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The door clicked shut behind Aziraphale and Crowley, their voices fading down the stairwell along with the soft rustle of the baby carrier. For a moment, the flat felt unnaturally still. Duilio went to the bedroom to have a look if Eden needed anything. She had rested a bit but now she sat up in the bed, stretching herself, then getting up. She stood in the middle of the room, arms folded loosely around herself. “Well,” she said, exhaling. “That’s… strange.”
Duilio let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Too quiet. I keep expecting him to cry.”
They listened. Nothing. Just the hum of the refrigerator, a Vespa passing outside, the distant call of someone hanging laundry across the courtyard.
Eden smiled, a little crooked. “We’re alone.”
“Alone,” Duilio echoed, as if testing the word. He moved to the window, then stopped, uncertain. “It is good to have some rest, but still, I already miss him...”
She sat down on the sofa, patting the space beside her. He joined her, close but not touching at first, both of them slightly stiff with the unfamiliarity of having time again.
“How are you?” she asked gently.
He shrugged. “Happy. Exhausted. Terrified I’m doing everything wrong.” A pause. “And… not great, actually.”
Eden nodded. “I know.”
He glanced at her, frowning. “You do?”
“Yes,” she said calmly. “You were short with me this morning. Snappy. Not like you.”
Duilio winced. “I know. I hated myself for it the second it came out.”
She turned fully toward him. “I also know you’ve barely slept in days.”
“That’s not an excuse,” he said quietly. “You sleep even less, and you don’t talk to me like that.” He swallowed. “We have a rule. We say everything openly, but respectfully. And this morning… I wasn’t.”
The words sat between them, heavy but honest.
“I felt small,” he went on, voice lower now. “And out of control. And instead of saying that, I lashed out. I’m sorry, Eden. Truly.”
She watched him for a long moment, then reached out and took his hand.
“Thank you for saying it,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t about me. But I’m glad you named it.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I miss us,” he admitted. “Not just the sex…” he added quickly, seeing her expression. “I mean the structure. The way we used to… reset. Ground ourselves.”
Eden leaned back against the cushions, thinking.
“I think we’ve been circling that for a while,” she said slowly. “Pretending we’ll just stumble back into it when the baby sleeps more. But maybe… we need to choose it again.”
Duilio nodded. “Find a way that fits who we are now. Not who we were six months ago.”
A small smile touched her mouth. “Exactly.”
He hesitated, then said, “Your Papa mentioned something this morning. About asking for help when we need a break.”
She raised an eyebrow. “He did?”
“Not in detail,” Duilio said. “Just… that they didn’t do everything alone. That it was okay to ask for help, when they needed time for themselves.” Duilio carefully avoided mentioning his fathers in law’s dynamic, not sure, if Eden was aware by now, but apart from that, all parents faced the same issue to have less time to themselves, of course.
Eden was quiet for a beat, then nodded. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. We can’t pour from an empty cup.”
“There’s Signora Bellini downstairs,” he offered tentatively. “She adores Antonio. She’s always asking if she can take him for a walk. I did not feel ready to say yes, but she is a save person.”
Eden laughed softly. “She already treats him like he’s her third grandchild.”
“So…” He took a breath. “Maybe we ask. Just once a week. An hour. No pressure.”
Eden’s fingers tightened around his. “I’d like that.”
The tension between them shifted, still serious, but warmer now, more intentional. Duilio brushed his thumb over her knuckles, eyes searching hers.
“And right now?” he asked quietly. “What do you need from me?”
She held his gaze, something steady and thoughtful settling in her expression. “Right now,” she said, “I think we start remembering who we are to each other. Gently. With rules. And care.”
He nodded, reverent. “Always.”
She leaned in, resting her forehead against his. The world outside continued on, voices, bells, the clatter of cups, but inside the flat, something old and familiar began to realign.
“Do you need an outlet for your feelings? Do you still feel bad?”
Duilio made a face “I prefer not to decide it. The consequences hurt after all… I am not looking forward to that… but I like the feeling afterwards. I feel better already now that we talked… but yeah, I would like to resolve the topic… and feel forgiven… and… if there is still time, I’d like to make you feel good…” he smiled with that cheeky twinkle in his eyes she loved so much.
“Oh, is that so?” She purred. “Well, I will hold you to that promise… but before you think you can soften me, I guess we better get your punishment out of the way. What was the consequence for rude talking again?” she rose an eyebrow, sitting up straighter on the sofa.
Duilio squirmed. “Well, you decide, of course… but usually it was a bare bottom spanking… and corner time. Or sometimes even mouth washing… but I did not say an ugly word…” he looked at her with pleading eyes.
“Right, you did not. And I understand you felt unsettled. And being tired isn’t great for the mood, either. We are out of practice, but I think a handspanking and a little bit extra with my wooden brush at the end to hit the message home should do nicely…”
He groaned. “Yes, ma’am…” he said with a small voice, already opening the button of his jeans when she looked up at him expectantly.
“Well, go get it then, it is in the bathroom on my make up table.”
Duilio sighed and went to get it, his jeans already slipping down showing the upper half of his boxer shorts clad bottom. Eden smiled watching him moving away, it was a nice bottom and she was not really angry. But he needed something that lasted more than an hour and they did not have a lot of time.
He came back, holding the brush, shyly glancing at her face, then looking at his feet.
“Well? Let’s hear it.” She took the brush from his hands, lightly tapping it against her own palm.
