~Home Improvement~
Compared to their visit to the furniture store Ezraphel and Stanley's trip to buying new kitchen utensils was comparatively shorter and more mundane. Perhaps it was because the store they went to wasn't a sprawling warehouse of wonders but in actuality it was because Ezraphel herself wasn't very focused on deliberately stretching out their time. As such they only spent so long getting the appropriate kitchen utensils and Stanley actually did buy some this time despite not needing to.
Ezraphel could have made perfect copies of every utensil she came in contact with but her Stanley just decided to buy them because it was 'in his budget.' Ezraphel knew the truth however which was that he just wanted to buy something nice for her. Of course his gesture was appropriately compensated with the proper amount of smothering hugs and kisses because that is how she rolls.
When they arrived home Stanley locked himself in his not-so-private room while Ezraphel put the newly bought kitchen utensils away in her pocket dimension. She would go about doing the proper setup for them at a later date but for now she had more urgent business to attend to. With an unnecessary snap of her fingers she appeared in her and Stanley's shared bedroom. A bedroom that was not at all fit to be inhabited by a normal couple let alone a princess and her consort.
*Tap*
Her foot stomps the ground and from there a bright purple magic circle appears and enlarges to encompass the entire of floor, walls and lastly the ceiling. In less than a single second the entirety of the room was now under her control. Her first order of business was to separate the room from normal reality, encasing it in a permanent pocket dimension that was completely under her control. This was a simple matter for her as the entire house was effectively in her 'domain.'
Now Ezraphel had no qualms explaining the concept of her 'domain' to her Stanley but she was very glad he didn't ask her to go into the specifics of how she went about establishing said domain because it was kind of embarrassing…and may worry him unnecessarily. The truth is that the house was in effect a pseudo Mamono Realm. It shouldn't really come as a surprise considering Mamono realms (or Demon realms) happen when an area becomes saturated in Mamono mana/Demonic Energy and let's be honest the house and this room in particular has been saturated thoroughly.
Ezraphel didn't really mean for this to happen and in her defense it's not as if she ever tried to stop corruption until that moment. How was she to know that using spells fueled by her own mana to stop concentrated Demonic Energy was like using a wet rag as stopgap for a leak? The barrier managed to contain most of it but its nature cause a little 'spillage' so to speak. If she had been thorough she could have prevented this but at the time she was literally pounded into delirium so…
Normally it wouldn't have been such a big deal but her and Stanley's 'first time' ended up lasting several days and unfortunately she realized too late as in that time the wisps of Demonic Energy leaked through her barrier and spread throughout the house. It would have been hardly noticeable normally but in an environment usually devoid of mana it was easy to spot.
Worst part is she couldn't just get rid of it either.
Despite her power and mastery of spells Ezraphel was no magical scholar and did not have a repository of spell knowledge to rely upon. Also the damage was already done and the only way to really get rid of Demonic Energy was to purify it with holy magic. Obviously she wasn't going to use that even if it existed on earth so she could not get rid of it but what she could do was damage control.
She did this by using the Demonic Energy seeped into the house along with her own mana to create a domain. Now with near total control over the very fabric of reality within the house she was able to prevent further corruption by shunting excess Demonic Energy into a pocket dimension of her own creation for further use. What that use would be she didn't really know but one could never know when having enough Demonic Energy to corrupt a small town into a Demon Realm would come in handy right?
In any case, along with being able to create pocket dimensions or 'spirit realms' on the fly, Ezraphel's domain also allows her to alter inorganic matter and space without the use of spells. Case in point, after assuming control of the room's dimensional space she swept her arms out in a grandiose fashion. The result of this act saw the room expanding until it was at least three times its original size. After that all of her Stanley's personal effects were levitated, organized and teleported away safely.
"Now for the fun part."
Ezraphel was no interior decorator, however seeing the displays in the furniture store had awakened something in her. Now she wanted her and her Stanley's bedroom to be just as visually appealing. And why stop there? She could envision the entire house becoming a modern day palace of her own design but she was getting ahead of herself. Her Stanley would never allow her to do this and she could just imagine his argument against it.
"What's the point of turning this place into a palace when it's just the two of us?"
Then she would say it's not about the utility but the extravagance.
"Who would we even be trying to impress?"
Then she would concede his point and proceed to pounce on him.
"Alright enough of that" her gaze immediately turned to the bed. It sat there innocently enough in all its small, lumpy and uncomfortable glory.
This was a long time coming.
The bed immediately levitates and in a matter of moments the small, lumpy and uncomfortable thing became something entirely different. Now the mattress was 10ft long and 8ft wide and made out of a combination of 'memory foam' and added enchantments for maximum comfort and bounce because Ezraphel liked the added oomph when she rides her Stanley like a stallion.
