[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 209: Stubbornness in common chores. (Patreon)

When he got home, Will found himself alone in his apartment. A rather rare occurrence and maybe even ironic considering he technically lived ‘alone’. He wasn’t living with his family nor had any roommates, yet still his new place was the de facto gathering spot for six… no, seven people now.

It was something Will welcomed. He never did like being alone for long periods of time, but maybe having some time to himself wasn’t the worst.

‘Sorry, kid. You’re never alone with me around.’

“And I won’t be even when you have your own body, right?” he asked her aloud, walking to his bedroom to get changed from his suit.

‘Yep. Even if I move my consciousness somewhere else, I’ll still technically be inside you. I wonder if I’ll get used to it. It’ll quite literally be an out-of-body experience. Huh. Thinking about it that way is giving me the jitters now.’

“You’re not allowed to back down, you hear? We’ve poured too many resources into getting you a body already. If you tell me you don’t want it anymore, I’m never getting you anything ever again.”

‘Oh, no, I’m not backing down. You’re not escaping me, Will. I’m going to have you eventually.’

Will chuckled. “Looking forward to it.”

‘Same here. So how about some practice now? You don’t have any assignments or tests coming up, right?’

“Yeah.”

Right. University.

…

As he was taking off his shirt, Will heard his phone ring. He checked and saw it Anna was calling, so he answered immediately.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, Will. I think I heard you arriving. Are you home?” she asked him.

“Yeah. Just getting changed. What is it?”

“I… have a bit of an emergency here in my apartment,” Anna said with a nervous laugh.

“Emergency?” Will’s chest tightened, his senses sharpening.

“My kitchen sink is leaking water…” Anna said, letting Will let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t know how to fix it, and…”

“I’ll go take a look. I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”

“Thank you. Sorry to bother you.”

“No, it’s fine. See you there.”

Will got changed quickly into a t-shirt and pants he wouldn’t mind getting dirty and went down to Anna’s apartment using the stairs. Once there, she welcomed him with a peck on the lips and an apologetic smile.

“I’m really sorry. You just got here, right?” she asked him.

“Yeah, but I don’t mind. Looking sexy, by the way.”

Anna laughed. She was wearing very unflattering sweats. Gray baggy pants and a matching shirt that didn’t compliment her shapely figure at all. They were purely home clothes made for maximum comfort.

They went into the kitchen so Will could take a look under the sink. The water was pooling there already. He opened the cabinet doors and saw a thin line of water leaking from between the joints in the PVC pipes.

“Hmm…”

“Do you know how to fix it?” Anna asked him.

“Nope. Never done it before.” Will stood up and brought out his phone.

“Are you calling a plumber?”

“No. I’d rather not let strangers into the building if I can help it. There shouldn’t be a problem, but let’s remember we have a little secret in our basement.”

“Oh. R-Right…” Anna giggled awkwardly.

Will turned the valve under the sink, soon stopping the leak. “I’m willing to bet it shouldn’t be too hard, though. We have the magic of the internet to tell us what to do.”

Anna chuckled. “You’re going to learn how to fix a pipe from an internet tutorial?”

“Hey, it’s how I learned to iron my clothes.”

“I think it would be easier to call a plumber, Will…”

“Sure, but if I learn how to do it, I can fix it next time it has a problem, too.”

Anna didn’t look all too sure, but that wasn’t going to stop Will. He set his phone on the counter and listened to a video tutorial while he helped Anna dry the floor, which was thankfully tiled. After that, he watched the video two more times before nodding and heading out.

“Where are you going?” Anna asked curiously.

“I think we have most of what I need in the basement, but I need to check. If we don’t, I’ll go buy it. I’ll be back soon.”

Indeed, most of what he’d need to make a permanent repair was there. A small saw to cut off the damaged part, spare PVC pipes and even the specific replacement joint. He was lacking solvent glue, though, so he went out and bought it at a nearby hardware store.

He returned to Anna’s place with everything he needed, and though he didn’t exactly appreciate the skeptical looks his dear girlfriend was giving him, he was determined to prove he could do this.

He got to work while Anna stood behind him, looking with curiosity and fidgeting impatiently. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked him when she saw him with a saw in hand.

“How can you trust me to not abuse Ishtar’s powers but not trust me to fix a pipe?” he asked her, now well under the sink and getting in position.

“Alright, alright. I’ll shut up,” Anna said, pouting.

Will chuckled. “I’m not asking you to shut up. I’m asking you to trust me. Even professional plumbers had to start somewhere. And believe me, if these were copper pipes, I wouldn’t be trying to do it like this.”

“Okay, fine.” Anna giggled. “God, guys are all stubborn.”

“Not all of us, no. I am, though,” he admitted.

“Yeah. I guess you’d have to be.”

Yep. He couldn’t have survived all that had been thrown at him so far if he wasn’t.