~Veg Sesh~
The worst case scenario Stanley envisioned when he first laid on the bed has come to pass. Despite his greatest efforts Stanley was now more reluctant than ever to leave the bedroom. Because who would want to leave a room with the most comfortable bed ever, a big ass 4K TV and the sexiest woman alive servicing them with a smile on her face. He's pretty sure this was what the ancient kings felt like back in the day and he was also pretty sure it's going to fuck with his timetable in the long term unless he gets a handle on it.
He wasn't the only one enjoying the new accommodations either. Ezraphel has had an air of smug satisfaction and pride for a while now and Stanley can't even disparage her for it. What she's done with the redecoration was a monumental accomplishment indeed. It wasn't even that her changes managed to net her more frequent 'riding miles' on her favorite man but the fact that her first go at modern renovation went so well.
The bathroom and her personal room didn't count. She merely recreated what she was intimately familiar with from her home.
So needless to say Ezraphel and Stanley were thoroughly enjoying the comforts of their new room. When they weren't having sex or resting between having sex they were watching movies. Case in point the two were on their third or fourth cooldown from a brief (two hour) sex session however this time it was decided (by Stanley) that they would pad out the cool down time with a movie. Since it was his turn to choose he decided to have them watch the 1966 classic spaghetti western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
It was a switch up from what they have been watching as of late due to a single factor, Ezraphel. Having spent several months sampling a wide range of earth media the Lilim was not only getting used to them but was now developing her own taste. So movies that would have awed her in the beginning were now less impressive to her and as it turned out certain genres were a swing and miss with her so to speak.
Case in point, Ezraphel did not enjoy Jaws. In fact she hated the movie, mostly because the main antagonist was a giant man-eating shark. Apparently on Eos Mersharks faced a lot of discrimination by humans as literal 'man-eaters' due to their ferocious appearance. Some of them play into the image playfully and even adopt personas around it but some of them end up like the shark in the very movie, hunted and killed.
It was a sobering and awkward moment for Stanley who remembered that despite what the MGE material would have you believe, Mamono in fact do not win every single encounter with humans and they can and do lose their lives sometimes. If he remembered correctly Poseidon switched sides to the Mamono Overlord and willingly chose to be corrupted into a Mamono herself after which she cast a spell on the seas that protect aquatic Mamono from harm but clearly that spell wasn't all encompassing.
In any case after that incident he made a note not to feature monster movies in their viewing especially if they correlate to any Mamono. Since most monster movies often see said monster portrayed negatively and end with them being killed that basically meant at least two whole movie genres were left out which was a shame but he understood. Who would want to watch a movie where their race is being portrayed as savage, bloodthirsty and murderous animals that get put down in the end?
That is why he went with a western and Stanley was ashamed to admit that he overlooked that genre entirely until he started thinking about different movie genres as a whole. Now the two were watching what is considered to be one of the greatest western movies ever made.
"Hey Blondie" Tuco shouted with his hands tied behind his back and a noose around his neck with the rope freshly shot off "you know what you are!? Just a dirty son of a -"
As his expletive was drowned out by the iconic instrumentals of the movie's main theme the ending shot of 'Blondie' riding off on his horse with his take of the gold was followed up with the ending title card. Stanley turned to the Lilim this time around he hadn't observed Ezraphel much during the movie because it has been a while since he saw The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and he was immediately taken by the film again.
There was nothing quite like forgetting about a really good movie only to rediscover its greatness. The credits rolled and Ezraphel blinked, having been engrossed in the movie just as much as he was, that was good.
She caught his gaze and returned it for which he asked "so, what do you think?"
It took a moment for the Lilim to answer and in that moment of silence Stanley became a little anxious. While this movie didn't feature any monsters in it there was another box it unfortunately ticked that Ezraphel may not like. Ezraphel came from a world where her people were forced to be at constant war with humans because of the machinations of a genocidal Goddess. While she's managed to stay out of it the war was always in the background and she hated it all the same.
So naturally Ezraphel wasn't a fan of violence, not in real life and not in her entertainment. Not all types though because marshmallow she may be but Ezraphel was no snowflake. Rather she did not like movies that are heavily focused on violence or feature violence for the sake of violence. That took a big chunk out of the horror genre and also most movies with graphic or stylized violence.
That unfortunately included most Tarantino films...damn.
His thoughts were interrupted by Ezraphel's verdict on the movie "I like it."
She spoke this with a smile on her face and it felt like an invisible weight was lifted off his shoulders.
'Oh thank God' he sighed.
He had to admit when Ezraphel told him she didn't like Jaws he…well he felt physically wounded by her words. It wasn't like with Alien where she was too scared to have a coherent opinion because they watched its sequel Aliens and she liked it. Apparently Ezraphel did not identify sci-fi monsters like the Xenomorph with Mamono because they were, well, alien to her. Movies like Jaws, The Exorcist and most movies in the zombie genre she just flat out did not like as they featured monsters or antagonists that correlated with certain Mamono.
