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Daily Life With A Lilim Chapter 11
🕑 Added 2022-03-22 04:21:09 +0000 UTC~A Change Is Coming~
The sounds of grunting, skin slapping and moans filled the room as Ezraphel rode Stanley cowgirl style. The room was rife with the scent of sex and Demonic Energy was plenty abound. Thankfully with the latter it was not to the point where it became visible however, it is not necessarily an exaggeration to say that any normal person exposed to it would jizz in their pants.
In any case the Lilim and her Incubus lover were thoroughly engrossed in their romp, the sights, the sounds and the smell. All of these culminate, yet again, in the two reaching their peak at the same time. Ezraphel’s ability to tell the exact moment when her Stanley would orgasm allows her the time to ascend on her knees and drop down with her full weight to allow for maximum penetration.
*Crash*
Unfortunately Ezraphel’s maximum effort proved too much for and the result was the collapse of their bed. Despite the sudden jolt, loss of elevation and new awkward angle the two barely seem to register this as they engaged in a passionate kiss whilst the Lilim milked him for all he was worth. It was only several minutes later after the high of several hours worth of sex began wearing off that the two seem to realize that their precarious predicament.
“God dammit, again with this shit?” Stanley complained sitting up “I thought you reinforced the bed the last time.”
For her part Ezraphel looked at the half collapsed bed and shrugged “oops, guess I forgot.”
“Well can you do that and like filter out the Demonic Energy…again” he looked “Jesus, how long have we been at it?”
“Eight hours and forty-two minutes.”
It is a testament to just how much Stanley has gotten used to this that his first thought to hearing that is ‘huh, shorter than I thought.’
As if reading his mind Ezraphel continued “you told me you didn’t want to ‘lose today’ because you had something important to do this morning before ten o’clock.”
“Oh, right” he untangled himself from Ezraphel’s grasp and gave her a peck on the lips “I gotta do the thing, so you clean up here, okay.”
“Okay.”
The moment he left Ezraphel stood up and stretched her body with a smile and a hum of satisfaction at yet another round of kinky ‘marathon sex’ as her Stanley liked to call it. The smile she sported slowly slid off her face as her gaze were fixed upon the latest destruction of furniture caused by their intense romp.
What you thought this was the first?
Between both their superhuman physicality, virility, length and the spontaneous nature of each coupling session this was not even the only furniture to be collateral for their romps. The sofa in the living room suffered the same fate as the bed, Stanley ripped the arm rests off his special chair once during a most glorious orgasm and on more than one occasion Ezraphel was quite literally, in Stanley’s words, fucked into the walls at several point.
There was more but the point had been made: Lovers of Steel, House of Styrofoam.
Luckily each time something broke Ezraphel could fix it with a literal wave of her hand, magic is convenient like that. And to prevent damage from happening again she is able to reinforce objects with her magic. Ezraphel is sure that the house is more reminiscent of an fortress at this point given the amount of reinforcement and security enchantments she placed in and around it.
Her magic certainly had its upsides. In the past she had depended on its use to the point where it became a crutch that left her handicapped without it something she only realized after being stripped of it for the better part of two months following her arrival on earth. Given that Ezraphel is even more powerful now than she was on Eos one would think that she would have fell back on old habits after all what is two months to a century?
And in truth Ezraphel could never imagine neglecting her magic, it was as much a part of her as her arms or tail and she couldn’t just stop using them. Ezraphel has become more conservative with her use of magic, not in that she would go out of her way to not use it but in that she has come to not overly rely on it. With that said this was not one of the times where she could afford to not use it but a point needed to be addressed.
Ezraphel has become dissatisfied with her and Stanley’s living conditions. Specifically she has become dissatisfied with the current state of their bedroom. Looking around the room it is very apparent that this is Stanley’s room and one would never expect someone like Ezraphel to live in it let alone spend the night. To be clear this has nothing to do with opulence Ezraphel was beyond such superficial guise.
No, what the place is missing was, well, a woman’s touch.
‘Now how do I bring this up with Stanley?’
“Hmm~” absently Ezraphel snapped her fingers.
In a flash the bed was mended (and magically reinforced), the Demonic Energy was filtered and the sheets she gathered herself because despite being able to clean them with magic she has come to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with doing menial chores. It was a weird feeling to have and she couldn’t explain it even if she tried but that’s how she felt.
“I must be succinct”
Later…
“Stanley~”
The man sighed “alright, what do you want?”
“What makes you think I want anything?”
‘Because you have a distinct way of approaching me with a difficult question’ he thought but knew better than to say.
No need to give up one of the advantages he has when it comes to dealing with her.
