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“UNHAND ME, MATRIARCH!” Abaddon shrieked, his eyes blazing red as Katherine held him effortlessly over the bathtub.
“Quit thrashing around,” Katherine shot back, already exhausted. “It’s just a bath.”
“THIS IS AN ASSAULT UPON MY DIGNITY!”
Warm water sloshed about beneath him as he stretched every limb outward like a furious cat, uselessly digging his clipped claws into the acrylic.
“I AM A PRINCE OF HELL! YOU CANNOT SUBMERGE ME LIKE SOME FILTHY-”
Katherine shoved him into the water with her hands, being rewarded with an ear-piercing scream from the tiny demon.
The entire bathroom erupted into chaos. Water splashed over the sides of the tub as he kicked wildly, sputtering curses in several dead languages while Katherine scrubbed shampoo into his matted hair.
“You smell like roadkill,” she said flatly.
“I SMELL REGAL!”
“Whatever, just calm down and let me do my job here!”
“I WILL BITE YOU!”
“You keep saying that.”
“I MEAN IT THIS TIME!”
Despite all of the threats, he never actually bit her. Mostly, he just flailed dramatically and complained at a volume that would wake the dead.
The commotion eventually drew Esther to the doorway. She leaned against the frame, sleeves hanging over her hands, already stifling a laugh. The second Abaddon spotted her, his expression twisted with desperation.
“ESTHER!” He cried. “HELP ME!”
“Nope.” She snorted. “You absolutely need this, dude.”
“BETRAYAL!” Abaddon whined in genuine offence, receiving another stifled laugh from his friend.
“You look like a drowned kitten,” Esther said, pressing her sleeve into her mouth.
Eventually, after several more minutes of shrieking, splashing, and dramatic declarations of vengeance, Katherine finally hauled him out of the tub and wrapped him tightly in a towel. Abaddon immediately collapsed face-first onto the tile floor with all the energy of a dying animal.
“This household knows no honor,” he grumbled into the floor.
Katherine sighed, brushing damp hair from her forehead. Looking to her daughter, who was currently doubled over, silently laughing, she rolled her eyes. “Honey, don’t encourage him.”
“But mom,” Esther whined through a grin. “It’s funny!”
Abaddon pointed accusingly at her from the floor. “Mockery. Cruelty. Humiliation!”
Before Katherine could say another word, Nathan suddenly appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, Katherine? We’ve got a biiiiiit of a problem downstairs…” He chuckled nervously.
Katherine groaned under her breath. “Of course we do.” She grabbed a towel and tossed it toward Esther. “You’re on demon duty.”
Esther caught it with a startled blink. “What? Seriously?”
“Good luck,” Katherine said, already walking off with Nathan, closing the door behind her.
Silence settled over the bathroom for a moment. Abaddon remained motionless on the floor. Esther sighed dramatically and crouched down beside him.
“You done being dramatic?”
“No,” Abaddon said matter-of-factly into the floor.
“Cool.”
He turned his head away from her with a huff. Esther rolled her eyes and dropped the towel over his head, beginning to dry his hair roughly. “At least you smell nice now.”
Abaddon immediately recoiled. “I am not supposed to smell ‘nice.’ I am a demon. We smell of ash. Brimstone. Fire. Decay. Suffering-”
“You smelled like gym socks and old meat.” Esther laughed softly as she rubbed the towel through his hair. “Look, I don’t usually mind how you smell. Honestly, sometimes I even like it. But you know my mom only washes you if it gets, like, really bad.”
Abaddon grumbled something incoherent, but eventually stopped resisting. Slowly, almost reluctantly, his shoulders began to loosen. Usually, he hated being touched. But Esther’s hands were gentle in a way he didn’t entirely understand. Careless, casual, warm. She touched him like he was a frail little kitten. The thought made him grimace slightly, but he didn’t stop enjoying it. At some point, without realizing it, he leaned back into her hands.
