In the time since Abaddon and Ayaana entered phase two of their honeymoon with Zahara, the realm of Eden had completely restored itself in the aftermath of his battle with Seras.
As of now, the usual rosy pink had become a darker, more muted shade as a way to symbolize that the day had not yet begun.
Outside in nothing but his boxers, Abaddon yawned slightly to himself as Seras finalized her preparations.
While he sat cross-legged on the ground, a small raccoon no bigger than a loaf of bread came wandering up to him.
It stood up on it’s hind legs in order to seem a bit bigger in front of the nearly nine-foot dragon, but failed miserably all the same.
Abaddon held out his arm, and the creature crawled up to him.
He reached inside of his dimensional space and pulled out the same toaster pastries he gave to Bekka whenever she was taking too long to get out of bed.
Though as their marriage progressed, he was beginning to think that maybe she purposely drug her feet in getting up so that someone would feed her sugar.
He was unaware that their kids had figured this out a long time ago…
“I’m ready!”
Abaddon looked up and found Seras standing above him with a charismatic look on her face.
He looked around them at the garden of blades and weaponry all laid out at Seras’ discretion.
She sat down in only a pair of black panties while noting the small animal in her husband’s lap.
“Where’d that little guy come from?”
“We are in his home, you know?” Abaddon reminded.
Seras reached out with a single finger and attempted to stroke the small critter on the stomach.
Though she paused when the young animal looked like it was going to keel over and die from the fear of her.
“…Scaredy cat.” She sighed.
This is why, when it came to pets, Seras greatly preferred Camazotz. At least the bat never seemed to be afraid of her and even deigned to lick her face affectionately.
“I don’t understand why animals like you so much. You’re scarier than I am, anyway.”
Abaddon pointed to himself. “Nature spirit, babydoll.”
“You call me babydoll again, you won’t be able to get me off you with a ten-foot pole.”
“Should you really be trying to tempt me when we’re supposed to be learning?”
“I could ask you the same thing, Papa.”
Abaddon’s eyes briefly became pink. The raccoon went from sitting in his lap comfortably to wondering if maybe he should just give them some space.
Seras laughed innocently as if she knew what she was doing. “Come on, let’s start. Give me all the juicy details.” She leaned forward.
Ordinarily, Abaddon would have taken the opportunity to tease her about sexual innuendos, but he decided against it because he could see how much this meant to her.
“Right… where do I begin then..?” He yawned.
What Seras meant by the ‘juicy details’ was about his mental state. Specifically, the one he was in when he put together his fanciful new fighting style.
When she spoke about being moved, her words were no mere empty compliment. It was her truest fascination and interest at the moment.
She had done this a few times in the past. Either to learn his martial arts, or reverse engineer her own.
This time, it seemed like she was aiming for the latter.
As Abaddon explained to her the emotional and psychological undertaking he went through alongside Buddha, which led to the creation of this art, Seras walked around the field of weapons with her eyes closed.
In her mind, she crafted a mental picture of everything she was being told. She visualized which of these different weapons would give her a similar feeling and produce a similar outcome as what her husband had created.
She had everything here. Every weapon available, from a basic sword all the way to a handgun.
As he continued talking, she continued pacing. She was sure to place things back in her storage that she felt didn’t quite fit the bill.
“And then when we were sparring, I realized… I didn’t want to hurt you. I know you’re not fragile. And I know the last thing you need is for me to be concerned about your well-being. And yet I was..” Abaddon continued.
Seras paused after such a lengthy explanation and stared at her husband. Where Abaddon expected to see exhaustion, there was only affection. Even the critter sitting on top of his head was surprised.
She crossed the space between them and shocked him further by wrapping his neck in a hug spontaneously.
He returned the gesture in kind, and for a moment, the two of them just sat there in silence.
“…What’s this for?” Abaddon finally asked.
“I just like you.” Seras shrugged.
“Good to know, I was really worried there for the last million years or so.”
