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You raised a hand, searching for the locket hanging around your neck and taking it into your hand. You nervously traced the intricate design with your thumb, deep in thought. You had asked the brothers to all meet you in the library. This was not a decision you could make on your own. It felt like your prayers for time had been answered, but who were you without them? If you went through with this, were you passionately in love or fiercely dependent? Were you ready to choose between mortality and eternity?
Satan stepped into the room first, his eyes trained on yours. He took a seat in his usual reading spot before averting his stare to the floor. Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor followed shortly after, finding their own spots around the room. Belphie gave a loud yawn, setting his pillow on Beel’s lap, opting to get a few more minutes of rest before the three eldest made their way into the room. Leviathan shuffled in next, finding a secluded chair in the back of the room. After a few more moments of awkward silence, Lucifer and Mammon walked in together, taking a seat on either side of you. Beel shook Belphie softly awake, motioning to his brother that you were about to begin.
“So, um…” You sighed. “I guess, I asked you all here today because I value all of your opinions. And I know you all have been confused. I just don’t want to hurt anyone any longer by not saying anything.”
We can be together forever, MC! All your fears that ya told me that night can be solved! Why do ya even need to think about this?”
“It’s not that easy, Mammon. I was starting to accept the way things were. And I’m still scared.”
“What are ya scared of? Are ya scared ya won’t love me one day? That you’ll just be stuck here with me forever?
“God, Mammon! I didn’t even know this was possible! I don’t even know if I want to be one of you!”
“One of us, huh?
Your eyes scanned the room, looking for any sign of- well anything. Tensions had been so high in the house since your birthday ball, this was the first time all eight of you were in the same room. You took their silence as a sign to continue.
“I called you all here because I want to know how you feel. How you feel about me possibly becoming one of you. I have seven monumental reasons to say yes, but I need to know what my seven reasons think. So, if anyone has anything they’d like to say, I want to hear it.”
At this point, their eyes drew from you to each other to finally land on Mammon who was nervously fidgeting with Goldie between his slender fingers. You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to keep your emotions from spilling over for the millionth time that week. You glanced over at Asmo, hoping he would at least be the one person to say something. He was staring down at his fingers as he timidly used his forefinger nail to scratch at the polish on his thumb. Lucifer let out an annoyed huff at his brothers’ sudden and unusual loss for words.
“Levi, start us off, please.” He said with a bitter twinge in his words.
Levi’s eyes widened and he jumped out of his chair like someone had electrocuted him. Everyone glanced in his direction, curious what the third oldest would throw into the mix.
“I- I- uh…” He stuttered with his words. “I- Ishouldn’tbethefirstonetogowhyamIevenheresomestupidOtaku’sopiniondoesn’tmatter!”
“It matters to me. Please, Levi.”
He finally raised his head slightly to peer at you through his dark purple bangs. Your pleading look made him sigh.
“F-fine. It’s nice having someone around to play games w-with and likes h-hanging out with me, even though I’m just some gross Otaku. I-I’d like you to stay with me- US- forever.”
For a moment, your lips twinged into a small smile towards him, watching as he turned a deep red and hid his face into his hands. You scanned over the rest of the group, awaiting the next brother to speak out.
The next voice was light, but slightly muffled by the side of his face still being against his pillow.
“You changed us- all of us- for the better. I’d still probably be locked away, seething in my own anger and hatred if you weren’t for you. I vowed to thank you and make it up to you every day since then, even if it took me forever. If it really can be forever, then it should.” He sat up, rubbing his eyes, yawning out the last part of his sentence. But nevertheless, exchanging a smile with you as well.
Belphie peeked over at his twin brother, who was still sitting silently, but with a puzzled, conflicted look on his face. Eventually, he turned to his twin brother, shoving his thoughts aside for a minute. With the look they shared, you could have sworn they had telepathy because after a moment Beel’s face softened, and he finally faced forward to address you.