She didn't like Nightmare On Elm Street because Freddy Krueger had the same dream infiltration powers as a Mamono called 'Nightmare.' The irony didn't just stem from the name but from the fact that they are a naturally docile and meek race of scythe wielding centaur subspecies that generally give men wet dreams and are easily scared off running away if their 'victims' even so much as stir during the process.
In any case with the movie done Stanley stretched himself and attempted to leave the bed, key word being 'attempted.' Instead he found himself being pulled back by a tail wrapping around his waist followed by Ezraphel hugging him close.
'Crap' he knew what was coming.
"Where are you going?" she cooed.
"To my office, you know, to do my business."
"What kind of business?" she pressed "will you be using your 'system'?"
Now he was starting to sweat a little. Stanley had unfortunately underestimated Ezraphel's perception. The Lilim did not quite understand what he did for work when in the office but that was irrelevant because he made the mistake, while under immense comfort, of revealing that he can actually get 'work' done without actually making a trip to his office so long as it did not involve him using his (gaming or PC) system.
So since it was in Ezraphel's best interest to keep him by her side where she had convenient easy access to his body she had taken to interrogating him at almost every turn whenever he tried to escape-er leave the bedroom. She also did her very best to get him back in said bedroom as quickly as possible when his business was complete. Stanley couldn't blame her for this because he himself didn't even bother putting up much resistance since he was a simp for his new bed and TV.
…and Ezraphel too he supposed.
As for Ezraphel, naturally the sex is incredible and she wanted to get as much as she can before the novelty eventually wore off and moderation was enforced once again.
'All you have to do is say yes' he reminded himself.
Just a single word and he will have a few hours to himself. The only problem with that was Ezraphel can tell when he's lying which wasn't exactly new information for him but add to the fact that his heart was still hesitant to leave. Also the Lilim can capitalize on his hesitance to persuade him to stay using a variety of sexual and surprisingly logical tactics.
So why bother fighting the inevitable?
So it was with a heavy heart and a silent curse towards his own weakness that he replied "no, I won't need to use the system."
He inadvertently took care of his work faster just so he could spend more time on the bed with Ezraphel. Something made possible due to his enhanced stamina and mental fortitude caused by him being an Incubus.
'God it's our honeymoon phase all over again.'
Which is why when his laptop materialized in front of him on a floating table he was not surprised in the slightest. Thankfully his stomach growled, not loudly but all the same Ezraphel managed to pick up the sound.
"Hungry?"
"Yeah" he answered while already browsing his laptop.
"Any requests?"
"…"
"Stanley?"
"Sandwich platter" he answered taking his eyes off the screen for a bit.
Ezraphel only lingered for a moment, before the sound of his stomach reached her ears again causing her to nod and teleport away. Now that he was alone Stanley's gaze went back to the screen where he was checking his messages. It was always important to check messages when you're running a platform with a multimillion subscription count. He had someone help him with managing his various social media accounts but they also tend to push the really important stuff to him on a fairly frequent basis through E-mails and Discord.
"Ah shit."
And just like that trouble has finally reached his paradise.
~Crafting An Alibi~
A simple sandwich, the genius was in its simplicity, a cut of meat between two slices of bread with 'toppings' of your choosing. This particular meal was not at all foreign to her as there was an equivalent to it on Eos but it baffles the mind that it wasn't a more widespread thing. Ezraphel has only ever encountered a sandwich at select places with a rather niche style which was a waste if you asked her.
But why did this matter?
Who really cares about such mundane topics as sandwiches?
Why her Stanley of course.
Stanley cares very much about sandwiches.
There is a saying that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach and Stanley exemplifies this saying very well. Food has always been the key to winning over her Stanley's affection not sex which still blows her mind but there you go.
Some may be wondering if a sandwich really does anything.
Well let's put this into perspective.
The last time Ezraphel served him what he dubbed the perfect sandwich he gave her what she dubbed the perfect pounding. She remembered this very vividly…until she didn't but what she could recall was that they had just finished a rousing romp and he asked her to make him a sandwich. Being the great wife that she was, she made several just to save time on any future breaks. He ended up eating all of them and in their next round her memories became a confusing mixture of sights, sounds, smells and pleasure.
It is next to impossible to overwhelm a Lilim with pleasure after the first time because their bodies and minds are so steeped in lust. Her Stanley has managed to reduce her to a happy twitching lump more times than she could count. There might be some hidden meaning behind why he was able to do this so consistently but Ezraphel didn't really care, all she knew was Stanley + sandwiches = Best. Sex. Ever.