Esther paused. Then her grin widened. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “You actually like this.”
Abaddon immediately tensed. “I do not.”
“You’re leaning into me.” She teased.
He made an irritated noise somewhere between a growl and a grumble, but he didn’t move away. “I am not. That would be… pathetic…”
Esther bit back another laugh and continued drying his hair. “Well, I guess you’re secretly pathetic.”
He huffed furiously. “I will destroy you…”
“Sure.”
Eventually, her arms started getting tired, so she reached for the blow dryer. The loud hum filled the bathroom, and Abaddon flinched, glaring suspiciously at the machine. After a minute, the warmth hit him, and his eyes slowly drifted shut.
“There,” Esther said after a while, switching it off. “Much better.”
His dark brown hair fell softly around his face now instead of clumping up together with dirt and grime. Esther smiled a little despite herself. “Good as new, Abaddon.” She reached out teasingly and brushed her thumb over his cheek. To her surprise, he made a tiny sound, quietly, almost involuntarily, and leaned into her hand.
Esther froze. Her eyes widened slightly.
“Oh,” she breathed.
Abaddon seemed to realize what he’d done a second too late. His expression immediately twisted into horror. “I- no. That did not happen.”
“That definitely happened. You leaned into my hand. Like a little baby kitten!”
“It was instinct! I am not a little baby kitten!” He whined.
Esther laughed softly under her breath, but something about the sight of him tugged strangely at her chest. He looked so… small. Careful now, she stroked his cheek again. This time, he didn’t resist at all. Abaddon’s eyes fluttered shut, and another tiny noise escaped him. After a moment longer, she reached over and grabbed a brush.
“Hold still…” She whispered and began brushing his hair. The brush slid carefully, each gentle pull made him relax a little more until he was practically melting in place.
“Feels…” He hesitated, voice quieter now. “... nice.”
Esther stared at him for a second. Then she smiled. “There… was that so hard?”
“Yes,” he muttered, though there wasn’t much bite to it.
Once his hair was finally neat, Esther looked him over and realized the rest of him was still damp beneath the towel. Her face immediately warmed. “Oh. Right. Uh.”
Abaddon blinked up at her. “Why is your face red?”
“It’s not,” she responded quickly.
He tilted his head suspiciously as she stepped forward and started drying him off with the towel wrapped around him. He didn’t fight anymore. Didn’t threaten her either. He just sat there quietly, watching her with half-lidded eyes while she rubbed warmth back into his skin. When she pulled the towel away, she immediately averted her eyes.
“Okay,” she said quickly. “Clothes. We need clothes.”
Katherine had apparently left some pajamas folded neatly on the counter. Abaddon eyed them, squinting. “Those are peasant garments.” He crossed his arms.
“They’re pajamas. Besides, your usual stuffy clothes are probably in the wash,” she grabbed the pajamas and reluctantly turned to him. “Let’s get these on you…”
Abaddon snatched the pajamas from her. “I can dress myself.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Sure, you can.”
He began putting the shirt on and immediately got stuck halfway. A muffled, furious yell made its way through the fabric.
“... Do you need help?”
“No.” He paused for a moment. “Perhaps.”
By the time she finally untangled him, his hair was a mess again, and he looked personally offended. Still, once he was fully dressed, he looked… comfortable. Soft, even. Abaddon crossed his arms and turned away from her with a dramatic huff.
“I have decided,” he declared. “I forgive you for your betrayal.”
Esther snorted. “How generous.”
“Yes, very.” He turned back to her. “I am finished with bath time, and I would like to do something else.”
Esther smiled a little. “Actually…” she thought for a moment, before suddenly grabbing his hand. “Come to my room. I wanna show you something!”
Abaddon blinked. “What thing?”
“Secret thing.”
Before he could protest, she dragged him out into the hotel hallway.
Truthfully, Esther didn’t really have anything to show him. She just wanted to see if she could get him to make more cute little noises somewhere more comfortable.