“Because you’re you and I know you” he answered.
Ezraphel mentally shrugged with a mild feeling of being flattered that he ‘knew’ her well enough to make predictions like that.
“Well to get straight to the point” her gaze turned serious “Stanley I wish to renovate our room.”
“Denied” he cut off without missing a beat.
“Aww.”
“Wait.”
“Hm?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“What did you just say?”
“I want to renovate our room.”
“Why?”
“Stanley” she began slowly as if explaining to a child “we are a couple now.”
“Yeah.”
“And as a couple you agree that there needs to be changes to your lifestyle.”
‘What do you think I’ve been doing?’
“Ez, ever since you showed up it has been nothing but changes to my lifestyle.”
Really he tries to hang on to his regularly scheduled routine but at this rate it’s only window dressing for the storefront that is his life.
“So stop beating around the bush and just tell me straight up why you want to renovate my room.”
“Because of that.”
“What?”
“You just said it Stanley, it is your room.”
“So?”
“I want it to be our room Stanley.”
“Oh…” he trailed off “um, I…well…gonna be honest, I don’t know how I feel about that.”
On the one hand upon reflection he can see that Ezraphel would eventually feel uncomfortable sharing space in a room that was basically a man cave by design.
‘Holy shit’
And Stanley just realized he’s been sharing space with his girlfriend in a bedroom he designed straight out of college with minimal changes made to its look over the years. For proper context Ezraphel sleeping in his current bedroom is the equivalent of a graduate in his mid twenties inviting his new serious girlfriend back to his college dorm for the night. Seriously Stanley’s room has all the trappings of a weeaboo nerd in his late teens.
‘Shit no wonder she wants to renovate the room. Hell I want to renovate the room.’
Stanley covered his face and leaned back in the chair “fffffuuuuuccccckkkkk”
“Stanley?”
“You’re right” he interrupted and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of shame with that admission.
“I am?” her smile brightened “then you agree?”
He wasn’t in a hentai, Ezraphel was a real woman and just because her devotion to him bordered on obsession didn’t mean that she was going to put up with his crap indefinitely.
“Yeah” he answered “but” he raised a hand “I want to be there when you start changing stuff.”
“Of course, it is our room after all.”
“Alright”
“Oh there is one other thing.”
“What?”
“Can we get a new bed?”
“Dare I ask why?”
“I don’t like the one we have now, it’s small and lumpy.”
She’s not wrong.
“Point” he conceded, it wasn’t as if he got that bed for its luxury anyway. The bed was comfortable enough and above all cheap as well “counterpoint, couldn’t you just use your magic to make it bigger and less lumpy?”
“It’s not so simple Stanley.”
‘Bullshit’
“Ez I’ve seen you literally warp reality with a snap of your fingers.”
“I don’t warp reality Stanley.”
Stanley gave her a bored look “you turned my 8ft bathroom into a 200ft medieval pool house.”
He got her there and she knew it but that wasn’t the point “well I…um…”
“Ez why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”
The Lilim bit her lip “okay! I wanted to go furniture shopping.”
“Ah” his brows furrowed in contemplation “okay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I mean…if you just wanted to spend time together all you had to do was ask.”
“But you always make up lame excuses to get out of it” she accused.
‘Lame?’
He shook his head “no I don’t.”
Now it was Ezraphel’s turn to look unimpressed “you feign stomach aches.”
He could almost feel the single drop of sweat that formed near his brow “believe it or not I get stomach aches sometimes Ez, I’m only human.”
“First of all, you’re not human anymore and second I know you are lying because then that would imply my cooking was responsible for it.”
‘Ah, shit’
“Or are you saying that my cooking is so bad that it gives you stomach aches?”
“That’s not-”
“Maybe I should just stop making meals for you.”
“NO!”
Stanley could tell from that smug look on her face that she got him right where she wanted.
“Fine you win, I’m sorry.”
“So we will go furniture shopping”
“Ugh, yes” he groaned.
“Oh and while we’re at it I could use some new cutlery”
“What?”
“Kitchenware.”
“I know what it is, I want to know why you need them now? You never needed them before.”
The Lilim gave a closed eye smile “I never found a way to bring them up without you saying no, now I have~”
“…so it’s going to be like that huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh nothing” he muttered “let me get my keys.”
‘Oh, it’s on now.’
~Places To Go~
Ezraphel was always excited to go to new places. It wasn’t like some of her siblings who had genuine wanderlust and couldn’t stay in one place for too long. Really it was just a happy side effect of her lifestyle and the mindset she had back then but it made her quite the incidental explorer in her own right. Ezraphel would always have a ‘thing’ that she would obsess with and devote her time to and that ‘thing’ would have her change locations.
