Chapter Text
A week seemed to have flown by in a flash, and like Matsu said, he didn't meddle in the brothers business and Lucifer didn't approach him unless necessary. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to have his movie night with Mammon yet as he was still healing and Lucifer made the brothers focus on their studies until their averages went up. With his head injury now healed a bit more, he was able to keep the bandages off. However, due to his hair getting cut when he had been attacked, he had to cut his hair some. Which now made him look like he has a mullet, but Asmodeus had done a pretty good job when he cut it the other day.
Both sides of his head had been shaved to match, the hair he had once grown out to cover his ears had been cut to just above his ear lobes. The rest of his hair in the back stayed longer, but was cut to make it look more layered and less like an over grown mullet. If he styled it good enough, it actually didn't look too bad. But, regardless, he missed his old hair. Realizing he had been standing in his bathroom with just a towel on for about 10 minutes now, just staring at himself, he sighed and finished drying off. The others were probably ready to head to Diavolo's castle now, and here he was taking forever.
Admittingly, he had no interest in going to this retreat, but Diavolo felt it would be a good way for everyone to get along. Especially after what had happened that night in the tombs. Once he finished half heartedly styling his hair so it wouldn't look too messy, he threw on some jeans that had holes in the knees, his usual shoes, and a light beige sweater. He didn't bother wearing a shirt underneath. Taking one last look in the mirror, he could tell the sweater seemed baggier than usual. Had he really lost that much weight in the 2 months he's been here in the Devildom? Deciding not to make them wait any longer, he grabbed his bag and headed off to meet everyone at the door.
When he got downstairs, he saw Mammon seemed to be in rather high spirits about the whole thing. It was a nice change from how tense things had been lately.
"All right!" He proclaimed, smiling. "It's finally time for our retreat! Three days and two nights!" He then looked over, noticing Matsu had finally joined them. "So, Matsu!"
"Hmm?" Matsu looked over to him, noticing Mammon had moved to be on his right side so he could hear him better. Always so considerate. It made him smile a bit.
"Are you pumped for this or what?!"
"Sort of, I guess." He shrugged in response.
"Hey now, come on, let's hear some more excitement, eh!"
"Mammon," Levi sighed, looking like he was already wanting to run back to his room. "You're being really loud."
"Aw, what's wrong with you, Levi? Get that grumpy look off your face, killjoy!"
"You're like... too excited right now, Mammon, and it's really annoying."
"Mammon being annoying is nothing new," Satan said as he joined in on the conversation, standing to Levi's left. "But yeah.. this morning he's especially annoying."
"Yeah, at first you were complaining about this retreat was going to be a drag."
"Ah shut up, both of you. Sure, I thought it was going to be a drag, but now that it's actually time to go, I'm excited!" Mammon said, looking away his cheeks flushed red, which confused Matsu as he tilted his head a bit in confusion. Mammon had been texting him about how much of a drag this was going to be, so he did agree with Levi and Satan that it was weird that he was suddenly to pumped.
"what are you, and elementary school kid about to head off on a field trip?" Satan sighed.
"Is that what it feels like? I've never been on a field trip before," Matsu then said, his hands moving fast as he signed. When he signed, he noticed Satan paying attention to his hands more often than he used to.
"Eh?" The three of them stared at Matsu before glancing to each other like some unspoken words were said between them when Beel had showed up.
"Whoa, Beel, that bag of yours is waaaay too big!" Mammon said, which caused the other three to look over. "Pff, I bet it's stuffed with food, ain't it?"
"Well, what about Asmodeus?" Beel frowned, gesturing his head towards Asmo who was struggling to pull his luggage over. "I'd say he's the one you should be criticizing when it comes to luggage."
"Gooood morning, everyone!" Asmodeus smiled, seeming to be as excited as Mammon. "My, you're all early!" He said as he set his stuff down, wiping his forehead with his arm afterwards.
"Morning, Asmo." Matsu signed.
"Ugh, I just couldn't decide how I wanted to do my hair this morning, you know? It took so much time.." He sighed, looking over to Matsu. "But I must say, your new hairdo is soooo cute, Matsu!"
"Mm.. well, it's thanks to you that I have this style now. I'm still learning how to actually style it though without it looking too weird."
"Nonsense!" Asmodeus smiled, deciding he would help Matsu style his hair more when they get to the Demon Lord's Castle.
"Asmodeus.." Satan then said, interrupting their conversation. "Why do you have so much luggage?"
"Yeah, it's only for two nights, ya know? You think you're headin' off on a tour of the three worlds or somethin'?"
"This is actually quite less than what I wanted to bring." Asmo crossed his arms, frowning at his brothers. "But then I realized I only have two hands, so I could only bring two suitcases with me."
