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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

I was on the edge of tears as the Avatars of Sin all stood around me. Mammon was still on his knees, staring up at the goings on, his eyes wide. He was the only one I was commiserating with right then, the only one who seemed as messed up by the vision of my dying corpse as I was. The fact that it disappeared into shards of white smoke hadn't helped my mood.

But here I was, still doggedly telling them what I needed to, about Lilith, and trying my best to make them see that it was the truth - whether or not they wanted to see it.

A soft familiar voice called out from behind me, from the entrance to the House of Lamentation. I recognised Diavolo's voice at once and half-turned to catch a glimpse of him as he strode forward, "She isn't lying. She spoke the truth."

Lucifer's eyes widened, his hand drifting up to rest on his chest in surprise, a nervous tic he probably didn't even know he had, "Diavolo?!"

Levi, surprisingly for the reclusive otaku, was the one to break the sudden silence, "The truth? But how?"

Diavolo smiled, ignoring the mood in the room and his amber eye rested on Belphegor for only the briefest of moments, "Also, yet another fact has been made clear as well..."

He turned to me, his smile fading a little as those luminous eyes caught mine and held, "You are a distant descendant of the human Lilith."

I blinked, confused at the sudden revelation but my eyes widened as I realised all the things that it explained. Why I was getting visions of Lilith's memories, why she spoke to me and no-one else, maybe even why Asmodeus had gotten such a big boost from me when I was borrowing Solomon's magic. I was the great-great-great-great-great-something-granddaughter of an ex-angel.

Mammon gasped, almost fell onto his ass as he scrambled to his feet, the sound almost hidden beneath Asmodeus' tight exclamation, "What...?"

Beelzebub stared at me, and I glanced back, something about his posture giving me a foreboding feeling. He looked utterly surprised, his jaw slack. His voice wasn't nearly as strong as it usually was, "She's... Lilith's descendant?"

Finally, the real centre of this little gathering spoke up. Belphegor, though he was still in his human form for the moment, was glaring right at me, his expression twisted into an expression of fury. His voice was low and intense, brimming with suspicion, "What?"

I didn't blame them too much for being surprised, any of them, and I felt a lot safer surrounded by all of them, especially hovering near Diavolo's side as I was, as far away from Belphegor as I could get. The memory of his hands around my neck was so fresh I swear that I could still feel the touch, if I just lingered on it. I dragged my mind away from the thought. Things were still happening, and anything was preferable to going down that path again.

Barbatos was speaking, his tone so calm and matter-of-fact that I'd tuned out half of what he'd said, "...and so I did. It wasn't easy to trace down Lilith's lineage, but there can be no doubt, it's true."

I opened my mouth, feeling as if I should finally say something, especially since everyone was talking about me as if I wasn't still standing there. I paused for a moment beforehand, unsure of the reaction, "I had a feeling that was the case." The memories, the weird light in my dreams, it all came together too neatly. Really, like any good mystery, I had all the clues all along. I should have been able to solve it before being given the answer like this! Satan would be disappointed in me.

I glanced over at him, and found him looking back at me with a speculative gaze, he didsn't seem as horribly shocked as everyone else. Surprised yes, but... Oh... I remembered with a pang of embarrassment at forgetting that Satan was "born" in the Devildom, any memories he had of Lilith would have been Lucifer's, if he even had any.

Diavolo dragged my attention back with a lively laugh, "So, somewhere on the inside, you knew? Have you ever had visions of Lilith's past memories? I'm guessing you have."

I nodded mutely, surprised at his insight, and then added a few words just in case that wasn't enough, "I have, yes." The eyes of all the demons in the room were on me, and I suddenly realised that I did need to show them some kind of proof. Diavolo and Barbatos' word counted for a lot, of course, but at the end of the day, I was the one who had to back up my claims. Luckily, that one vision I kept having was so intense and had repeated so many times that I could recite all of it verbatim.

I spoke, my words slow and my gaze drifting over towards Lucifer as I continued, "No matter how far apart we may be, no matter how much time passes, even if someday you're no longer yourself... I'll never forget you. And I'll always pray that you find happiness... always." My voice cracked a little near the end as the tears started to well up in my eyes and tighten in my throat. I got the last part out with difficulty, "I love you, Lilith."

Lucifer stared back at me, his eyes so wide it almost looked comical. His expression dropped back down into his usual slightly surly one as he spoke, resonant voice now threaded through with emotion, "Those words... Those were the very last words I said to Lilith before she was taken away."

I know. I could see Lucifer's pain, both here and then, the two scenes mingling together in my head. The tears started to fall, sliding down my cheek silently. I wasn't sobbing yet, but I knew it was likely only a matter of time.

Lucifer frowned, shaking his head, "How could-"

Diavolo reached out and put a hand on Lucifer's shoulder, looking sympathetic, "Being a former angel, Lilith may have retained some of her celestial powers deep inside, even after being reborn as a human." He glanced over to me again, "Those powers, as well as her memories, must have passed down to her descendants, from generation to generation."

Like some kind of inherited superpower?

Lucifer stared at me, his gaze becoming more and more intense, "Lilith..." Suddenly he smiled, and my skin crawled at the expression, "Lilith!" He embraced me, while calling out my great-great-great-great- (you get the idea) grandmother's name, actually laughing into my neck, "I don't believe it!". I groaned, he wasn't being nearly gentle enough with the delicate human for my liking. I was pretty sure I could hear my ribs creaking under the pressure. He held me out at arm's distance and looked at me before letting go and backing up, a creepily happy smile on his face. Lucifer being happy is weird. I don't like it.

Mammon, standing on the edges, just looked confused. Once again proving that he was probably my spirit animal. He finally spoke, glancing from me and back to Diavolo and Lucifer, "Is this for real?"

Levi interjected, frowning, not looking as happy as Lucifer, repeating his brother's words, "Lord Diavolo, is it really true?"

Diavolo spread open his arms, his smile smoothing away into a serious expression, "I looked into her ancestry once the selection paperwork for the exchange program came in."

Wait, hang on...

He continued blithely, "Human lifetimes are short, after all. So while I did have to trace back far into the mists of time, I was able to verify it. There is no doubt: she is a distant descendant of Lilith."

One, stop calling me "she". And two, did you just say that you knew about this since the selection paperwork for the exchange program came in? And you didn't tell any of them? Not even Lucifer? You just threw me in here like... some kind of experiment? I could feel my tears receding as anger started making an appearance.

Satan gave me a glance as I firmly pressed my lips together, reminding myself that yelling at the Prince of the Devildom just after he helped me was not going to lead to any good outcomes. I took in a deep breath, pulling on my meditation practice to ground myself, concentrating on the feeling of the breath in my lungs and the air on my skin, just being aware of my entire body.

And breathe...

Mammon grinned, laughing and looking like he'd just won the lottery. Beel shook his head, "This is so hard to believe..." but he was smiling and that uneasy feeling was totally gone. His eyes as he looked at me were just as affectionate as always - if not more so. He laughed, a surprisingly warm sound that I suddenly realised I'd never heard before, "Who would've thought-"

Asmodeus caught my hands, the smile on his face like a sunrise, "This is like something out of a dream!" I spotted Mammon's eyes narrowing at the contact and he started forwards and looped an arm around my shoulders. I smirked, finding it strangely comforting. At least some things didn't change.

Levi stepped forward, talking to Lucifer, "Can this really be happening?! Like... this isn't an anime or a game... It's really real!"

Satan smirked, his hand resting on his chin, "I suddenly feel incredibly warm... and happy." He glanced over to Lucifer, something in his smile just a little bit teasing, "Do you think it's because I was born of Lucifer's emotions? I wonder..." I thought on it for a moment, dwelling on his words. It would make for an interesting avenue to pursue, something to while away the nights when I was bored out of my mind. If Satan would be up for it...

Beel headed my way, his opens open and a big smile on his face, but Barbatos cleared his throat as Satan also stepped towards me, "Now, now, everyone, don't throw your arms around her all at once. Think about how it would feel being mobbed by all of you like that."

Like an enormous cuddle pile, mostly, though the fact that Mammon and Asmo were glaring at each other did somewhat detract from the wonderfully nice way Mammon's arm and Asmodeus' hands were warm and made me feel safe.

Barbatos continued, as Beel paused, glancing at the butler, "She must be surprised as well."

Everyone was close to me now. Almost everyone. Only Belphegor hung back, watching it all with a thunderous expression.

Diavolo turned, crossing his arms. His tone was a little too knowing, a little too on-the-nose. It sounded almost like a taunt, "Belphegor? Don't you want to hug her?"

The Avatar of Sloth just stared at me, silent. His amethyst eyes were intense, only one being able to be seen but even then, I could practically feel the emotions boiling out of him.

Mammon's arm around my shoulders tightened as he drew me closer.

Belphegor finally spoke, his voice soft, "This can't be..." A long pause, "It can't be." His voice started to raise in volume, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists, "It can't be... It can't, it can't, it can't!" He sounded desperate, and I leant back, never more grateful that I had quite literally a wall of Lords of Hell between me and my murderer. Ex-murderer. Quasi-murderer?

Something to decide later.

He continued to rant, almost shaking with anger, "You're telling me Lilith wasn't dead, that she was reborn as a human? And that this human is actually a distant descendant of the human Lilith?" He almost spat the words, his gaze still focused on me, and only me. His voice tore as he squeezed his eyes shut, "Impossible... there's just no way. I... I REFUSE to believe that!"

He pointed at me, and I felt a little stab of affection at how Lucifer took half a step towards Belphegor in response to the movement, "There's no way that she would just happen to be chosen for the exchange program! It's all too perfect!"

He... has a good point, actually. Lucifer said that he chose me at random and there was nothing special about me. He was clearly surprised about this revelation. Diavolo and Barbatos maintain that they found out after I was picked but the likelihood of all of this happening is something approaching zero. That I would be the exchange student that ended up rooming with her great-great-great-great- etc. great-uncles is so unlikely as to be - indeed - unbelievable. As much as I hated having cameraderie for my... whatever-murderer, I could see where he was coming from. Something doesn't add up. It is too neat.

Beel stepped forwards too, one hand slightly outstretched towards his twin, "Belphie..."

Poor Beel, all of this had to be so hard on him.

Belphie shook his head, ignoring Beel's efforts, "Someone must be trying to trick me, trying to lure me into a trap! That has to be it!" He looked down, his shoulders tightening and I almost felt sorry for him. He straightened, his hand splayed on his chest dramatically as he snarled, "Well I don't buy it! You can't fool me like that!"

I licked my lips, staring at him, wondering what would happen to him. The Belphie I hadn't let out of the attic had turned out to be oddly sweet, but this one... Perhaps they were the same after all, though, Beel had never left me alone with him to find out. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. "You really won't believe it?" It felt like I asked the question almost before I realised I wanted to.

He stared at me again, "No, I won't..." He was shaking, "As if I could ever believe a story like that!"

Diavolo frowned, "It's the truth, Belphegor." His words weren't kind, exactly, but they were gentle. "She is a distant descendant of Lilith." That must have been the third or fourth time he'd said that. Apparently Diavolo thought repetition would do the trick. Looking at Belphie's vibrant purple eyes, I wasn't so sure it would.

Belphegor just stared back at him, silent.

Asmodeus turned, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling my hips to press against him. It was pleasant and I tried to fight the way my mind always wandered the second he touched me so intimately. This really isn't the time. The Avatar of Lust spoke softly, "Belphie, you can't hate humans forever."

Satan stepped up, green eyes bright and piercing, "He's right. Lilith was reborn as a human. She always wanted to spend more time in the human world, so I'm sure she lived a happy life."

Belphegor stared back at his brothers, his eyes flicking from one to the other, "She's NOT Lilith! Even if she has a few memories and some powers, she's not Lilith. Lilith is dead! Even in this fairy tale of yours!"

For once I agreed with him.

Asmo pulled me tighter into him and Lucifer crossed his arms, speaking quietly, "She is still family. No matter how distant."

Belphie shook his head, letting out a soft laugh with an edge of madness to it, "How many humans are 'descendants of Lilith' now? It's been centuries upon centuries, you've probably killed more than a few yourself!" He suddenly looked up, his eyes wide and bright, "In fact, I heard that you nearly killed this very exchange student, and Lord Diavolo had to pull you off of her before you made an embarrassment out of yourself. Good thing that didn't get out publicly, don't you think?"

Lucifer let out a low growl, drawing Diavolo's eye.

Belphegor moved his eyes to Mammon next, as if working his way down a mental checklist, "Of course, I think my killing of her was rather more elegant, don't you? Than just tearing her apart in some catacomb. There's a certain beauty in how I ended her life, let her linger just enough for you to totally lose your mind." He laughed, some kind of edge to it that was just getting sharper.

Mammon let out a soft sound right by my ear that sounded like a tiger preparing to pounce, his hand on my shoulder tightening painfully.

Diavolo reached out and put his hand on top of Mammon's, frowning at Belphie, "What are you trying to do, Belphegor? You're upsetting your brothers."

Belphegor's eyes went wild, "Good!" He pointed at Lucifer, "You locked me away for months and lied to Beel about where I was!" His hand splayed open, now gesturing to the rest of his family, "And you all just took Lucifer at his word! You're all cowards! You never tried to find me!"

Beelzebub winced, looking down at the ground, his hands lifting to tangle with each other as an expression of pure misery sank onto his face.

Belphegor didn't even seem to notice, continuing his tirade, stepping closer towards me. I really didn't like the look in his eyes, even though his focus was on the demons around me. "You didn't even dare speak my name! I want you all to suffer for what you did to me!"

Lucifer snapped, his brows drawn down while his face was like a thundercloud threatening lightning, "Belphegor. That's enough. Lord Diavolo-"

For whatever reason, that name seemed to cause something to just snap in Belphegor and he shifted into his demon form and towards me with so much speed I could barely blink.

He got within two steps of me before Diavolo raised an arm and the whole world turned purple and then white, a loud crackling noise mixing with the smell of burning flesh and then a howl of agony that reverberated around my skull, a sound of such despair and pain that it seeped into my bones.

The light cut off, left me blinking against afterimages so I could see. The stench was incredible, a charcoal stink mixed with something foul and I looked down at the figure on the floor as it rolled over.

Belphegor was barely recognisable, only one purple eye as an identifying feature, the other one seared shut. As my eyes trailed over his body, I felt sick. Most of his left side was just gone. He must have dodged some of the blast. The rest of him was black and... crusty, with red cracking beneath it as he shifted. His tail was a foot long now, the rest burnt away. I took a step backwards, turning to press my face into Asmodeus' chest as he pulled me closer. I could hear loud voices raised and arguing, and then beneath it a strange noise that gets louder.

Belphegor was laughing, the noise somehow gurgling and wheezing at the same time. He rasped out, "See, Lucifer? That's your... Lord... Diav..o..." He went quiet and I squeezed my eyes together tightly, shuddering at the execution I just witnessed. But Diavolo had been defending me.

That should have made it better.

I glanced over towards Belphegor, Asmo gently stroking my back though I got the feeling he wasn't really concentrating on me.

I saw the light in Belphie's eyes fade.

***

I was struck by a sensation of vertigo, like I was falling while standing still. I pressed a hand to my head, taking another deep breath. It was understandable considering what has happened in the last hour. It was going to take a lot of time to process all of this.

It took me a moment to register the differences. I was no longer gently pressed against Asmodeus' chest, instead I was holding his hands and Mammon had his arm around me. I was standing in the foyer still, but something was wrong and...

Belphegor was standing where he was before he tried to attack me again, and was just staring at me with his mouth open.

Asmodeus turned, sliding his arm around my waist and pulled my hips to press against him. I barely registered the contact, my mind spinning in circles. What just happened? Belphie was dead, I saw him die! Now he's back and everyone is in different positions. I faintly registered that Asmodeus was talking, "Belphie, you can't hate humans forever."

Wait, hasn't he already said that...

Satan stepped forward, and I stared at him intently, almost anticipating what he was going to say next. "He's right. Lilith was reborn as a human. She always wanted to spend more time in the human world, so I'm sure she lived a happy life."

Belphegor just stared at me. He spoke quietly, "What just happened?" He looked over at Barbatos, his eyes suddenly angry and accusing, "Why are you messing with me?"

Barbatos frowned at the Avatar of Sloth, giving him a very slight bow as he spoke, "That is not my intention, Belphegor. I can attest to that she is indeed a descendant of Lilith, but I had hoped that you would find solace in the knowledge that she lived and had the life she wanted."

Belphie made a face, gesturing dismissively, "I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about using your powers on me! Don't I get to make my own choices now?"

Barbatos blinked at Belphegor, a tiny frown appearing as he pursed his lips, "I have not used my abilities. Lord Diavolo can vouch for that, as I may only use them with his permission."

Diavolo frowned, looking between Belphegor and Barbatos, "What is this all about?"

Belphegor let out a frustrated snarl, pointing at Diavolo, "You killed me! You burnt me to death, and then your lapdog brought me back! You're a pathetic excuse for a demon."

Lucifer stepped forward at that, clapping a hand over Belphie's mouth and staring down at him murderously. Belphegor struggled helplessly against him, his eyes blazing with fury.

Diavolo looked confused, "I haven't killed you... obviously. And I haven't asked Barbatos to use his powers to do anything of the sort." He glanced over at the butler for confirmation and received a small nod. With a smile he turned back to Belphegor, "So, you can rest assured I'm not... hmm... how did you put it. A pathetic excuse for a demon?" His smile was wide and his fangs were just a little too present for my piece of mind, especially with the image of Belphie's death so vivid in my memory.

Even though a part of me quite enjoyed the irony. Serves you right, asshole. Now I wasn't the only one who had to remember their own death.

Perhaps it was the surge of fellow feeling, but I cleared my throat, "Umm..."

Mammon pulled me in tight against him and sent Asmo a flat look, causing the Avatar of Lust to let go of me with a sigh and pick a scrap of lint off his clothes with an eye roll. I ignored them and spoke up, "Well, I... umm... also saw that."

Everyone looked at me and I shrank back under their collective gazes. Diavolo gaped at me, "You saw me... kill Belphegor?"

I nodded, "Well, I didn't see it exactly, it was too bright to see. He lunged towards me and then you cast a spell. It was so bright, and then he was all burnt and there... there was only..." Words failed as I tried to describe Belphegor's body, the horror slowly pulsing through me. I really didn't want to conjure up that image again. I swallowed, my throat feeling tight, "He died. I saw it. And... and then I was here, again."

Barbatos narrowed his eyes, focusing on me intently, "Again?"

I nodded, half-watching Belphegor out of the corner of my eye as he pulled himself away from Lucifer and began to pace back and forth, his eyes locked on me and clearly annoyed with how I was stealing everyone's attention, again.

My mouth was dry, "Up until... Belphie asked what happened, everything was happening the same as last time."

The butler frowned, looking down and humming thoughtfully, his fist coming up to support his chin as he thought about it. "Hmm. A natural time eddy?"

Belphegor froze, took several steps until he was in front of Barbatos, his tail lashing behind him.

Ah, we're in demon form again, are we? Sandwiched between most of the rest of the Avatars, it didn't frighten me so much, and there was the whole cooling corpse thing from the last time he tried anything as well.

Belphie snapped, "Natural? Do you really expect me to believe that, on top of everything else? I know this is just a way to try to force me to co-operate! This is a waste of time! I refuse to accept any of this and I don't care how many times I have to say it!"

Barbatos looked down at the Avatar of Sloth, somehow managing to concentrate a surprising amount of condescension into his teal eyes as the faintest sneer touched his lips, "Lord Diavolo is not a liar. I promise you, there are far more effective ways to force your co-operation."

Well, that sounded like a threat. Who knew the butler had it in him? I was oddly amused that he had a personality after all, will wonders never cease.

Belphie didn't seem particularly bothered by it, stepping closer and leaning in so he was almost nose-to-nose with Barbatos, his eyes wide and his lips set into a manic half-snarl. "Do I seem like I'm co-operating?"

And then he turned and lunged straight for Diavolo, stabbing a clawed hand towards the Demon Lord's stomach like it was a knife.

Barbatos gasped, Lucifer let out a furious yell and then there was a horrible thin feeling as magic burst out again towards Belphegor. This time, the screams were louder and only lasted a couple of seconds before they fell silent.

***

The vertigo was so strong that it brought along a dose of nausea with it. I leant over, making an unhappy noise deep in my throat and instantly had Asmodeus sliding his arms around me, a worried whine escaping him as he lifted my chin up so he could look at my face, "Darling, are you alright?"

No wait, that's not right, he should be telling Belphegor about hating humans...

Satan took a step forward and delivered his line - but, it was different, "Lilith was reborn as a human. She finally got to spend more time in the human world, and lived a happy life."

I pushed down the feeling like I was going to be sick all over Asmo's gorgeous clothes and looked up at Belphegor. He looked like he was reeling, though I wasn't sure if it was the death, the reset or the feeling that his stomach was about to rebel at any moment. Unless I was the only one getting that. He still looked pretty ill though, for whatever reason.

He shook himself and slowly straightened. His eyes flickered around the room, lingering on Diavolo and Barbatos, his eyes flashing with anger. But he swallowed, pasted a smile onto his face and let out a long sigh, "You know, Lord Diavolo, maybe you're right." He stared straight at me, and smiled slowly. His voice was surprisingly soft and tender, and I didn't trust it for a moment, "I think I would like that hug now."

Oh, that was clever.

Bastard.

Chapter Text

I glared at the Avatar of Sloth, filled with indignation and more than a little disbelief. As if something that brazen and transparent would even work! The memory of his previous offer to hug me was still pretty clear in my mind after all and it really hadn't gone well. Was this just how Belphegor killed people? Was he a literal cuddle-monster?

The confusion and alarm must have showed on my face, because Belphie's smile shifted into a smirk after a second, becoming a grin as Mammon's arms wrapped around me and pulled me in, and conveniently away from a concerned Asmo. Mammon spoke, "Not a chance. Ain't happenin'." There was just a hint of that rumbling growl under his words that really should have been scary rather than enticing, but what can you do. I leaned back into his arms, Asmo still looking at me with concern.

He really was such a sweetheart, when he wasn't trying desperately to get into my pants.

Belphegor turned to Diavolo, his voice still suspiciously gentle, "Please at least tell me that you don't think I'm entirely stupid. You know that I know enough not to try anything in front of you all, even if I did have bad intentions. I swear on my life that I won't hurt her." His purple eyes bored into mine, almost looking like the colours were swirling, his smirk deepening, "I just want a hug."

Satan crossed his arms, his green eyes intent as he weighed up Belphegor's intentions.

The Prince of the Devildom rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at Belphie and then laughed, "Well, I suppose there wouldn't be any harm."

I blinked at him like he was an idiot. Yes, there will be harm! There will be dead human kind of harm! Why on earth would Lord Diavolo believe him? As if watching a ripple effect, the rest of the demons around me seemed to relax, even Mammon's arms loosening around me. It was like a vast non-verbal sigh had filled the room. Asmodeus even had a smile on his face.

I gaped at Belphegor, confused and more than a little alarmed. He sent me a tight little smile, and a snarky little comment. "Oh, didn't you know? Lord Diavolo can tell when someone's lying." Was this the first time he'd spoke to me directly since I'd died?

That would explain the sudden feeling in the air like the danger was over, and even I felt my shoulders relax. Clearly being killed twice in ten minutes had made him decide to change tactics, though I was still so lost with what was actually happening that it was making head spin almost as much as the vertigo had. Besides, after the way it had felt to reset this time, I found myself hoping he wouldn't die for a while. My stomach couldn't take it, and Asmo's clothes were far too nice to do something unspeakable to them like that.

Diavolo nodded, smiling briefly, "Yes, so it will be safe to have that hug. I understand it has been quite a lot for you today, but I'm hoping that we might be able to put this behind us? Or at least start with this." He glanced over to Lucifer, who was still gazing at me with a half-smile that was one of the most terrifying things I'd ever seen. If he called me Lilith one more time, there would have to be words.

Teal hair bounced as Barbatos joined in with the nodding, gesturing to Belphegor with one white-gloved hand as if offering an hors d'oeuvre. "Would that be acceptable?"

Everyone seemed to be waiting for my response, but my gut still told me that the second Belphie got his hands on me he was going to rip me apart all over again. But... Even if he does, then he would absolutely get killed again, and then it would reset, and I'd be back, right? That's how it works in the movies. He has to know that, so maybe he won't try anything? It was the fact that Diavolo was still watching the Avatar of Sloth intently and the memory of how quickly the magic had put him down last time that ended up being the deciding factor.

I nodded, licking my lips, "Okay, I'll do it." I glanced around at the brothers. Lucifer was staring at me with something between amusement and fondness lingering in his fire-coal eyes, while Satan looked clinical, before giving me a brief smile of encouragement. I felt a little burst of warmth from the support from my newest pact. Beelzebub wasn't even looking at me, I don't think he'd looked away from Belphegor for more than a few moments to wring his hands together since he'd suggested the hug. Asmodeus looked torn, his eyes flicking from me, to Belphie, to Diavolo and Lucifer and then back, as if he couldn't quite decide what to do.

Mammon had no such doubts, that little growl spilling out from him again as he lifted me up by my waist and somehow slid me around his body until I was pressed up against his back, his arm wrapped around me awkwardly. "How many times do I hafta say it, absolutely not. Belphie ain't gettin' any hugs, not after what he did!"

"Mammon..." I tried, but he just pressed me harder against his back as if trying to muffle any arguments I might make.

Lucifer took in a deep breath and let out a sigh, "Mammon, you have Lord Diavolo's word that Belphegor will not harm her. Do not let your jealousy interfere in these reconciliation efforts. She will be returned to you soon enough."

Mammon sputtered, his grip on me fumbling as he tried to hang onto me and gesture angrily at the same time, failing at both, "WHAT? I ain't jealous, why would anyone think that I'm jealous? I'm just doin' my job of lookin' after her, since you clearly couldn't do it. I left you alone with her for less than an hour and next thing I know, she's bleedin' to death in my arms! So don't go tellin' me to get out of the way!"

Oh, oh dear. Oh Mammon. The memory of the actual death was fuzzy and I didn't remember being in his arms at all, since I'd been standing on the stairs when the... other me?... had been dying. I was glad I didn't have that memory, but Mammon's couldn't have been much better. I wondered what the other me had said to him, if they could say anything at all after being choked like that. A slow horror overtook me, distracting me and I pressed my face tight into Mammon's jacket so I could muffle my groan. Please, please tell me I didn't confess as I lay dying. Pleeeeaaassseee. It would be way too embarrassing, and I don't even remember doing it!

I frowned, maybe that could be a decent defence if it did happen? Maybe Mammon would get distracted if I used enough long words? That was always at least worth an attempt.

I jerked my head up as Lucifer responded, the slight smile on his face now completely gone, eyes cold as oceans, "Mammon. Now."

The Avatar of Greed glanced over, flinching back from the menace radiating from the eldest and looked back at me. I shook off my fear of an alternate version of myself potentially having confessed my feelings to my guardian demon while I lay dying (what the fuck is my life?) and smiled up at him, reaching out to pat his arm comfortingly, "Come on, it's just a hug. I'll be fine. And if I'm not, Lord Diavolo will..." I mimed stabbing motions and he snorted, searching my face for something, which he must have found because he let out a shaky breath and turned, putting a hand on my shoulder.

He squeezed, "Fine, but only one hug, okay? Ya gotta save the rest of 'em for more deservin' demons, like me!" The bravado shone in his cocky grin, but his blue eyes were worried and I couldn't help but drag him down to my level so I could ruffle his hair. Immediately, he wrestled with me, trying but somehow failing, with all his demonic strength and speed, to push me away successfully.

Finally, I stepped to one side, knowing that he wouldn't be taking his eyes off of me the entire time that we did this, and took a deep breath. Time to go hug my ex-murderer.

Look, ex-murderer just sounds better than quasi-murderer, and technically he wasn't my murderer anymore, since I'd come back. He'd died too, twice, but I was pretty sure you could still be a murderer and dead? But since he had come back, then Diavolo wasn't a murderer... or at least he hadn't murdered Belphie. He was the Lord of the Devildom, so he'd probably murdered people before. Was it murder if it was a demon? I'll have to ask Satan all of these difficult questions at some point. We have a pact now too, so I might even survive the experience!

Belphegor was still smiling at me as I walked a few feet until I was directly in front of Diavolo, and then stopped, opening my arms and giving him a bright smile, tinged with just a smidge of 'fuck-you'.

His answering grin was immediate and he started walking forwards. He was still in his human form, which was a good sign, but the look in his eyes, despite all the assurances, still had the skin of the back of my neck crawling. It wanted to run and hide somewhere, along with the rest of me, but I just took a deep breath, concentrating on feeling the air flowing through my lungs and grounding me, and pushed it to one side. I'd done crazier things than this, right, since I'd been down here? It was just a coincidence that I couldn't think of any off the top of my head.

Belphie stopped just out of reach of my arms, his smile strangely sweet as he tilted his head, and lifted up a hand to rub the white tips of his hair, almost looking bashful. He spoke softly, "You know, I really am happy I get to do this."

I narrowed my eyes at him, and replied in the same almost-whisper, "Yeah? You don't think it's going to end like the last two times?"

His gaze focused on me with startling intensity and he closed the distance with two quick steps, his arms sliding around me and locking together behind my back as he leant into me, his chin hooked over my shoulder. He was surprisingly warm. He murmured, "You do remember, I wondered if you were just making it up last time, to try to look like you mattered. So..." One hand stayed on my back while the other slid up to the back of my neck and I had to fight down an involuntary shudder at the familiar touch. He let out a soft laugh, "You remember that too, I see, despite somehow coming back to life. You really are full of surprises, aren't you?"

He turned his head, whispered right into my ear, "So am I." The hand at my neck lifted and grabbed my head, and then there was a brief moment of blurring movement, a burst of unbelievable pain at the base of my neck and then a peaceful, drifting calm as the world disappeared.

***

This time, the vertigo was so strong that I fell to my knees almost immediately, Mammon and Asmo both dropping down with me, "Yo, human, what're ya doin'?" The nausea swung around, as if it was spinning round and round just like the floor was. With a groan, I spilled my dinner all over the floor.

Asmodeus leapt backwards, keeping the mess off of him with a tiny sound of distress, almost immediately followed with concern, "Darling?!"

I could feel hands pulling my hair back out of the way as my stomach continued to react to the horrible way the floor was trying to perform gymnastics, and a warm hand rubbing my back. Affection battled with the nausea, leading to a hazy epiphany. Mammon is a treasure, a priceless jewel of the Devildom, and I will murder anyone who might say different. Finally, my stomach seemed to have calmed down, or maybe it was just empty, and I leaned back onto my heels, not feeling like trying to get to my feet just yet while things kept tilting back and forth.

Asmodeus was staring at me, his expression an odd mix of disgust and sympathy, leaning more towards the latter. He crouched down, though still well out of the splash zone and pouted, his hands twitching, clearly wanting to touch to get his point across, "Are you alright, my sweet kitten?"

I blinked at him, the cute moniker was a new one, but I was distracted by a loud groan from the other side of the room. Belphegor hadn't dropped to the floor like I had, but he was swaying dangerously, both of his hands on his head. Beel had moved at some point while I had been 'indisposed' and now stood next to his twin, one large hand on his shoulder and looking concerned. Belphie opened one eye and then let another groan, reaching out and putting both hands on Beel, looking down and taking deep breaths. Beelzebub looked scared, "Belphie, are you sick?"

Belphegor let out a small laugh at that, followed by a wince, "Uh, no. No, I'm fine, Beel. I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'm just dizzy." He tried to pat Beel's arm and managed to connect on the second try. The way he spoke to his twin was so warm, so different from how he'd just whispered in my ear that it almost sounded like different people. In fact, he sounded just like he had in the first timeline, where the three of us had absconded to Purgatory Hall to try to outrun Diavolo. The nice Belphie, rather than the murder-y one.

The suspicion that the 'nice Belphie' would have killed me if Beel hadn't been with me the entire time was now quickly solidifying to a certainty.

He turned his head, very slowly, and pinned his gaze on me, and I was surprised to see something like amused frustration glittering there. He let out a sigh, and leaned his entire upper body against Beel's broad chest, "I'm tired, I can't deal with this anymore. I want to go to our room and sleep."

I blinked, confused by this sudden change of behaviour. What game was he playing now?

Whatever it was seemed to be effective, as Lucifer sighed into a hand placed over his face and Diavolo let out a belly laugh. Mammon was still gently rubbing my back soothingly, but the tension seemed to flow out of the room. The difference was that this time I actually half-believed it. Maybe he'd changed his mind, or more likely, he was worried that another death would cause enough vertigo to actually put him in the same position as me.

Asmo tiptoed around the worst of the mess and leaned over to gently pull me up onto my feet, Mammon half-heartedly swatting at his arm and causing another argument, though whispered this time. I tried to stop from laughing, it probably wouldn't end well.

Lucifer removed his hand from his face with another long sigh and spoke, "Satan, Levi, escort Beel and Belphie to their room and make sure they don't leave until all this is sorted out." He looked over to Diavolo and a slight hint of something flickered across his countenance. Remorse? Regret? Trepidation? None of those sounded like the Avatar of Pride, but there it was, an impossible emotion but an understandable one. He'd somehow managed to lie to Diavolo, who could tell when someone was lying, and say that Belphegor had been sent to the human world as an exchange student, while locking him up in the attic instead. Then, he was in the house when that same murderous little brother somehow got out and killed the defenceless human that he'd been charged to protect. Put all together, it was a failure that would get most humans imprisoned, at least fired, and they were in the Devildom where mercy was a relatively modern concept.

On the other hand, Diavolo was a sweet pumpkin pie who clearly adored his second-in-command and even his brothers, and I wasn't technically murdered anymore, so at least it was only... all of the other bits.

Sympathy for the devil indeed.

It took more than twenty minutes for me to feel human again, ensconced on the sofa in the common room with Mammon on one side and Asmodeus on the other. Lucifer was sitting opposite, while Diavolo sat next to him and Barbatos hovered in the background. The other four were presumably all in the twin's room. I'd had time to brush my teeth and gargle, and a small glass of bat's milk. The vertigo was thankfully gone and I could feel the faint pangs of hunger. When I'd returned from my room, the entrance hall had been spotless, making me pout sulkily. I want to be able to clean things with magic.

Lucifer had already stopped calling me Lilith, much to my relief. Even the return of the slightly suspicious look he reserved just for me had put a smile on my face. I spoke quietly, breaking through the happy conversation about my semi-angelic lineage, "What's going to happen to Belphegor? He technically killed me? How did I come back from the dead? What happened to the versions of the brothers waiting for me to come back through the door?"

Diavolo blinked at me for a moment and then leant back into his seat, lifting up a hand in an oblique gesture that Barbatos nevertheless seemed to understand, immediately walking forward to stand behind Diavolo and launching into a smooth explanation, "Belphegor still threatened the human world and the exchange program, but he has already served some time in captivity for his misdemeanours." Teal eyes caught mine and held, serious and calm, "They are only misdemeanours because he did not, in fact, kill any humans in his attempts to upset Lord Diavolo's exchange program, here or in the human world. Whether he will imprisoned again, or if Lucifer will be punished, will be up to Lord Diavolo to decide once he determines if Belphegor's change of heart is genuine."

His gaze doesn't falter as he keeps talking. Is he even blinking? I try to see if I can spot one but quickly give up when my eyes start watering. "You are this world's version of you in body, but I have melded the timelines together. You never died, but you have the memory of a different version of you who was killed by Belphegor. Your memory is mostly intact from both routes, but the others will only receive their other memories once we have caught up to you going through the door, in order to link the memories together better. That will happen in twelve hours." He finally took in a deep breath, making his way through my questions, "Since the timelines were merged, once I release the memories to them, they will be simultaneously these brothers and those who were waiting for you to return."

I stared at him as he laid it all out carefully, without any attempt to mystify or confuse me, and then patiently waited for any questions, "Oh." That all made sense. I felt slightly disappointed that I hadn't actually died and come back though. Oh, but Belphegor had snapped my neck half-an-hour ago, so that one still counted at least. I brightened up a little.

On that note, "Umm, Barbatos, weird question I know but, I was.. umm..." I was about to go off on a long explanation about how I had read a book in the library about it and could he help me with homework when I remembered, just in the nick of time, that Diavolo could tell when people lied. His expressions when I tried to explain Mammon's actions on his behalf made a lot more sense in retrospect.

I blurted it out instead, "What's a natural time eddy?"

The usually unflappable butler stared at me in shock, and this time I saw him blink in surprise, "Where have you heard that term?"

Well, here goes nothing. If Belphie can get around it with things that are "technically true", I can too, right? I took in a deep breath, leaning a little into Asmo for comfort even though he was staring at me in confusion. All of the brothers in the room clearly wanted to talk about the idea that they would be getting more memories of a different timeline in twelve hours, but they were thankfully not running their mouths straight over what I was trying to say. If I'd known a disappearing corpse and throwing up all over the floor would get this kind of respect, I would have tried it sooner. "You said it, actually. Recently."

Barbatos' eyes narrowed, a hint of confusion swirling in them, and then widened as understanding hit him. He glanced over at Diavolo for a moment and then regarded me with interest bordering on pathological. He didn't elaborate on the explanation or ask any further questions, somehow understanding what I needed from him with this apparently unrelated segue, "Imagine time as a river, or as a series of rapids. Usually, the passage from upstream to downstream is unhindered and happens at its own pace. However, sometimes, debris will fall into the river, and can cause pools, where the water is disturbed by the current, constantly spinning in place but never actually making it downstream unless the debris is removed. A time eddy is like that pool, and a natural one merely means that no magic or abilities, angelic or demonic, have been used to cause it to occur. In practice, it is a loop in time that repeats over and over until an escape condition is met. Of course, nothing would change if the loop simply kept repeating, so there is generally at least one free agent, someone whose memory is outside of the loop and can remember previous loops."

He tilted his head slightly, "Unfortunately, many of these free agents, even those who are successful in breaking their loop, have difficulty adjusting to the normal flow of time after spending a prolonged period inside a time eddy. The lack of regard for consequences can be fatal once released from immunity to them."

I licked my lips nervously. I suspected I knew what he was going to say, but I wanted confirmation, "So, the free agents, they can't die?"

Barbatos smiled faintly, "Oh, they can die. They can die every time, in fact. But when the loop resets, they will be alive again."

I bit my lip, ignoring Asmo's indrawn breath at the motion, my mind on other things, "What can make a loop reset?"

Barbatos glanced to Lord Diavolo again and then continued, "There are three ways for a loop to reset. The first, and most common way, is that it will go back to its trigger point when it reaches the next metaphysical event." He sighed at my puzzled expression and closed his eyes for a moment, "A metaphysical event is an action that has greater than usual weight in the way that it creates or eliminates possibilities. A death is a good example, immediately destroying every possibility of the dead person's actions from that point, turning millions of potential timelines dark." It was a vivid picture, the way that a single death could cascade down a vast tree, snuffing out every branch and twig.

He continued, "But it doesn't have to be as extreme as that. Anything that changes the course of events in a major way." He looked up briefly, and I got the strangest feeling that he was replaying our conversation. "The escape condition is also always a metaphysical event. The failure for the actors to achieve the escape condition is what causes the eddy in the first place. It has no way to get from 'now' to 'then' and so it forces a passage through repetition."

He continued on, "The second way is if any of the free agents die. Since the loop cannot possibly meet the escape condition, it will immediately reset. The third way is if the escape condition becomes truly impossible for some reason."

I look down, all of this information threatening to fall out of my ears, but I still had questions, "Why does someone become a free agent, and other people just get trapped in the same loop? I mean, how does it pick who can remember?"

Barbatos frowned, a slight pursing of his lips, "There are several schools of thought on that, but I suspect that it is simply those that are required to get the job done. After all, if a time eddy was ever left unresolved, time itself would become stuck."

"And you can't fix it? Or change it, or see it?" I knew I was clutching at straws. Barbatos hadn't known in the last loop- wait, the last-but-one loop? Ugh, I was already getting confused. It didn't help that Belphie was so stab-happy that they'd each lasted maybe five minutes each.

Hopefully he was actually declaring a ceasefire, and not just regrouping to try again next time. If he was, I'd just have to make sure to throw up on him instead.

I was drawn from my fantasies of petty revenge by Barbatos' soft voice, "Unfortunately, no. I cannot save a free agent from this fate, no matter how much I would like to. Even if Lord Diavolo gave me permission to try, the eddy would simply look like normal time to me and any changes I made would be reset along with everything else when it reached the next metaphysical event."

I sighed, letting go of my 'Time Lord rides to the rescue' fantasy and leaned back in my seat. Everyone was staring at me now, probably wondering how long I was going to talk about this inconsequential curiosity. One last question, then. "Is there anything that a free agent absolutely shouldn't do if they want to get out of the loop?"

Barbatos' reply was immediate, "Do the same thing over and over, without a change in behaviour, for then the loop will never end. The change that needs to be made must be dramatic, so small actions or reactions are unlikely to work. Equally, the free agents must not get too used to the idea that each loop will undo all consequences for them, if they want to be able to survive for long once released. Those few accounts of free agents that we have all agree that the last loop is the most dangerous, as you are now susceptible to consequences, but you don't know that you are. In fact, you would be unaware until you managed to successfully pass through the next metaphysical event, what you could call the reset point."

Trigger points, reset points, metaphysical events, escape conditions, time eddies... Barbatos certainly had the jargon down, and he was still, somehow, making sense. I want Barbatos as my tutor for Devildom History, I bet he could do a much better job than Professor Flauros.

I gave him a nod and a genuine smile that I hoped didn't look quite as strained and freaked out as I felt.

My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me, "Actually, just one more question..." I heard Mammon sigh next to me and felt his forehead hit my shoulder in despair, accompanied by Asmodeus' titter and Lucifer's 'tch' of disapproval, but I forged on, "If there is more than one free agent, what does that mean?"

Barbatos blinked at me as if I should have been able to work this out for myself, "Well, it means that they're all necessary to reach the escape condition."

I stared at him in horror, not even trying to keep it off my face.

In order to get out of this loop, to get back to normal, to see next week, I was going to have to work with Belphegor? My definitely-at-least-once ex-murderer? The demon who had started off our relationship on lies and then, after getting caught, layered them over and over until honestly, being murdered was probably less embarrassing than realising I'd fallen for every single one of them? He'd called me stupid for trusting him, and looking back, I really should have known better. I'd been convinced right up until the second he revealed his true colours.

He'd betrayed me. I had gone through one crazy ordeal after another to collect the pacts from his brothers to get him out of there and he'd repaid me with laughter, mockery and death.

What can I say, I hold grudges.

"Oh, fuck that."

Chapter Text

Funny thing about the Devildom, you'd think that it would be a hotbed of blasphemy or at least foul language, but I had noticed that everyone around me - demons, angels and otherwise - just didn't swear. I could understand avoiding the whole religious subset of swearwords, but even when the Avatar of Wrath himself was threatening to dismember me, he hadn't actually sworn once. Mind you, when someone as eloquent as Satan threatens you, he doesn't need them. I had never been so glad to have Lucifer just pop up out of nowhere.

Still, this explained the immediate reaction, which was that every single demon in the room suddenly turned to face me. Asmo let out a soft, slightly appalled giggle and slid his arm around mine, while Lucifer narrowed his eyes at me, clearly planning my next punishment. I leant back from him, further into Mammon, who was staring up at the corners of the ceiling as if looking for an escape route. I idly wondered if he'd be blamed for my behaviour, or if this was going to be all me for once. Diavolo just grinned, clearly not at all bothered by my foul mouth.

Barbatos coughed into his hand delicately and I could swear that he was hiding a small smile behind it, the bastard. He dropped his hand and spoke mildly, "Dare I ask?"

It brought me back to the moment, and I stared at Barbatos, not sure how much more I wanted to share. Finally I spoke, reluctance dripping off every syllable, "It's... it's Belphegor."

The butler blinked at me again, a new record, and straightened up as he looked down at me, his expression now tinged with a hint of sympathy, "Ah, I see. A difficult proposition."

Lucifer cut in, his tone harsh and clipped, "What about Belphegor?"

Barbatos turned and smiled smoothly at the Avatar of Pride, "What are your plans for him, Lucifer? Will you be returning him to the attic now that his incarceration is known? Though I believe he has expended much goodwill from his brothers with his actions tonight. Regardless of my interference, it is true that he chose to kill a human exchange student, and his brothers' pact master, without any hesitation or remorse."

Diavolo sighed, glancing at Lucifer, "Belphegor... Until we can be sure of what to expect from him, I don't want to let him close to either of the humans without an escort. I won't throw him into the dungeons, but that is the only mercy I can offer. If he does something like this again, Lucifer, I cannot shield him from the consequences."

Lucifer nodded, looking down at the floor, a hollow hopeless look on his face that was slowly replaced with grim determination, "I will make sure that doesn't happen, Lord Diavolo. You have my word."

Barbatos glanced over to me knowingly as two of the most powerful demons in the Three Realms decided that I probably shouldn't see Belphegor for my own safety. In any other situation, I'd be absolutely agreeing with them, but I had more than a few reasons to think that he wouldn't hurt me anymore, and even if he did, it wasn't like it was going to stick. Not until we worked out the escape condition and fulfilled it.

I opened my mouth, pausing as I realised just how insane this was going to sound, but forged on ahead anyway. They already thought I was insane, and really considering all the evidence I should probably have just taken Simeon up on his therapy offer, but I didn't feel like that would have been a good idea, as far as shiny souls go.

Look, Simeon is attractive enough, without being sweet and kind and just mean enough to be interesting. Put that together with hours spent alone together, and it was a recipe for at least some very inappropriate thoughts. He was an angel and I was absolutely sure that was a sin - nevermind actually doing anything. Not that he would let me anyway. I was pretty sure. Probably. Maybe?

I spoke up with an embarrassed cough, "Could... I, uh, talk to him if we're under guard then? Since you said we could do it under escort."

Mammon raised an eyebrow at me, grabbing my shoulders and looking at me like he was trying to work out when I'd hit my head, "Can ya hear yourself? Why do ya wanna talk to Belphie? What would you even talk ta him about?"

Asmo leant in, calmly removed one of Mammon's hands and replaced it with his chin, giving Mammon a cold glance, "I think it's very brave, and kind, to want to talk about it." I could feel arms sliding around my waist, fingertips trailing enticingly and drifting just a little more than entirely appropriate. Either Asmo'd had a very unusual relationship with Lilith, or I didn't need to worry about him seeing me as her, either.

Lucifer sighed, "Yes, if you feel that you must. But you must have at least two others there with you, apart from Beelzebub."

I nodded, eager to abide by any conditions if it meant my access wasn't totally cut off. The stipulation about Beel was interesting, but I supposed that Lucifer wouldn't want him to have to restrain his own twin, even to protect me. Beel really gets the short end of the stick. I suppose we won't be doing any cupcake nights for a while... My thought was interrupted by a surprise yawn, pleasantly stretchy after being tense for so long. I covered my mouth, feeling a faint blush marching over my cheeks.

Diavolo smiled kindly at me, nodding along with Lucifer's requirements, "But for now, you must be tired. I know it's unusual, but for tonight, I think someone should stay in your room. Just to be sure." His amber eyes were totally sincere, even as I groaned on the inside.

Asmo opened his mouth enticingly, and then pouted as I spoke as quickly as I could, "Mammon."

Lucifer and Mammon both gaped at me, but I kept my eyes on Diavolo, "Mammon can do it, he's stayed over in my room before."

Lucifer slowly looked over to Mammon, his eyes flickering with dim flames as they pierced his little brother, "Did he?"

Asmodeus was staring from the other side, torn between voyeuristic delight and annoyance, pulling me closer via my arm until I was almost pressed up against his chest, "Ehhh? Why wouldn't you want me to look after you, darling? I promise I'd do a much better job." I pushed the images that filled my head at the offer to one side, once again promising myself that I'd take him up on it one of these days...

Mammon coughed, leaning back so that I was mostly taking the brunt of Lucifer's glare, "It was only the once! Alright, maybe a couple, uh, a few, times... but nothin' happened, okay? Like I'd do anythin' with a human apart than leech off their stuff!"

Diavolo chuckled, "Of course, I can see why you're so set on Mammon being your guardian then. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job, Mammon." He got to his feet, brushing down his coat and glancing to Lucifer, "We should get back to the castle. We'll talk more about this tomorrow?"

The Avatar of Pride nodded, "Of course my Lord, I will visit early tomorrow morning."

The parting niceties were quickly run through and Lucifer walked back into the room just in time to catch me yawning again, even though I tried to bite it off as soon as he gave me a disappointed look. He shook his head, pinning Mammon with a warning glare, "Go to your room and sleep, tomorrow will be another busy day and you need your rest." He paused, and though I wasn't entirely sure, it sounded almost like he was talking through gritted teeth, "Mammon, go with her. You know what to do."

Mammon pulled me off the couch, conveniently straight out of Asmo's arms despite his protests, and started dragging me towards my room, "Right, yep, got it! Don't have nothin' to worry about, leave it to me!"

***

Mammon dropped onto my bed with a sigh, letting go of the hand he'd captured so he could point his accusingly at my face, "What did ya have to go and tell Lucifer about me stayin' over for? Now he's gonna think that we... that... uh..."

He really was too much fun to tease, so I just put on my best clueless expression and blinked at him, "Think that we what?"

Mammon stared at me, his cheeks slowly tinging pink. I idly watched as it rose up enough to hit his ears, before he blurted out, "Ya know what? If you don't know, I ain't gonna tell ya! That'll be your punishment for tattlin' on me! An' serves you right!"

He really was very red now. I leaned back, not wanting to push him too far and also with more than a few things on my mind. Some could wait, some had to wait, but there was at least one terrible truth that had to be dragged out into the light right this second.

"Mammon..." My voice didn't come out exactly how I wanted it to. I'd been aiming for gentle but confident, but instead I sounded more than a little nervous. I licked my lips, "Did I... say anything to you before I... died?"

All the colour drained from his face and he looked away, swallowing hard. I nudged closer to him, sitting on the bed and reached out to put my hand over his, suddenly sure that he needed the contact. He didn't protest for once, the silence making me nervous. It was quiet for a while, and when he finally spoke, his voice was thick and broken, "You said that you were sorry, that... you'd stay if you could. Ya smiled at me and... An' then you were gone." He looked down at the floor, and I grimaced. Okay, so it wasn't nearly as bad as if had been an outpouring of affection, neither of us wanted to have that conversation, but what had I been thinking?! It was painfully cliché, and it had only served to make my favourite demon sad.

A fact I would remedy as best I knew how, in my own style.

"Hey Mammon, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right next to you, okay? Think of it as, like, a bad dream." I reached out and poked his shoulder until he looked up and glanced at me. Another poke. And then another.

He stared at me, mouth slightly open in surprise at my assault, before it turned into a flash-frown, "Hey, what're ya doin'? Stop pokin' me!"

"Nope! Make me!" I did it again, lifting up onto my knees so I could use both hands, and then laughing as he finally turned and started trying to slap my hands away and stop me getting to his arms, his chest, his face, pretty much anywhere I could reach.

"Stop it already!" He squawked, but I knew that he could pin me to the bed in two seconds flat if he really wanted to. Of course, then I would use the pact on him, but that wasn't why he hadn't yet. I managed to get in a good jab in his side, and he yelped, squirming away from me, "Okay, I'm sorry or somethin', whatever - eep! - it'll take ta get you to STOOOPP!"

I laughed, falling back onto my bed on my side and rolling until I could snuggle into the pillows at the head of my bed, magnanimous in victory. He glared at me, but he couldn't quite stop smiling, and I could see him trying to decide whether to take revenge or let me have my win. He leant back on the bed and kicked off his shoes, throwing them into the corner of the room and shrugging off his jacket before tossing it towards the tree in the middle of my room. He didn't even look, but the material caught neatly on one of the branches. Maybe he really had been staying over a little bit too often, or maybe it had more to do with mysterious clothing-based demon powers.

I mean, sure, he had a toothbrush and a charger here, but that didn't mean anything really, right? Right...?

He muttered to himself, laid flat on my bed, staring at the ceiling, "I didn't mean it."

I raised my head at him, tilting it in confusion, "You didn't mean that you're sorry?"

He gnawed his bottom lip for a moment, "No, when I said that, it was me or nothin', that if I couldn't save ya, then you should die... I didn't mean it. You... ya can get saved by anybody, that'd be okay. As long as you're okay."

I politely decided not to point out that it had been Lucifer who'd saved me from Satan, nearly everyone who saved me from Lucifer (though he wouldn't remember that yet) and technically Barbatos had 'saved' me from Belphegor? Though that whole thing was a mess I didn't particularly want to think about just yet. But this wasn't about exactly what he was saying, either. Sometimes I was puzzled why everyone seemed to take Mammon at his word, and wondered if I really did have some kind of special power to be able to hear what he was really saying. Maybe it was just good old-fashioned human empathy. Personally I preferred the superpower theory though.

"Thanks, Mammon. I promise, I'll make sure I keep getting saved." Not that I hadn't been already - look, any port in a storm and any saviour in a pickle. If it kept me alive and breathing, I'd even let Belphegor save me, as much as dragging him down with me sounded like a lot more fun right now.

Mammon looked over and grinned, "Yeah, you better! And now that everyone knows that you're Lilith's descendant, I bet they'll look after ya even better than usual! I mean, I bet even Belphie-"

I cut him off with a short laugh, "Sorry, Mammon, I'm pretty sure that Belphegor isn't particularly swayed by that argument. Just... call it a hunch." The memory of my neck being snapped was strangely distant, it had been so quick it had barely registered. The vertigo afterwards had been far more unpleasant. As deaths went, it was a merciful one.

And how fucked up was it that I was even able to make that comparison?

I got Mammon to turn around while I changed into my pyjamas and wriggled down under the covers, waiting to turn off the lights until he'd arranged his nest of pillows and blankets on the floor next to me. Some of the pillows were so huge they were practically a mattress by themselves.

I was looking forward to getting some rest. It had been a long day after all, and I really did need the sleep, though my stomach was still awake and hungry, upset at having being so rudely emptied earlier. I wondered briefly if the time loop reset while I was sleeping, would I still be asleep, or would I be awake? Would the food I ate from before the reset still be in my stomach? But, having your neck snapped is pretty physical as well, so if that could get reset, no doubt tiredness and hunger would be as well. Hmm, if you were in a short enough loop, you wouldn't have to eat or sleep at all.

I let the thoughts drift away from me as I rolled over, letting out another long yawn. My eyes lingered on the reassuring swirl of white hair next to me as I snuggled in, every breath making them heavier and heavier until I finally slipped into slumber.

***

I made a soft sound of protest as cool hands grasped my shoulders and gently shook. "Mmmn, Mammo-" One hand moved, faster than I could register, to muffle my protest and I opened my eyes in a panic.

I was met by eyes in swirling shades of purple and pink, and a slow, sleepy, sinister smile. Belphegor. My stomach dropped and my eyes immediately darted away to where Mammon should be, lying out next to my bed. The panic died to something manageable as I saw he was still there, still asleep, mouth open. He'd clearly moved some in the night, thrown off half of his blanket and had one arm above his head, wrapped around the base of the bed.

I turned back to Belphie, and he tilted his head, glanced over at Mammon with a thoughtful look on his face, before leaning in so close to my ear that I could feel his hair tickling my forehead, "Follow me, quietly." His voice was softer than a whisper.

What the hell is he up to? The idea of following him anywhere didn't appeal nearly as much as yelling at the top of my lungs, or throwing my pillow at Mammon, or half-a-dozen different ways to get Belphegor in trouble, killed or otherwise pay him back (with interest) for all the things he'd done to me. I grimaced as Barbatos' words came back to me, my cry stifling into a groan of disbelief. What kind of sick joke is it anyway, making me have to work together with my actual murderer?