Nowadays Ezraphel was genuinely excited to be going to new places. The most obvious reason was that this was a completely different dimension. The less (but not really) obvious reason was that while she could literally go anywhere at any time she wanted to share the experience with her Stanley. Unfortunately given his self imposed lifestyle as a hermit she wasn’t going to experiencing too much of the outside world at once.
The internet didn’t help in this regard either. Yeah sure she could look up and view what earth had to offer but really it only succeeded in increasing her yearning to experience the genuine thing. Earth really has some very beautiful scenery even with the absence of magic and she wanted to experience them oh so badly.
She just had to convince her Stanley which could go 50/50 really. Thing about it is that Ezraphel knew for a fact that if she asked (read: plead) then Stanley would eventually acquiesce to her. He was a far cry from the man he was when they first encountered. He was less bitter, more mature about relationships and much more relaxed. Ezraphel would get her travel experience but it would be a reluctant thing on Stanley’s part, the reason being that he was a very frugal man.
She would not go so far as to say he was ‘cheap’ after all he gave her means to buy and customize her entire wardrobe and paid for it all at once. She would say that he did not spend unnecessarily the wardrobe plus every other cost he’d incurred because of her was, in his own words, because she was worth it. With words like that you’d think Ezraphel wouldn’t have such a dilemma but Stanley had a limit he tries to enforce, most times out of sheer stubbornness.
He even went so far as to actually explain how finances work and their financial situation just so she wouldn’t be such a princess about spending his money. His words not hers but she understood them nonetheless. Stanley was indeed wealthy however a major reason for why that is was because of what he referred to as his ‘minimalist lifestyle’ and if the expenses he incurred ever continuously goes over a certain limit then maintaining his wealth will become tenuous.
Ezraphel understood this…as the type of excuse Stanley would use to justify not leaving his home to have fun outside when the real reason is that he just didn’t like going outside. And unless she wanted to deal with a stubborn and belligerent Stanley then it was best that she uses logic to convince him to do what she wanted of his own volition. The key to all this was to let Stanley believe that he wasn’t doing something that was unnecessary or when that doesn’t work let him believe that it would be worth it.
The excuse she provided for a new bed was admittedly bad when she had already demonstrated her mastery over sorcery on a daily basis. Luckily Staley seems to be in an agreeable mood even though he saw through her deception he actually agreed to go furniture shopping.
‘Why is that?’
Hmm?
“Okay, what is it now?” he asked without taking his eyes off the road.
“Hm, what is it do you mean Stanley?”
“You’re awfully quiet and that means you’re think about something”
“Perhaps I am feeling introspective this morning” she defended “is there a problem with that?”
“No” he admitted “but you’ve been giving me shifty-eyed looks for a while now.”
‘He noticed?’
“Yeah I noticed.”
“…!”
They stopped behind a line of vehicles at a traffic light and he glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, I suppose I am curious.”
“Curious?”
“Do you actually intend on buying a new bed?”
“Is this really about the bed?”
“Not necessarily” she edged “I would still like it if we got something more suited for the two of us.”
“Good cause I’m mostly doing this because you clearly wanted to go outside and do something together and this was as good an excuse as any.”
“Am I so transparent?”
“Not really but I figured it out” he turned his attention to the road “and for the record I’d prefer if you just said what you wanted instead of giving me the run around.”
“But you always say no.”
“Well…yeah” he hesitated “but I say no to a lot of things at first. And you know I can’t say no to you for long.”
“Oh, Stanley~”
“Still driving!”
“Sorry!”
Still Ezraphel chewed on his words for a while before she eventually spoke “so does that mean you won’t say no to going out more often to new places?”
“I can only promise to try.”
‘I’ll take it!’
It was only a few minutes of comfortable driving later that Stanley announced “here we are, furniture warehouse.”
Ezraphel was already looking at the building with curiosity and anticipation. She just about unhooked the seatbelt when Stanley grasped her hand.
“For real though, do I need to buy another bed?”
“Hm?” Ezraphel blinked almost in confusion before realizing “oh, that.”
“Did you seriously forget the reason why we’re even here?”
‘…maybe.’
She did not say this, instead she waved his concerns “I can create a new bed no problem.”
“I knew it!”
“I still want to see what earth furniture has to offer though.”
“Is that important?”
“It helps to have a feel for what I want to recreate otherwise I would just make the bed I had from home.”
“…”
“What?”
“Is it supposed to be that easy?”
Ezraphel tilted her head a bit “what do you mean?”
