzø squeeze her hand every time she looked even the slightest bit apprehensive about something, and Blitzø kept up a steady stream of commentary and jokes anytime the nurse wasn’t actively talking to Loona. The nurse was smiling the whole time, and once Loona even snorted when Blitzø said something particularly funny. When the nurse finally left the room, Loona not only looked calm, but she even had a small smile on her face, and Stolas figured that was a win.
As Loona settled back down on the bed, Blitzø started carding his fingers through her hair. “Why don’t you get some rest, Loonie? You’re still healing.”
“I’m fine,” Loona said. “I just woke up.” Then she yawned widely, undercutting her point.
“Sleep, Loonie,” Blitzø said softly. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Loona sighed, but settled and closed her eyes. Within a couple minutes, her breathing evened out, and Blitzø settled back into his chair next to the bed.
Once Loona was asleep again, Stolas glanced around. “Have any of you eaten yet?” he asked.
Millie and Moxxie shook their heads. Stolas knew Blitzø hadn’t eaten, since he’d been with Stolas for the last six and a half hours.
“Right then,” he said. “Any requests for takeout?”
Blitzø shrugged, and Millie murmured a quiet “We’re good with whatever.”
“Any dietary restrictions?” When he got a chorus of soft “no”s, Stolas pulled up the online order form for his and Via’s favorite pasta place. It was comfort food, and more importantly, it was filling and it was fast. Considering Blitzø had called sometime around 1:00, Stolas would wager the plan had been to finish that job and then break for lunch. If that was the case, then in all likelihood, none of the imps had eaten since before work that morning, and it was now past 7:30 in the evening.
He put in his usual, then thought about asking for orders, but the three of them were all clearly crashing, so Stolas just picked three basic options and figured they could pick amongst themselves once it got here.
When he got a text fifteen minutes later that his food was ready for pickup, he quietly opened a portal to the restaurant, grabbed the food, and portaled back.
All three imps perked up visibly at the prospect of food. Stolas took out his container, then passed the bag to Moxxie, who had stood up to take it from him with a quiet “thank you”. Moxxie looked in the first container and handed it to Blitzø, then opened the second one and gave it Millie, and took the last one for himself.
Blitzø looked at his take out container. “You sure you don’t want this one Moxx?”
“Alfredo is your favorite, Blitzø. I am perfectly happy with my spaghetti.” Stolas filed that information away for future reference. Hopefully Blitzø would provide him the opportunity to use it.
“As long as you’re sure,” Blitzø said, and immediately started inhaling his pasta. “Thanks for dinner, Stols,” he said around a mouthful of food.
“Of course,” Stolas said, as he started eating his food at a much more sedate pace. “I’m sure you all were starving after the day you’ve had.”
The only answer Stolas got was a couple of enthusiastic nods as they all settled in to eat their food. Millie and Moxxie stole bites off of each other’s plates.
After they’d finished, Millie stood to grab the plates and toss them in the trash can. “It’s getting late,” she said. “We should probably be getting home, B. That is, as long as you’re alright here?”
Blitzø waved her off. “We’re fine here. You two go get some rest.”
Moxxie stood up and stretched. “We’ll stop by after work tomorrow.” When Blitzø opened his mouth to say something to that, Moxxie held up a hand. “We won’t be going on any hits without you, Blitzø. You don’t have to worry about anyone else going into the field. There’s no more jobs on the books at the moment, and you have our transport to the living world anyway. But we do have four prospective client meetings scheduled for tomorrow, and somebody from the company should be there to talk to them.”
Blitzø sighed. “Thanks you guys. For handling that, and for everything today. I really do appreciate it.”
“Not a problem, B,” Millie said. “Call us if you need anything.”
“Do you want us to take the van?” Moxxie asked.
“That’d be great, Moxx. You can keep it the next few days, actually. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon, and if I get desperate I’ve got the crystal.”
“Will do. See you tomorrow, Blitzø,” he said.
Millie gave Blitzø a quick hug, and then the two of them headed out.
“Well, I’m beat,” Blitzø said. “I might try to get some sleep too.”
Stolas watched as Blitzø curled up into a ball on his chair, like he intended to sleep right there. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured, and then walked out to the nurses’ station and asked if they would be able to set up a cot in their room, since someone was staying the night. The nurse was more than happy to be of assistance, and immediately went to get one.
Stolas had barely returned to his seat in Loona’s room when she and another worker bustled in and set the cot up in the corner. Blitzø looked between the bed and Stolas with wide eyes, like he hadn’t even considered that this would be an option, rather than sleeping in a hard metal chair for the next few nights.
When the room was quiet again, he hesitated before walking over to it. “Did you…?” he asked.
