Stanley's eyes twitched as the more he watched them the more he felt confusion give way to anger before…
'Breathe'
He inhaled through the nose and exhaled through his mouth.
'Alright Stan, let's not freak out just yet. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this. Maybe that's not actually the Golem in the first place.'
He really hoped that was the case that his eyes were deceiving him and he had mistaken the identity of that woman. Unfortunately he had superior eyesight compared to the average human and despite looking as innocuous as any other random person hers was a familiar face. Not familiar in the vague sense that she could be someone whose face he might have seen somewhere but familiar in the sense that he knew her.
Willfully ignorant he may have been the people he didn't actually have that bad a memory in the first place and it has only gotten better after he became an incubus. And while he met her before he became an incubus and barely interacted with her it's hard to forget that body especially when he remembered her doing provocative poses with it. And if there was anything that could stick in the memory of an Incubus then it would be a woman's body
There was the other thing too. Stanley had made great strides in detecting Demonic Energy especially in the 'vacuum' that was outside his house. Right now there were three sources of it: himself, the lady and…the guy she's currently walking hand-in-hand with albeit not nearly enough to be a 'problem' like with Amelia after the milk incident.
'They already had sex' he realized in disbelief.
That guy was still a long way from being an Incubus Stanley could tell that both of them have imprinted on each other in a way that only a Mamono and her Husband can.
"Jesus Tap Dancing Christ EZRAPHEL!!"
His head hit the steering wheel careful to avoid honking the horn by accident and he pinched the bridge of his nose. fter a long moment he looked up just in time to be vindicated as the two stood in front of a house sharing a rather passionate embrace and kiss. After far too long the guy reluctantly pulled away while the disguised Golem very reluctantly let him go. He walked up to the door of the house which Stanley will take a guess as to say that it's his family's house, paused to look back and waved. The girl waved too and it was all Stanley could endure not to gag at the fucking highschool romance bullshit playing out before him.
Eventually the guy went back inside and the Golem put a finger to her lips and while he couldn't see it from this angle he could imagine the small almost shy smile she could have sported. As she turned to walk away with a literal skip in her step Stanley decided it was the perfect time to pull a Kool-Aid Man and bust through the metaphorical wall of euphoria and disrupt her moment.
And so as she crossed the street Stanley drove up beside her at a casually slow pace. She didn't seem to notice him still riding the high off of that kiss. There's also the fact that the driver's seat was on the other side of sidewalk. As he made it beside her he wound down the passenger window causing her to finally take notice. As her eyes drifted towards him he leaned across the seat a bit for her to get a better look at her face and vice versa.
"Sup?" he casually greeted with a small glare.
And as if to drive the final nail in the coffin of whether or not he might be mistaken about her identity he saw her eyes widen in alarm. It was as if a bucket cold of water had dropped on her head freezing the warm fuzziness of her previous experience. It even caused her to freeze mid stride her however he noticed her eyes shifting from him to the path before her in a certain direction while her body subtly tensed.
'She's deciding whether or not to make a run for it' a voice told him.
At this realization his eyes narrowed dangerously before he spoke "don't even think about it, we both know where you're headed anyway."
She tensed at his words and hesitated seeming unsure before ultimately sagging in resignation.
Rolling his eyes Stanley straightened up in the seat and unlocked the door before grunting out "get in."
The disguised Golem did as she was told and entered the passenger seat and shut the door. Then she secured the seatbelt unprompted which was a mild surprise considering the difficulty Ezraphel had with it the first time around. All it did was just remind him that this Golem was out and about for the better part of a year now. Now that she was close Stanley was able to pick up on details he didn't bother considering before.
The Golem in disguise took the appearance of an olive skinned beauty on the darker skin tone with luxurious shoulder length brown hair and dark eyes. She wore a surprisingly modest ensemble of brown capri pants, tennis shoes a sleeveless blouse and jean jacket. Her age was a bit ambiguous but she seemed around the latter end of the teens. At best he'd estimate her to be about twenty years old.