“It’s like…I always thought magic was supposed to be harder than that. You made that bath house overnight, you do all your spells by snapping your fingers and…I mean telekinesis, teleportation, shapeshifting and illusions are one thing but matter and spatial manipulation? Pardon my language but that is some wild shit Ez.”
Ezraphel stared at him for a moment before looking away, forward then back to her hands.
“This level of magic would be pretty ‘wild’ for a human I suppose.”
“Hey, I don’t mean anything by it” he backtracked “I was just…curious about how magic works for you.”
“Well spellcasting works differently for mamono than it does for humans and us Lilims have it a bit different than other Mamonos” she paused “actually that could be said for all the races and species on Eos and explaining them would a bit…”
“Yeah we don’t have that kind of time” Stanley agreed.
“What I can say is that I am much stronger now than I was before I met you.”
“Oh well…” he didn’t know what to say to that.
“Also the reason why I can perform such complex spells with such relative ease is because I made our home into my domain.”
“What?”
“It is the same principle as creating a Mamono Realm. If an area becomes saturated in my mana then I will have influence over it. On Eos it would take more effort on my part to have the kind of power I now possess but earth is so devoid of mana that my own mana is not being encumbered allowing me to have complete influence over the space within our home.”
“Hence the casting spells by snapping fingers?” he hazarded.
“Well” she made a so-so gesture “there’s more to it than that and most Sorcerers would have a difficult time but” she turned to him with a smile that was just on the side of smug “I make it look easy.”
In that moment the piano instrumentals Still Dre started playing in the background. Ezraphel donned a pair of shades and a caption appeared beside her in cursive.
SUCCUBOSS.
Shaking his head he opened the car door “alright, I guess that answers that.”
“Was there anything else you’d like to know?”
“Nope, let’s go.”
~Furniture Shopping Gone Wrong~
Did it make Stanley feel any better that his girlfriend wasn’t the almighty sex goddess he’d more or less thought she was before? Honestly? It didn’t really matter to him since he was over his fear of her using her powers against him. Was that the Incubus talking? Maybe, but it’s more of a been there done that kind of situation and Stanley did not want to rethread that bit of drama. As far as he was concerned he and Ezraphel were cool on that front, they had a good thing going so there was no need to rock the boat.
What it did do was help him make sense of her magic. Call it a pet peeve but it bothered him a little how his girlfriend could just do impossible things and the only explanation he had was ‘magic bullshit’ as if that somehow made sense. Even reading the MGE World Guide that dealt specifically with magic didn’t properly explain most of the stuff he’d seen. Not that he’d take the word of a book written from the viewpoint of a cult of pedophilia enthusiast as gospel anyway.
Plus the book itself was still being translated last he checked.
“This place is amazing~”
Stanley was brought out of his thoughts by his girlfriend’s words which seemed like a bit of an exaggeration but he could see why this place would seem so ‘amazing’ to her.
…
Admittedly architecture and décor were not one of Ezraphel’s passions. In this instance she subscribed to her Stanley’s belief of so long as it served its purpose well and looked nice enough she didn’t much care for the finer details of its aesthetics. Yet she could not help but marvel at the various displays. The place was massivebut what really impressed her was how it was set up. Instead of lining up their wares dispassionately to be viewed at a distance the store set up their furniture in little sections as if it were part of a home setting. To complete the aesthetic they even added miscellaneous items like carpets, tables, lamps and potted plants to name a few.
‘The plants are fake though’ which was a bit disappointing but hardly detracted from the effort taken to set it up in such a way.
Even someone like Stanley would be impressed by this.
“Meh, it’s alright” Stanley shrugged
Or not but regardless the whole thing was truly something to behold and they were giving Ezraphel some ideas.
“Hmm~”
And while she pondered this Stanley was looking to find someone who could point them in the right direction since he couldn’t see where the beds were set up from the from the entrance which really said something about the size of the place.
“Ez we should find where the beds are” when he got no response Stanley looked to the side to find his admiring a sleek black leather sofa before caressing it not unlike one would a lover.
‘Looks like today is going to be one of those days’ he thought to himself.
“Stanley, you have to see this!”
And suddenly he was quite literally pulled off his feet. For the next hour Stanley was taken on a whirlwind adventure through the warehouse as his girlfriend gushed over almost every piece of furniture set. It was ridiculous and at the same time Stanley couldn’t bring himself to stop it, Ezraphel’s excitement was simply too endearing.
‘Am I getting soft?’
He asked himself this as he was rubbing his hand along a different furniture material like a pervert. Weird comparison but that’s honestly how he felt in that moment.