“Yes, I asked them to bring one over,” Stolas answered. “If you’re going to be sleeping here for a couple days, you ought to have a proper bed.”
“Thank you, Stolas,” Blitzø said. “For everything today. You didn’t have to do all this”
“You are most welcome, Blitzø,” Stolas said. “I am happy to be of service. And it has been… good, to see you again.”
“We’re probably okay here for now, if you wanna go sleep in your real bed.”
Stolas nodded. “As long as you’re sure you’re alright. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
Blitzø looked rather guilty. “You really don’t have to, Stols, we’ll be okay. I don’t wanna take up too much of your time.”
“The only thing I have tomorrow is the paperwork I’ve been putting off because it bores me to tears. I’ll be here in the morning. Unless… you don’t want me here?”
Blitzø opened and closed his mouth a couple times, trying to formulate an answer, until he finally managed, “No, I… I would like to have you here.”
“Wonderful. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then. Oh! Before I go, is there anything you need from your apartment for tonight? I can pop over to your apartment, or I can open you a portal since you know where everything is.”
“Actually I’d appreciate that. I’ve got a couple things that would be nice to have.”
“Naturally. Let me help you with that before I leave.”
Stolas opened a portal, and Blitzø hopped through. He was back within two minutes, arms laden with pajamas, a toothbrush, and a couple of extra blankets, including a horse patterned one, and a very soft-looking one that Stolas guessed was Loona’s based on the color scheme. Blitzø tucked that one around Loona’s shoulders, set the horse one on his cot, and left the two spares he’d packed on the side table.
Once the portal closed, Stolas gave the room one last once over. Then he looked over at Blitzø. “Are you sure you’re alright for the night?”
Blitzø rolled his eyes. “We’re fine Stols. Go get some rest.”
Stolas opened a portal home and headed to bed.
Sleep was a long time coming that night. His racing mind kept him awake, turning over everything that had happened that day. He woke early the next morning, even before the alarm he’d set, got dressed, and portaled back to Loona’s hospital room.
Blitzø and Loona were both still asleep when he got there, so he settled quietly back into his chair from yesterday and pulled out the book he’d brought.
Some time later, he heard a yawn and looked up to see Blitzø sitting up and stretching. He looked around, first at Loona, watching her for a few moments to make sure she was still alright, then looked around the rest of the room. He finally saw Stolas and jumped.
“Geez, Stols, how long’ve you been here?”
Stolas checked the time on his phone. “About an hour or so, I’d say.”
“Christ on a stick, warn a guy next time. Gave me a fucking heart attack.”
“I did tell you I would be back in the morning,” Stolas said dryly. “I suppose I could’ve woken you, but you looked so comfortable and I figured if my entrance didn’t wake you, you probably needed it. And I highly doubt me waking you up when I got here would’ve startled you less.”
“Yeah yeah whatever,” Blitzø conceded, rolling his eyes. “No worries, Stols, ya just surprised me is all.”
“Did you sleep alright? I know hospital cots aren’t the most comfortable, but I hope—“
“I slept pretty good actually.” Blitzø yawned and stretched. “Honestly more comfortable than my couch at home.”
“Your what?”
Blitzø waved him off. “Never mind. Um, has Loona…?”
“She’s been asleep the whole time I’ve been here. Any changes last night?”
“She woke up once or twice during the night, and they gave her a bit more pain medication once the anesthetic wore off fully, otherwise not really.”
“I suppose that’s probably as good of news as we can hope for right now.”
“Mm-hmm. I know I said it a few times, but thanks again for yesterday. You didn’t have to come, but I am so grateful you did,” Blitzø said.
Stolas paused for a moment to consider how best to respond. He supposed Blitzø was right. He hadn’t had to show up yesterday. He didn’t think anyone would’ve blamed him for refusing to even pick up the phone when Blitzø called. But standing here now it didn’t feel that way. He’d been needed here, whether he’d known it when he answered the call or not, so of course he would come. Blitzø didn’t need to keep thanking him profusely for just doing the bare minimum of what needed to be done.
“You and Loona are both most welcome. And I am… very glad, to see you all again. I wish it had been under better circumstances, but I want you to know that I am glad you called me.”
Stolas realized that was true. If he’d been asked a week ago, or hell, even yesterday morning whether he wanted to see or speak to Blitzø again, he would’ve said no, of course not, certainly not at any point in the near future. But having him here again, in front of him, had made Stolas realize just how much he’d missed Blitzø. He wanted him in his life, however much and in whatever way Blitzø was willing to be. And yes, they certainly had quite a lot to hash out still. They had both hurt each other deeply, and there were still conversations to be had and apologies to give, but Stolas was willing to have them. At least to try. There would be time enough for that after all of this.