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It really said something about how your life has changed when waking up as Cinderella was one of the least bizarre things that has happened since the Exchange Program started.
When you first arrived in the Devildom, it was a shock to say the least. You had spent most of your… “Orientation” (if you could call it that) convinced that the entire thing was some bizarre fever dream brought on by general life stresses. You know, school, work, the fact that 2020 has been an absolute dumpster fire of a year. The usual stuff. Gradually, you had gotten rather attached to the place. Then again, having seven very interesting, very attractive housemates may have helped in that regard.
To be honest, in the months you had been living at the House of Lamentation, you became fairly certain that nothing could phase you anymore.
Which is why when you woke up this morning with Lucifer, Mammon and Satan looming over you asking why you were still in bed you were only mildly surprised when they reminded you that you were their servant. You groaned and dragged your way to the kitchen, already fairly certain you knew where this particular story was going. The minuscule “mouse” version of Beelzebub who greeted you there confirmed your suspicions.
A few hours later, you arrived at the ball, which was already in full swing. You and your companions separated after establishing a meeting point and time. It was bizarre, moving between familiar faces from around RAD and the Devildom but being treated as a complete stranger.
Asmo, your makeover skills are legendary, even in this alternate…timeline? Reality?
Your musings distracted you as you wandered some more secluded parts of the castle. You didn’t notice Satan until you nearly walked right into him. Your palms began to sweat, certain that you were about to be identified and forced to go back home.
Miraculously, you remained undetected. Mammon didn’t recognize you either, but he offered to bring you back to the main ballroom. You accepted gratefully, not wanting to take your chances in such an immense place with several enchanted (read: dangerous) objects and rooms.
The air in the ballroom was heavy with the strange but pleasant combination of food and the fragrances that the guests wore. The melodies of the orchestra floated over the laughter and conversations. The sudden brightness of entering the main section caused your eyes to smart and tear up for a few moments. When they adjusted, butterflies rose in your stomach. They settled slightly when you spotted a familiar figure beside one of the banquet tables.
“Hey Beel! Is everything going alright?”
“Hm? Oh, there you are,” He met your grin with a smile of his own before you both turned back to watch the dancers.
“Who knew so many people could fit inside this space?” you breathed, leaning slightly against the table.
Beelzebub shrugged as he reloaded his plate with more fried bat wings. He offered you some.
“Nah, it’s alright, thanks though,” you declined.
You have had plenty of time to figure out which Devildom foods you could handle and which you couldn’t and the bat wings were not on that list. That and the bit of anxiety that had bubbled up earlier stole your appetite. But you figured you could hold down something to drink, so you gratefully accepted a goblet from a passing server.
“It kind of reminds me of a scene from a movie I watched back at home,” you continued.
“Which one?”
“This one called Anastasia, she’s like, in this abandoned palace in the ballroom and it’s like the ghosts of the past come back and they infuse everything in this warm golden glow. All the movements are like they’re gliding,” you grinned, letting the nostalgia wash over you.
“It’s so beautiful and haunt-”
You trailed off. From the opposite end of the ballroom, you caught a glimpse of him. It wasn’t for more than a few seconds but it was enough. There was a familiar ‘I-need-to-leave-or-I-will-lose-my-sh!t’ on Leviathan’s pale face.
“Oh no,” you moaned softly as you craned your neck trying to spot him again.
There was a split second when you were sure you saw his familiar purple bowl-cut just as someone stepped in front of you, obstructing your view. You huffed, frustrated before an idea occurred to you.
“Beel!”
“_? What happened?”
“I could’ve sworn I saw Levi over there, but I’m a bit vertically challenged here. Think you can help me out?”
The Avatar of Gluttony squinted over all the heads before nodding.
“Yeah, he just ran outside. He looks upset though,”
“I’ll bet,” you muttered before thanking Beel.
“I’m gonna check on him for a bit, ok?” you called as you made your way to the exit.
“Okay. Try and hurry_, I think he really needs you,”
Your face burned. Did Beel know? As far as you were concerned you had been doing a pretty damn good job at keeping your feelings under wraps. Did I do something to clue him in? You shook your head and focused on making your way around the perimeter of the room, saying “excuse me” every few seconds and carefully trying not to knock anyone or anything over.
