5.1 Breakpoint

Today was a special day he knew and Ezraphel certainly did too as she was positively vibrating in place from excitement. Very inconvenient for the man she chose to cling to but luckily Stan was saved by the bell so to speak. After the delivery guy mishap that happened that first week Stanley made it a rule for Ezraphel to make herself scarce whenever the doorbell rang. It was a terrible oversight on his part however he chalked it up to him not used to her presence. Of course it didn't help him since the delivery guy was very keen on seeing the big, beautiful, busty cosplay girl again.

When asked on her identity Stanley told him she was a high class escort he hired from online who was also into cosplay.

"Don't bother looking her up, you can't afford her."

He got a funny look from that guy after he said that but whether it was the 'escort' thing or the 'can't afford her' thing was anyone's guess. Personally Stanley thought it might have been the 'this midget is getting more action than me' kind of thing. Stanley didn't care either way he just wanted his god damn pizza not debating the merit of paid sex with a delivery guy.

And speaking of deliveries…

Stanley directed the two guys carrying the various boxes inside though had them place them near the doorway. They didn't question it as obviously they could care less to ask why he would want to dump those heavy boxes by the doorway instead of somewhere more convenient. By the time they were finished there were assorted boxes and bags of different sizes piling the doorway.

'Christ no wonder they were giving me weird looks' at first he thought they thought he was into some freaky shit but considering the number of boxes stacked together managed to reach chest level when stacked they might have just thought he didn't have much of a male presence in a house full of women.

Why would they think this?

Because all the boxes have different fashion brands on them and all of them were women's fashion brands.

Guess who they're for?

"Okay they're gone you can come out now Ez."

There was a squeal and Stanley had to metaphorically hit the deck as hurricane Ezraphel teleported from her hiding place and tore into the assorted boxes with all the enthusiasm of a child unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. Stan left her to it, as far he's concerned his job here is done and he has earned himself a sit down behind the ole PC in his office. Now one may be wondering how this recent thing came about but really what should one expect at this point?

One of the first things that came up during talks of her stay was the absence of personal effects such as clothing and toiletries. Luckily in the case of the latter Stanley was stocked up like an apocalypse shelter, after that one mishap earlier in his foray into seclusion he learned that one can never have too much toilet paper. The rest was more for convenience, better to buy a whole bunch of stuff now and not use than to run out later and have to go outside to get them.

As such Stanley had several toothbrushes, toothpastes, soaps (both liquid and bars), shampoos, conditioners, mouthwash, floss, towels, washcloths, etc. Most of these things he got because of his parents and at the time he felt like splurging. The look on Ezraphel's face when she saw his assortment of 'bath oils' was a curious one but apparently soap wasn't widely accessible to the public in her dimension and could only be afforded by the wealthy. Even then the quality wasn't quite up to snuff in comparison to what Stanley had.

What a sad world she lived in.

The real problems came with the clothes. Ezraphel only came with the clothes on her back, which could charitably be called underwear if he was being honest with himself. He couldn't begrudge her for it, it's not as if she was expecting to cross dimensions and leave all her stuff behind. Shopping was out of the question for Ezraphel as she claimed to not have enough magic to throw up a glamour charm disguise. That is despite being able to sneak into his room past a locked door and barricade consistently without alerting him to her presence for weeks on end.

Does that say more about her skill, his lack of awareness or how bullshit magic is?

Just one of life's mysteries he supposed.

Of course being the magnanimous host he was Stanley did go out to buy her stuff. Admittedly he did this mainly as a way to catch a break from her advances and may have overestimated his ability to get that job done. Unfortunately for Ezraphel her size meant that conventional women's wear was out and Stanley's manhood wouldn't survive cashing out bra and panties at the register. He's on the internet most of the time and the last thing he needed is a meme about him making the rounds, he's just not that thick skinned.

This meant the only clothes Ezraphel wore for the past couple of weeks were boxers, sweat pants and XL shirts courtesy of the local men's store. She hadn't been happy about that but it was either that or her corset and thong every day. In the end she conceded grudgingly for the time being. He didn't know what made her sadder, that she had to wear men's clothing or that none of his could fit her. The expression she made after realizing this fact could be filed under 'cancer diagnosis.'

