Work Text:
Asmodeus beamed as he stepped through the doors to his home. The evening had gone well. Even though the vibe was shaken a little with that imp and his gushy love song, the rest of the time made up for it. Plenty of debauchery to be had when they took out the emotions in his den of depravity.
“Hey, Fizz! How’d you feel about tonight?” he called lightly. Fizzarolli had gone home a little earlier than usual, which was rather unlike him. But Asmodeus hadn’t questioned it and continued the party. Though he did pause when he didn’t hear an immediate response, and he tilted his head towards his bedroom door before padding over to it. He went to knock but the door creaked open. “Fizz…?”
Inside, the lights were out, but the glow of his own magic made it easy enough to see the form on his oversized bed. Fizzarolli had removed his jester outfit, stripping himself down to his bare body. The dim light reflected the metallic black of his arms and legs, hooked up to ports in his shoulders and hips. His tail was curled around his ankles, and he was resting his forehead against his knees, hugging himself to the point of being a curled up ball. Every other breath was a hitch.
“…Fizz?” Asmodeus lost all joviality at once, stepping over to crouch in front of the small imp, putting his face more at level with him. He could almost make out his face where the white makeup was blotched and running, before Fizzarolli turned away.
“Sorry, Ozzie. I just…I need a moment, kay?” Fizzarolli offered softly. He hunched up a little more, digging his fingers a little into his knees.
“Was it somethin’ I did?” Asmodeus asked gently, though he did turn to rest his back against the bed, his gaze on the opposite wall. Behind him, there was silence for quite some time, and he just listened to the soft breathing of the imp.
“Yes? And no. Ugh, it’s so stupid,” Fizzarolli groaned, and he could hear the imp tugging lightly at the stumps where his horns used to be by the way his claws scraped over them. “Not directly you, no. Just…seein’ Blitzø again really fucked with my head. And y’know I know the rules of the club, but just…it kinda’ got me thinkin’.”
Asmodeus nodded his head. He leaned back, thinking to that evening. The ridiculous love song, the hilarity of the fallen demon prince with the angry little imp sitting across from him. He and Fizzarolli had ribbed the two of them hard, to the point they fled the club in silence. Fizzarolli hadn’t acted the same since they left, and after touching cheeks briefly with Asmodeus he’d gone back home.
“Is it the status?” Asmodeus asked after a moment, and he heard the imp’s breathing shudder a bit.
“Yeah…”
“I don’t think you have much to worry about, Fizzy.” Asmodeus smiled, though he didn’t turn back to look at him. “You’re known separately from me. Hell, you’ve built yourself an empire all on your own. You had help, but now? Everythin’ you do, everythin’ you are, you made yourself.”
Fizzarolli sighed behind him, letting out a light chuckle. The bed shifted and he felt the weight of the small form resting against his back, their heads resting against one another. Asmodeus relaxed more into it.
“Yer such a sap,” Fizzarolli accused. “But…that does help. ‘Course, no one knows what I look like under the hat and frills. Doubt they’d be as enamored with me if they knew how fucked up I was.”
“Did seein’ Blitzø bring back those memories?” Asmodeus questioned gently, and he could feel the way the imp curled up more around himself.
“Yeah…fuck, Ozzie, I’m basically a stump with slinkies. Without them, I’d be road kill.”
“But they’re as much a part of you as that stump of your body.” Asmodeus gently shook his head. “That’s like sayin’ I’d be a stump without my own arms and legs. Fuck if they ain’t real; they’re you.” He paused for a moment before he turned his head just a little, careful not to dislodge Fizzarolli. “Do you miss your body? The one before the accident?”
“Sometimes.” Fizzarolli’s arms moved, his claws shifting up and down his metal arms. “I can feel pretty well with these, but…sometimes I’ll get an itch I can’t scratch ‘cause these limbs don’t got itches. Or…other times I go to move my arm but it’s either lighter or heavier than I expected. And I’ve had these for decades but the feelin’s still come back often enough.” He was quiet again before he continued, in a much softer voice. “I sometimes still feel the flames, and I can’t put ‘em out.”
Asmodeus furrowed his brows, running his own hands up and down his arms. The idea of not being able to feel his own flesh definitely had him shiver somewhat. He’d helped design Fizzarolli’s body, so he’d only ever known him with metallic limbs. But before those were real flesh and blood. He recalled that night, when he scooped the imp up into his arms. Parts of his finger and toes had been so charred that they’d fallen off right then and there. The pain he must have gone through…
He dropped his gaze to his hand, holding it up. Decades really had passed, but he still could see the way Fizzarolli was practically falling apart in his grasp before he could get him somewhere else. To stop the burns that still left scars on his shoulders and hips, more marks running up his torso and licking at his throat. He covered them all up with makeup, long sleeves, and frills to make sure no one else saw them. No one, but Asmodeus…
All at once, the larger demon turned and carefully caught Fizzarolli when he almost fell back, having lost his support, with a surprised sound. He rearranged them so that he was sitting on his bed and the imp was in his lap. Fizzarolli began to protest almost immediately, but Asmodeus caught both of his arms. In his hands, they were thin and small, almost too small to be handled by someone his size. He stroked his thumps along each one, ever so careful not to either crush or pull them. He knew Fizzarolli would be fine; he could stretch them to almost five times the length they were currently at. But that didn’t stop him from his gentle movements.