This was why she spent a good chunk of her time on the internet researching sandwiches and going down the surprisingly deep rabbit hole of history, lore and a slice of what Stanley describes as 'toxicity' in the form of 'sandwich aficionados' who reminded her of smug highborns looking down at peasants. It was all worth it though because now Ezraphel has become wise to the ways of sandwich making.
After much research into the topic of sandwiches (and boy wasn't that a rabbit hole she did not expect to go so deep) she found that over two centuries of palette evolution and experimentation has created a sandwich dynasty so to speak. This was a given since literally anything can become a sandwich so long as they meet the prerequisite of being stuffed between two loaves of bread.
Or so it may seem.
Any idiot can make a sandwich; talented individuals can make a proper sandwich, if they are creative then they can make a 'good' sandwich and experts can make a great sandwich. But only the masters of their craft can make a proper sandwich and only the enlightened can make the best sandwich.
Ezraphel is a goddessin all but actual divinity and for her Stanley she will be making the perfect sandwich-nay she will be making the perfect sandwichplatter.
What does that mean?
Short answer: a miracle.
Long answer: At least a dozen different sandwich types, whose ingredients are all masterfully prepared, meticulously assembled and creatively arranged in an artistic yet functionally sound way for her Stanley's maximum delight and consumption.
It will be her magnum opus of sandwich making thus far and it's consumption by her Stanley will be the precursor to what she hopes to be the most mind melting, back breaking, womb shattering sex of their relationship.
In her Stanley's own words, it will be epic and nothing could possibly go wrong.
Later…
Ezraphel appeared in the bedroom, bright smile on her face, with a floating tray of various sandwiches, additional condiments and a glass of thick frothy milk.
"Oh, Stanley~" she called out.
"Ez, we have a problem" he cut through bluntly, completely disregarding the meal before him as he looked at the laptop screen.
"…"
Ezraphel said nothing as her face froze and a litany of colorfullanguage she definitely picked up from her Stanley flashed across her mind before she blinked the thoughts away.
"What is it?"
"We forgot to give you an alibi."
"Alibi?"
"For this weekend, meeting my friends? Did you actually forget about this?"
No.
"No, I was just wondering what you meant."
"Come on Ez, they're definitely going to ask how we met when they see you and I can't exactly say I found you in my backyard after you took a header off of my roof" he paused and began to ponder aloud "actually I could say that and it would make perfect sense."
"Excuse me but how would that make sense?"
"Simple, you got drunk, climbed on my roof, fell off and the brain damage from the fall resulted in you falling in love with me. At least that makes for a more viable reason as to how I managed to score a woman like you than the actual truth" he mouthed off with a near hysteric tinge "other than that they'd probably think I'm bribing you with money or-"
Stanley was cut off as in the next instance he was pulled into Ezraphel's cleavage. He struggled for a moment and only out of surprise before calming down. The Lilim waited a full minute after his struggles ceased before giving him enough room to raise his head. He glared at her however she could tell his irritation was not directed at her.
"Feeling better?"
"…yeah."
"Now you were saying?"
"We need to come up with an excuse for how you became my…girlfriend."
Ezraphel fought the urge to correct him. Even after all this time he still chose to refer to her as girlfriend instead of his wife. His words did bring attention to the fact that they really did not have a premise for their relationship that would make sense to the average human. Heck even some Mamono would find the origin of their relationship to be absurd at best and fictitious at worst.
Still this was not so difficult that she could not offer a solution.
"I could influence their minds to-"
"No brainwashing!" he interrupted trying and failing to pull away from her more.
Once again Ezraphel stuffed his face into her cleavage and continued "I was not suggesting mind control Stanley. I was suggesting I implant a suggestion not to question how we became a couple."
Pulling away from her but not getting far Stanley glared at her "that sounds like a slippery slope. Implant a suggestion now then if one of us eventually fucks up and blows our cover and before you know it you'll be mind wiping people or worse manipulating them into not questioning your presence as a mamono."
"Huh, well now that you mention it…"
*BOP*
"No casting brainwashing spells. I can't believe I have to tell you that" he added with a grumble.
"Not brainwashing" she reminded "I know the difference between planting suggestions and taking control of someone's mind. They are completely different things."
"But they operate on the same principle" he challenged "twisting someone else's perception for convenience."
"It would not be any more different than my taking on a human guise or casting illusions."
"It's different because you're directly messing with people's head!" he yelled.
"You know I am not like that Stanley" she said softly.
He looked away guiltily "right."
"I will only make it so that they won't ask any difficult questions. Whether they accept us or not will be up to them."
"Feels like a copout" he mumbled "I mean we're two reasonably intelligent adults right?"
"Right" she nodded.
"Then we can come up with a plausible reason for how we became a couple" he paused "and why you don't have a social media presence, or a phone, or any type of ID or any kind public records or-"
The more he spoke the more Ezraphel saw the horror beginning to mount so she did the third thing that came to mind to distract him, shoving a sandwich in his mouth. She would have liked to shove something else in his mouth but she knew it would not be as well received as a sandwich.