“Well?” Ezraphel asked expectantly.
“It’s not bad?”
He was very confused about the situation he found himself in.
“That’s all you have to say?”
What did she expect him to say?
“I’m not a fabric connoisseur Ez, you know that.”
She sighed “you are right, I just thought you would be more excited.”
“It’s a leather sofa. What’s there to be excited about?”
“Not that but this” she waved about.
What?
“What we’re doing, shopping for furniture.”
“Have you met me?”
“Huh?”
“Did you seriously think that I would get excited over this?”
“…I was hoping you would be considerate enough to at least try.”
‘Bitch, I’m considerate for even being here’ is what he wanted to say but Stanley was being considerate of her feelings.
So pinching the bridge of his nose he explained succinctly “I understand you wanting us to spend more time together outside, I really do but you know me. Expecting me to be happy just doing random stuff outside is kind of naïve.”
Especially when it’s already been established that his isolationist nature was by choice, he hated going outside.
“Well I’m sorry for wanting to spend more time with you.”
“What are you talking about? We spend time together and we do stuff together.”
“Hmph” her response was to walk away in a huff leaving Stanley standing in the middle of the warehouse looking clueless.
“Wha…what the fuck?” he kept looking about as if someone would give him the answer but he was ignored.
On second thought perhaps that was for the best as situations like this would usually see the man at fault even if the woman is batshit insane and doesn’t make any sense.
‘Aren’t Mamono supposed to be the ideal partners?’
Did he get the only Mamono who inherited that annoying human woman trope of not making any goddamn sense and making him feel like an even more of an asshole than he already is because she’s crazy?
“Its shit like this that made me not want to be in a relationship in the first place” he grumbled.
Now he was in too deep (and has been in her too deep) to back out now and fuck if he wanted to go back to what he was before he met her.
“Ez look I-” he cut himself off once he realized that she was nowhere to be found “and she’s gone, fuck.”
“Excuse me sir”
Stanley nearly jumped out of skin when he heard that voice directly behind him. Spinning around he found himself face to face with a sales rep.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Uh…”
Now that he thought about it he and Ezraphel have been in the store for almost an hour now and in that time they have never been approached by a sales rep. Actually, despite their antics (or rather Ezraphel’s antics) the two of them didn’t seem to register on people’s radars. Not once did Stanley have to give some dude the pissed off boyfriend glare because he was ogling Ez.
Which means…
‘Ez, did her magic bullshit again.’
“Um sir?”
Stanley blinked out of his thoughts “oh, uh you wouldn’t happen to have seen a pissed off blonde woman about this tall walking round have you?”
The woman looked at him funny “n-no.”
‘Bullshit’
Magical bullshit to be exact.
His pissed off Lilim girlfriend has gone off to god knows where and is using magic to hide her tracks.
‘The fuck am I supposed to do now?’
Only one thing to do.
Stanley closed his eyes and sighed “can you show me where you keep the beds.”
It was about the only place he and Ezraphel didn’t check out during their mini adventure which was probably on purpose.
“O-oh, right this way sir.”
He gave the woman a look noticing that there was something off about her but he didn’t bother concern himself with it since he found the big girl herself lounging on one of the beds with a look of confrontation.
~Something Missing~
Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a far away land call Makai and when this princess was a girl her mother would regale her with stories of her and her father. Her parents’ relationship would become the benchmark for how she wanted her relationship to be with her own husband. After many travels, multiple detours, years of researching and one miscalculation with a dimensional spell the princess had finally found her would-be prince.
Yet her story did not end there, for this prince had lost his way in the loneliness of his self imposed seclusion, becoming mistrustful, bitter and spiteful. With her vast array of magical spells unavailable to her the once powerful (but still beautiful) princess was trapped in a strange land and at this man’s mercy. Yet despite his negative view towards her (caused in part by her initial actions) he granted her leniency and offered her food, shelter and amenities.
It proved to the princess that beneath the hate, spite and fear was a genuinely good man and all that was needed for someone to bring him out. It was an arduous task for the princess as powerless in and clueless of the new world she was but she managed with great help from the man. It took several weeks, the hardest weeks of the princess’ life but it was time and effort well spent for in that time she managed to accomplish what she set out to do.
The grumpy, hateful and spiteful man was no more and in his place was a snarky, mildly irritable but ultimately kind man who was only a bit rough around the edges. The princess had rescued her husband and together the two of them had lived happily ever after.
At least that was supposed to be the plan but the story doesn’t quite end there now does it?
‘Argh! This is so frustrating!’ she mentally yelled.
