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“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore! I’m never going to get it.” Octavia yelled as she slammed her pencil and protractor down on the desk.
“Now, now, Starfire, you mustn’t give up so easily. Creating star charts is difficult work.”
“Pfft, whatever. You probably got it on the first try.”
“Of course not,” Stolas thought about it a moment, “but you know what did help?”
“Blocking out the world with loud angry music?” Octavia asked from under her toque.
“Ha ha, no,” he cleared his throat, “no.” He placed a hand on Octavia’s shoulder, “a trip to Earth! There’s nothing quite like seeing the stars in person to help these pesky star charts really click.”
“Shouldn’t we go to space then?”
“But then we can’t have a fun family outing!”
“What? Sure we can. We could go right now.”
“Oh, ah…,” he scratched his cheek sheepishly.
With his magic back, his pupils had once again vanished from his eyes, making it difficult for Octavia to know exactly where he was looking.
“I meant with Blitzø and Loona.”
“Oooooh, YOUR new family.”
“OUR new family, Starfire,” he looked at her panicked, his pupils appearing for a moment, “unless you don’t want that.”
She pushed her head feathers out of her eyes, “no, they’re great. I actually really like them, even the red dickhead,” she said with a smile, “I’m just not at the same place you are in that relationship. I need a bit more time, Dad.”
Stolas sighed in relief, “I can respect that. But what do you say, trip to Earth, the four of us?”
Octavia started at her disastrous star charts and sighed. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
~ ~ ~
Octavia opened a portal to the apartment, while Stolas carried the supplies they needed from the palace: papers, pencils, protractors and a telescope.
“Oh shit… Loonie! They’re already here!” Blitzø yelled from the kitchen as Octavia closed her portal. He was cooking up a storm, both hands busy mixing something in a bowl while his tail was adjusting the oven.
“I told you they would be,” Loona teased as she carried a large blanket and picnic basket into the living room.
“What…. What’s going on?” Octavia asked as she took everything in.
“Well sweetie, your dad texted me to say that we’re going on a family field trip tonight, so I needed to get busy making the best fucking picnic ever!”
“Do we really need all of this?” Octavia poked at some of the foods already packed on the kitchen island. “We’re just going to look at some stars.”
“Of course we do! You need fuel for that big birdie brain of yours. And, since it’s a special occasion, I’m making my famous ultimate chocolate chip cookies!” Blitzø boasted as he dropped dollops of dough on a prepared cookie sheet.
“Are they really that good?” Octavia looked at Loona for reassurance as the hellhound started to fill the basket with sandwiches, cheese and chips.
“I mean… they’re edible,” Loona smiled at her and rolled her eyes.
Blitzø gasped and grabbed at his heart like he had been shot through it. “Loonie! How could you say that? I’ve been making you these cookies since I brought you home!”
“Yeah, so I’m the only one who knows what they taste like,” she deadpanned, but her tail had a slight wag to it.
“Oh, don’t listen to her, Octavia. Just one taste of my cookies and you’ll be so energized you’ll be writing prophecies non-stop. Just you wait!” He shoved the tray into the oven with a flourish and slammed the oven door closed.
“I think you’re an amazing cook, darling,” Stolas leaned in and gave him an affectionate kiss on his circus mark as he tapped away on his phone. “Everyone might want to grab a sweater. Looks like the spot we’re going to be visiting will be a bit nippy this evening.”
“You’re a bit nippy…” Blitzø mumbled to himself as he waggled his eyebrows at Stolas.
“Couldn’t we just go somewhere warmer?” Octavia asked.
“I’m afraid not. The constellations you need to see are only viewable from a certain part of Earth at this time of year, and the weather forecast is not going to be favourable for stargazing in most of it. We need to go a bit north to have clear skies and make sure we’re in a deserted area. We can’t risk being seen by the humans.”