“I love you, MC. I love the kindness and warmth you’ve brought here to all of us. I’m scared that if you choose to stay forever, this place, or worse, we, will destroy all the lovely things about you. We’ll always love you either way, but to see your light crushed would be devastating.” Your eyes drifted to the carpeted floor, carefully considering his words.
“Although...” Your eyes snapped back up to meet his concerned, but loving gaze.
“If this is what you want, not even the world’s biggest parfait would be able to stop me from saying you should do it.” You let out your first weak laugh in days, which more came out as a form of air quickly coming out of your lungs, and nodded to thank him.
“I have to agree, darling. You are the best friend I’ve ever had… don’t tell Solomon,” Asmo giggled, cutting the tension slightly from the room, “and if I can forever keep your cute little ass and the human attached to it around, I won’t need anything else in the world. I love-”
On the other side of the room, Satan let out a groan and rolled his eyes, slapping his hand against the armrest of his chair.
“Are you all fucking kidding me?” Everyone’s head snapped to look at him. “This is MC we are talking about! You all are telling me you’d want to subject her to this? We have no idea what this will do to her.”
“I still remember how you all were when I first came here. What if what I turn into… what if who I become… is someone or something who you don’t recognize? Who I don’t recognize? What if I turn into-”
"A monster? A soulless shell? What if ya become like me?”
“THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU.”
Lucifer let out a dejected sigh, shaking his head, planning his next words carefully. “I’m sorry, MC. For once, I have to agree with Satan on this.” He said, an almost disgusted look on his face from his own words as he peered around the room at his brothers. “You all remember the physical and emotional agony we went through when we fell. And that was with our fleeting celestial energy still flowing through us during the transition. It’s too late for us, but what about her eternal soul? Does she not deserve to one day grace the celestial realm with her presence? Is she not owed that for what she’s been through?”
“We have no idea what state she’d be in. It could be a couple decades before she is even in a place relatively close to the one now. Her own celestial heritage could reject the transition. She’s in pacts with all of us, but we all know she’s the purest soul we’ve each touched.” A slight blush flashed Satan’s cheeks. You couldn’t tell if it was from his anger and sudden embarrassment at his unintentional words. “I- uh- I can’t believe you all would support MC doing this to herself.”
If possible, the room was even quieter than before. This time, you didn’t even know what to say. All you knew was that you felt the familiar swell in your throat that you’d previously thought you were too tired to feel again. Instinctively, you placed your hand on top of Mammon’s thigh, who still hadn’t taken a moment to tear himself away from his nervous repetitive action until it was to flinch at your contact. You quickly retracted your hand, giving him a pained expression he glanced at through his thick white hair.
"I thought it was about us. I thought ya loved me.”
“I do, Mammon. I love you so much. You just need to… give me some time. And some space. I need to think things through.”
“Fine.”
You stood, bringing everyone’s attention to you once more.
“Thank you, everyone, for your help.” Your voice gave a slight quiver, but you didn’t want to subject them to hear you cry for yet another time that week.
You paced out of the library to your room, slamming the door shut with your foot as you raced to your bed. The brothers could have sworn the slam reverberated through the whole house. Mammon was the first one to huff and say something under his breath before leaving the room. Lucifer peered around at his brothers’ faces, all showing some form of defeat. It wasn’t since MC had left the first time that he had seen them so lost. He wondered how they’d react if she was truly gone out of their lives forever.
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“Okay, you got me out here, Beel. Now, are you going to tell me what we are doing?”
About 20 minutes ago, Beel texted you to come to his room to talk. Belphie was passed out in his attic space, so they’d have the room to themselves. But, as soon as you entered the threshold, he pulled you out to the balcony.
“MC, I know earlier today was tough. You were given a lot of things to consider and I know what I had to say didn’t make it much easier.”
“No, Beel, what you said was sweet. And if I’m conflicted, how can I expect the rest of you not to be?”
He gave you a somber smile. “Well, I thought I’d show you something cool you could do if you chose to be one of us.”
