Beneath the blood-red moon, a dark silhouette swept swiftly across the night sky.
“My lord, are we just leaving like this? Is it really alright to leave Frank behind?”
Seated securely upon Xavier’s strong arm, Huey wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s neck while keeping his little tail safely coiled around him to prevent any accidental slips.
“It’s fine; he knows the way back on his own.” Unfurling his wings, Xavier channeled a protective layer of magic as he flew, shielding the little succubus in his arms from the biting nocturnal wind.
“The hour is late; you need to head back and rest.”
Pampered with such attentive care, Huey could hardly contain the bounding joy surging in his chest. His dangling legs swung gently back and forth as he leaned in to press his small cheek affectionately against the man’s throat.
“Thank you~” The little succubus cooed, thoroughly spoiled. “You’re so good to me!”
Upon returning to the estate, Xavier escorted Huey back to his bedchamber, pausing right before parting to plant a gentle goodnight kiss upon his brow.
“Sleep well.”
The warm, lingering touch of his lips pressed against her skin felt akin to a spark setting Huey’s entire heart ablaze.
“Hehe, goodnight.” Supporting his flushed little face, Huey beamed with a dopey, infatuated smile.
Even after finishing his bath and settling beneath the covers, that radiant smile refused to fade from Huey’s features. His tail thrummed with excitement, pressing its little heart tip right against the spot on his forehead where the kiss had just lingered, savoring the residual warmth.
Pop
The platinum-gold heart tip duplicated the kiss it had received on the forehead, pattering itself against Huey’s pouted lips with an audible smack.
“Sigh.” Hugging his tail to shower it with a couple of quick kisses, Huey’s expression abruptly soured. Flipping over and clutching his tail tightly to his chest, he dissolved into a fit of disgruntled groaning: “When on earth am I ever going to receive a real kiss from the lord?”
Playing it this wholesome and restrained day in and day out hardly felt like being a succubus at all!
Tossing and turning from side to side, he twisted his oversized white silk nightgown into a wrinkled mess.
“I can’t fall asleep…” Pulling himself up to sit with his tail clutched in his arms, he rested his chin in his hand and stared blankly across the room.
Directly facing the bed stood a solid wall; Huey knew that on the other side of that partition lay Xavier’s bedroom.
Wonder what the lord is up to right now… The little succubus stared unblinkingly at the wall, wishing he could drill a massive hole through it so he could lay eyes on the man occupying his thoughts.
Didn’t the lord mention something about… coming to find him if one suffers from nightmares…?
The little tail curled into a questioning hook, offering an enthusiastic thumbs-up in silent agreement.
As a succubus who has already managed to cross the threshold into his home without making any genuine progress, isn’t that a bit too pathetic?
The heart-shaped tip shook up and down vigorously in affirmative agreement.
Huey successfully persuaded himself.
Stunned by a sudden knock at his door, Xavier opened it to find the little succubus standing on the threshold with his head lowered, nervously tugging at the hem of his nightgown and squirming in place.
Sweeping a glance across Huey’s entire frame, Xavier frowned, bent down to scoop the young demon up into his arms, and demanded with a trace of displeasure, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”
A pair of bare, fair little feet kicked about in a flustered flutter, hurriedly curling up and hiding themselves beneath the hem of his gown.
“I forgot~” Gripping the fabric over Xavier’s chest, Huey whimpered pitifully, “I’m scared.”
“What is the matter?” Turning around with him in tow, Xavier shut the door behind them as he carried the visitor into his bedchamber, instinctively looping the wandering, lost heart-shaped tail around his own waist.
“I’m just scared~” In truth, I couldn’t think of any actual excuse; I simply wanted to sleep beside you.
Pausing for a fraction of a second, Xavier prompted gently, “Is it because of those things you witnessed today? Did they frighten you?”
“Mhm.”
Hearing his tone, anyone would have sworn he was suffering from terrifying, earth-shattering trauma; zero trace of deceit could be detected in his voice.
Such was the innate racial talent of a succubus, capable of beguiling even a Grand Archangel. Naturally, this particular brand of magic worked exclusively when deployed by Huey upon Xavier.
“Have no fear; I am here.”
Weren’t the energies transmitted through tonight’s goodnight kiss sufficient?
Depositing Huey gently upon his bed, the tall man knelt down on one knee to meet the young demon’s wide, innocent eyes with a tender gaze, enveloping and soothing every ounce of his supposed terror.
“Did you experience a nightmare?” Holding Huey’s hand, Xavier began channeling a steady, soothing stream of pure light-element energy straight into the little succubus’s core.
Bathed in the warm, restorative energy, Huey felt a blissful contentment wash over him that nearly drew a soft sigh from his lips.
“I had a nightmare, and it was so, so scary…” The little succubus lied without batting an eye, casting a tearful, coaxing look toward the man. “Those pitch-black things kept trying to bully me…”
Tilting his head to gaze up at Xavier with a look of utter, besotted dependence, Huey cooed sweetly, “Fortunately, you rescued me once again. Just like you always do.”
“Hh.” Xavier curved his lips into a faint smile, unable to resist reaching out to ruffle the little succubus’s hair. “You truly are an adorable child.”
“My lord.” Escalating his demands with practiced ease, Huey latched onto Xavier’s hand, gazing up at him with tear-shined eyes. “Can I… sleep with you tonight? Every time I close my eyes alone, I feel like those terrifying things are going to come back and bully me.”
“Of course.” Rising to his feet, Xavier gently guided the stunned, overjoyed little succubus to lie flat upon the mattress.
Tucking the blanket neatly around him and patting him soothingly on the shoulder, the Grand Archangel who had never once coaxed a baby angel to sleep in his life offered a reassuring promise: “Sleep in peace; I shall remain right here and will not step outside.”
