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“What?” Mammon says as he eyes you suspiciously. He reaches for the item you held out in your hands. “What’re you talkin’ about… why are ya givin’ me this? Looks like today’s newspaper…” He scans the page, eyes darting back and forth before his eyebrows shoot up.
“Introducing the Seven Rulers of the Underworld…? Seven? That must mean… they’re not just talkin’ about Lucifer, but all of us?”
You nod and give him a soft smile as he glances towards you, mimicking your expression.
“And like, the ‘unnamed demon’ in the article, that’s you, huh?” You begin to nod again, but are cut off by his sudden abrupt laughter. “So we’re the ‘Seven Rulers of the Underworld,’ but they treated ya like some sorta afterthought, even though you were right there with us!”
“Wh– Hey–! Okay, ass,” you gasp, punching him lightly on the arm. He continues to chuckle, and you roll your eyes. Out of all the things…! He really had you going, softening you up like butter and then immediately mashing it up after! Different time, but still Mammon, messing with you like that.
“...How about that…? The Seven Rulers of the Underworld…” he mumbles, relaxed as he scans the paper again. “Man, y’know what? I feel a little better now.” He sends another glance towards you, this time shyly, and you know that expression–
“Y’know, uh… like, the article might say there are seven rulers of the underworld, but… from where I’m standin’, there are eight. The seven of us, plus you, MC. That’s why ya were beatin’ down my door, huh? Ya wanted to show me this article. …Thanks, MC.”
Oh.
Your heart swells. No matter what version of him you meet, you’ll always fall in love with him. That was a fact. How could you not? Despite being in front of him, you miss him still. Miss touching him, holding him, loving him out in the open. You weren’t oblivious to his mannerisms, as familiar as they are now. You know Solomon was telling the truth when he called Mammon out.
No matter where he meets you, he’ll always fall in love with you. That was a fact, one that you still haven’t come to terms with. Was such a love really possible? You smile. It seemed so. Like when you met Mammon in the past when he was still in the Celestial Realm, this Mammon had absolutely no clue how tightly he had you wound around his finger.
It absolutely broke your heart to see him so down after Lucifer tamed Cerberus, and you so badly wanted to pull him away, off to the side and smother him in kisses and affection, rubbing his arm up and down in reassurance, muttering sweet nothings in his ear as he returned your hold. You wanted to stay together at the castle with Beel and have the three of you enjoy the pastries Barbatos made, giving Mammon some time away from the moment and to think of something else. You wanted to shove a warm beignet in his mouth and watch as he chews with a goofy and awkward smile, swallowing and then crying out with a, “ya can’t just do that without warnin’!” line, and then you’d wipe at the excess powdered sugar staining his lips. It’s only been a few days, but god, do you miss curling up with him in your bed with the blanket covering the both of you, still laughing at something stupid one of you said that then was forgotten in the onslaught of non-stop giggling. You wanted to wake up to him in the morning, cheek squished against the pillow and light snores coming from his mouth. You wanted to see his atrocious bedhead, and run your fingers through it once more.
You can’t do that with this Mammon, the one you’ve only known for a few days, and the one who was in such a vulnerable state that if you comfort him the way you want, questions would be raised. It was hard not to be too comfortable with him. You feel as if you’d be taking advantage of him, so your actions move at a slow and respectable pace, as one would do with a stranger you were getting to know for the first time.
But he wasn’t a stranger. He never will be.
You love the Mammon you first met. You love the one when two timelines merged after your death, you love the one where he still remains an angel, you love the one in front of you right now, and you’ll love whichever one you meet the next and the next.
It was still Mammon.
“What? Why’re you looking at me like that?”
Your focus is instantly turned away from your thoughts and towards him, and he’s staring straight at you, one eyebrow raised.
Ah–
It would be too forward to say something cheesy, saying that you got lost in his eyes for a moment. He’d do his blush and stutter combo. So very tempting, but you resist. Instead, you lean forward and lift your arms, wrapping them around his torso. You hug him tightly.
“Y-yo! Wh-where’d that come from?!” He stammers, and of course, he’d lose it over a simple hug. Typical Mammon. You can’t blame him though, as you’re no better.
He’s warm, like always. His arms wrap around you after a moment’s hesitation, and he squeezes you the way he always does, with one hand rubbing gently at your back. You sigh and relax into the hug, but you know it can’t be for too long. You reluctantly lean back, and truly, you can’t help yourself now, as you turn your head to kiss his cheek.