He leaned back, and some of what I had been thinking must have been on my face because he rolled his eyes - please let me strangle him - and let out a long-suffering sigh. His voice was so quiet I almost had to hold my breath to hear him properly, "Look, we could do this the hard way, have you call my brothers and see what happens, but unless I'm very, very mistaken, if you do that, we're just going to end up here all over again."

It was, unfortunately, a good point. I glared at him and yanked at his arm, pulling it away from my mouth and meeting surprisingly little resistance. My words came out as something of a hiss, I clearly wasn't having much luck in controlling my voice tonight, "It would make me feel a whole lot better, though."

He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms and got to his feet, taking a couple of steps away towards my door. I watched him, puzzled, and then he turned as he reached the entrance and sent me a questioning look that was easy to read, You coming?

I lingered, wanting nothing more than to wipe that knowing look off his face, but aware that this was something important. For whatever reason, Belphegor was reaching out to me. And that meant he needed something... Okay, I could blow this up in a spectacular fashion, but then I'd surely end up having to crawl back to ask for his help later, when he would be in anything but a giving mood. If that happened, then I'd be the one who would have to make concessions in whatever deal we were going to make. But, if I went now...

Of course, there was always the outside chance that I'd just end up in the entrance hall again, throwing up on Mammon's shoes, but I was sure I would definitely not trust him again after the third time he killed me.

He gave a little shrug, opening the door and disappeared into the corridor. Grinding my teeth, I flipped up my duvet and followed after him on bare feet, only pausing to look back at Mammon sprawled on the pillows. I hope he doesn't get in trouble for losing me like this. Don't worry, Mammon, hopefully I'll be back before you know I'm gone.

I ducked out of the room and closed the door carefully, looking up to see Belphegor hovering near the bottom of the stairs. He sent me a smug smirk which instantly made me regret my decision, and started up them, not even glancing back to see if I was following.

I caught up as he paused at the top of the stairs, looking back and forth cautiously, one hand pressed flat against the carpet. As I got close, he reached back and pulled me down until I was almost crouched on the stairs, whispering, "Someone is coming."

I wondered why he thought we could hide from a bunch of demons - before remembering the many times I'd scared the hell out of Mammon just by walking up to him when he wasn't paying attention. Alright, maybe fine-tuned demon senses actually had a few blind-spots after all. I could hear the footsteps now, just soft pads against the carpet of the hall, and through the gaps in the balustrade I could see a flash of a familiar sweater. Satan? He was walking with his head down, his eyes trained on a book held in one hand. But of course. It looked like he was coming out of his room and heading back to Beel's room. Beel and Belphie's room now, I suppose.

Actually, where are we headed? What's his plan anyway? It was a little fun, actually, being swept away by events as long as you didn't have to worry about dying. But if Belphegor messed up here and was caught kidnapping me yet again, then I might actually see Lucifer lose it, and that wasn't something I particularly wanted him to go through or to witness. I was quite sure that mental scars would absolutely persist through any number of resets. I kept as low and quiet as I could, even holding my breath as Satan paused, frowning at the page and lifted up his head to glance up as if something had occurred to him.

The moment passed, and I let out my breath with a small gasp as he stepped into the twin's room, calling out, "Look, Levi, maybe this will help? You can-" The door shut behind him, cutting off the rest of what he'd been about to say.

Belphegor relaxed, that smirk back on his lips and pulled me along by the same grip on my elbow, heading towards the stairs heading up to the attic. Oh! Actually, that was fairly clever. Once it was discovered that the one of us was gone, they would flail for a while, someone would get Lucifer and he would absolutely check on the other and then the hunt would be on. But, who would willingly go back to their prison cell the moment they were released? It would probably be the last place they checked, after the entirety of the rest of the Devildom.

I murmured as we started up the winding staircase, thoughtful, "We should have opened the window in my room." It would have given them a reason to think that we'd left the House of Lamentation and thrown them off the scent even longer.

Belphegor paused, suddenly stopping in his forward motion and looked back, looking at me appraisingly, "Hmm, you're not entirely stupid."

I stared back at him, my voice flat and bitingly sarcastic, "Gee, thanks."

He smirked back at me, letting go of my arm as he walked into the attic like he owned the place and dropped down face-first onto the bed with a low sigh. I followed and stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at him and crossed my arms stubbornly. He'd been the one to drag me out of bed, to go to all of this trouble to get me here, so he could damn well be the one to start the conversation.

As I waited, I took the opportunity to study him a little. I hadn't really been able to see him properly while he was locked up, the door had made it hard to see anything more than a small part of him at a time. I'd had to put together a picture of him from the pieces, and it had only really solidified when I'd seen his portrait. When he'd actually gotten out, I'd been a little pre-occupied and there had never really been a moment to just relax. Alright, this probably still wasn't that moment, but time and tide wait for no man. Carpe diem, and all that. Besides, I needed to know what I was dealing with.

He was taller than I thought he'd be, taller than Mammon and Asmo, though not as tall as Satan. He was slender, probably more slender than any of the other brothers. I wondered if that had anything to do with being stuck in a small room for half a year, or if it was normal for him. I pulled away from the idea of how being imprisoned might have affected him and instead shifted my focus onto the next thing.

His hair was really an odd colour, a sort of bluish-gray unlike anything seen naturally in humans. Even stranger, his hair was tipped with white, giving it an ethereal cast. It reminded me of a grey fox's tail. Or like it had been really badly highlighted.

His clothes looked comfortable and rumpled, as if he slept in them all the time. All apart from his shoes, which were surprisingly tall, almost up to his knees and laced. Mammon had tall boots too, but they were easy to pull on or kick off. These would take effort to do either, which was kind of strange for the Avatar of Sloth. Just like the rest of them, he was clearly more than just his sin - as if that wasn't obvious enough from what he'd done recently. Murder, accusations, dying, dying again, murdering again, and now presumably escaping from under guard and kidnapping. Nevermind the Avatar of Sloth, he'd been busy compared to Lucifer.

I wanted to look around and explore the room, but I didn't dare look away, just in case he tried to kill me again. On the other hand, it wasn't like I would be able to do anything about whether I was looking at him at the time or not. I didn't have a pact with Belphegor so it's not like I could stop him, and no one else was here to even try.

I let my eyes wander, taking in the large telescope pointed out of the window at the night sky and the moon hanging over the bed. A star was also propped up against a rafter, made of the same beaten metal. It fit in with his side of the twins' room as well, the pictures that had been put up on his side of the room had been of night skies. Clearly Belphegor was a bit of a stargazer. I made a mental note, hoping it might be useful later, and let my eyes drift along the rest of the room without focusing too much on anything; an old gramophone, a mirror, a clock, an empty birdcage (interesting) and... Is that a rack of weapons?!

Belphegor rolled over and looked up, his tone faintly irritated, "Are you going to stand there all day?"

"Yes." I smirked back at his glower, "We can talk just fine like this."

He drew a hand over his face, letting out a yawn that made my jaw ache as I tried to resist joining him. He responded sleepily, "Fine, whatever." He frowned, "I really doubt it from a human like you, but I guess I should still ask just to get it out of the way. You're not the one doing all this, right?"

I blinked at him, honestly surprised that he had even considered it. "Uh... no. No, I am not causing the time shenanigans."

He looked confused, though there was a strange hint of laughter in the single eye I could see as he asked, "Shenanigans?"

I licked my lips, "Barbatos said that we're in a natural time eddy, a kind of time loop. And we're both free agents, which means that we can remember each loop, and that whatever we need to do to get time to flow normally again will need both of us."

Belphegor slowly lifted himself up from the bed until he was sitting up, his gaze suddenly frighteningly intent, "Tell me exactly what Barbatos told you, in as much detail as you can remember."

I bridled at the demand, "Yeah? You haven't exactly been a good friend to me recently, Belphie." I imparted the nickname with all the derision I could muster, which was probably enough to sink a battleship. "I want some things before I'm willing to help you with anything."

His eyes narrowed and then he was up and on his feet and walking towards me. I suppressed a flinch, but he didn't reach for me even though his eyes were flashing as he leant forward threateningly, "You don't get to make demands of me."

I stared back at him, my own anger suddenly rising up in response to his and filling me with spiteful fire. Safety be damned. How dare he talk to me like that? "One, you don't kill me again. If you do, the deal is off. In return, I won't actively try to get you killed and will do my best to stop you from getting locked up, captured, tortured, etc. for everything you've done." I gave him a dazzling bright smile that was nearly one-hundred-percent pure malice.

He let out a low rumble of warning, and I gleefully spoke straight over him, getting louder, "TWO! We come up with any plans together and we both get a veto. Either of us goes off-plan without a really good reason, the deal is off. No going off half-cocked or trying out things on your own to fix things."

Belphie's fingers flexed as his gaze focused on my collarbone and the little part of me that was still sane was surprised he hadn't grabbed me by the collar of my pyjamas yet.

I risked my fingers by poking one in his face, making his eyes cross as the tip of my finger almost jabbed him in the nose, "Three. We're equal partners. You don't threaten me, you don't talk down to me, you don't assume that I can't do something without asking. You treat me with respect, or no deal, and you can try to deal with this on your own while I do my best to turn every single damn loop into a living nightmare, just for you. Because, I don't know if you realise this, but you killed me, and I really am petty enough to do it."

My heart was hammering in my chest as I ran out of steam and realised what I'd just done and what was about to happen.

Ah well, it was a fun loop while it lasted...

Chapter Text

I let out an involuntary yelp as hands grabbed my arms and threw me, a blur of shape and colour and movement as I hit something soft and tumbled, rolling until I fetched up against a solid surface hard enough for it to leave me breathless. A pillow was pressed awkwardly against my face as I lay there, confusion swirling through me as I realised that Belphegor had thrown me onto the bed instead of ripping me apart like I'd expected. I pulled the cushion away so I could breathe and scrambled to my feet, standing on the bed and wobbling a little as it shifted under my feet.

Belphie still stood where I had been a moment ago, glaring at me, his lips twisted into a sneer. I was shaking with adrenaline as I stared down at him, amazed I was still alive but unwilling to back down an inch in the face of his threats.

His eyes burned with resentment, "It wasn't like it was personal, why are you making such a big deal about it?"

I spluttered, unable to believe what I was hearing, and all thoughts of survival were entirely burned away by the wave of pure emotion roaring through me. How dare you, you little bitch! My voice was raw and far louder than it should have been, "Not personal?! You lied to me! You made me trust you, you complete bastard, and then when I helped you, you laughed at me and told me it was MY FAULT that I trusted you! And then you killed me!"

The rage boiled inside me like a bubbling cauldron, every word feeling like it was made from molten steel, "You think I shouldn't hold a grudge? Can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same if anyone treated YOU like that?! Would you ever accept being treated like that?" I shivered as my voice dropped from raw shouting to something softer, more poisonous, "You used me, Belphegor. When I was only trying to help you. Maybe it's not personal for you, but it sure as hell is for me."

Belphie stepped forwards, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. His voice was a low, rolling growl, "It wasn't about you! It's never been about you! It was always about Diavolo and his stupid exchange program, for me and everyone else!" He spread his arms in a sweeping gesture, his eyes piercing through mine, while his words were quick and vicious, "No one would have put up with you living here, or protected you, if it wasn't for Diavolo and his pet project. And you know it, don't you? How little your life means here if it wasn't for that? How little you actually matter?" I stared at him, realising belatedly that he was now stood at the bottom of the bed, still looking up at me, "Anyone could have taken your place. You were just a piece of paper picked at random. You're not special."

He might have been able to get me to doubt myself, to let my anxieties spiral out of control, if he'd had the sense to try this when I wasn't practically apoplectic with rage. But I was absolutely not in the mood.

"Bullshit", I hissed. "I had help every step of the way, but it was still me. And I don't need to be special! I know that your brothers like me, they look after me because of that, not because I'm special!"

Belphie leaned back, as if rocked by my retort, a brief look of confusion passing over his face, before his eyes narrowed and he put one foot on the bed, pointing at me aggressively, "If you don't think you're special, why were you saying that you were Lilith's descendant?! Why would you make up those lies?!"

I fought down the urge to actually try to strangle him, "It wasn't my idea, I never wanted to be Lilith's descendant! It just happened! And I'm not lying, you said yourself that Diavolo can't lie and he was the one who told you! I found out at the same time as you, so why are you blaming ME?!"

The Avatar of Sloth shuddered as if he was trying to force himself to stay still, dismissing it with a wave of his hand, "That- that isn't why..." He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and let out a groan of frustration. "I killed you because I wanted to ruin the exchange program and Diavolo's reputation! I wanted Lucifer to fail, to be undone by what I did. It had nothing to do with you!"

I growled, crossing the distance and grabbed his hoodie with both hands, the fabric bunching up in my fists. He looked stunned as I laid into him, shaking him for emphasis, "You only wanted to destroy the exchange program because of your problem with humans, so don't try to say it didn't have anything to do with me! It had everything to do with me! Because I'm human! Your STUPID problem with humans!"

His eyes instantly went flat, and his hands grabbed my shirt with the same furious tension as he yanked me closer and further down until we were nearly nose-to-nose. "You-"

I glared down, bent a little awkwardly as I was still stood on the bed, and talked straight over him again, "Humans didn't even do anything! The only human in the story is the one who Lilith fell in love with, and he didn't even know she was an angel! He didn't ask her to help him! He didn't know what would happen! He didn't know anything! Even if he did, he's been dead for thousands of years! Blaming humans for what happened is INSANE!"

Belphie's hold tightened and he spun, dragged me off the bed and held me in mid-air so we were still at eye-level, shouting at me from inches away, "If it wasn't for humans, Lilith would still be alive! None of it would have ever happened! We would still be in the Celestial Realm!" He didn't seem to even notice my weight and if I had been a little more clear-headed, I would have been somewhat concerned about how my feet were dangling off the ground.

As it was, I was far too incensed to care, "You don't know that! And if it's anyone's fault, it's either Lilith's for breaking the rules, or your father's for threatening to kill her for it!"

I was so close that I could feel it when Belphegor started to tremble, a growl bubbling up out from his chest, "You don't get to talk about Lilith like that, you don't get to talk about it like you know what happened! You're just some random human, don't act like you could understand!"

I felt like screaming in pure frustration, "Then tell me!"

His lips lifted up into a snarl, "I don't trust you!"

My rage became something incandescent at the hypocrisy and my voice jumped up an octave, "YOU BETRAYED ME!"

He dropped me onto my feet suddenly, leaning over so that we were still uncomfortably close, "That's your problem! You should never have trusted me! I never trusted you, and I definitely couldn't trust you with my brothers! Did you really think it was going to end with you walking away with six pacts with the seven rulers of the Devildom? Are you really that stupid?!"

I rankled at the insult, but another part of my mind was slotting in the new information with everything that had come before, putting pieces together to try to make a picture, "You don't get to make that decision! They made pacts with me because they wanted to!"

Belphegor shook me, jarred my teeth together with an unpleasant clack, "You only had pacts with them because of ME! Because I asked you to, so you could help me get out! If anything happened to my brothers because of it, it would be my- it would be my fault! I couldn't take that risk!"

Ignoring the pain in my skull, I pulled harder on the fabric of his hoodie, stretching it vindictively, "Then either trust them, or KILL ME ALREADY!"

He suddenly paused, still and silent, looking at me a few inches away from his face. At this distance, I could see the way his eyes glittered like amethysts, wholly inhuman in colour and gradient. But the old hurt that swirled through them as they widened was almost painfully familiar. He let go of my shirt and stepped back, letting out a long breath and a shudder.

I stared at him, my rage still fluttering in my chest like a bird made of fire.

Belphie glanced down at the ground and then back up at me, "I won't hurt you."

The words felt like an ice-cold bath as shock poured over me, replaced quickly by disdain, "Why not!? Because you don't want to reset this loop?"

His gaze was penetrating, and while the anger still glimmered there, it was now tightly controlled, "No. Because I promised Beel that I wouldn't hurt you." He watched me carefully as I blinked in surprise, the admission robbing me of my momentum, "He said that the only way he would help me get away, would be if I promised that I wouldn't hurt you, that I only wanted to talk to you."

I couldn't stop staring, just totally confused about what had just happened. Belphegor wasn't going to kill me, wasn't even going to hurt me? It felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me and left me on my ass. And yet, I could feel that what he was saying was the truth. Even though we'd been yelling at each other, and he'd pulled and pushed me around, he hadn't actually harmed me.

Even more impressive, I realised, was that despite the fact I had pushed every button I could think of in our argument, he hadn't shifted into his demon form once.

The silence stretched out between us, slowly becoming uncomfortable. The words we'd both thrown at each other echoed accusingly around the room and I didn't know where to even start. He wasn't getting an apology. I'd rather serenade Mammon than apologise to him.

Finally I licked my lips and spoke, unsure if it was an olive branch, but it was at least an offering of a stick and it wasn't on fire. "It was five pacts."

Belphie frowned at me, his shoulders subtly relaxing, "I'm sure that you need six pacts to open the door."

I shrugged, glancing away from him, suddenly finding it uncomfortable to meet his eyes. "I don't have a pact with Lucifer. I had only just made a pact with Satan right before the door opened the first time."

He sounded totally confused, though I didn't look at him to confirm it, "What do you mean the first time?"

Ugh. I rubbed my neck awkwardly, "It's a pretty long story but..." I let out a slightly manic giggle, the emotions that had been riled up eager to find other ways to escape, "...I guess we have time."

Belphegor snorted, his tone wry and faintly bitter, "I'd almost forgotten about that."

I sighed, finally twisting to look at him and then sitting down on the edge of the bed. He turned and slid to sit on the floor, leant up against the wall, as I began to explain, "The first time the attic door opened was just after I told Lucifer that I knew about you being locked up in here. He reacted badly, if your brothers hadn't turned up and got between us, I'm pretty sure he would have killed me himself. It was... frightening." Lucifer was a force of nature, something primordial and implacable and while I had stood up to him more than a few times, I knew he could easily snuff me out with barely any effort. The fact that Belphegor, the youngest and weakest of the brothers, had killed me so easily had just underlined that in sky-high neon colours.

I continued, "You came down while we were still having a bit of a stand off. The rest of them had overhead me talking about you and they were angry and upset, asking Lucifer to explain why he'd locked you up."

Belphie smirked, clearly enjoying this part of the story, and interjected with a comment, "I bet he loved that."

I grimaced, smiling wryly at the memory, "He was angry, and then stunned when you wandered into the room. You said that the door just opened by itself. Beel was so happy to see you, but everyone else was just... shocked. You took every opportunity to rub it in that you had been in the attic, and that they'd all believed Lucifer's lies, but Beel got upset and the next thing I knew, he'd taken you and me and dragged us to Purgatory Hall."

Belphegor frowned, looking confused, "Beel took you too, and then we went to hang out with the angels? Why would-"

I nodded, "Beel is pretty friendly with Luke, one of the Celestial exchange students, and we knew that Diavolo was going to be hunting you. I think he took me because he didn't want to leave me alone with Lucifer after seeing him ready to kill me."

The Avatar of Sloth nodded slowly, his eyes focusing on me again as if assessing me. I resisted the urge to slowly cross my eyes and stick out my tongue just to see the look on his face, but it was a close-run thing. "Anyway, we weren't at Purgatory Hall long before Diavolo and Barbatos caught up to us and they put you in chains and dragged you off to the dungeon. That's when we found out that..." I paused, glancing at him and wondering if he would take this truth better. In twelve hours, he would presumably remember the conversation, and then in every loop after, but there was no guarantee we would ever get to that point.

I took in a deep breath, "We found out that Lucifer locked you up to protect you. From Diavolo."

Belphie's pink-purple eyes flitted to the side as he thought about it, glancing around the room as if reminding himself of all the time he spent there, "That's probably how he justified it to himself."

I knew better than to get involved in all this family drama, but I kept sticking my nose in anyway, and this time was no different, "He lied to Diavolo about it, somehow, convinced him that you were in the human world, so you wouldn't be punished."

His eyes hardened, and he didn't look back at me, his lips drawn into a flat line.

I sighed, "Lucifer was under house arrest and you were in prison. Diavolo told me why you were in the dungeons, how you were going to destroy the human realm. How you hated humans. After all that, he offered a deal, that you would be released if I went back in time and found out who had opened the door. I accepted."

Belphie slowly looked back at me and raised an eyebrow, "Are you stupid? Why would you want to release me after finding out the truth?"

Sometimes I wonder, I really do. I didn't admit to it though, instead choosing to focus on the positives, "You hadn't done anything though, it wasn't fair that you should be locked up because of something you might do. And you were... nice to me."

Yeah, I definitely had been stupid, if that was the best reason I could come up with for agreeing to be sent back in time. Belphie hadn't been entirely wrong in saying that I had been a fool for trusting him, he just hadn't realised that I'd known a lot more than he thought and had still thought that I would be okay.

I am such a fucking moron.

To his credit, Belphegor didn't laugh, just bit his bottom lip and turned away again in silence. But I was pretty sure he was laughing on the inside.

I cleared my throat, feeling the embarrassment tinting my ears pink and forged on ahead, "Barbatos told me rules about time travel, which I almost immediately broke by falling out practically into Mammon's lap, where everyone was hiding during the prank. This was maybe ten minutes before I told Lucifer that I knew about you the first time. I ended up at the attic door, intending to find out who had opened it, but when I touched the door, it... it just opened. And then..." I swallowed, the next few minutes still engraved deeply into my memory, "...you woke up."

I looked over to the door, and then slowly back to a particular spot on the floor. That was where I had been standing when Belphegor had embraced me and strangled me to death.

When I glanced back at him, he was staring at the same spot, a complex mix of emotions on his face.

He spoke slowly, in a lazy drawl, "If you don't have a pact with Lucifer then, how did you open the door? I'm going to ignore the time travel stuff because it's giving me a headache." Oh, I definitely knew how that felt. I really wished I could do the same.

I licked my lips nervously, "I have a theory. You said that I needed the power of six of your brothers to open the door. But if it wasn't that specific, if it just needed the power of six of your siblings, then..." I purposely didn't finish the thought, letting Belphegor come to his own conclusion, watching as his eyes suddenly widened and he looked at me.

He whispered, his eyes wide, "Lilith." Almost immediately it turned into a frown instead, "So, Barbatos was right when he said that Lilith's power had been stolen by your bloodline."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Children don't steal from their parents. They inherit. Not that you'd know."

He flicked a glare my way, his tone acerbic again, "Are you trying to pick a fight?"

I sniffed, looking up and muttering, "You started it." Okay, so it was petty and childish, but it was still true. And he totally deserved it!

Belphie chuckled softly, "Heh. Maybe."

I glanced back to him quickly, surprised at his sudden surrender and was met by a slow and sleepy smirk, oddly self-satisfied, his eyes half-closed as he leant up against the wall.

He looked so smug I couldn't resist getting up and standing in front of him, my hands on my hips as I looked down. "Are you just going to sit there all day?"

Belphie rolled his eyes up to me, "Is that an option?"

"No." My words were harsh and curt, but I couldn't help a small smile sneaking onto my lips. "Get up. We still need to talk about the time loop."

Belphegor groaned, closing his eyes for a long moment, long enough to make me worry that he might have fallen asleep, before pushing himself to his feet, "Fine, wh-"

The door opened with so much force that it was ripped off of its hinges, tearing down the middle with an ear-splitting crack.

I spun and stared in shock at the figure outlined in the doorway, four black wings folding out of the way as he stepped inside, his cold ember eyes fixed on his brother. His voice was low with promise and rage, "Belphegor."

Time seemed to slow down. I could hear Belphie's sudden indrawn breath from behind me. I could see the tension and the threat in every line of Lucifer's body, how he was barely holding himself together. I could feel my own heartbeat, suddenly thumping as fast as a hummingbird's wings.

Lucifer stalked forwards, terrifyingly fast, ignoring me as he headed straight for Belphegor, and I moved, spreading my arms out to either side to cover more space with my body as I tried to shield him behind me from the eldest's wrath.

Now, this is the craziest thing I've ever done, definitely. I'm never going to be able to top this one. Lucifer is going to kill me, he is going to absolutely, definitely, murder me.

Instead, he paused, his eyes moving to mine even as the fires in them began to burn, his eyes shifting more towards red. His voice cracked out like a whip, "Get out of the way."

I shivered at the threat in those eyes, the imperious glare that intimidated and infuriated me in equal measure, but my voice only shook a little as I answered, stubbornly staying where I was, "No."

He glared, his anger now fully focused on me as he stalked closer, "What are you doing? Get out of the way!"

I struggled to keep my eyes open under the focus of his attention, shifting so I was still between the two of them even though Lucifer had stepped to one side, "No!"

His eyes flared solid red and I stared whimpering in my head at the look of frustration and pure murder in them, "Why will you never do as I tell you?!"

I bit the inside of my cheek hard, using the pain to ground myself in a hurry, my voice shaky but resolute, "I'll get out of the way when you stop trying to kill your brothers!"

Lucifer paused as if the words had been a blow, staring at me with an unreadable, blank expression.

Belphegor had stayed quiet throughout the exchange, but I felt a soft touch on my arm as he gently slid his fingers over it, pushing it down. He spoke quietly, "I don't want you to protect me."

I turned my head, unable to really see him from this angle but trying to shrug off his hand, "Well I do, so get used to it!"

The hand on my arm tightened, though not enough to be painful and he stopped trying to get me to lower my arm by force.

Lucifer stared at the two of us, his form shifting back to human again, his wings disappearing to whatever coat rack they go to when they're not needed. His eyes were mostly black again, only a faint glimmer of crimson to liven up the shade. I let out a shuddering breath, unable to believe that I'd survived pulling that trick twice, once for each twin now.

The Avatar of Pride spoke, crossing his arms, "Why are you protecting him at all? He attacked you, and he may yet be punished for it. You were both supposed to be in your rooms, under guard. Yet now I find you both here, and you are protecting him? What is going on?"

I opened my mouth, every explanation I could think of sounding even more insane than the last. Eventually I decided to go for something as close to the truth as I could get without dipping into the intricacies of time loops and how many times we'd already started this evening. "We were talking, we have a lot to talk about and he's promised that he won't hurt me." There. Technically all true, implies some things that weren't entirely untrue and was absolutely not the real reason. I was actually quite proud of it.

Of course, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. "And he's given me a pact."

Lucifer blinked at me, and Belphie's hand on my arm suddenly winched closed and I fought to keep the pain from registering on my face. Belphegor leaned closer, whispering, "What do you think you're doing?"

I hissed back, keeping my eyes on Lucifer, "What do you think I'm doing?" It wasn't the best rejoinder, but it was the best I could come up with on short notice.

The Avatar of Pride sighed, lifting a gloved hand and leaning his head into it with a long-suffering look on his face, "Why would you-" He squeezed his eyes shut and straightened up, glancing to Belphegor, "Did you tell her you gave her your pact?"

Belphie let out a short sigh, before speaking, "No. Obviously."

I let out an offended noise, that segued into a cry of surprise as Belphegor grabbed my other arm and pulled me back against him, until I was pressed up against his chest. I grumbled bitterly, "You better not be trying to take me as a hostage."

Belphegor's chuckle filled my ears and I could feel it in my bones, "You would make a terrible hostage. No, I'm keeping my promise."

I screamed as for the second time that night I was thrown onto the bed, landing with such force that I bounced on the mattress and almost straight off the other side, catching myself on one hand. I twisted, letting myself tumble to the floor so I could more quickly see what was going on.

Lucifer had closed the distance, probably before I even hit the bed, and was holding his brother up against the wall by one hand. Belphegor was in his demon form, writhing against Lucifer's iron grip, clawing futilely at the gloved hand holding him up by his collar. He may as well as have been trying to split a mountain.

I called out, panicked, "Lucifer! Stop!"

Lucifer paused, glanced over his shoulder at me and I took in a deep breath at the breath-taking intensity of his gaze. He turned back to Belphie, and spoke, each word spoken with precise fury, "I will only say this once, Belphegor. If you hurt her again, for any reason, you will not have to worry about Lord Diavolo. You will not make it to his dungeons. Do you understand me?"

It was sweet in a way, Lucifer giving death threats to someone other than me, on my behalf. A warm feeling filled me as I couldn't help but be impressed, despite the fact he was casually promising to end Belphie's life if he tried anything. Or maybe that was a bonus, considering. Being able to hold Lucifer's wrath over him would definitely help to get my conditions met.

Belphie was glaring at Lucifer, teeth bared in a snarl, "Whether I hurt her or not, it's got nothing to do with you!"

Or he could be an idiot. That would work too.

Lucifer casually slammed Belphegor into the wall with a thunderous crack, the Avatar of Sloth letting out a helpless cry, before he repeated his question, "Do you understand me?"

I rolled to my feet, running over and grabbing onto Lucifer's other arm, tugging at it, "Lucifer! Enough, let him down!" He threw me off easily, sending me to the ground in a tumble. I let out a short cry, catching myself on my hands and knees and gasping at the pain of hitting the ground so unexpectedly. Lucifer glanced over and I saw a flash of pain and regret in his eyes before he turned back to Belphegor.

He opened his mouth, and Belphie spat out, "Yes! I understand!" His eyes didn't jibe with his words, still furious and burning with defiance.

Lucifer took in a deep breath, and let go, Belphegor dropping like a stone and collapsing to his knees with a groan. The eldest's cold eyes looked down at him, and then over to me, barely warming up as they ran over me, checking for injuries. He spoke quietly, "You may continue your discussion. When you are done, return to your rooms. I will let the others know that you are both alright." His coal-black gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable, "Mammon in particular was quite distraught by your sudden disappearance."

Ah. I grimaced, feeling awful for the second-born. I'd have to make it up to him later - if there was a later. I looked down at the floor, suddenly embarrassed, "Sorry."

Lucifer let out another sigh, and then walked to the doorway without another word, ignoring the remnants of the door and walking down the stairs.

I stared after Lucifer, waiting until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore and stumbled over to sit next to Belphegor, my limbs still shaking from the adrenaline comedown. My eyes roamed over the room and I suddenly chuckled, "On the bright side, Lucifer can't lock you up in here anymore, he broke the door."

Belphegor snorted, leaning his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. "You do realise you're insane, right?"

I smirked, closing my own eyes, "So I've been told?" More than a few times. Stupid and crazy, it was a hell of a combination.

Silence fell between us again but this time it felt more natural, like it was somewhere I could catch my breath.

Finally, Belphie spoke and I opened one eye to see that he was looking at me thoughtfully, "I accept. With some changes."

I blinked, turning my head in surprise, "My conditions? The deal?"

He nodded, sitting up with a wince, "The first rule, we should add that we can't hurt each other as well as kill each other. Obviously, that doesn't count if we're saving the other's life. The way it is now, I could torture you and it would still technically be allowed."

I scowled at him, "This is a good faith agreement, not a magical contract, but fine."

He smirked at me, making me want to slap him, and added, "The third rule, it should apply to both of us, not just you. Unless you don't think you can treat me with respect?" The smirk turned sly and mocking.

God, he is so infuriating. I spoke, "It'll be a struggle, but I'll manage somehow. Is that it?"

He nodded, and then looked amused as I extended a hand out to him. He tilted his head, "Really? A handshake?"

I rolled my eyes at his reaction, about to drop my hand when Belphegor took it without warning, his hand warm and surprisingly soft. I couldn't keep the grin off of my face as we shook on it, and Belphie's dismissive sneer only improved my mood. "Right. Now that that's settled, we've got a lot to talk about."

Chapter Text

Belphegor rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes again, "Fine, but at least keep it interesting, or I can't promise I won't fall asleep."

I raised an eyebrow at him, my tone peeved, "You could at least try to keep your eyes open. That would probably help."

He smirked slightly, one eye opening a sliver, "I could..." and then let it drop closed again, the smirk broadening.

I pushed down the desire to smack the smug asshole's head against the wall, gritting my teeth as I laid out everything that Barbatos had told me about trigger points, reset points, metaphysical events and free agents. I did my best to be as clear and concise as he had been, but I knew it would be hopeless. But, after answering a few of Belphegor's questions, the last lingering confusion was cleared up and I was confident that we were basically on the same page, or at least on what needed to be done to get out of the time loop.

Belphie hummed thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling even though his eyes were still closed. "So, these metaphysical events, they're some kind of dramatic event, right?"

I nodded, and then realised that he couldn't see me, adding sulkily, "That's right, something that changes the possibilities a lot."

He finally opened his eyes, glancing over to me and smirked again, "Hmm, I don't think we'll have to wait very long for this reset point then. My brothers can't go for more than a few days without doing something dramatic."

I grimaced, all of the events that had occurred since I had arrived at the Devildom supporting his theory. The House of Lamentation was anything but boring. "You're probably right, and even if someone doesn't lose it and end up destroying a wall or two, we've still got Diavolo's decision about you coming up. I can only imagine that's a pretty big metaphysical event."

Belphie's smirk vanished at my words and he stared at the floor, "It's going to be awkward if I'm sentenced to the dungeons or locked up in here again. We'll have to make sure to meet up here every loop before that happens."

I tapped my lips thoughtfully, "That's probably a good idea either way, we can keep up with what's going on, make any new plans, keep each other in the... uh... loop."

He flicked his eyes to me, one eyebrow raised and that smug smile back on his face that made me want to slap him. I glared back, ignoring the way that my face was warming up, "Remember Rule Two? We need to make sure that we're both on board for any ideas we have on how to get out of the loop before we do anything."

Belphegor sighed, "I think we should only try to get out of the loop every other time we reset. It's not good to work all the time, you know." He said it with the air of someone imparting a great pearl of wisdom, but I stared at him suspiciously. He looked back at me for a moment, and then a slight smile ghosted onto his lips, "And we could take advantage of the resets that way. As long as we don't work together, there's no chance of triggering the escape condition, right? So we can do whatever we want."

I blinked at him, surprised the idea had never occurred to me. It was almost like being in one of Levi's games, with a save point and the ability to try different actions to see what happened. Except in this case, the game was actually real life. I could ask questions I had never had the courage to ask, and no-one would ever remember that I'd asked or what the answer was apart from me. My stomach suddenly filled with butterflies. I could ask Mammon about his feelings for me, and it wouldn't matter except for in that loop, we'd still be friends afterwards even if he tries to jump out of a window or something. There were so many things I could do with this kind of freedom, ranging from the mundane (trying out new cupcake recipes) to the extreme (telling Lucifer that he was a dick to his face).

A thought suddenly struck me and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the seventh-born, "What are you planning to do on your 'days off'?"

He looked at me curiously, blinking sleepily, "Why do you care? It's not like it will affect you."

I frowned, "There's a few problems with your plan. We're not actually immune to everything you know, we still have our memories. If something traumatic happens, then we'll still have that when we come back. Barbatos said that a lot of free agents went insane. That's probably because of all the things that happened or that they did to escape that they couldn't forget."

Belphie turned his body, his arm somewhat awkwardly pressed against the wall. He leant his head against it like a makeshift pillow as he looked at me, his eyes narrowed, "Are you worried about me?"

I snorted, "As if. I just don't want to have to deal with you being crazy. Again."

His eyes hardened, his drawl tinged with something darker as he spoke, "I thought we already decided you were the crazy one."

I scowled, turning back to look out at the room, crossing my arms, "I'm being serious, I don't want to lose my mind because of all this... bullshit!"

A moment's silence, before Belphegor sighed, "Fine, then we'll also share what we plan on doing on our off days, with the same veto rules. How's that? Then we can make sure neither of us are doing something especially stupid."

I bit my lip, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I considered his offer. I would know what he was doing and how likely it would be to cause complete chaos, but equally I would have to tell him what I intended to do. The idea of telling him I was going to confess to Mammon made me want to squirm in my seat. Then again, perhaps it would stop us from getting too carried away, if we had at least one other person keeping us accountable. No matter how incredibly frustrating they might be.

I nodded, looking back at him, "Okay." I paused, idly pulling my knees up to my stomach, "What do you think we should do this time around? Do you have any ideas? I guess the first question is whether this is an off day or not. I suppose we could have already hit the escape condition though..."

He tilted his head, his pink-purple gaze suddenly intense, "What do you mean?"

I gestured to the remnants of the door hanging off the hinges, "You don't think that Lucifer coming in here and me having to protect you and everything might count as something dramatic? And that involved both of us? Not to mention the whole kind-of-kidnapping thing."

He slowly looked over at the door and blinked, "I guess it was pretty unusual."

You think? I was sure my heart was still beating a little too fast. Lucifer's face as he walked towards Belphegor, towards me with murder on his mind would no doubt join the rest of the scenes of Lucifer trying to end me that lived rent-free in my nightmares. This was number three, right? First in the underground tomb, then with the revelation about Belphie, and finally today. Funny how it always seemed to be Beel or Belphie related, clearly hanging out with the twins was bad for my health.

I spoke, "Anyway, maybe we shouldn't do anything else this time around, or at least not do anything crazy. If this is the last loop, then we'll have to live with the consequences." Or, more worryingly, die with them.

Belphegor nodded, curling a white-tipped lock around a finger as he narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, we shouldn't do anything this time. Either we escape the loop, or we find out when the reset point is." He frowned pensively, glancing over to me, "I'd give it a week before we can say for certain that we aren't in the loop any longer. I just can't imagine them lasting longer than that."

It was a good idea, and I was annoyed that I hadn't thought of it first. I sent him a smirk of my own, "Hmm, I wonder where you'll be in a week. What do you think Lord Diavolo is going to do to you?"

Amethyst eyes flickered over to mine and he leaned in closer, forcing me to lean further away, "I'm sure he'll be merciful. After all, you're going to put in a good word for me, aren't you?"

I leant forward again, my eyes flat, "Why would I ever do that?"

He shrugged, "Oh, I don't know. Rule one?"

I opened my mouth, lips moving soundlessly as I tried to put into words that I was absolutely not going to defend him or make excuses for the fact that he had fucking killed me. Finally I growled, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

He stared back at me, a slight smile on his lips, "Why would I ever do that?"

The desire to shake him was so strong I found myself clenching my fists, my nails pressing painfully into the palms of my hands. I let anger tinge my voice, not bothering to try to hide it, "Stop it, Belphegor."

He leaned in even closer, rolling onto a knee, one hand on the floorboards. I couldn't pull myself away from his burning eyes, as he growled softly, "Then don't start it."

Silence hung in the air for a few moments, our gazes locked. I stayed silent, not trusting myself to speak, staring back at him defiantly. The tension was so thick I was certain one wrong word would set off a terrifying chain reaction.

He stared back, his eyes narrowing -

A loud gurgle permeated the room, almost a rumble. My eyes widened as I instinctively looked down and placed one hand over my stomach, grimacing.

Belphegor followed my gaze, and as I glanced up, he slid back and leant back against the wall, still facing me, his head tilted against the plaster. A hint of a smile touched his lips and he chuckled, "You sounded just like Beel."

I pressed my hand more firmly against my stomach, pouting, "I'm not nearly that bad, and this is your fault anyway! If you hadn't snapped my neck, I wouldn't have lost my lunch when we reset!"

He shrugged one shoulder, and then yawned, the half-smile turning sleepy, "You know, the kitchen's right downstairs." He slowly rolled to his feet, stretching as he ambled towards the door.

I took in a deep breath, another low growl spilling out between my fingers and only furthering my embarrassment. Clearly, my body was loudly reminding me that one shouldn't fight with demons on an empty stomach. You win this time, stomach.

I followed Belphie down the stairs and down the corridor, frowning as he walked past his own room and started down the stairs towards the ground floor. I raised an eyebrow, "I don't need an escort, you know."

He quirked one back at me, "Good thing I'm not escorting you, then." He stared at me, "I'm just hungry. I don't care what you do."

I rolled my eyes heavenwards as he continued to make his way down. If it wasn't for Rule One, the fact it wouldn't stick and that I would be unlikely to pull it off at all, I would have definitely tripped him up on the stairs. I let out a sigh. I wasn't this easily riled up by the other brothers, even though they were all stupid and annoying in their own special ways, but with Belphegor, it was like he had a speed-dial straight to what would annoy me the most. Or, and this is a conclusion I've come to after a lot of thought, he is just a complete bastard.

I caught up just as Belphegor walked into the kitchen, planning to raid the fridge only to find it already occupied. Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony, was leant over, half in the fridge and patiently grabbing food from the shelves, piling it into his arms. The tall red-head glanced around as he heard us enter, and then smiled sweetly as he saw us. I couldn't help but respond to his smile with my own. It really wasn't fair that Beel was just so cute and also built like a linebacker. No-one should be that good-looking and have such an adorable personality to boot. At least when he wasn't hungry anyway, you didn't want to make Beel hungry.

I walked closer, ignoring Belphie as I leant in and put a hand on Beel's arm, "Anything good left over that I can have? After I threw up like that, I could do with something."

Beel suddenly looked guilty in the midst of devouring some kind of fruit and swallowed hurriedly, glancing down at the pile of things in his arms, and then back to the fridge, "I could-"

Belphegor appeared on the other side of the fridge, his eyes moving around the fridge and the stuff Beel was hanging onto, "I could make pancakes."

Beelzebub's eyes suddenly shone as bright as the sun, before settling into a pensive frown, "Are you sure? Lucifer said you were supposed to go back to your room after you finished talking."

Belphegor reached over, pulling ingredients out of the fridge, "I'll go back after I've had something to eat, and besides, you're both here to watch me. What's the problem?"

Beel chewed thoughtfully, glancing over to me for support. I sighed, "I'm sure it'll be fine, and I would like pancakes, as long as they're not poisonous to humans."

The Avatar of Gluttony passed over the last few ingredients that Belphie needed for Devildom pancakes, bringing the rest to the kitchen table, "Oh, they're not! You've had them before, remember? You liked them with brackberry jam."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that the normal ingredients weren't what I was worried about, as I saw Belphegor measuring things into a large bowl. "Tell you what, Beel, why don't I help Belphie? Then it'll all get done more quickly and we can follow Lucifer's orders that much quicker."

Beel smiled, still snacking on his prizes between every sentence, "I can help out too, if you'll stop me from eating the batter." He looked hopeful, and I immediately crumbled beneath his sugar-sweet smile.

"Well, I'm not sure what we should be doing, but I'm sure we can all make them together." Despite being twins, Beel and Belphie really were opposites, except in their quiet dedication to each other. It was probably Belphegor's only redeeming feature.

I closed the fridge and went to lean against the countertop, "So, what should we do?"

Belphie looked over at me, "Beel knows the recipe for the batter, so make it to his instructions. I figure a few dozen will be enough for this time of night, so we'll need a couple more bowls. I'll handle the cooking." His eyes were a little too knowing as they tracked over my face, his voice dropping to a whisper, "As long as you trust me to do that? I can mix and you can cook if you'd prefer."

I shook my head, visions of what he could put in the batter filling my head. Demons could handle a lot more toxins than humans could. "No, that's fine, you can cook."

He didn't immediately look away from me, as if he was trying to work something out by staring at my face, a slightly perplexed furrow between his brows.

I stared back, raising an eyebrow, "What? Something on my face?"

He looked back at the pan, smoothly flipping the pancake and spoke quietly again, "I don't care if you don't believe me, but I'm going to keep my promise to Beel."

I blinked. I'd almost managed to forget about that, somehow. I was struck suddenly by the memory of Belphegor throwing me onto the bed, out of Lucifer's way when I'd insisted on putting myself into danger. For a brief moment, I almost felt bad.

I let out a soft huff, but felt some of the tension dissipate from the room. I pulled a couple of bowls from the cupboard and started trying to lift up a large container of bat's milk, staggering under the weight. A moment later, it disappeared as a large hand grabbed the handle from me and started pouring, Beel looking down at me in concern. "I can handle the heavy things, don't worry."

I reached out, squeezing his arm as a silent thank you, "You know the recipe?"

Beelzebub nodded, glancing over at Belphie as he flipped another pancake and slid it onto the growing pile on the side. His eyes fixed on it, and I tugged at his arm, "Beel. Beel!"

He turned back, putting the hand not holding the milk up to the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry. Yeah, I know how to make them." He licked his lips, and poured in the rest of the milk that was required, stepping back reluctantly, "Uhh, next thing is two Roc eggs." Nothing else in the ingredients was too heavy for me to manage, so I followed his instructions, keeping half an eye on him to make sure he wasn't trying to eat anything we would need later.

I watched the eggshells disappear with a wince, frustrated, "Beel, you're not supposed to eat the eggshells, we've been over this!"

Belphegor chuckled, half-turning around at the commotion, "It won't hurt him."

I grimaced, "But-"

Belphie shrugged, "Isn't that the main thing, though? They would just be burnt otherwise."

I scowled, "Beel deserves better than trash!"

The Avatar of Sloth blinked at me for a moment, and then suddenly smiled, a strangely gentle smile I'd only ever seen him direct to his twin before. "Yeah, he does."

My confusion was short-lived, as I was suddenly half-picked up and bundled in warm, strong arms, squeezed tightly together against Belphegor, who let out a long-suffering groan in my ear as Beel hugged the both of us at once. I wriggled, trying to loosen his grip, uncomfortably aware of Belphie's elbow rammed in against my side. "Ah, Beel, too tight!"

Beel relaxed a little, but his arms were still an iron bastion that were impossible to escape as he smiled down at the both of us, "Sorry, I just got so happy that you're getting along now. I'm glad you could talk it out."

Sure, 'talk it out' after being murdered, why not? Only someone as pure as Beel would think that was even possible. Still, I supposed we had come to some kind of agreement, even if it was probably not worth the paper it was written on.

Look, I know it's not written down. That's the joke, okay?

I looked up, letting myself enjoy the cuddle for what it was and the glorious warmth sinking into my bones, making me surprisingly sleepy, "Belphie didn't hurt me, just like he promised. He even protected me from Lucifer."

Beel looked a little alarmed, while Belphegor glanced away, rolling his shoulder. "Beel, the pancake's going to burn."

The embrace was immediately lifted, the sudden cold unwelcome, though to my surprise I still had one of Beelzebub's arms wrapped around my torso. Belphegor glanced back, his eyes narrowing, but went back to flipping his pancake without another word.

Beel frowned down at me, as if checking to see if I still had all my limbs, "Lucifer attacked you again?"

I grimaced, "Ah... not exactly? I was trying to shield Belphie behind me and-"

I didn't have time to finish my sentence before I was drawn back into another tight group hug. At least this time, Belphegor's arm wasn't quite so uncomfortably pressed against me. The Avatar of Sloth let out a sigh, looking up at his twin, and leaning his head back, "I missed you too, Beel. But they really will burn if you keep-"

"They can burn."

I felt the shock like lighting in my veins, even as I noticed Belphegor stiffen next to me, glancing up to look more closely at his twin, his expression concerned. Beel held us both closer, burying his face into Belphegor's shoulder, his voice muffled, "Thank you for looking after each other."

I blinked, feeling on the edge of tears and wishing I could move so that I could comfort him with more than just words, compromising by turning until my cheek was resting against his chest, "Any time, Beel."

I met Belphegor's eyes, and could see the warmth in them as he nodded at me, managing to free an arm and patting his brother's arm, "It's okay. We're not going anywhere, I promise."

Beel tightened his grip, pulling out a startled gasp from me as my ribs were squeezed, and then lifted his head. I could see the emotions swirling in his eyes, eyes the exact same shade and colour as Belphegor's, relief and pain, gratitude and grief all mixing together into some unnamed feeling that left him with tears standing in his eyes and a smile on his lips. He spoke quietly, "I can't lose you. Either of you."

Oh...

I bit my bottom lip as I suddenly felt awful. I'd seen Belphegor die horribly twice, but I hadn't spent a single thought on how Beel would have felt if it wasn't for the time loop. If that first run-through had been the final one and he had finally gotten his brother back, only for Diavolo to... to...

Belphegor pulled Beel closer, wrapping his free arm around the Avatar of Gluttony's shoulders and gently pressing their foreheads together. He whispered, gently, "You won't."

And I believed him. With just a few words, Beel had turned a fragile alliance into something that might actually hold together until this whole thing was over. I leaned into him, closing my eyes and finally letting myself relax. It was funny, I was locked into an endless day with my murderer as my only ally, not to mention that I was a human in the midst of the Devildom, surrounded by demon lords, and yet... I had never felt safer.

I luxuriated in the moment for a little longer, stubbornly keeping my eyes shut and ignoring the gnawing of my belly, but finally the charcoal stink of burning pancakes became too strong to ignore.

Belphegor spoke, gentleness woven through every syllable, mixed with just a little bit of laughter, "If you still want pancakes, you're going to need to let us go before the kitchen burns down."

Beelzebub hesitated and I could tell that he was seriously considering it. I chuckled, "You can always hug us later, and as nice as this is, I'm hungry."

Almost immediately, Beel let go and stepped back, putting a hand on his stomach as he looked a little mournful, "Yeah, I'm hungry too."

I stumbled back from Belphegor, one of my legs gone partly numb from the position I'd been held in. He turned to the pan and slid the blackened disc onto a different plate and began with the next one, every movement slow but efficient, "Well, you can get started on that stack if you want, I'm sure we can manage here." Belphie looked over at me, and I nodded, surprised at the vote of confidence.

Beel smiled, "Thanks", and took the plate to the table, along with pulling out various toppings.

It didn't take long to finish preparing the batter, Belphie's instructions just as good as Beel's and I managed to manhandle the milk carton without making more of a mess than a few splashes on the counter and the floor. In no time at all, we were all sat at the table and I was slathering a pancake with brackberry jam and drizzling it with something that tasted a lot like cream. I closed my eyes in delight at the first mouthful, I'd been even hungrier than I thought and the food was delicious, warm and sweet with a tart bite. I made a happy noise and was rewarded with Beel's smile and Belphie chuckling.

The Avatar of Sloth was eating his pancake with one hand, the other propping up his head, his eyes barely open as if staying awake was a struggle. "I'll take that as a compliment to my cooking."

"I made the batter!" I pouted, but there was no real heat in it.

Belphegor slowly smirked, "Fine, our-" He stopped, his eyes suddenly flicking up and focusing on something behind me, just as I felt my chair get dragged, with me still on it, a good four feet away from the table with a shriek of wood against stone. I still had a chunk of pancake and jam on my fork and I stubbornly put it in my mouth before turning.

Only one demon would walk into the kitchen and just yank me out of the way, though it was pretty unusual for him to do it without a word. He must have been really worried. I looked up into startlingly blue eyes, golden pools shining in their depths like he had stolen the Devildom's sun. He was still holding onto the back of my chair. He'd clearly been glaring at Belphie before I'd shifted in my seat but now he was staring down at me instead.

I swallowed my pancake, and smiled at him, "Hey, Mammon."

He scowled, "Hey! Don't give me that! I wake up and yer just gone and I hafta run ta Lucifer to tell him I lost ya, and I can't find ya anywhere! I was lookin' all over, then we found out that Belphie had just stuffed his bed with towels an' then Lucifer turns up an' tells me you're just talkin' and that you'd come back ta your room, an'..."

I realised far too late what had happened. Mammon must have been waiting for me in my room and all the noise in the kitchen had finally made him decide to investigate. Then he'd found me, stuffing my face with pancakes without a care in the world. I reached out, sliding my hand over his and waiting until his breathless rant trailed off, "Do you want a pancake?"

He blinked at me, and I wondered for a second if maybe I had pushed him just a little too far this time and he really would go into demon form, or at least shake me, but instead he just leant forwards and poked me in the forehead, adding sulkily, "Just lemme protect ya, human. But," he suddenly smiled, "since you're offerin' me tribute, I wouldn't mind a pancake. I mean, ya should make me a mountain of pancakes, if ya wanna make up fer everythin' you've put the Great Mammon through!" He took the chair next to me, spinning it around so he could sit on it backwards and leaving me to get up and drag my own chair back to the table.

As I sat down again, digging into the pancake, Belphegor's barely open eyes followed my movements, flitting back to Mammon as the second-born started drizzling some kind of sweet and spicy syrup all over a pancake he'd stolen from the stack that had been set aside for me. He looked thoughtful, but as conversation started up again, I couldn't work out what he could be thinking about.

It hadn't taken much longer, once my belly was full, for my exhaustion to catch up to me again. For once, my room's location next to the kitchen was convenient as I stumbled off to bed and barely managed to get under the blankets before I was sinking into a deep and dreamless slumber.

I woke up slowly, glorying in the sensation of delicious warmth, and stretched, stopping suddenly as I felt something solid against my back, and something heavy draped over my waist. A soft, faintly familiar, cinnamon scent tangled in my senses and I opened my eyes wide as all thoughts of sleep suddenly fell away to be replaced by butterflies and sheer, bloody panic.

I looked down, barely moving anything but my eyes as I took in the hand that was resting over my stomach, and I groaned as I immediately recognised it. No-one else had tanned skin and white nail-polish. It felt like I was hyper-ventilating. Mammon had been in the kitchen still when I had gone to bed. He'd crawled into my bed? I tried to ground myself with deep breaths but it was a struggle. If I didn't calm down, I was sure I'd wake Mammon up just by the way my skin was burning up from embarrassment. Or maybe I'd just die from over-heating, that definitely felt like the safer option.

"M-" My mouth was so dry I couldn't speak and I swallowed nervously, trying again, "Mammon." No answer. "Mammon!"

That finally got a response, as he made a soft noise and moved in closer, his face pressing into my shoulder.

I tried desperately not to self-combust and took in a deep breath, forcing myself to think about it practically. Mammon had been pretty upset, and when he'd slept on the ground by my bed, there to protect me, he'd lost me. It made perfect logic that he'd end up doing this instead. No-one could take me away if I was literally in- in his- in his arms...

I'm in Mammon's arms, in bed.

But, it probably didn't mean anything. It was for protection. That's all. It's not like Mammon actually likes me like that. I mean, he keeps saying that he doesn't but... But he rarely said what he was thinking, either.

I couldn't leave it like this, and besides, if I didn't get up in time for breakfast, Lucifer would come looking for me and I didn't even want to think about how he would react to finding us like this. That was enough motivation to give up on subtlety and shift around in the loose embrace until I was facing the Avatar of Greed. I took in a deep breath, and started poking him.

It took until the third or fourth poke for his eyes to start to flutter open, instantly catching my incoming poke with one hand despite being barely awake. I used the other hand to casually get a dig in on his chest and his eyes suddenly shot open. He looked down at me and then back up at my eyes, and the way that we were lying together...

Now face-to-face.

Oh... Whoops.

Chapter Text

As I stared back at Mammon staring at me, three things suddenly occurred to me, practically at the same time and with equally intense urgency.

The first thing was that I was wearing my usual pyjamas, which consisted of sleep shorts and a strappy top, but for whatever reason, Mammon had decided to remove his jeans before crawling into bed with me. I could tell that he had, because my knee was pressed against his bare thigh. It almost felt like I was channelling Levi as I felt my cheeks burning up in an instant at the sensation of his warmth under my leg.

Thankfully, the second thing was equally as distracting, which was that while Mammon looked totally terrified at finding himself wrapped around me, in my bed - as though it had come a surprise, somehow - he was also blushing, the pink tide already having conquered his cheeks and neck and was moving on towards the unclaimed territory of his ears.

And finally, the truly unfair realisation that his eyes were simply stunning. It was bad enough that he had soft and fluffy white hair but adding those eyes was just... well, a sin. They seemed just a deep, sapphire blue until you got close enough and could see the way they shined at the bottom, like they were reflecting a pool of glowing gold that only he could see. I'd never seen them so clearly, never been this close before.

I tried desperately to work out what to do now, even though I felt like steam was leaking out of my ears. Gathering my thoughts felt like chasing a stampede, but I managed to corral a few. This wasn't an 'off day' so I couldn't just act rashly to see what happened. In fact, we could have already achieved the escape condition. After a second, I realised that I was going have to treat this as if we were back in real time.

Now all I had to do was work out what that looked like.

The silence and the staring had stretched out to the point where it was becoming uncomfortable, Mammon's mouth was open but gaped soundlessly. I tried to find something, anything, to say, knowing that if I left it too long the Avatar of Greed would eventually get his mouth working, if not necessarily his brain.