The new mattress now sat on a sturdy obsidian bed frame that was etched with runes that had a variety of effects she was sure her Stanley would appreciate. Finally there were the sheets which were made to mimic Arachne silk because as far as she knew there isn't a material on earth that comes close to the feel of it. Ezraphel could only lament that even with all her power she could not quite get the feel of those sheets to be the same as that of the supernatural thread.
With the most important furniture in the room complete she moved on to the second most important furniture, the dresser. Ezraphel scoffed at the thing and with dismissed flick of her hand the object was ported away. There would be no need for such a paltry thing as a dresser since this would become their shared room and Ezraphel's wardrobe alone would be more than what it could handle. So instead her eyes turned to the tiny and currently empty closet with a smirk.
In a matter of moments it was enlarged, expanded and manipulated to the designs in her mind's eye. Said designs were reminiscent of the appearance of the 'walk-in closets' she looked up when creating the closet space for her wardrobe situated in her private room. The only difference is that this one had a more modern earth aesthetic than hers which was more reminiscent of her home in the Royal Makai.
There were different drawers for different articles of clothing such as casual tops, bottoms, skirts, pants, jeans, socks, bras, panties, briefs. Clothes for attending public venues were neatly pressed, folded and hung up. Shoes were cleaned and organized in a tasteful array in a little section by themselves. There were even compartments for jewelry such as chains bracelets, earrings and hairpins. The only empty spaces for Ezraphel were the areas for keeping various purses, handbags, brooches and such.
Ezraphel never found a need for one, not because she could store things in a personal dimension (since she understood that a purse would make for an inconspicuous means of accessing said dimension in public) but because she only ever bought things when she went out with her Stanley and he is in charge of the money.
In any case the overall design of the walk-in closet was more for her Stanley's sake and it was the least she could do for his sensibilities. After all he never said anything about changing the room to such an extreme extent. He only ever agreed to her changing the bed.
Was she taking advantage of this?
Yes.
Was she deliberately going overboard?
Again, yes.
Was she worried about his reaction to her basically upending the place and turning it into something wholly unfamiliar?
No…well maybe a little but that is why she had the perfect plan to smooth things over without him throwing one of tantrums. Not that his tantrums were anything more than just a means for him to air out his grievances and even then she found that compared to how he was during their earlier times together he was a lot less scathing and volatile. Still if there was one thing that hasn't changed in the times since then it was that her Stanley always found a way to get her back whenever she does something to displease him.
And not only has Ezraphel always never seen it coming but she has so far been unable to prevent this kind of retaliation.
'Hopefully I can avoid that this time' she thought as she began placing their clothes in the relevant spaces.
Ezraphel's wardrobe consisted of the catalogue of clothing her Stanley had bought for her as well as a few articles she had created for herself. Yes, Ezraphel creates some of her own clothes. It wasn't difficult as there are literally hundreds of fashion articles, guides, designs and step by step tutorials on creating one's own clothing. Combined with her magic material manipulation and she has a good number of original wears, some based on earth designs, some based on Mamono designs and a few experimental fusions of the two design elements.
What? A Lilim can't have hobbies outside of her husband? That kind of thinking isn't very progressive and if there is one thing Ezraphel has learned from her time on earth it was that of progression and being progressive/proactive. And besides, her Stanley greatly appreciates her efforts in the making custom outfits for their private activities.
And speaking of clothes, her gaze peered over to Stanley's corner of the expansive closet and she did mean corner. Compared to her side Stanley's wardrobe choices were lacking to say the least. That will have to be rectified, especially since they agreed to spend more time together outside.
Not that she though he looked bad in anything. Her Stanley looked good in everything and he looked particular great in nothing at as the earth saying goes variety is the spice of life and Ezraphel preferred her Stanley extra spicy~
"That can wait for now" she still had some stuff to finish.
Once done with the closet all that was left was to create two nightstands on either side of the bed. She thought of putting a chandelier in the middle of the ceiling but found it a bit too ostentatious even for her. But now that she thought about, there was quite a bit of empty space left and most of her ideas for filling that space came from her time on Eos. She could make it work but she couldn't help but feel that she might be missing out on something more if she did.
"Hmm, in times of need, the internet is your friend" she mumbled and with a flash her laptop appeared in hand.
Sitting down on the soft and plush bed she started looking up modern luxury bedroom designs.
"I should have done this from the beginning!"
As expected there was no shortage of options for her however knowing her Stanley most of them would not be very appealing to him.
"Ooh~" her eyes lit up "that looks interesting."
But to set it up she would need to go to a few places.
"Ufufufu, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees this."
She spent another few minutes searching for the destination before disappearing in a flash, laptop and all.