You raised your brow faintly as you watched his demon form take shape, insect-like wings appearing behind him.
“Now there’s no guarantee, if you do choose this life, you’ll get to be as cool as me or Asmo or Lucifer or even Mammon I guess. But, it would be entertaining to see how you’d react to it beforehand.”
“Beel... What are you-”
He cut you off, gripping a tight arm around your waist before lifting off the ground. You were only a foot in the air before panic set in.
“Beel? Beel! What are you doing?!”
His wings lowly buzzed behind him while he gave you a sly smirk, moving towards the edge of the balcony.
“No! No!! You’re going to drop me!”
“MC, I’m not going to drop you.”
You glanced down for a moment to see the safety of the balcony was no longer beneath you and was now replaced with three stories of emptiness leading to the house’s entryway. You yelped, putting your arms as tightly you could around his neck and squeezing your eyes shut. You could feel his chest shake with laughter as he watched your usually very brave and stubborn demeanor wash away. His wings continued to buzz as he flew the two of you up higher into the sky, further than even the highest reach of the house.
“Hey, MC, take a look real quick for me.” You shook your head against his neck, eliciting another chuckle from him. He lazily stroked his thumb against your back.
“I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you, just peek out from my shoulder real quick.”
You turned your head slightly against his skin and opened one eye. At first, the height caused you to squeak and press them closed again, but the flash of colors you saw briefly tempted you to reopen them. Out in the distance, you could see a perfect Devildom sunset going down just over Lord Diavolo’s castle. You gasped against his chest at the beautiful sight. You could see all the shops you, Mammon and Asmo frequented. Satan’s favorite bookstore. The Fall. The square where all the festivals and carnivals were held. Each place with many beautiful memories attached. You took a glimpse up at him to see him smiling down at you, a satisfied and accomplished look on his face. After giving you another moment to study and memorize the view, he slowly spun around and headed back to the safety of the balcony, not wanting to push his luck with your trust in him.
Even when your feet hit the ground again, you both continued the embrace. You hadn’t realized how touch starved you were, but, considering Mammon hadn’t been sleeping next to you or constantly glued by your side as of recent, it made sense. You could have sworn at that moment you could fall asleep standing against Beel’s abnormally warm body. He seemed to have no qualms about your extended embrace, even allowing his fingers to trace your back. Much like you had done with the scenery moments ago, he attempted to remember everything about you. How it felt to be this close. How, even for a moment, you could completely quench his hunger. He knew you’d be making your choice soon, seeing as the anticipation alone was bringing the entire House of Lamentation to ruin. This could be his last moment with you alone just as you were right now.
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Your mind felt somewhat more at peace as you headed back from the twins’ room. Your whole life you tried to keep everyone happy, putting their happiness before your own. Making this decision was truly one of the first times in your life that you knew you had to be selfish. No matter what, someone would be upset. Before you could choose, you had to at least try to lessen the blow with whoever would listen. That’s why, instead of heading back to your room, you turned on your heel to the library.
Satan had his back facing the door, using a tall ladder to search for a book. He distractedly flipped through the pages while making his way back down to the ground, not noticing your presence yet in the doorway. You studied his face for a moment. His brows furrowed as he read, slender fingers flipping through the pages, disheveled hair falling in front of his forehead like he’d been repeatedly running his fingers through it. You brought your bottom lip in your mouth, teeth nervously fiddling with it. Satan had been the most objected, it seemed, to you becoming a demon and his already natural stubborn demeanor would make him the most difficult to talk to.
“Satan?” You called him. His glance immediately shot up from his book, his face changing from annoyed at the sudden disturbance to concern at your obviously nervous state.
“MC? Everything okay?”
“Yeah… I was just hoping we could talk… about things.”
He beckoned you over from the doorway, having a seat on the leather couch in the middle of the room. You paced over, avoiding eye contact by fidgeting with a loose string on your sleeve. You sat on the opposite side of the couch, forcing him to turn his body and curl a leg in front of himself to get a good look at you.