"Mammon," I finally managed to force out, my mind blanking after the first word, "do you want to kiss me?"

Hang on, what did I just say?

He blinked at me, somehow blushing harder and looking even more shocked, though it did seem to finally shake loose his tongue, "WHA?! Why- Don't just go askin' that kinda thing outta the blue, human! Why would ya spring that on me like that?"

That's not a no. It's not a yes, but it's not a no either. I let out a sigh, secretly glad that he'd managed to dodge the question that had just slipped out. Apparently when I panic, I just say whatever is on my mind. I would absolutely die in the wild.

Unfortunately, Mammon could never keep his mouth shut for long. "Why woulda I wanna kiss a human, huh? I'm the Great Mammon, ya know, if anythin' you should be the one beggin' ta kiss me!"

And there's the no. I tried to push past the dull ache of disappointment spreading through my limbs, clinging onto the fact that he had been so worried about me that he had stayed by my side all night, that he clearly loved being in my company, and all the other things that we'd built up over the months. Sure, it wasn't going to go any further than that, but that was enough, right? Like he said, he was Mammon, Avatar of Greed. It might have seemed hard to believe sometimes, usually when he was hanging from the ceiling for some misdemeanour or another, but he really was a big deal. He was old as dirt, pretty much literally, and powerful, and he worked as a model, for fuck's sake.

Of course he wouldn't want me.

I licked my lips, and pushed back, trying to keep my hands on as much fabric and as little flesh as possible as I lifted up his arm and rolled out of bed. I didn't turn to look at him as I spoke, padding over to my dresser and starting to brush my hair, "Right... sorry." I didn't sound thrilled, but I was pretty proud at how not-bitter I sounded. I got my answer, and I didn't even have to use an off day to do it. Go me!

Silence for a moment, then a cleared throat, as Mammon spoke haltingly, "That's not-"

I shook my head, not wanting any apologies after I'd been the one to make it weird, "It's okay. I get it."

I finished brushing my hair, and stared blankly at my closet, before leaning down to pick up the clothes from yesterday. Sure, they'd been the clothes that I had been murdered in, twice, but I'd only worn them for a day - sort of - and I just couldn't be bothered with the mental effort of putting together a new outfit. It would have to do.

Mammon's voice was weirdly soft, and I could tell by the direction of the sound that he'd gotten out of the bed, "Do ya?"

I snorted, bundling the clothes up into a roll so I could take them into the bathroom with me to get changed. I tried my best to not sound as irked as I felt, but I was only partially successful, "Well, I mean, you made it pretty clear-"

"No, I mean, do ya wanna kiss me?"

I blinked, surprise at the question almost instantly morphing into irritation. Of course Mammon wanted some ego-stroking, when did he not. Unfortunately, I couldn't just lie to him to bring him down a peg or two either, but that didn't mean I couldn't give him a hard time for acting like such a colossal prick. I turned around, a flash of anger in my eyes, "Of course I do, why- Mmph!"

The instant I'd turned and finished speaking, Mammon had moved, impossibly fast, and the next thing I knew, my entire world span dizzyingly at the feeling of him kissing me like he couldn't get enough. His hand was on the back of my head, supporting me as his mouth pressed hard against mine, just shy of painful in its intensity. It took maybe half a second before he deepened the kiss, his lips and tongue tangling with mine over and over until I felt almost drunk with the sensations singing through me, helpless to do anything but reciprocate just as eagerly.

Finally he pulled away a fraction, letting me catch my breath and gather my wits enough to slide an arm around his neck and a hand into his hair. I had to use it as a makeshift control almost immediately as he leant back in for another kiss, pulling his head back and trying my best to ignore the way he stifled a moan at the action. I took in another deep breath, everything was still whirling and I was intensely aware that it had been an insanely good kiss. "I thought you didn't want to kiss me?"

His eyes, now darker and slightly glazed, slowly focused on me. He licked his lips slowly and after that kiss, just the sight felt almost indecent. "Well, I mean, if ya really wanna kiss me, then I'm a generous demon, ya know? I'm your first, after all."

I stared at him, my grip in his hair getting tighter and trying to put my upset into words, "I don't want you to feel like you have to kiss me, if you don't want to." I was pretty sure that he did want to kiss me, that ravenous need for more seemed like it would be pretty difficult to fake but... I needed to be sure. The idea that he might have felt like it was somehow required of him because of the pact made me feel sick.

I let go of his hair, looking up into his face again, half-expecting to see relief in his eyes. Instead I just saw confusion mixed with something like annoyance, though I couldn't quite pin it down. He gnawed on his bottom lip, his hand sliding down to rest on my neck, before seeming to come to some kind of decision, "I wa-"

Three loud knocks on my door inflicted with military precision made us both startle, with Mammon scrambling to find his jeans and drag them on with comical haste as Lucifer called through the door, "Are you decent?"

I always wanted to answer that question in the funniest way possible, but I managed to resist, just about, and instead looked down, suddenly remembering I was in my pyjamas and still holding a roll of clothes, "Uh, no, can you give me a few minutes?!"

I could hear the sigh despite the thick wood between us and all of his words were sharply clipped with irritation, "Breakfast will start shortly, make sure you are both there on time."

Mammon had managed to get his pants on and was searching around for his other boot when I dropped back down onto the bed, fixing him with an intense look. I could still feel the ghost of that kiss tingling on my lips, and I wasn't feeling particularly merciful, so I didn't bother to pull any punches. "What were you going to say?"

Mammon paused, still knelt down trying to look under my bed to check for his errant boot. It was actually behind the tree trunk but I wasn't going to tell him that until I'd successfully cornered him on this. After all, he couldn't run without his shoes. "Uh..." He'd put his sunglasses back on and it was hard to tell if he was blushing, but something about the way he refused to meet my eyes made me think that he definitely was.

I sighed, pulling one knee up so I could loop an arm around it, starting to wonder if dragging the truth out of Mammon was really worth being late to breakfast and getting another lecture from Lucifer for tardiness. The last one had wasted a whole three hours, and almost all of it could have been summarised in a couple of paragraphs. Had he been trying to literally kill me with irony? Still, something in me didn't want to let it go now that I had it almost figured out, "Mammon, just tell me." Of course, I could use the pact to force it out of him, but I saved that for special occasions, like when my life was in danger. Using it for stuff like this felt way too much like being a supervillain.

He got to his feet and pulled his jacket down from its perch on the tree, spotting his other boot as he did, much to my annoyance. He dragged it on and gave me a strange look, now fully dressed while I was still sat there, holding onto my clothes in my lap, "Aren't you goin' ta get changed? We're gonna be late if you take much longer."

I glanced down at my clothes, considering my options for a few moments, before pinning my gaze on the white-haired demon as I headed towards the bathroom, "Fine, but we're going to be talking about this later, Mammon."

By the time we made it down to the breakfast table, Beel had eaten most of the offerings and even Levi was sat in his spot. Belphegor was the only one still absent, clearly guarding duties had been abandoned at some point last night. Almost everyone looked curiously between the two of us as we entered, only Asmodeus and Lucifer reacting differently, the Avatar of Lust letting out a pouty huff and Lucifer drumming his fingers on the table. He spoke calmly, "I instructed Mammon to guard her overnight, though considering last night's events, I doubt that was necessary. Thankfully, Mammon, you'll be glad to know that you can return to sleeping in your own room from tonight on."

It wasn't quite a threat, but it was definitely threat-adjacent, and Mammon's face paled slightly as he sat down in his seat. It didn't help his case that the tips of his ears were slowly turning a delicate pink.

I scraped what I could from the bowls into something resembling breakfast and started to dig in. The pancakes had definitely hit the spot last night, but I was never one to turn down a meal and breakfast had some of my favourite Devildom foods. As always happened, it didn't take long for the brothers to start their constant low-level bickering.

Asmodeus leant over the table, his eyes trained on Mammon and a knowing smirk on his lips, "So, Mammon, how was it, sleeping with our lovely human? Did you have fun?"

Mammon let out a strangled noise, staring at Asmo, "I didn't do nothin', alright? Stop accusin' me of stuff I wouldn't even wanna do!"

I glanced down at my meal, swallowing my scowl and letting it out as a snide comment, "More's the pity..."

Levi choked on his food, and Satan raised an eyebrow. Asmodeus instantly snapped his attention over to me, honey-coloured eyes glowing in amusement, "Oh, darling, you know you're always welcome in my bed. Unlike Mammon, I very much want to." His smile was sharp and I couldn't tell how much was genuine seduction and how much was just to upset his older brother who was now glaring at him. The Avatar of Lust was clearly holding some kind of grudge for getting passed over as a potential bodyguard for the night.

"You keep your hands offa her, Asmo! An' everythin' else too!"

"Mmm, no, I don't think I will. Of course, if my darling was to tell me the same, I would in a heartbeat", Asmo sent me a wink and my traitorous heart sped up a little, "but until she does, then I have to assume that she wants it just as much as I do."

Mammon turned to me, scowling, "Just tell him to back off, already!"

I let out a long sigh, wanting to smack their heads together, "How about you both shut up and let me eat breakfast?"

Soft laughter, followed by a mocking drawl drew my attention away from the squabbling as Belphegor wandered into the dining room, still holding a cowhide pillow under one arm, "I see you're still bad-tempered this morning."

He slouched over to the seat next to Beel and dropped into it, ignoring the way that the room had gone silent as he wandered in, just frowning at the mostly empty bowls and putting what was left on his plate. It didn't look like very much, but he started eating with a slight smile on his face that only deepened as Beel passed him a few choice pieces from his pile.

Lucifer stared at Belphie, his eyes cold, "Belphegor."

The Avatar of Sloth raised an eyebrow back at the eldest and paused in his meal, "Lucifer."

The only reaction was a slight tightening around the eyes as Lucifer continued, "You will be staying home today, and we will be holding a special student council meeting this afternoon to speak about your recent actions." Recent actions, what a pretty way to put it. I watched Belphie's face, enjoying how his amethyst eyes went flat and he glanced around at the people surrounding him. Lucifer paused, pressing his lips together before speaking again, "I wanted you to know that I will be advocating for clemency, in light of last night. I was impressed by your ability to put your grudge to one side."

The Avatar of Pride looked over to me, including me in the praise, and I stared back at him, my shock written all over my face. "Is this because I protected him?"

Mammon turned to look at me so quickly I swore I could feel the whiplash, "Haah?! You protected Belphie from somethin'? What could you-" His eyes flickered up to Lucifer's stony face and he gulped audibly, quickly going silent.

Lucifer quirked an eyebrow up coolly, "No, it is because when I found you both, you were unharmed despite the fact you had been screaming at each other. Since Belphegor accepted my terms, and you both seem determined to protect each other, I do not think the circumstances warrant a more severe punishment."

Belphie started laughing into his breakfast, "So, you ended up putting in a good word for me after all, even though you didn't want to."

If looks could kill, Belphegor would have been roasted alive all over again as I scowled at him. I turned my head to Lucifer with a huff, "What about me? Do I get to stay home today too? I'm not really in the best frame of mind for studying. Or are you going to insist that I go to RAD?"

The Avatar of Pride merely blinked at me, his face impassive, before a slight smile appeared, "Perhaps it would be best if you did stay home, if that is what you'd prefer. Levi will be attending virtually today, and you can contact me at any time if you need anything."

Lucifer being accommodating was also creepy. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, as he got to his feet and straightened his collar, "But we had better leave soon if we want to be on time."

The rest of the brothers started to get up with a clatter of chairs and bickering, or in Mammon's case trying to finish off his breakfast at speed, before realising he wasn't in his uniform. He blanched, mouth still full, and high-tailed it to his room, making me grin at his antics. He was definitely going to be late, and it was pretty unlikely I'd be able to pin him down about our conversation until he got back. If the loop even lasted that long.

Belphegor was still sat at the table once they cleared out, watching me with half-closed eyes as I pulled out my DDD and checked the time, "It's been around ten hours since this loop started."

He made a non-committal noise and shrugged, "There isn't much to plan for in this loop, if we're even in it still. We're just waiting to get reset back to the entrance hall again." Belphie had started to lean slowly to one side, his head being held up by an arm that was getting closer and closer to the table.

I hummed under my breath, "What are you planning to do while everyone is at RAD?"

Belphie smirked, "I thought I would take the opportunity to nap in my favourite spots. You know, since I haven't been able to do that since Lucifer locked me away."

I raised an eyebrow, smirking back, "Do you do anything apart from sleep and kill people?"

He tilted his head and then deliberately picked up a berry from his plate and put it in his mouth, chewing silently and staring at me, his pink-purple gaze never wavering. Finally, he drawled, "Clearly, I eat, sleep and kill people."

I snorted, stabbing something that tasted mostly like eggs with my fork and gesturing with it, "I mean, do you have any hobbies?"

He leant further into his hand, before finally sliding down with a quiet thump until he was lying down on the dining table with his eyes closed, "Why do you care?"

I shook my head, letting out a brief sigh, "I'm just curious. It seemed from the attic that you might be into stargazing."

His eyes opened a fraction, and the sliver of pink I could see was intense, "I just like stars."

I sank my chin into my hands, tilting my head slightly, "Why? What do you like about them?"

Belphegor's gaze flickered over me for a few moments, before he dragged himself back up to his feet, swaying slightly, "I'm going for that nap. See you later." He slouched off without looking back, leaving me glaring at his back. Would it kill you to have a normal conversation with me for once? Clearly the almost-friendly chatting in the kitchen had been solely for Beel's sake, and without the Avatar of Gluttony around he couldn't be bothered to keep up the act. Well, if he isn't going to make an effort, then he can kiss goodbye to me trying to be polite.

I eventually found myself lying on my bed, idly scrolling through my DDD, realising that I'd gotten quite a few messages since I'd last checked it.

Lucifer: The meeting has been scheduled for mid-afternoon, I will let you know what has been decided.

Yeah, whatever. I just couldn't quite bring myself to care that much, especially as the only reason I was being included was because I had somehow become an advocate for my own ex-murderer. No-one was that forgiving! What did he think I was, an angel or something?

Oh, that reminded me, as I glanced back down at the DDD. I had received several messages from Purgatory Hall.

Simeon: Lucifer just told us what happened yesterday and why you're not at RAD today. If you ever need to talk, just know that I'm always willing to help you in any way I can. Let us know if you want some time away from the House of Lamentation, I wouldn't be surprised if you did.

I wriggled down in my bed until I could rest my head against the pillow and smiled fondly. Simeon always made me melt with how kind he was, even though sometimes that kindness shifted into something that looked an awful lot like mischief. I opened the conversation and prepared an answer.

>: You don't need to worry, I'm doing surprisingly okay. Me and Belphie had a screaming match yesterday so I think that helped, and we also had to team up to stop Lucifer from ripping him a new one! He's currently napping somewhere and being a sulky bitch.

I deliberated over whether or not to send the swearword, as tame as it was, but couldn't think of anything more appropriate which wasn't another, ruder, expletive. It didn't take long until Simeon was responding, though the typing indicator stayed green for a long time, making me wonder if he'd left something half-written on his DDD.

Simeon: It sounds like you've had an even more difficult time than we were told. I'm glad you're feeling well, but just remember that there's always somewhere to go if you need us.

He really is an angel, I mused as I clicked over to a very different conversation.

Solomon: So, I know how you can make it look like an accident.

I grinned, the sorcerer's personality was generally fairly restrained, but every so often it showed a crack or two, and it was always fun to see. Clearly the idea that Belphegor had murdered me, whether or not it had stuck, had struck a chord.

I typed back a reply, a grin on my face that refused to go away.

>: I like the way you think, I mean, it does only seem fair since he did kill me. Tit for tat and all that. If you think about it, it's not even technically murder. So, tell me your secrets, senpai, how do I get away with it?

Unlike Simeon, the other human in the Devildom didn't seem to be using his DDD in class (another example of Simeon not being quite as perfect as you might think), so I checked out the other messages.

One from Mammon, surprisingly, and I let my finger hover over the notification for a while, wondering if I really wanted to read what was in it. Finally, I bit my lip and tapped it. It was a bit anti-climatic, being neither a confession of love or a painful apology that he's just not into me. Instead, he just wanted to know where we should meet up, his room or mine. I thought about it for a while, before responding that we should meet in his room. If it was something to do with pacts, at least being in his own territory would give him more confidence.

Or at least, that was how it worked with cats?

I didn't have any particular idea if demons felt the same way, and though I was sure I could find out, then I'd have to explain the circumstances, and that was absolutely not happening.

Despite Levi being in the same house, he'd sent me a couple of messages as well. I chuckled at the idea that he'd rather do that than walk downstairs.

Leviathan: So, normie, I've finished up my work for this period and I've got time to play Mononoke Land with you! Hurry up, there's a rare limited-time drop!

Leviathan: CHECKYOURPHONECHECKYOURPHONECHECKYOURPHONE!!!

Leviathan: You only have forty minutes left! Don't make me call you!! You know how much I hate that!

I quickly checked for any missed calls and the timestamp of the messages and relaxed as I realised he'd just sent them. I sighed, but couldn't help the broad smile sneaking across my face. My one true friend had called upon me and clearly I had to answer. I picked up my DDD and wandered through the halls on my way towards the stairs when I paused, my peripheral vision having spotted a distinctive black and white pattern that I couldn't forget if I tried.

At this rate, I'd end with some kind of phobia of dairy cows, or maybe become cow-icidal. I grinned sharply at the idea and wandered over towards Belphegor, getting more amused with every step I took.

He was just lying on the ground in the planetarium, his head cushioned by an outstretched arm and his cowhide pillow, the rest of him just sprawled everywhere. He didn't even have a blanket. I put my hands on my hips and just watched him for a moment as he slept, his eyes closed and his chest lifting and falling with each breath. His hair had fallen to cover his eyes, and his face was peaceful, smoothed by sleep. Was that a slight hint of a smile there?

I walked to one side, keeping my gaze on him and brushed the leaf of a large potted plant. It would be fairly easy to just lift it up and drop it on his head. Even if it didn't kill him, the pot was made of stone and I'd struggle to even lift it. It would definitely hurt, and it would be a hell of a shock. But... this time I didn't even get as far as having to remind myself of Rule One before Beel's hopeful gaze intruded on my idle fantasies and crushed them instantly.

If I dropped a plant on Belphie's head, Beel would be sad. Damnit.

I regarded him a little bit longer and my grin suddenly returned. Of course, there were plenty of other things I could do to a sleeping demon. Attending college parties had been a great training ground for this exact situation. The water bowl trick was out, though I could still pour ice-cold water on him if I wanted to be cruel. The whipped cream prank was tempting, but we'd used it all up last night with the pancakes.

Of course there's always...

I hurried off back to my room and back as quickly as I could, knowing that I still had to make it to Levi's room before I missed my timeslot. I remembered to put my DDD on silent just in case Levi did end up calling me after all, and spun the thick black marker in my hand as I approached Belphegor and crouched down next to him, moving as quietly as I could. I uncapped the pen and pursed my lips, considering the design. Something rude across his face was a classic, but Lucifer would probably lecture me for it.

Finally, as I glanced down at his pillow, an idea struck me and I had to stifle a sudden giggle. I leaned in closer, holding my breath as I carefully drew my design onto his cheek, close to his ear, and then down to his chin and along his neck. He shifted a couple of times, his nose crinkling and making me freeze again, wondering if he was going to wake up. Finally he sighed and relaxed, shifting position and shoving his face further into the pillow. I capped the pen with a sense of vindictive accomplishment, pulling out my DDD to commemorate the moment.

I opened the camera and poined it at Belphegor, his new markings looking even better in the viewfinder. A few near-silent clicks and an upload to the general House of Lamentation chat later, I was grinning like a lunatic, trying my best not to burst out into actual laughter.

I paused before putting the DDD back and absently checked the time. It had been almost twelve and a half hours in this loop, and the number teased at something in my memory. Hadn't someone mentioned something happening after twelve hours, something important?

I glanced down as some instinct borrowed from a distant ancestor told me that Belphegor's breathing had changed and strongly suggested that I should pay attention. He drew in a breath suddenly that sounded more like a strangled gasp and his eyes shot open. He didn't look at me, instead his gaze was fixed on the swirling stars above, and he looked stunned.

Alarm flooded through me, despite my reservations, "Belphie, are you o-"

***

I braced for a surge of vertigo that didn't come, the transition feeling more like stepping off an escalator. Now I was standing, with Asmo pulling me into him, and I let myself enjoy the feel of his leg pressing firmly against my hip, along with the fact that I wasn't on the floor mourning my dinner. He spoke, lilting voice soft, "Belphie, you can't hate humans forever."

Satan stepped forward, saying his lines just as he had all the other times before, "He's right. Lilith was reborn as a human. She always wanted to spend more time in the human world, so I'm sure she lived a happy life."

I looked up, knowing what I would see and mentally preparing myself, but still felt a pang of disappointment as I realised that the time loop had reset, and the beautiful cow splotches I'd drawn all up Belphie's neck and cheek were gone. No one would remember them, I hadn't had time to check out the reactions from the other brothers in the chat, and I didn't even have the picture on my DDD anymore.

That was why it took me a few extra moments to notice that Belphegor was grinning right at me, his pink-purple eyes strangely elated, "I remember."

Chapter Text

Belphegor curled up in his bed. He felt a soft pang in his chest at the realisation that the familiar covers no longer smelled like him, instead what lingered was only the faint must of something abandoned. The bed in the attic seemed more like his now than the one in the room he shared with Beel.

Just one more thing Lucifer had taken from him.

He closed his eyes, letting his body fall into the rhythms of sleep while his mind continued to work. He was confident that neither Diavolo or Barbatos were behind the time shifts now. If they'd had any idea of what was about to happen, or if they had remembered the previous loops, they would have never let him get close enough to snap her neck.

She was almost certainly not responsible, she didn't even have any magic, but her death had reset everything just as his had. He had expected Diavolo to take vengeance on him after he killed her the second time, but instead the shift had occurred the moment her eyes dimmed.

She was involved in this somehow, there was no other way she could remember so much, as just a normal human. He would have to speak with her, but Lucifer's orders made that difficult. She would probably also be guarded. Satan and Levi are guarding me, and Beel is here, which leaves Mammon, Asmo or Lucifer. He adjusted position slightly, burying his face deeper into the pillow. She said that Mammon is her protector, so he's the likely choice. Dealing with the Avatar of Greed would be difficult but not impossible, he was easy to distract. Getting away from under Satan's scrutiny was a much more pressing problem.

His attention shifted as he felt a heavy weight settle down on the bed next to him. He recognised it instantly, opening his eyes at the gentle intrusion, "Hey, Beel."

The Avatar of Gluttony frowned down at his twin, his eyes torn between warring emotions as his hands tangled together in agitation. Belphie frowned back, lifting a hand to place it on Beel's and squeezing gently, "What's wrong?" He grimaced almost immediately at the question, realising just how many things must be weighing on Beelzebub's mind.

He was rewarded by a slight smile and Beel's hands relaxing under his grip, though he didn't speak immediately, "I'm sorry." Eyes like looking into a mirror stared back at him, "I should have tried harder, I should have realised that you weren't in the human world. I should have helped. Then maybe..." Beel looked down again, his fingers tightening together until they were straining white.

Belphie twisted until he could sit up on the bed, dropping his other hand onto his twin's, "Don't be stupid. Lucifer made sure that you wouldn't find out. Even if you had, it would have just started a war." He let out a short laugh, "That's why I told her not to tell you."

Beelzebub stared at him at the revelation, making Belphegor quirk up an eyebrow, "What? Did you think she came up with that on her own? I don't know if you've noticed, but she's really not that smart." That she had walked straight into his arms again, despite remembering everything, had been proof of that. Either that, or she had a death wish. "None of it is your fault, Beel." Another laugh, this time bitter as ashes. "You're the only one glad to see me, though."

He glanced around the room. Satan sat on the couch, not reading for once, his DDD on his lap as he reclined back. He wasn't in his demon form, but a quiet intensity was tightly leashed in his green eyes. Every time his stare dropped on the Avatar of Sloth, he could sense it, sharp and penetrating, as if trying to peel apart his thoughts.

Levi stood, his handheld game letting out a series of squawks and electronic bings. Every so often he would look up as if checking that everything was still fine before going back to it. The only gesture he'd made towards fulfilling his guard duty was that he was leaning up against the door, blocking anyone getting in or out without disturbing him. Belphegor had to admire the efficiency, if nothing else. No matter where his eyes might wander though, he never let them drop onto his younger brother, his gaze skittering away whenever it got close.

Beel looked away briefly, guilt still pooling in his gaze, "Belphie..." His lips set into a firm line, "I am happy to see you, but... I don't understand. She helped you, didn't she? She didn't lie about that." His eyes were wide and desperate for an answer as he fixed them on his twin, "Why did you kill her? Did she do something bad?"

Belphegor paused, glad that at least one of his brothers would always try to understand him, "No, she- It wasn't about her." His fingers gripped the sheets, hatred and resentment seeping into every syllable, "Once she was dead, the exchange program would collapse, all of Diavolo's dreams would come crashing down. Lucifer would finally get what he deserves for everything he's done, for locking me away just so I wouldn't upset his precious Lord. For lying to all of you about it, for giving himself over to Diavolo and leaving us behind!" He took in a deep breath, the rage shifting into unease, "And your pacts would have all broken." The human now held all of his brothers in her thrall, even Lucifer, and the idea made his skin crawl. All of that power in the hands of someone so easily fooled. He shuddered.

Beelzebub looked at him, and for once he couldn't read the thoughts that were going through his mind. His voice was soft, "I like having a pact with her. It makes me feel like I can... protect her." The last two words became whispers that barely made it out from between his lips, trailing off.

Belphie stared back, silence held taut between them. Finally he spoke, his voice harsh, "From me?"

Beel glanced down, looking at his hands, and then back up, his gaze suddenly hard, "If I have to."

Belphegor leant back, shaking his head, unwilling to believe that someone so small, so pathetic, so unimportant could possibly come between them. He narrowed his eyes, "She's not special, don't believe all that nonsense Diavolo was saying about her and Lilith. It doesn't matter. She's just some random human, Beel, you don't need to protect her."

Beelzebub bit his lip, chewing on it thoughtfully, his eyes still calm and determined, "I know. But I want to. I like her, Belphie."

The Avatar of Sloth suddenly looked away, exhausted by the conversation, leaning back against the headboard with a sigh. It didn't even matter, considering that Diavolo was certain to execute him and then he'd be back here again. And Lucifer would no doubt just stand there, watching his own brother die at the whim of his new master. There would be no war for his sake.

His eyes stung and he let them close, turning away from Beel before he remembered. He lifted his head, eyes open only a crack, "I actually need to talk to her, but I'll need to get away from these two before I can." He took in a quick breath, "I have a plan, but I'll need your help."

Beel looked at him, then nodded once, though he didn't smile, "What do you need me to do?"

Belphie smirked, stretching languidly and looking over towards the fourth-born, "I need you to listen in when I talk to Satan and to offer to guard me when it comes up."

Beelzebub's brows knitted with confusion but he followed easily as Belphegor got to his feet and walked over to the couch, dropping heavily next to the Avatar of Wrath. Satan turned slowly and looked down at him, while Belphie relaxed, sinking into the cushions with his eyes only half open. He carefully kept from smiling as he returned the look, "I want a bath."

Satan blinked at him, "You want... a bath?"

Belphegor nodded, pulling lightly on his white-tipped hair, "I haven't been able to have one for months. Can you blame me?" He watched Satan's face flicker with disgust before it settled back into its polite mask, though he was still clearly undecided. Belphie frowned, "It's not too much to ask, is it? It's just a bath."

Satan sent him a flat look, "If we did let you, one of us would have to guard you while you're bathing. I'm not going to let you try to finish the job."

Beelzebub spoke, "I can guard him, Satan. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt her."

Belphegor smirked at the Avatar of Wrath, rolling his eyes, "There, and one of you can stay just outside the door if you're really worried. I promise I won't overthrow the Devildom from the bathtub."

Satan let out a long sigh, "Fine. I will sit outside until you're done." His eyes narrowed, tightened, and Belphie could see a hint of anger there, swiftly buried, "And no more than half an hour."

He smiled slowly to himself, not bothering to try to hide his delight.

It hadn't taken him long to drag pyjamas and a blanket out from his closet and make the short journey to the bathroom, where they left Satan at the door.

Belphegor leaned over, running the water into the tub and letting it fill up the room with steam. Beel sat on one of the chairs, looking a little confused as his twin moved to sit next to him rather than getting in the bath. Belphie leant back, speaking quietly enough that the sound of running water would muddle his words from any listeners, "I'm going to find her and take her somewhere we can talk without being disturbed. You'll stay here for a while, and then you'll take me, wrapped up in that blanket, and put me to bed, since I fell asleep in the bath."

Beelzebub nodded slowly, frowning as he looked at the blanket, "But you won't have?"

Belphie smiled, "No, you'll be carrying towels wrapped in a blanket. Once I'm 'put to bed', neither Satan or Levi will bother to check on me."

Beel glanced to one side, his expression unsure, before he finally looked back at Belphegor, his hands tense as he gripped his jacket, "Belphie, if I help you with this, I need you to make me a promise."

Belphegor tilted his head warily, "What promise?"

Beelzebub's brows lowered as he stared back, eyes determined yet somehow still pleading, "Promise me that you won't hurt her again. She's... really nice. If you'd just give her a chance-"

Belphie bit down his first response, holding himself silent with an effort of will despite every inch of him yearning to lash out. The idea of making a vow to not hurt a human! He hissed softly, "Is this something the pact is making you do?"

Beel frowned, and suddenly he was sitting up straighter, looming over him even though his voice was still soft, "No, Belphie. She's never used the pact on me."

Belphegor blinked. He knew it had to be the truth, no matter how unbelievable. Beel wouldn't lie to him, especially about something this important, and he would feel it if she'd forced him to lie about it. Instead, the Avatar of Gluttony's eyes were resolute and fierce. He really wants to protect her. The thought made something inside him shift unpleasantly.

He turned away, staring at the water filling up the bath. It didn't matter anyway, he literally couldn't kill her and have her stay dead. And if that changed, he could always try again at convincing his twin that it really would be for the best. It should have been an easy choice, but he couldn't help the feeling that agreeing would be a terrible mistake.

Beelzebub's voice, now touched with anger, brought him out of his brooding, "If you won't promise, then I won't help you." A pause, "Please."

Belphie felt his resolve crumble at his twin's words and ground his teeth together, giving into the logic and the tangled emotions, though his words were heavy with reluctance, "Fine. I promise I won't hurt her." He glanced over to Beel and found him looking back, eyes intent. He tilted his head, eyes narrowed, "Is that enough for you?"

Beel took another moment to stare at his twin, before breaking out into a smile and nodding, "Yeah. That's enough for me. I'll make sure you get to talk for as long as you need."

Belphegor knew that if it came down to it, Beelzebub would choose him, would always choose him. It was an unspoken truth that the same held true for him. Beel had insisted on this, so it had to be important to him.

None of the possible explanations as for why that might be were reassuring.

The Avatar of Sloth leaned over and knelt down, pulling towels out of the cabinet to stuff them into his pyjamas, creating a vaguely humanoid shape. A few more adjustments, and he rolled it into the blanket, making sure that the stand-in was around the right shape and size, and nothing was poking out. He dipped a hand into the water in the bath and dropped it onto the bundle, giving it a couple of damn splotches to complete the look.

He turned back, "Talk to yourself for a while, as if I'm half-asleep, then splash the water around a bit and-"

Beel stood, putting a hand on Belphie's shoulder. Its weight was comforting and steady, "I know. You don't have to worry about me."

Belphegor snorted, "I never thought I did." He eyed the window, and then he was through it, not giving himself enough time to think about how this plan could go wrong. There were plenty of handholds, but he shifted into his demon form anyway, giving him a tail to wrap securely around gutters and claws for more purchase. It only took him a few minutes to clamber onto the roof, moving carefully on the tiles. He didn't have any wings to catch him in case of a fall, but this height wouldn't be enough to hurt. On the other hand, it would draw attention.

He hooked an arm around a gargoyle to pull himself up onto the peak and slid down the other side, angling his descent so that he dropped down onto the ground just next to the window that led into the ground floor's corridor. A brush of his hand against the glass made the hair on his arms stand on end, though the protective charms on the window were merely a suggestion to someone of his power. The real deterrent to breaking into the House of Lamentation was its residents.

It took only a heartbeat to wrangle the window open and slip inside, the carpet soft beneath his feet. The room next to the kitchen, it wasn't difficult to find. He moved more carefully as he got closer, aware that three of his brothers were still unaccounted for, but everything remained dark and silent. He let his demon form dissolve, hand on the door as he opened it slowly, concentrating on being noiseless.

He paused as he looked into the room. She was in her bed, lying on her back, covers pulled up around her neck and her hair spread out over her pillow. Mammon lay on a pile of cushions on the floor next to the bed, another blanket partially covering him while his limbs were thrown about haphazardly. That can't be comfortable. The Avatar of Greed looked like nothing more than a favourite pet, and Belphie felt frustration rattle the bars of his self-control. It would be so easy to reach out and free his brothers...

No, Belphie. She's never used the pact on me. The whisper snaked into his thoughts. Beel, at least, didn't want to be freed from her. He regarded Mammon again, remembered him curled around her body, crying, begging her to stay. His protectiveness after the reset, dragging the human behind him, desperate to...

Why did they want to keep her safe? What was it about this human that drove his brothers insane like this?

He crept closer, driven partly by his plan, but also by a strange, familiar curiosity. His eyes tracked her sleeping face, as if it could give him answers. What do they see in you?

***

Belphegor propped up his head with one hand, pushing his plate with half a pancake still on it towards Beel, watching the human sleepily as she trudged back to her room. She'd started yawning, and after the third or fourth time, had finally excused herself.

More surprising was that Mammon hadn't trailed after his mistress, instead staying in the kitchen and finishing off her abandoned pancakes. His 'tribute'. Belphie leant back further into the chair, letting himself sink down slightly while he continued to stare at the Avatar of Greed.

"So," he drawled, unable to keep the smirk off of his face, "are you two dating?"

Mammon's eyes widened and he choked, coughing as pancake went down the wrong way, before turning on his little brother, "Wha?! We're not datin', I would never wanna date a human anyway! I'm the Great Mammon, ya know, I've got a lot more to do than just hang around havin' fun with someone like her."

Belphie nodded slowly, outwardly taking him at his word while privately confirming that Mammon was completely besotted with the exchange student in his care. It was painfully obvious, and he found himself a little annoyed that she hadn't mentioned it to him in their conversations. Surely she had to be aware, even as oblivious as she was. His smirk widened, "In that case, you wouldn't mind if Beel dated her, then?"

Beelzebub froze, still bent over his plate, only his head moving as he glanced up to meet Belphegor's hooded gaze. His own were wide, filled with confusion and more than a little alarm. He swallowed hard, straightening up and glancing over to Mammon, who was staring back at the Avatar of Gluttony like he'd only just noticed he was there.

Mammon looked surprised and hurt, "But you said she liked me!"

Ugh, that's pathetic. Belphie kept his half-open eyes on his twin instead. Beel had been far too comfortable keeping his arm around the human. She'd been able to keep him from eating most of the ingredients and the smile he'd given her, sad and sweet...

Beelzebub rumbled uncomfortably, his eyes on the pancakes in front of him, "I think she likes you a lot more than she likes me."

Belphegor smirked, "But you don't want her, Mammon, remember?"

Mammon snapped his attention to Belphie at that, shock segueing into annoyance, "You- Wh-whatever! I'm finished anyway." He stood, throwing his fork down to ring loudly against the plate and stalked off, sending the Avatar of Sloth a glare before he disappeared into the human's room.

Belphie sank down a little further while Beel looked over at him, a thoughtful frown puckering his brow, "Belphie..."

He let out a petulant growl, "He was annoying me." Amethyst eyes met as he shifted to support his chin with his hand instead, "You like her, don't you? And I don't mean as a friend."

Beel turned back to the pancakes, devouring one absently as he deliberated, "I don't know."

Belphegor sighed, knowing he wouldn't get a better answer, "She's a human, Beel. You may as well fall for a candle flame."

Beelzebub frowned and nodded, swallowing, "She's only here for another six months, before she has to go back to the human world."

He let out a soft noise of derision, "Even worse, then." Though, with the day repeating as it was, he could end up spending far more time than six months with the human exchange student.

At least it won't be boring.

Chapter Text

"Remember..." Diavolo said, his tone unsure and filled with sudden caution, "Remember what?"

Belphegor's smile sharpened, and he kept his eyes fixed on me, "I remember the door opening and coming downstairs, only to find Lucifer and the rest of my brothers fighting over this little human. I remember escaping to Purgatory Hall, and being captured, and I remember being dragged to the dungeons and locked up all over again."

His amethyst eyes flashed with anger as he looked back at Diavolo and Barbatos. I wondered if he was using the story I'd told him about the first timeline to mess with them. We were supposed to run off-day pranks past each other first! Sure, I would have still given it a pass since it sounded absolutely hilarious, but it was the principle of the thing.

The butler frowned, tugging on the cuff of a white glove in subtle agitation, "That is impossible, I have not released those memories to you or anyone else in this timeline."

Belphie's smirk fixed on Barbatos, his tone mocking, "Don't you believe me?"

Diavolo frowned, sharing a look with the teal-haired butler, and spoke slowly, "I don't know if this is possible or not, but he's not lying."

Barbatos blinked, fixing his penetrating gaze on the seventh-born, "Then, if you do remember the events of that timeline, tell me what I told you when I placed you in your cell in the dungeons. If you are correct, then I will believe you."

Belphegor's smile slipped from his face and was replaced by something bitter and dark, his words hissed, "You told me that I should take advantage of this excellent opportunity for introspection." I couldn't keep the grimace off my face. Ouch. I mean, he deserves it, but still. That's cold, Barbatos.

Diavolo glanced to Barbatos, who took in a deep breath and nodded to him, speaking quietly, "That is correct. It seems Belphegor is not mistaken. Somehow, he possesses the memories of the other timeline."

I blinked, quickly putting the pieces together. The reset point must have been when Barbatos gave the brothers back their memories from the original timeline, except when the loop reset, they immediately lost them again. All except for Belphegor.

Lucifer shook his head slowly, looking between the other two, his brows furrowed in concern, "What does this mean?"

Barbatos closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to shake himself out of whatever fugue he had slipped into out of sheer surprise and cleared his throat, "Practically, very little. He has received memories that would have been released to him in approximately twelve and a half hours from now. The knowledge contains no important secrets. It is only remarkable because it should be impossible."

Diavolo crossed his arms and nodded, glancing over to Lucifer and around at the brothers still crowded around me, his amber eyes meeting mine for a moment, "Well, in that case, perhaps we can all agree there has been enough to worry about for one day. If you're sure it won't cause any harm, then I think we should put it behind us."

Lucifer's brow furrowed with concern, "What is this about another timeline? Does it have something to do with the body that disappeared?"

Diavolo spread his arms placatingly, "I promise I will explain, Lucifer, though I suggest we all sit down for a cup of tea first. It will take some time."

Belphegor just watched them, his gaze flitting about the rest of the brothers and then finally resting on me. That smug smirk was back and he stared intently for a moment and then... Did he just wink at me?! I gaped at him, which only made his smirk deepen, his pink-purple eyes amused. I grit my teeth in frustration, hoping none of his brothers, but especially Asmodeus, had seen that wink. I should have absolutely dropped that damn flowerpot on his head when I had the chance.

Lucifer nodded shortly, looking around at the demons assembled in the hall, and his cold eyes set on Belphegor, standing alone this time. "Satan, Levi, I want you to guard Belphegor while we sort all of this out. I will let you know if anything important comes up."

This time I dropped straight onto the couch in the common room. Mammon fell onto the seat next to me while Asmodeus slid into the other. I glanced over to Mammon, feeling strangely conflicted. I could still remember the feeling of his kiss on my lips, the look in his eyes as he'd leant in to do it again, dark and hazy with desire. I shivered, and then realised that I was the only one who remembered. We'd had our first kiss, and Mammon didn't even know. I stared down at the floor for a moment, missing a chunk of Barbatos' explanation as I struggled with the feeling that I'd taken advantage of him somehow. Which was ridiculous, except that I'd never got a straight answer. Would he even have been so loathe to tell me if he-

My thoughts were thrown off track as warm arms slid around my waist and hot breath lingered at my ear, Asmo's soft voice interrupting, "Darling, what's wrong? You look positively miserable."

I licked my lips, considering telling the truth for one hysterical moment, rehearsing it in my head. Well, you see, I kissed Mammon in a previous time loop, but now he doesn't remember it and I just don't know what to do with that. It was like having a sexy dream about a friend except it hadn't been a dream and... I blew out a sigh and leaned into Asmo's embrace, ignoring Mammon's protest, "I'm just... tired. It's been a long day."

As if summoned by those words, I found myself trying and failing to fight down a yawn, covering my mouth sleepily as the Avatar of Lust pulled me closer and chuckled into my ear, "So I can see."

Mammon grabbed at Asmo's hands and tried to lever them off of me with mixed results, "Get off, Asmo! Just 'cos she's tired doesn't mean you can put your hands all over her!" The kiss was beginning to feel like it had really been a dream as the two demons around me started their familiar bickering.

Diavolo chuckled at the commotion and spoke kindly, "Yes, I am sure you must be tired. I know it's unusual, but for tonight, I think someone should stay in your room. Just to be sure."

Asmo's fingers trailed up my sides, and this time I didn't interrupt. "I would love to protect you, darling, if you'd have me."

Mammon frowned, blue eyes flashing, "That ain't happenin'! If anyone should be protectin' her, it should be me! We all know why you wanna stay in her room!"

Asmodeus glared at his older brother, "What are you trying to say, Mammon? That I wouldn't look after her? I bet I would do a better job than you!"

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, his words falling like a guillotine, "Neither of you are going to be staying in her room tonight. I am." His cold eyes travelled to me and assessed me dispassionately, "Mammon will escort you to your room and guard you until I arrive."

Asmo let out an annoyed huff, then sighed, "At least you'll be in good hands. It won't be as much fun as it would be with me... but we can always work on that later." He lightly dragged his nails along my hip and I stifled a shiver, once again tempted to take him up on his offer.

Mammon yanked me straight out of Asmodeus' embrace, pulling me to my feet and catching me by the shoulders when I stumbled at the sudden movement. He grinned down at me, and my stomach did a strange little flip as I met his beautiful eyes, "Come on then, human, let's get ya to bed." He'd already turned and was heading down towards my room, pulling me along behind him, so he didn't notice the blush that suddenly swarmed onto my face.

Once we were inside, I bit my lip as I flopped down onto the bed, making the springs creak under the sudden weight. Mammon dropped down at the bottom of the bed, leaning back against the wood as he eyed me, arms crossed and pouting, "The Great Mammon should be the one protectin' ya, and you shoulda told Lucifer that when you had the chance."

I couldn't help the smile that sprung to my lips, hoping my cheeks were no longer visibly pink, "Oh? Like you did?"

He snorted, "I shouldn't have ta say it for ya, what's the point of that? You're lucky I'm even willin' to protect you at all, never mind for free!" His grin melted into confusion as I suddenly started laughing, before narrowing into annoyance, "Hey! Don't laugh at me! Fine, if you're gonna be like that you can just be stuck with Lucifer lookin' after ya, see if I care!"

The word choice made my laughter die out and I swallowed. Does he care? I licked my lips, my mouth dry, "Sorry, Mammon."

He rocked back a little in surprise, blinking, looking mollified but confused, "Uh, well... as long as you're sorry, I guess I'll forgive ya, since I'm such a great demon and all."

I chewed on my bottom lip, my gaze not lifting from my covers, "Mammon... can I ask a question?"

Silence for a second, then, "Yeah?" His voice was light, uncertain, a little nervous, and I was sure he had the expression to match.

I took in a deep breath. Was there even a way to say this delicately? I struggled for a moment and then gave up, looking up at him, "If a human wants a demon they have a pact with to kiss them, is it required, or expected, for them to do it? Regardless of their feelings about it?"

Mammon gaped at me, then frowned, "Of course not, and no-one makes pacts with anyone who forces it neither. Is this about Asmo and Solomon? Because I don't know what's goin' on there but I'd put good money on Asmo being up for it."

I smiled, enjoying the way he looked even more confused at my reaction, and shook my head, "No, it's not about that, I... was just curious." Mammon wanted to kiss me. It was a warm feeling, almost like a secret, something exciting and hidden. I leaned forward, eyes intent on the Avatar of Greed, "Mammon..." I hesitated. I could tell him what I wanted, how I needed his lips on mine again, that dizzying intensity. Maybe I would kiss him first, I was certain he'd respond just as fervently.

But even if I went through with it, it would never matter, would it? I'd remember every single kiss, but he would always forget. If I kissed him, without him knowing the circumstances, wasn't I just using him? The idea filled me with vague unease, and I curled my fingers into my sheets, clenching the soft fabric as I looked away, letting out my breath all at once.

The silence was broken by the door opening and Lucifer stepped through, a stack of paperwork under one arm as he glanced between us, one eyebrow raised, "Mammon, you can leave now."

Mammon sent me another glance, frowning, and almost looked like he was going to argue, but I interrupted, "It's okay. I'm sure I'll be safe with Lucifer. Sleep well."

He grimaced, getting to his feet and pausing at the door, "Yeah, well, you'd better. See ya, human." And then he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

Lucifer glanced over at the noise, a flash of irritation quickly smoothed away by a sigh as he put down his work with a thump onto my table and pulled up a chair, "I hope you don't mind if I complete my work?"

I shook my head, "No, knock yourself out." Another yawn escaped, and I grabbed my pyjamas, going to the bathroom to change. When I came back, Lucifer had settled down at my table, but rather than working, he was staring at a piece of paperwork. He wasn't reading, his eyes were unfocused, staring at the centre of the paper rather than tracking along each line. I stayed where I was, watching him for a few moments, expecting him to shake himself out of whatever this was and get back to work.

Finally, I broke the silence, "Lucifer?"

He looked around quickly, as if he had just noticed my presence, and I felt my concern solidify. Lucifer always knew what was going on, even when there was no way he should have found out unless he'd bugged the entire House of Lamentation (though with his brothers, if he had, I couldn't really blame him). He pressed his lips together, giving me a brief nod of acknowledgement as I stepped closer and took a seat in one of the chairs.

He took in a deep breath, his eyes returning to staring at the paper, but this time he spoke. His voice was quiet and solemn, "When I was there, looking down at your body, I realised that I had failed. Failed so completely I could barely conceive of it." Pain threaded through each syllable, "I failed Diavolo, his dreams for the exchange student program would be shattered with your death. I failed Belphegor, failed to protect him. And I failed you."

Lucifer turned to fix me with a gaze like the fathomless deep, "I was beside you. If I had not allowed myself to be distracted, you would not have disappeared. My failure almost cost me so much. If Barbatos had not been able to merge the timelines..." His eyes closed, "Would I have found out that you are Lilith's descendant, only to bury you?"

He placed a gloved hand flat on the table, turning to look down at it contemplatively, "And now I am told that in the other timeline, I tried to kill you."

I leant back, shrugging, "Yeah, you did, but it's not like it's the first time, Lucifer." Too many nightmares made that all too clear. "You've been threatening my life and occasionally trying to kill me since the second week I got here." My tone was light and teasing as I gestured idly with one hand. I didn't hold a grudge against- Alright, I didn't hold much of a grudge against Lucifer for everything he had done, and besides, seeing him morose and brooding like that was almost as bad as seeing him happy.

Lucifer's coal-black eyes shifted to mine and he put down his pen, a ghost of a smile on his lips, "In my defence, you were entirely infuriating, had no sense of self-preservation or self-respect and caused more chaos in a short period of time than anyone I have ever met."

I pouted and crossed my arms at his words. It might have been all true, but he didn't need to say it so bluntly. He smiled, something warm flickering to life behind his eyes, "But you have also been somewhat of a wonder. You are proof that Lilith lived her life as a human, that she existed. More than that, you have been something of an agent of change for my brothers. Chaos can be beneficial, it seems. On occasion."

I smiled, leaning over onto the table and propping my head up with a hand, "You know that I'm not Lilith, though, right?"

His gaze darted to meet mine and the smile vanished, his tone calm and collected once more, "I know. Lilith is gone, and while you occasionally remind me of her, you are not her. Truthfully, you are more different than you are alike. For example, Lilith would not have ignored my warnings repeatedly in order to release Belphegor."

I winced, suddenly regretting this entire conversation, "Well, he seemed... lonely." God, it sounded pathetic even to me. "And you'd forbidden me from doing it, which only made me want to do it more", I admitted, looking anywhere but at Lucifer.

Lucifer sighed, and dragged his hand down his face, "Perhaps, next time, you will take my warnings more seriously."

I personally had my doubts, but I smiled sweetly and said, "I'll try." Immediately I was met with the suspicious look the Avatar of Pride used on me as a matter of course, as if he was trying to work out what mischief I was up to now. I did my best to look innocent, no doubt failing badly, and headed back to bed, sliding under the covers before he could start lecturing me.

He glanced back over to me before pulling the paper closer to him and picking up his pen again, "See that you do."

I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly rolled straight out of my head, though I'd turned to face the pillow beforehand. I freely admitted that I was sometimes stupid, but I wasn't that stupid. Besides, we'd agreed to not do crazy things like sassing Lucifer to his face until we'd run it past each other, and I wouldn't get to do that until...

Wait. I felt something flutter in my gut, Mammon isn't the one guarding me this time. It's Lucifer, and if Belphie tries to come get me again... I let myself entertain the thought for a while. The look on Belphegor's face would be priceless. All I needed to do to enjoy the show was... do nothing.

I dropped my face into my pillow and sighed into the fabric, closing my eyes with a groan. Do nothing, apart from upset Beelzebub and break Rule One. I didn't know what was worse, Beel's sad face or the thought of having to work through the loops entirely on my own. Of course, now I had to work out how to even tell Belphegor that there was an angry Lucifer waiting for him in my room. How was I supposed to contact him, it's not like I could just use magic to talk to him from a distance or anything...

I rolled onto my back and grabbed my DDD, feeling like a complete idiot as I wriggled higher up until I was leant back against my pillow. Mammon and Asmodeus had sent me messages, but I ignored them, opening up Beel's conversation instead.

>: Beel, is Belphie with you? Could you give him your DDD for a little bit?

I waited, rubbing my finger and thumb together, nerves fluttering unpleasantly in my stomach as I waited for him to respond. Suddenly I could appreciate why Levi sent loud, obnoxious messages screaming at me to check my phone.

It was only a minute or so before the typing indicator came up.

Beelzebub: What.

I scowled at the DDD, taking in a deep breath and trying to swallow my desire to slap the ungrateful heifer-demon silly, nails clacking on the screen with more force than necessary.

>: Don't come to my room tonight. Lucifer is here.

The typing indicator flashed up almost immediately, then vanished. I stared at it, the tension slowly leaving as I mentally excused myself from any consequences after this point. I'd warned him, after all.

Beelzebub: Why is Lucifer guarding you? What happened to Mammon?

> : I requested Mammon last time, this time I just didn't say anything.

Beelzebub: Great. I can get away from these two but you have no chance at getting away from Lucifer, especially since you're a human. Your best bet is if he falls asleep, but that's not likely.

My eyes narrowed at the insinuation, but I had to admit that he had a point. I let a vindictive little smile paint my lips as I started to type again.

>: Are you giving up?

This time it took a few minutes for the typing indicator to come back up, though it didn't stay there for long.

Beelzebub: No. Shut up and let me think. I'll let you know what the plan is.

I shook my head, a smirk on my lips at successfully getting under the demon's skin. I had almost forgotten that Lucifer was still in the room until his voice disturbed the silence, "Who are you messaging?"

I looked up at the Avatar of Pride, meeting his curious gaze with a feeling of foreboding. I spoke, my voice not nearly confident enough, "Uh... Mammon?"

Instantly, his dark eyes narrowed in suspicion as he pinned me with his gaze, "I doubt that. Who are you talking to and why are you lying about it?" His voice was flat and heavy with threat. I always disliked it when he tried to intimidate me, it had never made me back down before so I wasn't even sure why he kept trying it.

I sighed, letting the DDD fall into my lap, still holding it in one hand, trying my best to defuse the situation, "It's really none of your business." Unfortunately, I was terrible at it.

Lucifer's eyes flashed crimson and he was on his feet in the next heartbeat, walking quickly towards me. I knew he was going to get the DDD in the next few seconds. I quickly moved my thumb over the screen without looking, trying to remember based purely on muscle memory. I tapped on where the send button should be, hoping I did it right even as the eldest reached out and tore the DDD out of my hands.

>: help

He turned it and his eyes flickered as he read the messages, the annoyance deepening into anger that surrounded him in a menacing aura as he finished, looking up at me with dangerous eyes. I pushed myself as far away from him as I could get, back against the ivy-covered wall, but it took him only a couple of steps to cross the distance and grab me. He waved the DDD in my face as he grated out, "What is this? What are you plotting with Belphegor? Tell me!" The hand on my shoulder was so tight it had to be leaving bruises.

I grimaced, the pain and the roiling terror that stole strength from my limbs was becoming annoyingly familiar. I've already been killed twice and threatened once in the last twenty-four hours, why can't I get a fucking break?! Lucifer was one wrong move away from flying into his demon form, whatever conspiracies he had conjured up had clearly rattled him. Would he even believe the truth?

Slowly, I drew in a breath, "I'm not plotting anything with-"

Lucifer blurred as the DDD bounced on the bed and I was roughly shoved further up the wall, both of his hands digging into my arms. I guess I should be grateful he hasn't grabbed me by the throat, like he did to Belphie.

He growled, his eyes boring into mine, voice cutting and cold, "You will tell me. You will-"

The door flew open and Satan ran in, his eyes widening at the sight in front of him, a flicker of fear flashing over his features before it was replaced by rage, "Lucifer! What do you think you're doing?!"

Lucifer's gaze was pitiless, though his tone was calm even as he lifted me higher, my feet now dangling off the ground, "I will release her once she has told me what I need to know."

Satan growled, clearly struggling to hold himself back, the sound almost animalistic, "Let her go now."

The noise of running preceded more demons entering the room. First was Beelzebub, trailed by Belphegor and Levi, the otaku demon's eyes wide and panicked. I knew why they weren't attacking. Even if they all piled in, they still wouldn't be a match for the first-born, and it would be almost trivially easy for any of them to kill or injure me beyond repair while they struggled. I'm screwed.

Beel made a soft sound deep in his throat, his distress obvious as his fists clenched and unclenched helplessly, "Lucifer..."

I rolled my head back, pressing against the wall as I looked down at the Avatar of Pride, "I already told you, I'm not plotting with Belphie! We just-" I trailed off awkwardly, unable to put together an explanation that didn't sound insane.

Lucifer growled, "Do not mistake me for a fool. I saw your messages, you are clearly working together. Why do you test me like this? Do you want me to hurt you?"

A soft drawl filled the air, filled with mocking amusement, "Go ahead." Belphegor was leant up against the wall by the door, eyes half-open and glazed with disinterest.

Bitter rage flared through me as my furious gaze fixed on the seventh-born. You back-stabbing, treacherous, worthless- Belphie continued after a moment, "After all, if you kill her I don't have to bother, and Lord Diavolo's expression when he finds out would be so funny. Don't you think?" -smart, manipulative, wonderful asshole!

Lucifer hesitated, as if merely mentioning Diavolo's name was enough to bring him back to sanity. He let me drop until I could stand shakily on the bed, my legs still too wobbly from shock and adrenaline to stay upright on my own. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, a tiny tremble of his lips as he stared at me the only outward sign of the struggle within. Finally he straightened, letting me go and stepping back, his ember eyes still uncomfortably intense. He spoke thoughtfully, "I will not harm you, but there are other options."