~The Curious Case Of Stanley's Social Life~
While Ezraphel was doing her own thing Stanley had locked himself in his office but it wasn't to do any work. Rather he was thinking over the fact that in a few days he would be introducing Ezraphel to his associates. You'd think that given Stanley's lifestyle, beliefs and temperament that he would not have much of a social life but contrary to popular belief Stanley Berkowitz does in fact have one.
Though ultimately it depended on what one's definition of a 'social life' is. For instance if your definition of a social life involves going out and meeting with people in person to converse or do activities together then obviously Stanley wouldn't have much of a social life. However if you're going by Webster's definition of it just being the part of a person's time spent doing enjoyable things with others,then you will be shocked to find that Stanley has a surprisingly healthy social life.
The beauty of modern technology and how it enables long distance communication for convenience.
In the case of the average social introvert it was a means of gaining a social life without the hassle and anxiety that comes with meeting new people. It basically cuts out the dickhead middleman trying to screw you over and fucking up your deals. Moving on, a few might be curious as to how someone like Stanley who was a previously surly, short tempered asshole with a chip on his shoulder ever managed to make friends even through an online medium.
Well first of all, you meet all kinds of people on internet and if one thing is true it is that there are always people online who share your interest no matter what. If racists, fascists and furries have an online following then Stanley can find like minded people whom he has shared interests with. And no it's wasn't an Incel group because fuck those guys. Stanley might have been an asshole with a chip on his shoulder but he owned that shit. If he wanted to change he would make the effort but since he didn't give a fuck he didn't bother to try.
No his making online friends started with his original passion, gaming. Stanley loved games and not just videogames. He played board games, arcade games, he had all the noteworthy console systems throughout the ages, played a fuck ton of videogames and was not at all ashamed to call himself an Epic Gamer. He liked them so much he was probably one of the first people to record gaming walkthroughs and post them on the internet.
Why?
Because he's a fuck mothering Epic Gamer and he has done a lot to earn that title, as self proclaimed as it was. And so as an Epic Gamer who wasbusiness conscious with an enmity for public social interactions, a loathing for college life and not at all looking forward to the grind of the real world Stanley figured the next logical step in his life was to figure out a way to monetize his skills through the then growing online media landscape of the late 2000s/early 2010s.
Things didn't really pick up for him until the universe decided to spit in his direction. That's how he explained receiving some unexpected funds through sheer luck and a literal gamble. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he invested in himself and went all out on his platform which up to that point was moderately successful. Afterwards through his hard work and innate capabilities Stanley built up his presence online whilst also keeping his face and identity hidden from the public.
Passionate about this he may be but Stanley was not in the business of making a clown out of himself for millions of people to watch. He had his fucking dignity plus with his personality he'd probably get shut down even back then let alone in today's climate.
In any case after almost a decade Stanley has become a fully realized content creator and tentative influencer. His follower count collected through various social media outlets now number in the millions. All of this was accomplished through his 'job' which consists of creating timely and high quality educational videogame walkthroughs, the occasional live streams on Twitch and his special brand of online interaction with his community on Discord.
His Facebook account was deleted and Twitter is only used for announcements and nothing more.
Of course being online for so long and gaining such a large following came with its own set of problems. Said problems revolved around maintaining the success of his platform and unfortunately for all his passion and dedication Stanley just didn't have the social and technical skills necessary to operate on such an expansive front.
No man is an island and despite trying his best Stanley could not achieve his full potential as a content creator without help. And so he began to actively search for help online and found a few people over the years. Not all of them stuck around, he didn't have a good interpersonal relationship with most of them and he can even admit to getting screwed on a deal multiple timesbut he still he kept at it eventually he wised up and learned how to navigate the online space until he managed to assemble a proper team. It just so happens that in addition to having the necessary technical and social skills he lacked, they also share the same interests as him, namely their taste in videogames, anime, manga, light novels, TV shows, movies, etc.
You know, weeaboo shit.
Usually their interactions would take place online or at the very least Stanley wouldn't need to be there in person however this all changed during a private Discord chat. It was then that Stanley found among the various interests they shared one of them happened to be Airsoft.
For those who are unaware 'Airsoft, according to Wikipedia, is a team game in which participants eliminate opposing players by tagging them out of play with spherical plastic projectiles shot with mock air weapons called airsoft guns.
In fact they were all Airsoft enthusiasts and this opened up the gateway for an eventual face to face meeting. Now every once in a while when they have the time they get together to participate in Airsoft battles that last all weekend long. He found that despite his own feelings they were all good people who don't mind his prickly attitude and in a way actually get him. Unlike him however they actually have lives outside the internet. They go out, have social interactions and develop relationships with real people without a screen in between.
Nowhere was this apparent than when he tentatively accepted an invitation to meet up together and hang out like a bunch of normies. He felt really out of place and uncomfortable the whole time but he stuck it out for as long as he could. Despite this he still ended up making some excuse to leave the first chance he got. After that he never really joined them for regular social gatherings. He thought that would be the end of their relationship right there but having explained, ranted his situation they were pretty chill about it.
