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25.51% Thomas Prest: A Simple Magician / Chapter 25: Ch25. Usefulness

Bab 25: Ch25. Usefulness

It was four hours later that Sarael finally left Tom's office, whistling happily as he teleported back to hell under Tom's unamused glare.

Sighing, Tom stood up and left his office. He felt too tired to do paperwork or go back to his research. In his humble opinion, this meeting earned him a day off. Dealing with Sarael was always so exhausting.

As he arrived in the living room, he noticed Natasha sitting on the couch and wearing a baggy comfortable black hoodie with her legs up, hugging them to her chest as she watched a movie.

When she noticed Tom, she brightly smiled and patted a spot next to her, inviting him to sit down. Tom inwardly chuckled, happy to see her so comfortable and at ease inside his house, and walked towards the couch.

As his back burrowed into its divine softness, he barely stifled a moan. It was definitely worth its high price. Tom inclined his head back, leaning it on the backrest.

"How was the meeting?" Natasha curiously eyed him, ignoring the movie playing on the television.

Tom half-turned his head towards her and smiled, "I got everything I wanted from the deal."

That made Natasha a bit perplexed. She... by Tom's standards... cutely tilted her head and asked with furrowed brows, "Then why are you so downtrodden?"

"Because Sarael got what he wanted too." Tom grimaced. "It doesn't matter but I thought I would be able to strike a better bargain." He grumbled, a bit peeved.

Alas, he still had ways to go if he wanted to out-negotiate the old devil.

Natasha was amused at Tom's disgruntlement. Nevertheless, she reached toward the table and poured a bit of...

'Is that a hot chocolate?' Tom idly wondered as the delicious smell hit his nostrils.

Done with filling the empty cup, Natasha offered it to Tom, "Good job?" She half-asked a bit awkwardly.

"Thank you." Tom took the cup, amused at how prepared she was, yet, it made him grateful too. He then took a sip and his eyes widened a bit in surprise "Hmm, this is tasty." He praised her.

"I tried." Natasha playfully remarked as she refilled her own cup and returned to her earlier position on the couch.

A comfortable and companionable silence spread between them as they both watched television and sipped on their hot chocolate and honestly, Tom quite enjoyed it.

For the first five minutes before his mind started once again wandering toward his research.

Natasha, on the other hand, was inwardly fidgeting a bit, not really paying as much attention to the movie as her outward appearance would portray. It was very rare for her to be so indecisive, and feeling like this was a novel experience for her.

But she didn't have time for this!

Biting the inside of her cheek, she calmed herself through the pain and glanced at Tom, noticing he was starting to lose interest in the movie.

Knowing her opportunity would disappear if she didn't act fast, Natasha moved...

And Tom owlishly blinked as the woman suddenly straddled him and her arms loosely snaked around his neck.

Tom raised his head and looked at Natasha, only to find a trace of nervousness in her eyes.

"Are you sur-" He started.

Only to be cut off by her curt, "Yes."

"We barely know each other for three days." Tom nonchalantly pressed, raising his hands from beside him on the couch and putting them on her posterior, squeezing a bit.

It definitely surprised her and made her yelp a bit but soon enough, she smiled in satisfaction and leaned a bit into Tom.

To be honest, Tom could feel the effect her body had on him and he was also aware she could feel him poking her as well if her ever-so-slow teasing motions were any indication.

"I know everything I need to know about you." Natasha whispered, starting to kiss Tom's neck which elicited a few sounds of appreciation.

But...

Tom suddenly pushed her away, flipping her from his lap and causing her back to land on the couch with a shock apparent on her face.

Tom followed up by leaning above her, his hands near her cheeks on each side, supporting his body, "Why are you in such a rush?" He seriously asked in a no-nonsense tone.

It didn't make sense to him.

Yes, they had a nice moment at the party. They made out and fondled each other a lot that evening but they did not 'cross the line'.

They had a good relationship during the past three days and it was certainly improving. Sarael was also correct. Logically, Tom reckoned that if things continued going as they were now, he and Natasha would become intimate in under two months.

He had decided not to fight this. His body and mind, heck, he wanted it. He wanted her. He was clearly drawn to her since they first kissed at the party and she was obviously also feeling something similar... but two months and today were still two very different things.

Tom couldn't help but think something was not right here.

But... his doubt became bewilderment when he saw something he never thought possible. The young Black Widow under him was sporting a shy and blushing expression as if she was an innocent maiden about to lose her virginity.