"HMPH!"
"You think too much Stanley and there is no use thinking on an empty stomach so here."
First came the shock then the anger followed by realization after the taste and finally he ate the entire thing.
"Holy shit."
"I take it you approve?" she questioned with a smug smirk.
"It's damn good" he reached for the BLT "but we still need to figure this thing out."
"You are right but I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than needs be."
"Ez, you basically don't exist" he deadpanned before finishing his sandwich and drinking from the glass of milk that kept magically refilling itself.
"I am aware and I do not really see a problem with this. I already gave the perfect solution."
"And that solution involves doing something amoral."
"No it is not" she defended.
"Maybe not but its-"
"A slippery slope" Ezraphel finished before floating the food platter out of reach for a moment to address him with a serious tone "I believe you are incorrect in that sense."
Stanley swallowed before addressing her "what do you mean?"
"Stanley despite being pessimistic, mistrustful and largely uncaring of the world you place a great deal of stubborn importance on the things that matter to you."
"Is this going somewhere?"
Ezraphel cupped the sides of his face with her hands "all I am saying is that despite what you may believe you are a good man."
…he was not blushing, he's not!
"But you are still pessimistic and mistrustful. Especially of yourself" Ezraphel ended
Needless to say Stanley wasn't blushing anymore.
"It's not that you don't trust me but you don't yourself. You think that by allowing me to influence your friends, that by condoning it you will use it as an excuse to condone things much worse. Am I right?"
"…more or less."
"Well I am happy to say that you needn't worry about that. You may not trust yourself to always maintain a certain moral standard but rest assured I still believe in you."
Stanley raised an eyebrow "really, you? No offense but your morals is ironically even more dubious than mine."
She is after all the woman who didn't care if her presence charmed men into being her willing slave and saw no problem with brainwashing the masses if it meant that they would be 'happy.'
Even now Ezraphel could only shrug at the implication "we live and we learn. I care more about your opinion than any others and I love the man you currently are. If you don't trust my personal morals then trust that I will hold onto and enforce yours."
"That's not nearly as reassuring as you think it is."
"Well how about this, if we ever encounter a problem that requires us to make difficult moral decisions then we'll consult the other before making it."
"You mean like what we're doing now?"
"Exactly!"
"That still doesn't answer the question. What can we do?"
Ezraphel looked deeply into his eyes "you already know the answer to that."
He did.
"I do" he scoffed and reached out to the sandwich platter which was lowered back into his grasp.
"It's not just about the morals is it?"
Taking another bite he shook his head "I guess this whole thing just made me realize we haven't really put much work into developing your public persona. Without your magic we'd be up shit's creek without a paddle."
Crude metaphors aside Ezraphel can see his point. The two of them laid upright on the bed with the Lilim snuggled close to him. As Stanley ate she hummed and stroked his hair.
"Then we should focus on fixing that should we not?"
"Ugh"
Stanley cringed at just how much work that would be and just how unprepared he was for such a grand undertaking. He was so upset he almost couldn't finish eating his sandwich, almost.
On a more serious note "the problem isn't getting you a public or online presence it's getting you on official records. I don't have the resources for that" he scowled "shit I don't even know where to even begin!"
"Hey, don't you worry about that. If it becomes an issue then we will cross that bridge when it comes. Until then let us enjoy ourselves hmm?"
Stanley stared at her for a while before nodding "yeah I'll…I'll just do that then."
He reached for another sandwich and was able to lose himself in the taste.
'That's that good shit.'
All too soon the sandwiches were devoured and the milk was finally allowed to drain leaving Stanley with nothing to do. Well that's not true he still had something or rather someone to do and between that or continuing to worry about tomorrow he chose the obvious answer.
~Road Trip 2: Rainstorm Boogaloo~
The morning greeted Stanley with soft nudges and an even softer voice whispering in his ear.
"Stanley it's time to wake up~"
Not being a morning person and not used to being woken up without his dick enveloped by something war, moist and tight it took a moment for Stanley to come to.
"Uh-wha~" bleary eyes gained some alertness as they stared into familiar soft red and black orbs "Ez?"
"Wake up Stanley it's time to get ready."
"Ugh, what time is it?"
"5:30 am"
'Yikes' Stanley grimaced 'is the sun even out yet?'
Stanley has never woken up this early even when his sleep cycle was out of sync. At best he went to sleep at around this time period.
"You said this was the appropriate time."
She's not wrong 'I did didn't I?'
As a matter of fact he could actually remember telling her "we need to get up early tomorrow since it's going to be a long drive."
"Right" he yawned and rubbed his eyes "gimme a minute."