I blinked at the cryptic comment and then I was being dragged by the wrist, pulled along without any way of getting away apart from literally lopping off my arm. I protested as he dragged me up the stairs, "Lucifer, what's going on, why are you- Ah!" I half-stumbled on a step and tripped, my fall brought short by the first-born's unshakeable grip. He glanced back and sighed, before scooping me up into his arms with casual ease, his arms caging me in as effectively as iron bars.

I heard Satan's voice but couldn't see him, caught in Lucifer's embrace and effectively shrouded by the wings of his coat, "She's right, where are you going?"

Lucifer spoke, and I could feel his voice rumbling in his chest, the intimacy unsettling, "I am taking what measures I believe necessary to keep you all and Lord Diavolo safe, at least until this can be sorted out properly."

I suddenly had a horrible feeling about where I was being taken.

The eldest's command lashed out, "Satan, bring Belphegor."

As we began to go up another flight of stairs, I started to writhe in his arms, forcing him to hold onto me more tightly until I could barely move. I snapped, frustration bubbling, "You didn't even let me explain!"

Lucifer paused, looking down and gave me a slight smile, though it was tinged with weariness, "You will have your chance to do so, I swear it. This will only be necessary for tonight."

Beel spoke, his voice heavy with confusion and dread, "Lucifer, isn't there any other way? This isn't right..."

Levi let out a nervous laugh, "Can't we just keep them under guard like we were doing? I mean-"

The first-born's face was cold and resolute, "No, it's too dangerous with how many pacts she has."

A low frustrated growl rumbled, echoing off the walls, a noise that I somehow knew was Satan even before he continued, "He's right. I read the messages, it's... We can't take the chance." My stomach dropped at his words, the lack of trust almost more chilling than what I knew was about to happen.

Belphie yelled out, "Don't you dare-" that was almost immediately followed by a heavy thump and a snarl. Lucifer moved forwards again, dropping me down onto my feet only to push me through a familiar open door, making me stumble as I struggled to catch my balance on still shaky legs.

I spun around, only to see the attic door slam shut, Lucifer's hands raised as purple light traced the edges of the doorframe, glowing brightly before vanishing. The Avatar of Pride nodded, satisfied, "That will keep you for one night at least. I will request that Lord Diavolo speak with both of you tomorrow." He paused, finally letting himself meet my silent accusation, "Try to get some sleep."

I watched Lucifer walk down the stares, half-heartedly willing him to spontaneously combust. Still, I did need him to be alive in order to take the spell off the door. The other three demons were still clustered around the doorway, and I took a few steps forward until I was pressed up against the fretwork. It was almost painfully funny. I was now behaving just as Belphie had done when I came to visit, before he betrayed me.

Satan glanced behind me, and then caught my gaze, looking unsure and also somehow apologetic, "I can bring you some books, if you'd like."

Levi nods, "Or some manga, you're still reading If I Don't Successfully Pick Up 72 Demons, I Am Going To Die In A Lot Of Different Ways, right? I can bring you the next couple, so you won't get bored. There's this scene in the next one that-" He slapped his hand across his mouth, which somehow made me smile despite the circumstances. Surely it would have been easier to just stop talking?

Beel frowned, his hands tangling miserably with each other again, "I'll bring you and Belphie some snacks."

I leaned my face against the bars, my fingertips resting against the cool metal as I felt fondness spread warmth through my chest. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it, but it's already late. Maybe tomorrow?"

Satan nodded, while Levi looked disappointed, despite the faint pink flush spreading across his cheeks. Beel's frown only deepened and he reached out, sliding his hand through the bars and resting it against mine. The warmth was strangely comforting and I closed my eyes, letting it calm and ground me. Another touch imbued with soft warmth made me open my eyes, glancing over to find Belphegor's fingers laid carelessly over both of ours. He stared at his twin with an inscrutable expression that slowly shifted into a smirk, one eyebrow raised, "It's okay Beel, we'll be fine. Don't worry."

Finally, Beel smiled, the relief in his eyes at his brother's words like a sunrise. He was the last to leave and head downstairs again, casting several glances back before he finally disappeared into the dark of the stairwell.

Belphegor let out a deep sigh and dropped heavily onto the attic bed, his arms spread out so he took up the entire thing. Twin shards of amethyst, amusement swirled through with irritation, met my eyes as he rolled over. "So, that went well."

Chapter Text

I snorted, leaning back against the door, "Yeah, it didn't go great."

Belphie chuckled, letting himself drop onto his back again. I followed his gaze and shuddered as I noticed a huge cobweb up in the corner. The strands were as thick as yarn - that was just an old Halloween decoration, right? The Devildom didn't actually have giant spiders, did it? Surely they would have mentioned it if that was the case.

Belphegor spoke again, turning his head partly towards me, just a flash of his amethyst eyes, "What did you even do?"

I grimaced, feeling embarrassed at how stupid it really was, "Well, uh, Lucifer asked who I was texting. I said it was Mammon, but I guess I wasn't very convincing, because then he grabbed my DDD and read the messages, and well... you pretty much saw what happened then."

He let out a silent huff that might have been a laugh, causing my eyes to narrow in annoyance as he continued, his voice low, amused and humming with malice, "That's just like Lucifer. Always sticking his nose into other people's business." Not a sentiment I could really argue with, and Lucifer had often accused me of the same, which was actually pretty hypocritical of him now I thought about it.

"Yeah", I breathed, walking further into the room and stopping by the dresser, leaning on it as I looked out of the window at the Devildom night-sky, "He's not exactly my favourite brother."

I heard the creak of the bed shifting, then Belphie's voice, darkly amused, "So, who is?" I frowned, turning so I could lean my elbows back as I stared silently at the Avatar of Sloth, who returned my glare with a deepening smirk, "What, I can't be curious?" He slowly let out a yawn, "I know it's not me, or Lucifer. So that's five left. Should I guess?"

I huffed, looking away from the sleepy laughter in his eyes, feeling my cheeks starting to warm. The bastard was clearly messing with me, but the answer wasn't exactly clear-cut either, even if I'd wanted to give him an answer.

He hummed obnoxiously, crossing his legs at the ankle and sliding his arms under his head. He looked comfy. Asshole. I replied, turning back, "Why do you even care who's my favourite?"

Belphegor smirked, then shrugged, "I'm bored, and you're entertaining." One foot lazily flexed, and I noticed he was still wearing his boots while lying on the bed. That's just wrong. What is he, a savage as well as a murderer? He continued, pink-purple eyes suddenly fixed on me, "Is it Beel?"

I blinked at him, my mouth dropping open at the sudden question, and he grinned, something tight and vicious, "Not Beel then. I wonder who it could be..."

I glanced around, finding a rolled up bit of cloth and threw it at the demon on the bed, hitting him in the stomach. He winced slightly, the grin still maddeningly on his face, and tossed it down onto the floor with a soft thump. I turned away, saying sulkily, "It's none of your business."

He snorted, letting it go and raising an eyebrow, "You know, you probably should have taken them up on their offer of bringing you stuff."

I frowned at him, crossing my arms, "And why is that?"

Belphie drawled, looking like he was enjoying himself, "You hadn't noticed? Because, there's only the one bed in here."

I froze, suddenly looking over the room with a vague sense of panic. The only thing that might have been a decent substitute was the fur rug, but that looked pretty thin and the head was still attached, along with a long, sharp horn that seemed designed to make walking through the room way more dangerous that it really needed to be. Not to mention the chance of skewering myself if I accidentally rolled over in the night. I dragged my gaze back to the bed again, mentally measuring it in my head, made a lot easier by the figure still lounging all over it. There would be plenty of room, as long as I wanted to share a bed with Belphegor.

How do I keep getting myself into these things? I could try to stay up all night, entertaining myself with whatever I could find. Not appealing, considering I didn't have my DDD or any of the things that I'd been so generously offered, and declined like a complete fucking idiot. But... even putting aside the murder, Belphegor was absolutely infuriating and seemed to live to push my buttons. Plus, letting him get close to me hadn't worked out so well for me in the past. (It lead to death, both times. Note to self: no cuddles for Belphie.)

On the other hand, I could already feel the chill in the room and it wasn't like he would actually do anything against the rules. Hell, as far as I could tell, he'd mounted a rescue of sorts when I'd been accosted by Lucifer. I grimaced slightly, reluctance heavy in my words, "We can share." Ugh. I suddenly wanted to gargle with acid to get the memory of saying that out of my mouth.

Belphegor quirked up an eyebrow, the smirk refusing to die, "And why should I share with a human?"

I walked slowly towards him, eyes narrowing at his resistance, "Yeah, well, I don't want to either. I would rather sleep on the floor than next to you, if it wasn't already cold in here. So," I paused, looking down at him, hands on my hips, "get your bloody boots off, and roll over so I have some space."

Belphie's lips twitched, but he sat up with a long sigh and started loosening the laces on his boots, finally pulling them off and tossing them haphazardly onto the floor, "Fine." He leant back onto his elbows, a sleepy pout finally replacing the smirk, though his violent eyes still glittered mockingly, "Better?" I noticed that he still hadn't moved from the centre of the bed.

The annoyance sparked a dangerous idea and malicious smirk of my own and I dropped onto the bed next to him, sliding straight into the demon's space until I was pressed up against his side. I admired the look of sudden shock before slowly raising an eyebrow, refusing to look away. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And in that arena, I had the home advantage. I did my best to ignore how the warmth radiating through the fabric of his hoodie was seeping into my bones and finally chasing away the chill from standing in the cold for so long.

Surprise shifted slowly into confusion, then something sharp that I couldn't quite get a read on, glimmering among the twilight colours of Belphegor's eyes. I'd been too angry earlier to really pay attention to the way they shifted from deep purple, almost royal blue, all the way through to a vivid magenta. Now I didn't have anything else to do except admire them. They really are so similar to Beel's, though they seem more intense, somehow. I could catch a soft scent too, something warm and earthy, almost like leather mixed with notes of sandalwood.

Belphie dropped onto his side, and suddenly we were face-to-face and uncomfortably close. I swallowed, suddenly wondering if this had been such a good idea as he leaned in slightly, letting a low growl rumble in his chest, "Why aren't you scared of me?" Frustration mingled with a disbelief that was echoed in his eyes.

"I-" I bit down on the instinctive response to bluster or mock his question, finding myself wondering the same thing. I had no reason to trust the Avatar of Sloth, yet here I was, well within his reach, deliberately antagonising him in order to get an extra few feet of bed. I tried again, "I'm pretty sure you're not going to hurt me, Belphie. Partly because of the time loop and our deal, but also... because you know that if you hurt me, it would mess up your relationships with your brothers even more than murdering me already did."

The Avatar of Sloth glared at me through narrow eyes, "We've been brothers for millennia, what makes you think that someone like you can come between us?"

I shrugged, letting a little pettiness into my voice, "I think if you killed Henry 2.0 for no good reason, Levi would kick your ass."

Belphie frowned, the hurt in his eyes fading as his expression slowly shifted back into that maddening smirk, "You do realise you just compared yourself to a goldfish."

I glared at him briefly, though my traitorous lips kept twitching with the beginnings of a smile, "They'd be really upset. And even more upset if you knew they would be upset before you did it." I bit my bottom lip, this was where it could really get dangerous. "And that's the same reason I haven't killed you."

He snorted dismissively, curiosity and derision swimming in his eyes, "You don't even have any magic. How could you possibly kill me?"

"I'd do what humans do. I'd use a weapon." My mouth was dry, I really didn't want to explain.

Belphegor tilted his head, letting his hair brush his cheek as he narrowed his eyes, this time in confusion, "You don't have any weapons that could possibly take me, though."

"I do." My voice was rough and I hated myself just a little, "I have five."

His amethyst eyes suddenly shot open wide as he realised what I'd been getting at.

I continued in a rush, not wanting to let the thought linger any longer than necessary, "But I would never do that, because it would tear everyone apart. They'd all hate me for using the pacts to make them attack you, even if I somehow survived Lucifer. I like them too much to ever, ever do that."

Belphie was quiet for a moment, his eyes unfocused as he stared into a corner of the room. Finally, he spoke, fixing his gaze back on me, "You could have done that whenever you wanted."

I nodded slowly, "And you could have killed me pretty much anytime we were in the same room. You could kill me right now."

He looked down, a strange little bitter smile twisting his lips as he let out another silent almost-laugh, before he met my eyes, "You're right. Even if we were out of the loop, I still couldn't kill you because Beel cares about you enough to get me to swear not to hurt you." He shook his head, eyeing me with a strange expression that I just couldn't read. "But that still doesn't answer my question, because why the fuck aren't you scared of me?" He shifted around on the bed until he was crouched and looking down at me, balancing on the balls of his bare feet, tail lashing back and forth slowly to keep his balance.

Tail... My eyes snapped up to his head, seeing the horns that curled there. He was in his demon form, but I still didn't get the feeling that he was angry. Was he... trying to scare me? The idea was so ludicrous that I couldn't help but start to laugh, and then laugh harder at the offended expression on his face, like he'd just bitten into a particularly sour lemon.

Belphegor let out a soft growl, shifting and leaning over me, his blue-white hair swaying as he caught his weight on his hands on either side of me. "Stop laughing, and just tell me."

I bit the inside of my cheek, letting the pain ground me and stifle the giddy laughter, taking in a deep breath. "I just don't think you're going to hurt me."

He stared back at me, and a shiver ran down my spine at how his intense violet gaze felt as if he was searching my soul for the answers. He let out a short, sharp sigh, "You trust me."

I wouldn't go that far. I narrowed my eyes and smirked, "I trust you're not stupid enough to hurt me. That's it."

Belphie shook his head, his horns and tail disappearing between one moment and the next, tilting his head as he watched me. Finally he let himself fall back and rolled over, the broad shape of his back to me. I heard him mutter quietly, "I'm not the stupid one."

Somehow, it was almost reassuring that he was still being a dick. And he'd moved over enough to give me a decent amount of space in the bed. Life was looking up! I snuggled down, pulling a pillow with me and leaning over Belphegor to grab the blanket thrown carelessly on the bed. Behaviour I was starting to associate with the Avatar of Sloth, as I stared judgingly at the boots on the floor. I half-considered stealing the entire blanket for myself, but even though I was pretty sure he wouldn't kill me for it, there wasn't a reason to push it that far. Wars have been started for less. It would have been funny, though.

I yawned again, the warmth starting to make me sleepy, wriggling further into the bed. It was surprisingly soft, and that warm, earthy and strangely comforting scent helped lull me to sleep.

***

"You went up those stairs, didn't you?! You knew you weren't allowed to, but you did it anyway! You went up there and... and you met Belphegor?!" Lucifer was enraged, his voice a growl full of fury and pain. Crimson eyes burned into mine as he stepped forwards, wings outstretched and fluttering dangerously. I stumbled back, shock and horror stealing away my breath.

Gloved hands reached towards me, red as if they'd already been dipped in my blood. There was not an ounce of pity or remorse in his eyes as he continued to speak, walking closer even I moved back in response, fleeing futilely, step-by-shaky-step. My heart hammered in my ears and each breath felt like it had to be forced into my lungs, as if it would be more natural to just stop breathing at all.

Light danced at the edges of the eldest's form, magic crackling along his shoulders and horns, "Do you REALLY find it so amusing to poke your nose into our business at every opportunity? Do you really enjoy stirring up trouble that much?" I opened my mouth, still trying to explain but it was a struggle to get the words out through the tightness in my chest, and he didn't give me the time. It was almost a scream, "YOU... a mere HUMAN?! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT!"

He lifted up a hand and a ball of purple light spun into existence on his palm. I recognised it from my studies, and a cold chill settled in my gut. A curse.

I stared at Lucifer and knew he was going to kill me, with so much certainty that it sank down into my bones.

I turned away, squeezing my eyes shut as I took another step backwards, and felt my knees connect with the stone table. I staggered, falling down onto the surface, looking up with wide eyes as Lucifer stepped forward, staring down at me with a mirthless smirk on his lips. Almost casually, he tossed the curse at me. It sailed through the air and time seemed to slow.

No. I rolled off the table, the curse just missing me and searing into the stone, obliterating it utterly. I stared at the mess, staggering backwards, my heart skipping and thundering in a discordant song. The first-born could catch up to me easily; I knew that it would do little but delay the inevitable and yet... I ran.

It was almost funny how my trembling limbs could still carry me so quickly as I dodged around the demon and bolted for the hallway, glancing around in desperation to find a way out. It stretched off in both directions and it looked different, the rooms weren't in the right places, and there was no door to the outside. I was trapped, trapped in here with Lucifer. I was going to die, I was going to DIE and there wasn't anything I could do about it-

"Ugh, you're so loud."

My head snapped to one side, confused at the sudden noise, but it was quickly forgotten as I heard Lucifer's footsteps heading towards me. I ran to the nearest door, pulling it open and tumbling into a tiny closet, closing the door behind me and dropping down to my knees as silently as I could. The view through the keyhole was horribly restricted, but I could at least see some of the corridor. I could hear his footsteps on the carpet, slowly getting closer.

I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to smother any noise that I might make, hoping he would pass me by. If I could hide until the others got back then maybe I'd survive. The wild hope beat against my ribs and I suddenly wondered if the Avatar of Pride could hear my heart beating.

I closed my eyes, the fear rising up in my throat and making me bite down hard on my lip to stifle a scream. Tears pricked in my eyes as I heard his movements stop, silence stretching out, time twisting slowly as the tension grew.

I opened my eyes, and couldn't stop the cry ripped out of me as I saw a crimson eye staring back at me through the keyhole.

The door handle began to turn-

"Enough of that."

Darkness, and the feeling of something soft, something comforting, wrapped around me. The fear unravelled, the tight knot in my belly loosening as I breathed in the quiet. I let out a low sigh, feeling myself float in the infinite dark. There were no stars, but it was somehow peaceful and there was... something...

Just before I sank deeper than dreams could follow, I caught a warm and earthy scent, something like leather and sandalwood.

***

A sudden cold, a thump and then the sensation of pain spreading from my hip. I frowned, my eyes opening before my brain had really processed what was going on. What I saw confused me, where was my tree and the vines of my room?

Also, why was I on the floor?

A moment later, and I realised I was staring at the terracotta drapes of the attic room. Memories of how I'd ended up there flittered through my brain like a fast-forwarded car crash and I grimaced. And I was still on the floor, the cold wood pressed uncomfortably against my hip and my bare legs aching in the cold. I sat up, twisting around to find Belphegor's arm outstretched where I had been lying until a minute ago.

Did that bastard push me out of bed? I got up onto my knees and leant close, looking down at his sleeping face, wanting nothing more than to shake him. "Belphie", I growled, "you pushed me out of the bed."

His eyes opened into slivers of violet, blinking sleepily as he tried to focus on me. His voice was soft and blurry, "Mm? Oh, sorry..." He pushed himself back so I had room to get in again, but I didn't move. Suddenly the cold of the room didn't seem so pressing.

I stared at Belphegor, the anger boiling through me apparently as good as a fur coat at keeping me warm, "Are you fucking serious?"

He blinked, frowning, irritation flickering to life in his eyes as the sleepiness began to fall away. I didn't wait for him to gather his thoughts, my mouth running on ahead, "You'll apologise for kicking me out of bed, but when you fucking betray and murder me, that doesn't merit one?"

Belphie narrowed his eyes at me, then rolled them dramatically, collapsing back onto the pillows with a sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted?" The words were grudging and faintly bitter, clearly forced, and that just made me more angry.

"No, I want you to mean it." I met his eyes and refused to look away, weathering his stare even as it became uncomfortably intense.

He tilted his head, a slight twist to his lips, "You're asking for a lot."

I moved forward, sliding down to kneel on the bed and pull the blanket over my legs, the anger suddenly brittle. I was surprised by the note of pleading in my voice, "Do you really not regret it at all?"

Belphegor turned away, glancing out at the window as if the stars held the answer, looking thoughtful. Finally he spoke, "If I could do it all over again, I'd do it differently."

I couldn't let it go, like scratching an itch, "So you do regret it."

He huffed out a breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head back, "I suppose. A little. Because of my brothers." He half-opened one eye, "Not you."

I blinked at him at the admission, the anger shattering into something I couldn't quite name as I rocked back so I could sit on the bed. "Say it then? Like you mean it, at least a little." I hadn't meant my voice to come out quite that soft.

The other eye half-opened too and he frowned, sighing, "Is it really that important to you? It's the middle of the night, we could be sleeping."

I raised an eyebrow at him and stared, wondering if I was channelling Lucifer a little bit with how unimpressed I was at his obvious attempt to get out of it.

"Ugh." Hang on, why is that noise so familiar? "Fine! I'm sorry I killed you, okay?!" His agitation settled down into a sulk, eyes narrowing at my sudden grin, "It's not like I'm going to do it again. Can we sleep now?" His whine almost sounded like Mammon, though I was sure he wouldn't appreciate the comparison.

I beamed at him, leaning in and watching his eyes glaze over in distrust as my smile only widened, "Okay." I felt giddy and unbelievably smug as I pulled myself back under the blankets. "Just don't kick me out of bed again."

There was no response, and I wondered idly if Belphie was already fallen asleep or if he was just ignoring me. And he really doesn't like being kept up. Something to keep in mind for later...

***

It was gloriously, blissfully warm and comfortable, and I found myself nuzzling into the softness as I drifted on the edge of sleep, not really wanting to surface to face the day. Unfortunately, various needs were slowly starting to clamour for my attention and I knew I'd have to move and deal with them first if I wanted to have a lie-in.

The pillow beneath my cheek was warm, which wasn't that unusual, but as I lay there I realised that it was also slowly moving up and down. Oh no... Horror trickled through me as I kept my eyes firmly closed and started to have serious second thoughts about waking up at all. Unfortunately, I still needed to get up, so I screwed up my courage and opened my eyes.

Belphie must have taken off his hoodie sometime during the night, as he was only wearing his white t-shirt. It was surprisingly soft, and I was well-placed to know since I was nuzzled into it. More specifically, I was lying with my head pillowed on his shoulder, my arm draped carelessly over his chest. I was sure I could dimly feel his heart beating against my fingertips. His arms were behind his head, beneath his cow-splotched pillow and his face was turned towards me. I thanked my lucky stars that his eyes were closed and his breathing was still steady and slow.

If I was very careful, he'd never have to know that I had for some reason decided to snuggle with the Avatar of Sloth in the middle of the night. Okay, so he was almost sinfully comfortable and I felt like I'd had some of the best sleep of my life, even despite getting literally kicked out of bed in the middle of the night, but I'd rather walk over hot coals than admit that, especially to his face. The idea of letting him wake up to the sight of me nuzzled up against him made me want to curl up into a ball of searing embarrassment.

He would be smug. I just knew it.

I moved slowly, barely daring to breathe as I lifted myself very carefully off his chest, inch by inch until I was sat up. At least now if Belphegor woke up, I wasn't actually lying on him. He didn't stir even as I slid out of the bed and paced over to the small door I'd noticed earlier.

There wasn't much in the bathroom, just the barest facilities and a small table with a large jug and basin on it, towels draped messily around it. I made a face. Oh come on, Lucifer, really? You couldn't even work out how to magic up a shower in here? Grumbling at the sparseness of it, I washed my face, glancing in the mirror. My cheeks were still a little pink and I let out a long sigh, firmly pushing away the memory, slapping them a couple of times as I took in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I killed you, okay?!" The memory made me smile all over again, both the words and the way I'd been able to bully him into it. And he'd recognised that I was just as much of a threat to him as he was to me. Rule Three said he had to treat me with respect, but this was the first time I'd actually felt like he'd meant it. I shook my head, forcing the smile away. It would be too easy to fall back into the same patterns as when I'd visited him up here, and I knew I had to be wary of it. It had all been lies, and I had to remember that.

I did my best to try to tame the mess that was my hair, before giving up and heading back to bed. It was hard to tell the time in the Devildom without a clock or a DDD, but it felt like it might be early morning, if I absolutely had to guess. I crawled back under the covers, no longer trying that hard to avoid waking Belphie as I relaxed back onto my side of the bed. I yawned, considering that maybe it took more to wake him up than the average demon.

Which is why I almost shot straight out of bed again as he spoke lazily, each syllable wrapped in a dark amusement, "Hmm. Not interested in using me as a pillow anymore?" His eyes opened a crack, showing me a flicker of twilight mischief as his mouth widened into a sharp little grin.

My stomach did a horrible little skip and a jump as I realised that he'd somehow been awake for that. But I was certain he'd been asleep! Did he have weird sleep powers or something? I glared at him, the suspicion rolling off me doing nothing except making him look more amused. I'd been right, he definitely looked smug.

Right. That's it. It was probably a terrible idea, just another example of my sheer lack of self-preservation instincts, but I grabbed the pillow under my head and swung it to hit Belphegor in the face.

He caught the pillow half-a-foot from his face, hands almost blurring from the speed, and laughed. Not a huff or a chuckle (or the high-pitched mad cackle that made the hairs on my arms stand up at the memory). A genuine laugh, soft and full-bodied, and unfairly cute considering just who it had spilled out from.

I stared, utterly shocked for a pair of heartbeats as I tried to wrap my head around the idea that it had actually come from Belphie. His eyes flicked up to mine, and I saw his lips twitch as if he was going to say something.

So I hit him again.

This time, I changed the angle of the swing and it seemed to throw him off enough that it actually connected, landing on his face and getting stuck as he grabbed it and held onto it. "Isn't this breaking Rule One?" came a drawled question from beneath the pillow.

I scoffed, "Even humans don't get hurt in pillow fights." I paused, remembering the pillow fight at the castle and the way Lucifer had managed to somehow turn them into fireballs just by throwing them. "Uhh, well, I can't hurt you like this anyway."

He chuckled, tone teasing, "But what if you hurt my feelings?"

I eyed him, leaning forward and briefly shoving my weight on the pillow over his face, "Why would I care about your feelings?" I knew Belphegor wouldn't be in danger even if I'd seriously tried to smother the bastard. Demonic strength was no joke. Every brother, even Asmo, could lift me like I weighed nothing.

He snorted, "Ow." He didn't sound very convincing, as he pulled the pillow away from his face and let it fall onto the floor.

A soft noise from the door made us both turn, the sudden movement almost tumbling me forward into Belphie, but I managed to save it by twisting awkwardly and catching myself on an arm.

Two pink-purple eyes peered curiously through the bars, the visitor holding a tray heavily laden with a tower of various foods that looked like it might topple at any minute. Beel smiled warmly at us and hefted the whole thing with one hand so he could scratch his cheek nervously, "Morning. I thought you might be hungry."

Chapter Text

Beelzebub paused as he walked past the library, loud conversation spilling out into the hallway. He frowned, putting a hand on his stomach in a futile attempt to calm the gnawing hunger. He was on the way to the kitchen, woken up early by the need to eat something.

"Are ya fuckin' crazy? Why would ya put her in with Belphie? He killed her!" Mammon's voice carried easily and Beel's frown deepened. He was torn on whether to agree with the second-born or not about whether it was safe for Belphie to be locked in the attic along with their pact-holder. The memory of her body in Mammon's arms kept pushing itself back into his mind's eye, but so did Belphie's promise as he'd placed his hand over Beel's, still tangled with hers. It left him unsettled.

Lucifer's reply was quieter, and the Avatar of Gluttony had to strain to hear it, "You've seen the messages, Mammon. Don't pretend to be an idiot, it is quite clear that they are working together. When I threw them in the attic, she barely seemed to care that Belphegor was in there with her. She only cared that I had imprisoned her. I doubt he killed her, though I don't know how he managed to fool us all. I have no doubts that she will be perfectly fine when we go up."

"And if you're wrong?" The response was low, filled with worry and Beel could imagine the Avatar of Greed pacing back and forth.

Lucifer was silent for a moment, "I'll send Beelzebub to check on them, before Diavolo gets here."

"Beel?! It should be me, Lucifer! I'm her protector, I'm the one who's supposed ta keep her safe, I'm the-"

"Mammon. You are also the strongest of her pacts, and more than capable of causing trouble on your own. If I let her get close enough to use the pact on you, there's no way of knowing what she would make you do." Lucifer's voice was louder, clearer as he started to lose his temper, his words becoming clipped and cold.

Mammon scoffed, "I don't believe this thing about them workin' together for a minute. It don't make any sense, and besides, she wouldn't just use me! She ain't like the witches..."

Lucifer sighed, and Beelzebub could imagine the long-suffering expression, "You are not going up there. Are we clear?" A long silence, "I said, are we clear?"

Mammon must have answered, because Lucifer's next words were softer, almost kind, "I need you to trust me. I will let you know what Beel finds."

Beelzebub turned and started towards the kitchen again, thinking seriously about the conversation he'd overheard. He felt a little bad about eavesdropping, but it wasn't like he had been sneaking. He hadn't been doing anything apart from walking down the hallway. Maybe that meant it was alright?

He found himself moving on autopilot as he opened up the fridge and looked in at the contents. There was still enough to make a small snack before breakfast. He hadn't eaten as much as usual during his midnight raid last night. He'd laid in bed instead, staring up at the ceiling and feeling the quiet loneliness on the other side of the room, where his twin was supposed to be. He had finally gotten him back, and then it had all changed so quickly. He didn't even have her to turn to for comfort. What Lucifer had said worried him, like they were in trouble somehow for something he didn't understand.

Lucifer cleared his throat behind the sixth-born, politely making his presence known before he walked in, leaning against the counter where Beel could easily see him, "Beelzebub, I want you to check up on Belphegor."

Beel nodded, looking forward to being able to see them and maybe talking about what had happened. Perhaps it would help clear out the worries from his thoughts. He looked at the food on the table, a little surprised at how much he'd managed to gather without paying attention, and an idea struck him, "Can I take them some food? They must be hungry."

Lucifer sighed, his crimson eyes running over the pile of foodstuff and gave a curt nod, "Very well. Send me a message on your DDD with your report as soon as you get there, but you can bring them food. Just make sure you bring all the empty plates down again, and don't stay too long. Lord Diavolo will be arriving in an hour."

Beelzebub smiled, feeling relief wash over him, "Thanks, Lucifer." He would get to see his twin and his friend before Diavolo got there, and make sure they were okay. He didn't think Mammon's worries were warranted, if he had he would never have left them alone, no matter what Lucifer's orders were. He was more worried about how Belphie was taking being locked up in the attic again, after just getting out.

Lucifer let out a low exhalation, then closed his eyes briefly, giving Beel a rare smile. "Enjoy your breakfast, I need to go get ready." It was easy to see the faint shadows beneath Lucifer's eyes, he'd clearly had a rough night. Beelzebub wondered briefly if he'd had to deal with more brothers than just Mammon.

It didn't take long until he'd managed to prepare a decent amount of food and stack it up on a sturdy tray, ready to be carried up to the attic. He smiled at it proudly, he'd made sure to include some of each of their favourite breakfast foods and he'd barely eaten any of it. It smelled so good, making him drool in anticipation as he hurried upstairs, trying to outpace his own hunger so that at least most of the food would make it to the two prisoners.

His pace slowed as he got to the bottom of the stairs, a warmth spreading in his stomach and taking the edge off his hunger. He furrowed his brows thoughtfully, curious at the sensation flooding through him. He started up the stairs, keeping part of his attention on the feeling, until the sound of talking filtered down the stairwell. He felt a blush suddenly pink his cheeks, he didn't mean to be overhearing so many conversations this morning.

He paused, surprised as Belphegor's laughter spilled down the stairs. The warm feeling suddenly intensified, and his eyes widened as he realised it wasn't coming from him. Is Belphie happy? He was with the exchange student, and he was laughing, and Beel suddenly felt impossibly grateful that she could make being locked up better for his twin. She really was so special. He surged on ahead, eager to see them both.

They were both on the bed, Belphie on his back with a pillow over his face, with the human half-sitting, half-leaning over him. Clothes ruffled, hair bed-swept and untidy, the blanket wrapped around the both of them like a mauve serpent. She was looking down at Belphegor, her eyes amused, a smirk on her lips, lips parting into a grin as his twin grabbed the pillow and tossed it onto the floor, drawling out a sarcastic noise of pain. As soon as Belphie's face was free, their eyes immediately fixed on each other.

Something bitter coated Beelzebub's tongue, sliding down his throat to pool in his belly. He let out a sudden blow of air, shaking his head to chase away the strange feeling, only for the two of them to turn and notice him, his mistress almost falling straight on top of his twin. The bitter taste only intensified.

Beel paused, pushing it to the back of his mind as he spoke, "Morning, I thought you might be hungry." Belphie looked surprised but the expression quickly warmed into fondness that soothed the bad taste in Beelzebub's mouth.

She blinked, and then straightened up, heading towards him with a wide smile that melted away the lingering bitterness.

Beelzebub settled the tray down near to the door, dropping onto the ground by it. He blinked as he remembered his promise, and pulled out his DDD as the other two sorted themselves out, getting ready to send a message to Lucifer. He wondered briefly if he should share how friendly they'd looked when he'd walked up the stairs, but hesitated, unsure if it would get them in trouble.

Beelzebub: They're both fine.

The reply was almost immediate.

Lucifer: Good. Make sure you leave before the hour is up.

Beel slid the DDD back into his pocket. Hopefully Mammon would be able to stop worrying now. It was pretty obvious how much he liked their pact-holder, with the way he would make excuses to be near her as often as he could. Beelzebub was pretty sure that she liked Mammon back, but nothing had ever happened. He glanced up to where she sat on a cushion stolen from the bed and leant up against the fretwork. She had an egg and batwing sandwich in one hand, but was looking at the tray as if searching for something. He felt a soft pang of concern in his chest, had he forgotten something? She licked her lips, frowning, "Did you bring anything to drink?"

He blinked, looking down and feeling his cheeks warm in embarrassment at leaving behind something so important, "Sorry, but I forgot."

Belphie's voice was soft as he yawned sleepily. He hadn't bothered with a pillow, sat straight on the floor with one shoulder leant up against the wall beside the door. He was mostly visible from where Beel was sitting but the position gave the human enough space so as not to crowd her. "Don't worry about it, we've got water. Give me a minute." He pulled himself to his feet, wandering off towards the back of the attic, searching for something.

She smiled apologetically at Beelzebub, making him feel worse, "Sorry, I just haven't had anything to drink yet today. I'm not sure stuffing my face with bread would be a good idea."

Beel glanced at his twin before reaching out and wrapping a hand around the iron patterns in the door, feeling the edges digging into the flesh of his palm. "Do you like Belphie?" He wasn't entirely sure why he was asking or what answer he wanted.

She blinked and suddenly laughed, her free hand resting on his as she chuckled, "Oh, umm. Sorry Beel, but that's a huge no. Your brother is a pain in the ass."

He chewed his bottom lip, "But you're working together? You were texting each other, and when I came up, it looked like you were... friends." Her hand was so warm. The contact helped calm his unease, just like when he'd had nightmares while she was staying in his room.

She tilted her head and frowned, "We are working together, but it's not anything like what Lucifer thinks." Her lips pulled into an angry pout and Beelzebub frowned in sympathy as she continued, "And we are definitely not friends."

Belphegor dropped down into his spot, looking curious as he passed her a tall glass of water. She removed her hand from Beel's to take the glass, while Belphie glanced between them, "Who aren't friends?"

Beel hesitated but Belphie got an answer anyway as she spoke up, sounding darkly amused, "You and me."

Belphegor smirked, "Oh? You seemed pretty comfortable with me last night."

Beelzebub felt the prongs of the door dig into his hand hard enough to sting as his hand clenched. He pulled away, confused and doing his best to hide the discomfort by picking up some food and starting to eat.

She huffed derisively, staring at the seventh-born, her eyes a strange mix of amusement and anger, "You're asking to be hit in the face again."

Belphie didn't respond, just rolled his eyes, reaching out to pick up a fried treat he was fond of, but his eyes were trained on Beelzebub and the Avatar of Gluttony felt himself relaxing under the scrutiny. It was silly that he was worrying, they would always be on each other's side. Belphegor glanced back over and gestured for her to pass him the water, "You're seriously threatening me with a pillow fight?"

The two of them bickered back and forth as they ate, and Beel was surprised to find that he was enjoying it. Perhaps it shouldn't have been surprising, he was eating together with his two favourite people. It would have been even better if it wasn't through the bars of a cage.

He checked his DDD, and frowned as he began to clear up empty plates and stack them on the tray, "I need to go. Lucifer said that Lord Diavolo will be coming up here soon." He bit his lip as he saw Belphie's face shift from relaxed to tense and closed-off at the Prince's name. He frowned, "I'll talk to him as well, it's not right that you're locked up in here. You haven't done anything wrong-"

She let out a short, humourless laugh, crossing her arms and looking over at Belphegor, "You mean apart from the murder?"

Beelzebub blinked, his eyes widening at the words. Lucifer had been sure that it had been an illusion, but if it had been real...

Belphegor groaned, "How many times am I going to have to say I'm sorry before you stop bringing it up?"

"Oh, I don't know, more than once, definitely."

"I've already apologised twice, get it right."

"Belphie..." his tongue felt heavy in his mouth, "...you actually killed her?"

Belphegor's violet eyes flicked back to his and he could see the fear in them. His twin curled his hands around two of the uprights on the door, fingers splayed, and glanced at the floor of the attic, "I didn't know. I thought she was dangerous, that I had to break your pacts to save you. I didn't know you wanted to protect her." Beel stared back, unable to process the admission. Belphie had murdered her. It had all been real. It must have shown on his face, because the Avatar of Sloth narrowed his eyes and pulled himself closer to the door, "I won't hurt her again, Beel. I promise." He squeezed his eyes shut, almost looking as though he was in pain, before meeting his twin's eyes, his voice steady, "I'll protect her."

The sudden silence was shattered by a cheery chime, and Beel looked down to see that his alarm for Diavolo's arrival had gone off. He swallowed hard, looking back up at his twin's eyes and grimacing, not sure how to feel, apart from overwhelmed. "We... we'll talk later." At the sudden look of alarm in Belphie's eyes, Beelzebub relented, "I'm not mad at you, I just... need to think." He gathered up the tray and headed down the stairs, feeling hollow in a way that had nothing to do with hunger.

He'd felt betrayed when he found out that Lucifer had locked Belphegor in the attic, that he'd lied about him being in the human world. His twin had been so close the entire time, and he hadn't known. He hadn't been able to save him. Then Lucifer had told him that his pact-holder had helped Belphie, that the pacts she made were what opened the door and released Belphegor. He hadn't needed Lucifer's words to know what happened next, not when he'd seen her dragged into the entrance hall. Not when he'd seen Mammon breaking down, holding her body to him like it was the most precious treasure he couldn't keep. He'd heard Belphie's laughter, how he'd spat out his poisonous 'reasons' for what he had done.

He'd wanted to believe so badly that it was a lie, that they were working together, that it had all been part of a plan. It had soothed that hurt. He'd clung to the idea that Belphegor hadn't killed her. She was still alive, after all. Maybe that meant it didn't even matter that Belphie had done it, that he'd killed her without knowing that she'd come back, that she'd be saved.

Beel leant against the kitchen table, and let his head drop. He still didn't want to believe that Belphie, his own twin, could deserve being locked away.

***

I grimaced, feeling a little put out. Something impossible had happened and I wasn't sure what to do about it.

I was actually feeling sorry for Belphegor.

Once Beelzebub had gone down the stairs, the Avatar of Sloth had retired to the bed and curled himself up in the blanket, face pressed down into the softness of the mattress. He looked like a mopey burrito. I poked him in the side, but all he did was curl up tighter and let out a soft noise of protest. I rubbed my arms, the food had helped to warm me up but it was still cold and my pyjamas really weren't up to the task without any kind of extra covering. I reached out for a scrap of the blanket currently wrapped around Belphie, pulling futilely, "Come on Belphie, I'm cold."

There was a long silence, and for a moment I wondered if he was going to just ignore me entirely, before he finally spoke, voice muffled, "Go away."

I gave him a flat look, wondering if he'd forgotten we were locked in together, and started looking around for alternatives. The drapes were an option but the fastenings were higher than I could easily reach, I'd be more likely to tear the fabric than get them down properly. My eyes snagged on a possibility as they trawled across the room, a little smirk ghosting onto my lips as I walked over to the abandoned scrap of fabric and bent down to pick it up. I glanced over to Belphie, my voice tinged a little with annoyance, "Well, if you won't share the blanket, I guess I'll just have to wear your hoodie then."

Another long pause, then, "Whatever."

I raised an eyebrow at him, pulling the hoodie on and doing up a couple of buttons so it wouldn't immediately slide off again. It was too big, the sleeves covering most of my hands, the hem dropping down enough that it covered more of my legs than my shorts did. I brushed my fingers over the material, enjoying the softness and how it felt like I was snuggled into a cloud. It was warm and cosy, and it smelled strangely good, imbued with an earthy, comforting scent. Belphie's cologne or something?

I sat down next to the seventh-born, wondering how long we had before Lucifer and Diavolo turned up. I'd prefer to have his help with dealing with them, but he was clearly sulking, "What's wrong?"

The pause didn't seem as long this time, "I can feel Beel, how sad he is." The blanket shifted, and I got the impression that he was clinging to the blanket tighter. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly raw, "It hurts."

I stared at him, letting the idea marinate as I tried to work out what to say that might make it better, "Suck it up."

There was barely any delay this time, Belphie's voice slightly strangled, "What?"

"You heard me. Beel is upset because you killed me, but you've already told him how you're making up for that. Now it's his problem, and you can leave it with him. What you need to do..." I leant closer to where I was pretty sure his head laid under the blanket, "...is pull yourself together and help me with Lucifer and Diavolo. Or, and I'm seriously considering this no matter what you do, I'll steal your hoodie."

I wasn't sure if this tactic was going to work until he let out a soft growl and pulled the blanket down to reveal his face, navy hair mussed and sticking in every direction. He glared at me, pink-purple eyes dropping down to look at the hoodie I had so flagrantly stolen. His gaze flicked back up to my eyes, "You're not keeping it."

I grinned back at him, feeling a lot more comfortable with him now he was being threatening, "Want to bet?"

Belphie leaned forward, staring at me and a vicious little smirk on his lips as he stopped a few inches away from my face. He drawled, threat and confidence mixing in his voice, "Sure."

I was just about to reply with another snarky comment when he turned his head, eyes going distant. He spoke quietly, "I can hear them on the stairs."

I took in a deep breath, twisting around to face the door and snickering a little in my head at what I must look like. This was hardly appropriate wear to go outside, never mind meet a Prince. Of course, Lucifer hadn't given me a choice so it wasn't like he could give me a hard time about it. Surely even his hypocrisy had a limit.

Diavolo was the first up the stairs, his red hair and RAD uniform easy to spot even through the fretwork on the door. Behind him were two figures, presumably Lucifer and Barbatos. The jovial demon fixed his amber eyes on me and smiled, greeting us cheerfully, "Morning, both of you." His eyes flicked between me and Belphegor, and the smile on his face only grew broader. "Lucifer contacted me last night, and it looks like we have some things to sort out. I'm sure if we're all honest with each other, we can work this out."

In other words, Diavolo is here to be a living lie-detector while Lucifer interrogates us. I was still feeling sulky from being dragged from my room and locked up, and I pinned Lucifer with my best glare as he stepped up to take Diavolo's place at the door. He returned it with his own, utterly unaffected as his coal-black eyes dropped briefly to take in my outfit before lifting back with a slightly bemused smile. His tone was calm and confident, as if he was certain he would be getting answers, "Are you and Belphegor working together?"

"Yes." I watched Lucifer's eyes narrow in annoyance at the short answer, briefly wondering if this was a good idea but I couldn't quite bring myself to not be petty after he'd dragged me up here.

I heard Belphie snicker behind me, and a shift as he moved around on the bed. I kept my eyes on the eldest instead, sliding my hands into opposing sleeves to hide the trembling in my hands from the crimson streaks shifting in his gaze.

Lucifer spoke again, any frustration carefully curated out of his voice, "What are you and Belphegor working together on?"

I paused, frowning. How could I put it without having to explain the whole thing? Maybe I should? It couldn't be that many hours until we reset though. Unless this was the final loop, but if it was then this all had to happen eventually if we wanted to get out. Oh! Of course. I stared at Lucifer and smiled vindictively, "Escaping."

Lucifer opened his mouth to ask another question, but Diavolo stepped closer to the bars, frowning, "Are you saying that you freed Belphegor as part of a deal that he would help you... escape the Devildom?" He looked like a kicked puppy, his golden eyes tugging at my heartstrings. Ack, that just wasn't fair. Why did he have to be so cute? He was an actual Prince of Hell, for goodness' sake! He continued, "I didn't realise you were so unhappy here, I had hoped to make your stay as comfortable as possible."

I grimaced, now feeling torn, because while he'd gotten the wrong end of the stick, it wasn't completely untrue. I hadn't been unhappy in the Devildom, but I had desperately missed home.

I brushed the thoughts aside, focusing instead on the question. I could spend all day dodging, but they had asked for the truth. Maybe I could see how they reacted to it, "No, escaping a natural time eddy. We're both free agents. The loop is around twelve and a half hours long, and we're on the..." I tilted my head, counting in my head. There were the first three with the deaths, that made me sick, and that was all one loop until I drew on Belphie's face, "...fifth one."

A sudden warm weight on my shoulder set my heart to pounding in surprise and I tensed up, glancing over to find Belphie had hooked his chin on my shoulder and was staring at Lucifer. I could feel his hair tickling my ear and the warmth of his body against my back, even though he wasn't leaning against me. My first instinct was to push him away, but I'd be damned (hah) if I would give Lucifer the satisfaction.

I looked back into two equally confused and stunned faces. Barbatos let out a soft cough and spoke, "Perhaps I could offer some insight? If they are telling the truth," Diavolo nodded, and I smirked to myself even the demon butler continued smoothly, "then they have been reliving the last half day several times over. At a certain point-" He suddenly fell silent, and then let out a pleased noise I didn't even know he could make. "Ah. That is why Belphegor could remember the other timeline. Twelve and a half hours, of course."

Lucifer recovered first, narrowing his eyes, his mouth thinned to a straight line as he glanced at me, "Were you working together before this... time eddy?"

"Uh," the answer was sort of complicated, "I had been meeting with Belphie up here secretly, and making pacts in hopes of freeing him. It wasn't because he'd promised me anything though. Mostly, I just wanted to make Beel feel better." I didn't mention the way that Belphegor's loneliness had motivated me just as much as Lilith's pleas had.

The Avatar of Pride's eyes glimmered like a banked fire, "Did he kill you?"

I licked my lips, suddenly aware of how Belphie's breathing had paused at the question. "Yes, and no. He killed a version of me, from the other timeline. Barbatos gave me her memories when he merged the timelines."

"You remember it." It wasn't a question, and Lucifer didn't look at me as he spoke, his gaze trained on Belphegor instead.

"Yes."

There was a ripple of anger in the eldest's voice, like the play of light on the edge of a blade, "And you dare touch her."

Belphegor shifted a little and spoke, slow and smugly dangerous, his voice humming strangely against my shoulder, "You're the one who locked her in here. With me."

Belphie definitely had a point, but I really wasn't happy about them talking like I wasn't in the room. I restricted myself to shrugging the shoulder Belphie was leaning on, as Diavolo reached out and put a hand on Lucifer's arm, "Hah, yes, but that isn't why we're here. Lucifer was worried that you both might be plotting something against the exchange program or the Devildom."

I raised an eyebrow, honestly a little offended at the accusation. "What? No! I'm not plotting anything like that!"

Diavolo looked over to Belphie and his stare wasn't quite as friendly, though he spoke kindly enough, "And you, Belphegor?"

The Avatar of Sloth let out a soft sigh that I barely heard, even as close as I was, his reply surprisingly soft, "I'm not planning on doing anything like that, not anymore."

Lucifer glanced over to Diavolo, and I saw a wide smile spread across the Prince's face. The redhead turned to his friend and grinned, "Well, in that case, I think they can be let out, don't you Lucifer?"

The eldest's face was a picture as his eyes flitted from Diavolo's face back to Belphegor, his brows puckered in worry and a slight frown marring his lips. He'd closed his fist around a handful of the lining of his coat, scrunching the fabric and stretching the leather of his gloves. "You're not going to try to ruin the exchange program, or harm the human world?"

I turned to Belphie, interested in the answer myself. He'd promised Beel he wouldn't hurt me, and I doubt he wanted to try taking on Solomon - even Lucifer was wary of the white-haired sorcerer.

The seventh-born let out a soft chuckle, pressing harder into my shoulder before he straightened up, speaking over my head, "No."

The word hung in the air, so simple it left nowhere to hide.

Lucifer closed his eyes, only for a moment, and let out a breath as tension seemed to drain from his body. With a slight smile, he raised a hand to trace the doorframe, the spell breaking with a brilliant flash of purple light. I blinked away the afterimages, squinting to see that the door had swung open, the three demons beyond moving out of the way so that we could finally leave.

I was still wearing Belphie's hoodie as I relaxed against the couch in the living room, determined to catch up on my DDD notifications. Lucifer had returned it, rather reluctantly, after informing the rest of his brothers that we were no longer potential threats to the Devildom. In a way, it had almost been flattering that Lucifer himself though I was that talented of a troublemaker. On the other hand, looking back at what I'd managed to get myself into over the last few months, I could understand his caution.

I opened up Mammon's conversation first, noting that the first few messages were more or less as soon as he left my room.

Mammon: What were you gonna say? Are you okay?

Mammon: If ya need anythin', you come to me, right? Can't believe that Lucifer is lookin' after ya right now. Next time, ask for me, okay?

Mammon: Why were ya askin' about kissing anyway? Who told ya that thing about pacts? Did ya wanna kiss someone you've got a pact with?

Mammon: It had BETTER not be Asmo! I'm being serious here, don't ya dare kiss Asmo!

Mammon: HEY! Stop ignorin' me! Don't make me come in there!

There was a big gap in messages for a while, starting up again sometime early in the morning.

Mammon: I don't care what Lucifer says, you ain't like the witches. I know ya.

Mammon: You better be okay, or I'm gonna be really mad!

I rested my DDD on my knee for a moment, pressing my knuckles against my mouth as I laughed. Only Mammon could be simultaneously sweet, funny and annoying all at the same time.

As I scrolled down to check the next notification, I paused, suddenly noticing that I had a bunch of missed calls, all early in the morning and all from Solomon. I frowned, tapping on the screen and saw he'd also sent a single message.

Solomon: Call me.

Chapter Text

I frowned, suddenly concerned about why the sorcerer wanted to talk to me so urgently. I checked the time and grimaced at how early it still was, but he had been trying to get into contact with me in the middle of the night, so hopefully he wouldn't turn me into a frog just for waking him up. I pressed the call button before I gave myself too much time to think.

It took only two rings before Solomon picked up. His voice was quiet, a husky whisper that I couldn't help but enjoy, "One second." I could hear rustling and movement on the other end, and then finally the louder click of a door closing. He let out a slight sigh, and then spoke at his normal volume, "Sorry, I didn't want to wake him, he only got to sleep a couple of hours ago."

I frowned, confused, "Who do you mean?" I couldn't imagine that Luke or Simeon would be staying over in Solomon's room, not if each other's was an option. Both of us were the odd one out in our respective dorms. The only human. I sometimes wondered if we'd been split up so we couldn't cause too much trouble. The events since the start of the year more or less supported the theory, every time me and Solomon got to double-team, we caused utter chaos. It was great fun.

Solomon sighed, "Asmodeus. It's why I wanted to talk to you, actually. He came over late last night, and told me what happened. I think I got most of the details, but I wanted to talk to you just in case I misunderstood anything."

I bit my lip, feeling bad that I hadn't even realised Asmo had left the house. He'd gone to Solomon for... what? Help? Comfort? It didn't really matter. "Is he okay?"

There was a slight pause, "He's okay. He'll be a lot better if he can talk to you. I might pass you over once we're done if that's alright? He was worried about you." There was a thread of reluctance in his tone, a hint that there was more he wasn't saying. I wanted to chase after it, but I knew I wouldn't get anywhere. Solomon never gave away information unless he meant to. The man was a steel trap.

"Sure, it'll be nice to talk to him too." Apart from during the start of the resets, and a little bit at breakfast, I hadn't had much chance to hang out with Asmo and I was starting to miss him. I took in a deep breath, dragging the conversation back on track, "You wanted to talk to me?" Solomon didn't call me over and over and over because he wanted me to calm down Asmo, surely?

"Hmm, yes. So, I heard that you were making the pacts with the brothers in order to gain enough power to release Belphegor, who wasn't in the human world, but was locked up in the attic. By Lucifer. All correct so far?"

I licked my lips, nodding, before cursing myself and adding, "Yeah, that's right. Well, sort of. I didn't even know he existed when I made a pact with Mammon, and I made a pact with Levi so I could get into the attic, so technically those two aren't really-"

Solomon's chuckle interrupted my excuses and he sighed, "Asmodeus was a bit upset by that, but I think it's pretty minor in comparison to everything else. So, you released Belphegor... and he killed you. Except it wasn't you? Or there were two of you. This part of the story didn't make much sense."

I couldn't help but snort at that. Yeah, welcome to the club on that one. "A version of me from a different timeline travelled back in time and that was the one who released Belphegor and got killed. Then Barbatos merged the timelines and I ended up with her memories, which honestly I could have done without, but she did have some information that I really needed." If I hadn't known about Lilith, the story that Lucifer told us in the other timeline, I was certain things would have gone very differently.

Solomon made a thoughtful noise, loud enough that it buzzed through the phone speaker, "And you're distantly related to Asmodeus? Through his sister, who apparently was a human."

Asmodeus had clearly decided to say a lot more than I thought he would, "I'm descended from Lilith, who was their sister, apparently. She became a human during the Celestial War." I don't mention who did it, remembering that Diavolo and Lucifer had kept it a secret, and there had been some concerns about the information getting back to the Celestial Realm and causing problems for the Devildom.

"Hmm." He seemed taken aback at that, usually he was perfectly composed and it was an odd look on him. Maybe his defenses were down because it was so early. "And finally, Lucifer found evidence that you and Belphegor were working together and locked you up in the attic? And banned your pacts from visiting you?"

I blinked. I hadn't really thought about visitors - with Belphie making me want to throttle him, I hadn't had time to get bored. "I didn't know that he banned them from visiting me. Beelzebub did bring us breakfast, though."

"Are you working together?" He sounded serious and I chewed on my bottom lip again. I didn't really want to have to explain everything to him, but then again, maybe he'd know something we didn't.

"Kind of? We're not doing anything nefarious though. We're just trying to escape a time loop. Barbatos called it a natural time eddy. I told Lord Diavolo and Lucifer, and they let us out." I tried to be as matter-of-fact as possible, letting him come to his own conclusions.

Silence on the other end of the line for long enough that I started to feel uncomfortable, wondering if Solomon had accidentally muted himself, though that was generally more of a Simeon thing to do. The angel was an excellent cook, a wonderful confidante, dressed well enough that I could barely take my eyes off him but he'd taken to modern technology like a dead duck to water.

Finally he spoke, just before I was about to say that I couldn't hear him. "Barbatos would know. I'm a little annoyed that he didn't let me know anything about all this, however. I shall have to speak to him later about it." I'd never heard that slight hint of danger in his voice before and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. It was a good look on him. He let out a short, sharp exhalation, "What I wanted to talk to you about was that you were locked up. I take it from the fact you didn't respond to my messages that Lucifer took your DDD."

I bit my cheek and sighed, fingers tightening around the little device. I'd been surprised how much I'd missed it, "Yeah. I had to put my foot down to get it back too."

When the sorcerer spoke again, I could hear the undercurrent of anger, "If anything like this happens again, I want you to demand to speak to me first, before they lock you away. At least try." He took in a deep breath, "It's my duty to protect the human world, and that includes you. I'll be able to at least act in your interests."

I hummed, "So, what, you'd be like my lawyer?"

He chuckled, the sound soft, "No, more like an embassy worker. You're a long way from home, after all."