“What things specifically did you want to talk about?” You continued to fidget, feeling his bright green eyes bore into you.
“I just wanted to talk about what you said when I called the meeting earlier. You seemed really upset and I don’t want you to be upset, especially not at your brothers who haven’t done anything wrong. This is really all my fa-”
“There’s this human realm book that I’ve read a couple times. It’s about a witch.” You shoot him a confused expression and open your mouth to ask why he is telling you this, but he holds out his hand to silence you.
“She was one of the most powerful witches in the world and she fell in love with a human. He was killed in front of her in battle and she used her powers to save him. It was dark, forbidden magic. She became completely consumed with it. So much so that, as her love was resurrected, she killed him again. There was no room left in her heart for love, only anger and fear, and hatred. The character reminded me quite of myself in the beginning.” He glanced down at his lap, letting out a slight chuckle. When he glanced back up, he was met with your quizzical gaze.
“She sacrificed her soul for him. While that might be seen as a noble act, the consequences wreaked havoc for centuries. Her descendants were left with the same darkness in their blood, unable to break the cycle until their own love died.” He reached out to grab your hands, locking eyes with you. “She had so much potential. So much to live for. The physical and emotional pain she felt were her only driving factors after one split-second decision.”
His eyes seem to plead for you to understand the deeper meaning behind his words. You could feel your heart break a little looking into them. He brought one of his hands from yours and instead delicately placed it on your cheek like he was touching glass. Like you would break in front of him at any moment. And then the moment was gone.
“I’ve got to get things ready for dinner. It’s my turn to cook tonight.” He mumbled, shooting up from the couch and exiting quickly from the library. They really weren’t going to make this any easier, huh?
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Mammon was the last to arrive at the dinner table that night and at that point, all the seats were taken except the one next to you. You could have sworn that brothers thought sitting next to you would set off some sort of bomb or something. When he entered the room, he glanced at the empty chair next to you before sighing and making his way over. His plate was already made for him to be sure Beel didn’t take too much before he arrived. But, rather than sitting, he grabbed the plate from the table and attempted to scurry off back into his room.
“Mammon,” Lucifer called from the end of the table. Mammon continued though, about to disappear back into the corridor.
“MAMMON.” This time his voice boomed through the room, making you flinch and drop your fork onto the glass plate in front of you. It startled Mammon as well as he finally stopped in his tracks.
“Take a seat. ” Lucifer’s words were strict and each syllable emphasized. “You eat dinner at the table or not at all.”
Everyone’s eyes were set to Mammon’s back, watching to see how he would react to Lucifer’s command. His shoulders slumped as he turned to walk back to the empty seat, like a dog with his tail between his legs. The scrape of the wooden chair against the floor sounded like a gun going off in the dining room. Once Lucifer resumed eating, satisfied with Mammon’s compliance, the room was once again filled with the sound of silverware tapping plates. You kept your hands by your sides, feeling a sense of anxiety towards making any movements. You caught a look at him in your peripherals and suddenly felt very un-hungry. You stood faster than you had meant to, stumbling a bit as you ripped the napkin off your lap and threw it into your plate.
“I’m not very hungry. I’m gonna go to bed.” You kept your eyes at your feet, half expecting Lucifer to force you back to the table as well, but there was complete silence in the house as you walked the corridor to your room.
After about an hour of mindlessly flicking through your D.D.D., there was a knock at your door. You stared at it for a moment, hoping whoever was on the other side would give up after their first attempt. A second, more insistent knock forced you out of the comfort of your bed, opening the door an inch or so to peak out.
“Can I come in?”
Lucifer stood in the hall, holding a covered plate in his hands. You opened the door more, stepping aside to let him in. You closed it behind him and headed back to sit on your bed. He pulled the chair over from your desk in the corner of your room and placed it to sit in front of you. Once he was settled, he reached out to hand the plate to you. Your eyes locked on to it, but you didn’t move. After a moment, he gave a disapproving shake of his head but gently set it on your bedside table.