"Actually," Levi pipped up again. "Larger doujinshi artists generally ship their stuff when they go to conventions."
"Sorry Levi, but I'm not sure what you're even talking about right now."
At this point, Matsu toned the conversation out a bit as he grabbed out his D.D.D., checking his texts. Luke had been messaging him more often than usual after the tombs incident, as though he wanted to make sure he was still alive. Seeing he had no texts, he put the phone back in his back pocket and looked up to see Lucifer had arrived. Immediately, he felt his mood shift a bit. He was still uncomfortable around Lucifer, for obvious reasons.
"It looks like everyone's here. It won't do to keep Diavolo waiting." He said, looking over to Matsu. Seeing he was clearly trying to avoid eye contact, Lucifer looked away from him and back to his younger brothers. "We should head over to the Demon Lord's Castle now. I want to get there before the angels and Solomon do."
"I hope you're ready, Matsu."
"Hmm?" He looked over when he realized he was being talked to again.
"'Cause there ain't no guarantee you'll come back from this alive, ya know?"
"I know you want Matsu to be interested in you, but you do realize it sounds as if you're trying to scare someone, don't you, Mammon?"
"What?!" Mammon's face flushed red again. "Whaddya mean?! Pff, why would I want Matsu to be interested in me, huh?"
This earned a brow raise from Matsu. Did Mammon want him to be interested? He knew Mammon always looked away and got all flustered when he was called out for something. It made his stomach suddenly feel funny as he looked away from Mammon, feeling heat rise to his own cheeks a bit.
"Quit standing around and get going!" Lucifer then demanded as everyone else had started moving. Flinching at his tone, Matsu adjusted his bag over his shoulder and began walking, being between Mammon to his right and Satan to his left.
"Right, right.. I'm comin'." Mammon said as they headed off.
The walk was filled with pretty dumb conversation between the younger siblings, which reminded Matsu of his own in a way, though he struggled to keep up with everything so he eventually dropped out of the conversation. Looking down, his left hand held the strap to his bag as he looked at his feet, counting each step he took. He couldn't help but notice as they walked that Mammon's hand kept brushing against his right hand lightly as they headed off to the Castle. He was tempted to grab his hand a few times, but decided against it since he didn't want the others to say anything.
Before long, they were standing in front of Diavolo and Barbatos in the castle. Matsu was rather surprised, expecting the place to be all gloomy feeling like the House of Lamentation, but it was bright everywhere.
"Well, good morning. I must say, I couldn't wait for you to arrive!" Diavolo said with an earnest smile as Barbatos was looking at Matsu and signing in translation. Matsu bowed a little as a greeting, and to thank Barbatos for translating.
"Welcome to the Demon Lord's Castle. It's a pleasure to have you here."
"Good morning, Diavolo. And you too, Barbatos." Lucifer said before he looked around, seeming satisfied as he smiled, his arms crossing. "Well, it seems that neither Solomon nor the angels have arrived yet, have they?"
"Man, now that's just shameless." Mammon then said, looking over to Lucifer. "Listen to you pretendin' like you didn't hurry over here, all frantic to make it to Lord Diavolo before Solomon and the angels could."
Matsu bit his bottom lip, looking away to try not to laugh at the way Mammon called out Lucifer. His hand going to his mouth as he pretended to be coughing when Lucifer glanced his way.
"Hm? Did you say something, Mammon?" Lucifer then asked, stepping on Mammon's foot while giving him an icy stare.
"Ow! My foot! You're steppin' on MY FOOT, Lucifer!" Mammon tried to get away, but Lucifer wouldn't move his foot away.
"Well, Lucifer, Mammon, I see you two are getting along swimmingly as usual." Diavolo laughed, being rather entertained with all of this. Though, he was also glad to see Matsu seemed to have relaxed a little from that.
"At least Mammon is predictable. No matter what, you can always count on him to act stupid."
"Yeah, it's embarrassing to think that Solomon and the angels are about to get a front row seat to all of Mammon's idiocy." Satan added, both he and Asmo looked disappointed.
"Hey now," Matsu then said, looking to them. They stared at each other for a moment before Matsu signed something to them and then looked away, his eyes meeting Barbatos' who was smiling at him. As though amused by what he had signed.
'Assholes.' It was a simple hand gesture, making the 'A' symbol before flicking his hand down a bit, going into a the symbol for 'H'
Satan and Asmo looked to each other, both unsure of what he had signed at them, but the smile on Barbatos' face was a little concerning. Had they been insulted? They planned to ask him later when they got to go to their rooms. Their eyes flicking over to Mammon who was now staring at Matsu, blushing a bit.