I let my eyes fall closed at the reminder, pushing the melancholy nostalgia to one side, focusing instead on Solomon's offer and how it made me feel strangely safe. I had an ancient sorcerer on my side, one that even the most powerful demons gave the side-eye. "Thanks, Solomon. I really appreciate it, and I'll remember, I promise."

Solomon paused again, and when he spoke again, his voice was quiet and thoughtful, "What do you want to do about Belphegor? He killed you, alternate version or not. I'm not your lawyer, but I can certainly make sure he faces an appropriate punishment." It was clearly a threat.

I smirked, nuzzling deeper into the hoodie's confines, Oh, I think I can handle that part pretty well myself. "No, that's okay. I'm certain he's going to be punished properly."

The sorcerer sighed in relief, and I could hear the smile in his voice, "Good. Ready to wake up a certain sleeping demon?"

I smiled, leaning my cheek against the couch, nuzzling the soft fabric of the hood as it half-fell over my eyes. "Yeah, let's do it."

Another series of shuffling sounds and then murmured conversation, before a sleepy, familiar voice hummed down the line, "Hmmm? Yes?"

He sounded so cute, half-awake and fuzzy from being woken up that I was briefly sad I wasn't there in person to squish his cheeks. Even though that would no doubt get out of hand, knowing Asmo. I spoke, keeping my voice light, "Morning Asmo."

A frozen moment and then a delighted gasp, the sleepiness brushed away and replaced with familiar bubbliness, "Darling! You're alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

I laughed, "I'm fine, Lucifer just bruised me a little. He brought Lord Diavolo over this morning and we got let off, Solomon knows more. I'm just in the common room right now, waiting for breakfast and catching up on my messages."

Asmodeus' tone was slightly rough, clearly emotional, "Oh, I wish I was over there now, so I could see you and help tend to your beautiful skin. How dare Lucifer bruise you, he knows better! I'll head home right this instant so I can ma-" He cut off with a long yawn, almost a moan.

I blinked, shaking my head at how he could make even a yawn sound sensual, "Maybe you should get some more sleep instead?"

He whined softly in response, and I could just imagine the pout on his face, "I'd rather make sure you're alright, darling." I tried to protest, and he cut me off, "No, no arguments! I'll see you at breakfast."

I gave up, still smiling at how the Avatar of Lust, of all demons, could be such a sweetheart, "Fine, I'll see you then."

We traded a few goodbyes and then I ended the call, the room suddenly feeling larger and lonelier in the absence of the voices on the other end of the line.

Of course, as soon as the thought entered my head, that feeling was abruptly shattered.

"Hey hey hey! So that's where you've been, I've been lookin' all over for ya, human! Let's have a-" Mammon's cheery voice suddenly cut off with something that sounded an awful lot like he'd choked and I turned to find him not three feet away from the back of the couch, staring down at me. It didn't take long for his mouth to reboot, "What the fuck are ya wearin'?!"

I glanced down at Belphie's hoodie and pulled it closely, snuggling into it as I felt deliciously smug. "Belphie's hoodie."

He gaped at me, as if that wasn't the answer he was expecting, before he scowled, "I know that, but why are ya wearin' it?"

"Because I stole it." My voice was filled to the brim with self-satisfaction. Belphegor was out there, bereft of his hoodie, while I got to enjoy its warm softness. Hopefully he was shivering and cursing my name at this very moment.

Mammon mouthed words at me for a few moments, as if he wasn't sure exactly what to say, before he started shrugging off his jacket. It was his brown leather one, he was still wearing his casual clothes, making me wonder briefly if he'd actually gone to bed last night. "Here." He shoved it towards me, looking resolutely away while a pink blush dusted his cheeks and shaded down his neck.

I stared at the jacket, feeling conflicted. On the one hand, it was Mammon's jacket. Even ignoring the fact that I still found myself aching to kiss him, I was certain that his jacket would probably be the most expensive thing I'd ever worn in my life. On the other hand, Belphie's hoodie was so... snuggly.

Mammon shook the jacket at my indecisive silence, and huffed, "Hey! Not everyone gets offered the Great Mammon's jacket, ya know. You should be honoured!"

For once, the second-born's bluster was entirely true. I don't think I'd even heard of him lending anything to anyone, nevermind something as personal and expensive as his jacket. I swallowed hard, eyes lingering on his face as I finally made a decision. Already missing the softness, I undid the buttons and wriggled out of the hoodie, taking the jacket from Mammon's hand and sliding it on before I could get cold. It still had a lingering warmth to it, and the soft scent of cinnamon flooded my senses, bringing back memories of chilling in my room and chatting, of leaning against him while we were watching movies, of him crawling into my bed and kiss-

I took in a sharp breath, forcing my mind away from the memory as I looked up to find Mammon staring at me with wide eyes, looking stunned. I slowly tilted my head, feeling a little concerned, "You okay?"

He blinked, swallowing and clearing his throat awkwardly, "Yeah, yeah. Just, ya know... it looks good on ya." He suddenly grinned, "So, uh, be grateful human, it isn't every day I'm feelin' this generous!"

I laughed, grinning back at him, and pulling the hoodie out from around my waist with some difficulty, "Then I guess I should thank you." I sat up, letting the hoodie drop onto my lap so I could run my fingers over the soft leather. It wasn't as comforting as the hoodie, but it made up for it with the luxurious feel and was equally warm.

Mammon dropped down into the seat next to me, reaching out and pulling the hoodie so he could hold it up in front of him thoughtfully, "Probably not worth much but..." he glanced over to me and there was something just a little bit dark glinting in his eyes, "...wanna sell it?"

***

By the time I walked into breakfast, no longer in my pyjamas but still wearing Mammon's jacket, the hoodie had been securely hidden away in my room. Hopefully somewhere neither Mammon or Belphegor would be able to find it. It didn't really matter unless we ended up breaking free from the loop but on the slim chance that we did, I was going to make sure that it wasn't going to get rescued or sold before I could properly enjoy it.

Everyone looked up at me as I entered, but unlike usual, their stares didn't drop back to whatever they had been doing as I paused in the doorway. Lucifer in particular pinned me with a cold look that slowly tracked down my torso and back up again. He didn't say anything, but a slight smirk tugged up a corner of his mouth, before he finally went back to his food.

Asmodeus got up as soon as he saw me, giving the jacket a contemptuous look before cupping my face in his hands, smiling at me, "Oh, darling, I'm so glad to see you're alright." He lightly chewed his bottom lip, and reached out to tug at the collar of the jacket. It was big enough on me that he could easily slide it off my shoulders, revealing the yellowing bruises on my upper arms from where Lucifer had held me up against the wall. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously after a second, lightly tugging up my sleeve to reveal dark purple splotches on my shoulder, clearly marked in the shape of a hand.

I heard the sound of cutlery hitting a plate and inwardly grimaced. Even Asmodeus' eyes, usually filled with affection and amusement, had gone flat. He let out a short laugh, though it sounded hollow, "Well, mostly alright." His fingertips traced around the shape of the purple bruise, delicate enough not to make it sting.

Mammon's strangled yell made me glance over to him to find his blue eyes swirling with an anger that he released into the air as a growl, "Where's Belphegor?"

"Here." The slow drawl came from behind me, as Belphie walked in, Beelzebub following close behind him. He had a different hoodie on, one that didn't look nearly as soft as the one I'd stolen.

Mammon's gaze jumped to his little brother, eyes narrowing, "If ya ever d-"

Lucifer's voice snapped out, "Mammon. Belphie didn't hurt her."

The second-born rocked back as if he'd been struck, looking confused.

Belphegor finally settled in his seat, glancing to Mammon and then looking over at me as he frowned. He blinked, violet eyes running over my injuries, before he flicked his gaze back to Lucifer, a smirk shifting to his lips, "What? You're not going to tell him who did?"

Asmodeus pulled the jacket back up onto my shoulders and then dropped one hand down to wrap around my waist and pull me towards my seat next to Beelzebub. He settled into the chair on the other side, with a light chuckle, "Here you go darling, best get started before nothing's left." Clearly ignoring the argument starting up at the table.

Lucifer sat back with an icy smile, "I wouldn't dream of depriving you of the pleasure."

Satan interjected, "It was Lucifer, last night." His green eyes glittered, as lovely and iron-hard as gems as he looked down the table at the eldest, "Though I didn't realise it was quite that bad."

Levi stole a glance at my bruises and then went back to silently eating, his shoulders hunched and head so far forward I couldn't even see his eyes past the thick mop of purple hair.

Once again, the brothers were fighting over me and pretending I wasn't in the room. It never failed to make me seethe, "Yeah, Lucifer wasn't too gentle when he thought I might be working with Belphie. You know, just before he locked me up with my murderer." I raised both my eyebrows and met the Avatar of Pride's eyes, perhaps a little bit too boldly. Look, he'd managed to really tick me off this time.

Lucifer kept my gaze, and lifted up his coffee cup, taking a sip before he responded, "I was mistaken, but my actions were warranted considering your suspect behaviour. Surely, you cannot blame me for my caution." His coal-black eyes glimmered with crimson heat, "After all, I could have done much worse."

Oh great, we were back to threats.

Beelzebub calmly pushed a couple of pieces of food onto my plate, his mouth full as he chewed. I was still mostly full from the breakfast that he'd brought us earlier, but I gave him a smile anyway. Belphie seemed to be in the same boat, going by how slowly he was chewing on a single batwing.

Mammon's unusual silence was broken as he got to his feet, abandoning the rest of his breakfast and stopped behind my chair, "Hey human, let's get goin'."

I twisted in my seat so I could see him properly, something about the lack of his usual exuberance putting me on edge. "I'm not going to RAD today, I figure being killed and then imprisoned earns you a day off." We only had an hour until the reset anyway, I really wanted to spend it getting some time to myself.

He frowned down at me for a second, then pulled my chair out until I was sat several feet from the table. I quirked an eyebrow at him, resting my elbow on the back of my seat awkwardly, as he looked down at me, azure eyes flicking away for a second before they came back to mine again, "Fine, I'll take ya to your room then."

I followed the direction he glanced in and found Lucifer, still calmly sipping his coffee. Mammon's concern suddenly became obvious, and it would have been sweet if it wasn't so annoying. "I'm not finished with breakfast, and besides I do know where my room is." Oh, hang on... As the thought occurred to me, I slid the jacket off, offering it up to the Avatar of Greed. No doubt he wouldn't want me just hanging around the house in it, though I did miss the warmth as the cold air brushed my arms.

He stared at me and then down at the jacket, his cheeks flushing even as he frowned. Someone laughed quietly, and Mammon suddenly grabbed it, huffing, "Yeah, well, you're lucky I even offered. Now it's got your human stink all over it."

Stink?! Mammon had said similar things to me before, but that had been a while ago, before we'd gotten comfortable with each other. I heard Asmo gasp beside me, but I was already speaking, "I do not smell, and if you were going to get this upset about it, then maybe you shouldn't have offered! It's not like I needed your stupid jacket!"

Belphie yawned, breaking the sudden silence, "Yeah, she'd already stolen mine."

Mammon grabbed the chair I was still sat in and pulled it against him, glaring at Belphegor over my head, "You don't get ta say anythin' about it, Belphie. You killed her! She shouldn't be hangin' around with ya, or wearin' your clothes, or nothin'! If she had any sense, she'd not go anywhere near ya at all!"

Belphie's smirk dropped from his face as his eyes widened. For once, words seemed to have deserted him. Beel glanced over to his twin, brows tight with concern.

I bridled, "Leave him alone! I'm right here, Mammon! Stop talking about me like I'm not, or like you get to decide what I do!" I didn't bother to argue the point about me having sense. Some fights were already lost.

Mammon looked down at me, his blue-gold eyes suddenly pained as he grit his teeth, jaw flexing, "Why are ya defendin' him?!"

"I'm not-"

"Yeah? 'Cos it sure looks like it. Why can't ya understand that he's gonna hurt ya the second he gets the chance?"

I saw Beelzebub's expression change, fall into something distraught as he dropped his gaze to stare at the remnants of his breakfast. I shifted in my seat and stared back up at the Avatar of Greed, "No. Because he isn't, he hasn't. But do you know what?" I got to my feet, tossing my fork onto the table that was still several feet away, and then turning to face him. "You are being an asshole, and I've had enough of this shitshow for one day. I'm going to my room!"

I didn't stop until I reached it, and slammed the door as loudly as I could. After a moment's thought, I also dragged one of the chairs from my table and did my best to wedge it up against the door. It wasn't as good as a lock - something I daydreamed about rather often - but it would have to do. It would at least slow them down. I turned and dropped face-first onto the mattress, tensing up and then screaming my frustration into the muffling softness.

I didn't even know how I felt, how to unpack it all. It was all such a mess. Not to mention that none of them, apart from Belphegor, would even remember the argument in - I checked the time and groaned - thirty minutes. I'd probably still be mad by the time we got to the reset.

I turned over onto my back, closing my eyes and just breathing in the silence. I wondered briefly what the conversation at the table had turned into once I'd gone, if Mammon had stayed or just stormed off too. Something told me it was probably the latter.

Hands pressed against my face, I sighed. Mammon was still in the same place, stuck, unable to move past the memory of me dying in his arms. I couldn't blame him for that, for him it was less than a day since it happened and the events of this loop couldn't have made it any easier. From experience I knew I would forgive him eventually, but for the moment I just wanted to curl into the blankets and be very, very upset at my white-haired demon.

Twenty minutes.

Damnit, Mammon. Why do you have to be like this?

***

Asmodeus turned, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling my hips to press against him. I leant into it, letting myself sink against the Avatar of Lust as he spoke kindly, "Belphie, you can't hate humans forever." I could feel Mammon's arm wrapped around my shoulders, holding me close, but I didn't look up. I could still feel the anger at him burning in my gut.

Satan stepped up, green eyes bright and piercing, "He's right. Lilith was reborn as a human. She always wanted to spend more time in the human world, so I'm sure she lived a happy life."

I felt a little better, maybe whatever the reset did to my body had helped to flush out my stress hormones or whatever it was. I'd never been great at biology, the class had been straight after lunch and it had been hard just to stay awake.

Everyone was staring at Belphegor, waiting for a response, and he slowly looked around, eyes pausing on me for a long moment, before turning to look at Lord Diavolo. I blinked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously, wondering what he was up to now. He spoke quietly, seriously, "You're right. I've changed my mind. I'm not going to try to mess up the exchange program any longer." His pink-purple stare only got more intense, "I promise I won't hurt the exchange student again."

I blinked, looking around at the demons surrounding me, feeling that same slow easing of tension in the room as in the first couple of loops. Lord Diavolo seemed stunned but pleased, letting out a belly laugh, while Lucifer just looked poleaxed. After a moment's thought, I smiled to myself. Belphie really was clever, leveraging Diavolo's ability to divine falsehoods to get what he wanted.

Mammon's arm around me relaxed as the red-headed Prince stepped forwards, standing in front of the seventh-born as he chuckled, "Belphegor, I'm thrilled you've changed your mind. I'm hoping this exchange will help prove that humans are worth your respect."

Belphie's smirk reappeared on his face, though he glanced over towards me, "I'm sure they have their uses."

I glared at him, feeling like he was making fun of me, even though I wasn't sure how exactly, but all it earned me was a quick smirk thrown in my direction. My stare only got more sour as I realised that he was wearing my hoodie again.

Lucifer stepped forward, lowering his voice and speaking quietly to Diavolo, too low for me to overhear. No doubt discussing Belphie's sudden change of heart.

But that was his problem.

I shrugged, gently pulling Mammon's arm off of my shoulders while avoiding looking at him. He huffed, but quieted when he saw I was unwinding Asmo's arm from around my waist as well. The Avatar of Lust let out a soft whine, but I sent him a smile. I stepped forward, clearing my throat to catch the attention of the two demons discussing Belphegor's fate. "If there aren't any objections, I'm going to go bake cupcakes."

Beelzebub glanced over at my words, looking surprised. He was probably the most enthusiastic about my baking, though it had nothing to do with the quality, he was just fond of anyone who could make large quantities of food.

Lucifer blinked at me, clearly nonplussed. No doubt this was one of the last things he'd expected me to say, "Cupcakes?"

"Yes." I said firmly, "Call it baking therapy if that makes it easier." I was still irritated and it reflected in my voice, adding a little edge to my words.

The first-born let out a brief sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Very well. Enjoy your baking. Try not to stay up too late."

I smiled, weaving through the demons in the foyer and heading towards the kitchen like I was on a mission. I could hear conversation starting up again behind me but I didn't care too much, though it was surprising that no-one had followed me. Maybe I would get more than half-an-hour on my own for once.

I smirked as I pulled out the measuring bowls. Hah. Like that'll ever happen in this house.

Chapter Text

She still trusts me.

The thought should have evoked smug mockery at her stupidity, along with an eagerness to take advantage of it. Or, maybe, relief that despite everything, she was still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

That was what should have happened, and Belphegor found it strangely amusing that instead, he just felt sick. He could still see the lack of fear in her eyes as he'd gotten close, he'd even shifted into demon form, but she'd just laughed. Laughed. It made a kind of sense, she had shielded him from Lucifer with nothing more than her body. She'd done the same for Beel, and travelled back in time to save Belphie despite knowing what he'd tried to do. She still freed me, even embraced me, knowing all that. Was it stupidity, or some kind of death wish? Bravery?

The Avatar of Sloth rolled onto his back and looked over at the woman beside him, curled up under the blanket. She was facing away, but he could tell by her soft, steady breathing that she was already asleep. A slight smirk pulled at his lips, it wasn't often that a mortal managed to get to sleep before him.

He let his eyes drift to the window by force of habit, noting the constellations mechanically while he mulled over the evening's revelations. The human could have used her pacts against him at any time, and she said that her affection for his brothers was why she hadn't. She could have easily gotten revenge for what he had done to her, and she had chosen not to.

And she trusted him.

He let out a soft groan and rolled to his side, uncomfortable despite the softness of the bed and the warmth that came from sharing it. He should have sunk into slumber in moments. Instead, his stomach roiled like he'd swallowed a live lava-eel.

The memory of Beel's face, desperation and tears in his twin's eyes as he spoke. "I can't lose you. Either of you." It refused to leave him alone. Belphegor rolled again, pressing his face into his pillow and squeezing his eyes shut, trying to push it all away. He just wanted to sleep.

***

"Ah... this really brings back memories. This feeling..." The words spilled from Belphie's lips without his permission, He could feel warmth pressed up against him, he was standing in the attic and the human exchange student was hugging him tightly, her hair tickling his face. His eyes widened as he recognised the words, the memory, moments after she'd opened the door to his cage to release him. His mouth moved on its own, "I wonder how long it's been since I've touched a human?"

Belphegor forced his eyes down. He couldn't see her face, just her hair, and the delicate line of an ear. He could feel her breath dancing against his neck, soft, trusting. He gritted his teeth, trying to break free, to move under his own will.

Stupid human, can't you see that you need to run?! Get away from me! The words refused to come out.

He leaned in closer, his mouth almost pressed up against her ear, felt an answering shiver in her body as he whispered, "So... how can I express how I'm feeling right now? What can I do?" A vicious smirk twisted his lips as he shifted into his demon form, his hands sliding up to settle at her throat.

Enough. Stop already!

He literally couldn't look away as it happened all over again, the look of blank surprise on her face as he wrung the life out of her. Like she'd never expected it. He was a demon, she should have known that he would betray her, that he would kill her. He couldn't be blamed.

Suddenly Belphie could move, taking half-a-step forward into a stumble - but it was already too late. She lay helplessly on the ground, pain making her bright eyes glaze over, each breath ragged and wheezing. Before, when he'd killed her, he'd laughed, mocked her as she lay dying. He'd explained his reasons to her, why she had to die.

This time he let out a growl of pure frustration, looking away, "What more do you want from me?!"

As if in answer, a soft hand slid along his jaw, pausing to cup his cheek tenderly. He flinched, turning around and then stumbling back in shock, falling onto his rear, his eyes wide and breath unsteady.

Standing there, her head tilted to one side in that oh-so-familiar way, was Lilith. His little sister. He drank in the sight, tears blurring his vision as he felt his heart twist.

It stopped beating entirely at her words, "Oh, Belphie. Look what you've done." The angel gently walked over to the human's gasping corpse, kneeling down so she could stroke her hair. Lilith looked up, her expression kind but her eyes hard, "You killed her. The child of my child. You know how much I loved all humans but," a gentle glance down at the mortal whose breath had diminished to a soft rattle, "I loved this one the most. And you killed her, after she helped you. There really isn't anything in you worth saving, is there?"

He winced, turning away from the condemnation in her eyes, his fists clenching helplessly as he realised it was oddly quiet. No more wheezes or rasps. The human had finally given into the inevitable.

Beelzebub's whisper came from the door, Belphie's horrified gaze tracking over to his twin, "Belphie, what have you done?" Belphegor physically recoiled at the naked look of hatred on the Avatar of Gluttony's face.

Mammon held her body close against him, begging, his voice raw and full of tears, "Stay with me... Please, stay with me. Don't you die..." The second-born let out a soft wail of pure agony.

Another voice dragged his attention away. Lucifer stood nearby, watching. He pinned Belphie with cold, ember eyes that saw far too much, "Was it worth it?"

Belphegor looked away without answering, hunched forward and squeezing his eyes shut. He covered his ears as he tried to shut out the inconsolable keening of the Avatar of Greed. This isn't real. This is a nightmare. I'm asleep.

Lilith whispered in his ear, her voice clear despite his hands, "So? It doesn't make this less true. We both know what you did. You can pretend all you want that it was justified. We both know the truth. You could have worked out how our brothers felt about her, couldn't you, but you chose not to. It would make it too difficult to do what you needed to do. You wanted to avenge me, but instead you killed my family. Hurt our family."

Gentle, implacable hands forced Belphie's hands away and made him look up. His brothers were stood in a half-circle around him, their eyes a riot of different emotions from fury to grief. Their stares flayed him alive.

Her soft words dripped with poison, "They hate you." She brushed a thumb along his cheek, "I hate you, Belphie."

She moved closer, until he could feel her lips tickling against his ear, "No-one sane would want to be anywhere near you."

Belphegor growled softly, claws scratching against the floor, "Lilith would never have been so cruel. This is a dream, and what you say doesn't matter." He'd had more than enough of this. He reached out with his magic, the shape of the dream like a tapestry under his fingertips. He tore it apart, twisted the threads to reweave it into a different shape, but it resisted him, stubbornly refusing to be changed. The threads would stretch but not break, the weave would warp and then repair itself. It was almost as if...

Even as he struggled, Lilith's voice returned, now laced with a dark amusement. The tone shifted as she spoke, becoming lower, rougher, and painfully familiar, "Oh, is that what you think? Who could possibly give you a nightmare, oh mighty Avatar of Sloth?"

His own voice hissed in his ear, "Except for yourself."

***

Belphegor woke up with a start, a quick jerk that soon melted into sinking back into the bed in relief. His heart was still beating too quickly, even as a wave of exhaustion washed over his limbs. He'd managed to wake himself up, but it still left him unsettled. Was there really a part of him that felt like that? He frowned, if it had been a normal day he would have gone to Satan's room to see if the fourth-born was still up. No doubt Satan would have read something relevant, possibly even knew what to do about it. Instead, he was locked up with a human so stupid she couldn't even lie convincingly about who she was texting.

At least she'd helped warm the bed up. With two of them beneath the blankets, it was cosy enough that the chill air was pleasant on his skin. Before, no matter how many blankets he'd wrapped around himself, it had never been quite comfortably warm.

His attention snapped fully over to the human as her breathing shifted, became quick and frantic, almost panting. She twitched, a soft whimper spilling out as her fingers clenched on the blankets. A nightmare?

Belphie felt something almost like anger shift inside him, until it became a cocky smirk. He may have struggled with his own, but someone else's nightmare was an entirely different story. He was the Avatar of Sloth, and he was in a really bad mood. Besides, it would be interesting to see what could actually frighten the human so much. Was she dreaming of him? Is she scared of me after all?

He shifted closer, sliding a hand over her arm as he took in a deep breath, and stepped into her dream.

He let himself remain an unseen observer, just watching the nightmare unfold, at least for now. She stood in a hallway, clearly the House of Lamentation from the decor, though the angles of the room were warped. Familiar, but unfamiliar, like so many things in dreams. She was panting, clearly terrified, trying to find a way to run. Belphegor tilted his head curiously as her voice rang through the dream, panicked and tense, "I'm trapped, trapped in here with Lucifer. I'm going to die, I am going to DIE and there isn't anything I can do about it-"

She was getting more and more panicked, the volume increasing as her words became more raw and desperate. He grimaced, wincing at the noise, "Ugh, you're so loud."

She stopped, glancing straight at him as he spoke, and then around the corridor as if searching for something. Had she heard him? He blinked in surprise, frowning as he stepped closer, waving a hand in front of her face. She didn't react, slowly looking away and then bolting towards a nearby door, tumbling into it.

Belphegor turned more slowly, watching Lucifer walk into the corridor. He was in his demon form, anger shrouding him like a cloak, stalking forward. Hunting. This can't be a memory, can it? Why is she so scared of Lucifer? She's not shown this level of fear when we've been awake.

He tugged on a thread of the dream, and then he was crouched with her in the confines of the closet, the darkness pressing in on all sides. The only light streamed in through the keyhole, reflecting off her face as she peered through it. She pressed a hand against her mouth, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her cheeks, eyes snapping tightly shut. Fear rolled off of her like a living thing, pooling in the shadows.

Belphie shifted a little closer, listening to Lucifer's movements. His footsteps stopped outside the door. Almost simultaneously, the human before him let out a scream, falling back and sending them both flying. Belphegor landed awkwardly with the human in his lap but she didn't notice, her attention on the handle starting to turn, fear spiking to wild panic.

"Enough of that." He growled, wrapping his arms tightly around her as he pulled them out of the nightmare, tearing it into shreds as he did.

They drifted in the space between dreams, a starless sky that held nothing except what you brought with you. He could feel her warmth still pressed against his chest, the soft scent of her hair tangling in his senses. They couldn't stay here for long, but the destruction of her dream had made it necessary. Belphie kept his eyes closed, for all the difference it would make, concentrating on the feeling of her presence beside him. He poured his magic slowly into the human, dragging her down deeper to where nightmares couldn't reach. Sleep.

She vanished, leaving Belphegor alone in the dark. He breathed it in, an oblique kind of pain while he let himself do nothing but exist. He'd saved her from her nightmare, and while he could have made excuses about not wanting her to fear someone else, or tie it into his hatred of Lucifer, there was no-one here to convince. Why did I protect her?

It wasn't the first time it had happened. He'd thrown her onto the bed in the attic, choosing to expose himself to Lucifer's wrath rather than risk that she might get hurt. She had been so ridiculous, using herself as a shield and making up insane stories about pacts. Even in the nightmare, she hadn't given up, though hiding in a closet probably hadn't been the smartest thing to do. She was determined, and defiant to the point of insanity. Even while not knowing about his promise to Beel, she had screamed in his face, and shaken an Avatar of Hell like he was a misbehaving child. She's definitely crazy. I bet she drives Lucifer absolutely insane.

He chuckled, the noise sucked away into the darkness, suddenly reminding him of where he was. He couldn't stay here any longer. He pulled on a thread and opened his eyes back in the attic. The human slumbered peacefully next to him, and Belphie smirked, letting himself drift off in the warmth and comfort, listening to the slow and easy rhythm of her breath.

***

Belphegor awakened slowly, confused for a minute at what could have pulled him from his slumber. Usually it took quite a bit to get him to wake up before he was ready, but there wasn't anyone poking him, screaming or holding him upside down so that narrowed the list of suspects down quite a bit.

In the next moment, he frowned, remembering that he'd been imprisoned by Lucifer now. No one would be waking him up to go to RAD, or to go to Hell's Kitchen for an afternoon snack. Even his dear older brother rarely visited. The only one who bothered to come at all regularly was the human, and she-

His thoughts stalled as he abruptly realised there was a warm weight lying on his chest, probably what had stirred him awake. He blinked, the surprise waking him up properly, and bringing back everything that had happened since the human exchange student had released him. A quick glance confirmed that she was the one who was curled up against him, her face nuzzled into his shoulder. Belphie had to admit that it was certainly a better way to wake up than he had for the last half-year, at least he wasn't waking up alone even if he did have a human draping herself all over him. She must have shifted across the bed and nestled up to him sometime in the night. Her arm lay loosely across his torso, almost possessive. More surprisingly, his arm was wrapped cosily around her shoulders, pulling her close against his side. He shook his head, bemused.

She'll probably be angry if she wakes up like this, even though it's her own fault. It wasn't like the Avatar of Sloth had crawled into her space, and he couldn't help the silent laughter at the idea that she'd sought him out in her sleep, looking down at her peaceful face. You really aren't afraid of me, are you? On the other hand, if he moved her, he wouldn't get to see her reaction when she realised what she'd done.

Belphie lightly chewed his lower lip, looking up at the ceiling, amusement pulling his lips into a grin as he anticipated her horror. Still, he had to at least show willing that he was going to abide by the rules they'd set. She probably won't have a good reaction to waking up in my arms, considering. He slowly let go of her shoulders, already missing the warmth, lifting his arms above his head to sink them beneath his pillow. The movement sparked an unexpected reaction, as she wriggled closer, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck, her breath tickling his skin. Ahh... or maybe not?

The breath on his neck suddenly froze and she stiffened. No doubt she'd finally woken up and noticed exactly what she was doing. Wiping the grin from his face, Belphie closed his eyes, lulling himself into a doze as the human shifted slightly. He felt her fingertips trail delicately across his chest, only an inch or so before she began to lever herself up carefully, probably trying to keep him from waking up.

As she left the bed, it took every bit of self-control Belphegor possessed not to let a smirk slide onto his 'sleeping' features.

She was just too entertaining.

He relaxed a little, small noises drifting from the bathroom along with a soft huff of disgust. No doubt she'd found out what facilities were available. He grinned, rolling his head to one side to stretch out a knot of stiffness in his neck, the movement pausing when his gaze fell on the door. The door to his prison, the fretwork that allowed him to glimpse freedom through them, but never obtain it. How many nights had he sat by that door, looking out into the dark? Most of those nights had been quiet, lonely, with only his thoughts for company.

On other nights...

Belphie leaned against the metal of the door, the blanket from the bed wrapped snugly around him and fending off most of the chill coming up from the floorboards. He shook his head a little so he could see the human in front of him a little better. She had brought up a tray, which worried him a little. It was dangerous enough for her to be visiting him at all, nevermind bringing things that might get them caught. And yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to persuade her against these little visits. He had never been so bored in his life, and clearly he was desperate if the company of a frighteningly stupid human was preferable to the alternative.

Said human slowly poured a cup of steaming liquid into a small mug and passed it through the bars, holding it there and waiting for him to take it. Belphegor paused, letting the hot surface linger against her skin until she winced slightly, eyes crinkling in pain. Only then did he take it, enjoying the heat against his hand for a moment before taking a sip of the coffee and letting it roll around his mouth. It was markedly bitter, even for melancholy coffee, and made him wince. "What? No sugar?"

She looked amused for a moment, and then opened the small box that was also on the tray, pulling out two cupcakes. She offered him one through the bars, and this time he took it without hesitation, since delaying wouldn't afford him any entertainment. The cupcake was still warm from the oven, and topped with a swirl of pale pink icing, small colourful sprinkles in bizarre oblong shapes sticking to it at odd angles. The icing was clearly off-centre and leaned a little bit to one side. It clearly wasn't one of Barbatos' creations and he didn't recognise it as being from Madame Screams.

She had a 'matching' cupcake of her own, and was smiling at him in anticipation, while steam rolled from her own mug. "I really want to know what you think. I had to substitute a few ingredients, but Barbatos gave me some tips so it should be actually pretty close to a human cupcake. I had to hide these though, else Beel would have gotten them all." Her eyes looked haunted for a moment and he chuckled, imagining how her baking had no doubt drawn Beelzebub to her. It was fairly impressive she'd managed to hide these successfully, his twin could usually smell food from a mile away.

Belphegor took a cautious bite, and almost gagged. It was so sweet. It reminded him of the pink cupcakes that Asmo liked, but somehow even worse. He swallowed hurriedly and grimaced, ready to give his verdict, but paused at the look of pure horror on her face, and the large bite in her own cupcake. Had she gone a little pale?

She grabbed for the empty coffee pot and spat the cupcake into it, groaning in disgust. He chuckled, enjoying her distress, "If you were smart, you would have waited until I'd tried it."

"Too... too sweet..." she gasped, breathing heavily as she rocked herself back to sitting upright.

"Way too sweet. I like sweets, and that was still too sweet for me. How did you even manage that?" He was genuinely curious. Lucifer wasn't fond of sweets and that had been intense enough to be used as a weapon. He grinned, mischief sparkling in his eyes, "Though... Do you have any left over?"

She blinked at him, and then frowned, "Why? You can't have liked that."

"No, I hated it. But, if you have any left over, I'm sure Lucifer would like one."

She gave him the same look she'd given him when she told him that she had seen his portrait, a certain no-nonsense glare that was nonetheless just slightly amused. "Even he doesn't deserve that."

He snorted his disagreement, gesturing to the attic door to make his point, sipping on the coffee. Somehow, the aftertaste from the cupcake had made it delicious, or maybe it was just in comparison. "At least even you can't screw up a cup of coffee."

She laughed into her own cup, a pleasant sound that rang strangely in the stairwell, "Oh, believe me, I have. The stories I could tell you..."

He settled in more comfortably against the door and pushed the remnants of the cupcake beneath it, enjoying her rueful grimace as she picked it up and dropped it back into the box with a sigh, "Back to the drawing board, I guess."

"So," Belphie breathed in the steam from his drink as he caught her gaze and drew her back to what was actually important, "have you managed to get a pact with Beel yet?"

He let his eyes move away, though his gaze caught on a small stool, which sparked its own cascade of memories.

He sat, his legs half-crossed, one arm wrapped around his knee as his chin leant on the top, eyes barely open. She settled down, giving him a smile and he returned it with the same blank expression. It had been almost a month since she'd last visited, and while he didn't need a human for anything as asinine as company, he did need to make sure she was still intending on helping him. He'd started to wonder if she could have changed her mind, or if Lucifer had found out that she had been visiting him. But now she was here, acting as if nothing was wrong.

It was quiet for a while, and he felt no need to try to break the silence, his eyes staring into hers.

Finally, she spoke, having the decency to look a little uncomfortable, "I'm sorry it's been so long. It's been really difficult to get away recently. You see, Lucifer and-"

Belphegor cut her off, not in the mood to listen to one of her rambling stories, "Do you have any new pacts?"

She blinked, and then nodded, "Uh, yeah. I got one with Asmo, and-" She suddenly paused, eyeing him and he raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was acting so strangely. Finally she let out a puff of air, "We were all invited to Lord Diavolo's castle," he did his best not to growl just at the name, "for a sort of sleep over event, and it was... pretty crazy. I have so many stories, your brothers are a real handful sometimes." His glare softened just a little at the mention of his brothers' antics. "And then, if that wasn't enough, Lucifer and Satan swapped bodies, and I've been trapped in one of Levi's computer games for a while and..." The human pushed her hair back with one hand, letting out a big sigh, "It's all been a bit much. So!" She looked down and pulled a familiar little box out from the bag slung over her shoulder and smiled at him, "I did some baking to de-stress, and I thought I'd come and regain my baking honour by letting you try this batch. They're a lot better."

Belphie let out a short, annoyed huff, but still took the cupcake when it was pushed through the gap in the door. This time it had pale yellow icing and the sprinkles were gold beads, and vaguely reminded him of Mammon. Now he thought about it, the first one had a bit like Asmodeus. He idly wondered if she was trying to impress his brothers. The stupid ones who might be swayed by something sweet made just for them, anyway.

Mindful of the last time he'd tried her baking, he waited until she took a bite herself. She seemed to be enjoying it. Cautiously confident that it wasn't an atrocity this time, he bit into the cupcake. His eyes widened at the soft flavours, the sweetness cut by something pleasantly sour that seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place. Something from the human world? Taken altogether, it was actually... good. His shock must have shown on his face, because she let out a laugh, leaning back on one arm, "See what I mean?"

He licked his lips, "Well, they couldn't get worse. At least they're edible this time."

She frowned, tilting her head, and sliding her hand through the bars, palm up and beckoning, "Fine, if you don't like it, give it back and I'll eat it."

Belphegor smirked, pulling the partly-eaten cupcake out of her reach and grabbing her other hand to push it back through the bars. She laughed, trying to wrestle with him, whining under her breath as he effortlessly overpowered her pathetic human strength, until she finally gave up and sat back, recovering her hand with a pout, "Well, if you want it that badly..."

He shook his head at the very idea, putting the cupcake to one side as he went back to leaning on his knee, "So, what happened at the castle?"

He didn't need her stories, but it wouldn't hurt to keep her sweet. If she thought of him as a friend, maybe she would actually focus on what she needed to do to get him out. And he needed to focus on the same, concentrate on the steps required to get him out. They were all means to an end. He didn't need cupcakes, or the human, or whatever company she could provide.

All he needed was a way out. Everything else was just a distraction.

Belphie's gaze lingered on the little stool near to the door, where he'd placed the cupcake. He'd eaten the rest somewhere between the retelling of the botched attempt to get a picture of Lucifer sleeping - still funny - and Satan threatening to rip her apart, though she'd skimmed over what she'd actually done to bring his wrath down on her. He squeezed his eyes shut, turning away as he felt a hollow pang in his gut.

He'd never asked, and she'd never said, what flavour the cupcakes had been.

***

Belphegor simmered with malicious delight at the sight of Mammon's distraught expression as the human stormed off. The Avatar of Greed stared after her, one hand still holding his jacket away from himself as if he'd forgotten he was holding it.

He leant back, a slow smirk sliding onto his face as the second-born got his just desserts. It was amusing to see someone else on the wrong side of her sharp tongue for once. He could feel the slowly thickening tension in the room as no-one spoke.

A not-so-distant, and somewhat impressive for a human, slam of a door broke the spell. Asmodeus was the first to speak, a disappointed tut falling from his lips, "You really are scum, aren't you Mammon?" He levelled his brother a caustic glare and got to his feet, heading in the same direction as the disappearing human.

He'd gotten maybe two steps before Lucifer brought him up short, his voice cool and calm, though his eyes didn't look away from Mammon's, "Asmodeus, enough. If we do not leave soon, we will be late."

"But-" Asmodeus glanced at the table and then back to where she'd fled, and Belphie noted how his fingers twitched, the way he rocked forwards, looking almost as if he was straining against the order. Was even Asmo enamoured with her? This wasn't the usual kind of interest he'd seem from the fifth-born so many times before. This time, Asmo seemed to care about her beyond simply indulging in pleasure, and that was worrying.

The Avatar of Lust gave a big sigh, tilting his head as he pouted, "Fine. But someone should go check on her."

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose, looking like he was on his last nerve, which he probably was, "She is not a child, despite how she may behave at times. She is perfectly capable of dealing with her own tantrum."

Belphegor chuckled, watching his brothers carefully. Asmo still looked upset, but he was obediently adjusting his uniform and his hair. Lucifer was unreadable as always, but Satan was glaring at him with more malice than usual. Beelzebub chewed thoughtfully, eyeing the food still left on her plate, before leaning over and pulling it all onto his. It only took a few bites for him to be finished and he got up, ready to go to RAD. Beel was far too willing to bend to Lucifer's will, even though the first-born didn't deserve such loyalty.

Mammon looked down, finally moving again, and dropped the jacket into the human's seat, muttering, "Not got time to put it away, so I'll just leave it here. Don't anyone get any funny ideas, okay?"

Belphie rolled his eyes, Mammon's crush was no longer news and he was more interested in how Levi's fingers had blanched white on his portable gaming device as Mammon spoke. Levi? No, not a chance. I'm reading into things way too much.

Lucifer slowly got to his feet, pausing behind Belphegor's chair. His voice was deliberate and quiet, pitched to carry no further than the seventh-born's ears, "Thank you."

The Avatar of Sloth froze, and then slowly looked up at Lucifer, but he'd already moved on, heading towards the door.

What the fuck?!

Chapter Text

After much pleading and threats, I'd managed to claim a space of my own for baking in the kitchen. I'd only had to replace a few things due to Beel's unrelenting appetite and he'd managed to restrain himself to eating only those ingredients which were easily replaced in the Devildom. It probably helped that my most prized treasures, most of them from the human world, were in a magically locked box that was marked clearly with my name. So far the Avatar of Gluttony had managed to resist breaking in, or just devouring the whole thing without bothering to open it. It was insane what Beelzebub could stomach, I'd seen him take a bite out of a plate by accident on more than one occasion.

Then again, the steel box would probably have tasted better than those cupcakes. My stomach quailed at the memory. They'd been impossibly, painfully sweet to the point it'd taken me two cups of coffee and brushing my teeth to finally get the taste out of my mouth. I shuddered and plunked the box down on the counter, my mood immediately improving at the sight of the contents. The recipe was a bizarre chimera of human and Devildom foods, but once I'd realised that Barbatos had meant teaspoons and not cups of crushed mermaid scales, the later attempts had actually been edible.

By the time I was stirring the final mix, I felt a little better. It still rankled, but it wasn't like I could just yell at Mammon and demand an apology, not now we were in a new loop. He'd just be confused. It would be like blaming him for what he'd done in a dream.

But it hadn't been a dream. He'd insulted me, and I didn't even know why, all I did was give him his stupid jacket back, that was hardly a crime! It was almost as if he-

Wait...

My eyes widened as I remembered Mammon's reaction to finding me wearing Belphie's hoodie. Could he have been jealous? Of Belphie?! Was that why he'd lashed out at us? The idea was both ludicrous and sadly believable. For someone who seemed to be allergic to saying anything about how he actually felt about me, the Avatar of Greed was incredibly protective, verging on possessive, to the point of wrestling with Asmo to try and stop the fifth-born being so touchy-feely.

And I'd finally had enough.

I dropped the spoon, slamming the bowl down onto the counter with more force than really necessary and a satisfyingly loud thunk. I started filling the cupcake cases, muttering venomously under my breath, "Who the fuck does he think he is, anyway? Argh, I just want to-" I mimed smacking his stupid head with my spoon, hard enough that it sent a glob of mix onto the countertop. He doesn't get to just claim me without doing the hard part! Sure, he wants to kiss me, but his actual feelings? If any? Who the fuck knows!

I let out a disappointed 'tch', and then almost jumped out of my skin as someone cleared their throat politely behind me. I turned, wooden spoon held up defensively, only to see Satan standing there, head slightly tilted as he glanced at the spoon. He gifted me with a rueful smile, "Ah, I didn't mean to scare you. I'll be more careful in the future."

His words calmed my hammering heart and I took in a deep breath, feeling a little embarrassed at my reaction and how I'd been so deep in my thoughts I'd completely lost track of the outside world. I sent him a brief smile of my own along with a sigh as I dropped the spoon back in the bowl, "No, it's okay, I was miles away."

Satan was my newest pact, we'd become more-or-less friends after the whole business with the cursed book but the friendship was so new that it still squeaked when we turned around too fast. Not to mention that the Avatar of Wrath was just plain intimidating. Oh, not because of his occasional flashes of terrifying rage, they were pretty rare and almost never directed at me. No, it was much worse than that. It was because he was incredibly handsome, perfectly mannered, well-connected, well-read, and had near-perfect marks. He was also a thorn in Lucifer's side, which was both impressive and hilarious.

How do you even start to measure up to someone like that?

On the other hand, if I'd tried to guess who'd come in to check on me, the fourth-born would have been near the bottom of the list. I quirked an eyebrow at him, "I'm assuming you're not here for cupcakes?"

A flicker of a genuine smile touched Satan's lips, "You assume right, I wanted to talk to you. When you left us in the foyer, and when I came in..." He trailed off, unusually hesitant. But when he spoke again, he met my eyes confidently, "I can tell when someone is angry." He lifted one hand placatingly at my suddenly narrowed eyes, "Don't misunderstand me. You have every right to be furious. With Lucifer, Belphegor... and with me."

I blinked, confused at his inclusion, "You?"

Satan nodded, emerald gaze still locked on mine, "I was the one who came up with the idea to try and force you and Lucifer to become closer. I stripped you of the protection of your pacts when you most needed them. If any of us had been there, we could have stopped Belphie. But we weren't."

Finally, he glanced down, walking forward until he was stood in front of me, just within arm's reach. His gaze slowly lifted up again, something like pain lingering there, "My intentions might have been good, but the results speak for themselves. I can't ignore what my actions led to." The darkness in the forest of his eyes intensified, pulling me in like an undertow. His voice grew rough, "It was my fault, and there's no amount of apologies that can make up for my part in it. Nevertheless, I am sorry. You are the last person who deserved what's happened."

I could only stare at him, the silence stretching out for longer than was comfortable. Finally, I broke it with a hoarse whisper, "Satan..." I cleared my throat, finding myself having to hold back tears, "Since when are you such an idiot?"

He blinked at me, struck dumb by my response. It was gratifying, especially considering he'd just done the same to me.

I stepped forward, sliding my arms around the surprised Avatar of Wrath and holding him tightly as I spoke into his shoulder, "It wasn't your fault. Unless you would have chosen to do it the same way again, knowing what was going to happen?"

I felt his growl rumble against my chest as he tentatively embraced me, "Never." He held me awkwardly, like I was a fragile piece of pottery that might shatter if he held me with anything less than perfect care.

But I was made of stronger stuff than that. I smirked, "Then it wasn't your fault."

"But-"

I talked over the blonde demon, letting my irritation show in my voice, "Not. Your. Fault."

Satan was silent for a moment, and then he sighed, his shoulders relaxing, "...You are impossible."

I smirked, taking it as a compliment, "Yup, so you may as well give in now."

That finally drew a short chuckle from the fourth-born and I grinned, enjoying my very first win against the Avatar of Wrath, along with the knowledge that I'd managed to puncture his self-flagellation. Lucifer had done the same thing, but since I valued my life, I wisely didn't even think about pointing out the similarity.

However, this meant I was entirely unprepared as he pulled me closer, crushing me tight against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat, racing more quickly than I'd have guessed. He leant over me, voice soft but tense, and tightly controlled, "When I saw you there, the only thing I could think of was that it had only been an hour since we made our pact. It felt like fate was playing a cruel joke, to finally realise what you mean to me, only to lose you, almost in the same breath." He let out a soft laugh, bitter as ashes.

I shifted awkwardly, reaching up to rub his back consolingly. He stiffened, loosening his grip as he cleared his throat and tried to pull away, but stopped when he realised I had no intention of letting him escape, "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, being the world-class detective that you are, but I'm not dead." I leant back so I could smirk up into his bemused face, "See?"

Satan's green eyes widened slightly, before suddenly softening into a mischievous twinkle, "I had noticed. There were a few subtle clues."

Did he just make a joke?! I blinked at him, but the flash of humour was quickly hidden behind one of his painted-on smiles. He took advantage of my surprise to slip out of my grip and take a step back, adjusting his jacket so it hung straight. Or, well, as straight as a jacket could be if you insisted on only wearing one sleeve. I'd asked him about it once, but he'd just stared at me until I went away. The Avatar of Wrath closely guards his secrets.

He tilted his head slightly, calm again, one hand lightly resting on his chest, "I suspect I can guess but, what were you so angry about?"

Oh, I doubt that. I let out a short laugh, tinged just a little with acid, "You sure you want to know?" I turned back to my baking without waiting for an answer, sliding the first batch into the oven and setting the timer. To make enough for Beelzebub's appetite, I'd need to make at least another three batches, but four would be safer.

Satan spoke, leaning an elbow against the countertop, "I'm sure."

I took in a deep breath, tempted to tell him the truth. Even if he couldn't understand everything I was furious about, at least he would listen and I'd be able to safely vent before I fucking exploded. Another deep breath, closing my eyes as I summoned up my courage. Satan wouldn't judge me, or at least, I was pretty sure he wouldn't.

And it wasn't like it would matter in twelve hours anyway. "Well, right now, the biggest thing is Mammon."

I could hear the puzzlement in his voice, "Mammon?"

I sighed, starting the next batch, "I'm pretty sure he likes me, but he won't do anything about it. Is it because I'm human, or because I'm going... going home in six months? Instead, he just insults me, and then still acts as though he's got the right to decide who I spend time with! And then he does really confusing things like kiss me and-"

Satan's voice was iron-hard, "He kissed you?"

I knew I'd just complicated Mammon's life quite a bit with that little confession, but I couldn't bring myself to care. He deserved it after the stunt he'd pulled. "Yeah, but then he backed off and didn't want to talk about it. And I am just so... so fucking done, you know? It's not fun anymore."

I put the bowl down so I could look over at the fourth-born, who smiled tightly at me. His eyes, though, sparkled with the promise of violence, "And that's really what's bothering you?"

I snorted, leaning an arm on the counter so I could face him, "I mean, it's not the only thing. Where do I even start? Belphie lied to me for months, and then killed me while gloating and calling me stupid. I remember him attacking me, but thankfully I don't remember actually dying." And you'd think after Mammon saw me die, he'd be a bit more honest, but apparently not. At this point, I'm pretty sure he just doesn't have any feelings for me. The thought left a sour taste in my mouth.

I kept going, the buried resentments bubbling up, eager to be finally spilling out, "And then there's Lord Diavolo, muddying the waters as usual. Do you know I was actually worried that you'd all think I was a replacement for Lilith? That you'd stop seeing me for me? I don't want to be a stand-in for someone else, it's hard enough trying to live up to being me! Not to mention that he knew about my ancestry for ages and didn't fucking tell anybody until after I sort-of-died! What's with that?!" I gestured with one hand, "I swear, if he wasn't the Prince of the Devildom, I'd-"

"What would you do? I find myself extremely curious." Lucifer's quiet voice stopped my rant dead in its tracks. He swept into the kitchen, Belphegor trailing after him. The seventh-born was clearly trying to look bored but the effect was somewhat spoiled by the way his lips kept twitching into a smirk.

Whoops. "Uh..." I looked to Satan for help.

He gave me a slight smile and a shrug, before standing up and facing his older brother, "I'm surprised to see you here, Lucifer. Are you here to help make cupcakes?"

The first-born gave Satan an unimpressed look and I let out a sigh of relief as his focus shifted, words slightly clipped with annoyance, "I am here to talk about what just happened, and what has been decided. Specifically, what Lord Diavolo has decided to do with Belphegor."

I looked over at the Avatar of Sloth with interest, intrigued at how well throwing himself on Diavolo's mercy had gone. If this meant he'd be given his freedom, then it could be pretty useful in later loops. Breaking out from under guard was already starting to get old, and we'd only done it twice. Well, once. Successfully. Belphie met my gaze, pink-purple eyes glowing with a certain smugness, so it couldn't have gone that badly, "Go on."

Lucifer nodded, directing his attention back to me, "Taking into account that Belphegor has vowed not to harm you, and that he has abandoned his designs on the exchange program and the human world, Lord Diavolo wishes to wipe the slate clean. The punishment for his attempted murder will be considered served by his time in the attic. He will be required to return to RAD and his duties as a student council member immediately." Was it my imagination, or did Lucifer actually look a little uncomfortable?

Satan's reaction was more pronounced, his eyes narrowed and fixed on Belphegor as he considered the verdict.

I raised an eyebrow at Belphie. On the one hand, his sins being forgiven meant that we wouldn't have trouble coming up with our plans. On the other hand, it rankled a little that it only took his promise not to do it again for everything to be swept under the rug. With Diavolo's ability to detect lies, they at least knew he meant it, but he still deserved some kind of punishment, didn't he?

A punishment worse than being locked up by his own brother and left alone for months? The thought popped into my head and I grimaced, unable to argue the point. It still wasn't quite enough to assuage my need for vengeance though. I'd just have to apply my own creative punishments to fill in the gap.

Like stealing his hoodie.

I nodded slightly, gaze lingering on Belphie's jacket long enough that he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me. I fought down a grin, before glancing back to Lucifer, "Does that mean I have to attend RAD tomorrow as well?"

Lucifer frowned, "I am sure you will be allowed to take some time off, considering the circumstances." I tried not to feel too smug that Belphegor had to go back to school and I didn't. He continued, "I know you may not feel safe but-"

I held up my hand, and he fell silent politely, "No, it's okay, I'm not scared."

Belphegor rolled his eyes, drifting off to one side to peer curiously into the oven. Lucifer lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh, "Of course. I'm not sure why I expected otherwise. Nevertheless, I'm glad you're comfortable with the arrangement."

Satan spoke up, green eyes locked on the Avatar of Sloth, voice carefully calm and his mask firmly in place, "Welcome home, Belphie. It's good to have you back." He glanced at Lucifer briefly, before walking over to Belphegor. The seventh-born slowly stood up, giving his older brother a wary glance. Satan added, with a chilling smile, "I'm glad you changed your mind, because I don't even need to say what will happen to you if you so much as scratch her, do I?"

Belphie's eyes narrowed, and I could feel the sudden tension building between them as they locked gazes, anger sparking in violet and green. Belphegor spoke, voice low and intense, "Do you really want to go there? Have you forgotten that you threatened to-" He suddenly cut himself off and glanced over at me, some emotion flickering across his face, gone too quickly for me to identify. He looked down at his feet, letting out a silent laugh that turned into a long sigh, "...I'm not going to hurt her, and I'm not going to change my mind."

Satan stared suspiciously at Belphie, "Why?"

Belphegor stared back, somehow not intimidated by the Avatar of Wrath, "Believe me, or don't. I don't care." He turned and leant back against the cooktop, crossing his arms. But if he's not scared, why did he back down so suddenly?

The fourth-born didn't relent, "I believe you. I want to know why."

Belphie glanced at me again, before looking down at the ground, "Because for some bizarre reason, you all seem to care about her." Satan didn't respond, and Belphegor flicked his gaze, burning in resolute defiance, up to meet his brother's eyes, "Good enough?"

The whine of a chair being pulled out dragged the two demons from their staring match, as Lucifer sat down with his usual grace and gave them a brief smile, "I believe it is. Satan?"

The Avatar of Wrath stared back at Lucifer for a moment, before taking half a step backwards, looking towards his little brother, "It's enough, though if you do change your mind again, my threat still stands." He brushed some non-existent fluff from his jacket, before turning to me with a slight smile, "I have some reading I need to catch up on, so I'll leave you to your baking. Once you're done, I'd appreciate it if we could continue our conversation?"

I blinked, realising that Satan was offering to let me continue my ranting in the safety of his room. Warmth fluttered in my chest as I smiled at him, "Yeah, I'd like that. See you then?"

Satan inclined his head very subtly towards me, "Till then." He flashed a dangerous smile at Lucifer, before stalking out of the room.

Belphegor watched him leave, wandering closer as I heaved up the milk jug, arms shaking with the workout. It was strange to think that it was probably the same milk that we'd used for pancakes before. I was certainly having the same problem. I probably should have just bought some milk boxes, I could lift those, but stubbornness had won out. I would conquer this milk jug even if it ki-

"Having trouble?" Belphie reached around from behind me and plucked the milk out of my hands as though it weighed nothing, stopping a dribble that had been making a puddle on the countertop. I stared at the jug with my lips twisting into a pout at the flagrant use of demonic strength. Ugh, I bet he doesn't even exercise.

I stretched out a hand, intent on wrestling it back only for the bastard to lift it up so it was just out of my reach. If he kept this up, I was going to strangle him with his own jacket. I let out a soft growl, "I'm fine. Give me the milk, Belphie."

He dropped it just a little, though it still wasn't quite close enough, "Really? You don't want my help?"

I heroically managed to restrain myself from kicking him in the shin as I spun around, finger raised. Belphegor was so close we were practically nose-to-nose. He gave me a slow smirk, his eyes half-closed and glittering even as I jabbed him in the chest. "Give me back the damn milk!" I grabbed the arm that was holding the jug, or at least the bit that I could reach, and yanked. I might as well have been trying to pull over a tree for all the movement I managed. I lifted up my legs, but all that happened was that I was now dangling in the air, Belphie holding up my entire weight with one arm.

