Work Text:
Little star
So you had to go
You must have wanted him to know
You must have wanted the world to know
Poor little thing
And now they know
--- Little Star by Stina Nordenstam
There was something so enchanted about the Devil’s Coast. Could it be the rainbow of carnival lights? The rides, towering over them like giants? The countless booths packed full of rigged games and adorable plushies? In Beel’s opinion, it had to be the food and the Devil’s Coast mascot, Devilcat.
Whatever it was, he was more than happy to share it with Paymon.
Lucifer was going to be pissed when he found out their resident human was out so late at night, but he should calm down when he discovered Beel was escorting them. Still, it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Sneaking them out of the House of Lamentation under his oversized parka was definitely worth it. The night had just begun, and he’d already slammed down ten hellhound hotdogs and gotten a picture taken with Paymon and Devilcat.
After their transition period, Paymon took to the Devildom like a fish to water. It was the opulence that really got to them. (Wait a minute… Is Hell’s Kitchen you guys’ version of BURGER KING?) While they had expected hell to be all fire and obsidian, there was a dark beauty lurking in every corner of Devildom. And they wanted to see it all.
It reminded Beel of teaching Lilith how to fly. While most beings stumbled out of God’s workshop knowing their purpose but unable to fulfill it, Lilith took to being an angel with speed and grace.
She was incredibly fun to train because she was so delighted with every new thing she learned. Just watching her discover herself was enough to restore your faith in God’s plan. At least, until that plan no longer included her in it….
It led to some stupid sibling rivalries and family infighting. Beel managed to stay out of most of it by virtue of being one of Lilith’s favorites.
He wondered if he was one of Paymon’s favorites.
As the thought crossed his mind, Paymon ran ahead, almost trampling a little devil of gluttony in the process. He lunged after them like a bloodhound after a rabbit, grabbing them by the waist and lifting them up. They weighed nothing at all, as if they had wings to hold them aloft. They were small, tiny really, weightless, in his hands.
They tilted their head back to grin at him like a brat caught with their hand in the cookie jar. They were going to get their treat no matter how this altercation went down. Their joy was infectious, though. That smile, as lopsided and smug as it was, made them oh so forgivable.
He loved holding his little human. Letting them sit on his lap, holding their hand as they walked, and curling around them at night.
Although he had been troubled by strange dreams lately, deep and dark as the Marina trench.
In his dreams, he cracked open his chest like a geode, splayed open his ribs, and took the sleeping Paymon inside so his two hearts could rest together. So no harm would come to them. Then he allowed his ribs to close in on them like a cage, his flesh to mend itself, so he would always have them with him. He usually awoke before they did, sweating with guilt.
Unaware of his macabre inner feelings, they didn’t even squirm in his grasp, didn’t tense whatsoever. Just stared contentedly up at him with those big brown eyes, like a trusting pet. A familiar bunny who liked being held.
“Rabbit,” he said without thinking. It was too soft, too loving, to be any sort of admonishment.
“Oh? Are we doing pet names now?” They said, their bell-like laughter ringing through the air. “Me first!”
They were wiggling now, trying to turn in his grip. He set them primly back on their own two feet to allow them some freedom of movement but locked his hands in the dip of their back. He didn’t want them to get too far, not now that he finally had them back in his arms.
“Teddy Beel,” they hummed, walking their fingers up his arms. “Baby Beel,” they murmured, stroking his hair back from his face. “Bubbie,” they cooed, patting his chest.
His breath caught in his chest. His heart felt like it was about to burst, like it was trying to beat its way out of his chest and into their hands.
(“Bubbie, can you keep a secret?” Lilith whispered one night after tiptoeing into his room to slip under in the covers. Everyone else in the Celestial Realm was already asleep, meaning the kingdom of heaven was finally quiet. Only he would hear her confession. Only him and God. “You’ll never believe who I met on Garden duty today…”)
“Bubbie,” he agreed. His voice sounded choked even to his own ears. He tried desperately to swallow around the myriad of emotions that nickname dredged up in him.
They tilted their head to the side inquisitively. The yellow carnival lights behind them made the messy bun atop their head into a defective halo.
“You sure? I meant that one as a joke. I’m pretty sure bubbie means grandmother.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, whatever floats your boat,” they said with a half-hearted shrug, too busy playing with the baby hairs at the back of his neck to ask questions.
Every touch from Paymon was electrifying, as if they had lightning bolts for limbs.