Worse yet, her left cheek was touching his forearm and through the discreet use of his Sacred Gear, Tom realized she wasn't just playing it. She was really embarrassed and felt shy.

She was also confused, feeling shy for the first time in a very, very long while... but Tom cut off the connection between them, stopping to peek at the emotions she felt a second in the past. His mind was blown at what he discovered and he felt a bit guilty for not trusting her enough.

But this was Black Widow, and while an inability to betray him was nice, he knew it wasn't infallible. It had so many 'loopholes' that it wasn't even funny. But it was also the best, the most effect-to-cost effective measure he could do with his current abilities.

The girl under him was one of the biggest mundane seductresses alive and Tom was already partially caught in her 'web' if his feelings towards her were any indication. Seduction was not betrayal so he wasn't about to let his guard down around her.

But feeling how sincere her feelings were and how confused it made her...

Now that made Tom wryly smile in apology at her. Maybe he was too cautious around her and maybe that was why their 'relationship' didn't progress during the past three days despite them practically living together but he wanted to both be sure of her intentions and also respect her privacy unless she did something... like this.

In a way, her attempt and Tom's reaction sped up the forming of their relationship enormously since many of Tom's doubts were assuaged with this peek into her emotional state.

Inwardly sighing, Tom relaxed and the seriousness fading from his expression, "Would you tell me why you want to seduce me into sleeping with you?" But he couldn't help himself and teasingly added, "Especially explain why your attempt is so lousy and obvious? We both know you can do better, Miss Widow." He playfully wiggled his eyebrow at her.

Her pride attacked, Natasha acted as if she was offended and weakly hit Tom's chest, huffing in mock irritation, "I'll show you weak. You won't be able to walk once I am done with you." She tempted Tom in a feigned exasperation while licking her lips as she stared straight into his eyes.

But Tom only put his pointing finger on her lips, surprising her, "I want a proper answer, Natalia."

That stopped her playfulness, causing her to look abashed and conflicted for a moment before she mumbled something under her nose and turned her face to the side, once again sporting a heavy blush.

"Hmm, you gotta speak louder, dear." Tom leaned forward and kissed her hot cheek, making her let out a whine.

Taking a moment to calm herself, Natasha clutched at Tom's shirt, "I want to be useful." She quietly said with a tone full of embarrassment.

Tom furrowed his brows at that, "Bu-"

Before he could finish speaking, Natasha quickly leaned forward, pecking him on the lips and stopping him from talking. Her expression was still shy but her eyes now held resolve.

"My entire childhood, I was taught to make myself useful." She weakly started, not wanting to remember those moments. "You are very sweet to me, you know?"

Tom realized that this was a hard topic to talk about for her so, despite her pausing, he gave her time and didn't try to interrupt.

"But you want too little from me. I enjoyed it. I really did and do love the free time but I just want... no, I need to do more. I need to make myself useful or you will throw me away." She grimaced.

Tom was about to rebuke that statement but Natasha was faster, "I know! You won't do that but... I can't fight how I was raised." She self-deprecatingly whispered, "I can hate it but I can't fight it."

Tom stared into her eyes, not knowing what to say. She was in pain and...

"But you don't need my assassination skills. You don't have use for my infiltration skills. I am not strong enough to be even a good bodyguard for you. So, what's left for me to be useful?" Natasha rhetorically asked, both of them knowing the answer.

But Tom now had to answer the real question, the one hidden in her small speech.

In her twisted way, she offered herself to him both because she was afraid of being left behind by him and because she was starting to fall in love with him.

Tom had no idea if he should be flattered or pity her outlook.

The decision wasn't hard for him. He just... hoped it would come under different circumstances.

Delivering a gentle kiss on Natasha's forehead and making her scrunch her face, which accomplished his goal of stopping the anxious and uneasy expression she previously sported, Tom softly asked, "You do realize that Sarael will be insufferable once he finds out we had sex the second he left, don't you?"

At once, Natasha's expression lit up when she registered the underlying meaning of his words. Cheer returned to her voice, "Mhm, do you care?"

Tom chuckled at the absurdity of it all. Now that... was yet another easy question.

"Not one bit."


Bab 26: Ch26. Potential

Tom groggily opened his eyes, a sweet yawn involuntarily tearing itself out of his mouth as he felt pleasantly warm and well-rested all over. He slept like a baby last night.