The Avatar of Sloth rolled his eyes, swapped the milk to the other hand - damnit, foiled - and raised an eyebrow at me. I was half-considering whether actually climbing him would get me the milk back when suddenly a rustle of paper reminded me that we weren't alone. My cheeks burned in visceral embarrassment as I peered over Belphie's shoulder at where Lucifer was contentedly reading a large newspaper, summoned from who-knows-where. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be paying us the slightest bit of attention. As if he could feel my stare, he glanced up, ember eyes just a little too knowing, "Is there a problem?"

I cleared my throat, glancing at Belphegor. I could ask Lucifer to reclaim my milk, but that seemed excessively petty, even for me, and was also liable to escalate,since every confrontation between the brothers seemed to. I took in a deep breath and let out a sulky sigh, "No."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, as if giving me a chance to change my mind, but I waved one hand dismissively, turning back to my mixing bowl as he went back to reading his paper, a slightly bemused smile tinting his lips. I could add the other wet ingredients before I needed the milk, and even if I couldn't get it back, water wasn't a terrible substitute.

A soft thud on the counter next to me drew my attention, to find the milk jug sat there, unclaimed. As I stared in surprise, Belphie leant in, whispering softly in my ear, "Like it or not, you need my help. So accept it already."

I raised an eyebrow, turning my head to give him a long stare that slowly turned into a malicious grin, "You secretly just want to make cupcakes, don't you?"

Belphegor narrowed his eyes at me, the glint of violet filled with playful disdain, "Don't be stupid."

I chuckled, enjoying getting a rise out of the seventh-born, "Well, since you want to help so badly, I guess I'll let you. Out of the kindness of my heart." I dramatically placed my hand over my chest, Belphie's eyes following the movement.

He shook his head, letting a slight smirk touch his lips, "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Hmph." I pulled out a spoon and held it over the bowl, "Well, it isn't getting kicked out of bed, I can tell you that." I paused for a moment, unsure if his offer of help was genuine. It couldn't hurt to try, right? "Umm, just pour the milk until it fills this spoon."

Confusion was obvious in Belphegor's reply, "Really? That's it?" He was pouring before I really registered the movement, making it look easy. "Also, I already apologised for that." He paused, and his tone shifted, becoming strangely serious, "It's not like I can undo it."

I got the distinct feeling we weren't talking about falling out of bed anymore. I licked my lips, turning the spoon and letting the milk splash into the batter, "But you wish you could."

He let out a short, bitter laugh, "It's not like it matters. I'm not Barbatos."

I stubbornly stared forward, focused on mixing even while anger, grief and hope all tangled in my stomach, "It matters to me."

Belphie fell silent, only the soft sound of his breathing letting me know that he hadn't left the room. I'd managed to add the rest of the ingredients and start work on the final batter by the time he finally spoke.

Just two little words.

"I'm sorry."

I lost my breath. It felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach, or turned the world on its head, sent it spinning. I couldn't have heard those words, spoken by Belphegor as if he meant them. It had to be a trick, some kind of joke at my expense-

I turned my head to look at Belphie, and my accusation withered at the look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said it again, not looking away, and this time it felt real.

"I..." I swallowed, staring at him, so completely off-balance I could barely put together a sentence, "Why?"

Belphegor sighed, "Just accept the apology."

I shook my head, still feeling like the ground had shifted under my feet, "No, I can't just... I can't just forgive you."

He stared back at me, "I'm not asking you to."

I opened my mouth to respond, when the timer suddenly began to ring, obnoxiously loud and vibrating violently enough to send it shuddering across the table. I pounced on it, silencing the racket and looked over to where Lucifer was calmly turning a page of his newspaper. He looked like he was off in his own little world, but I had no doubt that the eldest was listening to every word, and would intervene if he felt it was necessary. Whatever that meant in this situation.

I turned, only to find Belphie had pulled the tray out from the oven and was putting it down next to me. The aroma of freshly baked cupcakes filled the room and I closed my eyes, relaxing into the familiar scent, comforting in the most primal of ways. "We need to let it cool for a little while." I glanced over my shoulder, half-expecting to see Beel already looming in the doorway.

Belphegor chuckled, "I can keep Beel from eating them until they're finished, but after that, I can't make any promises."

It was weird to have the Avatar of Sloth offering to help, even with something as simple as holding a milk jug, or stopping Beel from eating all the cupcakes before they could be iced. It almost felt like something I'd expect from the friendships I'd managed to carve out with the other brothers, one mishap at a time. Could I have something like that with Belphie? Did I want to?

I picked up the first cupcake and iced it, leaving a pretty yellow swirl. I bit my bottom lip, looking over at Belphegor. He was clearly making an effort, as half-assed and inept as it was. Perhaps, however much it rankled, I should do the same. Start small.

"Here."

Belphie glanced over at the proffered cupcake, blinking in surprise, before suddenly smiling, strangely sweet and taking it in his hand. His eyes closed as he took a bite, generally a good sign. He licked his lips, and looked at me, violet eyes liquid, "You know, I never asked before, but... what flavour are these?"

I glanced back, raising an eyebrow, surprised at the softness of the question, and finding a smile on my face, "Oh. Lemon. They're lemon."

Chapter Text

"Run!"

The tray tumbled to the ground as Belphegor grabbed my hand and yanked me after him, pulling me down the corridor far too quickly for my poor legs to keep up. I stumbled, almost face-planting onto the carpet, and let out a short yell as the Avatar of Sloth caught me before I hit the ground, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of meal.

I glared at his back, awkwardly pushing myself up and trying to catch my breath, "Why-"

I stared down the corridor, where a fucking wall of water was racing towards us, much faster than I could run. "What the fuck did you do?!"

Belphie didn't reply, clearly saving his breath for more important things, like running. I watched with wide eyes as the tide surged forwards, casually catching up.

"Oh SHI-"

And then I was tumbling, swirling in the grip of cold water that pulled me along in its wake. I felt something warm grab my ankle, hard enough to leave bruises. It held me steady as the current tried to tear me away, and then I was moving swiftly backwards through the water. My breath was already starting to ache in my lungs. If I'd been smarter, I could have taken a deep breath rather than swearing just before I went under.

Thankfully, it only took a few moments until I bumped into something solid and uncomfortable, a little bit... jagged? The warm grip shifted to my arm before I was pulled out of the water and tossed onto a set of stone stairs. Water streamed from me, but I hardly cared, clinging to the surface and gasping in deep breaths.

A second later, an equally bedraggled Belphegor pulled himself out of the water and dropped next to me, lying back against the stone and adding to the deluge that was now running down the stairs. He shook his head, panting, clearly out of breath, his expression somewhere between laughter and pain.

It felt like I'd just gotten the shit kicked out of me, but at least Belphegor looked the same way. I rolled over until I was lying on my front, "Wha- What the hell happened?"

Belphie chuckled, grimacing as he closed his eyes and rested his head against a step. He turned his head, coughing up water before looking at me, "Well, I'm pretty sure I may have upset Levi."

I narrowed my eyes at the sloth demon, "How? If you hurt Henry-" If he'd touched a scale on Henry's little fins, I'd drag him back to Levi for retribution myself, Rule One or no.

Belphegor chuckled, "I wouldn't dare. I did, however, steal his body-pillow."

I stared at him for several long minutes, and then at the water still flowing past us and lapping against the attic steps.

"Are you telling me... this was all over a fucking body-pillow?!"

***

I paused as I walked past the common room, the sight inside stopping me in my tracks even though I'd been heading to bed. The twins were sat on one of the couches, the Avatar of Gluttony mostly sat up, with Belphie sprawled next to him and using Beel as a pillow.

And they were both fast asleep.

I moved so I could lean against the doorframe and watch. Beelzebub's head was tucked in the crook of his elbow, resting on the arm of the sofa. He still had the TV remote on his lap. His other arm draped loosely over Belphie's shoulder. Had they been watching a show together?

Belphegor, in contrast, was mostly horizontal, his head nestled on Beel's chest while his body took up the rest of the couch. He was curled up, just a little, and he looked peaceful. Content.

I slid a hand into my pocket and pulled out my permanent marker. Belphie could, and did, fall asleep whenever, and in the strangest places, so I'd taken it upon myself to be ready at all times. I moved forward carefully, my eyes trained on his face as I crept closer and uncapped the pen. I'd never woken him up with my prank so far, but that didn't mean I could relax.

Just as I was about to start outlining the first splotch on his cheek, Belphie shifted, letting out a soft moan as he reached out and looped an arm around my waist. I stiffened in surprise, and then yelped as he suddenly pulled me down on top of him. I pulled my face out of his hoodie - my temporarily displaced hoodie - and strained against his grip, grimacing as I realised he was holding me too tightly to lift his arm off, or to wriggle out from under it. I was trapped.

At least my arms were mostly free, even if it was awkward to move them, pinned against his chest as I was. I reached up with some difficulty and lightly slapped Belphegor on the cheek, glancing at Beel to make sure I hadn't woken him and hissing, "Wake up, you overly strong pain-in-my-ass!"

Nothing.

I may as well have been a mosquito for all the notice the Avatar of Sloth took of my attempts to rouse him. No wonder he never noticed it when I drew all over him. Unfortunately, my marker had fallen onto the floor when he grabbed me, or I'd at least been able to entertain myself.

I upgraded the slap to grabbing his jacket and shaking him, giving up on subtlety, "Belphie! Fucking wake up!"

The seventh-born didn't so much as stir, but I did get a reaction. Pink-purple eyes cracked open and Beel glanced over, looking at me pressed against his twin, blinking blearily. His eyes widened as he finally processed what he was seeing, and then he sat up, looking alarmed, "Are you okay?"

Oh thank God. Beel would help me get out of this situation, "He won't wake up or let go!"

Beelzebub glanced down at us and then frowned as he studied how Belphegor had wrapped himself around me. After a moment, his look of concern slowly melted away and was replaced with a smile that seemed entirely inappropriate to the situation. Could he not see that his brother was clinging onto me like a bloody koala?

I scowled as he tried, and failed, to stifle his laughter, "Don't laugh, just get me out already!"

Beel was almost breathless as he turned to face me, clearly fighting another attack of mirth. His strong hands moved to the arm that held me captive, and his smile was warm, "Okay, just, stay really still."

***

Belphegor crossed his arms, his smirk extremely unimpressed as he leant back against the corridor wall just outside of Satan's room. He didn't say anything, but I could feel his derision anyway.

I spun the 'gift' I'd managed to procure on one finger, sparking a bright and tinkling chiming in time with the rhythm of my movements, and sent him a half-hearted glare, "If you're so against this, you could have used your veto."

Belphie rolled his eyes, shrugging, "It shouldn't be dangerous, I just don't see why you're putting in so much effort. Where did you even get one that would fit, anyway?"

A smirk fought its way onto my lips, and I chuckled, "Where else? I asked Asmo if I could raid his stash. He had a decent selection actually, but I went for the classic look." As fun as it would be to see the Avatar of Wrath in a pink bow, it wasn't what I was after. I looked down at the cat collar hanging off my finger, lips curling in satisfaction. It had a golden bell in the centre that tinkled whenever it moved, hanging off a strip of black leather that was luxuriously soft and lined with black satin. A clasp at the back in gold completed the look. If it wasn't for the large size and the little touches to make sure it would remain comfortable on bare skin, it would be easy to mistake it for a normal collar.

I raised an eyebrow at the seventh-born, shaking the bell at him to punctuate my words, "Don't pretend you don't like the idea of pranking Satan. Why are you here, anyway? Worried about me?"

He stared back, and gave a pointed yawn, speaking sleepily after he'd finished, "I'm not worried."

I snorted, pausing in front of Satan's door and biting my bottom lip as I hesitated. Sure, I couldn't die but that didn't mean it was much fun to reset like that, not to mention all the things that didn't necessarily end in death but I would get to experience for the rest of the loop. I let out a slightly nervous half-laugh, "Maybe you should be? I mean, if he wakes up while I'm doing this..."

Satan was the Avatar of Wrath, and while he had become a friend and confidante, he was still pretty scary when he lost his temper.

Belphegor was staring at me with a strange half-smile, his head tilted to one side, "I mean, if he snaps, you can just use the pact."

Oh right, the pact. The knot of tension in my stomach suddenly loosened, the fear replaced with a flood of embarrassment that rose and spread, warming my cheeks.

He let out a soft chuckle, "Did you actually forget?"

"Oh, shut up." I huffed, starting to undo the clasp on the collar so it would be ready for me to slide onto Satan's neck while he was sleeping.

Belphie ignored me, shaking his head, a wicked grin lighting up his violet eyes, "How many of my brothers' pacts have you actually used?"

I pretended to think about it while I struggled with the clasp. Why do the parts have to be so small and fiddly? How is this supposed to be sexy? "I've only really used it once, on Mammon."

He raised an eyebrow, watching me battling with the fastening, "Why?"

The memory brought a smile to my face as I glanced over at the Avatar of Sloth, "He was being really annoying." I enjoyed his confused look for a moment, before relenting with a laugh, "He wouldn't call me by my name, and I wasn't sure how pacts worked. I tested it out, he learnt some manners, everybody wins." I finally managed to get the thing open with a click, holding it up triumphantly.

Pink-purple eyes raked over me, as if looking for something, before he sighed, "And you didn't use it on him again, even though he's always annoying?"

I blinked at him, my hand resting on the cool metal of the door-handle, "Well no, why?"

Belphegor held my gaze for a moment, and then smirked, "You know, I think I'll come along. Just in case you need someone to distract him so you can use the pact."

Still confused, I shrugged and turned back to the door, taking in a deep breath. This was going to go either really well, or really badly.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

***

The windowsill was rough under my hands as I adjusted my position, inching closer to the long drop and placing my feet flat against the stone.

This is such a fucking terrible idea. Why had I agreed to this? Okay, so we were getting desperate for ideas to try for escape conditions. But the problem with dramatic events were that they were, well, dramatic.

Dramatic like throwing myself out of a window and getting saved from certain death, or at least broken bones, by Belphegor catching me. Or that was the plan anyway.

This is so stupid. I shifted forward a little more, looking down at the drop in front of me. I could hear the rustle of trees in the wind but it was too dark to make out the branches swaying against the night sky. Most of my view was just shadows and deeper, darker shapes, as if I was perched on the edge of an abyss.

I glanced down, swallowing hard. Belphie stood below me, the golden glow from the windows outlining him just enough that I could see that he was standing more or less where I should land.

"Are you sure you'll be able to catch me?" I tried to keep the nerves out of my voice, but it still shook. I licked lips that were suddenly dry, "Will it hurt?"

Belphegor looked up, the light catching his face and casting strange shadows, but the mockery in his voice was reassuringly familiar, "Seriously? Stop being a coward and just jump."

I grumbled to myself, muttering colourful epithets about what I was going to do to the cheeky bastard once I had the chance. I called down, "Humans who don't just leap merrily out of windows are called sane, not cowards, actually."

He groaned, "Just get on with it, I'm getting bored. If you take much longer, I really will drop you."

My eyebrow quirked up at his threat, vaguely amused, "That doesn't exactly encourage me to jump, does it? I mean-"

A different voice rang out behind me, thick with alarm, "Is that... What are ya doin'?!" I twisted, glancing behind me to find Mammon stood in the middle of the hall, the toothbrush sticking out of his mouth somehow adding to the look of shock on his face.

Time seemed to slow down, as the Avatar of Greed's eyes widened and he started to run towards me. The second-born was fast, but he had most of a long hallway to cover. I only had to rock forwards and let gravity take me.

And I still almost didn't make it in time.

I screamed as I fell into the darkness, curling into a ball instinctively. I didn't even have the chance to be scared before I was wrapped up in warm, strong arms. Belphie had caught me, dropping to one knee. He'd slowed my fall gradually rather than stopping it outright, and I felt a sudden surge of gratitude at his thoughtfulness. It hadn't even hurt.

Belphie looked down at me, a smirk on his lips. From this angle, he no longer looked like a stranger, "Told you so."

I looked back up at him, the terror morphing into giddy relief that left me grinning like an idiot, "My hero."

He blinked at me, then grinned back and dropped me on my ass.

It wasn't much of a distance to fall, but the ground was cold and unforgiving. I glared at the seventh-born as I lay flat on my back, tailbone aching and the wind knocked out of me, but I still couldn't chase the smirk from my lips. He leant down, still grinning, and reached a hand out to help me up.

I heard a yell, and glanced up to see Mammon leaning out of the window, collapsed against the ledge as he caught his breath, "You... ya scared the crap outta me! Don't go anywhere, I'm comin' down!"

He disappeared and I grimaced, letting Belphie pull me to my feet.

***

I gestured vaguely, a wide grin on my face, "And then Barbatos wanders in and asks if Diavolo actually read the warning label on that pudding. Which of course, he didn't. Turns out, it makes humans smell really tasty, something about pheromones? Anyway, you should have seen Barbatos, he actually blushed and then ran out of the room! I've never seen him move so fast." I leaned back against the side of the attic bed, head resting on the mattress.

Belphegor chuckled, lying on the bed with his head propped up on one arm, "I wish I could have seen that, the unflappable Barbatos, rattled by a human." He rolled his head to one side so he could catch my eye and send me a sharp little smile, "Perhaps he was tempted to take a bite out of you."

I snorted, rolling my eyes, "Yeah, him and everyone else. That stuff was really strong! I honestly thought for a second that Beel was going to eat me."

Belphie shook his head, though an amused smile still lingered on his lips, "He wouldn't do that, no matter how good you might taste."

I shrugged, "Well, thankfully it only lasted for a day or so. And now I know not to eat that stuff again."

He smirked, "What? Not even on an off-day?"

I twisted slightly so I could wag a finger at him, trying and failing to look stern, "Absolutely not. Besides, Madam Screams isn't even open during the loop. Where would we even get it?"

Belphegor sighed and stared at the ceiling, tapping his fingers lightly on his chest, "I hate it when you're right." I stuck my tongue out at him, making the Avatar of Sloth smirk and roll onto his front, "And on that note, what crazy ideas have you come up for our next few loops?"

I frowned, thinking. Brainstorming for escape conditions was getting harder and harder and I'd responded to the pressure by just suggesting whatever half-baked schemes came to mind. Most of the time, Belphie vetoed them or moved them to the back of the pile, but some of them stuck. None of them had worked so far, but at least it gave us something to focus on. He didn't usually suggest anything himself, choosing to just criticise my ideas and do as little work as possible. Lazy bugger.

The flash of resentment turned into a mischievous streak, as I smirked back, "How about... you give me a pact?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, looking deeply unimpressed, "How about I throw you down the main staircase?"

I pouted at him, "Oh, come on. It would just be for one loop."

Belphie narrowed his eyes, "I don't think it would. We're both free agents and something is letting us keep our memories. It could apply to pacts too. And I am absolutely not going to be tied to you permanently." A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Also, I'm pretty sure you'd use it to torture me."

My defence wasn't particularly convincing as my gaze flicked to the side and I let out an uncomfortable laugh, "I wouldn't do that. Well, I mean, not torture. I was going to make you give me your hoodie though."

He groaned, "Why are you so obsessed with my hoodie?"

"It's soft! And it's not fair that you get to keep it all the time."

"It's my hoodie, of course it's fair."

I crossed my arms, sulking, "How about you give me your hoodie as a present? That seems like it might be a decent escape condition."

Silence for a few moments and I perked up, wondering if he was actually considering it, before, "No. Also, not dramatic enough."

I muttered to myself, "Seems pretty dramatic to me."

Belphegor snorted, then got up, sliding down to settle on the floor next to me. "Fine, we'll try it later. And we can save throwing you down the stairs for when we're desperate. Anything else?"

I grinned, my mood almost instantly improving at the prospect of getting Belphie's hoodie as my own for a loop, presented as a gift from the Avatar of Sloth himself at that. I hummed thoughtfully, "Well, we could try running away? We haven't done that yet, and there's lots of places we could go."

He nodded along, "That's not bad." A vicious smile, "We could send you back to the human world, that would really annoy Lucifer and Diavolo."

Hope and excitement suddenly flared to life in my stomach but died almost as quickly. I sighed, shaking my head, "No, that won't work. Only Lucifer can use the transport circle, and apparently I'll go crazy if we went the other way." A bitter smile, "I'm stuck here until they decide to send me home." I couldn't stop the longing that filled the last word. Home.

Belphie looked at me strangely, tilting his head, "You don't talk about the human world much."

I grimaced, looking away. Every time someone touched on the subject, so many feelings overwhelmed me. It was so much easier to just push it to the back of my mind. I hesitated, trying to put my thoughts in order, oddly grateful for how the seventh-born just silently watched me until I was ready to speak, "I miss it." Tears immediately pricked the corners of my eyes and I tried to blink them away, a hollow pang in my chest. "I miss my family and my house, our cats. My friends. At least I got to see the sun again when we went to London but..."

The memory of that trip still left a bitter taste in my mouth, left my voice heavy with despair, "I was so close, Belphie. Just a couple of hours on the train away. I could have used a payphone, checked up on my family and let them know I was okay. But..."

I looked up, letting my eyes track along the terracotta drapes hanging from the beams as I fell silent. Lucifer had commanded me not to contact anyone while we were in the human world, and they had all kept an eye on me to make sure that I obeyed. Even Mammon, though at least he'd looked sympathetic while casually pulling me away from that telephone box. After that, there was always someone watching me. I narrowed my eyes, "They didn't let me. I couldn't even be trusted to go to the public toilet in the train station on my own, they made me wait until we were on the train instead. I guess in case I asked to borrow someone's mobile." That had actually been my plan, it was so annoying how easily Lucifer could read me, even when I was trying to be clever.

I'd been returned to the Devildom without managing to leave so much as a cryptic message in a toilet stall.

The long sigh that followed came from somewhere deep within me and as I spoke again, it was almost a whisper, "I'm so scared of what I'll find when I get home. Even when I was at university, Mum rang me every week. If Diavolo made excuses about me studying abroad or something, she's going to think that something awful's happened to me, or that I'm ignoring her on purpose. Or..." I let out a soft shudder, "I'm going to find that they didn't miss me at all. That they were forced to forget me, or maybe that something else pretended to be me. And I don't know which is worse." The idea of some creature that looked like me, living with my family, made every inch of my skin crawl.

It felt good to finally talk about it, even if was to Belphie, who probably couldn't care less. I glanced over, and blinked at how he was looking at me, his violet eyes strangely soft, "I think I know a little about how it feels to be imprisoned and kept away from your family."

I smiled sadly, looking down at my lap, "I suppose I am a prisoner, aren't I? Just allowed to wander." It was a similarity between us that I'd never really thought about before, but that seemed so obvious in hindsight. "You know, I didn't even try to escape. I actually want to finish the year, but I just needed to know that they weren't worried about me."

Belphegor glanced down, looking thoughtful, before lifting his amethyst eyes up to meet mine, "Do you still want to find out?"

I stared at him, surprised, "W-what do you mean?"

He flicked a hand at the attic room, and sent me a dark little smile, "There's no better time to force an answer out of Lucifer or Diavolo, and if all else fails we can steal the information we need from the castle."

I tilted my head, strangely charmed, "We?"

Belphie shrugged and then smirked, "I'm not going to let you cause trouble for Lord Diavolo on your own. Besides, if we do it together, we could hit the escape condition."

I chewed my bottom lip, considering it as I searched the Avatar of Sloth's expression, though I wasn't sure for what. Finally I nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I want to do that." A smile touched my lips, a strange wave of relief flooding through me.

He smiled, leaning back against the bed and sliding down a little, "Good. I'll come up with something, but it will take a while. We can do off-days until we're ready."

I frowned, wrinkling my nose at the idea, but had to grudgingly admit that it made sense to wait. If the next thing we tried happened to be the escape condition, the opportunity to find out about my parents would be wasted. At least off-days were easy to think up ideas for.

There was one that I'd been working on for a while. I'd been putting it off since there was no way that it would get past Belphegor if I told him what I really wanted out of it. However, last night I'd had a brilliant idea on how to spin it so he might, maybe, actually let me. I cleared my throat, "Well, if we're going to do a few off-days in a row, I do have an idea that I've been wanting to do." I hesitated as he looked at me curiously, suddenly feeling like I was being put on the spot. I coughed uncomfortably, "So, I was thinking of maybe, uh, doing a kiss prank?" I took in a deep breath, forcing confidence into my voice, "On all of your brothers."

Lying doesn't count if it's Belphie. Come on, I can do this!

I met his eyes and nearly buckled under the pressure as he slowly raised an eyebrow, "What's a kiss prank?"

I gaped back at him, for some reason I hadn't even considered that he might not already know. "Uh, it's a prank where you kiss someone. By surprise."

Belphegor didn't look amused, "You want to surprise my brothers with a kiss?"

I coughed again and looked away, mentally kicking myself for how suspicious I was being, "Yeah, basically."

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "That is the most-" He suddenly fell silent, his eyes unfocused as he stared past me, and then a smile slid onto his features, pink-purple eyes dancing, "...interesting idea." He propped his chin up on the knuckles of one hand, "You would be doing this to demons though, even if you do have pacts with most of them. I'm willing to allow it, as long as you agree to a few rules. For your safety." Yeah, right.

I blinked at him, frowning. Even I could tell that it was something other than my cunning arguments that had won him over. Still, it didn't matter as long as I got to go ahead with my plans, so I shrugged it off, "What kind of rules?"

Belphie counted them out on his fingers, "First, I'm going to be there. Just in case." He wants to watch his brothers get pranked? I really would have rather done it on my own, but he had a point, I could only imagine what kind of bad reaction Satan might have to a sudden kiss. "And secondly, you'll need to do Lucifer's kiss prank just before a reset, unless you want to end up being lectured for five hours."

Another annoyingly good point, I hadn't even considered how pranking Lucifer could go. Now I was really regretting having decided to do the pranks in birth order. Maybe it's like ripping off a band-aid. I mean, after kiss pranking Lucifer, everyone else will be easy! I sighed, "Those... make sense. Everyone is going to think it's weird if we're walking around together, though."

He frowned, and nodded, "Yeah, I'll need to keep my distance."

I narrowed my eyes, something about his requirements was bugging me. My eyes widened as I finally realised what it was, "Wait, we can't kiss prank Lucifer just before the reset, he's always on his way to RAD then. But how do we get him to stay home?"

Belphegor made a face, letting out a long sigh, "Hmm. If you demand it in order to feel safe, then he might humour you. He certainly doesn't like leaving us alone together. It might take a bit of trial-and-error to get what we need though." Belphegor slowly pulled himself to his feet, and half-turned to look down at me with a wicked smile, "Shall we get started?"

Chapter Text

The First-Born. The Morningstar. The Avatar of Pride. Lucifer.

Why the hell did I decide to go in birth order?!

When I'd been working out how I was going to kiss prank six demons and still get what I wanted, it had all seemed a lot easier. Now, trailing after Lucifer as he walked into the music room, it seemed the next best thing to impossible. On the other hand, it wasn't like that had ever stopped me before.

I glanced around nervously as I walked in, leaning to one side to try to subtly check out if anyone was lurking in the planetarium. Belphegor's plan had been to slip away from his brothers on the way to RAD and come back to the house. Then, he'd give me some kind of signal and I'd be able to get on with the kiss prank. That was what was supposed to happen, but it was quickly approaching time for the reset and there still wasn't any sign of the smug bastard. I let out a long sigh, and dropped into a nearby seat, my fingers tangling together as I went over my rules one more time.

First, just a single peck on the lips for each kiss prank. If I did anything more than that, I knew I'd feel awful about it afterwards.

Second, right after the kiss, I would tell my target that it was a prank.

And lastly, that I would do my best to keep my real reason secret from Belphegor, since he was the only one who would remember past this loop. I have to make sure he doesn't find out. It's far too embarrassing. I mean, kissing his brothers just to work out how they feel about me? I could already imagine the look on his face.

It was especially annoying since the whole thing was his fault. He'd casually asked about my favourite brother when we'd been locked up together in the attic, and he kept coming back to the question every so often. I knew how I felt, of course, but after a while I couldn't help but start to wonder... Did any of them like me?

Satan had been furious the morning after the cat collar prank, holding the offending article and accusing his brothers at breakfast. Asmo ended up under suspicion, since it was his collar, and he'd unsurprisingly thrown me under the bus to save his own skin. I was sure I was going to get screamed at (at the very least), but instead Satan just gave me a really strange look. I wasn't certain if I'd somehow imagined it, but I could have sworn that he'd been blushing as he stalked away.

Then, when I'd been gaming with Leviathan on one of our off-days, I'd finally managed to capture one of the rare spirits in Mononoke Land. I'd been showing it off, but when I'd turned to see his reaction, he must have been leaning in to get a better look because we were practically nose-to-nose. He'd stared at me like a deer in headlights, before staggering back and covering his face with his hands, muttering something about Ruri-chan. I'd been chased out shortly after that, though.

And then there was Mammon...

It was driving me crazy and eventually I just had to know for sure. Working out how to get it past Belphegor had been the hard part, I knew he'd never agreed if I just told him, but if it was part of a kiss prank? The Avatar of Sloth had agreed a little too quickly though. I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully, still trying to work out what he could be after even as I toyed with my DDD, checking the time once again and grimacing. He only had another ten minutes before I should really start without him.

Come on, Belphie...

I looked up at a creak of wood and leather as Lucifer sat before the piano, a sheaf of music already placed neatly on the stand. He played a few notes experimentally with one hand, the tones echoing beautifully in the vaulted ceiling, before glancing over at me with a cool, confident smile, "Some music will help take your mind off it."

I sent him a brief flicker of a smile in response, feeling a little bad that the Avatar of Pride didn't know what was really worrying me. Still, at least if he was sat down to play the piano, that meant I wouldn't have to get him down to my level in order to prank him.

My attention was gently stolen away from watching the clock as the first few notes slowly became a sea of music that rose and fell in captivating waves, a twinkling melody reaching up into the higher notes as I watched Lucifer's fingers dance across the keys, beckoning forth such beautiful music. It was exquisite, yet somehow sad. Soft, even affectionate, but it also felt almost like... a goodbye. I closed my eyes as I listened to the billowing melody, falling stars and butterflies dancing in the darkness behind my eyes.

The tune shifted, the ache of melancholy becoming even stronger. I blinked my eyes, doing my best to try to chase away the threat of tears, biting my bottom lip as I looked up at Lucifer, his own ember gaze lost in the distance. As if he was trying to send a message through his music, to somewhere far away.

A flicker of movement caught my eye, pulling it towards the deep purple curtain that separated the music room from the planetarium. A smile crept onto my face. Belphie! He peered out from behind the heavy fabric, sending me a smirk and a sly wink as he realised that I'd finally noticed him, before stepping back until he was completely hidden. He'd made it just in time, somehow managing to make me dizzy with relief while still wanting to throw things at him.

I got to my feet, letting the music draw me forward and pull me across the distance until I stood next to the Avatar of Pride, watching the movement of his hands as they drifted up and down the keys.

The piece of music slowly came to a close, the last notes lingering on the air as I took in a deep breath and summoned up my courage. I licked my lips, stepping a little closer and trying to think past the hammering of my heart, "Lucifer."

He turned, looked up, one eyebrow slightly raised, and I leant down before he could answer, pressing my lips softly against his.

If it wasn't for the warmth of his mouth, I could have fooled myself into thinking I was kissing a marble statue. He didn't move, not so much as a twitch, until I pulled away and looked nervously down at him.

Coal-dark eyes filled with some nameless emotion lifted to meet my gaze, his voice deceptively soft, "Why?"

I grimaced, fidgeting uncomfortably beneath his stare, "It's a kiss prank." I watched him closely for his reaction, a twist of anxiety in my stomach. I'd probably just have to put up with a lecture until the reset, but there was always a small chance that Lucifer would lose his temper. Even if he does, Belphie is right there, and the reset is in like five minutes. I'll be fine.

He blinked, leaning backwards slightly as he mulled it over. Finally, a mirthless smile spread across his lips, "A prank."

As I waited, I couldn't help but be impressed at Belphegor's foresight. Though, thinking about it, if I couldn't have worked out that Lucifer would punish me for my little prank, I clearly hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention.

I startled as Lucifer got up from his seat and moved closer, forcing me against the piano until I fell back onto the keys with a discordant twang. I flicked my gaze up to meet eyes that burned with low embers as he settled his arms on either side of me, effectively pinning me in as he gave me a slow smile.

This wasn't how the Avatar of Pride's punishments usually went, and I swallowed nervously. He spoke quietly, a clear warning in his voice, "Tell me. Do you not remember what I told you that night you gave me the TSL record?" The slight annoyance was somehow reassuring, normal.

I tried to remember what he was referring to, but a lot had happened that night, and I came up empty. Lucifer leant in slightly towards me as I paused for a little too long, and my response came out a bit strangled, "Uh, no?"

He reached out and slowly slid a leather-clad finger beneath my chin, tilting my head back. Surprise at the touch shivered through me, and the look in his eyes made me hold my breath as Lucifer moved towards me, whispering dangerously, "I told you that demons can't resist temptation." His fingertips gently grasped my chin, holding me in place as dark eyes slowly shifted crimson, "When there's something we want staring us in the face, we have to have it."

My eyes widened, heart drumming in my chest as he spoke. I couldn't look away or quite catch my breath as Lucifer leant in closer. So close, his breath brushed against my lips, tickling them softly, "Did you really think you could act so brazenly and there wouldn't be any consequences?"

His touch was still gentle as one perfect eyebrow raised expectantly. I closed my eyes for a moment, dragging in a deep breath and trying to ground myself. It couldn't be much longer until the reset, could it? I let out an awkward chuckle, eyeing the arms caging me in, "I, uh, didn't think you'd mind?"

Lucifer smiled, dark eyes amused as his grip moved from my chin to cup my cheek, "I didn't say I did." He leaned back in, but this time it was not his breath, but his lips that brushed against mine.

I froze, my shock becoming a whole swarm of wild butterflies doing loops around my stomach. Does he have feelings for me?! No, this is Lucifer we're talking about, he couldn't possibly... Could he? His kiss was surprisingly gentle, teasing and delicate, brushing against my lips softly again and again.

He paused, suddenly still, and then slowly straightened up. I took in a deep breath, fighting to calm down. I was still breathing too fast, but Lucifer wasn't even winded. Had the kiss even affected him at all? The only visible change from normal was his eyes, which were almost entirely red with flashes of darkness. He levelled me a sadistic smirk, "Now you know how it feels. Consider this a lesson on why toying with the emotions of others is dangerous, especially when they are a demon."

I blinked, the words taking several seconds to sink in. He'd kissed me just so he could lecture me?! Purely hypocritical anger flooded through me. At least we were close enough to the reset point that I could make a decent attempt at trying to strangle him.

Lucifer reached out, making my thoughts scatter as he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, a slight smile on his lips. His voice was soft but thrummed with a dangerous promise, "And if you ever kiss me again, you had best be ready for the consequences."

Wait, wha-

***

Asmodeus turned, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling my hips to press against him. My mind was still reeling at Lucifer's words and I relaxed into the embrace gratefully, the subtle comfort helping to settle my hummingbird heart as he spoke, "Belphie, you can't hate humans forever."

Mammon's arm was wrapped securely around my shoulders, another point of contact keeping me steady. I took in a deep breath, deliberately shoving all of my whirling speculation to one side. After all, it was pretty likely that Lucifer had been deliberately messing with me. It was exactly his sense of humour and I had wilfully antagonised him. I couldn't help but smirk at the irony, I thought I'd known where I stood with Lucifer, but after kissing him, I was less certain than when I'd started. Maybe kiss pranks weren't the smartest idea...

I glanced up, my brow knitting in concern as I realised Belphegor wasn't looking at me. Instead, his violet eyes were flat as he stared silently at Lucifer, one hand clenched into a tight fist. But what could have possibly crawled up his pants in the last ten minutes? The Avatar of Pride returned the glare calmly, derision practically freezing the air that hung between them.

Satan stepped up, green eyes trained on the stand-off, "He's right. Lilith was reborn as a human. She always wanted to spend more time in the human world, so I'm sure she lived a happy life."

Belphie took in a deep breath, tearing his gaze away and to Lord Diavolo, the hostility softening just a fraction, "You're right, I've changed my mind." I recognised the start of his usual spiel, how he'd given up on his plans to destroy the exchange program, blah blah blah, and tuned out the rest, trusting that he wouldn't go too far off-script even if he was suddenly in a snit. Instead, I reached up to wrap my hand around Mammon's forearm, still pressed against my collarbone like it was one of those bars that stop you from falling off a rollercoaster. His attention was all on what Belphegor and Lord Diavolo were saying, though by the way his mouth pressed together into a hard line, I could tell that he wasn't impressed by what they were saying.

Mammon was next on the list, and he was also the main reason I was even doing the kiss pranks in the first place. I knew now that he would be perfectly happy to kiss me, but I still needed to know why. Was it was just purely physical attraction, or could it be something more? The fact that I got to kiss him, to feel that heady intensity as he devoured my lips again was just the cherry on top.

Generally, once Lord Diavolo's explanations were over and he returned to the castle, we'd found that most of the brothers tended to split up into different parts of the house. We'd decided that I should wait until then for the rest of the kiss pranks, so technically I had a couple of hours before I had to actually make a plan.

Mammon glanced down and I quickly flicked my eyes up to meet his. Hopefully he hadn't noticed my gaze lingering on his lips, or the hot blush now trying to swarm up onto my cheeks. He frowned slightly, blue eyes touched with worry, his grip tightening, "Ya okay?"

This demon... I sighed in relief at the unexpected concern, and plastered a reassuring smile onto my face, "I'm fine." It was the truth, too, at least apart from the way my thoughts kept drifting back to the memory of his mouth on mine.

Ugh, I am definitely going to need a cold shower when I get back to my room.

***

I walked out of my bathroom, vigorously drying my hair with one hand and not particularly surprised by a certain white-haired demon lounging all over my bed. He always seemed to end up in my room eventually. Mammon had clearly been messing about on his DDD while I was in the shower, but he glanced over towards me at the noise of the door, his long limbs taking up far more than his share of the space. I wandered over, throwing the damp towel at him and enjoying the offended squawk as he batted it out of the air and onto the floor, giving me a half-hearted glare, "Oi! What was that for?"

I grinned back at him, brushing my hair absently as I kicked the towel into the corner. I pointed accusingly at him with the brush end, "You know, the fact that you don't know how to knock is why I get dressed in the bathroom rather than in my actual room."

He pouted, waving defensively with the hand not holding his phone, "Hey! I know how to knock! Besides, you're my human. All yer stuff is basically mine anyway."

I gave him an unimpressed stare, the 'logic' never made any sense no matter how many times I heard it. "Maybe next time I'll just walk out naked."

"Huh?!" Mammon's eyes shot wide open, before he swallowed nervously, chuckling, "You're kiddin', right? Ya wouldn't just..." He bit his bottom lip, eyeing me, "Right?"

I grinned at him, enjoying letting him stew for a second as I picked up my DDD, fingers dancing over the screen as I created a conversation with an unsaved number.

>: Hey, Mammon's in my room. It doesn't look like he's going anywhere for a while. May as well get started?

I flicked my eyes over to the Avatar of Greed, now impatiently waiting for an answer and blissfully ignorant as to what I was planning. Excitement started to mix with the nerves fluttering in my stomach.

"Hey, don't ignore me human, I'm the Great Mammon, don't leave me hangin'! Ya were kiddin', right? Come on, just tell me!"

I chuckled, amused that he'd taken me seriously, "Relax, I'm just kidding. Though one of these days I am definitely getting a lock on that door."

He half-sat up with a gleam in his eye, "Yeah?" I narrowed my eyes in sudden suspicion as he scratched the back of his neck, glancing to one side, "So, uh, what kind of lock?"

Sticky-fingered little-

He was saved by the buzzing of the DDD in my hand and I quickly brought it up to check my messages.

???: I'm in the corridor outside your room now.

It was time. I closed my eyes, squeezing the device in one hand and then nearly jumped out of my skin when it vibrated again.

???: If something happens, scream. I'll come help.

My shoulders relaxed, a small smile on my lips at Belphegor's offer. I was sure it wouldn't be necessary, I had a pact this time and besides, I could handle anything my guardian demon could possibly throw at me. I licked my lips, sliding the phone into my back pocket as I turned to face Mammon, carefully keeping my voice light and easy, "Hey, Mammon? Could you come over here a sec?"

He grumbled, but rolled onto his feet with a big sigh, hands stuck in his pockets as he walked over, "You're lucky I'm such a generous demon, ya know. So whaddya want from the Great Mammon?" A pale eyebrow quirked up as he looked down at me, clearly trying to work out what I was after.

I crooked a finger, my eyes trained on his face while my heartbeat started to quicken. I fought to keep my breathing even so as to not give the game away but I still couldn't help the slightly breathy way my words slipped out, "Come down here."

Confusion wrinkled his brow but he obediently leant forward until he was close enough. I reached out, tugging on the lapel of his jacket, enjoying the feeling of the supple leather under my fingers as I pulled him down the rest of the way to meet my eager lips.

The familiar scent of cinnamon teased my senses as Mammon stole the breath from my lungs with a sharp inhale, his entire body tensing in surprise. It only lasted for a moment, and then his mouth softened against mine, warm and willing. I bit down on a whine, struggling to stop myself from continuing with the kiss, the feat pushing the limits of my self-control.

I finally leaned back, looking down to try to catch my breath and avoid any further temptation.

He dragged in a loud breath, and I could feel the tremble in his frame under my hand. He let it out as a complaint, his voice slightly hoarse, "Wha-what was that? Ya can't just go and... do that kinda thing all of a sudden, ya know!"

I thought he wanted to kiss me? I frowned, jerking my gaze up to look at Mammon's face, suddenly worried I'd made some kind of horrible mistake. He was looking to one side, a blush decorating his cheeks and flushed down to his neck. He seemed uncomfortable, and I bit my lip, fearing the worst, "You don't want me to kiss you?"

His gorgeous sunrise eyes shot back to mine, wide, "That's not what I said! I just mean, ya have ta give me some warning before ya just... do something like that." He glanced away again and trailed off, clearly embarrassed, the pink starting to advance on his ears.

I looked up at him, eyes narrowing as a suspicion started to form, "Like what? Kiss you?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Mammon..."

"Uh, yeah?"

"I'm going to kiss you again."

His eyes widened as I slid my hands up and around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. He didn't resist, his eyes slipping closed as I pressed my lips against his, almost immediately deepening the kiss, the sweetness of his mouth making my head spin. He shivered, moaning softly against my mouth as his hands gripped my hips and he kissed me back hungrily, his tongue tangling against mine over and over, as if he just couldn't get enough.

My fingers wound into his hair, tugging on the silken strands as I tried not to get too carried away by the pleasure coursing through me in waves. It was even better than I remembered, every time our lips touched spreading warmth through me down to my toes and leaving me delightfully light-headed.

Finally, I pulled myself away with a gasp, rolling my head back as I fought to catch my breath, "Mmm, Mammon..." It was so tempting to surrender to another kiss, the dull ache of desire burning in my veins.

Warm lips found the skin of my throat, the Avatar of Greed slowly kissing up the neck I'd so conveniently bared for him. I gasped, the sound turning into a low moan before I gritted my teeth, fighting to think past the demanding haze. I'm supposed to be finding out how he feels about me. I already know that he wants to kiss me, as good as this feels.

Mammon straightened as I dragged him away from my neck, his eyes dark and full of fire. He leant in to kiss me again, letting out a low growl that sang with need as I stopped him short, my fingers still tightly wound in his hair, "More. Don't stop..."

I bit my bottom lip, hard enough to hurt. Part of me was in full agreement with that plan but I firmly over-ruled it, forcing out the words, "I need to ask you something."

He frowned in confusion, blinking at me silently as his eyes shifted to focus on me.

I swallowed, loosening my grip on his hair so I could gesture with one hand, my voice soft and hopeful, "Do- Do you like me? I mean, as more than a friend, more than... this."

Mammon's eyes widened, his reaction almost comical as his mouth dropped open. Apprehension twisted in my gut as the hush between us stretched out until it became uncomfortable. Finally he spoke, voice rough, "I-" He paused, something darkening his azure gaze as he looked away from me, dragging in a deep breath, "I mean, of course ya-" I smiled bitterly as he stopped again.

He suddenly growled, frustration clanging on every syllable as it became a whine, "Why did ya have ta ask me that? Can't we just keep kissin'?!"

I pressed my lips together, the rejection racing along my bones, a persistent ache that was soon joined by a flood of anger as I realised that the Great Mammon hadn't even had the fucking decency to say it to my face. Too worried about his precious kisses.

I pulled out of his embrace and turned away, pausing to hiss over my shoulder, "You could have just said no."

I really should have known better than to think that Mammon might care about me like that. Some random human. My lips twitched and I felt a hysterical laugh on the verge of bubbling up as a thought popped into my head, the irony perfectly vile. I guess I got too greedy.

Well, at least now I knew.

Warm fingers wrapped around my wrist as I took a step towards the door, Mammon letting out a strangled yell, "Wha- Hey, human, hang on! Let me-"

I refused to look around, the last thing I wanted was for him to see the embarrassed tears gathering on my lashes. I yanked my arm out of his grip, the hurt tightening my throat until my words came out as a whispered scream, "Leave me the fuck alone!"

I didn't bother to look back as I ran out of my room and slammed the door behind me.

***

I jogged down the corridor, blinking away the tears so I could actually see where I was going. I had no particular direction in mind, only the need to keep moving and burn away some of the bitter fire searing through my veins.

Who the hell does he think he is, anyway? Letting me think that- Wait... I absently chewed on a knuckle, slowing my steps and taking in a deep breath, realising that I'd been allowing my thoughts to run away with me. As much as it stung, Mammon hadn't actually done anything wrong by not having feelings for me. He hadn't led me on, or lied. Just because I had a crush on him, that didn't mean he had to reciprocate.

It fucking sucked, but I shouldn't have taken that out on him, either.

I groaned, my cheeks flaming with vehement embarrassment as I remembered the way I'd acted. At least, since it was an off-day, I'd just have to avoid him until the reset and then it could be safely put away in the box of stupid-shit-I've-done memories that kept me awake at three in the morning.

My eyes widened as I suddenly realised I'd forgotten another important thing while distracted by Mammon. Belphegor. He'd been just outside the room while the entire thing was happening. I glanced back the way I'd come, only to see said Avatar of Sloth ambling towards me. My stomach clenched in sudden panic. Please, pleasepleaseplease, say he didn't overhear me asking Mammon how he felt. It had been by far the quietest part of the conversation, so if I was really, really lucky...

As if they were buses just waiting for their chance, the third 'oh fuck' moment hit me. I'd probably broken every single one of my rules, on just the second kiss prank. It hadn't been a peck (not even close), I hadn't told him that it was a kiss prank and, what with demonic hearing, it was pretty much inevitable that Belphie now knew what I was really up to.

Well, shit.

As Belphegor finally reached me, a slightly amused look on his face, I gave him a mock-glare, trying to ignore how my cheeks were still warm and no doubt a lovely shade of pink, "Don't even start."

He smirked, violet eyes half-closed as he twisted so he could lean against the wall, crossing his arms, "Ooh, I'm terrified."

I made a face at him, grateful that he wasn't acting concerned or bringing up what happened with Mammon. He was just being his usual, bitingly sarcastic self. I glanced down the corridor, the anger and shame finally starting to ebb down to something manageable.

Next on the list was Leviathan, my self-proclaimed best friend and the most otaku-y otaku to have ever lived. He would no doubt be holed up in his room, a geeky treasure trove that, fittingly, left me in throes of envy every time I went in there. As I headed towards the stairs leading to the second floor with Belphie trailing after me, he let out a soft chuckle, "We're moving on to Levi? You sure? You're not exactly in the best mood."

I rolled my eyes as the 'concern' and turned back to him as he settled himself against the wall a little way down, "I'm fine." He was suspiciously well placed, just where he wouldn't be easily visible from Leviathan's doorway, unless the third-born actually leaned into the corridor for some reason.

I faced the door, hand raised and trying to put the whole thing with Mammon to one side. I repeated it to myself, more quietly, like a mantra, "I'm fine."

And then I knocked.

Chapter Text

"Shit."

Mammon rested his forehead against the cool wood of the door, frustration making his hands clench into fists as he took in a shaky breath. She'd used the pact on him, something he thought she'd never do, and worse, ordered him to stay away. Stupid human, I'm supposed to look after ya! You can't just- A low growl rolled out as he banged his head against the door, muttering to himself, "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." The doorway may as well have been warded by Lucifer for all the luck he'd had in getting past it, the pact stopping him every time.

"Leave me the fuck alone!"

The words echoed in his head over and over. He'd wanted that kiss for so long. Shit, it had almost seemed like a dream, she'd felt so good. But then she'd asked that question, and he hadn't had an answer.

The second-born closed his eyes, letting himself lean against the smooth surface. So much had happened, and way too fast. He'd watched his human die in his arms, killed by his beloved little brother. Then she was suddenly alive again and apparently also was Lilith's descendant - who by the way hadn't actually died, because Lord Diavolo had turned her into a human?! And Lucifer hadn't told anyone. Not to mention that the Avatar of Pride had also been lying to them the whole time about Belphie being in the human world. And if that wasn't enough to scramble his wits, Belphegor had, suspiciously quickly, promised to play nice with the exchange program after all. Diavolo believes him, but he was laughin' about killin' her not that long ago. Even if he's really changed his mind 'cos of Lilith, that still doesn't mean he deserves to be allowed anywhere near her.

He huffed out a laugh at the irony.

And yeah, he'd managed, partly because his human was close by and frankly looked like she was pretty much over the whole thing already. But then, she'd kissed him. She'd asked him how he felt about her, and when he'd tried to answer, the words had died in his throat and all he could see was the warmth in her eyes. The same warmth as when she'd smiled at him and he knew it meant goodbye... and he couldn't do a damn thing.

"But, that still don't mean that you can just run off without lettin' me explain! And you sure as fuck shouldn't have used the fucking pact on me and left yourself without someone lookin' after ya!" He twisted, leant his head back against the solid wood and slid his hands into his hair, fingers tightening as he grit his teeth, "Argh! Just you wait, human, I'm gonna give ya hell when I get outta here!"

His instincts were demanding that he steal her bedclothes, curl up in a nest and spend the rest of the night feeling sorry for himself. But he was the fucking Avatar of Greed, not some lovesick lower demon.

He could fix this.

Slowly dragging himself to his feet and back to the bed, the second-born picked up his DDD and perched on the edge, foot tapping nervously as he tried to think. He couldn't message her directly, not with the pact in place. He needed someone to find her and make sure she stayed safe, and he needed to get her to change her mind on keeping him away. Blue eyes flickered over the list of contacts before he finally selected one.

>: Hey Asmo, I need ya to go find the human, she's run off and I ain't got time to look after her right now.

Mammon wasn't stupid enough to tell Asmodeus that she'd used the pact on him. The Avatar of Lust would be the exact opposite of helpful and take advantage of it to boot. But he could be trusted to protect her and kept his cool better than most of his brothers. If only he'd keep his damn hands to himself.

>: And don't think that means you can touch her or nothin'. Hands off, or else!

He jiggled the phone as the typing indicator came up, suddenly tempted to pace.

Asmodeus: Of course, I'll go find our darling mistress, don't you worry. And then I'll bring her back to my room and we'll have a lovely time together.

>: HANDS. OFF.

Asmodeus: If you say so!

The DDD creaked under his grip as he forced in a breath and made himself relax. His human could handle Asmo, as much as he really wanted to bounce his perverted little brother across a lake right now.

He opened up his conversation with Beel, and found himself hesitating. Usually, I'd get Beel to guard her too. But... He shook the images away, eyes squeezed shut. One problem at a time.

>: Beel, you gotta help me.

Beelzebub: What's wrong?

He should have known Beelzebub would respond quickly after a day like today.

>: The human used the pact on me, she told me to leave her alone an' now I can't even message her to get her to take it off!

He tried to type more, get Beelzebub to talk to her for him, but his fingers refused to move. He let out a sharp huff of frustration, "Wha- I can't even do that?!"

Beelzebub: What did you do?

>: Why do you think I did somethin'??

Beelzebub: Because she used the pact on you and told you to leave her alone.

>: I didn't do anything! Just help me out, okay? I'll get you that Ultimate Bucket from El Pollo Diablo you've been talkin' about!

Beelzebub: Okay, I'll talk to her, but if you deserved it, I won't help. And you still owe me the food.

Mammon bit his thumb, scowling at the screen. When had his adorable little brother become such a hard-ass?

>: Fine, 'cos I didn't deserve it this time!

He tossed his DDD onto the side-table and ran his hands down his face, blocking out the light with his forearm as he flopped onto the cushions. Now all he had to do was wait.

If only he was any good at it.

***

It didn't take long to get a response to my knock, though the door stayed stubbornly shut, Levi's voice slightly muffled on the other side, "What's the password?"

I smiled to myself, the familiar words helping me to relax. One of the few bonuses of a repeating day was having to remember only one passphrase, "The seventh lord..."

I frowned as Leviathan didn't answer. Usually he'd give me the next part of the phrase, which should have been 'offered his aid to the Lord of Flies, creating an unlikely friendship', and then two more back-and-forth exchanges would earn me entry into his sanctum. The silence was unusual. Unnerving.

I frowned, opening my mouth to ask if he was okay when the door sprung open, the brief view of his room replaced by a sudden Leviathan as he wedged himself in between the door and the frame. Purple locks fell into vividly pumpkin-orange eyes, same as always, but his hair was messy, tufts sticking in random directions, and his eyes looked a little wild and... bloodshot? He gave me a brief, nervous stare, "Uh, hey?"

Well, that's suspicious.

I shifted my weight, leaning to one side to see if I could catch a glimpse of whatever it was he was trying to hide. Levi was clearly keeping the door closed with the arm I couldn't see, and since he was taller than me I couldn't really find an angle where I could see past him. I pouted, his plan annoyingly fool-proof, but I wasn't here to solve that particular mystery. Not this time anyway. Hopefully he wasn't just playing one of his hentai games or something. Actually, now I think about it, I really don't want to know.

Still, that didn't mean I couldn't tease him a little. I leant forward and sent him a calculated smile, "Can I come in?"

"NO!!" His eyes darted back and forth as if looking for a way out, "I mean, umm, I'm really busy right now, so can you come back later... Wait, no! I didn't mean that, it's fine, it's just, um, maybe we can hang out in your room instead? You've still got the next Castle in the Sky expansion, right?"

I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips thoughtfully. Playing a game together could be fun and sitting on the floor in my room would give me plenty of opportunities to lay a smooch on the unsuspecting otaku. On the other hand, I did have another three kiss pranks to get through tonight and besides... Mammon might still be there.

I stepped closer, a little impressed that Levi didn't flinch as I tilted my head, unable to stop a sharp little grin, "What's wrong with your room?"

The third-born did his best to lean backwards while not moving, letting out a high-pitched squeak, "Nothing! Um, I mean, nothing's wrong, just..." He visibly brightened, "Oh yeah! I just got a shipment of super-rare Ruri-chan figurines and I don't want to get your normie germs all over them before I've put them away in their display cases. So, uh, you can't come in until I've sorted it all out."

"My what." I narrowed my eyes and took in a deep breath, ready to defend my geek credentials, but hesitated, slowly letting it out as a sigh instead. I had other hills to die on tonight, so I would generously let it slide, this time. I let my gaze drop down to his mouth, currently twisting into a series of strange shapes as he tried to work out what to say that wouldn't dig himself in deeper. I smiled, poisonously sweet, "You know what, Levi? Don't worry about it."