You shook your head and turned your thoughts back to Leviathan. You kept beating yourself up for leaving his side. I saw him clenching his fists. I saw how tense he was. His voice was shaking for frik’s sake! He clearly wasn’t ok.
Reaching the wide entryway felt like it took forever, but you made it. It was mercifully quieter and cooler outside. A few couples and groups lingered on the steps and stared at you as you made your way down the stairs.
You paused at the bottom of the stairs to take in the scene before you. The lake was tranquil and reflected the bright stars and a moon that seemed two enormous and beautiful to be real. Even the sky seemed more alive; a blue-indigo-black gradient. It was tempting to linger, but you were on a mission.
Some movement on the shore of the lake to your right, close to gazebo caught your attention.
“Bingo,” you breathed, carefully making your way towards the pacing figure. The beautiful yet impractical footwear wasn’t exactly helping your progress, but nevertheless you persevered.
Leviathan was still pacing back and forth, breathing hard and clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was chalk white and sweat was making his bangs stick to his forehead. As you drew closer, you could hear him muttering
“I screwed up, I screwed up, I screwed up! AAAAAH I wish I hadn’t come along…”
“Hey Levi,” you said, as gently as you could manage.
He still jumped before whirling around to face you. As you stared at each other his face slowly flushed until he finally broke the silence
.
“Please tell me you didn’t see all that?” he asked weakly.
“Um...well…” you trailed off awkwardly, answering his question
He covered his face with his hands with a groan.
“It’s ok Levi,” you started, but he cut you off.
“No_, it’s not ok! What the hell was I thinking?! I'm a shut-in; why the hell did I think I could handle something like this- this ball-"
"-Alright, let's take it easy-"
"I'm freaking out, _, I-I can't eat, I can't drink anything I sure as hell can't go up and talk to anybody!"
Uh Oh. The demon's words were running into each other and an unmistakable note of hysteria had crept into his voice. He stopped pacing abruptly, surprising you, and ran a shaking hand through his hair, momentarily pushing his bangs off his forehead.
"I wish I stayed home," he finally said as he stared out at the lake, his voice barely above a whisper. "This sucks. This is the worst, I should've just stayed home and gamed, Levi you idiot what were you thinking?"
"Ok, that's it."
You grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to face you.
"Levi. Look at me. Focus. Breathe." you said firmly.
After a second or two his orange eyes focused on yours and he took a deep, shaky breath.
"Thanks, _."
"No problem... you know, you're not the only one who doesn't feel that confident with social stuff..."
He blinked before shaking his head.
"No way... you too?" he asked
"Don't let this facade fool you, I'm low-key freaking out too," you smiled ruefully.
Leviathan frowned at you slightly before returning the smile.
"Huh,"
"'Huh'? What does 'huh' mean?" you glanced sideways at him.
He looked at the ground while as he replied
"It's nothing,"
You considered prying, but let the matter drop. The waves lapping on the lakeshore, the chirping of insects and the faint music filled the break in the conversation. You gazed up at the stars for a moment before closing your eyes and letting the atmosphere calm you. You hadn't reached crisis anxiety levels (thankfully) but the claustrophobia had started to get to you and you were in there for less than fifteen minutes. No wonder he freaked out.
"_?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you really feel like how I do? The crowds and everything. Do they really get to you too?"
The uncertainty in his voice had you suppressing the urge to hug him but the last thing you wanted to do was to startle him. Not when he was calming down. Instead, you extended a hand and jerked your head, indicating for him to follow you. He blushed slightly and averted his eyes.
"No, it's alright...my palms are all sweaty,"
His mumbled protests fell on deaf ears as you rolled your eyes, took his hand and gently but insistently tugged him to follow you.
"C'mon, let's go for a walk. I got a funny story about me freaking out at the tender age of two."
"What? Wait, how?"
"You have to come with me to hear the sto-ry..." you teased, sticking your tongue out at him.
He resisted for a moment before swallowing and letting you lead him down a meandering path down towards the gazebo with a boat tied alongside it.
You were laughing so hard that you had to hang onto Leviathan's shoulder. The demon in question could barely hold himself up, relying on the weathered wooden handrail as he tried to get the words out.
"Wait wait wait, start over," he finally gasped out.
You covered your hand with your mouth, trying and failing to compose yourself. He started snickering again, watching you tear up as you finally got yourself together.
