Chapter Text
While Loona stormed around the apartment, tearing drawers open, rifling through papers, and swearing, Octavia was in the tiny kitchen boiling water for tea. Stolas stood awkwardly rooted in place where he’d come through the portal.
He felt unsure of how Blitz would feel to find out that he had been in his home. Especially when Blitz hadn’t been there himself.
I’m here out of worry. Anyone would do the same. It’s not weird... It’s NOT weird.
Stolas allowed himself a peek around the room. He noticed the photos on the walls.
He almost forgot he wasn’t alone until Loona slammed her bedroom door - as indicated by the “do not enter” and “Loona’s Room” signs on the door - and started screaming at someone on the other end of the phone. Stolas hazarded a guess it was Blitz’s colleague Moxxie.
Octavia handed her father a “Boss Bitch” mug with hot tea inside.
“Loona says Blitz had a hard childhood”
Stolas was startled and looked down at Octavia.
“What do you mean?”
“I asked about the pictures because I was curious too.” Octavia gestured to the photos. “Why he’s scribbled out of every image.”
Stolas’s heart clenched. He looked back to the photos on the walls.
Why would anyone want to destroy his beautiful face like this?
Stolas didn’t notice Octavia watching him closely.
“Loona hasn’t told me much. But I guess he had a sh*tty dad and lost his mother when he was a teen.”
Stolas felt his heart break for Blitz. He desperately wished he could hug him at that moment.
“He’s the one who took himself out of all the pictures”
Stolas nearly spilt his tea.
“What? Who did?”
“He did.” Octavia pointed at Blitz’s blacked out face next to Loona’s in a frame.
Stolas stared at his daughter.
“Bli… Blitz defaced himself in all these photos?” Stolas stammered.
Octavia nodded.
But why?
Stolas didn’t have time to wonder before Loona came thundering out of her room
“Can you portal us to I.M.P? Mox and Millie will meet us there.”
“Yes. Of course”
“I just gotta grab some sh*t and we’ll go.”
“Dad?”
“Yes Via?”
“I hope he’s ok.”
“Me too sweetheart. Me too”
“Here” Loona tossed a cellphone at Stolas. “When we find the sh*thead he may need ANOTHER phone, so here’s one of his backups. It might also be helpful in finding him.”
Stolas looked at Loona confused.
“Go through it?” She and Octavia looked at each other as if they were silently saying “I mean DUH!” between the two of them.
Stolas turned a bright shade of red and started to bluster “I couldn’t possibly! That would be such a violation of his privacy!”
“Come on, Dad!” Octavia snatched the phone out of his hands and started swiping through it. “Get over it already.”
Stolas squawked in horror and tried to grab the phone back from Octavia. But this quickly turned into a very fun game of keep-away until Stolas was face down in the carpet, legs in the air and out of breath.
“Dad?”
“Mmf?” Stolas mumbled from the floor as he fumbled to get himself upright again.
“You really should look at this”
Octavia handed Stolas the phone. She pointed at the photos app. Stolas saw there were very few photos inside, maybe only two dozen or so. He was surprised.
Stolas opened the app. And then he almost dropped the phone.
Octavia cupped Stolas’s hands as he held the phone, making sure he had a proper grip on it before letting go. He smiled at her through tearful eyes and thanked her.
Stolas looked at the first photo in Blitz’s album. The first photo of so few photos. And Blitz had even favourited it…
It was a selfie of the two of them in bed. Stolas was fast asleep curled around Blitz and Blitz had taken a photo of them without Stolas’s knowledge. But what made this the best photo Stolas had ever seen of Blitz, was Blitz’s smile. Small, drowsy and genuine… A smile he’d never seen on Blitz before. Stolas’s heart was doing crazy flips inside his chest.
I didn’t know he could make this sort of face around me. Is… Is it BECAUSE of me?…
“You see it now?” Loona asked. Arms crossed, eyebrow co*cked and lips pursed.
“I.. I uh” Stolas was flustered. “I’m sorry… But, see what?… Exactly…?”
“The f*ck?…” Loona looked at Octavia. “How the f*ck are you so smart and your dad is such an oblivious dumbass?”
Loona immediately turned heel to face Stolas and threw up her hands after realizing what she’d said. “Ah… Ha! Yikes… Yeah… All due respect and all that,Your Majesty.”
“Loona. Dear. Call me Stolas, please.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “And I'm pretty sure I can be an oblivious dumbass, can’t I Via?”
“Keep me out of this, please!”
“Well. Enough of this. Do you have what you need Loona, dear?”
She nodded.
“You're ready, Via?”
“Yup”
Stolas clapped his hands together and opened them wide to reveal a portal.
“Ladies first”
*****