"Ah, speaking of our other guests, they've just arrived." Barbatos then said, signing before gesturing over to the 3 who just walked in.
"Hello, and good morning." Simeon smiled as he walked over to them. "We've already got quite the crowd here, don't we?"
"You demons sure know how to get an early start. I see you managed to get here before us," Solomon then added, standing next to him.
"Matsu!" Luke immediately ran over to him, hugging him tightly.
"Hello again, Luke," Matsu smiled, leaning down a little to hug him back. He thought it was quite cute, how much Luke reminded him of his youngest brother.
"What the..!" Mammon frowned. "What's the big idea runnin' up and huggin' Matsu like that?!" He huffed, hands going to his hips.
"..." Beelzebub was rather silent as he stared at them.
"Ugh. THIS is why I can't stand normies..."
"Hmm?" Matsu looked over to them, tilting his head a bit as Luke pulled away.
"N-nothing." Levi looked away, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Matsu," Luke then said, looking up at him. "I'm so happy you're all right!" He hugged him again, rubbing his face into his stomach a bit. "So, so happy! There aren't even words..!"
"Yes, yes. I'm okay, just a scratch." Matsu smiled down at him, deciding it was best not to mention the loss of hearing in his left ear. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Lucifer looking over to him but said nothing.
"I presume this is in regards to Lucifer attacking him. He probably feels responsible." Asmodeus then said to Satan when he saw his confused expression.
"I'm so, so sorry, Matsu. You got hurt because of me. It was all my fault. I know I called and apologized for this already, but it's such a relief to see you safe and sound. I've been beside myself with worry..."
"It's alright, Luke, really." Matsu said as he pulled away, crouching down in front of him. He then pat his head as he smiled at him. "I don't blame you at all. Besides, it barely hurt."
"D-don't treat me like a kid!" Luke gently swatted Matsu's hand off his head, having to fix his hat now as his face was flushed. Standing up, Matsu heard a faint voice and looked over to see it was Solomon talking. The looks of the demons going unnoticed. They knew the truth and weren't sure why Matsu was trying to hide it from Luke, to make him feel better, maybe?
"I've heard rumors that Simeon and Diavolo met and mediated a solution together. Is that right?"
"Yes, we did."
"Indeed, yes. Isn't that right, Lucifer?" Diavolo looked over to him.
"...Yes." Lucifer then said, looking away from Matsu. His thoughts going to what he had said that morning in the music room. For the sake of Diavolo, he did want to stay on good terms, though wasn't sure how he should go about that.
"..." Luke stayed silent, standing next to Matsu on his left as he looked at Lucifer. Still intimidated by him after the incident.
"Hehe.." Asmo then started to giggle. "Just look at the expression on Luke's face. He looks like a dog with its tail between his legs."
"Shh. he'll hear you, Asmodeus." Satan said, though seemed to be holding back a smirk. The two of them seemed as close as ever.
"All right, then." Diavolo then stood in front of everyone, getting their attention as Barbatos stood beside him. Waving to Matsu to catch his attention. "Now that we're all here, perhaps we should go ahead and explain how this retreat is going to work."
"Certain, my lord." Barbatos started. "The aim of the retreat is for demons, angels, and human's to intermingle so that each may gain a better understanding of the other."
"Well, as we're stayin' the night, I say the best way to intermingle is by havin' a pillow fight!" Mammon piped up, standing to Matsu's right. Seeming to be fired up again as he gave Matsu a reassuring smile.
"Now then, I'll begin by explaining what we have planned for each day of the retreat."
"Eh? He's just gonna ignore me?" Mammon then pouted, which earned him a back pat from Matsu. The sudden contact caused him to blush a bit as Matsu dropped his hand. Their hands brushing together a bit as Matsu looked back to Barbatos. Mammon couldn't help but feel all warm where Matsu had touched him, his hand suddenly feeling sweaty. Glancing down to their hands, he brushed his pinky against Matsu's. wishing they could hold hands, but he knew in front of everyone else, he couldn't. Suddenly, he couldn't wait for the retreat to be over so he could have Matsu to himself again, since they didn't get to have their movie night yet. Yes, that was the reason. The only reason.
"After you've taken your belongings up to your rooms, we'll begin with a tour of the Demon Lord's Castle, where you'll have a chance to learn about Devildom history. We'll be serving Devildom cuisine for dinner tonight, and I've taken the liberty of volunteering to prepare tonight's meal myself."
"Mmm," the mention of dinner was making Beel drool. "Barbatos' authentic Devildom cuisine."
"Um, Beel.. You know you're drooling." Levi then said, taking a step to the side in disgust, not wanting to be slobbered on.