It wasn't exactly easy planning a meet n' greet with his friends. They lived in different parts of the country and they had different location changes for every meeting for the sake of variety. They were actually lucky Stanley had the foresight to advocate for the meeting location to be relatively close by. So instead of looking into their options for smuggling her onboard a plane they now have to contend with driving cross country.
Just another reminder Ezraphel needed to get proper identification.
Contrary to his expectations nothing seemed to go wrong that morning. Ezraphel cut back on her antics the night prior so they didn't go at it as hard or as long as they normally do. It's the reason why he was even able to wake up so damn early in the first place. No morning blowjobs, no quickies in the bathroom and no taking advantage of 'openings' to do anything lewd. There were practically no distractions all throughout their preparations to leave. It was such a weird concept having Ezraphel serious about something like this especially when Stanley really wouldn't have minded the distraction.
The couple left their home roughly an hour after he woke up and it didn't take very long for Ezraphel to start getting excited again.
"What's gotten into you?"
It wasn't hard to figure out something was up as Ezraphel's excitement was palpable.
"This is the first time we're traveling away from home!" she burst out.
"Don't you sneak out every day to explore the city?"
"Well yes but this will be my first time outside the city proper. I am very much looking forward to that."
"I guess."
Stanley could somewhat see the appeal after all he was young and excitable once but nowadays traveling away from home was more like an inconvenient bother. Truly there were few things in his current life that would actually make him want to travel so far from home.
"Just uh, keep your expectations in check. Reality has a way of sucking the joy out of things."
"You're just being pessimistic" she lightly admonished "I mean what's the worst that could happen?"
If they weren't currently at a red light Stanley would have most certainly stopped the car right then and there. Very slowly his head turned towards the woman in the passenger seat.
"Please tell me you did not just say that."
To her credit Ezraphel seemed to have realized her mistake and winced "I jinxed it didn't I?"
Just then the distant sound of thunder could be heard causing Stanley to look over the horizon.
"Hehe, were there always dark clouds over there?" the Lilim asked nervously.
His response was a withering glare "I swear to god Ez…"
Later…
To her credit things didn't immediately turn to shit even upon their observations. They did get to enjoy two hours worth of driving in sunny weather and for a time they both even forgot about the storm clouds. Only things took a turn once the second hour passed and the skies gradually turned overcast. Then Stanley noted the cars passing by in the opposite lane were wet and well he saw it coming before it hit them.
It was the uncanny effect of one part of an area falling under a rain cloud while the other was left dry. The effect was immediate as they literally drove into an ongoing storm. For a while the car was silent as they both stared ahead. Stanley was focused on driving while Ezraphel gave him nervous glances.
Suddenly he interrupted the silence with a loud "well according to the GPS we're still a few hours away from the airbnb and this shit doesn't look like its ending anytime soon."
There was a flash of lightning followed by a peal of thunder so loud it caused Ezraphel to jump and set Stanley on edge. It should also be mentioned that the rain came down even harder and there was a slight buildup of fog.
"I-I can fix this!"
"You can fix this?"
Ezraphel nodded "yes all I have to do cast a spell to change the weather."
"Then why did you wait till now to say something about it?"
That took some of the wind out of her sails "well it does take some time."
Mild surprise turned into skepticism with his raised eyebrows "really?"
"Of course, do you doubt my power even after all this time?"
*Stare*
"E-eyes on the road Stanley" she reminded while looking away.
"You know I've been figuring out how your magic works since the day you did your first spell and after our talk about the house the other day I think I got the gist of it."
"You did? You do?" she spoke now giving him her full attention.
"Correct me if I'm wrong on this but a lot of the crazy stuff you do relies on you using Demonic Energy to bring an area under your influence (i.e. corrupting it) then enforcing your will on that space of reality. Am I right so far?"
Ezraphel blinked "well it's a bit of an oversimplification but yes."
There are certain intricacies to be had yes but that was basically what she did for the most part.
"Fair enough" Stanley continues "but for the other times when you're not in our slice of pseudo Demon Realm heaven you use spells right? I'm guessing you have a shit ton of them?"
"I am a high level dark sorceress Stanley."
"High level wow okay so be real with me Ez, have you actually ever done this before?"
"Why would you think I haven't done this before?"
"I dunno, guess I'm just failing to grasp a reason for why you'd have to change the weather. I mean I could be wrong…" he trailed off.
"I do have a method to change the weather" another peal of thunder echoed causing her to frown "I can at least disperse the clouds."
"About that" Stanley interrupted "how exactly is that going to go because they got satellites monitoring the weather and people will notice if the clouds up and disappear."
Ezraphel pursed her lips "I can make it gradual."
"If you're not confident in this then you don't have to."
She turned to him "but what about your Airsoft match?"
"The arena is indoors but at this rate I don't think we're making it on time so that's going to be put off" he stated bluntly with a frown "which sucks but that's not what this meet is all about anyway" he gave her a brief glance "well not for us in any case, everyone else not so much but then they're going to meet you so it's probably-no it's definitely going to be worth coming all the way down here."