His eyes started to slowly adjust, the sleep slowly seeping out of them, and Tom had to blink in stupefied silence as his brain tried to register what he was seeing.

A mane of long crimson red hair sprouting from his chest area, covering his whole torso...

'Now that I think about it, my chest is a bit heavy...' Tom offhandedly contemplated.

The second he finished that thought, the events of the previous night flashed through his mind, making him intensely blush at how... wild they were.

'Oh my God, that really happened!' Tom inwardly freaked out and a small silly smile spread on his lips as he felt extremely proud of himself for bagging such a gorgeous woman.

He was no longer a virgin, baby!

'Saving myself was totally worth it.' Tom sagely exclaimed in his head, before he deflated as he remembered Natasha's playful teasing from yesterday. 'Despite the teasing... It was worth it.' He inwardly stubbornly mumbled, as if trying to convince himself.

"Mhm, Go back to sleep." Tom was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when he heard an enchanting sleepy voice and he instantly felt Natasha's arms hug him tighter, her naked body snuggling into his in a search of comforting warmth.

His slight stirring must have woken her up.

Tom helplessly smiled, seeing as Natasha had him in a vice grip. There was no getting up from the bed for him until she decided she no longer required her human pillow.

Sighing a bit, Tom gently put his hand on her head and started to slowly caress her hair while getting again lost in his profound thoughts.

Natasha clearly liked it, considering how she appreciatively hummed and her lips quietly stretched into a pleased smile.

Time slowly passed, Natasha enjoying the last remnants of her beauty sleep while Tom was inwardly lost deep in his research, both enjoying the morning in their own way, satisfied with feeling the presence of the other nearby.

Thirty minutes later, Natasha finally gave up her attempt at going back to sleep and fully opened her eyes. Her vice grip on Tom didn't ease, however, much to his dismay.

She raised her hand and put her chin on his chest, elatedly watching him with her curiously shining green eyes, "What are you thinking about?"

Tom hummed, "It's beautiful."

"What is?" Natasha's smile sluggishly widened.

"Your hair." Tom gently patted her head.

"Do you really think so?" Natasha thoughtfully asked, trying to hide her giddiness, "Then I guess I won't have to dye them."

"Definitely not. I forbid it. In fact, let me add it to your employment contract." Tom joked in a mock-apprehensive tone.

"I have an employment contract?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at that.

But Tom only overly seriously nodded. "Now you do."

That made Natasha blink, making her not know how to properly react. She only managed to let out an abrupt, "Damn."

"Damn right." Tom agreed, satisfied.

The comfortable silence that ensued lasted for a moment but Natasha decided to break it soon enough, "And what are you really thinking about? Without trying to distract me with compliments?" She tilted her head a bit, her hands affectionately rubbing on the sides of Tom's waist.

Tom let out a small laugh, partly because she was tickling him, the female menace, and partly because he found it amusing how she saw through him.

"I meant my compliment, though." He made sure she was aware of that.

"Mhm~, I am sure you did." Natasha hummed, drawing the words out. "I figured out your love for my hair from how much you like to touch them..."

Natasha paused for a moment, enjoying how Tom grew a bit embarrassed at that admission. But she was not yet done with her teasing.

"... you definitely grabbed at them and yanked my head with them enough yesterday night." She purred, making Tom uncomfortably blush.

Natasha looked smug at his reaction and Tom's manly ego revolted when he noticed. Powering through his embarrassment, he moved and before Natasha knew it, she was face to face with Tom, their lips only inches apart.

"Don't act as if you didn't like it." Tom snarked... and claimed her lips, pushing her back deeper into the bed as they started to make out.

They both started to get excited, their bodies becoming hotter as they involuntarily rubbed on each other. Tom could feel his lower parts grow and Natasha could undoubtedly do so too if the sensual way her legs locked behind his back while brushing on his thighs was any indication.

That made him shiver in anticipation almost as much as her eyes full of expectant desire...

But instead of entering her, as she clearly wanted, Tom pulled away, rolling to the side.

Another sex session with her would take hours on end simply because he couldn't get enough of her. She was a... pleasant distraction. But Tom refused to overindulge. Spending time with her was fine but overdoing it was not. His research wouldn't finish itself.

Natasha was disappointed. And a bit pissed at being 'cock-blocked' like this. But she lived with Tom for a few days and already understood his priorities so she wasn't all that surprised.