He knew for certain that the guy she was with looked younger than him and that brought another headache, the ambiguity of the age of her…partner. Mamono don't care for things like 'age of consent' and it wasn't because such a concept didn't exist on Eos. As long as a man was biologically capable of producing semen they'll go for him and even then some will just literally groom kids until they reach the appropriate age.
And so with the thought of Mamono and their questionable tactics for acquiring partners in mind he could not in good conscience leave the question unanswered.
"How old was that guy you were with?"
"…"
She didn't speak yet he could 'hear' her causing him to scowl "stop!"
And with that he stopped hearing the string of 'words' entering his mind. It was some kind of magic that probably conveyed intent without spoken words.
"Don't do that."
He already personified two 'voices' in his head and didn't need a third but with that in mind.
"Please tell me that's not how you've been communicating with that guy."
Reluctantly she nodded but also added some hand movements he could recognize as sign language even if he didn't know sign language.
"Is that actual sign language?" She nodded in affirmation causing him to grunt in approval.
'Nice save' he thought but didn't say out loud.
He gave her a side eye as he asked "you can talk can't you?"
"…" she said nothing but gave a very reluctant nod.
"Then use your words and answer the question."
For some reason the woman cringed as if he'd just asked her to do something horrible.
"…nineteen."
Stanley's frown became more pronounced as he heard her voice come out in a near whisper, as if she was afraid of speaking. Not a fear of him but of the action itself which caused him to shake his head as he disregarded her apparent discomfort to ponder her answer. And while he didn't show it said answer gave him relief.
'That's one problem I don't have to worry about.'
"Tell me everything that happened since I last saw you."
Meanwhile…
After the phone call with Stanley ended and seeing as there was nothing else for her to do until he came back Ezraphel decided it was best to get some well deserved rest. It would also curb the temptation of attempting to spy on him during his meeting with his mother. And thus Ezraphel slept however she laid down an alarm system that would alert her to Stanley's presence in the area and wake her up.
When she did wake up it was with a jolt as the words "Jesus Tap Dancing Christ EZRAPHEL!!" echoing in her mind's eye.
"Oh, that is not good."
With that Ezraphel teleported and arrived in the living room.
"I sensed a disturbance."
Ezraphel's sudden comment earned a blink from Natalie who had been lounging on the couch.
"In the force?" the Wight questioned sarcastically.
This earned a finger point from the Lilim "I understand that reference and yes" she hesitated.
"Wait really?"
Ezraphel nodded "I can't help but feel that something has happened with Stanley."
"Something bad?"
Ezraphel scrunched up her face "not to him."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure but I feel a great amount of anger from him."
"You think the meeting with mom fell through?"
Ezraphel shook her head "no, if he were crossed with her then I would have felt it sooner. This is recent."
"Then what is he so pissed about?"
"I'm trying to find out but he is preventing me from doing so."
"He can do that?"
"Unfortunately" was the muttered reply.
"I'm surprised you'd teach him how to be honest."
"I in fact did not. Stanley figured out how to do that on his own and I am still at a loss as to how he managed to do such a thing."
"My guess would be true stubborn force of will" Natalie commented before shaking her head "so where is he now?"
"Close, he should be here any moment now actually."
"Can't you use magic to-I dunno- scry him or something?"
"First, scrying is a lot a harder than it seems. Second, even if I try he'll know and I'd get in even more trouble."
"So?"
"So, I would very much like to have sex tonight Natalie."
'Though with how angry he seems that might not be in the cards tonight' she thought to herself with a wince while biting her thumb nail in worry.
"Ugh, don't remind me" the Wight groaned as she remembered the bit of cringe that was exchanged between the couple over her phone earlier that day "I did not need to know you two were going to boink tonight."
"Sex is rather great, you should try it some time."
Natalie stared at the Lilim for a moment in disbelief at the audacity before her ghostly red eyes narrowed in a way that was all too familiar to the Lilim.
"Oh, so we gonna do it like that huh?"
"I'm sorry that was a bit much."
"No-no you said what you meant and meant what you said right?"
"No that is not what I meant!"
"Then what the fuck did you mean!?"