“I was rude this morning and snapped at you, instead of explaining my mood in a respectful manner, and I am sorry, ma’am…”
“Very good, darling. Will you remember to tell me next time, before you snap?”
“I’ll try…”
“Good, let’s give you something to remember then… pants and boxers off.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
It was a bit awkward at first to bare himself for discipline after a break for some months. And even more to lay over her knee, because at the end of her pregnancy that had not been possible. But he melted against her, it felt like home and he relaxed instandly. Eden could not help to grope and caress his bottom for a while, he had such a nice bubble butt. But then she raised her hand high and began to smack the two, well-muscled globes. She noticed she was out of practice as well, but she grit her teeth and got going at a steady pace, concentrating on the lower half of his bottom, the undercurve of his bottom and his upper thighs, where he was the most sensitive and would feel it the most. She felt him tensing on her lap, struggling not to kick, huffing and puffing, holding back his noises of pain, but by the way he gripped the pillow, his knuckles turning white, she knew she was getting through.
Duilio was an emotional man, not holding back feelings, she often could read his moods on his face and in his body language and today his feelings were already close to the surface, so it did not take more than five minutes, till she heard him sniffling and his body relaxed further against her, giving in to the discipline. She began to spank harder and faster, helping him to find his release, and then paused, when she was sure, he was crying softly into the pillow. Her hand rested on his back, grounding him, petting him, letting him get back to the present, then she took the brush and touched his heated bottom in warning with it.
“Owww… ma’am… please. It already hurts…”
“I know. But you need a reminder, or you will crave my hand too soon, again… twenty. No need to count, legs are staying down.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
The brush came down sharply, covering his whole bottom with the smacks, but same as the hand spanking, she hit the sit spots with a bit more fervor, which renewed Duilios’s crying, but she also noticed him relaxing further, the more spanks he got and the closer it came to an end.
She admired her work, his bottom was pink all over, the sit spots a dark red, he wasn’t bruised, but he would surely feel it.
“How are you, darling?”
“Better, thank you… I… needed that…”
“I know. Me, too. It is good to know I gave you what you needed. Feels good. We should definitely try to find a new rhythm and have some hours to ourselves each week.”
“Yeah… Do you think we still have some time?”
“Guess so. I don’t think my Dads will walk in unanounced. Papa will make a loud fuss, so we will hear him beforehand. That’s how he is…”
Duilio giggled. “Probably right… then… I’d like to get back to my offer…”
He glid down from her lap between her legs, kissing her knee, glancing up.
“Oh? What might that be?” She smirked, parting her legs and lifting her butt when he reached up to pull her knickers out of the way.
He said nothing, just wiggling his eyebrows, grinning boyishly and kissing his way up. Eden smiled, parting her legs wider, holding her breath shortly in anticipation.
When his tongue touched her clit, she moaned in delight. It had been so long… He teased her a bit with open mouthed kisses, nipping the tender skin of the inside of her thighs, but not for long. They did not know how much time they had and he was impatient himself. His tongue played with her, licking broad stripes from hole to clit, shortly thrusting inside, but he concentrated on pleasuring the little pearl thoroughly soon again. Eden arched her back, rocking against him and he hummed, pleased at the thought that she would come against his mouth.
“Oh… yes… Darling… I need more…”
“I don’t want to hurt you, is it alright to…”
“Yes, just be careful, I am not that sore anymore, it is all healed…. just… slowly…”
Carefully he inserted a finger in her wet hole. He avoided thrusting too much, afraid that he could irritate her and rub against any birth wounds, but crooked and uncrooked his finger, rubbing at the spongy tishue he found inside. He continued licking her and carefully rubbed her sweet spot, till he felt her legs shaking from the effort to hold them up.
“Put your legs on my shoulders. That’s it…”
“Oh… don’t stop…”
He didn’t. With steady, fluttering licks against her clit and twisting his finger a bit more, she came with a loud moan. He was so worked up, that sound was enough to send him over the edge, too. Eden looked down at him with wonder, then smiled fondly.
“You wanted to eat me so badly?”
“I was looking forward to please my Queen. Are you well? Any discomfort?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, that was heavenly… thank you, sweetheart.”
Duilio began to clean the mess up he had caused, Eden removed the blanket she had been sitting on, as there was a stain, they quickly freshened up in the bathroom, and with a cup of coffee Duilio had made in between they settled back on the sofa, when they heard noises of the granddads approaching. Eden laughed her warm laugh, when indeed, Aziraphale was fussing in an overly pointed way at how beautiful the flowers in the foregarden were and how nice the weather had been, Crowley scoffing and just shouting “Hey, up there, if anyone is indecent, put some clothes on, we are coming in!”
That made them both giggle.
When Aziraphale and Crowley entered, the little apartment was quiet except for the soft sound of Eden’s laughter. She was curled up on the sofa, Duilio beside her, their hands intertwined. The weariness in both their faces had softened into peace.
Crowley nodded toward them, his voice low. “Looks like they took your advice, angel.”
Aziraphale smiled, eyes bright with love. “Good. That’s exactly what they needed.”
He reached out, brushing a fingertip over Antonio’s tiny hand. “Family,” he murmured, more to himself than anyone. “It’s all a matter of balance.”
Crowley’s arm slipped around his shoulders, gentle and sure. “Yeah. And you’re bloody good at keeping it.”
Aziraphale leaned into him, his heart full. “Together, my dear. Always together.”