"Tomorrow," Barbatos continued, "we'll be having a scavenger hunt. Each day, we plan to have a representative from one of the three worlds prepare a meal for us. So, tomorrow Luke will be making food from the Celestial Realm. I'm sure it will be quite a treat."
"Food from the Celestial Realm, huh?" Beelzebub then said, a rather loud growl sounding. It was loud enough that even Matsu could hear it, looking over to him.
"Was that your stomach growing just now, Beel?" Asmodeus then asked. "Even Matsu was able to hear it."
"Incidentally, there will also be a dance following dinner tomorrow, Then on day three-the final day-we'll get to enjoy food from the human world for lunch, which Matsu will be preparing for us."
"Huh?" Matsu blinked twice, pointing to himself. "Me? You sure? I don't know if that's a good idea.."
"There's no need to try and make anything complicated. Even something simple would be an interesting treat for them. I haven't gotten to eat human world food in a long time. I'm really looking forward to what you make, Matsu." Solomon said reassuring, signing as he spoke to make sure Matsu got everything he said.
"Right.. something simple." Matsu looked up, his head tilted a bit as he was thinking on what he could make.
"Well then, why don't we move on to the room assignments." This got everyone's attention. "Lord Diavolo will be sharing a room with Lucifer."
"You have your own bedroom here. Why share a room with me?" Lucifer questioned.
"Why do you think? Because this is a retreat, of course!"
'Gaaaaaay' Matsu thought, having to fight against his bl mind wanting to ship the two of them together.
"Luke, Beelzebub, Leviathan, you will be sharing a room. Simeon, Asmodeus, and Matsu, you'll be sharing a room."
Matsu nodded, looking over to Asmo and Simeon with a faint smile. He hadn't really spent much time around Asmo, so figured this would be a good opportunity to get to know him more. Besides, he needed to make a pact with him if he wanted to get Belphegor out of the attic. That guilty feeling hitting him when he remembered he was the only one who knew the truth.
"Wh..?" Mammon frowned, his hand moving against Matsu's, his pinky curling around Matsu's. Looking down at their hands, Matsu raised a brow before looking to see Mammon was definitely sulking. 'Cute.'
"And Solomon, Mammon, and Satan, you'll be sharing a room as well. And that covers everyone." Barbatos finished the room assignment.
"...Yo, Asmodeus. Switch rooms with me!" Mammon then yelled, letting go of Matsu's hand.
"What? Why?" Amso frowned.
As they argued, Matsu tuned them out, since it was a bit hard to hear Asmo anyways. Lifting his hand a bit, he stared at his pinky that now felt warm. Feeling his cheeks heating up, he shook his head and looked over to Asmodeus.
"Because, um.. y'know.. Solomon looks like he snores, and.. Satan's feet probably stink." Mammon fumbled for an excuse.
Well that's an awfully rude thing to accuse me of. And it's not true." Solomon sighed.
"My feet don't smell, Mammon." Satan put his hand to his hip. "The truth is that you want to be in the same room as Matsu, don't you?"
"Wh?!" Mammon's face turned red, causing him to look away. "You idi.. N-No I don't! Why would I want to share a room with Matsu?!"
"Cute," Matsu laughed softly, his fingers covering his mouth as his eyes closed. He wasn't away he had said that as loud as he had, which had caused Mammon to blush even harder. Beelzebub and Leviathan frowning. When his eyes opened, his smile quickly dropped when he saw the looks he was getting. Wishing he could disappear, he turned away from them and covered his face. Unaware that Mammon was trying to defend his decision some more now that Matsu had to go and say that.
"Look at how hard he's trying to deny it, looool!" Leviathan then laughed.
"Ah.. I see. So that's why you want to switch rooms, is it?" Asmodeus then said. "Well, in that case, the answer is no. Too bad!" He smiled, causing Mammon to frown at him.
"Why not?!"
"Maybe it's because I enjoy that bitter, frustrated look on your face?"
"Gr..!" Mammon gritted his teeth.
"How long do you all plan on goofing around?" Lucifer then sighed, holding his luggage. "Lets go. Time to take your belongings up to your rooms. Matsu, stop growing mushrooms." He sighed, turning and heading to his room, being sure to drag Mammon along with him.
"There, there, Matsu." Asmo patted his shoulder, swiping the mushrooms that had grown on him while he was sulking in embarrassment for saying Mammon was cute out loud. Together, they walked to the room they'd be sharing, Simeon walking just behind them.
