I ended up changing my mind, so this is a bonus before the finale. Enjoy.
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"Do I have to Rias?" The two of us are in the living room. Wedding planning has gone really smoothly thanks to Zeoticus and Venelana. Currently we're discussing bachelor and bachelorette parties.
"I don't know why it's a bad thing," she says to me.
"Because," I respond, "I don't want you to worry about me doing anything." I rub her belly, which is starting to show more signs that she is pregnant, but no matter what she'll still be beautiful. Rias gives me a hug.
"You act like I don't trust you. It's not like you'll be locked away from hanging out with them, but in a few months we'll both have our hands full. The girls and I are going out so I don't see why you don't want to. This is the last time you'll be able to do this as a 'free man.'" I return the hug and we both laugh.
"Think about who I'll be with. How am I to trust they won't want to do something stupid?"
"Kiba and Gasper will be there too," Rias assures me.
"Okay Rias, if you want me to go have fun I guess I will. I'm making Kiba plan it though." I grab my phone and send him a text asking for his input. "What are you all going to be doing?"
"Nothing too crazy, just a spa day with everyone. They all deserve a day to relax and this sounds like a nice way. And you don't have to worry about anything, Sona and I planned it." My phone buzzes and Kiba tells me to meet them all at Issei's.
"That sounds really nice. I've got to run now." Before I leave Rias stops me.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" I reach into my pockets having my phone and wallet, not sure what else I could be missing. Rias shakes her head and comes up to me.
"I understand now." We give each other a kiss and I make my way out. The walk isn't too far and the atmosphere is really nice in this part of town. One of my favorite parts of being in Kuoh has been walking around the town. It feels more like a home than being in a big city, though to be fair my next home will be the underworld. I've been used to that before, but it's been months since I regularly lived there.
I ring the doorbell and Asia answers it. "Oh, Y/N."
"I was told to meet all of the guys here." She let's me in and takes me to where they're all at. I haven't looked around Issei's house much, and I understand why. For a home in the human realm it's huge. Asia leads me to a room and let's me in. "Thank you Asia." I sit down with the guys. With me is Kiba, Gasper, Saji, and Issei.
"Now that everyone's here let's discuss," Kiba says. "Tonight is for you and should be fun Y/N."
"I sure hope so. As long as I don't end up with an upset fiancée I'm okay with anything." Issei gets all giddy.
"Titty bar it is." Saji agrees with him but the rest of us don't.
"Think this out logically Issei. For you that's possibly the worst thing you could have picked. All of us, bar Gasper, have one woman that would be upset with us, and you can't even count how many you would piss off. Besides, I don't think you all could handle it considering I couldn't." He looks at me discouraged now.
"Since when have you been to a strip club Y/N?" Kiba asks.
Flashback (A Year Ago)
"Are you sure this is a good idea Luci?" The two of us are roaming the underworld alongside Sairaorg who is only here because he was around.
"What are you so worried about Y/N? If Serafall doesn't find out she won't get hurt."
"So when the maid puts you on the couch tonight don't come to the Sitri domain to sleep." Sairaorg busts out laughing.
"Ah the joys of not having commitments," he says. "I can afford a night to relax. You really should just let your hair down Y/N. Worst case you can come to my place and we can drink more."
An Hour Later
"So at this point I have no clue where I am. These fallen angels are all like 'how did you kill our boss?' The entire time I'm barely even trying and they keep running at me." Everyone around laughs. I haven't gotten a private dance but I've had maybe fifteen or twenty shots. If they want to keep pouring them it would be disrespectful of me not to take them. One of the dancers starts rubbing up against me.
"It must be nice doing what Lucifer tells you. I would yearn for that opportunity." Her glitter starts getting all over me, at least I think. This is like the tenth time this has happened tonight.
"Between you and me all you have to do is be a maid there. His own wife is still a maid, and I've never seen her wear anything else. Speaking of where is Luci?" I look around the club trying to find where he is, but to no avail. I see Sairaorg near the stage and stumble my way over to him.
"Y/N," his voice echoes. "You're drunk as hell dude. You should probably sit down."
"Not a chance." I hear a crackling noise at the door and the two of us turn towards it, and the sight is very scary. In come Serafall and Grayfia. "Oh shit," I say a lot louder than I should have. Serafall comes up to me and smacks me.
"You go to have fun and you're at a whorehouse?" Yeah she's a little mad, so I try to think of a good response. What comes out is anything but.
"No it's not that at all. I've just been drinking and telling stories. Let's just go home Serafall." A strong headache comes on, and now I'm really worried.
"Not until you sober up. I know you want to have fun before we get married but at least think about what I have to say about it." I give Serafall a hug.
"I think you need a drink babe. Calm your nerves and have some fun." She breaks from my grasp.
"Take this seriously Y/N!"