Seras bit her husband on his ear for his chide comment. Despite the blood now running down the side of his head, he laughed her assault off casually.
She wormed her way into his lap and sat with her back against his chest.
One of the things she liked most about her husband was the fact that her husband never stopped seeing her as a woman. And his desire to protect and look after her never wavered, even in the wake of all of the terrible things she had done in her life.
But as warm as that made her feel inside, there was one little thing that was very apparent in the back of her mind.
“I think it’s best if I don’t try to learn that art of yours.” Seras waved her hand, and every weapon still in the field vanished into nothingness.
Abaddon raised a brow and attempted to laugh her sudden move off as a joke.
“I get that it looks cool, but I assure you that it’s not something supremely difficult. You could learn it in-“
“No, I’m sure that I probably could.” Seras sighed. She grabbed one of her husband’s hands and took it into her own.
She stared at the prominent veins in his hand and the black claws that tipped his fingers. Occasionally running over his chocolate brown skin with the pads of her thumb.
“I think it’s best if this art of yours remains untouched by me or others like me. You created something that you could use to turn a new page on your existence. You’re trying to put some distance between the you of the past and the man you want to be.”
Abaddon was not surprised at Seras’ deduction, but he was in awe of her level of understanding. He hadn’t even gotten to that part of the explanation yet.
Seras smiled faintly to herself as she brought her husband’s hand up to her face. She rested it against her cheek before brushing her lips against the back of his hand.
“You know…. Eris always did say that your hands were better made for loving instead of fighting. Spreading security and warmth rather than bringing on waves of destruction. She’ll be so happy to see what you’ve done with yourself. It’s a beautiful thing. Comendable.”
Abaddon was beginning to get that feeling again. That shyness that wouldn’t go away and an inability to accept compliments that weren’t given out from a place of lust.
There was nothing in the world like being truly seen and understood. Abaddon has yet to come across a creation of Yesh’s that is better than this.
“But…” Seras smiled with unbearable bitterness as she looked at her own hands. “I think that’s also why I shouldn’t try to learn it. The personal nature of the art aside, I am…”
“Stop.”
Abaddon held Seras so closely that it would have been easy to think he was trying to pull her into his skin..
His lips were pressed against the nape of her neck. Almost as if he were trying to impart his words into her very being.
“You are perfect as you are. There is nothing of what I possess that is too good for you. If you want it, then you shall have it. And none will dare say you are not worthy of it.”
Seras wrapped her tail around her husband’s. Her voice was as low as a whisper.
“It’s quite simple, my dear. I’m just… a very different kind of entity than you.”
“Are you trying to say you are evil?”
“I know that for beings of our level, good and evil are barely even applicable. We just are what we are. But I believe I am different from you. And that difference is enough of a reason for why I shouldn’t learn your-“
“You sound like Bashenga.”
“I’m sorry?”
Abaddon turned Seras around so that she could straddle him. The raccoon mistook this as a potential mating position and scampered off before things became x-rated.
“Do you know our son also told me he believed himself to be solely a force of apocalyptic destruction and calamity, and as a result, he believed himself not to deserve anything good?”
Seras felt a tightness in her chest that she didn’t anticipate. Obviously, if she had’ve known her darling boy felt like that, she would have spared no effort to console him.
“I-I, I didn’t know…” She looked down, but Abaddon gently lifted her head right back up.
“I will tell you just what I told him. We don’t age, but that doesn’t mean we have to be stuck in place all the time.
You and I are free to grow as much as we like at our leisure with nothing to stop us but ourselves.
Just because we have been something, doesn’t mean we have to stay that way. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with staying true to yourself either…”
Abaddon paused and bit his lip. A complex line of thought appeared to be bubbling up in his mind, just itching to come out. But he dared not voice it for some reason.
“Just say it…” Seras’ voice cracked. “Please.”
Abaddon took her face into his hands and stared into her crimson eyes with his own. The tension passing between them was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“Have you ever asked yourself… whether you actually want to be goddess of war?”
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