+++
The retreat tour was rather eventful. On the first day, they toured the whole place and had come to discover that Asmodeus pissed off a lady who was cursed into a painting. Following that, Mammon, Leviathan, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Solomon, and Matsu were all dragged into it. When they awoke, they were all split up. Solomon was with Matsu before he summoned Asmodeus to them. While down there, they had also discovered that Henry 1.0 was down there, and he was a very, very massive snake. With the charm of Asmodeus, however, they were able to get the snake to lead them out of the tunnels.
Dinner was rather good, though Matsu had only managed to eat a small plateful before he was full. The issue with how little he ate often resulted in it being hard to eat big meals. With his compliments to Barbatos, he retired for the night. Soon joined by Asmodeus and Simeon.
"You okay, Matsu?"
"Yeah, I just ate too much.." Matsu sighed, laying on his back as his hand rested under his sweater, rubbing his stomach in a feeble attempt to make it feel better.
"Shall I rub your stomach for you~?" Asmodeus then asked, a devilish look in his eyes as he loomed over him.
"Uh.. I'm good." Matsu said, removing his hand and rolling onto his stomach instead, resting the left side of his face on the pillow. He had a feeling Asmo might have ulterior motives.
Mammon had burst into the room soon after, but Matsu had already fallen asleep at that point. Laying on his stomach in his day clothes, hugging the pillow his head rested on. When Lucifer came to grab him, he didn't even wake up since he couldn't even hear it.
"Say, Asmodeus," Simeon began as he walked over to Matsu's bed and leaned over. Carefully removing his hearing aid. "He only wears the right side now."
"Mmm, yeah. The left one broke during that whole fiasco in the tombs, or so I've been told."
"I see." Simeon paused a moment as he set the hearing aid on the night stand. He had a feeling he knew what had happened, especially with the guilty look Lucifer made when Matsu was talking to Luke. Had something more happened? He wasn't sure as the two decided to go to sleep.
The following day was the scavenger hunt. There was a conversation that Matsu had missed as he lingered behind everyone. His head was hurting a bit today, so he was okay not being able to take much sound in. His hand rubbing his left ear gently as he yawned, flinching in pain when his ears popped. Looking over to make sure nobody noticed, he saw Lucifer was talking, but Satan was looking over at him.
"..." Adverting his gaze, Matsu looked back to Lucifer and did his best to read his lips, but it was futile. Lucifer was talking too fast and Solomon wasn't translating for him, and Barbatos was not present. Afterwards, Simeon briefed him on what they were supposed to do and that they were grouped up by room buddies.
After a bit of walking around, they ran into Satan, Luke, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Mammon. Asmodeus kept jumping in front of pictures and had ended up charming the statue as Luke was trying to get a picture.
Sighing in annoyance, Matsu pinched the bridge of his nose. His headache was getting a bit worse on the left side, which he figured was from his injury.
"Hey, Asmo! Whaddya think you're doin', huh?!" Mammon yelled in frustration.
"Well, I can't help it, now can I? It's not my fault that I'm so charming and ridiculously good-looking." Asmo smiled innocently. "Also, I don't believe it said anywhere in the rules that we're not allowed to get in the way of the other teams." He shrugged before he began to saunter off.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? We're not done talking to you, Asmodeus!" Satan called out after him before he sighed in annoyance.
"I'll go get him," Matsu sighed, lowering his hand and walking after him. He didn't really want to get him to come back, but he did want to tell him to stop being an ass.
After a bit of aimless wandering, Asmodeus finally stopped and turned around to see it was Matsu who had been following him.
"Hm? Ah, I was wondering who was behind me. So it's you, Matsu."
"Nn."
"What? Did you follow me hoping we could have a little alone time?"
"No," he responded bluntly with no hesitation. "You need to go apologize to the other teams. You're kind of being a twat." He said, finger spelling the last word.
"Apologize?" Asmo frowned. "Me? Why?"
"Cuz you were being a dick.." Matsu said honestly.
"What? So you've come to lecture me too?"
"What you did back there was.. a douchey move, to say the least."
"Oh, was it now? You don't think I should've done that?" Asmodeus stepped closer to him. "Reeeeally?"
"Really," Matsu had a deadpanned expression.
"... Matsu," he frowned. "I see you looking in to my eyes right now. You don't feel anything? Like, really? Nothing at all?"
"Nope, nothing, aside from my growing headache. Am I supposed to?"
"I was trying to charm you. You know, like I did down in the labyrinth. You saw how I tamed Levi's old pet snake, right?"
"..." Matsu's eye twitched in annoyance.
"You're just a human. Yet, for some weird reason, it seems like my power doesn't work on you."
"A shame."
"Even so," Asmo then frowned. "If you think you can control me, well you've got another thing coming."
"No, I just want you to go apologize so we can finish this hunt."