Well they certainly gave him some amount of grief for it but it was all in good fun. From then on it was generally understood that Stanley would only attend certain gatherings. Thankfully standoffishness did not negatively impact their relationship and they continued to keep in contact and meet up every now and then.
Now he faced a dilemma, two actually with the first being that Stanley never told any of them about Ezraphel at any point during their online chats. There were a bunch of reasons for this. First off that first month Ezraphel didn't have access to her magic and thus no disguise. Second, even with said disguise she had to be thoroughly trained and vetted so as to not oust herself or bring undo attention unto them in public.
So far he only succeeded in one of these.
Beyond that, his second reason was that there was just so much crap happening to him lately that he genuinely forgot about having to meet with them. Then just earlier today during group chat the date was set for a meet up and Airsoft match he automatically agreed to it. Now he was faced with the prospect of having to introduce his inhuman girlfriend from another dimension to his friends.
Just another day in the life of Stanley Berkowitz.
*Cue Seinfeld ending jingle*
"What the fuck am I doing?" he mumbled "this isn't the end of the world."
He knew the reason. He was nervous and maybe just a little self conscious.
…okay not a little bit but a whole lot.
He was very nervous and very self conscious about the whole thing!
"I hate feeling like this."
The anxiety, the pressure of having eyes on him by people whose opinions he actually gave a damn about was disgustingly familiar. He absolutely hated it but what can he do?
'Absolutely nothing.'
Well that's not true but then it becomes a question of whether he could or should do. This was happening for better or for worse. So until then he would have to deal with it. It was as if the anxiety was a small wound covered by a band-aid and itching something fierce. As much as he wanted to he couldn't scratch at it because then it would make the wound worse so he had no choice but to tough it out until the weekend where he could just rip the metaphorical band-aid off.
"I guess it could be worse."
Ezraphel could have been interested in playing with them.
He cringed just thinking about it…wait no, that wasn't a cringe from the thought but something else.
'What the…' were his thoughts before two slender arms wrapped around his game chair to entwine over his shoulder.
"Stanley~" were the words whispered in his ears.
He hated when she teleports into his office unannounced like this however his mind was momentarily taken by surprise at a simple fact.
'I actually felt that' he thought looking up into her eyes.
"Hm, what's wrong?"
"I think I actually felt youcoming."
"Really?" the Lilim's red eyes practically lit up "do you know what that means?"
He felt the chair reclining back and elevating in a way that was definitely not a part of its design.
"Pretty sure you're about to tell me" he mumbled still staring into her lit up eyes.
Now his and her faces were parallel to each other with her standing over him.
"That means our bond is getting deeper~"
As she says this her eyes glowed brighter, the lids lowered, the ever present red tinge of her cheeks grew brighter and her face came closer.
'Hmm, what to do…?'
On one hand he could just let her do her thing and engage in a make out session that has a pretty high chance of escalating into something more but on the other hand…
*Flick*
"Ow!"
Ezraphel's head jerked back as a comical yelp escaped her lips.
"Stanley why~?" she whined pressing a finger to the bruised spot between her forehead.
Said forehead flicker gave her a bored look "Ez, how many times have I told you not to teleport in my office out of nowhere?"
"267 times" she answered dutifully.
"…"
"What?"
"You actually kept count?"
"Was I not supposed to?"
"…"
"…"
*FLICK*
"OW!"
"Anyways, putting that aside did you want something?"
The Lilim who had been rubbing her forehead with a comically forlorn look immediately perked up. As she did he noted that the more pronounced bruise from his second forehead flick using the full measure of his superhuman strength immediately healed up.
"Oh, I have a surprise for you."
"Uh-oh."
Rolling her eyes she pulled him off the chair which realigned itself back to normal "oh relax, it is nothing to fret over."
"I'll be the judge of that."
"I'm counting on it" she winked before the two of them disappeared in a flash.
They reappeared before the bedroom door and even though he had no idea what was happening he could feel there was something off about the area.
"What did you do?"
The Lilim smiled widely with a hand on the doorknob "why don't you see for yourself, presenting our refurbished love nest."
She opened the door and Stanley's jaw dropped.
"What. The. Fuck!?"
~Breaking It In~
The room they were in used to be Stanley's bedroom but not anymore. For one it was like three times the size of the modest bedroom he's come to know and love over the past several years.
More than that all his furniture was gone, replaced with some of the most extravagant shit he's ever seen. The bed looked like it could fit three Ezraphel's, was plush as fuck with about half a dozen pillows and privacy curtains. On either side of it were nightstands made out of smooth as fuck black varnished wood. There was a freaking luxury lounge sofa in the corner, entire walls worth of curtains and a carpet that felt better on his feet than his bed.