Wait a second! Frozen in sheer disbelief, Huey snapped out of his daze just in time to grab Xavier’s patting hand, staring blankly as he asked, “Aren’t you going to sleep with me?”
Attributing the confusion purely to lingering fright, Xavier patted his hand reassuringly, tucking it back under the covers as he coaxed, “Have no fear; I shall keep watch over you continuously and ensure nothing harms you.”
That is entirely not what I meant at all!
Huey’s internal monologue dissolved into a frantic cascade of screams.
No, seriously I am a succubus! I am a full-grown, incredibly adorable succubus lying right here in your bed, and you’re planning to pull an all-nighter standing guard over me like a piece of furniture?!
The more Huey pondered it, the more aggrieved he felt; the deeper his grievances grew, the angrier he became. Remembering his platinum-gold heart-shaped tail and his three uninterrupted centuries of singlehood, a wave of profound sorrow washed over him.
“Am I… really not attractive to you anymore?” The little succubus’s eyes welled up with actual tears.
“Don’t you think I’m cute anymore?!” Breaking down into loud, pathetic sobs, the little succubus cried so hard his button nose turned cherry-red.
“Why are you weeping?” Completely unequipped to handle such scenarios, the Grand Archangel stood stranded in utter bewilderment, entirely incapable of tracking the erratic emotional whiplash.
“Th—there, hush now, do not cry.” Panicking as the sweat nearly broke out across his brow, the Archangel could only scoop the sobbing little succubus up into his arms to offer comfort.
“What is the matter, hmm? Tell me, talk to me.”
Resting his small head against Xavier’s shoulder, Huey hiccuped between broken sobs, “Waaaah, am I truly that hideous? My tail isn’t pretty at all, and no demons ever want me…”
As a three-hundred-year-old single virgin succubus, his emotional breakdown hit its absolute peak, leaving him feeling utterly wronged.
“Our Huey is exceptionally gorgeous and adorable. No small angels no, no other succubus in existence compares to our Huey in cuteness.” Lacking any native talent for sweet-talking or flattery, the pure-hearted Grand Archangel could only repeat the same reassurance over and over, pledging that he was the most precious little succubus in the entire Underworld.
“Then why won’t you sleep with me!”
Pushing Xavier away, Huey stood his ground with hands planted firmly on his hips, glaring through tear-rimmed eyes with fierce indignation.
Completely orthodox in his reasoning, the bewildered Archangel blinked. “I told you, I will stay right here by your side and watch over you.”
“That is not what sleeping together means!” Dutifully wiping away his own tears under Xavier’s clumsy ministrations, Huey instantly turned around to shove the man away in a classic case of kicking his helper once the job was done, snapping back: “How can that possibly count as sleeping together?! You didn’t even offer a single hug that doesn’t count at all!”
Amused and exasperated in equal measure, Xavier finally yielded. Climbing onto the bed, he pulled the unreasonable, demanding little succubus back into his arms, lying down beside him as he offered gentle pats across his back.
“Fine, fine. We are sleeping together now. Be a good boy and get some rest.”
Thinking to himself that raising a human child couldn’t possibly be more taxing than this, the inexperienced Archangel sighed silently.
“Hmph.”
Having secured his objective, the pampered little succubus issued a haughty, satisfied little sniff, burrowing his face straight into Xavier’s solid, warm chest while issuing a final, strict directive: “You aren’t allowed to slip away in the middle of the night, or I’ll be terribly sad.”
In response, Xavier simply pressed a light kiss to his forehead. “Go to sleep.”
Silence reigned throughout the night.
As the first sliver of dawn pierced through the drapery to illuminate the lavish, exquisite bedchamber, the handsome, striking man was found resting peacefully with the adorable little succubus safely tucked in his embrace.
Right at that exact juncture, a stumbling, chaotic figure burst violently through the door, crashing headlong into the room.
Frank looked as though he had survived a war zone; his attire had been shredded into fluttering ribbons that hung off his frame in tatters as he wailed and crawled forward across the floor, howling at the top of his lungs:
“My lord! Wuuu my lord, you must seek justice for me! I can no longer go on, I’ve completely lost the courage to continue living in this world! My lord, let’s mobilize an army and level this entire place right now waaaah…”
His shriek pierced the air with a volume so explosive it startled Huey awake instantly.
“What on earth is all that racket?!” Rubbing his sleep-heavy eyes, the exhausted little succubus sat up lazily, the oversized silk nightgown slipping down to reveal a smooth, porcelain shoulder.
Before he could properly open his eyes or process his surroundings, a large hand slammed over his vision, while his hand was simultaneously yanked upward to haul his collar back into place, wrapping him securely back inside the thick quilt.
“My lord?” Huey blinked in drowsy confusion.
“Frank!” Blocking Huey’s eyes, Xavier glared down at the disheveled wreck collapsed upon the carpet like a vagrant, barking out an angry reprimand: “Look at the state of you! Unkempt and indecent just what do you think you look like?”
“M—my lord… the succubi!”
Staring up at his superior cradling the little succubus in bed, Frank’s eyes dilated to the size of saucers. He stammered incoherently, his brain entirely fried of coherent thought.
“Is that Frank?” Huey reached out, attempting to bat away the hand covering his eyes. “What happened to him? Quick, let me take a look.”
“You are forbidden to look,” Xavier muttered, tightening his arm around him to pin his restless hands.
“Heavens above ” Regaining a fraction of his mobility, Frank scrambled backward in a scramble, screeching at the top of his lungs as he bolted straight out of the room, shattering the wooden door frame in his frantic exit.
The superior has officially gone rogue and fallen asleep with a succubus Heaven is truly, irrevocably doomed!