Even then it says some terrifying things about her sex appeal that she could make sweatpants and a t-shirt look like something straight out of Rule 34…Sheesh. Of course this wasn't something that she could tolerate indefinitely and like a man digging his own grave Stanley had no choice but to rectify the situation. Naturally he turned to the internet as he always did in times of great peril.

Online shopping wasn't a new concept for Stanley. Obviously being the urban hermit he was most of his stuff came through online services. This includes his various gaming and leisure devices, some appliances, food and even some of the clothes in his closet. Unfortunately not even his expertise could cover the fact that this was women's clothing he was going to order. Stanley wasn't foolish enough to trust himself with ordering clothes for a woman which left the option of having Ezraphel pick and choose what she wanted. Of course this began the tedious procedure of explaining the concept of online shopping and going through the steps of how to pick and customize what she wanted.

What really sucked was watching that dollar sign icon rack up in number.

Never would Stanley thought that he would ever felt a kinship to Al Bundy yet here he is. He might as well apply for that job selling women's shoes and give Ezraphel some bonbons.

…He went on a 90's Sitcom binge recently.

There was little he could do about it though because unlike Peggy Ezraphel actually pulls her weight around the house. She cooks for him, cleans his house, provides eye candy, is a boost to his self worth as a man every time she tries to get into his pants and reminds him every day that there is a beautiful woman who actually, genuinely cares about him. Shockingly that last part meant a lot more to him than he would ever admit out loud. So the least he could do is buy her some clothes as recompense.

Well that's not technically true as the least he could do was reciprocate her feelings, have sex with her and not act like an asshole so much. After careful consideration of the options Stanley decided on the course of throwing money at the problem until his conscience shuts up. In this instance Ezraphel was very keen on getting her hands on new clothes as she came to appreciate earth fashion.

And because he felt obligated to pay her back for services rendered as well as morbid curiosity Stanley found an online shopping service that lets one customize the clothes to s certain extent. After showing her how the site works, giving her a generous budget and laying down the rules of common public decency Stanley gave her free reign over what to order. And what she ordered ended up cluttering part of his living room with bags and boxes.

Was it expensive?

YES!

Was it worth it?

Was it worth the look of genuine happiness and childlike excitement on her face as she went around the room opening packages and marveling at the various clothing articles and shoes?

…yeah.

And on the bright side Ezraphel was set when it came to clothing which was something he approved of as a man who believed in having something and not needing it rather than needing it and not having it. Speaking of 'having' it should be noted that clothing for outdoor was included in that bulk purchase. Stanley wasn't stupid enough to believe he would be able to keep her cooped up inside his house for all of time. Even though he could technically pull it off the only thing keep Ezraphel from going out is the lack of mana for magic spells and with only means of replenishing that mana being his seed well…it's only a matter of time really.

This wasn't a rom-com anime, he knew for a fact that he was going tap Ezraphel's perfect ass before the quarter is over. In fact if can make it two months with his virginity intact that would be a win in his book.

Things took a turn after she started doing domestic work around the house instead of lazing about. With that change the dents made to his metaphysical wall got bigger even more so than when she was going the seduction route. Curiously she doesn't even aggressively pursue sex like the first couple of weeks anymore. The moment he figured out he was fighting a losing battle with this woman was the day he woke up spooned by her larger frame (again) and felt exasperation instead of aggravation.

Stanley can admit he was going to lose this battle of attrition because he's not an idiot he's a realist. He is also a stubborn bastard with trust issues and a constant need to control his life. So as a stubborn bastard with trust issues and a constant need to control his life he made the vow that before he inevitably gives in to temptation (or gets raped) he's going to make sure that Ezraphel is on the level so to speak.

Given her disposition (being a walking embodiment of lust and all) he thought this would be a daunting task but he recently confirmed something about Ezraphel. Sex is just a means to an end for her, what she really wanted was him. A woman who is most likely the closest thing to being perfect wants to be with him for no other reason than she is genuinely in love.

