"Ano, Filia, what are we doing in here? You said that we had to feed Val breakfast," Xelloss spoke up.
"Oh, we do," Filia responded. "First, though, we have to change his diaper." She smirked. "Haven't you noticed that he needs changed, Namagomi?"
Filia, if I'm going to help you out, you could at least drop the name-calling, Xelloss thought. He sighed silently and sat Val on the countertop, keeping a loose hold on the baby. "So, what do we do first?"
"First, you remove the old diaper and wipe him off with a damp rag," Filia grinned, tossing Xelloss said rag.
Xelloss caught the rag easily and started to take off Val's dirty diaper. Suddenly, he paused and glanced at Filia. Hey, why am I the one doing this? He decided to voice his thoughts. "Filia, why are you pawning this work off on me? You're his mother."
"Admitting defeat so soon, Xelloss?" Filia tsked. "Oh, well, I guess I should have expected that a Mazoku like yourself wasn't up to the task of caring for a baby, anyway. Here, let me do it for you."
Xelloss moved so that Filia couldn't take over. "Who ever said I was giving up? I just asked why you were having me do all the work." He stuck his tongue out at Filia and went back to cleaning up Val. He even started humming a little tune, just to spite her.
Turning red, Filia fought to keep her temper. He must really hate it, she consoled herself. He's just pretending to enjoy it to make me upset.
Actually, Xelloss thought this was all rather fun, even if it was really stinky and messy. Never before, in all his thousand years of existence, did he ever have the chance to take care of a baby. Everything Val did fascinated the Trickster Priest. Even a Mazoku like Xelloss isn't completely immune to the charms of an adorable little baby. He finished the job and turned back to Filia. This wasn't so hard!
Filia had managed to compose herself during this time. She handed Xelloss a white cloth and some safety pins. "Here's his fresh diaper. Stick him with a pin, and I'll... I'll do something to make you regret it!"
Taking the proffered items from Filia, Xelloss leered at her. "Ooh, a spanking, Fi-chan? I'm sure you will," he said in a low tone that just dripped with innuendo. He inwardly giggled at Filia's shocked, red-faced response as he went back to changing Val.
Filia quickly turned away from Xelloss, suddenly all too aware of his presence behind her. She covered her burning cheeks with her hands. How... how dare he say something like that to her in that tone of voice! But, at the same time, a deliciously naughty feeling played at the edge of all that self-righteousness....
Xelloss could hardly contain his laughter. It was so much fun to shock Filia like that! Hmm... how could he stir up more mischief? He stared at the cloth in his hands, and a roguish smile slowly appeared on his face. He rapidly did his work and picked Val up. "All done, Filia!"
Meanwhile, Filia had calmed herself back down. She had to stop letting Xelloss get to her! She turned back around and gasped. Instead of putting the diaper on Val correctly, Xelloss had made it into a turban for the baby! "Xelloss! That's not how it's supposed to go!"
"It's not?" Xelloss replied in an innocent tone. "Aw, but it looks so cute like that!"
Filia shook her head. "No, Xelloss. Try it again."
"Okay!" Xelloss tried again and presented Val again a minute later. "How about this?" he asked, holding up Val with a diaper-cloth bandanna.
"No. Again."
The third time, Xelloss had managed to put the diaper on himself. "How's this, Filia?" he grinned impishly.
"Xelloss!" Filia cried, blushing yet again. "Do it right!"
Xelloss pouted. "Aw, you never let me have any fun," he complained, putting Val's diaper on correctly, this time.
Filia smirked through her blushing. "Of course I don't. Come on, let's go feed Val, now."
What's so hard about this? Xelloss silently wondered. All I have to do is get the food from the bowl to Val's mouth. That should be simple. He smiled, set the bowl in front of Val, scooped up a spoonful of food, and held it out in front of the baby. Val giggled and smashed his chubby fists into the bowl of applesauce. Splat!
Filia giggled at her mental image of applesauce-covered Xelloss. Then, Xelloss turned around and glared at her. Applesauce was on Xelloss' face, his hair, his clothes, everywhere!
The sight was too much for Filia. She laughed so hard, she nearly fell off her chair.
Scowling, Xelloss wiped at the applesauce covering his face, but he only succeeded in smearing it more. So, Fi-chan, that's the way you want to play it, eh? he thought, a mental smirk forming. Nobody laughed at Xelloss and got away with it! He would have his revenge....
After finally managing to feed Val without any more major mishaps, Filia announced that it was time that Val had a bath.
"Does that mean I get one, too, Filia-chan?" Xelloss grinned.
"Shut up," Filia snarled through her blush.
"Ooh, you're blushing! Thinking dirty thoughts about me? I'm..." Xelloss' reply was cut off by a mace in the head.
"Pervert," was Filia's muttered response.
Filia giggled again. Seeing the usually unflappable Trickster Priest get irritated was so much fun! She finally decided to help him out, so her baby wouldn't turn into a prune from being in the tub too long. She managed to stifle her giggles and said, "Okay, I'll help you, Xelloss. You hold him, while I wash his hair." She knelt beside Xelloss and grabbed the baby shampoo.
Filia quickly realized her mistake when she began to wash Val's hair. In order to get close enough to Val while Xelloss was holding him, she had kneel right next to Xelloss. This was closer than she wanted to be to the Namagomi! And yet, she liked it.... Blushing furiously, she turned her attention to her baby and tried to ignore how close Xelloss was to her -- an impossible task, if there ever was one.
Xelloss hid a smirk as Filia settled in close to him, but then suddenly became very aware of a problem of his own. Kneeling right next to someone who is the subject of your dreams and fantasies has its advantages and disadvantages. So, Xelloss took advantage of the situation, and...
Poured a cup of water on Filia's head.
Filia screeched and squirted baby shampoo at Xelloss. Xelloss countered with a stream of baby oil. Filia slipped and fell onto Xelloss, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. She reached up, and...
Roughly scrubbed the baby shampoo on Xelloss' head into foam.
From there, the fight became a free-for-all, with water, baby soap, shampoo, lotion, and oil as weapons. Val laughed and clapped his hands as he watched how silly his mama and Mr. Purple Head were acting. Xelloss and Filia abruptly stopped their battle when Val's laughter reached their ears. Filia flushed and Xelloss almost blushed when they noticed how ridiculous they both looked.
Filia was the first to speak. "Um, I'll go get Val dressed, and you can, uh, clean up, okay?" she stammered as she snatched up Val and a towel. She scurried out of the bathroom as fast as she could.
Xelloss sighed and drained the tub. As nice as a warm bath sounded, he was more in need of a cold shower.
Xelloss gazed after Filia until he heard a small yawn. He turned and couldn't resist smiling at Val's cute, tired expression. He plucked the child from the playpen without further thought and carried him over to the rocking chair by the window.
Within minutes, both Mazoku and child were asleep.
Filia frowned as she dried and combed her hair. Absolutely nothing about caring for Val seemed to faze Xelloss, not in the least! She had thought that Xelloss would give up and leave her and Val alone, but he seemed all the more determined to stick around, after everything she put him through. What would make him go away?! She huffed in frustration and headed to the nursery.
Entering the nursery, she was about to demand that Xelloss leave when she happened to glance at him holding her sleeping son. Both the Mazoku and the baby had such contented looks on their faces. Filia softened. Okay, maybe Xelloss could stick around. But, only for a little while longer....