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Having to tell time in the Devildom is no easy feat, not without some form of a clock, at least. It was a pretty profound detail that everybody noticed when they arrived at the Devildom, the absence of a fiery ball in the sky. The streets were filled with sufficient lamplight, and the buildings you frequented were more or less well-lit with either kerosene lamps, or dim chandeliers that helped 'set the mood of Devildom'. This was told to you by some minotaur shop-keep after you bumped into a table, because of said dim lighting.
It's common knowledge that for humans, not being able to bask in the sunlight for a year brought on some less than pleasant health effects. Since Solomon was such a gracious person, he cast a spell on you to cope for the lack of sunlight. After that, other than a light cold you had caught from making the transition from the human realm to the Devildom, everything was fine.
Though you were safe from the negatives affects of the lack of sunlight, you still had a slight problem. Your whole life, you'd had an irrational fear of the dark, you just can't handle how suffocating it was! Or how it felt like there was always someone watching you, waiting on the right moment to pounce on you in the dark.
It really wasn't so bad, other than the long shadows that littered the streets of Devildom, there was sufficient lighting in the places you frequented. You had also asked Barbatos to get you a lamp for your room, and everything was truly great.
That is until Devildom decided to have a Realm-wide power outage.
It was nearing midnight, long past curfew, and you had just settled down in bed after finishing some extra tasks from Lucifer. Your night desk held your lamp that kept the room dimly lit, casting deep shadows over everything. As your eyes were about to succumb to sleep, it happened. In the span of three seconds, the same lamp flickered, growing dim, then fairly bright, before entirely shutting off with a loud 'BZZT'.
Panic and fear-filled, you practically leapt out of bed, quickly stumbling over to the light switch at the door of your room. Unfortunately, the light switch had been reduced to an unhelpful clicking noise.
On to plan B...
You dashed over to the windows and flung open its curtains, searching for the moonlight, only to be met with the stifling darkness of, quite literally, Hell itself. The streetlights had also been turned off, making everything pitch black, and it felt like you were the only person left in existence. You quickly drew the curtains closed, the sight of your reflection in the window adding fuel to the ongoing nightmare.
Your last hope was your beloved D.D.D. You tapped the flashlight button on, holding the light up to do a quick once over of the room. Luckily, nothing jumped out and swallowed your soul, but that still didn't stop you from glaring at the suspicious-looking trashcan next to your desk.
You wanted to dash outside and book it to one of the boys' room... but then again, what if some sort of demon pops out and catches you on your way!? Wait, you live with demons. What if some sort of monster pops out and catches you on your way!?
You crouched at the side of your door – in case you needed to bolt outside at any given time – and opened your phone, going to your call log and pressing the first contact that came to your mind without hesitation.
"… please pick up…" You thought internally, holding your breath, for fear that any sort of noise would lead to something devious finding you. The phone rang one, two, three long times.
"…geez, what's the big idea? Calling so late… the Mammon's gotta get some beauty rest too, yanno!" Mammon's voice was laced with sleep. "Damn! Why's it so hot alluva sudden…? is the a/c off or sumthin'..."
"Mammon! Can you please come over? Like, right now! Please!"
"Huh, what's wrong?" You could already hear him flailing out of bed from hearing your hysteria. "Speak up, dammit! J-just hold on, I'm on my way, who's there? What's wrong?!"
"Maamonnn…" You sobbed, shivering from the confining darkness.
It took him less than a minute to reach your room. "Oi, it's me, open up!" You swung open the door, promptly shining your phone light on his face, just to make sure that it was him.
He squinted and scowled, and tried to knock your glaring D.D.D away from his face. "I can't believe this! You-" You scampered up into his arms into an encasing hug, effectively cutting off his spiel
"Thank God! I don't know how long I could've stood it, being all alone!" You cried into his grey gym shirt. You could hear Mammon stuttering, and he stepped in, still in your embrace, and closed the door with his foot.
"G-g-geez…" He wrapped his arm around your waist, using the other to pat your head absentmindedly "You've lived with, made pacts with, and even angered some of the most dangerous demons to live! To think that'd the one thing to put ya on edge is the dark!"