“You should’ve told me that,” he rumbled down at him. Fizzarolli had stopped moving and instead settled against Asmodeus. His head only came up to his stomach, but he was still comfortable. “I’m not surprised you’re still sufferin’ from that. But I’d like to try and help.”
“What can you do? It’s all just phantom pain, it ain’t like you can stop my fucked up head.”
“No,” Asmodeus agreed. Still, he continued to massage his arms. “Is it happenin’ now?”
“…no.”
“Did it happen tonight? During our performance?”
Fizzarolli hunched his shoulders up. He tugged his knees to his chest but let his arms rest in Asmodeus’ enormous hands.
“…yeah.”
“I can take your mind off of it, until it stops thinkin’ about it,” Asmodeus rumbled above him. His thumb moved from Fizzarolli’s wrist to where the metal connected to his flesh. “Just let me know when it happens and we can sit down and find a way to handle it.”
Fizzarolli closed his eyes but nodded lightly, slowly beginning to relax again. His hands twitched and lightly touched Asmodeus’ thumbs, squeezing them gently. Asmodeus’ purring grew louder, and his feathers poofed up a little. He smiled and lazily moved his fingers up to his shoulders, gently massaging the skin there. It made the imp shudder and slowly sink more against him, his eyes staying shut. Fizzarolli’s breathing started to even out more as Asmodeus’ fingers dug more into his shoulders, his forefinger moving down his back.
Asmodeus tilted his head down, peering over the scarred body of his little jester. The burn scars left splotchy white patches along almost all of Fizzarolli’s torso, particularly bad around where metal met flesh. He traced one from his shoulder blade down to his tailbone, and then lazily stroked Fizzarolli’s tail. It ended up curling around his finger and wrist, and Asmodeus chuckled lightly.
His other hand was free to move down to Fizzarolli’s legs. Much like his arms, the cold metal connected directly to the imp’s hips. He lightly massaged the flesh there before continuing down to touch the metal.
“Y’know I can’t feel that as well as you’d probably like, right?” Fizzarolli mumbled softly, cracking an eye open.
“I’m not feelin’ you up, Fizzy.” Asmodeus chuckled down at him. “I’m appreciatin’ every part of you. From your horn nubs to your mechanical legs.” He emphasized this by stroking from hip to toe, his size making it easy to reach every part of Fizzarolli’s body.
“Big bad lust lord can have anything he wants and he chooses a broken imp?” Fizzarolli snorted lightly. He was smiling as if it was a joke, but there was a twitch to his eye.
“Nothin’ to be ashamed of, you know.” Asmodeus’ voice was low; only for the two of them, even if they were already alone. “You’re perfect the way you are, scars and all.” He emphasized this by moving the hand that Fizzarolli’s tail was wrapped around and stroking the scars along his torso again. Fizzarolli shifted against him before relaxing, turning his head to nuzzle against Asmodeus’ belly.
“All that posturin’ about lust and yer probably the biggest love-struck idiot of them all, huh?” Fizzarolli teased him. No malice or accusation, just a warm jabbing.
“On stage, the crowd wants lust and deviancy. But a bit of love in our personal moments? Now that I can get behind.” Asmodeus chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to be on stage with anyone else, you know. My routines before were stale compared to what we can do together.” Every word was punctuated by a gentle rub against the metallic limbs or the scars.
“Yer right about that. I know how to rile up a crowd,” Fizzarolli cackled lightly. He lifted both of his hands and gestured. “You’d be lost without me. Less fireworks for sure.”
“A lot less laughter, too.” Asmodeus grinned down at him, tilting his head to the side. “People come to Ozzie’s for both of us. Sure, they could go to any circus in any of the seven rings, and yet my establishment is always booked. And I’m not the one performing every night.”
Fizzarolli blinked up at him before positively beaming. His eyes lit up and his smile stretched his face almost to their corners. He turned so that he was facing Asmodeus, having to stand up to be able to reach his face to pull him in for a kiss.
The demon lord rumbled and he carefully held him close, leaning into the kiss. His feathers had puffed up further in response, and a nice shiver ran down his body. He adjusted them and laid on his back, letting Fizzarolli flop on top of him. He closed his eyes as the kiss continued, his hand practically covering Fizzarolli’s entire body when he placed it against him.
They were panting when they finally parted. Fizzarolli’s makeup was a disaster; smudged from a new wave of tears and the makeout session. He reached up and rubbed at the corners of his eyes, laughing.
“I hope I didn’t cause those,” Asmodeus teased, cocking his head and smiling up at him.
“Y’did, but for a good reason.” Fizzarolli laughed before he beamed down at him. “I needed to hear all of that, Ozzie. Who knew you could be such a sweet talker.”
“I care about you, my little jester.” Asmodeus reached to stroke his cheek, brushing away the rest of his tears and more of his makeup to reveal the skin beneath it. “You are the most beautiful demon in all of the seven rings. And I wouldn’t be with anyone else.”
Fizzarolli just shivered before nuzzling into Asmodeus’ chest fluff. His arms extended, wrapping around the broad chest of the demon lord so he could more firmly hold on, and Asmodeus just chuckled as he rubbed his back. After a while, he rolled them so he could get comfortable, and they drifted off while still holding on to one another.