"Oh Stanley~" Ezraphel cooed reaching over.
"Still driving!"
"I know~"
He felt her tail wrapped around his waist and her head rest on his shoulder to which he could only sigh in resignation.
'Maybe the rain isn't so bad.'
Later…
What the fuck were you thinking?
Yeah man, fuck this rain.
Currently they were stuck in traffic and while getting stuck in traffic sucks, getting stuck in traffic in the middle of a thunderstorm sucks balls and they've been stuck since the better part of an hour. Naturally Stanley could only take so much of Mother Nature's bullshit.
"You know what? Fuck this rain. Ez?"
"I'm already on it."
Ezraphel had her eyes closed and her body outlined by a purple glow. At first nothing seemed to happen but gradually he noticed that the downpour began to relent. The process took several short minutes but eventually it stopped raining with the clouds beginning to recede somewhat. It was still overcast but it was much lighter than before.
Ezraphel stopped glowing and blew out a breath "phew."
"Are you okay? That looked like it took a lot."
"Stopping the rain wasn't the issue" Ezraphel answered "I could have easily banished the clouds but that would draw too much attention as you said. It takes extra effort to make it look natural. Unfortunately this is not a permanent solution. Eventually the rain will return."
"You have a timeframe for that?"
She made a so-so gesture "an hour or so? I can keep working to dissipate it if you want."
"Don't stress over it just having a rainless drive is good enough for me."
~New Stan? Say Wha...?~
Despite Ezraphel holding back the rain it still took some time for the couple to arrive at their destination and true to Ezraphel's word the rain came back with a vengeance. Stanley had his friends' private discord up and running on his phone the whole time to keep appraised of the situation. Turns out Ezraphel and Stanley weren't the only ones getting fucked by the weather. None of them expected it save for Liam but he's the outlier as the only one of them who actually watches local news, freaking weirdo.
"We're here."
The Airbnb that everyone chipped in to rent for the weekend was a modest 4 bedroom house with two bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room and living room. Truly nothing special save for the fact that it was relatively cheap, close to their destination and the owner put the place up on a virtual tours site so they knew what they were getting into beforehand. Its only flaw was the lack of a driveway and the walkway that seemed extra long especially in the rain.
"This is going to suck" he muttered.
"I could teleport us to the door" Ezraphel suggested.
"Too conspicuous" he gave her a once over "and you're not going out in the rain in that."
Ezraphel looked down at herself. She was wearing a black halter top and a pair of tight jeans.
"Can you conjure up a hoodie?"
With a snap of her fingers both of them now wore matching hoodies. His was grey while hers was pink and accentuated her curves.
"Good enough."
Hopping out with his newly acquired umbrella which was in fact his umbrella he left at home. Stanley retrieved the luggage from the back with help from Ezraphel whom he couldn't help but notice wasn't getting wet despite the rain clearly hitting her.
"Can't be completely dry Ez"
"Trust me" she winked.
"…fine."
The two locked the door and hustled to the doorway where they entered the room.
"I already told them I'm coming in so just wait here until I give the signal."
"Okay" she gave him a thumbs up.
Taking a breath Stanley walked into the living room proper and seeing it populated by four people he was now very familiar with. The first was Liam a fairly tall and rather handsome man of Indian descent with short cut dark hair, a 5 o'clock shadow and a strong jawline. Beside him leaning on his shoulder was his fiancée Amelia, a tall, pretty woman with fair skin, red shoulder length hair and a smattering of freckles. They were on the couch with the TV on though it was being clearly showing content being casted off one of their laptops.
On the other side of the common room sequestered by herself on a single seat sofa and ignoring the world around her to pay attention on her phone was the only other woman of the group, Kendall. She stood out from the rest as she adopted the punk rock style which included wearing dark clothes, using dark makeup, putting in green highlights in her hair and having several piercings in her ears and a single nose ring.
Away from the common room near the kitchen and seated around the dining table were the final two members of the group Kendrick and Jamie. Kendrick was a tall lanky black man with short dread locks wearing a pair of blue square frame glasses. Jamie was a shorter man with shoulder length straight black hair, a trimmed beard and visible tribal tattoos on his exposed forearms. Both men had their laptops out and were engaged in what seemed to be a FPS videogame from Stanley's observation.
So far none of them seem to have noticed him something Stanley immediately fixes by shouting out an appropriate greeting.
"WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB PUSSIES!"
The reaction was immediate with everyone in the room casting their attention to him…and kept staring. Now Stanley wasn't expecting them to give a standing ovation and break out the bubbly at his appearance but the way how they were staring was staring to get to him.
"What?"
"Stan?" asked Liam.
"Who else would it be?" he walked further in the room.
"What happened to you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You look…different."