"Sorry…" Your small apology, voice small and weak, pulled hard on Mammon's heartstrings, and he felt a little bad for chewing you out now. "It's just that I can't see anything in the dark! Anything could grab me at any moment, and I wouldn't have a chance!"
"You wouldn't have a chance if one of us grabbed you either…"
"Huh?"
"Nothin'…"
"Please stay with me, at least until the power comes back on… or until I fall back asleep or something?" Your grip tightened around his waist as he pleaded.
Mammon sighed, shaking his head, though you probably couldn't see him very well. "Sorry, but Lucifer's probably not gonna be too happy if he found out I was in your room yanno, just keep your phone light on or somethin', the power'll probably…" His voice died off when he heard small sniffles, and your shoulders started to shake. "Wait, cut the crap! You're crying?"
Mammon released his hands from your waist and put them on your face, wiping tears from your face. "Come on, it can't be that scary! It's not like this place is haunted or-… I mean, it's not like there's anything here stronger then the Mammon!" Though he tried his best to console you, it was evident you weren't going to calm down unless he agreed to stay. "Dammit! Alright!"
You wiped your tears off, smiling in the dim light. "Thank you, Mammon."
"J-just know I'm only doing this because I'm the one that's supposed to be lookin' after you, and I can't have you running around in the dark and trip or somethin'"
He was glad the light on your D.D.D. was dim enough to hide the red on his face. "Whatever, just get in bed."
You clambered back into bed, feeling a little bit calmer in the dark with the presence of Mammon, your very own demon protection.
When you didn't feel him lay down beside you, you worriedly called out to him "Mammon, you're not coming to lay down?"
"I was gonna stay on the chair… It shouldn't take ya that long to fall asleep!"
You reached out towards the chair, grabbing his strong forearm and pulling. "Nuh uh, come in with me."
"Gaah! You're such a needy human!" Mammon grumbled, though he got up and reluctantly slipped into the covers next to you. He laid on his back, sliding his arms under the pillows and under his head. As you both got comfortable, you both fell silent, listening to the more than usual quiet Devildom.
"You know, with it bein' all quiet like this, no lights, music or nothin', they say that you could hear Lord Diavolo's father snoring all the way from the depths of Devildom."
After a few minutes of breathless silence, you pipped up. "Huh, I think I hear it… You sure you're not messing with me, Mammon?"
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm just tryna get you to pipe up and get to sleep."
"Mammon!"
For once, he didn't reply, and you both fell into another fill of silence.
…
…
"Mammon." No answer, you rolled to your side and poked his chest.
"Maaaaam-money…" You called out your (and his) favourite nickname for him as you continued to jab him in the ribs.
"Gaah! Quit it! Get to sleepin' already!"
"What even caused the power outage in the first place? How does a place like this even get power?"
"Well demons nor angels need light to see, one of the witches probably mussed up the spell that keeps the power plant running… or somethin'." You shuffled closer to hear him better because its kind of hard to hear in the dark.
"So why don't they have it on already?"
"Beats me! They're always arguin' with each other, damn hags. But like I said earlier, it'll probably be on soon, Devildom never really sleeps, ya' know."
You can't imagine what it would be like to be working all alone in a building during a power outage. Just thinking about the situation makes shivers run up your spine.
Mammon seemed to pick up your shiver, and called out with a slight wobbling in his voice. "Man, you're still cold? Come here.", he took him arm from under the pillow and reached over to pull you over into his chest. You allowed him to lead you, snuggling up against his warm body and resting your head on his chest, hearing multiple heartbeats. It was surprisingly comfortable, so you decided to get extra comfortable by slipping one your leg between his. "All comfortable, huh?" you could practicaly hear him blushing.
"Yeah, thanks," You yawned, the last of adrenaline finally leaving your body and returning to its tired state. "...love you, Mammy…" you sleepily murmured.
"Huh…!?" Your slight snores indicated that miraculously, you had already knocked out cold. "Yeah I, um… Love you too…"
After thirty minutes the light came back on with a hum, your lamp flickering on as well. Mammon reached over with his free hand and switched the lamp off. Instead of returning his arm to it's prior position, he moved it to hift your leg more comfortably on him, settling in comfortably, with no intent to get up.
If he got up, you'd just wake up. And if you woke up, you'd just start bothering him all over again. And who would put in that much work for a human like you, huh?