“I’ll make sure to bring some tea and hot chocolate, too. Ok gang, cookies will be done in 10 minutes and then we can get going, so everyone suit up!”
Stolas laughed to himself as he followed Blitzø into their bedroom. He may be a little overzealous, but it was so nice to have a partner who was actually supportive and excited to spend time together as a family. It was like being dropped in a buffet after having been starved for so long.
He breathed in the smell of the cookies as their warm, sugary scent started to fill the apartment and silently offered a prayer of thanks to Lord Lucifer for bringing this brash man into his life. Without him, he surely would have wasted away without ever knowing this kind of unconditional love.
~ ~ ~
Blitzø blinked his eyes out of sync as he took another sip of hot chocolate. He was so damn bored.
Lonna was sitting beside him on the picnic blanket, her eyes glued to her phone as she tapped away on it. Her claws seem to dance across the small screen.
The two owls were standing in front of them, completely absorbed by whatever they were looking at through the telescope. Octavia’s star chart floated in the air beside her, surrounded by Stolas’s magical baby blue glow, while her tools were surrounded by her own black and purple shimmer.
Blitzø sighed and lay down, staring up at the stars. They twinkled in the dark navy night sky, telling a story only the two owls with him could interpret.
Suddenly, Octavia started to hop up and down, her tools quickly flying into her hands as she grabbed the star chart from where it floated. Stolas took a tentative step backwards, his hands folded behind his back. Once it appeared that she was fine on her own, he slowly turned to join Blitzø on the blanket.
He laid down beside him, resting his head on his chest. Blitzø wrapped a hand around him and pulled him in close, nuzzling into his soft head feathers and breathing in their light lavender scent. Their hands met on his stomach, fingers instantly intertwining like they were just meant to be.
“I guess she got it?” Blitzø asked quietly as he watched her make dots on the star chart and then measure something he didn’t quite understand with her protractor.
She looked through the telescope a few more times, checking her work against her freshly created star chart.
“I knew she would, she’s very bright,” Stolas replied as he watched her, a satisfied smile on his beak.
“Just like her dad,” Blitzø gave him a small kiss on the head.
“I’m right here,” Loona warned them as she eyed them suspiciously.
Blitzø sighed, “we’re not doing anything.”
“Yeah, just make sure it stays nothing.”
Octavia’s sudden cheering snapped their attention towards the young owlet. She bounced over to them, levitating some cookies to her outstretched hand as she went, and plopped down on the blanket beside her dad.
“I think I got it!” She shoved the parchment into his face with one hand and shoved a cookie into her beak with the other.
Stolas sat back up and checked her work, his head bobbing up and down between the paper and the sky.
After a pregnant pause he turned to her, “it’s perfect!” He said proudly and embraced her a tight hug.
“Ah, thank Lucifer, I thought I’d never get it,” she laid down on the blanket, her arms crossed behind her head.
Her large white pupils took in the infinite number of stars with fascination and reverence. She had loved the stars as far back as she could remember, and now being the keeper of their secrets just deepened her love for them.
“Hey Dad,” she said softly as she cuddled up to him, “can you tell us the legend of Cassiopeia? It’s my favourite.”
“Oh, no, Via, I don’t think Blitzø and Loona want to hear that old tale.”
“Uh, don’t assume you know what I want, old man,” Loona huffed, but her wagging tail giving away her true feelings.
“Yeah! Don’t you know what you do when you “assume,” Stols? You make my ass eat you.”
Everyone stared at him.
“What!?!”
“You’re so gross,” Loona rolled her eyes.
“What!?!”
Stolas put a hand on Blitzø’s shoulder and pulled him in, “it’s fine, darling, I think your way is more fun.”
“You would,” Octavia mumbled.
“Once upon a time,” Stolas started, ignoring the sass from his daughter. His warm voice filled the empty space around them, with Stolas’s gentle and unshakable pace comforting them. The longer they listened, the more the rest of world seemed to melt away, until it was just the four of them and the stars above.