Except– as you lean back, so does he, and his head turns– so now your kiss ends up on the corner of his lips.
“WHOOOOA, WH–?!” Mammon splutters and falls back against the couch in shock, dragging you with him. You stammer too, but recover quickly. These ridiculous situations weren’t new to you, after all. “What was..! What were ya tryin’ to do?! I mean, did you just…?”
Poor boy. Poor, silly, silly boy. Why does he have to make this so hard for you?
“I was trying to kiss your cheek, doofus.” You bring yourself to your elbows, and rest your head in your hand as you stare down at him.
Heat radiates off his face, and you know your poor demon’s brain is absolutely melting. “Wh– hold on… did we?! Fully?! I don’t–”
“No, we didn’t,” you chuckle. “But– I wouldn’t mind if we did.”
Ahh, oops. You absolutely could not resist, then. You were supposed to be a demon after all, weren’t you? And teasing Mammon is the biggest temptation of all. You were only playing your part.
Now, Mammon is just garbling words. You laugh and begin to pull yourself up.
“Wha…?”
Both of you quickly turn your head to the sound, and standing in the doorway is Levi, staring dumbly at you both.
“D’AH! LEVI–”
Mammon’s head jolts upright, bumping squarely into yours. He’s thrown back against the couch as you both wince. You back up on the couch and rub at your forehead. “Dude,” you mumble, but he doesn’t hear you. Instead he’s sitting upright again, wings fluttering, staring at Levi with the most aghast look.
“You son of a…! What’re you lookin’ at?!” he barks at Levi.
Levi holds his hands up in surrender, his brows disappearing behind his bangs. His face is flushed red. “Don’t blame me,” he says. “I mean, your door was open. I just dropped by to ask you what you think we should feed Cerberus… it’s not like I wanted to see… you know… THAT… !” The redness on his face grows further as he clutches his sleeve to his mouth. “I wish I could unsee it!”
“It’s not what ya think! Ya got it all wrong, okay?! ALL WRONG!”
“It’s not? He does?” you butt in with a sly smirk.
Mammon’s attention turns to you, mouth hanging open. “SHADDUP!!”
You snicker as Mammon now babbles at the both of you with excuses. Levi gives you a specific look, inching closer and closer to the door. It’s his Goodluck, I’m outta here look. As soon as he’s close enough, the third-born bolts out of the room. Mammon calls after him and threatens him, but he remains seated. He turns to you with an accusing eye.
“Y-you can’t just DO that!! You’re s’pposed to be on my side, not– not makin’ it seem like– like THAT– ”
Your grin stretches across your cheeks with a sting.
“What?” you say teasingly with a shrug, faux lax against the couch with one arm resting on the back. Your heart flutters. “You do know I’m a demon, right?”
His eyes widen and he leans forwards, towards you. “SO?! ”
Chuckling, you get to your feet. “I like chaos,” you decide upon. The word chaos is a good replacement for him, right? “And that chaos includes flustering you.”
He stares after you, throat bobbing. You're busy shuffling your hands in a box next to his projector. “Whaddya doin’?” he asks, and his voice has lost its fire. He’s gotten all buttered up, just like you’d been. Serves him right.
“Getting–” you reach for the rectangular item with a familiar title, “ --This!”, and hold it in the air.
Mammon squints from the couch as he reads it. “Devil Racer?”
You hum in agreement. “Let’s watch it. I think you’ll like it.”
He will. It’s one of his favorites, and one of the first movies he introduced to you when you were new to Devildom. You were just hoping out of luck that he’d have it during this time. You felt giddy when you finally saw it, the movie always lifted his spirits. You wanted to see him smile and enjoy himself some more, you didn’t want to leave. Not just yet. Plus you wanted to give him a bit to recoup his emotions after all that happened. So what better way than to watch a movie together? Just like old times.
Or– future times?
Anyway.
Now he’s up and grabbing the movie from you, looking at the front and back. He contemplates.
“...Alright, looks cool,” he says.
You grab it back from him. “I’ll put it in! Go back and get comfy. I’ll just be a second.”
The both of you rested together huddled beneath a blanket as the movie played on the projector.
His eyes were glued to it, alight as if he'd found something shiny to satisfy his greed. He shouts and talks through the whole thing– ever the reactive type.
You were paying attention to the movie, too, kinda.
Not really.
You smile as you watch him out of the corner of your eye.
No matter when and where in time, your love for him will always persevere.