"Okay, so they started singing 'Happy Birthday' right? Like this whole time I was having like the best day ever and all that-" You doubled over again, your face aching.
"But when they started singing-" he prompted, grinning.
"Right, right so like everyone started singing and 2-year-old me absolutely Lost. My. Crap. Like full-on meltdown; all the pictures are just of me, like screaming. Everyone has like this,"WTF?" look on their face. I just wiggled out of the chair, toddled to my room and like sat on the floor flipping through like my picture dictionary until everyone left."
It took a good while before the two of you finally managed to stop laughing and by then you felt light-headed and giddy.
You appreciated the companionable silence that fell between you. After a while, you chanced a sideways glance at him as he gazed out across the waterfront and you were relieved to see that the tension had left his body. The rippling of the water and the reflection of the moonlight cast dancing shadows across your faces. It comforted you, reminding you of the hours you and he had spent together in his room, whether you were doing a co-op or just doing your own thing in parallel.
There was a different fluttering in your stomach this time. A flickering with a warmth that spread out like a small fire had been lit inside you, making you let out a small involuntary gasp. You whipped your head away just in time to avoid him catching you.
"_? Are you ok?"
You nodded, subtly leaning more against the railing to steady yourself, waiting for the feeling to wane. It didn't. I'm fine. I'm fine. Just calm down _. You're just a little loopy right now with all the goofing off. You need oxygen.
Bull.
You groaned internally because you weren't stupid, but for the past month or two, you were hoping against hope that this would be a stupid crush. One that would be a mild but temporary annoyance but would leave you alone. Instead, it just seemed to get worse and worse with each passing week...day...hour. I'm screwed.
You heard Leviathan laugh softly to himself, a sound that both bought you back to the present and caused the feeling to intensify.
"You know, I'd always wonder why you'd hang out with someone like me," he breathed
"You've always seemed so much more bright and lively and I'm just...not. I guess I never thought that you'd get nervous in social situations too,"
He met your eyes as a shy, uncertain smile crossed his face.
Crap. Your face burned, and you felt your pulse pick up.
Hoping that it would disguise your blushing, you plastered a smile on your face as you reached towards him, stroking the top of his head. The effect was instantaneous. He jerked back, his eyes widening. You had to stifle your snickering as you watched him flush tomato red, his mouth open in protest.
"There, there," you teased, secretly relieved that you managed to distract him.
"Wha...?! _! T-this isn't- why would you...don't mess with me-! This isn't helping!" he spluttered.
"Oh, really now? You sure about that?"
Your tone was still teasing, but it was more gentle. Whether or not it was a conscious decision, Leviathan had leaned in towards your touch, his eyes fluttering closed. You realized throughout all the times you had hung out, you had never been quite this close to his face before. Without meaning to, your eyes wandered over his shut eyes, his cheeks, still slightly flushed, his jawline...He's handsome... As that thought came to you, your eyes landed on his lips. Immediately you felt your face and ears burning.
What am I doing? What am I thinking? He's my friend, he's made that clear and I'm cool with that, right?
Am I?
You looked away, your heart racing and your thoughts jumbled. He opened his eyes slowly.
"Fine. Maybe this helps a little," he conceded "Thank you _."
"No problem," you replied, stroking his head a few more times before starting to withdraw your hand, only to feel the warmth of his hand encircling your wrist, stopping you.
All you could manage to do was blink in surprise as he swallowed and placed your hand back atop his head, pulling you a bit closer in the process.
"Um..._," he mumbled, staring anywhere but your face as his own face darkened. "Can you stay here with me..."
He was close enough for his breath to tickle your ear…
"...a-and can-you-keep-doing-that-a-little-longer?"
You hid a smile as his last question came out as a rush, and nodded, vaguely wondering how he didn't feel your hand shaking. Your breathing became a bit more shallow and the burning in your stomach had long since spread throughout your whole body.
"It actually feels pretty good...when you pet my hair like that, I mean."
Goosebumps that had nothing to do with the crisp night air climbed up your arms, making you shiver. Your hand continued to stroke his hair, letting your hand stray further and further towards the back of his head. You were shocked you could still hear the crickets and the water and the music over the blood rushing through your ears.
"Normally, when you try to pet me your hands would practically crush me, you know?" he chuckled nervously.