This... only made the moments where she managed to get him to bed her that much more precious since she couldn't do it whenever she wanted. It was a refreshing feeling, but one that made her pride scream in frustration.

'One of these days I will find out what makes him tick.' She inwardly promised while giving a moody half-glare at the ceiling.

Seeing that his decision to stop himself made his partner grumpy, Tom wryly smiled and decided to appease her a bit.

"I was thinking about how to make us stronger." He said in a straightforward manner, no longer trying to redirect the topic.

As much as it pleased Natasha that he shared his thoughts with her, she was still a bit cross with him.

She mutely nodded in understanding before she pursed her lips, "Us?"

"Yeah. You are mine now." Tom casually spoke as if he was speaking about something as obvious as weather, "Making you stronger will make me stronger." He shrugged.

Natasha blushed a bit at the way he worded it but she couldn't help her small scowl transforming into an involuntary smile. The intention was not dissimilar to her time in SHIELD. They allocated resources to her to make her more effective... but Tom's wording was more intimate and personal. It made her feel happy.

"What brought this up?" She asked, trying to distract herself from these thoughts.

"Something Sarael said." Tom helplessly sighed, hesitating a bit before continuing in a serious tone. "Natalia... humans who are aware of the supernatural like to say that while we are the innately weakest race, we have the most potential."

Natasha once again nodded, intently listening since she had no experience in the supernatural world and couldn't really give a plausible opinion on the matter. Nevertheless, she did hear a similar saying in the mundane world.

Tom derisively snorted as he continued, "That's bullshit. We have the least of both innate power and potential." He deadpanned, making Natasha raise her eyebrow in surprise. That was definitely not what she expected Tom to say.

"Okay?" She distractedly hummed, a bit lost in where this topic was heading. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a bit amused at Tom's blunt words.

"Let's talk about the physical capabilities and compare devils and humans." Tom chuckled at her surprise before he continued to elaborate, "Even the lowest of low-class devils can match peak human athletes."

He dropped a bomb and Natasha's amusement abruptly evaporated into thin air. She instantly realized what kind of threat devils really were to humans if even the weakest of them was born physically stronger than what a dedicated mundane human could achieve in a lifetime of trying.

She herself was one of those dedicated mundane humans, after all, and being told this made her feel like shit.

"Of course, there are various techniques and enhancements that Church exorcists use to battle supernatural threats." Tom continued, giving Natasha a real-life example that humans were not as helpless as he first portrayed them. "But these mostly rely on something called Sacred Gear, weapons made by the Biblical God that randomly select human hosts upon their birth."

Natasha didn't need to mull over the information for long to realize the flaw. Her eyes suddenly widened and her eyes opened in bewilderment... "But devils found a way to reincarnate humans into their own race."

And she understood where the problem lay.

"That they did." Tom offhandedly nodded. Seeing as he didn't need to explain it further, he decided to proceed further into the topic, "Now about magic..."

This is where Tom grimaced. He didn't like admitting this but it was the undeniable truth. "Human magic relies on formulas to guide mana to do certain things. This imitates the devils' way of magic casting. Our magic system is far inferior to theirs and offers a lot less freedom, but they are seldom motivated or disciplined enough to actually advance their magic fields. Something humans have in spades. Motivation and dedication. It stems from our lower lifespan and limited time. So... I guess lucky us." He mocked.

"And let me guess. This is the case with every race, isn't it? They all have advantages humans do not possess." Natasha was not amused with the stakes that were revealed in front of her.

"Yes. Humans are the weakest race with the least potential and a short lifespan. In return, unlike other races, we can easily breed." Tom wryly smiled.

There was more to it and there was also a reason why humans were not enslaved by other races but that didn't matter right now.

Tom decided to get to the point of why he brought this topic up with her. "That's why I can't go the 'natural' route with you. I can't just give you books and tell you to study. It would have taken you decades to be semi-competent. It certainly took me over a decade to reach where I am now."

And he was fully aware he didn't have that kind of time.

"So? What are we gonna do?" Natasha intently looked at Tom. She knew of his distaste for becoming a devil... so she wondered what was left.

"That... I don't know yet. I am going to do what humans do best. I am going to cheat the system and we will adapt." Tom took her hands into his and looked her in the eyes with resolve shining in his brown orbs. "Humans might not have the best potential but we sure as hell have the best adaptability."

Regular training?

That would have never helped their case.

No. This required thinking outside of the box...


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