His posters were now framed like portraits and hung up around the room. He couldn't help but notice that his dresser was gone and his closet had fucking huge double doors. But all of that paled in comparison to the coup de grace, a fucking 100 inch 4k TV mounted on the wall directly across from their bed.
"Jesus tap-dancing Christ Ez, what the actual fuck?"
"Did I overdo it?"
MUTHAFU-
"HMMMM" he groaned into his fists.
Admittedly it has been a while since he experienced an Ezraphel-induced migraine of this magnitude. It was a lot to take in, so much so that he had to rub his temples to try and stem the oncoming headache.
He paused to take in a very deep breath through the nose, brought his hands together in a prayer and looked to the sky 'please God, ROB or whoever is out there watching over me. Please continue your watch so my patience with this woman does not run out, amen.'
Now turning to the woman in question he was mildly satisfied to see (and feel) that she was becoming nervous. He figured that she was also feeling the full extent of his rage and it had her worried.
"Ezraphel~" he spoke in a 'nice' tone.
"Y-yes?"
"You've got some 'splaining to do!" he finished with some of the rage leaking through his façade making for a rather unhinged Stanley Berkowitz.
"I will take that as a yes" she spoke for her earlier question.
"Oh, don't think I don't see through your bullshit, you knew exactly what you were doing."
"Guilty~" she shrugged with a smile, all pretenses off.
Once again Stanley had to take a moment to breathe.
"Why did you do all this?"
"I told you before Stanley" she walked out to the center of the spacious room "this was your bedroom and it felt like I was a guest. So I made it our bedroom" she finished off with a spin whilst stretching out her arms.
"And you didn't think to run these changes by me first?" he spoke bluntly while pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You are focusing on the wrong thing Stanley" she clung to him and let them both fall sideways but instead of hitting the ground they fell through a portal.
Stanley ended up landing on the bed with Ezraphel directly on top of him. This would have earned her a few curses however his mind became preoccupied with the sensation of being sandwiched between his girlfriend and this new bed which if he were to make an analogy would be trapped between a soft and supple place. The bed felt almost as soft and comfortable as Ezraphel's chest which is no small feat. And that led him to a revelation he verbally spoke once she eased up to lay next to him.
"This bed is magical."
Like literally magical.
"You are welcome."
'Am I supposed to sleep on this thing every night?'
Because if so, god damn.
'Great, as if I needed another reason not to get off my lazy ass in the morning.'
"So, what do you think?"
"You definitely overdid it" he mumbled.
"Are you mad?"
"I-" his words were interrupted by a yawn and it was then he began to become aware of just how much he was being affected by the feel of the bed and Ezraphel's skinship "what was the question?"
She held him closer "I already have my answer."
'…that makes sense' he was practically putty in her embrace.
There was a 100 inch curiosity sitting on the wall directly in front of him though.
"Where and how did you manage to get the TV?"
"Meh, don't worry about it."
Now why did she go and say that?
"I wasn't worried about it before" really he was just curious "but I am now. You didn't steal it did you?"
"…"
*Flick*
"Ow, yeah I deserve that" he admitted while rubbing his forehead for a bit.
Huffing lightly at his attitude Ezraphel went on to explain the entire creative process behind this design choice.
"I looked up a few luxury bedroom designs on the internet and one of them had a TV like that and I thought you would appreciate it."
Well, she's not wrong but "you could have just copied the one in the living room you know."
"I wanted it to be special. This is as much your room as it is mine. Plus now whenever we want to watch movies we could just do it in here."
Hmm, let's see here, Stanley now has: the most comfortable bed he's ever laid his ass on, the literal sexiest woman alive by his side and now a big ass 4K TV. And all of this was in a single room enchanted to the nines by actual magic.
"Oh, I get it now."
"Get what?"
"Don't think I didn't see through your plot Ez."
Now giving a truly confused expression Ezraphel continued to deny "what plot?"
"Come on, it's obvious you're enticing me with the coolest shit so that I never want to leave you and this room, classic Mamono manipulation."
Ezraphel gained a devilish sultry smile "oh my~ it appears that you have seen through my ruse yet again Stanley~"
His words may have been a joke and Ezraphel may have been playing along but they both knew there was some truth to it. They already spend a lot of time having sex in the bedroom and most times the reason why they stop was because Stanley gave reasons not to stick around. Some of those reasons are legitimate but most of them are bullshit used to help keep himself in check. It was agreed that Stanley was the one that set the pace of their sex life because Ezraphel cannot be trusted when it came to moderation.
And speaking of moderation…
Before things could escalate Stanley turned his gaze away and back to the TV "did I ever tell you your magic is bullshit?"
Ezraphel frowned at the obvious interruption but answered nonetheless "you may have mentioned this, yes."