"Is that so?"
"Yep." He sighed, thinking for a moment. "If I wanted to control you, I'd try to make a pact."
"Me? Make a pact with you?" Asmodeus then started to laugh.
"Uh huh, well, anyways, I'm going back to the others." Matsu turned and started walking away. Though, he wondered where the others were. He had blindly followed Asmo here. This obviously didn't sit right with Asmodeus who quickly went up to him, stopping in front of him to block his path.
"If you want to make a pact with me that badly,"
'I don't.'
"Then what do you say to this? If you can manage to outwit Lucifer somehow, then I'll be willing to recognize you as someone worthy of me."
"..." Matsu blinked, looking up as he pretended he was pondering it. He wasn't. In truth, he felt like he already outwitted Lucifer with all his visits to Belphegor, since it seemed Lucifer had no idea he was talking with him.
With a brief discussion on how he would do that, Asmodeus settled on getting a picture of Lucifer while he is asleep. With that, the two of them went back to the others to get Simeon.
+++
After eating the Celestial Realm food that Luke made, Matsu was once again completely stuffed up. They were supposed to have a dance tonight and Matsu wasn't sure if he could do that after he ate so much the last 2 days, at least to him. Once dinner was done for everyone aside from Beel, Diavolo had done his magic and turned the room into a ball room. And it was full of a bunch of demons now as music began and Diavolo was in his demon form.
'Holy hell he's hot!' Matsu thought, having to look away to contain himself. He didn't want to blurt anything out again like he did the previous day. A tap on his shoulder made him turn his head to see Mammon was in his demon form, and a foot taller than him now. His cheeks a bit red, but Matsu was busy staring at his nose exposed chest.
"Yo, Matsu.. um, like.." Mammon was shuffling awkwardly as he blushed, which Matsu found to be cute. "You know.. Uh, I mean, like.. uh.."
"Mammon, are you trying to ask me to dance?"
"W-what? Pff! N-no! Like, you've gotta have weird taste to ask a human like you to dance. I'm guessin' no one here's gonna do that, huh?" He nervously laughed. Based on his stuttering, Matsu knew he was lying, but it still hurt his feeling a little.
"I guess so.." He looked away, crossing his arms as he pouted.
"Ya know.." Mammon started again, which made Matsu look back at him. "As long as you don't have a partner, I guess I could maybe go ahead and paid up with you for a bit."
"Mammon, why not just admit that you want to dance with Matsu?" Satan interjected before Matsu could answer him.
"You're such a loser," Leviathan laughed. "And a total tsundere!"
"Grrr.." Mammon stepped closer to Matsu and waved his hand at them. "Get outta here, both of you! Shoo! Shoo!"
"Matsu," a deep voice spoke, which Matsu recognized as a shiver ran down his spine. Turning to see it was Lucifer standing next to him and Mammon now. "Come dance with me. Now."
"I'd rather not..." Matsu said, but Lucifer didn't respond, or listen, as he grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor.
"See, you should've just come out and asked Matsu to dance." Satan said, standing beside Mammon as they watched Matsu get pulled away.
"Do you know how to dance?" Lucifer asked, taking Matsu's hand, his other going to his hip.
"No." Matsu answered shortly, hoping it would get him out of it.
"No problem, I'll lead." He said as he began swaying as Matsu put his hand on Lucifer's shoulder, wishing he was with Mammon instead as he turned his head away a bit to avoid having to look right at Lucifer.
"In general, there are all sorts of reasons why one might ask someone else to dance. For example, they might be interested in them, they might want to touch them, or they might simply be doing it out of politeness."
"..." Matsu glanced up at him, giving him a suspicious look.
"Or it could be because they want to have a private conversation." He said, pulling Matsu closer to him as he stared down at him. "What is it you're plotting with Asmodeus?"
"..."
"Let me make one thing clear," He said, his grip tightening on Matsu's hand. "I respect my brothers' freedom to do as they wish. However, if I ever sense that you've become a threat to either Diavolo or us... Then I will show up absolutely no mercy. Understood?"
"That was a given the moment you took my hearing away," Matsu responded coldly, trying to pull his hand away, but Lucifer only gripped him tighter which hurt.
"Pardon me," Solomon then said from Matsu's right. "Well, it looks like a new song has started. I'd love the chance to dance with Matsu. Might I cut in?" He smiled innocently.
"... Fine." Lucifer let Matsu go, lowering his hand as he stepped back. His eyes going to the healing scar on the side of Matsu's head. "I get the feeling you've gotten the message. I'm glad we got to have this little talk." Lucifer said before he turned and walked away.