Stanley scowled at first before realizing that he completely forgot he was no longer the greasy unkempt manlet he was when they last met and since he didn't put pics of himself online none of them were aware of his change.
With that in mind he straightened himself up "yeah well I made some changes since we last met" he licked his lips.
"But why though?" Jamie asked the pertinent question.
"I got a girlfriend."
The bearded man raised an eyebrow "that's a bold claim."
"True" Kendrick agreed.
"What, you don't believe me?"
"Yeah" Kendrick nodded "I straight up don't believe you."
"Show pics or it's not true" Amelia piped in.
"I'll do you one better" he then looked over his shoulder while secretly fishing out his phone "you can come out now."
Ezraphel poked her head out a bit from the frame startling a few of them which was nothing compared to when she strutted into the room, long legs making easy strides, swinging her wide hips and giving them all a dazzling smile. Walking next to Stanley Ezraphel giggled a bit when he snaked a hand around her waist and leaned into his embrace.
"Guys I'd like you to meet my real girlfriend, Ezraphel."
"Hi~" Ezraphel waved and at least a few of them waved back.
They looked at the stunning woman with varying degrees of shock with one of them (Kendrick) whispering not so lowly "holy shit."
"Ez meet Liam, Amelia, Kendall, Kendrick and Jamie" he pointed out each of the now shocked men and women.
"It's nice to finally meet all of you" Ezraphel stepped forward "Stanley hasn't said much about any of you."
Her words seem to knock them out of their stupor with Amelia turning her gaze to the man "Stanley?"
"Don't even think about it."
"But Stanley is so cute though~" Kendall joined in mockingly.
"I think so too" Ezraphel added earning a look which she ignored.
"See, your girlfriend agrees" Amelia smirked.
"I'm warning you" he pointed at Liam "call me that and I will take my anger out on your fiancé" he met the man's eyes "cock shots all day Liam and you know I'll do it."
To that the man winced his amusement turning to mild concern "babe please don't antagonize the pissed off manlet with a custom full auto M4 and IRL aimbot capabilities…pretty please."
He capped off the plea by clasping his hands and Amelia after thinking about it for a while eventually granted her fiancé mercy "very well but as for me" and as she met his gaze she bluntly stated "I'm still calling you Stanley."
Stanley narrowed his eyes "then you have chosen death."
Her reply was to meet his challenging gaze with one of her own "bring all 5 feet of you little man."
Challenge Accepted.
The standoff was broken up by Ezraphel giggling at their antics. There was an almost palpable loss of tension that was felt by everyone as her melodious voice filled the void of silence and the muted rainfall in the background.
Stanley recovered first and made an announcement "Ez and I are claiming one of the bedrooms for us. The rest of you will have to figure out the bunking situations amongst yourselves."
There were four bedrooms total in the house. Liam and Amelia already claimed one so that left two bedrooms to be shared amongst three people.
Kendall was quick to respond by looking over to Kendrick and Jamie "I am not sharing a room with you guys."
"Damn, outplayed" Jamie mumbled.
Kendrick shrugged "not like anything's changed much."
With that settled Jamie escorted the couple to where he previously occupied. Stanley helped him to relocate before entering the room to see Ezraphel waiting for him.
"They seem nice" she commented.
"You can stay and mingle with them if you want."
Ezraphel offered a cheeky smile "if I did that then they wouldn't start gossiping about us."
Stanley snorted as they came upon a room. It has been his designated room for about a year now ever since they decided to rent this particular house for their infrequent meets.
"You can hear them?"
"Yep~"
"What are they saying?"
"Surprised and suspicious by your change in appearance."
"That's expected."
Stanley had already admitted to himself that he was far removed from the man he was before he met Ezraphel both mentally and physically. It was actually a huge blunder on his part that he failed to take said changes into consideration when pondering this meeting. All the while he was worrying about Ezraphel setting off red flags when he was more than likely to set them off himself.
"What are they saying about you?"
"They are bewildered and captivated by my beauty and your ability to secure me as your girlfriend" she said with not a little amount of smugness in her tone "though in truth I am your wife."
The door was closed behind him and as Stanley went about unpacking he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"We've been over this."
"I know and I am still waiting for that ring" she wiggled her fingers.
Ezraphel may have watched more than a few wedding videos when he mentioned earth wedding customs. He bemoaned the fact that most of said vides were of extravagant celebrity weddings and now he feared she wanted something just as pointlessly excessive.
Moving on…
"Hey Ez you mind checking this place for hidden cameras."
The Lilim raised an eyebrow at that but complied and Stanley actually felt a pulse go out.
After a moment Ezraphel spoke "I didn't find anything suspicious Stanley."
"Good" you can never be too paranoid with Airbnb and he especially didn't want some asshole pervert getting nudes of Ezraphel.