"I know I asked this before but, how the hell do you manage to pull this off?"
"Well as I said before I did not steal it."
"Yeah…"
"You still have doubts?"
"I mean…not that I want to doubt you but a 4K TV is a lot more complex than furniture."
Ezraphel hummed an agreement "you aren't wrong."
"So again, how?"
Ezraphel hummed to herself again, this one drawn out as she rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling now patterned in runic figures. Since she held Stanley he was taken along with the movement and made to lay on top of her with his head resting on her chest.
"Hey!"
She ignored the outburst as she thought of how best to answer his question in the most clear and succinct way possible.
"All objects have a certain 'structure'" she began "and there are spells that are able to analyze said structure down to the smallest detail. So with that information handy I am able to use the power granted by my having complete control over my domain to replicate it."
Stanley frowned at the explanation "so what, you just copy/paste shit?"
The Lilim shrugged "in the simplest of terms, yes."
"What's the catch?"
"What makes you think there is?"
He gave a bored look "come on Ez, that sounds way too good to be true and when something sounds too good to be true that usually means it is. So what aren't you telling me?"
"Why does it matter?"
"Oh it's just this small thing really, I live here!" he exclaimed dramatically "and I don't know about you but if shit's happening in my own home then I want to know what's up."
He had a point and she knew this "fine. If there is one caveat to this then it is that the objects created within cannot exist outside the domain for long periods of time."
"I knew it!"
She looked down at him from her position "you did?"
"You told me earth didn't have any natural mana."
Something she still found disturbing to this day.
Unbeknownst to her thoughts he continued "so I figure what essentially boils down to complex mana constructs wouldn't survive in an environment devoid of mana."
"You are correct."
His conclusion surprised her even though it really shouldn't since she knew that her Stanley was a brilliant man.
"That's kind of fucked up actually."
"Hm?"
"I mean this means you're basically using your own reserves to fuel this place" he noted "doesn't that get tiring?"
Ah and at this point Ezraphel was getting a bit nervous for the direction this conversation was heading.
"Well I am not exactly using my own reserves."
"What do you mean?"
'Here goes.'
"Remember that excess Demonic Energy you always tell me to clean up?"
"Yeah-Oh!" he realized "oh right that. Honestly I thought you'd just shove it in some pocket dimension but yeah this makes more sense. And at least it's being put to good use."
She waited a moment for him to continue but after a moment of silence it was clear he had nothing more to say and so she released a mental sigh of relief.
"I thought so too."
"…wait a minute."
'Uh-oh'
Looking down she saw him push himself up with a frown and furrowed brows "a domain you created that is being fueled by Demonic Energy" his eyes narrowed dangerously.
'Noooo.'
"Ezraphel-"
'Nonono.'
He maneuvered himself so that he was looming over her with his piercing brown eyes looking into her own red ones.
'Nonononono'
"Did you turn my house into a Demon Realm?"
'Shi-'
The Lilim mentally cursed her misfortune though on the outside she adopted a nervous smile.
"Would you believe me if I say it wasn't on purpose?"
He met her gaze for a moment that felt much longer before answering "I would give you the benefit of the doubt" he admitted before his expression turned deathly serious "now explain."
And so she did.
Ezraphel went on to explain how their first near week long coitus in which she created a barrier to prevent the newly created Demonic energy excess from leaking out didn't work entirely. She spoke of how she discovered the seepage and went about creating a personalized Spirit Realm domain as a means of better circumventing any future spreads.
"And that's what happened" she finished.
"…huh."
If this had been a few months ago then Stanley would have been absolutely livid and delivered onto her a rant of apocalyptic proportions. As it stood now he was less furious and more upset.
"Were you ever going to tell me about this?"
Ezraphel looked away which just about answered his question.
"Dammit Ez."
"In my defense I was not sure when the appropriate time to tell you this would be."
She had a point, not even he knew when the appropriate time or circumstance to tell him all this would be. In any case too much time has passed and he's enjoyed too many benefits to criticize her decision which in hindsight turned out to be for the best. He much rather hear about a problem that was already resolved than to stumble onto one that was still ongoing.
"Whatever, I'd like to say you should tell me about these things but really unless there's a problem that specifically involves or affects me before you can resolve it or you need my help to resolve it then I prefer not know about it until after it's no longer an issue."
"So…I did good?"
"Yes, you did good."
Stanley already anticipated the abrupt makeout session she pulled him into so he wasn't taken off guard by it.
Minutes later he managed to gain enough of his wits to pull himself away and roll off of her "okay that's enough of that."
Ezraphel halted his attempt at getting away by locking her long legs over his waist "it doesn't have to be."
"Ez…"
"All I am saying is, we still need to ensure that the bed can survive one of our 'marathon' sessions. After all that was one of the main reasons for the change in the first place."