“I managed to save your plate.” He let out a frustrated sigh, as he leaned forward to put his elbows on his thighs. In doing so, he closed a significant amount of the space between you and you suddenly felt like a child about to be scolded. You weren’t sure if you’d prefer him yelling at you in front of the others rather than this tension.
“Thanks.” You said, no louder than a whisper, doing your best to avoid eye contact. He let out another troubled sigh, but it wasn’t until you felt his surprisingly soft hand against your cheek that you jumped. He almost pulled back until you slightly leaned into his gentle touch. He coaxed your face to look into his eyes.
“How do you always stir these feelings up inside me?” His familiar, but ever-surprising phrase he loved saying to you. His thumb cautiously stroked against your skin. You were all too willing to let the feeling sink in further, especially while dealing with your own angsty internal monologue, but you reached up to grip the back of his hand and brought it down to your lap instead.
“Lucifer…” You start. You expected his gaze to harden at your rejection, but his eyes remained trained on you, studying your every move.
“Forgive me. Sometimes I have to wonder…” You squeezed his hand, unable to find the right words to say. “I know we never talked about it. But, I think you know how we all feel about you. How I feel. I never thought I’d admit this, but you deserve better. Better than any of this or any of us.”
Watching Lucifer put his pride aside to speak from his heart was a few and far between occurrence. Almost unbelievable each time it happened and you opted to keep your mouth shut, hoping to make it last as long as you could.
“When you leave this…”
He lightly dragged his knuckle against the palm of your hand.
“... lovely shell for your soul, I want you to go somewhere that matches your beauty. I want you to live every beautiful moment and then be rewarded for every good thing you’ve ever done. I can’t agree with a decision that takes that away.”
He seemed to contemplate his words, carefully choosing each one. The brick wall he built for himself suddenly becoming a game of Jenga. One wrong pull and everything would come tumbling down.
“There are times when I’ll play the piano or hear my brothers laugh or feel my wings against my back and I can almost feel the purity fill me once more. Then, it's gone. It’s my punishment. Being able to almost taste it, but never truly feel it again. I know you visited the Celestial Realm, but I promise you, it’s nothing like having it be home. I want that for you more than anything I’ve known. And that’s why… I’ll always vote no.”
The corners of your lips twitched as you tried to hold back from crying over his words. So soft, so sensitive, so loving. You could almost hear the pain behind them even though he remained ever composed.
“I’ll leave you to eat. Just make sure to put the plate in the kitchen when you’re done. Goodnight, MC.” He stood, withdrawing his hand from yours and closing the door behind him.
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3:37 AM. The time on your D.D.D. caused you to roll your eyes and throw the phone on the bed next to you. There was no way you were going back to sleep now, not when everyone’s words from the past 24 hours seemed to be screaming in your head. You decided to reach for your phone again, knowing there was one person who was definitely still awake and you were almost sure wouldn’t want to talk about recent events.
MC: Levi? You busy?
Levi: Well I was playing Horn Wars with Belphie, but he fell asleep. Wanna come play?
MC: Sure. I’ll be there in a few.
Levi: *Thumbs Up Demoji*
You dropped off your plate in the kitchen on the way to Levi’s room and knocked gingerly on the door, attempting not to wake anyone up. You could hear him quickly scramble to make his way to the door. It nearly flew off its hinges with the sheer excitement he used to open it, ready to finally have someone play with him that wasn’t going to fall asleep or try to eat the controller because it looked like chocolate or steal all his stuff while he was distracted.
“H-hey! Ready to play?”
“Definitely.”