The smell of cloves and sweat greeted him, masking something much more subtle. Arousal? He wondered as Paymon blissfully gazed up at him with half-lidded eyes, pupils like black holes. No, Asmo never smelt half as enticing. The scent was oddly reminiscent of the Celestial Realm. That new creation smell that usually reserved for new angels.
Maybe it wasn’t so much a change in Paymon as it was a change in their relationship. For someone who regularly ate the inedible, having a warning system that could determine friend from food was painfully necessary.
They smelled like a fairground delicacy themselves, all nutty and spicy and so sweet his teeth ached just at the thought of one bite. Either their haircare or skincare regimen, he remembered, solely because they had to put it on pause for a while because he kept cornering them in the halls, desperate for a taste of honey-glazed human.
His self-control had gotten better, once the message that this human was friend, not food, reached even the hungriest parts of him. It still wasn’t perfect, though. He demonstrated that now by leaning forward and wrapping his mouth around one bare shoulder and sucking until blood blossomed under the skin.
He wanted to bite down like he had the first week Paymon was in the underground. He wanted to feel their blood gush into his mouth like strawberry jam from a jelly doughnut. He wanted to tear away a chunk of meat and swallow it down whole and unchewed. He wanted to break their clavicle in half and suck the marrow from their bones.
He wanted, he wanted, he wanted… But he didn’t want to hurt them. Not the newest addition to his little family.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he pulled away, lips swollen. He meant it, too, down to his core. He half expected Lucifer to sense his contrite from halfway across the realm and materialized out of thin air to give him a good wallop on the snout with a newspaper. His eldest brother had a sixth sense for when one of his brothers was fucking up big time.
“Don’t be,” they said, their voice rough, “I liked it.” Their pupils were large enough for him to fall into. He could feel their heartbeat in his stomach as if he’d swallowed the savory organ whole.
“I want more,” he admitted.
“I do, too. But I don’t want my ‘public indecency’ getting back to Luci again.” Suddenly, they ducked under and out of his arms. “Thanks for sneaking me out of the house, but I gotta split. I’m meeting up with some friends.”
“Who are you meeting?” It was supposed to just be the two of us. A wave of anxiety washed over him, and he found himself reaching out to them again but grasping at air. They bounced away like a baby bunny.
“Friends. Don’t give me that look! I don’t complain about those gym rats always hanging off you. You have no room to complain about my friends.”
“They’re your friends too.”
“Yeah, right.”
“They like you.” There were quite a few demons in the Devildom that didn’t like Paymon, or humans in general. He excommunicated them from his friend circle the moment they showed their true colors. It was nice having workout buddies and spotters readily available, but family always came first.
“They like me as much as anyone likes their friend’s younger sibling,” they muttered begrudgingly. “Listen, it’s fine… You have your friends and I have mine.”
Except Paymon did not have friends outside of the exchange program for the longest time. Lucifer was torn for a while between worry and relief. Worry that they hadn’t grown close to anyone else in the Devildom. Relief that this meant they couldn’t be eaten by any seemingly friendly demons.
That changed when Solomon introduced them to Bebal and Abalam, who were as concerned about Paymon’s well-being as they were, which was not at all. They were gremlins of the same caliber, though, which meant they bonded as quickly as skin and superglue, with just as disastrous results.
The brothers had never had to share their young charge before. They were unaccustomed to it. Beel in particular worried about what they were getting up to, if they could possibly be hurt -or killed- the longer they were out of sight, out of reach.
“Keep my secret, Beel, or we’re not friends.” Paymon warned him over one mouth-watering shoulder before sauntering off into the mob of fellow parkgoers.
They had to know everyone’s eyes were following their every move, every breath. No one could be that willfully ignorant, ignore every prey instinct they were born with going off at once. Still, they roamed the Devildom like a lamb ignorant of the wolves waiting to tear it limb from limb the moment it strayed from the flock.
(“If you tell the others, I’ll never speak to you again.” Lilith threatened after he witnessed her return from the Mortal Realm looking thoroughly debauched, unfit for a celestial guardian.
Father obviously already knew. HE knew everything, down to their cursory thoughts and feelings. Beel never understood that. Why not step in when Lilith’s crimes were still forgivable? Why wait until the point of no return and pass the most serious and permanent punishment available?)
Would Lilith still be around if he had sought His guidance the first time she returned from her escapades with His favorite son?
The thought echoed in his head as he watched Paymon disappear into the crowd. His D.D.D. was against his ear and Lucifer was speaking before he even realized he’d called him.
“Brother, do you know where Paymon is?”