Leviathan sagged in relief, somehow managing to miss the clear warning signs, so I only felt a little bit bad as I stepped forward and yanked him down to my level by his jacket. He panicked and only just managed to grab the edge of the doorframe to avoid tumbling straight into me, clearly not expecting the move. Maybe Belphegor had been right about my bad mood after all.

I leaned in and sealed my lips against his.

It was relatively innocent, but his reaction was immediate, all of his muscles tensing up at the same time as his lips parted slightly, a soft groan slipping out before it suddenly cut off. I lingered for a moment, enjoying the cool softness of his mouth and the subtle tang of sea-spray and ozone.

He didn't move, didn't return the kiss, didn't even breathe.

I pulled back, starting to feel more than a little concerned as I glanced up at the Avatar of Envy.

He goggled back at me, the resemblance to a beached fish uncanny. It took a few seconds for his brain to reboot, orange eyes suddenly blinking and both hands flying up to cover his mouth, as if he thought I was going to try it again. He was already bright pink everywhere I could see, slowly turning an even brighter red.

"Levi?" Was it possible for demons to spontaneously combust?

A low whine escaped from behind his hands, slowly getting louder like steam escaping from a boiling kettle, "...aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH-"

BANG!

For a second I didn't move, my mouth hanging open and stunned into silence, staring at the suddenly closed door in front of me.

A strange, soft noise from my left slowly drew me out of my shock, only to find Belphegor with his arms wrapped tight around his stomach, eyes squeezed shut and shoulders shaking. Is he... laughing at me?! It slowly got louder, and as he opened his eyes and saw me glaring at him, he choked out, "Y-your face!" and then totally lost it, turning so he could lean against the wall and slowly slide down it until he was on his knees, cackling helplessly into the stone tiles.

I sent him a withering look, "Will you-"

Belphie dropped onto his side as he only laughed harder, drowning out the rest of what I was going to say. My mouth twitched into a smile despite my exasperation, and better judgement. It didn't help that his laugh was as warm as sunlight. I still had half-a-mind to stamp on him, though.

Instead, I dragged in a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, the smile refusing to fall as I turned back to Levi's door. Ignoring the giggling mess on the floor, I called out, gnawing on my bottom lip, "Levi, are you okay?"

Sullen silence greeted me, and I frowned, starting to get honestly worried. "Levi? Please op-"

"Don't pretend like you care!" His voice was loud enough to be heard even over Belphie's giggle-fit, "I can hear you l-laughing at me! I should have known it was a joke, no-one would want to k-k-kiss a disgusting otaku like me."

I gritted my teeth at the despair and self-loathing in his voice, "For the last time, you are not disgusting! And of course people want to kiss you! What about all those women the other day at the Fall?" They'd practically swarmed the third-born, and only Asmodeus' intervention had stopped him from literally fleeing the building.

...Maybe I shouldn't have included Levi in the kiss pranks.

"That was awful!" came the immediate offended squawk from the other side of the door, "I can't believe Mammon lied to me like that. I thought it was TSL Night but none of them had even seen the films!"

I covered a smirk with a hand, "I'm sure they would have happily kissed you though."

Frenzied coughing sounded like Levi had managed to choke on air in his panic, "Uh-ah, I... Well, I'm not interested in them, I'm saving myself for my sweet Ruri-chan! 2D girls are way better than a bunch of normies like them."

A bittersweet pang shot through me at his words, but I summoned up a smile, "Right, and besides, I wouldn't have kiss-pranked you if I didn't think you were worth kissing." If I hadn't wanted to know how you feel about me.

Levi made a bizarre high-pitched noise that reminded me of a leaking balloon, "T-this is way too high-level for me! C-can we just stop talking about it now?! Please!"

I stifled a laugh, sure it wouldn't go over well, "Okay. I'll log on to play Mononoke Land with you later?"

He took a little longer to reply than usual, "S-sure. But, you, uh, you have to give me that super-rare Blue Flower Gem you got last week! Otherwise I won't forgive you!"

I probably should have expected something like that. Opportunism aside, it was a relief to hear the smile back in my one true friend's voice. "Okay, you have a deal."

"What, rea- I mean, yeah, deal! See you later then, kthxbye!"

Rolling my eyes with a slight grin, I blinked as I realised that it was finally quiet. Belphegor sat on the floor with his back against the wall and his eyes closed, though a small smirk still decorated his lips. I walked over, leaving the Avatar of Envy to cool down so he wouldn't actually explode (or, more likely, flood the entire house again).

Hands on my hips, I quirked up an eyebrow, "Enjoy yourself?"

His smirk deepened, and he half-opened his eyes, looking up at me through his eyelashes, "Did you?" At my glare, he pressed his lips together and grinned, "Ugh, don't set me off again, I'm exhausted." He let his head roll back, violet eyes strangely warm, "I haven't laughed like that in centuries, but the look on your face..." A weary chuckle left him and he shook his head.

I shook my head, my smile shifting to a rueful smirk as I reached out my hand to help him up, "Well, glad someone enjoyed that."

Belphie grabbed my hand and I hauled him to his feet with surprising ease, though I knew from experience that if he'd bothered to resist it would have felt like trying to uproot a tree. Especially if he went limp, the bastard. He leaned back against the wall, clearly not feeling like actually standing up just yet, and gave me a tight grin, "So, that's three down."

The reminder made me frown, as I glanced down. None of the kiss pranks had really gone how I'd expected, and the reactions I'd gotten had either made me sad or just more confused. I licked my lips, "About that..."

Belphegor narrowed his eyes, the smile vanishing before a hint of derision touched his mouth, "You're not giving up already, are you? This was your idea." He eyed me, violet gaze sharp before he slowly smirked, "Or is it that you only really wanted to kiss one of them?"

I rolled my eyes at the seventh-born, while secretly relieved that somehow he hadn't overheard my conversation with Mammon after all. I'd managed to keep to at least one kiss prank rule, though admittedly not for lack of trying.

He continued, finally pushing himself off from the wall and looking away with a careless shrug, "But if you want to stop half-way..."

The kiss pranks had mostly started with me wanting to know how Mammon felt, but it wasn't just about him anymore. I bit my lip, torn as I looked back at Levi's door. If I gave up now, I wouldn't have to go through the same thing with the last three, but I also wouldn't learn anything. And it was an off-day, so it wasn't like any of this would continue into the next loop.

Wasn't it better to know for sure?

Plus, it was a bit unfair to have only kissed half of them. It would feel like I was playing favourites or something, not to mention that I'd probably be more awkward around the ones that I had kissed and...

Shit. I'm stuck doing all of them, aren't I?

I let out a long sigh, kicking myself and my stupid sense of fairness, "No, I'm going to keep going. Satan's next, right?"

The Avatar of Sloth looked back at me, a strange expression on his face that I couldn't quite read, before it settled into a smug smirk, "Yeah, you ready?"

I shrugged, taking in a deep breath. Kiss pranking the Avatar of Wrath, sure, what could go wrong?

"Yeah, let's do this."

***

I glanced up onto the second floor of the library, my eyes finding Belphegor immediately. He was idly reading a book, leant back against the bookshelf and, as if he could sense my eyes on him, he glanced over the top of the book and sent me a slow, deliberate wink. It was oddly comforting, which was good because I was seriously reconsidering the entire plan. I'd barely looked at the book I was supposed to be reading, instead, ever since I'd sat down, my eyes had been helplessly drawn to my current 'target'.

Satan. Friend to cats, resident book-worm, chairman of the Anti-Lucifer League. Also the Avatar of Wrath.

When I'd sat down, he'd given me a strange look and a smile, before asking a few questions about what I was reading, which I'd mostly shrugged off and now he was leaving me to my existential crisis. Every other kiss prank had gone badly, so there was little doubt this one would too. But the others hadn't been the Avatar of Wrath. Usually, his short temper didn't worry me, since it was rarely aimed in my direction but... this time I would be deliberately pranking him. Poking the personification of rage himself with a metaphorical stick.

Though I suppose poking him with an actual stick would probably get you exactly the same reaction.

Belphegor had promised to intervene if something happened, plus I had a pact with the fourth-born, so technically I wasn't in any real danger. And if those didn't work, we were still in the loop and it would just reset. And then I wouldn't have to keep avoiding Mammon, so even my horrible bloody end had an upside.

I swallowed down the nerves jittering in my stomach and dragged my gaze away from studying his face, getting to my feet and clearing my throat, "Uh, Satan?"

He looked up, one eyebrow raised questioningly, "Hmm?"

I tried again, managing to sound less anxious this time, and added a quick smile, "I don't really understand this bit, could you have a look at it for me?" I took another few steps closer to him, turning it a little so he'd be able to read over my shoulder.

Satan let out a short sigh, closing the book and putting it to one side with slow, deliberate movements that seemed to take forever, "Sure, let's have a look." Finally, he stepped next to me, leaning down to read the passage I'd marked with my finger, his brow wrinkling in confusion.

His face was right next to mine, and I knew I only had a moment to make my move. If I hesitated for too long, he'd stand up again and I'd lose my chance.

He blinked, green eyes suddenly amused, "Well..."

I turned and leaned in, letting the book fall as I kissed him. Just a light brush against his lips, a barely-there caress that made me shiver. His mouth was soft and warm, the scent surrounding him that of old books, with tantalising hints of citrus and sage.

Satan blinked at me as I pulled back, looking astonished. "You..." He breathed it out as a whisper and then lifted a hand to touch his mouth, eyes still wide.

I licked my lips, swallowing nervously and gave him a flicker of a smile, "Um, yeah, it's a kiss prank." I am so, so dead.

He blinked again, and then narrowed his eyes, rubbing at his lips before grimacing, "A kiss prank?"

"Yeah", I cleared my throat, "it's when you-"

"I know what it is." He cut me off and frowned at me, but there was no sign of him being actually angry with me for pranking him. He just looked confused. Could Satan...? My stomach filled with nerves for an entirely different reason as I considered if the handsome, studious fourth-born could actually like me. Even though we hadn't had a pact for very long, he'd come to check on me when I was baking, and he'd listened to me rant afterwards, and then there'd been the whole thing with the cat collar... Could he have... feelings for me?

Satan looked down, taking the book out of my hand while a brief smile flickered across his face, "I suspected something might be up when I realised that the book you wanted to show me was upside down. I didn't expect that-" He paused and glanced back up at me, emerald eyes hard and glittering, "Did one of my brothers put you up to this?"

I blinked at him, shock at the accusation morphing into irritation in an instant, "What? No!"

While it was tempting to say yes and throw one of the brothers under the bus, I hated the idea of been seen as someone who would do that. When I pranked someone, I did it for me, damnit.

"So it was your idea?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling a little insulted at having to repeat it, "Of course it was."

One side of his mouth quirked up as he eyed me curiously, "Hmm, in that case, why did you choose to kiss prank me?"

I wasn't sure whether he was asking why I went for a kiss prank, or why I'd decided to kiss him specifically, but I guess it didn't really matter, it was the same answer anyway. Not that I could really tell him what it was, especially with Belphie right there.

Or... could I?

I bit my lip. As long as I whispered it, maybe I could actually tell him that it was because I wanted to know how he felt about me. At least then I'd definitely know for sure, one way or another. Then again, I'd already been handed one miracle today, with Belphegor somehow not knowing my real reasons for the kiss pranks even though he'd been stood right outside while I'd talked with Mammon. Most people wouldn't tempt fate.

I swallowed, feeling like my stomach was full of butterflies as I stepped in closer. Satan took in a sudden sharp breath, eyes widening as he stared down at me, clearly surprised at me suddenly moving into his space. My eyes lingered on his lips and I was tempted for a moment to kiss him again anyway... but that would make what I was after just as obvious as admitting it out loud.

Again.

Look, mistakes were made, okay?

I kept my voice as soft as I could make it, hopefully that would be enough, "Satan, the truth is that I-"

"I put her up to it." Belphegor's voice rang out, louder than it really needed to be. I spun around, fixing him with a glare.

He was leant on the bannister, arms crossed and a smug smirk on his lips, though I could tell immediately that I wasn't the one he was focusing on. Satan spoke up from behind me, a dangerous undercurrent in his voice, "You told her to kiss me? I find it difficult to believe that she'd so much as talk to you, Belphie, never mind play a prank for you."

Belphie's violet eyes burned with a strange intensity and his smile was knife-sharp, "You'd be surprised."

I was going to steal his hoodie, and then I was going to set it on fucking fire. What the hell was he doing? If this was the intervention he'd mentioned, then he'd managed to seriously misjudge the situation. That, or he was messing with me on purpose. Technically, I suppose I had already done the kiss prank so there wasn't anything that he could ruin, but...

And they were talking about me like I wasn't in the room, again!

Satan let out a soft growl, and warm hands suddenly gripped my upper arms, nails digging into my skin, "I very much doubt that."

Something dark flickered in Belphegor's eyes, only there for a moment, before he sighed, gaze flicking back to me, "We should really get going though, we've still got stuff to do." He looked towards the door, staring at me meaningfully. Even I could tell what he was getting at, but surely it wasn't so bad that I needed to go right-

Satan's grip tightened, almost starting to hurt, "Stuff?" A long pause, and when he spoke again I could hear the snap of every consonant, anger colouring his words, "What does he mean?"

It didn't feel like I was in danger, but I didn't have the best track record at judging that. Obviously.

I got the feeling that he wasn't angry with me, exactly, but I still held my breath as I tested his hold, trying to pull myself out of his grip. He let go immediately, making me feel a little bad for ever doubting him as I took a few steps away and turned back to look at him. His gaze skittered between me and then up to Belphegor, then down again, confusion mingling with the anger on his face until it slowly changed to worry, "Is he making you-"

I put my hands up, cutting off that train of thought as quickly as I could, "Whoa, no. No, he's not making me do anything. It really was my idea, he's just... helping." And fuck, that sounded so much worse than it had in my head.

Satan's face was a picture, "Helping?"

Warmth spread across my cheeks as I fought through my embarrassment, clearing my throat, "Well..."

Belphegor helpfully interjected, "With the kiss pranks." Pranks. Plural.

Nevermind the hoodie, I was going to set Belphie on fire. I grimaced, adding a little lamely, "Um, yeah."

The Avatar of Wrath's eyes flashed, and then he took in a deep breath. Something twisted in my stomach as I watched him pull his mask back down, giving me a polite smile, "I see. Well then. Good luck with that." He walked over to the reading chair, picked up his book and sat down, opening it as if nothing had happened.

I stared at him, swallowing hard as I was simply... dismissed. As if as far as he was concerned, I no longer existed.

A soft cough pulled my attention back to the mezzanine, where Belphie was gesturing to the door, not even trying to be subtle. I stabbed a finger towards him, trying to put as much threat in it as I could, and then left.

As quickly as I could.

Chapter Text

I slammed the door to the library behind me with more force than was strictly necessary, dragging in a deep breath as I pressed my lips together in a thin line. What the hell was Belphie thinking?! Maybe he'd been trying to help, but it sure hadn't felt like it. I narrowed my eyes as I remembered how he'd jumped in just as I was about to tell Satan why I'd really kissed him. It could have been a coincidence, but...

Gnawing on my thumb thoughtfully, I shook my head. If Belphegor had heard me, he could have found out everything just by keeping quiet. It had to be a coincidence. That didn't mean I wasn't going to give him a hard time for messing it up and telling Satan about the other kiss pranks though. On the other hand... I scowled as I realised that I hadn't actually told him I wanted to keep it secret, and since technically there wasn't any reason not to tell the brothers about the other pranks, especially after the fact...

Damnit.

I let out a long sigh. I was still a bit upset by Satan's reaction but I had to admit, however reluctantly, that kicking Belphegor down the stairs for it would be slightly unfair, no matter how much I wanted to.

Talking about Belphie and stairs, he was taking an awfully long time just to get down from the mezzanine, it didn't take that long. Had Satan stopped him from leaving? I glanced up, frowning, and as if in answer to my thoughts, I caught a flash of movement just out of the corner of my eye and turned with a smirk, "You took-"

But it wasn't the surly sloth demon, instead Asmodeus was ambling towards me, a sudden smile lighting up his eyes, "Darling! So this is where you were."

I blinked at the fifth-born, utterly at a loss. He was supposed to be in his room at this point in the loop. It was good in a way, he was next on the list for the kiss pranks and this meant I wouldn't have to entice him out, at least. (Even I wasn't stupid enough to think kiss pranking the Avatar of Lust in his bedroom was a good idea.)

It took a moment for his words to sink in, and I peered back at him, "You were looking for me?"

Asmo laughed softly, sliding his arm around mine familiarly and pulling me in to press against his side, "Mm-hmm, though I didn't expect to find you here, of all places. Were you doing some reading?"

Leaning against him, my half-smile fell away at the question, and I swallowed, biting the inside of my cheek, "Kind of?"

He glanced over to me, a brief flicker of a frown as honey-coloured eyes searched mine for a long moment, before he shifted his arm and wrapped it around my waist. I relaxed a little, breathing in the familiar scent of roses, sweetened with just a hint of vanilla. He gave me a comforting squeeze and a smile, "Well, if you're done, why don't you come to my room and I can pamper you all night?"

I looked up at him, torn between amusement at the innuendo and disappointment that I couldn't take him up on it. If it had been any other day, I definitely would have. I missed hanging out with Asmodeus, and his spa days were always lots of fun. And perfectly innocuous, no matter what Mammon imagined. Asmodeus was always a perfect gentleman, apart from all the times when he offered not to be.

And I was going to kiss him.

Suddenly his embrace no longer seemed so innocent, I could feel heat slowly spreading from where his thigh was pressed up against my hip. I swallowed, my heart fluttering with nerves as I realised just how close he was. I took in a deep breath, looking away and trying to cool my suddenly flushed cheeks. It's not like this is anything new, Asmo always touches me when he can. Much to Mammon's constant annoyance.

Of course, I'd never kissed him before, even as a prank.

I'd considered it. In fact, I'd promised myself that one day I would say 'yes' to one of his offers, but I'd never made good on it.

He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly, the soft curls falling to one side, "Hmm? Is something wrong?"

I glanced around the corridor instead of answering immediately, but there was no sign of the seventh-born. Should I wait? Then again, considering what had happened with Satan's kiss, maybe it was better that Belphie wasn't around. I would have felt a little bad that I was thinking about breaking yet another rule but really, he should have expected that when he up and disappeared on me.

So, there was really no point in hesitating. After all, I'd already decided that I had to finish the kiss pranks, despite the fact none of them had turned out the way I'd hoped. Asmodeus and Beelzebub were the only ones left, and Asmo was already right in front of me. All I needed to do now was figure out a way to get him to bend down. That or find a box to stand on.

I licked my lips, stomach still filled with butterflies as I swallowed again, "No, but..." I stepped out of his arms, turning so I could face him properly, "Can I tell you a secret?"

Asmodeus' amber eyes lit up with interest as he leaned closer, the expression chasing away a faint pout, "Of course!" He smiled, a hint of mischief to it, and his tone was playful, "I'm excellent at keeping secrets."

Chewing on my bottom lip, I beckoned him closer, something between excitement and panic racing through my veins as he slowly leant down. Every second seemed to take forever, and yet it was all happening too fast. Asmo's smile slipped into something teasing, "Is this about-" I stopped listening, my heart pounding loudly as I realised he was finally close enough.

I lifted myself up onto my toes, one hand settling lightly on his shoulder for balance, and softly pressed my lips against his.

Oh...

my...

God.

The moment our lips met, I realised I'd made a terrible, beautiful mistake.

Unlike his brothers, Asmodeus didn't freeze up in surprise as I kissed him. Instead, he kissed me back, slow and sweet, each brush of his lips making me shiver in pleasure, my eyes slipping closed. He moved closer with each one, kissing me over and over until my heels dropped back to the floor, fingertips brushing against my cheek.

Only then did I realise that I was already well past a single, chaste peck.

As if in response to my sudden thought, the kisses gradually slowed, softened until we were barely touching, one last feather-light caress of his lips before Asmo started to pull away. I shuddered, slowly opening my eyes and looking up to find his face still so close to mine. Pink painted his lips and dusted his cheeks, and his eyes... His eyes were all the colours of the sunset, burning with an exquisite heat as he gazed back at me. He was breathing hard, almost panting, and I bit my bottom lip, dragging it between my teeth.

I'd always been tempted by Asmodeus, but now... I could barely resist the urge to tangle my fingers in his hair, and the perfect bow of his lips, warm and soft and...

And I didn't want to stop.

I shuddered, my heart beating fast as I leaned in, so close I could feel his breath ghosting along my skin like a promise. I reached up, sliding my hands around the back of his neck, pulling him in until we met again in another searing kiss.

Asmo's hair was sinfully soft, silk against my skin as I slowly dragged my nails up the back of his neck. He moaned against my mouth, the kiss no longer gentle but something hungry as I pressed up against him, shuddering as the tip of his tongue swiped gently along my lips in a silent question. I answered with a moan of my own, deepening the kiss and dragging him even closer. His deft tongue teased mine, one hand on the small of my back and the other curled around the back of my neck, keeping me close.

He felt so good, but I needed more, a fierce want blazing in my veins. I let go, not pausing in my desperate kisses as I slid my hands down to the bottom of his jacket, growling softly in frustration as I realised his shirt was tucked in. I tugged, dragging it out just enough to slide my hands under and glide them up his back. His skin was so soft, and warm under my touch in a way that made me ache for more.

Asmodeus' breath shivered, his hand on the back of my neck pulling me in for another long kiss as the other drifted down, tracing along the edge of my top before his fingers slipped under, drawing a line just above my waistband, a slow caress that sent a pulse of bliss straight down my spine. Fuck...

I whimpered, my hands now on his shoulders and clinging to him for balance, pleasantly dizzy from the non-stop kissing. I want... I shifted my weight, lifting one leg and wrapping it around his hip, needing to be closer. The hand at my back moved and slid under my knee instead, helping to support my weight. I hazily wondered what would happen if I wrapped both of my legs around him, if Asmo would lift me up. Would he would press me against the wall and-

The room spun and I gasped as I hit the ground hard, catching myself on my hands and knees and only just managing to avoid falling flat on my face. I stared down at the familiar marble tile, pain throbbing through my palms, and tried to make sense of the sudden change. Wha- What happened?

"You'd better have a really good reason for being so rude, Belphie."

The sound of Asmodeus' voice brought me back to the moment and my eyes widened as I realised just how close I'd been to asking him to- True, I'd had fantasies and all, but- In the main corridor?!

I couldn't believe how quickly the kiss prank had spiralled out of control, though if I had to point fingers, I suspected it had a lot to do with the part of me that was still sorely tempted to drag the fifth-born back to his room and-

Wait, did he say Belphie? He had sounded angry too. In fact, it had almost sounded like a threat. I turned slowly, dropping onto my rear as I blinked in surprise, staring dumbly.

A long, bovine tail was swishing slowly back and forth in front of my nose. I slowly tracked up my gaze to take in the cow-splotch jacket, the dangling buckles and two curled horns on either side of his head. Belphie responded, equally unfriendly, "It was a prank."

Asmo blinked, and I could see the shock on his face, "What?"

"A kiss prank." The seventh-born repeated himself calmly, though as I watched, one hand slowly closed into a fist.

"A kiss..." Asmodeus looked thunderstruck and I watched emotions flicker through his eyes, a knot of anxiety tightening in my stomach as his gaze hardened and moved past Belphie to settle on me instead, "That was... a prank?"

I nodded, my mouth dry as I tried to come up with some kind of excuse, preferably one that didn't involve anything nearly as embarrassing as the truth.

"Then, you didn't want to kiss me? I thought-" His lips twitched as he fell silent, and I flinched at the pain in his eyes, before they flattened out into anger, "What even is a kiss prank anyway? Is this a human thing?"

I swallowed, slowly getting to my feet and rubbing my aching hands together as I licked my lips nervously, "It's not that I didn't want to, it just got a little... out-of-hand." I grimaced, scratching my head, "It's just supposed to be funny and a bit embarrassing. I was only supposed to peck you on the lips, not..." Not end up actually making out, not to mention that I even started undressing him. In public, no less. He had every right to be furious.

Asmo stared at me for a long moment, before he shook his head, "Well, darling, I'm afraid that if this was supposed to be a joke, I don't find it the least bit funny." He frowned, lips twisting into a pout, "So, you kiss someone without their permission, and then laugh at them? Is that about it?"

...Well. Ouch. That really hurt, especially since I couldn't really argue the point. I'm really an awful person, doing this, aren't I? At least no-one is going to remember it... It seemed like a pretty small mercy at this point.

Belphegor spoke, and I could hear the smirk in it, "Pretty much."

Asmodeus narrowed his eyes at his little brother, while I sneakily moved to a better spot. I would have preferred to slink off entirely, but if I had to have this conversation, at least I could make sure I could see both of their faces.

The Avatar of Lust folded his arms, looking from Belphegor to me, and then back again, "And Belphie knows about it, because...?"

"Um, well. He's supposed to help if anything, uh, happens." I stubbornly didn't look at the seventh-born, he was no doubt emanating smug right now. He'd been right all along, though not in the way we'd been expecting.

Not that any of the kiss pranks had gone how I'd expected; there was really no reason to be the slightest bit surprised by that at this point.

Asmo eyed Belphegor thoughtfully, before something seemed to seep out of him, his shoulders dropping as he glanced away, "...Hmph, I guess I can forgive you then. This time."

I ventured a quick glance out of the corner of my eye at the Avatar of Sloth, surprised to find that he was back in his human form, his hands in his pockets. He was definitely smirking, though. "Right. This time."

Asmodeus glanced over at me and smiled, "Well, it takes a lot of effort to be this beautiful, so I should probably be getting back."

Belphie almost sounded bored, but his eyes glittered like gems as he looked at his brother, "See you later."

I chewed my lip, feeling awful as the fifth-born started to walk away, and blurted out, "I can't come right now, but I'll be free later. Maybe I could come over for that pamper day you mentioned?" It was the least I could do to make up for ending up all over him, after all.

Asmo slowed, turning, and his tone was strangely cheerful, "You know I always love your visits, darling, but maybe tomorrow would be better? It's getting pretty late, after all - but don't you worry, I'll be sure to make time for you!" He sent me another twinkling smile and started walking away without even waiting for my answer.

I watched him go, frowning, and then muttered to myself, confused, "But it's not even that late?"

I didn't get the chance to do any further introspection, as Belphegor turned and raised an eyebrow at me, "So. Good thing I turned up, don't you think?"

I groaned, rolling my eyes, "Ugh, you're never going to let me live this down, are you."

Belphie smirked, his smile widening until it was a wicked sliver, "I did warn you." He straightened up a little, "Just one left, and then we're done."

I looked over to where Asmodeus had disappeared and pressed my lips together, scraping my nails over my palm in subtle agitation.

The last kiss prank. The last brother.

Sweet, gentle Beelzebub.

***

Mammon almost fell off the bed in his mad scramble to answer his DDD as it pinged cheerfully. He frowned, sagging in disappointment as he glanced at the sender and realised it wasn't from his pact-holder.

Asmodeus: Sorry, something came up!

Mammon stared at the message, eyes narrowed in sheer disbelief. That stupid, unreliable... He was still muttering insults as he started typing.

>: Whaddya mean something came up?! It better be fuckin' important if you're gonna bail on me!

Asmodeus: Just ask someone else.

>: Do ya really think I'd ask you to do it if there was a better option???

Asmodeus: Well, you're just going to have to find one, aren't you?

Mammon growled at the DDD, and half-considered throwing it at the wall, if only to make himself feel better. This day just wouldn't fucking end.

***

My hand hovered in the air as I hesitated, bare inches away from grabbing the brass door handle. Belphie had helpfully let me know that Beelzebub was currently in their bedroom, but he'd also informed me that he wouldn't be joining us.

"You don't need to worry about Beel, which means I don't need to babysit you."

He'd walked off after that with nothing more than a casual wave of his hand. And while I couldn't imagine the hungry sixth-born actually being a danger to me - unless I stole his food again - for some reason it still left me feeling strangely uneasy.

Then again, Beel was his twin, and I'd seen for myself just how close they were. It was weird enough to think that Belphegor had watched me kiss nearly all of his brothers, I could understand if he wasn't so keen on seeing me kiss Beelzebub, even if it was just a prank. Not to mention that both Lucifer and Asmodeus' kisses had been... a bit...

I blew out a breath in frustration as my cheeks burned, trying my best to push the memories down and back into their box. I needed to stay focused on the here and now. All I had to do was walk in there, get Beelzebub down to my level, kiss him, and then tell him it was a prank.

Easy.

I took a moment to contemplate my approach. I wouldn't be able to drag him down by his jacket, like I had Levi, he was far too tall, not to mention well-muscled. Not that it mattered much when compared to demon strength. He is usually pretty kind, though, so maybe I should just ask?

Nodding to myself, I took in a deep breath and held it, before finally turning the knob and stepping inside.

Beelzebub was sat on a large and comfortable couch, which had been upholstered in a hideous pattern clearly inspired by the large Persian rug that dominated the room. It was the same one that he'd slept on while I had to stay in his room - due to mine not having a wall (it's a long story, don't worry about it). He was surrounded by a mountain of food wrappers, no doubt the remnants of snacks conquered, and was currently battling a large bag of glazed donuts. He glanced up as I entered and instantly smiled, his pink-purple eyes so warm I couldn't help but smile back. He swallowed hurriedly, the donut vanishing, "Hey. I was going to go find you once I'd had a snack."

I frowned briefly at that, that sounded just like it had with Asmo. It was strange that they would both go looking for me, especially since they usually stayed in their rooms. Had we missed something? I brushed the thought aside after a moment, dismissing it as unimportant right now. I had much more pressing things to worry about. At least it seemed like my prayers had been answered, since Beel was already sat down with his sugar-dusted lips well within my reach.

A moment later and I was stood in front of him, the sixth-born looking up at me curiously as I smiled, "Hey." The smell of donuts wafted up from the bag and I glanced down, nearly getting distracted. I might have entirely if I hadn't been so wound tight with nerves.

Beelzebub only made it harder to resist by lifting the sweet treats towards me with another marshmallow smile, "Do you want one?"

My stomach gurgled eagerly but what came out of my mouth, somewhat reluctantly, was, "Maybe later? Could you, um, close your eyes?" It would be easier to kiss prank him if he wasn't looking at me at the same time.

I just have to get this over with and then I can crawl back to my room and hide. And then, once this loop is over I just have to make Belphie agree that we will never, ever, ever talk about kiss pranks ever again.

Beel looked confused, a frown passing across his face before he shrugged, his violet eyes slipping closed. I admired his rugged features for a long moment, before I licked my lips and slowly bent forward.

He tasted sweet.

His mouth softened against mine, lips parting in surprise, and just as I was about to pull away, moved in a gentle caress as he slowly kissed me back. Wrapped up in the tantalising scent of orange peel and honey, I could feel warmth against my palms, firm and unyielding and-

Wait.

Oh, for fuck's sake, tell me I didn't.

I cautiously opened my eyes... and stared, my cheeks on fire as my stomach dropped to the floor. Not only had I kiss pranked the Avatar of Gluttony, I had my hands on his chest. His gorgeously muscled chest. And this time I didn't even have a good excuse.

***

Beelzebub had expected a surprise of some sort, considering that she'd asked him to close his eyes. Maybe a particularly delicious treat or even some of the cupcakes she sometimes made. The last thing he'd expected, had been the soft, meltingly warm sensation of lips against his.

For a moment, he couldn't move, thoughts tumbling to a standstill as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that this was a kiss.

She was kissing him.

He'd never really thought something like this could happen, and he had been content with sharing good food and enjoying her company. It had never crossed his mind, so he wasn't entirely sure how to react. How he even wanted to react.

It felt good, sweet and heady, like that first bite of dessert, mixed with the low hum of anticipation and hunger for more, but-

He can't help but see the vision of her body crumpled on the floor like a discarded napkin while Mammon howls and Belphie laughs and laughs...

Even though she came back, it didn't change what had happened. He'd promised to protect her, and his twin had killed her. Maybe... if he had noticed, if Belphie hadn't been alone... That she was Lilith's descendant just made it worse (even as he still clung to the realisation that he hadn't let her die after all, that she'd lived, she'd lived and was happy and had children).

Why was she kissing him and not Mammon? Mammon who he thought she liked. Mammon who'd collapsed over her body and begged her to keep breathing? Why him, when in his heart of hearts, he knew if he had to choose between her and Belphie...

But she was kissing him. It was her lips against his, her warm scent, spicy and sweet, enveloping him. Her lips that were slowly pulling away...

He chased after them before they were gone, just once, so he could remember the taste of her kiss. It wasn't enough (it was never enough) but he didn't try for anything more as she finally broke the kiss.

Her hands were warm against his chest as she pushed herself away and back onto her feet, rocking slightly and a blush on her cheeks, looking almost surprised.

Beel wasn't sure what to say. He licked his lips, struggling to work out what he wanted. Another kiss? To apologise? He still needed to ask her about Mammon, even if a little part of him felt bad about how the second-born would react once he found out that-

She snatched her hands back from his chest, even pinker than she was before, and crossed them in front of her, almost defensively. Beelzebub frowned, pushing everything else to one side, "Are you okay?"

Almost instantly she smiled, and took a big breath, seeming to calm down, before blowing it all out in a sigh, "I'm fine, Beel." She bit her bottom lip, and he found himself a little too distracted by the gesture, before she continued, "But, that was a kiss prank."

"A kiss prank?" It had clearly been a kiss, but he wasn't sure how it was supposed to be a prank. Then again, he often missed it when his brothers tried to prank him, like when they replaced his food with something else. Who knew that batwing bacon went so well with custard?

"Yeah, it's a human thing. You prank someone by kissing them unexpectedly, and then... they're supposed to be flustered and... it's meant to be funny." She seemed more flustered than he was, twin spots of pink still on her cheeks, and he couldn't help but smile.

He took a moment to think, "So, a kiss prank doesn't mean anything?" He wasn't sure what to make of the strange mixture of relief and hurt he felt at the thought.

She blinked, staring at him for a long moment, before swallowing hard, fidgeting suddenly with her sleeve, "...Um. Did you want it to?"

Beelzebub frowned, looking down as he pondered the question. He knew that he had to try to push past the guilt to find what he actually wanted, but it just wasn't that simple. He chewed his lip thoughtfully as he looked up, "I don't know. I like eating with you and spending time together, and kissing you felt good, but..." He trailed off, uncertain how to explain his reluctance without reminding her of her murder, and his part in it.

"Yeah, well... it doesn't have to mean anything." She gave him a smile, but something seemed wrong. He was suddenly worried that he might have made a mistake.

"What about you?"

"Me?" She wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

"Yeah. Did you want it to?"

She stared back at him, silent for a long moment, before she sighed, almost like she was deflating, and sat down on the sofa next to him. He glanced over, and as he tilted the bag of donuts silently towards her, she took one and held it in both hands, staring at it like it might hold the answer. "Honestly? I... never really thought about it."

Something in his stomach gave a sharp pang at the answer, and he stuffed another donut in his mouth, trying to chase away the empty feeling.

She turned, red dusting her ears as she grimaced, and stood up again, "I should probably-"

Beel swallowed hurriedly, surprised that she was about to flee, but he'd seen Levi do the same thing enough times to recognise the signs. "Hang on, Mammon asked me to talk to you."

She paused, turning back, looking curious and a little alarmed, "What? He did? What- what did he say?"

Beelzebub frowned, "He said that you used the pact on him, and ordered him to leave you alone. What did he do?"

The blood drained from her face, leaving her pale enough that he started to worry. She was still holding her donut too, had she forgotten about it? "What do you mean, I used the pact on him?"

"That's what he said." Beel pulled his DDD out of his pocket and fiddled with it for a moment before handing it over to his mistress, Mammon's conversation on the screen so she could read it for herself.

***

Fuck.

I stared at the DDD, reading the texts over and over again as if they might change. Words rang in my memory. "Leave me the fuck alone!"

I hadn't meant to use the pact, I didn't even know it was possible, but that didn't change that I had. I chewed my bottom lip, fingers tightening on the little device. If I hadn't found out, would Mammon have been stuck, bound to an order he didn't even remember?

Looking up at the large demon now frowning at me, brows pulled together in tight concern, I somehow managed to summon up a small smile. It wasn't Beel's fault, but I had to work out how I was going to fix this. I couldn't just go to where Mammon was, or ring him. The pact order would mean that he'd have to do his best to stay away from me, and that included answering my calls. I would have to get close enough to take it back, but I couldn't let him notice that I was there. Perhaps some sort of disguise, or...

I slowly started to grin, finger hovering over the screen, "Can I borrow this for a minute?"

Beelzebub tilted his head slightly, and shrugged, "Sure, but what are you going to do?"

A short tap later, I lifted the DDD to my ear and waited, listening to each ring as my stomach twisted uncomfortably.

He answered almost instantly, "Beel! What did she say?! Did ya-"

"Mammon, I take back my order. You don't have to leave me alone anymore."

There was a fraction of a second of pure silence, and then, "YOU! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YA THINK-"

I jerked the phone away from my ear, tinny yelling still coming through the speaker, though thankfully too garbled to make out the words. He definitely sounded angry though, and there was no sign he planned on stopping anytime soon. I chuckled awkwardly, passing the DDD back over to Beel with an apologetic half-grimace, "Thanks." I swallowed, gesturing towards the door, "I'll just..."

The sound cut off abruptly as the sixth-born ended the call, giving me a warm smile, "Okay. And..." He opened his mouth, and hesitated, amethyst eyes strangely intense as they searched mine, though I didn't know for what. They suddenly softened, "Make sure you eat your donut."

I hesitated, sure that wasn't what he was going to say, but I didn't really have the time to lever it out of him. Mammon was almost certainly on his way, and I'd be lucky if getting yelled at was the worst he had planned.

Leaving the Avatar of Gluttony behind with a brief farewell and a wave, I hurried down to the doorway. A quick glance into the corridor confirmed that the coast was clear and I set off at a jog. It didn't take long until I spotted the familiar stone stairs leading to the attic. It was the one place that I had half-a-chance of hiding from the rest of the house, and after everything that had happened tonight, I really needed a moment to just think and catch my breath-

I stopped so suddenly I almost stumbled. There was a dark shape slouched on the stairs, back leant against the wall, long legs outstretched. I took a half-step back, before relaxing as the figure rolled his head back and over to me, fixing me with a sour glare.

"Tell me," Belphegor drawled, violet eyes fey-bright, and something poisonous in his voice, "how did it go?"

Chapter Text

I shrugged one shoulder, walking up so I could lean on the bannister and stare thoughtfully into the distance as I repeated Belphegor's question, "How did it go?" My lips twisted into a bitter smile, "Where do I even fucking start? Well, I'm currently hiding from Mammon, who wants to yell at me because apparently, I used the pact on him accidentally, because of course that's a thing! Why wouldn't it be?" I threw my hands into the air.

Belphegor narrowed his eyes to twilight slivers, "And Beel?"

I blinked at him, thrown off my rant just as I was starting to build up steam, "Beel? He was eating donuts in his room, like you said he would be. He was already sat down, so it wasn't too hard, and he took it... way better than I thought he would, honestly." I looked down at the donut still in my hand and couldn't help but smile at the memory. Beelzebub had been the only one to actually give me a straight answer, even if it had been 'I don't know'. After the rest of the kiss pranks, it was refreshingly novel not to have any drama.

Belphie raised an eyebrow, tilting his head back as his gaze flickered over my features, and then settled into a vicious smile, "So, you turned him down?"

The seventh-born seemed to be on a roll at making me stop in my tracks as I gaped at him, "Turned... What?! He didn't-" I cut myself off and frowned, hurriedly running over the conversation in my head again. Surely even I couldn't miss something like that. No, no, obviously not. I shook my head, coming out of my daze, "Of course I didn't!"

"You said yes, then?" He drummed his fingers against folded arms, a scowl settling on his features as he stared at me.

I stared back silently for a long moment, before rolling my eyes heavenwards, "No. The only thing Beel asked me was if I wanted a donut!" I jabbed the delicious baked treat towards him as if that would prove my point, "Why the hell would you ask that?"

His lips twitched for a second and then he rolled his eyes in turn, glancing away sulkily, "No reason."

I raised my eyebrows, voice dripping with disbelief, "Right." Putting one hand on a hip, I gestured grandly with the other, "You know, if you have a problem with the kiss pranks, you should have mentioned it before we actually went through with them."

Belphegor turned back to glare at me, eyes narrowed, "That isn't what this is-"

I cut him off, starting to get really annoyed with his attitude, "Good. Because if it was, you'd be one hell of a hypocrite. After all, if it wasn't for you," I stepped forward and prodded him in the chest with my free hand, making him step back until he was pressed against the wall, "I would have stopped before pranking Satan. And then maybe he wouldn't be mad at me."

The pranks had seemed harmless enough, at first, but I'd somehow managed to upset Satan, and Levi, and Mammon was super annoyed because of the pact order - though that had been an accident. And Asmodeus, now I thought about it, had blown me off with an excuse. He was probably angry with me too.

And I broke all my rules, or almost. I really managed to fuck this up.

Belphie stared at me for a moment, and then snorted, a bitter little smirk sliding back onto his face. He shook his head, "Please. It was just a simple prank." The smirk turned into a sneer, "He's not even going to remember it soon enough."

I pressed my lips together, "That's not the point."

"No?" He gestured with one hand, "This was all a series of fun little pranks to fill in an off-day, remember? Are you not having fun?"

"Why are you being such an asshole?!" I had thought that we were... well, friends. Sort of. I hadn't even thought about pushing him down the stairs for ages. But now he was acting as if none of that had ever happened.

"Me? Why do you care whether those idiots get upset? They're demons!" He leaned forwards, eyes glimmering with something dark and full of edges, "If they can't handle one measly little kiss they're even more pathetic than I thought they were."

"Pathetic?!" I dragged in a deep breath, my hands curling into fists as guilt and anger swirled together in my stomach, building up like a storm.

I was the one who came up with the kiss prank idea. I was the one who went through with it. It had all gone wrong, and that was my fault. I couldn't get away from that.

But. Belphegor didn't have to be such a dick about it! I stared back at him, shaking with fury. If it wasn't for Rule One, I would have already punched him in his stupid smug face. How dare he?! He has no idea what he's even talking ab-

Wait...

He leaned in closer, his face inches from mine, lips curled with derision, "You-"

I lifted up onto my toes, and kissed him, hard.

He froze, my lips against his, and I felt a shiver of vindictive pleasure at the reaction. Clearly, the Avatar of Sloth could talk a good talk, but when it came right down to it-

The world spun as Belphegor pressed forward, supporting me with a hand at the small of my back as he pushed me off-balance, rocking me off my feet. I grabbed onto his shoulders, worried he was going to drop me again, only this time it would be down a flight of stone stairs which would be way wo-

His lips brushed against mine, soft and slow.

Indulgent. Teasing.

His hand on my back slowly spread wide, keeping me from falling as he dipped me lower.

This can't be real... It has to be a dream, or some kind of joke, or-

I could feel my heartbeat racing in my chest.

The kiss deepened, no longer delicate, but decadent, open-mouthed and sweetly languorous. It felt incredible, pulses of slow pleasure rippling through me and lingering as tiny, static shocks. I wasn't sure when I'd started kissing him back, each soft caress of his lips pulling me deeper into the haze.

He was kissing me so slowly, every touch lingering and intense, too much and not enough all at once. I clutched at the fabric of his hoodie, feeling like I was going crazy as I let out a soft moan, shivering as he groaned back against my mouth.

He pulled back, still dangerously close, his breath sighing against my lips as the scent of leather and sandalwood wrapped around me, rich and oddly comforting. "You..." he whispered, his voice rough, "...are either really brave, or really stupid."

...Wait, what?

The question died in my throat as the seventh-born continued, moving even closer, his nose brushing against mine as amusement coated his words, "You kissed me." He shifted, leaning to one side and whispering in my ear, "And you did it in the same loop as pranking all my brothers."

My breath stopped in my chest as the words finally registered. Escape conditions were dramatic events that involved both me and Belphegor. If kissing him was the escape condition...

"Oh, fuck."

Belphegor chuckled, before suddenly swinging me up and settling me back onto my feet, once again throwing me around like I weighed nothing. I would have been annoyed if I hadn't had much more pressing things to worry about. There was no way to know whether it would reset until it did. Or didn't, which was much worse. I stared at the wall, not really seeing it, doing my best to push down the sudden fluttering panic.

I would have to act as if we were out of the loop. I couldn't afford not to.

I'd just wanted to shut him up and show him what it was like! And even that hadn't exactly... gone to plan. I let go, stepping away as I chewed on my bottom lip, before glancing over to the seventh-born, "What was that?"

"Hmm?" He seemed to be in a good mood, settling back against the wall with a subtle smile.

I swallowed, the kiss still feeling like something out of a dream, "That. You... kissing me back."

He smiled, eyes half-closed and filled with a lazy heat that was not helping my nerves, "I thought I'd show you how a real kiss prank is done. If the goal is to fluster someone..." He held my gaze for a long moment, and then the smile sharpened into a grin, "Then I win."

I blinked at him, feeling like an idiot as I realised what had actually happened, "You were pranking me?"

Belphegor raised an eyebrow, a shadow of the smirk still on his lips, "Obviously."

Right. Obviously. Why else would my ex-murderer kiss me? Even if we were sort-of-maybe friends now. Anything else would be ridiculous. Besides, it wasn't like I even wanted him to kiss me. Or to kiss him, for that matter.

I wondered, suddenly, if this was how everyone I'd pranked had felt.

"Well, you don't win, because I'm not flustered." I pouted, crossing my arms.

"You look flustered to me."

I wasn't blushing either. "Shut up. You're a dick, you know that?"

He grinned, eyes dancing with a strange light, "True, but you kissed me first."

I made a face back at him, fighting the sudden urge to stick out my tongue, "I didn't kiss you like that."

"And that's why you lost."

"Shut up." I did stick out my tongue this time, prompting the Avatar of Sloth to roll his eyes.

I drew in a deep breath, feeling a bit calmer after the familiar back and forth. After all, the kiss probably wasn't the escape condition, and even if it was, the kiss pranks stuff would surely blow over eventually, right?

I found myself suddenly fighting off a yawn, which wasn't that surprising. It had been a very long night, full of all kinds of excitement. "Anyway, we'll see what happens tomorrow. For now, I'm going to go to bed."

Belphie leant forwards, a teasing smirk on his lips as his gaze lingered on mine, "Sweet dreams."

I turned, hiding the sudden heat on my cheeks as I fled down the stairs.

I stared up at the ceiling, the pillow under my head comfortable and soft, beckoning me to sleep, despite the ceramic bath beneath me. The makeshift bed had been softened somewhat by the nest of blankets I'd filled it with, but I just couldn't seem to find a good position. If I laid down, my legs stuck out, and if I sat up, my head ended up dangling over the edge. How does Levi manage this?

I'd somehow managed to avoid Mammon on my dash to my room, but it was only a matter of time before he came back. My room didn't have a lock, but the bathroom did. Therefore, my brilliant idea of sleeping in the bath.

At least it was quiet. It seemed like forever since I could just breathe.

I'd done the kiss pranks to work out how my demons felt about me, but somehow I felt more confused than ever.

I had thought that Lucifer saw me as an annoyance and nothing more, a human who just couldn't keep her nose out of his business. Belphie had been the one to actually kill me, but Lucifer won the award for most attempts. He'd even outright threatened me with 'consequences' if I kissed him again. Of course, that was a different loop, so it didn't even apply now. The important thing was that I had no bloody idea how Lucifer felt about me. It had probably been revenge, though.

I twisted, wriggling my shoulders deeper into the pillows as one hand curled into a fist on my stomach. I'd wanted to know if Mammon had feelings for me, and now I had my answer. He didn't. And after the way I'd reacted, and dropped a pact order on him to boot, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want even to kiss me anymore.

Levi was saving himself for Ruri-chan, and I was a normie, apparently. It wasn't unexpected, and I was just happy that I hadn't ruined our friendship - or accidentally made him explode or something. I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully, propping an elbow on the rim of the bath. There had definitely been something going on in his room, but that mystery would have to wait for another loop to be solved.

And then there was Satan. He'd shut me out once he found out about the kiss pranks, but before that he'd been friendly enough. I shifted again, rolling over to my side and chewing on my bottom lip. If he didn't care about me, then I would have expected more anger after the kiss, not... not after finding out that it was a prank, and that I was pranking other people. That seems more like... I bit down on a knuckle as my eyes widened, the pieces fitting together too neatly to be ignored. I whispered to myself, disbelievingly, "Satan... probably likes me?"

My stomach fluttered with nerves at the idea, but I dragged in a deep breath, focusing on calming myself down. I had thought the same thing about Mammon, and I'd been wrong. I could be mistaken this time, too. After all, apart from a temper, what did someone like me have to offer the Avatar of Wrath?

As for Asmodeus, I wasn't entirely sure what I had been thinking, trying to find out about feelings by kissing the fucking Avatar of Lust. Of course he'd been up for it, he flirted as naturally as breathing, and was constantly making offers to do... exactly the sort of thing that we ended up doing and-

I shivered, closing my eyes at the memory. God, kissing him had felt so good. Even now, a part of me wanted to go to his room, and-

I turned, burying my head in my pillow and letting out a low groan of frustration. So many kisses one after the other had wound me up like a spring, but I was not going to rope Asmo into it and make even more of a mess than I already had. He was sweet, and gentle, and generous, and deserved better than being shoved into my dirty fantasies.

Beelzebub at least gave me a straight answer; he didn't know how he felt about me. I frowned, turning back and shifting about until my arms were folded beneath my head. "What about you? Did you want it to?"

Did I want it to mean something with Beel? He was sweet, and kind, and his physique was...

Ugh, I really needed another cold shower.

As for the last kiss prank, Belphegor had absolutely ruined the point I'd been trying to make, not giving a shit that I'd kissed him. If anything, he'd seemed to find the whole thing funny. I smiled ruefully, shaking my head. And that kiss had been really...

I groaned, and wriggled down further, pulling the pillow down over my face. It was going to be a very long night.

Everyone was already at the table by the time I made my way down for breakfast. I'd only had time to brush my hair and throw on a change of clothes, courtesy of being woken up by my alarm and promptly falling out of the bath. There was still some food left on the platters, though, so I couldn't be that late.

The conversation stilled as I came into the room, and I looked down, determinedly avoiding meeting anyone's gaze as I slipped into my seat. I usually sat between Beelzebub and Mammon, but this morning Mammon's usual spot had been stolen by Belphegor, his head pillowed on his arms, eyes closed. A plate of food sat next to him, untouched. Is he really already asleep?

Beel leaned over, smiling at me as he lifted up a couple of things from his plate and pushed them over onto mine. I smiled back, especially grateful for the simple, everyday kindness on a day like today, and for the proof that nothing had changed between us. It was probably too much to ask that I'd be that lucky with everyone.

Satan broke the sudden silence, calmly cutting up a blood-sausage into pieces, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Um, not really." I could feel the blush slowly advancing on my cheeks, "I think I slept a bit funny." Sleeping in the bath would do that to you. I did not recommend.

I ventured a quick glance up, trying to sneakily work out how much trouble I was in. Mammon had taken the chair next to Lucifer, and I caught him looking at me for the briefest moment, before he turned his attention to his plate so quickly it would have given a normal human whiplash. Guilt sizzled through my veins and I pressed my lips together, throat tightening. I should apologise to him. I... should have apologised last night. It wasn't fair to make him suffer just because he didn't feel the way I wanted him to. I licked my lips, opened my mouth and...

"Did you manage to get them finished last night?"

I blinked at Satan, "What?"

"Your pranks." His lips curved into a slight smile, but no hint of it reached his eyes.

I swallowed, leaning back in my chair, "Oh, yeah. I did."

I saw Belphie shift out of the corner of my eye, pulling himself up onto his elbows.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, glancing between us with a frown, "What's this?"

Satan glanced over at the Avatar of Pride, green eyes sharp, clearly enjoying himself, "You don't know?" He looked over to me, "You didn't include Lucifer?"

Lucifer's frown deepened into a scowl, "Of course not." He turned to me, "Is that what you were doing yesterday, pulling pranks?"

"Um, kind of?"

Beelzebub hurriedly swallowed his mouthful, his fork pausing for a moment, "It wasn't like it was a bad prank, Lucifer. It was just a kiss."

There was silence for a long moment. I wasn't sure anyone was even breathing.

And then everything went to hell.

Lucifer growled, red eyes flashing, "What?!"

Mammon's knife clattered onto his plate, his chair screeching across the floor as he pushed himself to his feet.

Asmodeus leaned forward, putting himself between me and the first-born's glare with a charming smile, "Come on, Lucifer, Beel's right. It was just a kiss. No reason to get upset, right?"

Levi was still looking down at his breakfast, though his fist had curled around his fork so tightly he'd bent it out of shape. He glanced up at Asmo's comment, "No reason to get upset? I k-knew that it was just a joke, but I didn't think that you..." His jaw set, staring at me with wounded eyes, "How many?! Did you kiss all of them?!"

Asmodeus turned, looking shocked, then glanced at me, "You kissed Levi?"

Beelzebub turned back and forth, following the conversation, frowning, "Why is everyone so upset?"

"But... Levi?"

Levi snapped back at Asmo, "Yes, me! I know I'm disgusting and no-one would want to kiss me but-"

The Avatar of Lust leaned back, lifting his hands up in surrender, "No, I'm just impressed. I never thought she'd-"

Crockery jumped and rattled as someone struck the table with a loud bang, silencing the arguments. I looked over, expecting to see Lucifer, but instead, haunted blue eyes stared back at me.

Mammon spoke, his voice hoarse, "It was a prank?"

I swallowed, feeling a pit open up in my stomach, "Mammon..."

Satan raised an eyebrow, looking at me out of the corner of his eye, "You didn't tell him?"

"I was going to, I just... we had a fight and then..."

"An' then you used the fuckin' pact on me, and this is the first time I've seen ya since then, and I find out that..." The second-born closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair and leaving it a snarled mess.

I bit my bottom lip, feeling the guilt twist like a noose, "I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever." The Avatar of Greed straightened up, shoving his hands in his pockets as he shrugged, looking off to one side, "Didn't mean anythin' to me anyway. Just a kiss from some human." He let out a short, awkward laugh, "Wasn't even a good one, neither."

It hurt. Not the insult on my kissing ability - I wasn't even sure how demons went about gauging that - but that he was acting the same as always. It had been exactly this sort of thing that had made me think... It didn't matter now, anyway.

Asmodeus slowly glanced between us, eyes narrowing thoughtfully, before leaning back in his chair with a small smile, "That's strange, because my kiss was amazing."

Mammon shot Asmodeus a glare that could curdle milk, "Oh yeah? Why don't ya-"

Lucifer snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose, "ENOUGH." He glanced over to me, dark eyes cold and unforgiving, "This is not the sort of behaviour expected of an exchange student, or of someone living under my roof. We will be having words. Come to my study after class, and do not be late."

Ugh, another lecture. Hopefully it resets before that happens.

Levi was muttering quietly to himself, slender fingers flying over the screen of his DDD, his shoulders hunched like he was trying to shut out the world. I bit my lip, a little surprised he was still at the table.

Satan pushed the last piece of bat-wing bacon on his plate around with his fork, "So, she kissed everyone else, even Levi... but not you."

Lucifer frowned, "Clearly, she knew enough to not include me in her pranks. Which is more than I can say about some."

"Or maybe she just didn't want to kiss you." Satan looked up and met Lucifer's withering gaze head-on, emerald eyes glittering like gems.

Lucifer paused, and smiled slightly, "Perhaps. After all, she has shown herself to be a fool on occasion."

Fucking seriously? Couldn't they go one fucking loop without talking about me as if I wasn't there? And insulting me (however well deserved it was) on top of it too!

On the other hand, interjecting at this point felt like it would be a very bad idea, up there with shoving my hand into a petting zoo for sharks, and with similar results. I should probably keep quiet and let them hash it out without getting involved. Lay low, and all that.