"How are you going to tell me that when you aren't serious about anything?" Wrong answer. Serafall leaves and everyone looks at me like the asshole I am.
Flashback Over
"We got through that, but she wasn't happy. Moral of the story is I'm an asshole when I'm drunk, and it's not going to be easy to explain to all of our women that we're there. You know what they say, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" We all deliberate for a minute then Kiba speaks up.
"How about a casino trip? Worst case we all lose a bunch of money, and even if we do at least we aren't getting lap dances."
"That sounds good to me," I say. "What do you all think?" Everybody is in agreement, and we prepare to go. I teleport back to the apartment where Rias is still at. "I figured you all would have left by now."
"We're going tomorrow. Did you guys come up with something?" I tell her our idea and she seems to be okay with it. We aren't leaving until later tonight so I decide to lay down with her.
"This will be interesting," I tell her. "I've never been a big gambler before so this could really well or not at all."
"You just have to have fun, that's all I want for you Y/N. Whether you win, lose, or break even just have a good time. Then you can come home and we can stay together until I leave tomorrow." She already knows the strip club story so while part of me thinks she is a little worried she's playing really cool right now.
That Night
I end up finding a simple black suit and go to see Rias before I go. It isn't a tuxedo for a wedding and it makes me seem like I know when to fold them. Rias comes up and hugs me before I head out. "Have a good time my sweet prince. Remember what I told you?"
"Have fun and don't talk to strangers?" She laughs and playfully hits me. We kiss each other and I make my way outside, where a limo is waiting with everyone in it. Issei is standing in the sunroof holding a bottle of champagne that is clearly open.
"About time dude let's go!" He's already getting drunk? I get in the back with everyone and they all seem sober, for now. Issei sits back down as the driver takes off. "What did you have to do to get her to let you go?"
"Unlike you I don't have to ask permission from twenty girls to go out. You should be glad they aren't here right now, you're embarrassing yourself." I have no clue where we're actually going but I know it's a little bit of a drive. Today is about having a good time with the boys. The limo takes us out of town and as it does I turn to Kiba. "So who got the limo?" Saji answers my question.
"Thank the house of Sitri. Sona talked to her parents and they set it up for us." That's quite a surprise. I change the subject.
"So let's place some bets. I've got two off the top of my head." They all look to me. "Who is going to go broke first and who is getting a phone call first?" We all look around and all agree Issei is the one who will be asking for money. Interestingly enough we all have different answers for the latter. Nobody picked me, Gasper picked Issei, Saji and Kiba picked each other, and I also picked Kiba.
"Why you guys think it'll be me?" He asks.
"Be real Kiba. Tsubaki was in my class, and I saw her doing all she could to text you during the day. She's been over the moon for you for months. If her golden prince is gone for too long she's going to break and have to call."
"It's interesting nobody picked you though," Issei comments.
"Rias trusts me. It's not a strip club and I don't plan on drinking. All she told me was to have fun. From what she told me earlier Sona and Akeno will be over there with her while we're gone. They aren't going out until tomorrow so I guess tonight is just the three of them. It makes sense considering both of them are her best friends, other than me."
"Sona told me what they were going to do, and I'm kind of jealous," Saji says. "That sounds really relaxing."
"I agree," I tell him.
"So Y/N," Gasper turns to me. "Have you and Rias talked about the gender of your baby?"
"She hasn't gone to ultrasound, but it seems like we want the opposite thing. She wants a boy and I want a girl. Either way I'll be happy, but you have to think it would be really cute to see a mini Rias running around." Kiba laughs.
"It's interesting hearing you talk about it. Had you and Serafall ever talked about it?"
"Not seriously," I respond. "We figured we would end up having them after we got married. It was just coincidence that Rias told me the same night I was going to propose to her. Serafall was always 'oh I want a ton of babies Y/N our family will be so cute.' It was unrealistic, and I don't think she wants to spend a thousand years pregnant. I'll be happy with the one for awhile, but I'm sure time will come and number two will be on the way. It's different planning as a devil compared to as a human. Six months ago I didn't even want to be a devil, but times have changed."
The limo stops and I see the building we're about to enter. It definitely has casino written all over it, literally. The five of us walk in and get our chips, and I look around to get a look at the area. A blackjack table catches my eye and I sit down, figuring I can probably handle that. Saji sits next to me and the dealer greets us before sending the first cards our way.
I look at what I've got. King and queen of hearts, easy hold. Saji hits and once the third card joins his hand he flips, showing 22. The dealer has eighteen, making it simple for me. The next hand isn't as simple being two sixes. I could always hit, but there is always that chance of a higher card screwing everything up. On the other side nobody in history has easily won with a hand of twelve. I take my next card, ace. Saji does as well, and we do another go around, him holding this time. Thirteen in my hands leaves me doing quick probability checks. I'm not able to count cards so I figure I'll just take my chances. Next card comes and it's a three. Sixteen is a little easier to hold on, but judging by Saji being willing to hold a card earlier I'm assuming he has higher than that. I take one more and get a two. Much easier to let it sit, though when we flip I see Saji has a 20.
