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“This is a temporary arrangement, Harlot, so stop fussing and hold still.” Raphael was running out of patience, tempted to use the power of the Crown of Karsus that fit so perfectly on his head, but it should not be necessary for one blasted incubus. “Need I remind you who holds your contract?”
“Need I remind you, Archduke, that there are two contracts upon my soul, and now you are suggesting a third?” Haarlep refused to allow the oversized ribbon anywhere near them, turning their back instead and whipping their tail against the ground in frustration.
“This is no contract – you can consider it a holiday! You will get to play with all of your favourite toys, and I will return for you once sufficient progress has been made.” In an attempt to placate the incubus, Raphael stepped closer, sliding his hand around their waist to caress the ridges that formed perfect contours across their abdomen. He shivered slightly as he felt the touch echoed on his own body. “You are a victim only of your own success – you are a distraction, but you will serve me just as well with our Little Mouse.”
“And are my desires not to be considered in this equation?” Haarlep turned swiftly, pulling his hand and wrapping their arm around his back, forcing him to bend as they leaned over him. “You are treating me as a toy to be regifted, discarded.”
“Temporary,” Raphael repeated, though he could already feel his resolve faltering beneath the fiery gaze that bore deep into his soul. “I do not wish to be rid of you entirely, and this way you will also be safe from harm.”
—
For a moment, Haarlep was stunned, the protest they had been preparing faltering in the face of the sincerity that fell far too easily from the devil’s plush lips. It only lasted a moment, however, their confidence returning as their tail wound around his leg, one thumb gently caressing his cheek. “My Raphael, you do care~”
“Make no mistake, Harlot—”
“There is no mistake, I heard you loud and clear,” they bent closer to his lips, their hand at his cheek preventing him from turning away. “Your concern is duly noted, and I will gladly entertain your favourite client for a while.”
Raphael was weakening in their arms, a slight movement betraying how he sought their kiss – but Haarlep pulled away, earning a deeper frown that quickly smoothed into satisfied relief. “Then you are ready to leave? I shall have Korrilla oversee your needs, and should you need to return at any time—”
“Oh, I’m not ready to go now,” Haarlep cut him off once more, not allowing the cambion to finish a single lecture, “I need just one more thing from you before I leave.”
—
Raphael’s patience was thinning, the frustrating creature getting close then pulling away again, teasing even more than they usually did. “And what, pray tell, might that be?”
“You.” Haarlep finally captured his lips in a passionate kiss, their wings rising and curling around them both in a crimson canopy that blocked out the entire world outside of the singular moment.
Sensing that his newest tailoring was likely about to be torn, the cambion dismissed the outfit into a neatly folded pile on an empty chair. If giving them what they wanted now would make them more amenable to taking a season or three away to allow him to conquer Avernus, it was a small price to pay.
And if Raphael were being honest with himself, which he was bluntly incapable of when it came to Haarlep, he would have admitted he was loathe to part with them for so long himself. Instead he rationalised away the desperation as the influence of their aphrodisiac kiss, allowing the incubus to take everything they wanted as he indulged in the exquisite pleasure that inevitably followed.
He yielded to the kiss, savouring the taste on his lips, losing himself in every touch as they lifted him into their arms and carried him over to the bed, laying him more delicately than usual upon the silk sheets and plush pillows.
“My precious Archduke, tonight I will spoil you, and tomorrow you will be left with only the echoes of the many many games I will play with that Little Mouse – I wonder how long it will take,” their claws teased across his chest, touch plucking at his libido with expert precision, “before you come knocking at our door, desperate for all that you’ve been missing~”
—
The next day, Haarlep stood in front of the portal, grinning like the incubus that got the cream as Raphael summoned the remainder of his energy to ensure the magic would not falter. “How do I look?” They grinned, turning on their heel, wearing only the large decorative bow that barely covered their body. Somewhere to one side, Korrilla dragged a case full of what they had deemed essential for the trip.
“Perfect…ly acceptable,” Raphael muttered, the fatigue still clear in his voice. “Do take care not to wear my favourite client out entirely, I may yet have use of that particular soul.”
“Careful, Archduke,” Haarlep kissed him on the tip of his nose, grinning gleefully at the frustrated wrinkle that appeared at its bridge in response, “you might make me jealous~”
“You are entirely irreplaceable,” the devil replied without thinking, “and need I remind you that you still belong to me, despite any appearances to the contrary, so I expect my property to be returned in one piece.”
“Mmmm, I know which piece you mean~” They couldn’t resist slipping their hand down to palm across his length one last time with a brief and teasing touch. “Oh, and Raphael?”
“Haarlep?”
“Do be sure not to get yourself killed,” a brief moment of sincerity passed between them, the innate understanding of a fractious bond built over centuries – millennia – planning their future together to mutual benefit. “After all, you do still hold that contract over me which I intend to fulfil.”
Without waiting for further response, Haarlep turned on their heel and strode boldly through the portal, met by a group of perplexed and shocked looking faces.
“A pleasure to see you again, Little Mouse – you have not forgotten me so soon, have you? Of course not, you remember how it felt, every second you spent with me~ What am I doing here? It seems you have earned a favour from the ever-benevolent Raphael – I am to be a gift to you, for a time. Don’t you want to unwrap me?~ Or would you prefer it if I were to unwrap you first—”
The sound of wood scraping along the floor – and Korrilla’s irritated voice as she dragged the chest into the room – soured Haarlep’s expression for a moment. “My Master promises to collect his incubus once his business is concluded. Keep them well entertained and you will be handsomely rewarded by his continued benevolence.” She dumped the luggage beside them, prodding the incubus harshly in the chest with an accusatory finger. “And Haarlep, do read the room. I don’t think you are a gift to be unwrapped in the middle of dinner with all of these other guests still here.”
“Oh they are quite welcome to join, I will gladly provide dessert enough for all~”
Korrilla sighed and vanished through the portal, closing it behind her, leaving Haarlep with the entire festive party still staring at them silently.
On one side of the table, a woman with intricately braided pale hair and a hamster covered the eyes and ears of a large man with a purple tattoo encircling half of his face, another man dressed in violet robes turned a fetching shade of crimson with a deep blush beneath his beard, and a white haired vampire laughed uproariously to the dismay of everyone around him. “Well, darling, aren’t you going to unwrap your gift?”