After that was done the two went back to the common room. Ezraphel went by Amelia while Stanley joined the boys who were all situated in the kitchen. There were a few lingering glances at Ezraphel as she went into an animated conversation with Amelia.
The moment he sat by the table Kendrick began the interrogation "okay dude spill, how did this happen?"
"Gonna have to be more specific."
"You don't look like a greasy troll anymore."
"…"
"No offense" he added.
"Much taken."
As for his answer Stanley shrugged "what can I say? Having a girlfriend really puts things into perspective."
Liam rolled his eyes "obviously he's going to start caring about how he looks when he has a girlfriend guys come on."
"About that" Jamie began "how did you manage to get a girl like that?"
"Would you believe me if I said it was the other way around?"
"I would be very skeptical."
"I can't explain it. Ezraphel is weird and she has weird tastes. You want a reason why she's interested you ask her."
There was a bout of silence as the men looked amongst themselves.
"So are we done with this? Because it's fucking ridiculous you guys are interrogating me because I got a girlfriend and cleaned up a little."
"A little" Kendrick scoffed.
"I'm raising an eyebrow to that" Jamie commented.
It was up to Liam to diffuse the situation since Stan was looking more disgruntled by the minute "if you don't want to talk about it that's cool but look at it from our perspective. The guy who showed the least interest in pursuing a romantic relationship suddenly shows up with Miss Instagram Model looking like a Douchetuber."
Stanley damn near recoiled at the accusation "first of all Ezraphel's not an Instagram Model" God forbid, Stanley wasn't mentally prepared for Ezraphel appearing on social media "and second, Douchetuber?How dare you."
Even Jamie and Kendrick disproved of the comparison with expressions of disappointment and even anger on Stan's behalf.
"That's low."
"He looks different but come on man."
"Okay that was a bit unfair my mistake" Liam backtracked "you don't look like a Douchetuber you look like a…um…Jamie?"
"A Chad Manlet" was his succinct answer to which the others nodded. Even Stan could admit the accuracy of the descriptor.
"If you must know I got tired of people talking shit about us whenever Ez and I go out so I thought I'd make the effort to look like someone who isn't payingfor her time."
"We didn't want to assume" Kendrick meant it as a joke but Stan challenged him on that.
"Kendrick why the fuck would I spend money to hire a woman to act like my girlfriend when I could use that money to pay an escort for sex?"
"He's got you there Kenny" Liam commented.
"Truly a flawless logic" Jamie added.
As far as Stanley i]was concerned the only people who hire actors to pose as their significant other are clout chasers and they all know those people are the bottom feeding scum of the internet.
"Speaking of sex" Jamie suddenly interrupted "have you two done it?"
"Yes" was Stanley's immediate answer.
"Wow no hesitation."
"We're not blushing teenagers and this isn't an anime where we have to go through a character arc before we kiss at the end of the first season James."
'Even though in hindsight that's almost exactly what happened.'
Really puts things into perspective.
"So have I answered all your queries?" he looked amongst them "can we get down to business?"
To that Liam looked at his two cohorts "gentlemen?"
"I'm all tapped out for now" Jamie answered.
"Kendrick?"
Said man wasn't paying attention to them "what the hell are they talking about over there?"
The other three looked over to see the women animatedly whispering amongst themselves. Well Ezraphel was doing most of the talking with a wide smile and doing rather suggestive hand gestures. In a bizarre twist Amelia looked like she was having just as much fun as Ezraphel as she contributed to the conversation while Kendall looked almost overwhelmed with the situation. Kendall's pale cheeks were most certainly red and when Ezraphel brought her hands up and apart her mouth drop with an expression of disbelief.
Amelia and Kendall met eyes with Stanley in that moment before flickering back to Ezraphel before the former laughed while the latter shook her head. Amelia said something and she and Ezraphel two devolved into giggles while Kendall cracked a smile. The disguised Lilim caught Stan's eye before winking and blowing him a kiss.
"I can take a guess" Stan grumbled under his breath in regards to Kendrick's question before turning back to them with a question of his own "what's the plan for the weekend?"
To that they looked to Liam as he was the one responsible for booking the Airsoft field.
He looked to his watch "well we missed our appointment window over an hour ago but we can still go tomorrow and the day after."
"Good."
"In the meantime I got some cool custom mods for my M40A5 sniper" Liam informed/bragged catching the others' attention.
And so it begins.
"Well if we're doing a dick measuring contest I need to go get my equipment" Kendrick commented with Jamie speaking next.
"Gentlemen the game is on."
"Indeed" Stanley added before the four went on to gather their gear and arsenal in a bid to show off and flex on each other.
And with the air around Ezraphel's conversation still being nice and polite Stanley couldn't help but smile. Despite the hiccup that was the rain their first day was kicking off to a nice start.
~To Be Continued~
If you want to support my writing or just want to read ahead I have two Advance Chapters are available on my Pa treon, link is available on my Bio.