Ezraphel didn’t mean to give her Stanley a hard time about his lack of enthusiasm, really she didn’t. Her reaction was more a result of mounting dissatisfaction than any sudden frustration at his current reaction to this side activity. A side activity that was in essence a waste of time from a purely technical standpoint since if she really wanted to Ezraphel could come here whenever she wanted and implement whatever designs took her fancy upon her and Stanley’s home.
She knew for a fact that he wouldn’t mind it but the whole point of today’s outing wasn’t for technicalities. It wasn’t even to spend time together if she were being honest which was surprising for her. No the real truth is that Ezraphel has been feeling a need for more in her life which, again, is very surprising all things considering.
Once upon a time she could say that’s she would have been content with just sex and spending time with her husband. Don’t get her wrong her time spent with Stanley as of late has been more than she ever dreamed of when she was a younger Lilim. She was a Lilim who often did whatever she wanted and has never settled for one thing for very long. Now having lived the dream for several weeks nonstop Ezraphel was ready for more.
Earth was amazing, she knew this, she has witnessed this but she hasn’t experienced it and that…that grated on her nerves somewhat. How could she, Ezraphel, with her full powers restored and amplified settle for staying mostly in one place when there is an entire world out there to discover?
She could imagine her Stanley’s reaction to her current plight.
“If you want to go out and explore the world so much then just do it. Not like you don’t have the power to.”
Yes, yes Ezraphel is very aware that as she is right now there is not a single force on Earth that could stop her from doing whatever she wanted. This includes traveling the world or even taking it over through force or coercion. On Eos she would have been called a Demi-God, on Earth she was effectively the most powerful being alive. But she didn’t want conquest and she didn’t want to explore this world alone either, which brings her to the crux of her frustration, Stanley Berkowitz.
It cannot be overstated how much she adores that man. Theirs was a connection that went beyond mere physical and into the realm of spiritual. It cannot be explained in words for there wasn’t an accurate description for what they have in any language on Earth or Eos. Ezraphel was more spiritually attuned so she felt that connection deeply however her Stanley too has experienced this connection as well. It’s the reason why he has gone through such a drastic change in personality in such a short amount of time.
Many in Eos would attribute a man’s change in personality to some insidious mental manipulations on the part of the Mamono. That is not to say such things don’t exist or that some Mamono don’t manipulate their partner’s minds but more often than not it’s just that said man is simply happy with his new lot in life. The same thing is happening to her Stanley, he is happier now than he has ever been before.
Was it a deliberate thing on her part to change him from the man he was?
Not necessarily but she can’t say that she hated it. Why would she hate the fact that her Stanley was becoming less miserable and self destructive? And anyone who believes that a person becoming happier and less miserable is somehow a bad thing is a fool of the highest order.
“I don’t think they allow customers to just lounge on their products Ez.”
Ezraphel wasn’t at all surprised to find him standing before her. She could sense her Stanley for very long distances and appear or teleport him from anywhere. Still his presence was a mixed bag for her right now. She wanted some privacy to think but at the same time just his presence never fails to uplift her spirit. It’s times like this where she was frustrated with being a Mamono.
“Don’t care” she mumbled taking her eyes off him to stare up at the fluorescent lights.
She heard him click his tongue and speak, though not to her “can you give us a minute?”
As the woman began to protest Ezraphel employed a flex of her will in magic and the woman immediately if reluctantly complied and walked away leaving them alone. A further flex of her magic would ensure that they were undisturbed.
Stanley walked up to the edge of the bed and sat down beside her before laying down so that they were both laying face up with their eyes to the ceiling.
“This is a nice bed” he began tentatively “very spacious.”
‘Cute-NO not cute, you’re still angry at him!’ her thoughts raged.
On the outside she gave a non committal grunt.
“Have you decided on this one?”
“Hmm-hm”
“…”
“…”
“Are we just going to lay here staring at the ceiling or are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?”
Ezraphel’s turned to face him, their eyes meet and she silently pursed her lips in contemplation.
“You know I’m bad at this Ez.”
“…I know.”
“So talk to me.”
“…”
“Please?”
The sincerity and very subtle desperation she felt through their connection did it for her and Ezraphel began airing out her grievances to him. She told him of her current state of mind, of her mounting frustration and dissatisfaction with the current state of their relationship and of her wants for their immediate future.
By the end of it the Lilim could only turn away from him in mild embarrassment. She realized that she may have started ranting somewhere in the middle and may have come off as complaining. After a long moment of silence Ezraphel hazarded a glance and found that Stanley was looking up at the ceiling with an expression of contemplation.
“I could say I shouldhave seen this coming but that would be ironic” he sighed “so obvious question here, if you want to go out so badly why don’t you just do that?”