'She's not wrong' a traitorous part of him whispered in his mind.
"Yes well uh…" he paused eyes darting every which way as his mind raced "t-the TV!"
"Hm?" she tilted her heard.
"I might as well set up the TV and make sure it's working properly" as he says this managed to wrestle himself from out of her grasp and get to his feet.
He just about managed to turn to the TV before the thing turned on seemingly of its own volition. And what was it that was the first thing to be seen on the 100 inch 4K TV? Why it was none other than some tall PAWG getting railed from behind by some short dude with a big dick. And as Stanley watched the pornographic scene play out he couldn't help but notice that the crisp clear cut visuals were being supplemented by a surround sound system that ensures every slap, squelch and moan was being reverberated around the entire room.
It was as if he was standing right there in that scene itself and all he could say to that was…
"What the fuck?"
"I'll have what she's having" a sultry voice whispered and was heard despite the cacophony of noise coming from the two going at it in 4K.
Turning around he found Ezraphel now wore sexy lingerie and was lying on her side facing him. In one hand she held a remote while her eyes pinned him with a smoldering gaze.
"As you can see I took the liberty of setting up the TV."
"How did you…"
"Google."
"Figures."
"Now then" she tossed the remote aside and began to crawl towards him on the bed "are you just going to stand there or are you going to put that man's performance to shame."
Stanley looked back at the TV then to Ezraphel before pressing his lips together 'she is getting way too good at getting her way.'
"…fuck it" he started pulling down his pants.
"That's the idea~" her words were interrupted by a fat half erect cock being stuffed in her mouth.
"Yeah, yeah put that smart mouth to better use."
Her response was a moan of delight followed by wet sucking noise.
~A 'Dangerous' Game~
Hours Later…
Ezraphel and Stanley lay naked on their new bed which now featured disheveled sheets and was soaked with about three different finds of bodily fluids. At some point the pair had switched off the porn, connected the TV to Ezraphel's laptop and was now watching a Looney Tunes compilation video on YouTube.
Why Looney Tunes?
Because Ezraphel likes Looney Tunes…just roll with it.
"Hey Ez?"
"Hmm?"
"The bed works fine by the way."
That was the understatement of the week. Stanley never knew just how much having a nice, incredibly soft and bouncy bed could improve the whole sexual experience until now.
"Clearly" Ezraphel answered.
'This is going to be a problem' he decided 'but fuck if I'm giving up this kind of comfort.'
Whatever problems he may encounter after this was something future Stanley would deal with. As for current Stanley he was just going to lay here and chill with his girlfriend until further notice.
"Stanley?"
"Hmm?"
"What are your friends like?"
"…"
Hey future Stanley, wake your bitch ass up!
'Fuck me.'
Looking over to his girlfriend he could see she was ignoring the cartoons to give him her full attention.
'How the hell do I answer this?'
"Why do you want to know?"
That was a stupid question but it was only meant to buy him time to come up with a satisfactory answer.
"Why would I not want to know about the people whom you consider your friends? As someone who shuns social interactions I feel you would be especially selective with whom you choose to associate with."
"Okay I call them my 'friends' but we're more like close associates in practice."
"Is that not what friends are?"
He made a so-so gesture "a little? What I'm trying to say is that we aren't really tooclose. We share some of the same interests and they help with some of the technical aspects of my job. We don't even meet each other in person often and most of our interactions are over the internet since we all live really far from one another."
Ezraphel gave a hum of contemplation "I see, then why are you meeting each other in person then? It must be important since you don't do it often."
"Depends on your definition of 'important,' I mean it's not like we're meeting to conduct business we're just going to play Airsoft."
"Airsoft?"
"Yes" he answered hesitantly.
"What is that?"
"…"
'Is she being serious right now?' the look on her face would say otherwise 'have I never explained what Airsoft is to her?'
"Stanley?"
"Sorry it's just I never told you about Airsoft before?"
She shook her head "no."
"Wait here, I'll be right back"
With that he rolled out the bed which took a lot more time than it should but other than a grumble it didn't get much of a reaction. Walking over to the closet Stanley attempted to pull on one of the doors only for both to open simultaneously. Beyond the open doors was another spacious and brightly lit room with shelves racks and spaces occupied with an assortment of clothes, shoes and jewelry.
Stanley stared for a moment then turned his girlfriend with a look of incredulity.
"What?"
He gestured to the walk-in closet "really?"
"I have a lot of clothes Stanley" she said matter-of-factly "you of all people should know this."
"Boy, don't I?"
By far the most expensive single use of his credit card in recent memory.
"I kept a suitcase in here before all this. Where is it, I don't want to go exploring right now."