That's about the scariest thing Stanley's ever faced in his life and the real stinger is that he knows. He knows that she isn't working an angle. Ezraphel and Mamono in general are too honest about their feelings of men to ever be bitches working an angle. Stan doesn't believe there is a single Mamono who would try to sleep with someone as aggressively as Ezraphel has if they weren't in love with them.

So Ezraphel was definitely in love with him…as hard as it is to believe and it was very hard for Stanley to believe.

Stanley stared at the screen, he had just lost that round, how many times and even what game he was playing he forgot, so caught up in his thoughts he was.

It's only a matter of time.

You make it sound as if it would be a terrible thing at this point. She's practically playing the role of housewife in everything except bedroom duties.

She's harmless now but give her back magic and the next thing you know you end up like that self insert in Fallen Maidens.

Since the MGE universe was real then what happened to Lescatie is now a fact thereby validating the events told in Fallen Maiden/Brides story. Stanley winced thinking about the fate of the boy formerly known as Elt. They framed the story as if he lived happily ever after with his harem but Stanley doubted the man actually survived being raped nonstop around the clock by eight monster girls for an entire week straight.

Can you imagine it? Trapped in a bed, doped up on demonic energy and charm magic while she has her way you over and over and over again?

Oh my god!

That could be you in like…one week, two tops…

Stanley began to internally panic 'I can't stay here!'

Briskly leaving his office, Stanley avoided eye contact with Ezraphel whose attention was immediately drawn to him.

"Stanley?"

It's as if she knows.

"I'm going out" he said hastily before composing himself "I uh, forgot to pick up the thing."

"Is that so?" she says not at all buying his act of calm.

Hardly mattered either way, he was already moving, ignoring the sound of her bare feet padding after him. The last thing he wanted right now was to look at her so he went straight for the garage picking up his keys on the way. He managed to get to the door before a soft hand grasped his shoulder.

Slowly he turned to see the taller woman giving him a look of mild concern "are you alright?"

He swallowed a little, staring into those red eyes he is reminded of her inhumanity. He turned away "yeah I just, need to clear my head."

Her lips pursed, and he was afraid she would press the matter but in the end his worries were for naught as she simply chose to envelope him in a hug. Unlike the other times she embraced him this one was less forceful, less sensual and oddly tender in a way that was unlike anything he expected from her. It threw him for a loop, so much so that he couldn't even react when she released him.

"You have something to take care of?"

"Y-yes!" he silently cursed his stutter and higher pitched voice "I mean yeah."

Ezraphel only giggled "alright then" she kissed him on the cheek "for good luck"

Dumbfounded the man could give a "huh?"

She winked at him and started playfully pushing him into the car "go, I will be here when you return."

"O-oh…kay…?" he got in the car and opened the garage door.

Before he could get to reversing Ezraphel leaned down to the window and tapped it. For a moment he thought of just leaving but that thought was squashed as soon as it surfaced and he reluctantly rolled down the window.

"…yeah?"

…there is nothing Stanley had experienced that was more awkward and tension wracking than of Ezraphel staring at him unflinchingly and without a word.

Finally he had enough "WHAT!?"

Ezraphel did not react to his outburst though she did finally blink "apologies I was just thinking…"

"What about?"

She gained a pensive look "what would you like for dinner?"

'That's what she was thinking about?'

Somehow Stanley was doubtful of that.

He shrugged and went to say "whatever sounds good, I won't complain"

Except he did not say that, and instead said "don't bother"

"Hm?"

"You don't have to make any dinner Ez" he had no idea what he sounded like right now but from the look on her face it might have been cringe inducing.

"O-oh" the surprise was evident in her tone "I see" as was the suspicion "is there any particular reason why?"

"No I'm just…not feeling very hungry right now."

The way she wrinkled her nose right then must have been because she smelt his bullshit.

Getting back on track he started backing up from the driveway "I gotta go"

Despite being outside Ezraphel still caught up to him "wait Stanley"

"Yeah?"

"I love you"

"…"

"Stanley?"

"I…I…willberightback!"

He backed out of the driveway faster than intended and thank god there weren't any cars on the street at that moment. He set the garage door to close before peeling down the road, ignoring Ezraphel's hurt and disappointed look. Stanley already felt like a tool without having to add that to his conscience.