“I do.”
That caught him off guard “you do? What am I saying, of course you do?” he added in a mumble.
“Sometimes I go out to experience what the city has to offer but…”
“But?”
“It doesn’t feel the same. I want you there with me when I venture out to experience these new things Stanley.”
“Oh…well I-”
“But you don’t want to because it is not in your nature to do these things.”
It wasn’t a question so he didn’t answer causing her to turn away from his gaze to look back up at the ceiling. After a few moments Stanley turned away to also stare at the ceiling. With his fingers bridged together on his stomach he uttered two words.
“Well fuck.”
And for once Ezraphel did not admonish his use of the curse for it felt like an apt summary of their present circumstance.
~Adapt And Compromise~
Change, Stanley decided was the hardest aspect of his life. It’s easy to say or promise to do something in the moment only to do something else that completely contradicts said promise in the next. The one underlying reason for why people would contradict themselves in such a way will always be change. Either they changed or the situation itself has changed and Stanley can say for certain that for him it was both. He believed it was the same for Ezraphel too based on what she told him.
He knew deep down that the current routine of their relationship wouldn’t be sustainable long term. He could actually remember the exact moment when he realized this. It was when they were out shopping for groceries one day some weeks ago. At that point they’d been doing grocery run long enough for him not to need to chaperone Ezraphel around the place anymore so he would let her go about looking around for stuff she wanted, within a budget of course.
One day a total stranger walked up to them and started a conversation with Ezraphel. It wasn’t like a first meeting type thing either the two of them talked like they were really good friends and that person wasn’t the only one. Despite only appearing in that supermarket fairly recently Ezraphel was already making friends with random people. It wasn’t something he would ever be interested in but clearly his girlfriend knew how to work the social stratum.
That’s when he realized that a naturally social person like Ezraphel who has mentioned that she liked to travel to new places and experience new things would never be truly satisfied staying cooped up in the house every day. She simply wasn’t built for that kind of life and he suspected her tolerance for it would only extend on the number of new distractions that could keep her occupied. The internet didn’t count for much when a lot of the stuff she saw on there could easily be experienced through her own power.
‘Why the hell couldn’t she have been the type to go out on her own?’
But no, instead Ezraphel was the type who would want to share the experience with those she cared about. In this instance it was him and now Stanley found himself in the precarious position where the only way to appease his girlfriend is to spend time with her doing stuff outside.
You know what you have to do.
“Fine” he sighed.
“Stanley?”
He turned his head to look her in the eye “you want to go out and just hang out together then I guess we can do that every once in a while when I have free time.”
“You don’t have to force yourself.”
‘Too late for that’ he thought sardonically.
“Ez, me refusing to go outside isn’t just a personal choice. I’ve adapted to where I only go out of the house when I really need to.”
“I know tha-”
“But” he interrupted with another glare “that doesn’t mean I can’t do it again and this isn’t me forcing myself” he paused “at least…you know I’ve been trying to make honest attempts at doing things I don’t normally do for your sake right?”
“Yes” she answered not really knowing where he was going but very curious all the same.
“I want to start doing that for my sake now.”
Ezraphel’s eyes widened and she turned her body to face him “may I ask why?”
At that he frowned at the ceiling, refusing to meet her eye as he contemplated and spoke his thoughts.
“Believe it or not I am actually aware that my lifestyle choices aren’t exactly healthy and I want to change that. I should at least put that much effort in this relationship because, you know, you’re worth it.”
By the end of it Ezraphel was gushing which was expected, as was the way he suddenly found his face buried in her cleavage. Stanley was by no means a romantic at heart but it occurred to him that there are times when he can be romantic both incidentally and deliberately. The former happens when he’s being honest about his feelings, speaking from the ‘heart’ as it were.
As for the latter contrary to Ezraphel’s belief Stanley is very much aware of the magical bond they share. He knew it was there but it was only recently that he began to actually get a feel for the intangible yet ‘tangible’ connection that allows him to know things specific to her. Things like her location and how to provide her with maximum pleasure during sexy times. In this specific scenario however he managed to tap into what was essentially a ‘mood meter’ which is self explanatory.
But just because he can tell her general mood doesn’t mean he’s going to instantly know how to solve it. He has to figure shit out but it was better than having nothing at all like every other guy on earth. Not that his words were just a means to get on her good side, Stanley actually meant what he said about his honest attempts at changing his lifestyle, well changing his lifestyle further in any case.