Ezraphel blinked at the aggressive tone as somewhere along the line the dialogue became a lot more serious than it was meant to be for a harmless joke. After a moment where no words were shared Natalie seemed to realize this and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"This perpetual horniness is fucking horseshit" she grumbled.
Ezraphel sat beside her on the sofa as she patted her shoulder "there, there. Look on the bright side."
Natalie took her face from her hand to glance at the Lilim "what?"
Ezraphel grinned "at least you won't have any issues attracting a partner for a casual romp."
Natalie smiled at that and hummed "I guess there is that."
Casual sex or rather having a partner (but usually multiple) without committing to marriage was a thing that existed in Mamono culture. It was a matter of personal preference and a bit of a contentious topic for some but it existed. Ezraphel personally didn't care for it, she was a one man kind of woman but she knew a lot of Mamono who practiced it and didn't think any less of them for it. She even understood why they'd do it and in the case of Natalie clearly the frustration was getting to her if such banter could get such a reaction out of her.
Ezraphel has seen it before many times in recently turned single mamono. It's the reason why Ezraphel and her sisters are advised to turn women who either have a lover or someone with whom they are in love with to pursue after the transformation.
*Click*
While she had been consoling Natalie the door opened signaling Stanley's return. She hadn't even noticed his approach which was all kinds of concerning but not as concerning as the second person entering the house with him, someone who was very familiar to her senses.
"I believe I realize why Stanley is so angry" Ezraphel spoke as a pit formed in her stomach.
"Oh yeah? What is it?"
Just then Stanley entered the room with a casual smile that would send alarm bells ringing for anyone that knew him.
"Hey guess who I met on my way back?"
He then stepped aside to allow the Golem A to come into view. She then dropped her human disguise as she did so looking equal parts apologetic and anxious.
"That" a now pale faced Ezraphel answered Natalie's question in a hollow tone.
"Yeah that'd do it" Natalie sighed.
"You know I thought I'd be angrier" Stanley began as he walked in closer "what with you BLATANTLY LYING TO ME!" he ended in a loud forceful tone before continuing in a calmer one "or maybe I am just so unbelievablypissed off right now that I've come full circle."
"I didn't lie-"
"Lying through omission" he interrupted smoothly with a raised finger interrupting her rebuttal then pointed said raised finger to the Golem who flinched "why the hell is she walking around in broad daylight with her fucking boyfriend of all people?"
"I-"
"That was a rhetorical question!" he hissed rapidly "She already told me everything!"
There was a lull as Stanley took a deep "you know I'm not even mad about her being out there so much as I'm mad you didn't say anything. Didn't run it by me that you 'accidentally' created a 'sentient' Golem" he air quoted "didn't discuss with me that you were using her to run errands out in public, didn't inform me she found a guy and started a relationship. You know the kind of shit that I need to know? Not because we're trying to keep your existence a secret but because we're supposed to be in this together!"
Stanley pinched the bridge of his nose taking in several breaths. The silence went uninterrupted as he did so before he finally calmed down enough to glare at his girlfriend.
"You know, I've thought about this before but I didn't bother say anything because I didn't want to come off as a special kind of dickhead but I'm gonna be real Ez. If you were human and this was a normal relationship I would have jumped ship a long time ago."
With his piece said he turned around and left. A moment later the door to his office slammed loudly and clearly in the silent living room. Both Natalie and A paid no mind to this as their attention was settled on Ezraphel who sat still as a statue with her ears drooped, tail limp and a dazed expression on her face betraying her attempts at holding back her storm of emotions.
"Ezraphel?"
"I-I-I…I'm f-fine."
She wasn't and Natalie reached out with her hand tentatively while A moved her side both of them had expressions of concern.
The moment she felt the hand on her shoulder the Lilim reacted as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on her head, gasping as tears ran down her eyes while hyperventilating. As she broke down into sobs and incoherent mutterings Natalie urgently yet gently pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay, it's okay just breathe. Everything's going to be alright."
"N-no it's not…it's really not!" she sobbed.
Natalie sighed as she shared a glance with the Golem who looked just as helpless and guilty about the whole situation.
The Wight sighed looking to the ceiling "god dammit."