As you entered the room, you sidestepped Belphie, who was basically comatose on the floor, one of Levi’s blankets thrown haphazardly over him. For the next hour or so, you let yourself completely focus on the game and spending time with Levi. You always felt like you didn’t spend nearly enough time with him and it never failed to make your heart soar seeing how giddy and flustered he got to have you around. Plus, despite his claims, he loved playing with someone who was just as competitive as him. It made it more of a challenge, even though, most of the time, he still ended up kicking your ass. As his team beat yours for the 10th time in a row, he jumped up, cheering in his victory.
“Take that, normie scum!” You whipped your head around to shoot a half offended, mouth-agape glare. He quickly stopped his celebration and gulped loudly, getting his famous bright blush across his cheeks. “I- I- I mean, good try.” You raised a brow at him, before smiling and laughing at his slip up.
“Could you both try to be quieter? Some people are trying to sleep here.” Belphie mumbled, sitting up from the hard floor, looking still very dazed from his slumber.
“Go back to your room then, Belphie! I didn’t ask you here to sleep and you’ve been replaced by a better opponent!” Levi smiled in your direction, blush still evident on his cheeks.
“I’m awake now, so move over.” He plopped himself on your right side, pushing you closer to the left and Levi, sandwiched between them. Your leg touched his, causing him to jump and place a hand over the lower half of his face to hide his startled noise before letting his leg relax against yours. He picked up a third controller and reached over you to hand it to Belphie, joining him in on the game. Sounds of blasters and explosions filled the room, so Belphie leaned in a little closer to talk to you.
“I heard Beel took you for a fly. It’s one of his favorite things, ya know? It reminds him of when he used to fly around the Celestial Realm with Lilith. Sometimes, when I need help remembering, he takes me flying too.”
You shifted your focus from the game to him, taking in his words. He was already fixed on your face, judging your reactions.
“You make him feel like he’s home. You’re not a Lilith replacement. No one is. But while we search for her in everyone and everything, you just naturally have her amazing qualities. Her playfulness, her grace, her patience with each of us. I think this is where you’re meant to be. I think she’d be happy to know that you keep her spirit alive. Our trio isn’t complete without her, but I think we get pretty damn close with you here.”
You placed your controller to the side, wrapping the misunderstood brother into your arms. He was quick to return the gesture, nuzzling himself into the comfort of your neck.
“Thank you for being ‘home’.” He whispered.
“Are you guys even trying over there?!” Levi yelled, breaking the peaceful moment you and Belphie were having, but not taking his eyes off the screen.
You pulled away from each other, laughing at the third-oldest’s complete obliviousness. You picked up your controller, resuming your gaming session, this time with Belphie leaning on your shoulder, quick to fall back asleep.
After about the 20th round, you let Levi know that you should probably head back to bed before Lucifer notices you’re still awake and around. He nodded, sadly, knowing you were right, but not wanting the fun to end. You carefully maneuvered yourself, holding Belphie’s head in your hands, placing it down against the couch where you were sitting to allow him to keep sleeping. You and Levi stood in the doorway of his room, while he made his best pouty face at you.
“Hey, I promise we’ll play again soon. That was fun, even though you didn’t let me win once.” You placed a quick kiss to his cheek before grabbing the door handle, moving back into the hallway. You glanced over your shoulder at him to see the familiar, blushy smile you came to adore spread across his face as he waved goodbye to you.
As you turned back to walk to your room, you quickly paced around the corner and out of Levi’s sight, feeling an ache in your chest for some reason. You pressed your back to the wall and placed a hand on your chest, feeling it heaving and shaking. Your legs began to give out and you slowly slid down the wall, using your free hand to help you sit on the carpet beneath you. There was only one other demon who gave you that flustered, timid smile when you showed your affection towards him. A cheeky, proud bastard that you loved more than life itself. You let your head lean back into the wall and bringing your knees to your chest, finally let out the cry you held in since dinner.
When you felt satisfied enough with your release of emotions, you pulled your D.D.D. out of your pocket and texted the only person you knew who could help you with what came next.
MC: Mo, I made my decision. Can you help me?
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The next few hours were spent with a lot more tears, but Asmodeus’ reassurances never made you feel alone. It would take a million lifetimes to thank him for every time he made you feel secure and good about yourself.