"Damn, I didn't expect that," I tell him. I look around as the next hand deals out, seeing the other three all having fun at the slots. I'd rather test my luck here so I look and see an easy 21, jack and ace. I flip them over securing the easy win. Currently I'm up by a decent amount. The odds I'm betting aren't crazy high but blackjack is still a game you can lose a lot if you aren't careful. It's not like I can just set a luck stat to the maximum and consistently get 20 and 21.
(A/N: Am I the only one? If you know you know.)
The next hand deals and it's a tougher decision being a nine and a six. Fifteen is a safe number sometimes, but when you have to factor in someone else is playing, it almost seems worth it to hit and test your luck. I resist the urge and stand, allowing Saji to take two more cards. He busts and the dealer flips showing seventeen. A few more hands go on and I keep going back and forth, staying up a decent amount before deciding to rest on it and try something else out. There's a poker table with an empty seat so I decide to take it.
"Well isn't this grand?" I see who said it, and considering I'm in the human realm I'm very confused.
"Hello Riser, it's been awhile."
"Riser does hope you know how to play. These jokers can't even compare when it comes to a game like this." I wasn't sure what to expect today, but playing poker with Riser Phenex was not on that list. Issei and the others look our way but I wave them off. As I do Riser notes my ring. "An engagement ring, surely for my former bride."
"Yeah, and she's happy now." Riser laughs.
"Anybody is an improvement from him," he says with venom. "Now let's be gentleman and play, Riser is looking forward to this." I was at Riser's engagement party when Issei stopped it, and up until then we were cool. When I became Rias' rook it seems that everything changed.
"If you two dickheads are done let's get another hand going," someone at our table says. Riser and I both nod and get our cards. His poker face is pretty straight, almost like he does this all the time. I see what I've got and without thought I fold. Riser calls and the rest of the table follows suit. The hand goes by very quickly and Riser wins the pot.
"See what Riser said? These people are nothing in a game like this." The next hand comes and I've got two kings. That's something I can work with, but it depends how everyone else plays. Six seats here and four folded, unsurprisingly leaving me against Riser. "Don't get ahead of yourself Y/N, it's perfectly okay to accept defeat."
"You wish," I say as the flop comes out. Another king comes out and I know I'm in a good spot. There aren't any aces here either so if Riser has one I'm set. He checks but I raise, seeing if I can get him to bite. He does and the turn is placed, a four. I decide to go for it on this hand. "All in," I declare as I move my chips to the middle.
"Very well," Riser says and does the same as I. The river is placed and I can only hope it's in my favor. Another four comes down and I know I won.
"Full house." I show my cards and the table is ecstatic. Riser hesitates but shows his, now knowing he is out. He was gambling high, and now he's gone. I take my winnings and make my way to cash out. I only needed that one hand. After I do a fireball flies past my head.
"Now did you really think you would be allowed to leave after that? Riser will end you for making a mockery of me." I look at him and grin.
"If you want it come and get it." Riser may be immortal in body but the one thing that you can break is his pride. He gets closer to me and I throw a punch causing him to stumble a little bit. It seems like he may be a little drunk, and that just makes this easier.
"You'll need more than that to defeat Riser." My main worry is keeping him from throwing more fire considering we're not in the underworld. I close the distance and hit him in the gut. He doubles over and falls, and before I can swing again I see him stop. I look over and all the guys are together, Gasper holding Riser with his Sacred Gear.
"Let's get out of here," I say. We all leave and get back to our limo. On the drive back to Kuoh Issei looks at me.
"What was that about Y/N?"
"A single hand of poker. He was drunk from what I can tell." I turn to Gasper. "Thanks for the assist back there."
"No problem." The rest of the ride is rather quiet, and I get dropped off before everyone else. When I enter the apartment I see Rias, Sona, and Akeno all on the couch watching a movie.
"You're back early," Rias notes.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you embarrass Riser Phenex. Someone wasn't happy that I beat him at the game he thought he was unbeatable at." I explain the story to them all and I sit next to Rias. She sits on my lap and cuddles with me.
"I'm sorry that happened Y/N."
"You shouldn't be." Her eyes turn my way. "I had a lot of fun." The both of us smile and keep watching whatever they were. A few days from now I'll be Y/N Gremory, and it's almost surreal. All I know is that whatever comes, I'm prepared.
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That was fun. I was about to write the finale when I decided to do a little bachelor party. I've never been involved in one so I decided to figure this out as I went. Next time will actually be the final part.
-Coop