Ezraphel snapped her finger and the aforementioned suitcase levitated out of some compartment and made its way towards him. He caught it in both hands without issue and brought it to the side of the bed where he began to fiddle with the locking mechanism. This caught the attention of Ezraphel whose curiosity about it had been piqued for a while now.
The first time she discovered it was while she was depowered and enquiries to its content was met with deflection and a promise to leave it alone. After she regained her powers the mystery all but left her mind. Not that she would look into it without her Stanley's permission since whatever was inside was obviously important to him.
Then he pulled out a familiar object and her heckles were raised immediately.
"I see you remember this thing" he noted whilst holding the Crossman M4-177 air rifle in hand.
"Yes, I remember" the Lilim glowered as she recalled the memories.
Stanley did too remember those times "just wanted to say…I regret nothing."
Now her glower turned to him.
"Don't give me that look, you have to admit if I didn't have this as a deterrent" and for protection "this relationship would have been a whole lot different."
Namely he would be under her thrall as opposed to partners in equality.
Ezraphel did not agree with that statement but found no use in arguing "let us agree to disagree."
"Fine by me" he shrugged, not really caring since he didn't want to dwell on that part of the past "so this is what is called a pellet gun or an 'air gun' because it shoots small pellets using compressed air through a mechanism you can look up yourself because it would go over your head if I explained."
"And what does that thing have to do with your meeting this weekend?"
"Ez, we're playing 'Airsoft' and this is an 'Airsoft gun' I'm sure you can figure it out."
And indeed she did after a moment to think about it and she did not looked pleased at all "you use that thing to shoot at each other…for fun?" her tone was incredulous.
"Hey you caught on quick."
"That is barbaric."
Stanley shrugged at her claim it's not the worst thing it's been called and he wasn't about to defend his interest to someone who has a bias.
"No, barbaric is two people charging each other at full speed on a horse and using a lance to try and knock each off for sport."
He's talking about jousting and in her defense Ezraphel has never seen the appeal.
'Are these pointless and barbaric games just a human thing?' she wondered.
"Me and my colleagues running around with tactical safety armor shooting each other with bio-degradable pellets from low caliber imitation weapons in an arena is fun."
She didn't see it that way but she could hardly argue about it since she knew nothing about the finer points of this…sport.
So Ezraphel could only shake her head and ask "and you have fun doing this?"
"Ho-ho yes, so much fun."
Ezraphel pursed her lips "if that is the case then perhaps I should join you."
Smiling he replied "sure, we'll have to get you your own loadout and equipment but yeah you can join if you want."
That…was not the answer she was expecting and it caught her a bit off guard.
"Really?"
With the smile still on his face Stanley replied with a cheery "haha fuck no."
'There it is.'
"Why can't I?"
"Well first of all, you clearly hate Airsoft guns and that's my fault since I traumatized you with them."
"I wasn't traumatized."
Sure the worst memories of her times with Stanley involved those contraptions and she disliked real guns but she wouldn't say she was 'traumatized.'
"Also I get really competitive in this game."
"I don't see any particular problem with that."
"That's because I'm being nice now but out in the field I trash talk like a motherfucker. This weekend I guarantee you will hear some of the most heinous swears come out of mouth. Everybody gets it whether you're on my team or not I make no distinction and I don't want you to have to experience that as your first time with Airsoft."
Also the thought of Ezraphel playing with him on the field was fucking embarrassing as fuck.
Ezraphel could actually picture that and it sounds like she would be dealing with early days Stanley if she joined which was more than enough reason not to involve herself even if she did not have any enmity to the game.
"If that is the case then perhaps I should stay out of it."
"I was expecting more of a fight from you."
"It is as you say, I do not particularly care for this type of game."
"Okay."
"However" she added "I insist we mingle with your friends after you are finished with your…game."
Now he was caught off guard "what makes you think there's going to be anything after the game?"
"Please Stanley, colleagues who don't see each other often meet together only to play a game? I am sure there will be time afterwards for a gathering of some sort. Knowing you I am sure you make excuses to leave since you dislike social interactions."
Well what can he say to that? She hit the nail right on the head.
"Ugh, fine" he replied in a frosty tone.
This in turn brought a smile to her face "good, now put that thing away and get back here."
As he put the replica rifle away he frowned "you know you've been getting cheeky lately."
"Oh?" her eyes crinkled with lust as her voice took on a husky tone "have I been a bad girl?"
He closed the suitcase "as a matter of fact, yes."
"Then perhaps I need a strong man with a fat cock to discipline me~"
He straight up dropped the suitcase at that, feeling himself going full mast "…oh you bitch."
Ezraphel's smile was wide and her eyes were lustful as she gave him a come-hither.
'Looks like I'm in for the long haul.'
He was very glad that his meet with the boys was still several days away.
~To Be Continued~
Author's Notes: Advance Chapters available on my Pa treon, link is in my Bio.