Part of him was afraid he was betraying himself and that he was going soft. Then there was the ever present idea that Ezraphel may be manipulating his mind through their connection and with his being a very sexually active Incubus it was very likely. At the same time he didn’t believe this to be the case and there were valid reasons for this.
First Ezraphel seems about as interested in manipulating his mind as she does in celibacy. Second, he always had that subconscious want to change but just didn’t have the motivation or true inclination. How could he change when he was so stuck in his ways? Why should he have to when things are working out so well for him? And most importantly who would he be changing for?
Right now all those questions, the how, whyand who as well as motivations/inclination could be answered with a single word, Ezraphel. He really meant it when he said she was worth it and really there was nothing more to affirm on that front. He loved Ezraphel, he loved the person that he became because of her and he wanted both their relationship and themselves to evolve beyond what they are now.
But that was still a ways away and so for now he pushed himself away from his too eager girlfriend with his usual annoyed countenance though they both knew it lacked any real heat.
“Okay that’s enough of that.”
He rolled off the bed before she could catch him again. Or more likely she allowed him to get away.
“Jesus, how long have we been here?”
“Forty Nine minutes.”
“How do you-” she pointed at a digital clock on the nightstand that was part of the display “oh, whatever. Did you decide which bed you like?”
“I like this one” she pressed her hand onto it and found the bed to be unnaturally pliable “what is this material? It doesn’t feel like anything I’ve ever touched before.”
Stanley looked at the mattress description and hummed “says here its memory foam.”
“I like it” she bounced a bit and the smile was wiped off her face.
“What?”
“It feels nice but the bounce isn’t there” she pouted.
“That’s because it doesn’t have any spring in it.”
Her lips became even more pursed in her pout as she mumbled “no bounce equals less fun.”
…she’s not wrong but he rolled his eyes anyway.
“Then just make it so that the foam bounces Ez.”
“Okay.”
“Good, now let’s go” he thumbed the general direction of the exit.
“What’s the hurry?”
She said while posing on the bed.
“It’s a furniture store with high res cameras.”
“Accounted for and taken care of” she answered cutting him off with a smile.
“And the people?” he finished with actual annoyance “I’m pretty sure that those guys loitering around over there actually want to buy a new bed.”
He was of course talking about the customers who kept getting close, become confused and then wander off only to find themselves there again in a continuous loop.
“I’m thinking that’s you.”
At this the disguised Lilim laughed nervously “ah, well”
“Besides didn’t you want to get some stuff for the kitchen?”
“Oh!” this had her jump to her feet “then perhaps it is time we leave.”
“Yah think?”
The two exited the furniture store with an amicable atmosphere between them. Naturally Ezraphel was the first to break the silence.
“Sooo~”
“So?”
“Now that you agreed to going out together, can we go to the beach?”
Well that came out of nowhere.
“Why the beach specifically?”
Ezraphel shrugged with a little grin “oh, you know…” she trailed off looking to the side.
Thoughts of showing off her sexy swimsuit, ogling her Stanley shirtless with the sun glistening off his wet skin, parading around together to the jealousy of the masses and engage in several beach appropriate sex plays flitted through her mind.
“…reasons” she finally finished.
“Uh-huh” Stanley wasn’t at all buying it “well the answer is no.”
“But you promised!”
“I know that but I have other obligations this weekend.”
“What obligations?”
Stanley was silent as he contemplated his next words only to give up and say “fuck it” before going on to explain “I’m going to meet up with some friends and hang out his weekend” he spoke nonchalantly.
That made Ezraphel halt in her tracks.
This in turn made Stanley pause and look back at her “what?”
“You have friends?”
Stanley’s expression was completely neutral as he stared at her. Then after a while he walked up to her and pinched her cheeks, hard.
“Owowowowowowowow-Staaaanley schtaaaaaap~ it huuurts~” she whined while squirming in his grip.
The scene looked straight out of an anime with people stealing glances at the odd couple and neither of them giving a damn about it. After a full minute of this he released the Lilim leaving her to rub her reddened and sore cheeks with a morose groan of exaggerated discomfort.
“For the record I do have friends.”
As the two got into the car Ezraphel looked at him with a frown and a pout “why did you do that~?”
“You made me remember something unpleasant.”
Ezraphel’s exaggerated acting dropped as she sensed the genuine discomfort through their bond.
“What is it?”
Stanley sighed starting up the car “I’m gonna have to introduce you to my friends this weekend.”
“Oh?” a pause “OH!”
“Yeah” he muttered.
“I can’t wait for the weekend!”
“…”
With a roll of his eyes Stanley put the car in reverse and left the parking lot. This weekend is guaranteed to be a cut above the usual excitement of his life.
~To Be Continued~