"True, but I don't think she was being foolish this time."

Lay low, lay low, get revenge later, lay low, lay-

"After all, the rest of us are her pacts, and you're not."

Lucifer's eyes slowly narrowed. He linked his hands, resting them on the table, gloved fingers interlocking, "And what, exactly, are you implying?"

I frowned, curious as to where this was going myself. Satan smirked, "I'm just stating the obvious, that you're more dangerous. After all, you don't have a pact with her, and it isn't like Belphegor could handle you losing your temper when-"

"Hang on. Why're we talkin' 'bout Belphie now?"

Satan turned to Mammon, annoyance flickering across his face at the interruption, "He was helping with the kiss pranks."

Asmodeus nodded, tapping his lips with a finger, "That's right, he said he was protecting her."

Mammon stared at Satan, his eyes wide, "Helping? Whaddya mean, he was helpin'?"

"Do you really need it explained to you?" I glanced over in surprise at the familiar drawl. Belphegor had pushed himself up so he was mostly upright, leaning his head into a hand as he smirked at his big brother, "Fine, I'll use short words."

Mammon growled, "Why, ya-"

Belphie answered without letting him finish, "I was there to keep an eye on things. And I was right outside the door when she was pranking you."

The second-born started to move around the table, eyes locked on Belphegor, "You're the last one I'd trust with her right now, Belphie. Besides, she doesn't need ya. She's got me."

The seventh-born narrowed his eyes, "Really? Then where were you when Asmo was about to-"

I moved, panic fuelling my motions, and slapped my hand over Belphie's mouth, "Okay! Enough of that!"

Belphegor fell silent, though I felt him smile against my palm.

Lucifer's voice cracked out, "Asmodeus."

The Avatar of Lust laughed, twirling a lock of hair around a finger, "I mean, she did kiss me first, Lucifer. You can't really blame me if things got a little bit... heated."

"I'm gonna fuckin' toss you in the lake, ya little-"

"Oh come now, Mammon, don't you think you're over-reacting? Just because you didn't enjoy your kiss..."

"Get back here!"

Asmodeus adroitly dodged Mammon's grab for him, keeping his chair between the two of them.

Beelzebub frowned, looking me over carefully, "What happened? Are you okay?"

I smiled, touched at the obvious concern, but... how could I possibly explain to someone as sweet and innocent as Beel what had happened? I could feel the inexorable march of the blush across my ears at just the thought, radiating heat and embarrassment, "I'm okay, Beel, we just..."

Belphie mumbled something against my palm, making it tickle weirdly as one hand slid around my wrist, the touch strangely gentle, his fingers trailing along my skin, almost like a caress.

I pulled my hand away, the heat spreading to my cheeks, suddenly unable to look at him.

"He had his hands under her clothes when I got there. Luckily, I turned up when I did."

He did not just-

"You bastard." Mammon stopped his chase, and kicked the high-backed chair out of the way, sending it tumbling to the side.

The next moment, Asmodeus was on his knees, groaning, his wings fluttering behind him. He growled petulantly, cat-like tongue wetting a cut on his lip that was already closing, "You didn't have to hit me."

I stared. I hadn't even seen the blow, it had happened too quickly. Asmo's in demon form and he's bleeding. That wasn't the usual rough-housing. My stomach turned over unpleasantly.

I couldn't just stay out of it. It was my fault it was happening in the first place.

"STOP IT!"

It wasn't a pact order, but Mammon froze, looking back at me.

Lucifer's hand dropped heavily on the Avatar of Greed's shoulder, his leather-clad grip winching closed as he appeared as if out of nowhere.

Satan was crouched next to Asmodeus, handing him a handkerchief that I was sure he hadn't had before. Probably magic. The idea of producing handkerchiefs through actual magic was strangely funny. The fifth-born pressed it to his mouth, pouting as he rose gracefully to his feet, "I bet my makeup is completely ruined now."

I took in a deep breath, and got to my feet, standing awkwardly. Beelzebub looked up at me, blinking in confusion, while Belphie's gaze was more guarded, like he was expecting something and he wasn't sure he was going to like it.

"Mammon." I wet my lips, suddenly realising that even if the loop did reset, what I was about to do was going to change things for good - but it needed to happen. I walked around the table until I was stood in front of my guardian demon. The man I'd had a crush on for months. His soft, white hair, now all messed up and falling forward. His gorgeous sunrise eyes that stared back into mine, a hint of fear lurking in their depths.

He licked his lips, "Look, if ya just-"

"Shut up." I still wasn't using the pact, but his mouth clicked shut anyway. It was certainly a day of firsts, who knew Mammon was even capable of obeying so many orders in a row. Perhaps it was because Lucifer still had him in his grip.

I pressed my lips together, before biting my cheek, letting the pain ground me as I tried to keep my voice as steady as I could, "Mammon, I'm not yours."

He blinked at me, and then let out an awkward laugh that was slightly desperate, "Whaddya mean? I'm your first, of course you're-"

"I'm not yours." It hurt to see the way his eyes widened, "We're friends, and you've looked after me, but that doesn't make me yours. It doesn't make me something you can control, or say..." I swallowed, my throat suddenly painfully dry, "...say what I can do, or with whom."

Mammon stared back at me, before shaking his head, "I don't know why you're makin' such a big fuss about this, Asmo's fine, so-"

My fingernails dug into my palms, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you it was a kiss prank, and I'm sorry I accidentally used the pact on you. But I'm not going to put up with it anymore. I shouldn't have put up with it at all." I took in a deep breath, pushing ahead before I lost the courage, "We're done, Mammon."

"What?" Shock rippled across his face, eyes wide as he whispered, “Whaddya mean... we’re done?”

I licked my lips, forcing each word past the tightness in my throat, “I mean... I don’t want you as my protector anymore.”

Mammon stared at me, before letting out a low laugh, "Well... good. Means, uh, means I don't hafta take care of you anymore. It'll give me loads more time to work on my stuff rather than wastin' it all on... some human." He looked away, swallowing, and I forced myself to watch, even as it felt like a knife was being twisted in my stomach.

I knew he didn't mean what he was saying, but it still hurt that even now, even here, he couldn't admit that he liked me... even as a friend.

I closed my eyes, and turned to leave. I needed to go, to be somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here.

I fled.

Chapter Text

Belphegor cracked open the window, moving carefully so it only made a soft click that was easily hidden beneath the strains of music filling the air. He pushed it open the rest of the way, the protective charm tingling against his skin, unable to affect someone of his power. He crept in, his bare feet aching with the cold even as he chose each step with care, staying close to the glass panes of the planetarium. He didn't rush. It was getting close to the reset, but if Lucifer realised that he had snuck back to the house instead of going to RAD, they would have to start all over again anyway.

The music was still going, something oddly melancholy about it, but he put it to one side as he slowly made his way across the room. The other kiss pranks would probably be easier, but as usual, Lucifer just had to be awkward. On the other hand... Belphie smirked to himself, imagining the look on the eldest's face when he found out it was actually a prank. Of course, it was also the most dangerous one, both because she didn't have a pact with Lucifer, and because of... precedent.

He shook his head free of the clinging thoughts, slicing a hole in the curtain with a sharp talon and peering through it. She was sat on a chair, Lucifer playing on the piano to the side. Her fingers fidgeted, toes soundlessly tapping against the tile but not in time with the music.

Nervous? He smiled, waiting until she turned her head towards him, before leaning out of his hiding place for a brief moment. Her eyes widened and then a smile, soft and relieved, dawned across her face as she turned back to the Avatar of Pride, determination suddenly sparking in her gaze. Job done, he slid back into cover, using the peephole in the fabric to see without being seen.

Belphegor had agreed to the kiss pranks, even helping her with them, but it was all for his own reasons. Mammon was clearly pathetically head-over-heels for the exchange student, but he'd seen... worrying behaviour from Asmodeus, Satan and, surprisingly, Levi. Even Beel. They all seemed to care about her, above and beyond giving her their pacts, and he needed to know just how much.

His eyes sought her out unthinkingly as she stood next to Lucifer. How far will they go for you?

He'd promised Beel that he wouldn't hurt her, that he would protect her, and he fully intended to keep that promise. But that didn't mean she couldn't hurt them. She'd tied herself to his family, charmed them one after the other, and forged ties that he suspected she didn't really understand. They would be bound to each other for as long as she lived, far beyond the remaining length of the exchange program.

They would only see each other for another six months - assuming they broke free of the loop - and then she would return home, never to set foot in the Devildom again. The pacts would remain, but they would be as pointless as a lock without its key. And if it had been just that, he wouldn't have been worried. Solomon ignored Asmodeus for literally centuries at a time. But, if jealousy, passion, obsession, regret got involved... someone was going to get hurt.

He bit his lip, shaking his head. Either way, knowing how they really felt about the exchange student would help any plans he might need to make.

Belphie watched as she leant down, kissing Lucifer on the lips. It was brief, light. In some of the human cultures he'd been interested in, a kiss like had been considered more of a greeting than anything scandalous. A smile stretched his lips as she pulled away. He looks stunned. Bitter glee flared as the first-born's expression turned stony, no doubt informed that it was all just a prank.

Let's see how you really feel about her, Lucifer. Are you going to lose your temper, punish her for her audacity? He would have to move quickly if that was the case, though at least the reset was due to happen in a few minutes.

A discordant twang rang out as Lucifer stood up and moved closer, forcing the human back until she fell onto the piano keys. Belphie caught the nervous glance she gave the arms on either side of her, caging her in.

She was trapped.

He had watched as Lucifer had stalked through her dreams, turning them into nightmares, and now the first-born had cornered her in the waking world too. She leant further and further back, but Lucifer didn't let her get away, chasing until she had nowhere else to go and...

Belphegor ground his teeth, fighting to control the acid running through his veins at the sight of Lucifer kissing her, taking what he wanted while she cowered.

Leave her alone. The low growl rolled out from his throat, raw and rumbling and impossible to stop, thick with hate. She's not yours to toy with!

Lucifer paused, turning his head just a little, and then slowly straightened up and stepped away. No doubt he knew that they weren't alone, but Belphie couldn't bring himself to care, as long as the Avatar of Pride stayed far away from her. After everything he'd done, he didn't have the right.

Belphegor leant back against the wall next to the exchange student's door and seriously considered taking a nap. There didn't seem to be much point to listening in on Mammon's kiss prank. The likelihood of Mammon hurting her was somewhere around nil, and his infatuation was so obvious it was honestly painful to watch him desperately deny it. If he wasn't going to learn anything new, at least he could catch up on his sleep.

He turned his head, shifting his shoulders as he tried to get comfortable, before he suddenly paused, eyes narrowing. Then again, could she have feelings for Mammon? No, if they both felt that way, they'd be dating, wouldn't they?

Surely she couldn't have missed it. He always made excuses to be near her, he never stole her stuff to sell on deviBay, and he even gave her gifts. For the Avatar of Greed, doing stuff like that might as well be a giant neon heart over his head. Even she couldn't have missed that.

...Perhaps he should listen in anyway though, just in case.

A low moan came through the door, Belphegor immediately recognising it as belonging to his brother, quickly followed by a soft, lewd sound that was distinctly feminine. He blinked, mouth falling into a frown. I didn't think Mammon had the guts to make a move. The second-born spoke, the sound faintly muffled by the solid wood, "More. Don't stop."

That sounded like she was about to get a lot more than she'd bargained for, and much more than he was willing to allow. He sighed, levering himself up off the floor. Unless Mammon was lost to his sin, just hammering on the door would be enough.

Her voice stopped him short, his hand hovering a few inches from the wood. "I need to ask you something." A long pause. "Do- Do you like me? I mean, as more than a friend, more than... this."

Belphegor leaned in closer, head tilted and fingers splayed as he pressed against the door, listening intently. She was asking Mammon about his feelings? She hadn't done that for Lucifer. Did that mean she liked Mammon? Or had she picked up on some of the not-so-subtle signs of his crush and wanted to know for sure?

Either way, it could be a problem.

He narrowed his eyes, nails digging into the wood as sudden irritation set his nerves on edge. They needed to focus on escaping the loop, not on some dead-on-arrival romance that wouldn't even get off the ground. Mammon was going to forget everything, and then what?

"I- I mean, of course ya-" Mammon stopped, his voice dropping to a frustrated growl, "Why did ya have ta ask me that? Can't we just keep kissin'?!"

Belphegor raised an eyebrow, and shook his head with a silent laugh, bitter amusement and disbelief mingling as he pushed his hair back with one hand. He shouldn't have worried. Mammon could always be counted on to shoot himself in the foot, even when the odds were in his favour.

"You could have just said no."

He smirked, the familiar poison in her tone reminding him of the early days of the loop, when they could barely stand being in the same room. That it was aimed at Mammon and not him was a rare treat.

"Wha- Hey, human, hang on! Let me-"

"Leave me the fuck alone!"

Belphegor stepped back as the handle turned, quickly followed by the door exploding outwards and the exchange student storming out, offended fury surrounding her like a cloud, complete with lightning bolts. She didn't even notice him there, pausing only to slam the door behind her.

He gave her a short lead before following at his own pace, amusement bubbling up as he shook his head. Mammon had somehow managed to convince her that he was not, in fact, totally besotted. That she'd been rejected.

But, hilarious as it was, it was for the best in the long run. Now she could concentrate on what was actually important, getting out of the loop.

Belphegor's lips twitched into a grimace. Once they escaped, it would be simple enough to correct her misunderstanding about Mammon's feelings, but... It would be doomed anyway, since she'll be going home soon. Mammon had a pact with her, but she didn't have magic. She couldn't summon him. Once she returned to the human world, whatever they had would be over.

They'd never see each other again.

Belphegor smirked as she pointed at him, rather threateningly, and then stormed out of the room, stomping like the ground had offended her. One, two, three... The door slammed and he grinned. So predictable. Not that she couldn't surprise him, she'd done a lot of that even before they'd ended up in the loops. But taking her anger out on any doors in her way seemed to be something of a habit.

He turned, making his way down the staircase, gaze drifting to settle on the fourth-born. Satan was still sat in his chair, peacefully reading. Or at least, appearing to be peacefully reading. What might seethe under the surface of the Avatar of Wrath was harder to say.

What wasn't hard to figure out was that Satan was definitely fond of his mistress. Belphie had suspected as much, ever since she'd texted with him and Lucifer had found out. When he'd told them that she was in danger, Satan had stared at him, and ran. No hesitation. He'd taken Belphegor's word for it and left him unguarded without a second thought, despite the circumstances.

As for her... Belphie's lips settled into a twisted grimace. She'd tried to tell Satan the truth, whatever that meant. Perhaps her real reason for doing the kiss pranks? He doubted it was just for her own amusement, she was too soft-hearted - if prickly - for that. Could she like Satan? He had thought she liked Mammon... but perhaps he was her second choice, since Mammon had 'rejected' her? He shook his head, letting out a sigh, still no closer to an answer.

"Belphie."

He stopped, turning to see Satan had sat up straight, book put to one side as he stared at his little brother. He drawled, deliberately insolent, "Satan."

The fourth-born twitched a little, and dragged in a deep breath, "I want to ask you some questions, now we're alone."

"Like what?" He crossed his arms, eyes flicking towards the door. If he left her alone for too long, who knew what she'd get up to.

Satan shifted in his seat, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, "You stopped her from answering me, and you lied about it."

"Your point?" He narrowed his eyes, staring back sullenly. He didn't have the time to be playing games with the Avatar of Wrath right now.

Satan raised one golden eyebrow, his sudden smile as sweet as cyanide, "I just think it's very odd. Her behaviour, and yours. Why would she ask you to help her, rather than the a demon she actually has a pact with?"

Like you? Belphegor rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Because I'm not someone she wants to prank."

Chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully, Satan nodded slowly, "That would make sense... if you hadn't killed her." His lips lifted, baring his teeth, "Even if you did mean what you said in the hall, she still wouldn't be so quick to-"

"No?" The Avatar of Sloth snarled back, "You threatened to rip her limbs off and flay her alive. Or did you forget about that?"

A low growl reverberated in the floorboards as Satan stood up, taking a step towards Belphegor before he stopped himself, pulling his breathing under control, "That's not the same."

"Only because Lucifer stopped you."

Satan flinched, but didn't look away, "I need to know. Did you really do it in the heat of the moment?" The blonde shook his head, green eyes conflicted, "I was already furious when she came to my room, and when she... when she rejected my offer, I lost my temper. I don't know if I could have stopped myself, but if I had killed her, I know I would have regretted it."

Belphegor felt something twist sharply in his chest, a strange ache at Satan's words. He had meant to kill her, that much was true. He'd laughed while she lay dying, laughed while his brothers were desperate and grieving, and with every loop it was harder to remember why. He turned away, looking down, his hair falling to cover his eyes, "I regret it."

Satan paused, his voice strangely hollow, "Do you? Do you have any idea how it felt to come down and see..." Dull horror punctuated his words, but Belphegor didn't look up. He didn't want to see the expression on his brother's face.

How would he feel, he wondered suddenly, if once they were out of the loop, he saw her dead or dying, too late to do anything? The mischievous light in her eyes faded to nothing. No more throwing herself headlong into things, daring and determined. All that would be left would be something still and cold. It... didn't suit her. She was all fire and savage smiles and... laughter. Fury and passion and life.

But she was still alive, and she was going to stay that way. He would make sure of it. ...For Beel, and the rest of his brothers.

Belphie turned, heading towards the door, clearing his throat in order to speak through the sudden tightness in it, "I don't have time for this."

He had his hand on the doorknob when Satan finally spoke again, something almost desperate in his voice, "Did you really do it out of rage?"

Belphegor paused, closing his eyes for a moment, before he opened the door and walked through, his answer trailing behind him.

"No."

Sweet moans filled the air. She arched like a bow against the touch now sliding up her back, baring her skin to the cool air. Eyes closed, her lips parted as another soft cry slipped between them, before it was smothered as Asmodeus pulled her in for a kiss.

Belphegor couldn't move, couldn't drag his eyes away.

She let out a sound that ached with need, wrapping a leg around the Avatar of Lust and pulling him even closer. His fingers slowly slid up her thigh, the touch somehow accentuating her curves.

Belphegor closed his eyes with an effort of will and a shudder, gritting his teeth. He'd left her alone for ten minutes, and she'd already got herself in trouble. Wasn't she supposed to be immune to Asmo's charm? She had a pact with him, but that wasn't going to be much use when she was already this far gone.

His lips twitched up into a silent snarl. Whether Asmodeus had used seduction or magic, it didn't matter. It needed to stop. It needed to stop right now.

Belphegor dragged in a deep breath, weighing his odds. There was a good chance that Asmo was lost to his sin, indulging without restraint. If he was, then interrupting would be dangerous. He would be stealing prey from a predator's jaws. Asmodeus was more powerful than him, and while the fifth-born usually avoided using violence himself, that didn't mean he couldn't, or that he didn't enjoy it.

Asmodeus definitely enjoyed it. Only Satan and Lucifer were more terrifying on the battlefield.

Belphie's tail brushed agitatedly along the floor as he considered his approach. There was more than one way in which this could go wrong. Asmo was usually someone who let his little brothers get away with... anything... but Belphie was pretty sure, this time, he would hurt him. Especially if he thought Belphegor was going to hurt her again.

He wasn't Mammon or Lucifer, both of whom could have simply overpowered Asmodeus while still keeping her safe. If he wanted to do the same, he'd have be clever about it. Whatever he did, he had to break Asmodeus' hold, but do so without injuring the human he was busy devouring. And he would have to be fast, to already be between them before the Avatar of Lust knew what was happen-

Asmodeus let go of the back of her head, his hand sliding down towards her waist instead, and Belphegor seized the opportunity, one hand under her thigh and the other under her arm as he lifted her up and out of Asmo's embrace. He stepped back and spun, letting her fall onto the ground in a heap while he continued the motion until he was facing the fifth-born once more. All in one dance-like movement.

Amber eyes nearly totally subsumed by pink slowly opened and fixed on Belphegor, the air crackling with sudden tension as they narrowed and then flicked past him, towards the human on the floor. He tensed, catching his breath even as his fingers twitched in some primal instinct, sensing the battle brewing.

But he didn't move. Didn't flinch. Just stood his ground, waiting to see what happened next.

"You'd better have a really good reason for being so rude, Belphie."

Belphegor paused, one hand on the bannister as he looked up the spiralling stairs that led to the attic. It was a strange twist of fate that had led to the odd habit of returning to his old prison whenever he needed to be alone. At first, it was just that it was the last place his meddling brothers would look to find him, or the human with whom he was invariably meeting.

He ran his hand slowly over the polished wood, a strange smile briefly touching his lips. After a while, he had started coming to the attic whenever he needed a break from his brothers, from the constant-

The smile vanished as he sighed, climbing a few steps and then leaning back against the wall as he closed his eyes.

He could feel his twin as a gentle warmth in his stomach, something else threaded through the sensation; light, uncertain, not quite nervous, a trembling of sorts. It was not excitement, or dread, more of a waiting...

A cold pang as his heartbeat quickened, shock cascading in his veins like silver lightning, only to resolve after a moment to a dull ache, his limbs feeling heavy. And then...

Heat, spreading like a fever, and an ache, a hunger... or almost a hunger...

Belphie turned, resting his cheek against the cool stone. While he couldn't stop the feelings that washed back and forth between them (and he didn't want to, he'd had more than enough of that in the attic), he could sleep, or distract himself. He could at least give Beel the illusion of privacy, if not the real thing.

This time, he was doing the opposite.

The gentle waves of pleasure faded, replaced with the taste of copper. Fear? No, it was softer, less intense. And then something complex he couldn't quite work out, all tangled together in a mess of relief and pain and the horrible gnawing ache of guilt.

What is she doing?

A soft trembling washed through his limbs, and he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, his stomach light and fluttering. Nervous? What did Beel have to be nervous ab-

Pain. A hollow ache that twisted his stomach, far more intense than anything before it. Bile coated the back of his tongue, bitter and acrid.

Belphegor shook his head, the sensation slowly ebbing as the moments passed, leaving behind nothing else that he could pick up past his own worry.

She'd kissed Beel, and he'd enjoyed it. Wanted more. Belphegor scowled, crossing his arms as he leant back, feeling uneasy. Then he was scared, no... concerned? And then... He pursed his lips, rolling his head back as he stared into the distance. That should have been when she told him that it was a prank, if she had actually stuck to the script for once.

Beel had been hurt by that, but also relieved. Then guilt... but why guilt? Why would he be feeling bad about being kiss pranked. Had he done something? Said something? And then there had been nervousness, and something like loss...

Belphie's eyes widened. Or disappointment. Had Beel... It made a certain kind of sense, he'd seen the way they were together. How Beel's eyes followed her as she moved from counter to cupboard, soft and strangely content. If his twin had feelings for her after all, if he'd realised it after their kiss, if he'd told her...

And she'd rejected him.

He ground his teeth together. It was better that she wasn't distracted while they were still in the loop, and it wasn't as if he would approve even if they were out of it. Beel deserved a lot better than some human, especially one that was going to abandon him soon enough. But... Who the hell does she think she is? Clearly, she had the absolute worst taste in men.

If Beel had feelings for her, there'd be no way to talk his twin out of protecting her. He chuckled, soft and bitter, and slowly turned, leaning his forearms against the wall and resting his forehead against the cold stone. But then, he finally admitted to himself, as he closed his eyes, I wasn't going to do that anyway.

It was hypocritical, and short-sighted, and so, so stupid. She was just a human. She didn't matter.

Except she did.

Every loop, every single time, he had to make the same excuses, the same promises, just so he wouldn't be locked up. And every time, he could see the anger, the guilt, the grief in their eyes. Satan might not actually threaten him in every loop, but that didn't mean that wasn't how he felt. Mammon would always be suspicious, Beel would always be wracked with guilt, haunted by his failure to realise his twin had been locked in the attic. Any progress he made, every apology or assurance or scrap of comfort he gave, was wiped away. Again and again and again. He was just so tired. It was relentless, and it took so much effort to put it right for just one loop.

But she was different.

She remembered, she changed, she was something he could affect, something permanent in a world where everything else disappeared with the tide. She remembered every argument, every joke, every stupid little thing that had become part of their strange, complicated relationship. Belphegor dragged in a deep breath, and let it out as a whisper, "I think I'd have gone crazy if it wasn't for you."

He wanted to protect her. He actually enjoyed being around her. She was fierce, and kind, brash and playful, and teasing her was some of the most fun he'd had in centuries. A smile lifted up one corner of his mouth, and he twisted again, leaning his head back with a sigh.

His musings were interrupted by the soft sound of footsteps on tile, hurrying closer.

Belphegor watched her go until she was out of sight, the echoes of her retreat lingering behind her. She really knew how to surprise him, he would have never thought that she would include him in the kiss pranks. What would have been the point? Why... why had she even kissed him in the first place? And why...

He slowly ran his thumb over his lips, eyes unfocused as he tried to think. He had wanted to put her on the back foot, to turn the kiss prank around on her, but...

Her mouth was warm, still frozen in surprise as he kissed her, using every trick he knew to keep her off balance, literally and figuratively. He wasn't exactly unexperienced, after all. In a moment, she would gather her wits and push him away but-

Her lips softened, opened for him, a sweet surrender that left him drowning. She clung to his shoulders, pulling him closer, her mouth moving against his as he reeled at the intoxicating feeling of the kiss.

She moaned, a soft thrum under his hand and against his lips, and he shuddered, unable to stop a groan of pleasure, of want, from slipping out.

I should... Thought scattered as their lips met again. It felt like he was being tugged forward by an irresistible current; as if he had been caught in the pull of a waterfall, staring down into the churning black waters below. If he let himself be swept over the edge… he would be lost.

Belphegor shook his head, licking his lips slowly. He hadn't expected her to kiss him back, or that he would enjoy it when she did. He'd actually had to pull himself away. Thankfully, he’d already realised the potential consequences of her kiss pranking him - though he hadn't thought there was any chance she actually would. Her look of horror had been very entertaining, and had also neatly distracted her while he regained his composure.

A grin stole onto his lips. Watching her blush while he teased her had also been surprisingly fun, seeing the usually hard-headed firebrand awkward and flustered was a rare treat. There would no doubt be other opportunities to play that game again later, but for now...

It didn't take him long to arrive at the bedroom he shared with Beel, even though he had ambled the whole way. Beelzebub was sat on his bed, but he didn't have any snacks in hand. Instead he was lying down, his shoulders propped up with cushions and looking unusually thoughtful.

Belphegor frowned, looking over at his twin, who had barely glanced at him when he'd come in. "Beel?" He walked over, sitting down on the bed as something unpleasant fluttered in his gut.

The sixth-born pressed his lips together for a moment, before shifting to sit up properly, finally meeting his twin's eyes, even as some unnamed emotion whirled in the depths of his own. His voice was soft but strained, "Belphie, did... did she kiss you too?"

Chapter Text

"Yeah, that's right human, keep runnin', why don't ya? Well, you're not my problem any more, so see if I care! The Great Mammon don't need ya!" Mammon yelled after her as she strode out of the room, almost seeming to run out of breath as the door slammed behind her, before throwing out one more barb, "And I ain't yours, neither!" He turned away, rubbing at his eyes with a sleeve, and paused, glaring at the rest of the demons in the room, who were still staring at him with various degrees of surprise. "What are you all lookin' at?"

Satan turned away with a frown. Mammon and Asmodeus fighting wasn't exactly unusual, but it had seemed more serious this time. He could understand why Mammon had done it; the idea of Asmodeus' kiss being far more than the light brush of lips he'd experienced, to the point where the Avatar of Lust had his hands under her clothes was deeply alarming, even without jealousy being a factor. Enlisting Belphegor as a guard of sorts for her pranks had clearly paid off, though he still didn't really understand why she had trusted him enough to ask. Then again, Belphie hadn't been lying about turning over a new leaf. Since he ended up being trustworthy after all, perhaps I'm the one who's being foolish.

Lucifer sent the closed door a glance, letting out a short sigh, "Well, it seems that we will be needing a temporary replacement to take on Mammon's guard duties for the time being." His ember eyes raked over them, "Do we have any volunteers?"

At the beginning of the exchange program, Lucifer had struggled to get any of them to even consider being the personal guard for some random human. In the end Lucifer had ordered Mammon to do the job - and, considering the events during the rest of the exchange program, the Avatar of Greed had clearly been the right choice. Of course, that was when she was a face in the crowd; now all of them would want to be her new protector. The only question is who will be the first to-

Beelzebub cleared his throat, "I could do that."

Leviathan's fingers paused on his gaming device and he looked up, frowning at the sixth-born, "Yeah, but you're..." His eyes slowly tracked over to where Belphegor was still sat next to his twin, and then flicked away again. "I just don't think it's a good idea... and, uh... um... I d-don't mind l-looking after her if... uh, if it's really necessary." His stammering was accompanied by a blush, the cheeks and the tips of his ears slowly turning pink.

Belphegor snorted, looking vaguely amused as he shook his head, "You don't even go to RAD very often, how useful could you be? Are you only going to protect her when she's in your room?"

Levi spluttered, orange eyes narrowing as the grip on his handheld tightened until it was white-knuckled. "At least I'm not actually dangerous to her!"

Belphie's eyes narrowed to slits, a soft growl punctuating his words, "Beel has a pact with her, he isn't going to hurt her, and neither am I."

Probably true. The way he'd acted during their conversation lined up neatly with what he was saying, though he still found it hard to believe. Though that didn't mean he had any intention of leaving her in his care - for purely selfish reasons if nothing else. He still wanted to speak with her privately. She had been about to tell him something before Belphegor had interrupted, and that curiosity gnawed at him. What had she been about to say?

Satan interjected smoothly, meeting Belphegor's glare with a calculated smile, "Even if that's true, you're asleep most of the time and the weakest out of all of us. Personally, I think I would be the best candidate."

Asmodeus smiled slightly, tossing his curls with a shake of his head, "Well, I would love to volunteer to guard my darling mistress."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, looking around at the demons surrounding him with something almost like satisfaction lurking behind his gaze, "Hmm. What an unexpected response." The dry sarcasm was biting, "Is that everyone?"

Belphie glanced over to Beel for a moment, some kind of inscrutable message passing between them, before the Avatar of Sloth leaned his head on his hand, pink-purple eyes fixed on the the first-born, "Sure. Why not. I was doing the job anyway."

Mammon turned with a growl, Lucifer's lips thinning to a severe line as he snapped out, authority ringing in his voice, "No."

Satan raised an eyebrow, even as he found himself grudgingly agreeing with Lucifer's sentiment, for once. It wasn't just him, either. Levi was glaring at the Avatar of Sloth, game clearly forgotten, while Asmodeus seemed strangely torn.

Belphegor smirked, eyes flicking from one demon to another, and then slid down further, yawning, "Fine. Then I vote for Beel. He's been a bodyguard before."

Satan shook his head, looking over at the Avatar of Gluttony, who was smiling fondly at his twin, "I'm stronger, a better fighter and less easy to distract. Once Beel gets hungry, he'll wander off to look for food."

Asmodeus let out a soft laugh, "I'm clearly the best choice. I'm good at fighting, and I have better control. Not to mention, if I was the one protecting her, my boundless charm means she wouldn't be attacked in the first place."

Satan narrowed his eyes at Asmo, preparing to explain exactly why the Avatar of Lust was not, in fact, a better option, when he was beaten to the punch by Mammon finally speaking up, his tone flat, "Not Asmo."

The fifth-born blinked, clearly taken aback, before recovering with an incredulous whine, "Whaaaat? Why not?!"

Mammon scowled, "I don't want ya protectin' her. You can't be trusted."

Asmo's eyes narrowed, something seeming to snap behind them, and Satan tensed up. He recognised that look. Asmodeus rarely lost his temper, but when he did, he didn't hold back. The cute affectations dropped away as he let out a soft growl, "I can't be trusted? You're the one who got the pact dropped on you, and you're the one who hit me in the face! You even asked me to look after her because you were 'too busy'! Was that because of the pact? What did you do that made her do that, hmm? When we all know she never uses it! Tell me, Mammon, how did your kiss really go?"

Mammon glared back, "You already know why, we had a fight an' she used the pact by accident! You all heard her say it. I didn't do nothin'!"

Belphegor tilted his head slowly, and let out an amused drawl, "Well, you did turn her down."

Mammon froze, his eyes almost comically wide as he stared at the youngest brother.

The long moment of stunned silence finally shattered as Asmo spoke, rage simmering under the surface, "You. Turned. Her. DOWN?! She... you... and you... Why?!"

Levi gaped at Mammon, "You did? She asked you out? Really??"

If she had used the kiss pranks to ask Mammon out, and he'd turned her down, then... Satan pressed his lips together in thought. Perhaps the other pranks had been a smokescreen to try to hide which kiss really mattered? But why do them at all, if Mammon rejected her? And that didn't make sense either, he would have thought Mammon would have been overjoyed to know that the exchange student returned his crush. He'd been head over heels for her since the first week of term.

Mammon's face twisted, various tortured expressions passing across it, before he glanced down at the ground in defeat, his shoulders pulled up to his ears, "I didn't... I mean... It's complicated, alright?"

Asmodeus' tone was flat, and merciless, "Uncomplicate it."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he watched the second-born, "I also would like to know what's been happening under my roof."

Mammon glanced at Lucifer briefly, before looking away again, swallowing hard, "She kissed me, an' then she asked..." He struggled for a moment, and when he spoke again his voice was rough, "...if I had feelings for her."

Belphegor watched him, something almost predatory in his gaze, "Do you?"

Mammon grimaced, glancing towards the door which she'd stormed through not that long ago. His lips twisted as he pasted on a grin as fake as any Satan had seen in the mirror, "'C-Course not." A sick little laugh fell from his lips, "As if the Great Mammon would-"

Asmodeus' hands were clenched so tightly they were corpse-white and his breath was unsteady as he hissed at the second-born, eyes pink and glowing with repressed fury, "You complete, utter, worthless fool. You cretin. You hopeless, spineless, ungrateful BAST-"

Lucifer roared, "ENOUGH! I have had more than enough of you two and your bickering for one day. You're both grounded! If I see either of you outside of your room before breakfast, I will be very disappointed. Do you understand me?"

Asmodeus half-snarled at Lucifer, "But-" and flinched back as the first-born's eyes turned cold, before sullenly dropping his gaze. Mammon just ran his fingers through his hair, muttering something under his breath.

Both of them gave up far too easily, in Satan's opinion.

Levi glanced over at Asmo out of the corner of his eye, gaming device held up in front of him like a plastic shield, "I mean, it's not like he has to-"

Beel had been quiet, his forehead scrunched up with thought as the rest of them bickered, but now he spoke up, "Mammon, you... really don't like her?" He frowned, "I thought you did."

Violet eyes narrowed as Belphegor stared at the Avatar of Greed, who didn't meet his gaze, looking down at the floor instead, "Yeah, since Mammon doesn't like her, he shouldn't act like he does. No wonder she's confused."

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing, "This is getting us nowhere. Mammon, Asmodeus, go to your rooms. Now. Satan, you will be taking on Mammon's duties for the time being. I trust you can handle them?"

Satan smirked, inclining his head slightly as Levi somehow managed to look both relieved and annoyed at being skipped over, "Of course." It was nice to be recognised, even if it was by him.

Belphegor shot Lucifer a poisonous glare, yawning widely and shutting his mouth with a loud 'clack' of teeth, "And the rest of us?"

"Since we are already late for RAD, I think it would be best if we all took the day off, especially considering yesterday's... events. I will head out shortly to speak to Lord Diavolo." The Avatar of Pride narrowed his eyes at Belphie, "And you'll be coming with me."

The seventh-born stared back at him, eyes hard, before he shrugged, "Whatever."

Mammon left the room without so much as a word, Asmodeus following him, and staring at the back of the his head like he was still contemplating violence. They'll work it out. Or fight it out.

Satan headed out, and found himself stood in front of her door, all too quickly. She should be informed that I'm taking over as her protector, if nothing else. And, if circumstances allowed it, perhaps they could talk about... something else.

He licked his lips, suddenly unsure as he raised up his hand to knock.

I leant back against the comfortingly solid door to my room, Mammon's parting words still ringing in my ears as I struggled to catch my breath, and push down the tears that kept threatening to rise up from where they were lodged in my throat.

I'd... told Mammon that I didn't want him to be my protector anymore. It still didn't really feel real, and I couldn't quite decide if I had done the right thing. In the moment, it had felt necessary, but... was it really?

But he didn't have the right to be so possessive of me, especially considering he hadn't even asked me whether I was okay with Asmodeus' kiss or not. I wasn't a thing he could own. Still, I hadn't exactly behaved... well this loop. And I hadn't even tried to talk it out, I'd just thrown down an ultimatum, right in front of everyone. I lifted up a hand, chewing on my thumb as I grimaced, squeezing my eyes shut. Can this loop get any worse?

Actually, no, I didn't actually want an answer to that.

I dragged in a deep breath, finally pulling myself back up onto my feet and heading towards my bed, intending to flop dramatically on top of it while feeling sorry for myself, and stopped. A DDD charger caught my eye, plugged in next to my bed, just beneath my own charger. Mammon's charger. I slowly scanned the room, my lips tight and pressed together.

An extra T-shirt, thrown over the back of a chair. A couple of exercise books for RAD. A belt, half-hidden under the bed. And in the bathroom, I knew there was an extra toothbrush in the mug, next to mine.

All of them were Mammon's.

It was casual, intimate, a sharing of space that I'd never questioned and had half-hoped meant something more... but now it suddenly felt strange, almost jarring to see the evidence of how much I'd let him invade my space.

I chewed my bottom lip, something about it making me uncomfortable, and then I was moving almost before I'd finished making a decision. I still had a cardboard box from my last Akuzon order in my wardrobe, and it didn't take long to pull it out, dump its contents in the bottom of the wardrobe - I'll clean it up later... probably - and get to work.

Charger, out of the wall and into the box. T-shirt, belt, exercise books... all in the box. I swept around the room, gathering up all the things I could find and throwing them into their new home with almost gleeful disregard.

Finally, I tossed the toothbrush on top of the pile and hefted the box, balancing it awkwardly on my hip. It was surprisingly heavy, though perhaps not that surprising considering how many things Mammon had ended up leaving strewn around my room. He'd practically moved in! And he still can't even say that we're friends? It hurt, and the last thing I needed right now was to see Mammon everywhere I looked in my own damn bedroom. That wasn't unreasonable, right? Besides, he had his own bedroom where he could keep his tie, and his jewellery, and his fucking dirty socks (that had been a rather unpleasant discovery).

I yanked open the door, propping it open with a foot while I grabbed the box with both hands... and froze.

A familiar face, though faintly bemused, stared back at me, one hand still held up as if poised to knock. Green eyes flickered to the box, one eyebrow quirking up in curiosity as Satan asked, his voice suspiciously bland, "Are those Mammon's?"

I glanced down, realising instantly that there was no way that the random collection of things could possibly belong to anyone else, "No?"

Satan's eyes crinkled, though it didn't quite turn into a smile, "Well, in any case, may I come in?"

I blinked at him, once again struck by how different all of the brothers were. Mammon would have slipped past me into my room without asking, and probably insulted me for good measure before making himself comfortable on my bed. But Satan actually knocked. It was honestly a little weird.

Licking my lips, I nodded, stepping back so he could get by me, "Sure."

He took me up on my offer, setting himself up in one of the chairs and watching me expectantly as I hurriedly threw the box into the corridor and closed the door again. He gestured to the chair opposite him, and I raised an eyebrow as I walked towards it, eyes narrowing in suspicion, "This isn't an intervention, is it?"

Satan's lips twitched, but he cleared his throat, shaking his head, "No. Nothing like that, I just have some things to tell you, and..." he glanced to one side, eyes distant for a moment, "...some things to ask."

I planted myself down and frowned. It had to be about all the fuss I'd caused during breakfast. I couldn't quite repress a shudder at how much Lucifer had to be annoyed with me right now; maybe I would be safe if I just hid in my room for a week. How long do I have left until the reset anyway? It couldn't be long, maybe half an hour or so.

Satan seemed to take my thoughtful silence for encouragement, continuing, "First of all, I will be taking over for Mammon as your protector for the time being."

I gaped at him, "What? You're... just like that?" I would have thought changing who was my assigned guardian would have been more difficult than that, or even that Mammon might have... objected. But of course he hadn't. Why would he?

A smile crept over the Avatar of Wrath's features, "Actually, there was quite stiff competition. Everyone apart from Lucifer volunteered." His eyes glittered, suddenly intent, "Even Belphegor."

Belphie offering to protect me was surprising and yet, also not. There was no way in the seven hells he would ever get picked, but he had gone out of his way to keep me safe more than once. It was everyone else volunteering that I couldn't quite believe, especially after everything I had put them through with the kiss pranks. Maybe Beel, since his hadn't been that bad, but that was it. "Really? Even Levi, and Asmo?"

Satan nodded, "And myself, of course, which is why I'm here." He pressed his lips together, before pulling on a polite smile, "But there is something I would like to talk about, if you're willing."

I quirked an eyebrow up, curious despite myself, "Yeah?"

He caught his bottom lip between his teeth, "After we... the prank, you wanted to tell me something. Would you be willing to tell me now?"

'Would you be willing to tell me now?' I'd wanted to tell him at the time but Belphegor had interrupted before I could. I drew in a deep breath, eyeing the demon across from me, my stomach fluttering as I swallowed my nerves, "Well, I... wanted to tell you why I was doing the kiss pranks. The, uh, actual reason."

Satan's eyes brightened as he leaned forwards, "Yes?"

There were so many ways this could go wrong, and since there was no guarantee that we were still in the loop, I didn't even have that as insurance anymore. If I did this, I might have to live with it. I cleared my throat, "I... kissed everyone because I... wanted to know how they felt about me."

Saying it out loud only made it sound even more lame than it had in my head.

Satan stared back at me, silent for a long moment, before he wet his lips, "You wanted to know how we feel about you? Why?"

"Well..." I let my gaze drop, intently studying the woodgrain of the table as my fingers tangled themselves together in my lap, "...I wanted to know if any of you, um, liked me."

Another long pause. "Romantically?"

I didn't look up, embarrassment warming my cheeks as I nodded mutely. It was so stupid in retrospect, I could barely believe that Belphie hadn't vetoed the entire ridiculous idea.

"...Did Mammon really turn you down?"

The reminder stung, and I half-flinched, my shoulders slumping as I realised that Mammon must have told them what a fool I'd been, "Yeah. Basically. He just wanted..." I hunted for a nicer way to say it, but nothing came to mind, "...He wanted to kiss me but didn't have feelings for me, so yeah."

I glanced over as Satan let out a long sigh, pressing a hand over his face while looking strangely pained. He followed it with a low mutter, "So that's what he said."

I nodded, a little confused at his reaction.

Satan let his arm fall to rest on the table, straightening up as he met my eyes, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you want to find out? And what were you intending to do once you knew?"

"I..." The words trailed off as I hesitated. The truth was that I hadn't really thought all that much about it, as strange as that sounded. I hadn't had a good answer for Beel either, when he'd asked me something similar. I'd had no reason to think that anything except for my memories would carry over into the next loop. If there was a next loop. Though, while kissing Belphie could be the escape condition, we've tried lots of those and they didn't work. What are the chances that it would be that specifically that breaks us out of the loop? I'm probably fine. Still, there was one part of his question I could answer, as much as I wanted to crawl under my covers and hide.

I eyed the green-eyed demon nervously as he waited patiently for me to continue, licking my lips, "Well, I've..." my fingernails pressed into my palms and I looked away. I didn't want to see the look on his face, "I had a crush on Mammon and... I wanted to know if he... if he felt the same way." My mouth felt like it was stuffed with sand, but I forced the words out past the tightness in my chest. It wasn't like it mattered now anyway; Mammon had told everyone what happened. "And then I got to wondering if anyone-"

Wait. If everyone now knew how I'd felt about Mammon, that meant that Belphie also knew. Belphegor, who would definitely remember no matter what happened, knew that I'd been rejected by my crush.

That's it. Dig me a hole and leave me to die. I'm finished, I'm done for. I wanted to scream into my hands, but decided not to since Satan was still staring at me, blinking and looking faintly puzzled at my sudden stop.

I swallowed, reluctantly continuing since the ground was stubbornly refusing to swallow me up, "I was curious, though I didn't really think about what would happen after that. I just wanted to know."

"Hmm." He narrowed his eyes, green eyes glittering, "I usually admire the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, but I'm not sure it was a good idea this time." Satan pursed his lips, lightly touching his chin as his head tilted just so, a hint of amusement in his gaze, "So, what were your findings?"

It seemed a little strange for him to be asking me that, especially as one of the people involved, but I wasn't going to pass up on a chance to share my conclusions, especially with someone who wasn't going to make fun of me for them.

I leaned forwards, elbows resting on the table as I propped my chin up in my hands, "Well, Mammon is obvious." I gave him a brief, not-bitter-at-all smile, even as something in my chest ached, "Levi screamed and slammed the door in my face so I think we can safely put him down as not interested. Asmo..." I swallowed, the memory of that kiss warming my cheeks, "...um, hard to say. Since he's the Avatar of Lust and all. He probably would have kissed me like that regardless of how he felt about me."

Satan raised a golden eyebrow, frowning, "I think you're underestimating both of you there. Asmo only takes those he considers attractive as a lover, and he's pickier than you might think." He rubbed his mouth thoughtfully, glancing away, "What about the others?"

"Um, well." I chewed my bottom lip, running over the rest of the pranks I'd managed to do in this loop, "Beel said he wasn't sure, so I think we can probably rule him out as well." I shrugged, rolling one shoulder, "Belphie just seemed to find the whole thing fu-"

"Wait, Belphie?"

I blinked at the fourth-born, it taking me an embarrassingly long moment to realise why he seemed upset, "Oh! Yeah, he was being annoying so I pranked him too."

"You did what?!"

"He deserved it! He said the rest of you were pathetic for getting upset." I set my jaw stubbornly, ready to argue the point if necessary.

Satan closed his eyes for a moment, mouth set in a firm line, "You kissed Belphegor? Was anyone else there?"

I hesitated, "Well, no..."

Slivers of green stared at me, "So, you were alone with him? Why would you do that? Why would you trust him after what he did to you?" Anger and confusion swirled together in his voice, leaving it rough and raw-edged.

"Satan..."

How could I even start to explain? At first, it had been because of the loops, along with a feeling that Belphie knew better than to make the same mistake all over again. But now...

I trust him because he promised Beel that he wouldn't hurt me. Because he had my back when Lucifer lost his temper - both times. Because we shared a bed all night and he didn't do a thing. Because he picked me up and ran with me when he got the house flooded. Because he caught me when I jumped out of the window. Because he pulled me off Asmo and stood between us when things got out of hand.

Because he apologised, and meant it.

But there was no way I could tell Satan that, not without coming across like I'd completely lost my mind.

Satan shook his head, taking in a deep breath as he struggled to pull himself together, "I'm sorry, I just... It's difficult for me to understand."

I pressed my lips together, my chest aching at the strangely lost look on his face, "No, I'm sorry. I..." I bit down on my bottom lip, gaze dropping to stare at my hands, "I shouldn't have done the kiss pranks in the first place." My mouth twisted, guilt lying at the bottom of my stomach like a bowling ball, "I just made everyone upset, and... and angry."

Satan let out a soft sigh, and spoke, his voice surprisingly gentle, "To be honest, I spent a lot of time last night thinking about... when you kissed me. I was angry, because it felt like you had abused my trust just to entertain yourself."

And I'd had the arrogance to think that maybe Satan had been upset over the prank because he had feelings for me. I couldn't quite decide whether to laugh or cry.

"But you wanted to know how I feel about you?"

I looked up, staring at the fourth-born in surprise, my mouth suddenly dry.

Satan smiled back at me, supporting his head on his fist, "I like you, and I trust you, otherwise I wouldn't have given you a pact." His gaze softened, growing distant, "You don't ask me to be anything except for what I am, and I appreciate that. I would like to think that we are friends. As for romance..."

I swallowed, my stomach fluttering with agitated butterflies as I met his eyes, unable to look away.

He paused for a moment, then spoke, slowly, deliberately, "If you had wanted more from me than just a kiss, I would have been willing... but I only know about romance from my books. I've never been in love." His eyes were deep and glimmering, like forest pools, "I don't know if I ever will be."

Oh. It was a rejection, though it didn't really feel like one. Satan had lived for thousands of years, but he'd never fallen in love. Some human girl wasn't going to change that. He said that we're friends, and that he'd be willing to give me more than just a kiss, if I wanted it. It was the closest the Avatar of Wrath could get, and I felt strangely humbled by the offer.

His lips quirked into a sad smile, his voice soft, "How do you feel about me?"

My eyes widened, breath catching at the question, "What?"

Satan's eyes were intense as they searched mine, "I asked how you feel about me."

I licked my lips, staring back at him, almost stammering as a flush started crawling up my neck, "I... I think you're really amazing, and, and handsome. I... like that we're friends. I can rely on you, and I enjoy spending time with you." I turned my head, playing with my sleeve as I shuffled awkwardly on my seat, "But I... don't think we should try for more than that." I didn't trust myself to be able to stay as just friends if we did, and trying for more was just asking for heartache.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, before nodding quietly, looking off to one side, "I understand. You're probably right." Something almost wistful passed across his face, green eyes flicking towards mine, "I'll let you know if anything ever changes."

While my heart skipped a beat at the implications of that, he frowned, "As for Mammon-"

The world suddenly began to shift, a familiar sensation that I immediately recognised as the reset. Kissing Belphegor hadn't been the escape condition, and everything that happened in this loop would be wiped away. I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of the kiss pranks after all!

Oh, thank fu-

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Book Giveaway!

So, I am excited to finally announce... I will be doing a giveaway of 50 copies of Today Again: Book One, printed as a paperback book! That's the first 20 chapters collected together, and the entirety of the currently published work.

How do I enter the giveaway?
Just go to the Discord server below and create a request in the #book-requests channel. The first fifty requests will get books sent to them! Even if you aren't in the first fifty, feel free to hang around in the Discord server and chat if you would like.

https://discord.gg/NwZMwvejEk

Are there books left?
Currently, there are still books left to be claimed. I will update this answer once we run out of slots! UPDATE: We're out! I'll be sending out books soon. Feel free to still join the server if you like, you'll be very welcome.

Do I have to make a Discord account to request a book?
Yep. In order to keep track of fifty different requests, I have had to create an end-to-end process. Discord is a big part of that, and the only bit that lets you contact me directly.

How much do I have to pay?
Nothing. In order to avoid issues around copyright, I will be covering the full costs of all printing and postage costs. You will get a FREE book, delivered to the address of your choosing, all free of charge.

Can I get two copies?
PLEASE don't make more than one request for a book, I will do my best to scan for any duplicates and if you do it by accident, please just message me to let me know. If I do find a duplicate request, I will contact you on Discord to resolve. :)

When will I get the book?
The reason I'm announcing this is because I've got the final manuscript and will be getting it printed over the next couple of weeks. Then it will probably take another few weeks to get everything delivered and packaged and sent out. Then travel time, since I'm in Europe and most of my fans seem to be from the USA. I will be sharing updates in the Discord server on the status of the printing, packaging and posting as we go.

Can I get the book signed?
Sure! Just make sure to note that in the form when you make the request. In order to keep my anonymity, I will be signing it as LadyFalcia, not as my real name.

I can't make a book request! What's wrong?
The Discord button that I use for book requests works using relatively new code, you may need to update your Discord client to the most recent version if it's not working correctly.

Do I have to give my postal address? I'm not comfortable sharing that information unless it's with a big company.
Sorry, I need your postal address in order to send you something physical like a book. If you can arrange one, you could use a PO Box instead, or even get it sent to your work, school, etc. Similarly, I will be using your AO3 name on the package unless you provide me with your real name. I will not share any of the information you provide with ANYONE except for the postal service and will delete all entries once receipt has been confirmed. I will be keeping the addresses in a Royal Mail customer account, so not something that can be easily hacked by any means.

So you want me to message you once I receive my copy?
Please! It would be really good for me to be able to close off the orders if you let me know that you've received the book. Equally, I will be able to chase up any missing orders or damages if you drop me a message on the Discord.

Will I have to pay customs?
Straight talk here, I find customs to be baffling at the best of times. What gets "caught" and what goes through and how it all works seems like complete nonsense to me. As a paperback book, it's fairly easy at least to do the correct customs paperwork for it, but you may end up with a charge? *confused shrug* Most countries treat books as duty free though.

Are you sure there aren't copyright issues with this? Will I get into trouble?
I reached out to Obey Me and asked them if this would be alright, and they said that since they have permissive fanfiction rules and I am not making a profit off printing the books, it is perfectly fine.

Is there anything you would like out of this?
Yes, there is actually! Please send me pictures of your copy and where you've decided to keep it once you get it. I really want to see them in their new homes.

I have other questions that aren't in this list. How do I ask them?
Join the Discord and @LadyFalcia in the #chat channel, or send me a DM if you have any other questions.

Hiatus

Well, it's been more than two years and almost a hundred thousand words later. When I first started Today Again, I honestly thought it would be a relatively short crack fic that I would resolve pretty quickly.

That, uh, didn't happen.

I am still shocked to this day that it's been as popular as it has, but I am getting a little bored with it now, and I have decided to put Today Again on hiatus.

Are you definitely coming back?
The current plan is that once I have spent some time on my other writing projects and taken enough time away from Today Again for it to be fresh and interesting again, I will return to write Book Two, which will be the conclusion to the story, and probably roughly the same size as Book One. I already have the outline for most of the rest of Book Two done.

If I do decide that I'm done with this story and change my mind, I will post a chapter here letting you all know, but I have no plans currently to do anything except have a break and come back to it later.

How long will the hiatus be for?
It's hard to nail down a specific time period, as I could get bored of my other projects very quickly, miss having lots of fans on my work ;), or just get inspiration for writing the next part. If I had to put something down, I'd probably say around a year? I keep full rights to return earlier or later than that though.

Will you update more often once you come back?
That would be nice, definitely. I would like to.

Will you be printing the second book as a book as well?
If I am in a place financially where I can do so, I would love to be able to print the second book and do a giveaway as I have for the first one.

What else will you be doing?
Well, the good news is that it will be writing projects which will be available off this same account on AO3, so if you are interested in seeing what these are, I suggest you subscribe to me as a user, rather than to the work. I am currently thinking of working on the following, but the point of this break will be to flit like a butterfly as my whims take me, so it may not be these things exactly (I have a LOT of WIP projects).

- The Cuckoo : The adventures of my darling Anastasia, a clever, calculating and cold-hearted woman with plenty of life experience, a "villainess" take on Obey Me! that warps canon further and further with every chapter. Headcanon central. Rated Mature, cos it's gonna get both dark and spicy. (Already up and has several chapters: https://archiveofourown.to/works/35218663)

- Bird on the Wing : This isn't Obey Me, but is for the Hamefura, or My Next Life As A Villainess! fandom. This is a riff off another fanfic called La Belle sans Merci, which follows the Fortune Lover Katarina if, rather than getting a reincarnation awakening at the age of seven, she had the ghosts of her murdered selves appear to warn her of her grim future. This is an entirely too long post-script work that starts where the other fic ends. Rated Mature, also dark and spicy, also surprisingly in-depth politics. (Not published yet)

- Operation: Rewrite : This is my original work, which is also using Anastasia as the protagonist. She dies at the start, and is met by a woman in white who tells her that she is her case worker and will be helping her pay off her debt that she accrued in life. She can do this by transmigrating into various worlds. Some souls claim on death that their life hadn't been fair, that they hadn't had the chance to live as they wanted. Anastasia's job is to prove that to be a lie, by achieving their goals with only the knowledge that they had at the time she transmigrates in. This is a very self-indulgent fic and I make no excuses. The first world is a Villainess Trope in a magical world with more than a few twists to look forward to. Rated Teen or Mature, not decided. (Not published yet)

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