"..." Matsu stared down at the floor as Solomon took his hand, the one that Lucifer had been squeezing. He held it gently as the two of them began slow dancing, Matsu's body trembling as he felt like he was going to vomit.
"...You look pale," Solomon then said once Lucifer was out of earshot. "Did Lucifer say something to you?"
"...Yeah. Thanks for rescuing me there."
"No need to thank me. Think nothing of it." He paused, trying to think of what he could say to ease Matsu. "This is the Devildom. When it comes down to it, you're human, and that makes you different. Never forget that."
"Nn.."
After a conversation on how he could command the demons he has a pact with, and Solomon giving him some of his magical power. Though it would only last for 6 hours, apparently. When their dance came to an end, Matsu scurried off to take a quick breather and go finally vomit. He felt bad, feeling like he wasted good food, but he couldn't hold it any longer. Deciding he was done for the night, he didn't come back down.
The events afterwards was almost a complete blur. Around midnight, maybe, Mammon, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Matsu found themselves outside what was supposed to be Lucifer's room. However, that was definitely not the case. It turned out to be Cerberus's room and when they ran away, they managed to find themselves falling back into the underground labyrinth. And that meant running in to Henry 1.0 again. With the borrowed magic, Matsu managed to summon Asmodeus to help him, even though they didn't have a pact. It was rather surprising he was able to do that, even surprising himself.
With the end of that escapade, Asmodeus had formed a pact with Matsu. Mammon ended up bursting into the room before they went to bed, and a pillow fight had ensued. What was even more surprising was when Lucifer and Diavolo came in to see what all the noise was, Diavolo ended up joining in the pillow fight along with the other brothers and angels. With that, the second day ended.
+++
On the third day, Matsu had ended up making some cheeseburgers since he knew Beelzebub really liked human cheeseburgers. Unfortunately, the side dishes ended up being a disaster as Solomon took it upon himself to help out. Unbeknownst to Matsu, he was a terrible cook and nobody seemed to like the human world food besides the burgers which just made Matsu feel rather guilty for allowing Solomon to help in the kitchen. Lesson learned.
When they finally made it back home, Matsu immediately went to his room and collapsed onto the bed, groaning. His eyes closing as he buried his face in the pillow. After a moment, he turned his head to the right, the left side of his face resting on the pillow as he stared at the wall. Lucifer's words coming back to him. Why was it that he kept being threatened by Lucifer? If he had such a problem with him then just send him home.
A pain went through his head causing him to groan again. Sitting up as he rubbed the left side of his head. Any time he thought about it, it hurt. He couldn't tell if it was actual pain or if it was just ghost pains. Deciding not to dwell on it too much, he got up and removed his hearing aid, putting it in the charging box before he went to the bathroom.
After taking a 30 minute long steamy shower, he came out wrapped in just a towel around his waist since he hadn't thought to bring clothes with him to the bathroom. Another towel over his head, not that he dried his hair much since it was still dripping wet. Looking up from his feet, he jumped and covered his chest subconsciously when he saw Mammon was now staring at him, the two of them blushing like tomatoes now.
Mammon was now yelling something as he covered his eyes, turning away from him. Quickly, Matsu put on a pair of boxers and his green sweater before tapping Mammon's shoulder to let him know he was dressed.
"Geez, I didn't think you'd come out of the shower like that!" Mammon looked at him before he realized his hearing aids wouldn't be in. "And your hair is sopping wet! At least dry it properly!" He grabbed the towel that was on Matsu's head and began to dry his hair with it. Though he was careful not to hurt him. After a minute, he pulled the towel back as Matsu shook his head, flinging small water droplets everywhere.
Turning, Matsu went to the table and grabbed the box, pulling out his hearing aid. Once it was in, he looked over to Mammon.
"At least let me know if you plan to come to my room."
"Eh? Why should I? We made plans, didn't we?" Mammon said as he walked over to the bed and sat down. Grabbing the tv remote, he began sifting through the streaming services they had to find something to watch.
"That's true, yeah.." Matsu then sat beside him, crossing his legs. "You know.." He started, looking over to Mammon.
"Hmm?" Mammon looked at him, lowering the remote.
"I really did want to dance with you," Matsu then admitted, smiling at him faintly.
"...Yeah, me too." Mammon then said, blushing a bit. "Ya know, cuz uh.. well.."
Matsu leaned over, nudging him with his shoulder a bit before he leaned back on the bed. The two of them sitting in silence as Mammon had put on some random anime show, one with a very ridiculously long title that Matsu thought Levi had mentioned before.