"Y-yeah,"
Normally? Oh yeah, right. The whole mouse thing. Somehow the circumstances that lead to this situation completely slipped your mind. Go figure.
He cleared his throat but didn't say anything for a bit. The both of you let silence fill the space between you like you've done so many times before but this time it felt different, it was almost tangible. Then, so quietly you could have imagined it:
"I've always dreamed of having you touch me like this."
You inhaled sharply, your hand slipping, causing your nails to scrape the nape of his neck.
Leviathan's eyes shot open at the sudden skin on skin contact. They met yours and flicked away before he shut them, took a deep breath as if to steel himself before reopening them.
"It feels nice," he admitted, his voice hitching in the last syllable as your fingertips ghosted down his neck once more. For a split second you swore you saw his eyes flicker down towards your...no, it was probably just wishful thinking on your part.
Right?
For the first time in a while, you managed to find your voice.
"I'm glad I could help Levi,"
A few seconds later you felt the heat of his hands on either side of your face…
... followed swiftly by a sharp pain in the middle of your forehead.
"AH! Ow!" you winced, rubbing the sore spot. At the same time, you heard Leviathan hiss with pain, his hands massaging his own forehead. He blanched as he stared at you, the pain morphing into an expression of abject horror.
"_! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?!"
"I'm fine! I'm good, are you alright?"
When you didn't get a response, you looked over just in time to see him bury his face in his hands with a low groan. You could just barely make out his muffled words.
"STUPID! Levi, you idiot! What were you thinking?!"
You watched him, completely baffled, as you slowly began to put the string of events in order. Your hands flew to your mouth when you realized exactly what happened. Well, nearly happened.
"Um, Levi?" you probed, taking a tentative step towards him.
He parted the fingers in front of his face just enough for you to glimpse one of his eyes. His hands dropped to his sides and his face paled as he backed away from you.
"N-No! Wait! Stay over there! D-Don't come any closer!" he protested, his hands held out in front of his chest, trying to create a barrier between the two of you.
You interlaced your fingers with his, causing him to fall silent immediately. He stared down at your interlocked hands before slowly looking up at you. Embarrassment was written across his features. Scarlet faced with his mouth clamped firmly shut, he watched as you slowly released one of his hands and reached up to start slowly stroking his hair once more.
"It's ok," you reassured him softly, knowing that you were blushing just as hard as he was, but for the first time, you didn't care. You were standing even closer than before. You felt as though the surrounding air was charged; the tension was so high.
Especially since now, you knew for sure.
"_. Can I try again?" he asked in a strangled whisper
"Please do."
The words had barely made it out before you felt the soft, cool pressure of his lips against yours. Your eyes shut as you sighed involuntarily before stiffening as he gently tugged on your bottom lip. By now, both of your hands were tangled in his hair, slipping through the silky strands. You tentatively brushed against his lower lip and was rewarded with a moan that sent shockwaves right to your lower stomach, blocking out anything other than your heart thundering, the pressure of his hands on your waist pulling you flush against his chest and the maddening feeling of his tongue teasing yours.
The need to breathe forced you apart. You stared at each other, panting slightly. Leviathan blinked, somewhat dazed as a slow grin spread across his face.
"Woah. That was epic," he muttered more to himself more than you.
That broke the spell. The response was so... him that you couldn't help but laughing, hugging him tightly.
"You got that right," you agreed, giving him a cheesy, over the top wink. He blushed but started laughing, letting his hands drop from your waist and taking one of yours in his. The two of you slowly moved back to your original posts by the gazebo railings, still linked.
"Um...I didn't really ask the first time," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "but was it ok that I did that?" he glanced at you nervously.
You sighed happily and leaned your head against his shoulder.
"Absolutely. No regrets or complaints here,"
"Really?"
"Really."
"I'm glad...wait, don't you want to go back inside?"
You turned to frown at him. He glanced away, running his finger back and forth along the railing.
"You know, the prince, and the ball..." he explained.
"Levi, I came here to have a good time-" you said sternly.
"-Exactly! That's why-"
"-I'm staying right here with you." you finished, giving his hand a squeeze and kissing him on the cheek.
As the two of you looked out over the shimmering stars reflected on the lake, you realized that the Devildom still has ways of surprising you yet. This was definitely one of the better ones.