“I think you are making the right decision. My own bias aside, you seem sure and if you think it’s right, then it is.”
He snaked an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him on the edge of his bed. He carefully dragged his colored claws through your hair, making you sigh at the comforting feeling.
“Now I just have to tell everyone else. God, what if they hate me?” You placed your face in your hands defeatedly.
“I think they’ve made it clear that, even if they are happy with your decision or not, they all love you. While some of them may be selfish in their reasoning behind their choices, I know they all want you to be happy, darling.” He continued to play with your hair, hoping to coax you from your sheltered position.
“But, you know who you have to tell first. He’s really been beating himself up the past week. He knows he was wrong for the way he acted. But my dear brother is so stubborn, you’d swear some of Lucifer’s pride rubbed off on him. No matter how long you two are together, you may just have to accept that you’ll usually always have to be the bigger person.”
Your shoulders shook as you finally let out a weak laugh. You took your hands off your face, sniffling and wiping your eyes before wrapping your arms around Asmo. He made a vaguely repulsed face at your state, hoping you wouldn’t get any of your fluids on his new outfit, but still reciprocating your hug. When you pulled back, he placed his hands on your cheeks and gave his brightest smile.
“Let’s get you cleaned up for when you tell him. He was a jerk, he can wait a little while longer to hear your decision.” You smiled back at him as he pulled you into his bathroom and got to work.
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Mammon had been sulking in his room when he received an invite from Asmo a few hours later asking him to come shopping with him. After several attempts to turn him down, Asmo finally promised to get him the watch he’d been eyeing for weeks and he begrudgingly agreed to go out. He shot Asmo confused looks each time he would look down at his D.D.D. (which seemed to be every two seconds), but Asmo would just return his questioning with a big smile and drag him to the next area of the store. He rolled his eyes as Asmo threw another article of clothing into his arms. He glanced down at the item, confused.
“‘ey who’re we shoppin’ for? This ain’t ya usual wardrobe.”
“Oh, I just thought you’d like to try something on. No offense, but your look is kinda tired and played out. I mean, what are you trying to be anyway? A biker? A cowboy? Best not to leave people guessing.” Mammon huffed at his brother’s disapproval, but held the shirt he was thrown up and thought maybe it’d be nice. Especially if it was on Asmo.
After playing model with his younger brother for the better part of an hour, they finally settled on a dark grey button-up, black slacks, and black leather pointed shoes with the sleek silvery watch Mammon was promised. He posed in the mirror, proudly.
“Now this is an outfit made for The Great Mammon! I haven’t looked this good since-” He cut off his own words, realizing he was going to say since your birthday. His grin downturned, but before he began to fester in his own guilt and displeasure, Asmo jumped up and grabbed his arm.
“Let’s go pay, okay? Today’s on me, your most gorgeous and stylish brother.” Mammon let the corners of his mouth raise once more. Usually, he’d say something cocky like “of course it is, ya should treat your big bro more often”, but right now there was one thing he wanted more than all the money and gifts his greed desired.
Pulling all the tags from Mammon clothes, insisting he keeps the outfit on for when they return, Asmo handed them to the cashier with the appropriate Grimm and made his way out of the store with Mammon by his side.
“Alright dear brother, I’ve got a private room calling my name at the Fall tonight and I need to get ready. Ready to head home?” Mammon nodded his head.
“.... Thank ya. For the outfit. And taking me out.”
“Mammon! You deliciously cute little devil~” Asmo teased, the words practically dripping off his tongue like poison.
“ALRIGHT I TAKE IT BACK! YA MADE IT WEIRD!”
The brothers made light conversation on their walk back home, both tiptoeing around any subject that would eventually lead to talking about you.
“What are your plans for tonight?” Asmo asked, curiously.
“In m’ room, counting m’ Grimm, the usual stuff, I guess. Kinda hungry, might go see what Beel is preparin’ for dinner first.”