After the episode ended, Matsu got up and went to the bathroom. He didn't have to go, but he couldn't help but feel like getting away from Mammon for a moment. Resting his hands on the counter, he leaned forward towards the mirror. Staring at himself in the mirror, he turned his head to look at the healing wound. It was pretty much a scar at this point. Sighing, He looked down at the sink.
He knew it was coming, but the fact it was already here hurt. What was he supposed to do when he goes home? He could barely hear anything, what if Lucifer really does attack him again and take his hearing away completely? Maybe he should just wish for a swift death instead.
Shaking his head, he sighed, staying there for a moment before he walked out and sat down on the floor in front of his bed instead of on it.
"Huh? Whatcha doin' on the floor, Matsu?"
"Just wanted to sit here," Matsu said as he pulled his knees to his chest. Pretending to be interested in the show that was on.
After a moment, Mammon slid off the bed and sat beside him on his right side. The two of them continuing to sit in silence, though it was a bit uncomfortable compared to how it usually felt.
"Okay, what's going on?" Mammon then asked, turning his head as he frowned at Matsu.
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since the dance with Lucifer you've been out of it. Did he say something?"
"... Not really." Matsu looked away, starting to pick at the skin around his nails.
"I don't believe you," his gaze softened a bit as he was looking to Matsu with worry. "Can't you tell me what's wrong? Usually we'd be cuddling in bed by now and instead we are sitting on the floor."
"Well, you're more than welcome to leave then." Matsu snapped, his eyes widening after those words came out. He hadn't meant that, it just came out. Sighing as his hand ran through his hair as he looked down.
"Do you want me to leave?" Mammon asked after a minute of silence. His voice sounding more serious than usual as he stared at Matsu, a sad look in his eyes.
"... No, but.."
"But what?"
"...It's hard to explain and you wouldn't understand." Matsu stood up, rubbing his face as he tried to control his emotions. His anxiety was sky rocketing now and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and disappear for a few days.
"Then help me understand. Matsu, I can't help you if you don't let me." Mammon said as he stood up as well, unsure where all of this was coming from. Though, truthfully, this was the first time in a couple weeks that they were able to have a one on one moment. Had he been feeling this way since that day in the underground tombs?
"You can't help me! That's the issue!" Matsu said as he turned around to look at him, the tears forming in his eyes threatening to fall, his emotions beginning to spill over. "Nobody can help me.."
"I can try-"
"Lucifer didn't just break my hearing aid, Mammon." Matsu said, interrupting him as he was doing his best not to cry but a tear managed to slip down his cheek. "He took my hearing away in my left ear. It's gone and I am never going to get it back. I can barely hear out of my right ear, even with the aid in." The tears finally began to spill as he began to pace around his room.
"He.. what?" Mammon's eyes widened a bit before he furrowed his brows. He had his suspicions about it, but he was never actually certain about it since the hearing aid was broken. So it wasn't like Matsu could hear from that ear anyways, but he had no idea it had affected him this much. And now he wasn't sure how he was supposed to help him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"How was I supposed to?" Matsu then asked, his voice almost pleading for him to give him the right answer to all of this. "I can barely accept it myself.. I keep waking up every day, hoping that my hearing will be back and it's not.. It won't come back, it'll never come back.." He backed up, his hands covering his face again as he choked on his sobs, his back hitting his clothes cabinet.
"Matsu.." Mammon stepped closer to him, raising his hands as he grabbed Matsu's wrists, pulling his hands away from his face carefully.
"I'm going to forget one day.." Matsu looked at him through his tears. "Your voice. I'm never going to be able to hear it again, and I'm going to forget what you sound like.. and maybe after this year is over, you won't remember me either but I want to.. I want to remember you after all of this, and I won't be able to. Not fully anyways. How am I supposed to live with that? Live with the fact your voice will disappear from my mind.. I can't.. I-"
Matsu's words were cut off, his eyes widening as Mammon had closed the distance between them. His grip loosening on Matsu's wrists as his lips pressed against his. The taste of salt covering their lips from Matsu's tears as Mammon let go of one of Matsu's wrists, his hand moving up to his cheek instead. After a few seconds, Mammon slowly pulled away, looking to Matsu.
"I want to remember you too, ya know.." He said, his thumb gingerly rubbing against Matsu's cheek, a soft look in his eyes. "I don't know what I can do to help you, so please.. tell me."
"... Just stay." Matsu breathed out shakily, his tears having slowed down. "Please.." His hands moved up, gripping at Mammon's shirt as he leaned forward and kissed his lips again. Feeling as Mammon's other hand placed on his cheek as well, the kiss tasting bittersweet from the tears and sweetness of their lips.
(A rough sketch of Mammon and Matsu :) What do y'all think? May change Matsu's design a bit, but we shall see!)