“NO!... I mean, no. You should go to your room first. What if it’s messy in there? You wouldn’t want to ruin your new outfit. Go change then check on dinner.” Mammon gave him a suspicious look, but shrugged his shoulders and agreed. Before they parted ways, Asmo spoke to him one last time.
“Everything will be okay, Mammon. No matter what.”
And with that, he disappeared around the corner.
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Mammon opened the door to his room, reaching out instinctively to switch on the light. He sighed, already missing being out and away from his room. Everywhere he looked, he saw different moments with you. Hiding from his brothers in his car, snuggling in bed on the weekends, secret kisses in the shower. Before his fingers could reach the switch, he saw a flicker of light out of the corner of his eye. He paused and searched out into the partial darkness of his room.
Instead of his pool table and couch, he saw a table set up with two wine glasses and surrounded by candles. On the floor, purple rose petals. He immediately recognized them as being from your favorite flower in the garden. You stepped out, lit up only by the candlelight, but Mammon could see you were wearing an elegant dress. Nowhere near as upscale as the one you wore for your birthday, but beautiful on you nevertheless. A dark grey color similar to his own new attire. After getting matching rings with you on one date exertion, you knew how much he adored matching his human. He stood in the doorway still, stunned by the sight before him. A slight ache in his own chest, finally realizing the extent to just how much he missed you.
“Join me?”
He snapped out of his trance, carefully walking towards you, like one wrong step and all of this would disappear before his eyes. You stepped out from behind the table and held out a hand to him to take into his own. Feeling your soft skin against his rough fingertips was enough to break his cool demeanor. He pulled you into him like you were the last piece of Grimm in the three realms, holding you with a tight grip that almost hurt. His light sobs now echoing through the room broke your heart. He pressed kisses on every part of your now wet skin he could reach while you brought your hand up to run your fingers through his tousled, white locks.
“‘m so sorry, angel. Devils, I missed ya so much.”
“I missed you too, Mam.” He pulled you back from his embrace to have you look at him.
“I was being typical Moron Mammon. I don’t deserve ya.” He spit out between his cries.
“You are not a moron, Mammon.” You reached a hand up to his cheek, using your thumb to wipe away his tears. “We had a fight, but I still love you.”
“I love ya too. And as long as I get to be with ya for as long as I can, I don’t care what ya choose to do. Just, please, never leave me alone again.” You pulled him back into the hug, nodding furiously against his chest.
“Actually, that’s what I came to talk to you about.” You whispered after a few moments of quiet embrace, waiting until his chest stopped heaving with cries. Now, it was replaced with his heart racing so fast, he swore it might give out. You disconnected from him, but grabbed his hand, leading him over to the table where the wine glasses still sat.
“Have a drink with me?” His brows furrowed together, questioning your actions and showing his displeasure in you avoiding your own previous words. Still, he reached for one of the two full glasses.
“Oh! Um… that one’s actually mine.” You responded quickly, grabbing it from him and handing him the other one. He took a small sip, before noticing you were staring at him with your own dazed look and closed smile plastered across your face.
“Aren’t ya gonna have some?”
You nodded.
“I’m just a little nervous.” Your voice shaky as you spoke.
“You’ve had Devildom alcohol before I’m sure ya can-”
“It’s not alcohol.” You cut him off.
Mammon’s body flinched with confusion at what the deep red drink in your glass could be, scrunched up face staring at it for a moment.
“Well, then what is-” This time he cut off his own words, looking up to meet your eyes which were glimmering in the candlelight. “Wait… really?”
You chuckled softly, giving him your biggest smile, a single tear running down your cheek.
“Really.” You lifted your glass. “A toast? To forever?” You playfully asked.
Mammon to let out a deep laugh.
“Forever.”
You clinked your glasses together and brought the cool rim to your lips. You took one more shaky breath, looked into Mammon’s beautiful, blue, expecting eyes, and closed your own, tipping the glass back.