I Forgot I Have To Be Active Here So Heres My Twitter Tutorial On How To Draw Folds I Made A While Back

I forgot I have to be active here so here’s my Twitter tutorial on how to draw folds I made a while back to help a friend!

Eyes in the Dark - The Stalker AU

***Happy Spooky Season my friends! This fic came to me in the middle of class and I immediately started scribbling down ideas for it. It's dark. It's eerie. It's a horror fic. I hope you all enjoy it! 🥰 -B ***

Summary: MC never went to the Devildom, but that doesn't stop the brothers from finding the last piece of Lilith in existence.

CW: Yandere behaviour, stalking, paranoia, explicit kidnapping/breaking and entering

You couldn't put your finger on it, but lately, your life had gotten weird.

Normally, you wouldn't say there was any particularly special about your day-to-day. You worked in a cafe a couple blocks from your apartment that you would bike to every morning. You'd greet the cafe cat, Jinx, and serve the customers with (some) ease. From there, you'd go home after closing, wash up, relax for a bit, go to bed, rinse and repeat.

In your years of living on your own in the city, nothing had ever changed or offset that routine. Honestly you were satisfied enough that you didn't think anything ever would, and yet ...

A crow cawed from the rooftops above you as autumn leaves skittered across your feet and the bike rack.

That was the first thing — for the past month there had been at least one crow everywhere you went.

They didn't do much. They just sat from a distance, never getting closer than 15 feet from you, and watched.

They watched as you washed the dishes, as you locked up your bike, as you brushed your teeth, as you cleaned the pastry display at work.

You shook your head at the bird and made your way into the cafe.

Where ever you went, these crows always followed.

It was daunting. Eerie even.

But what could you do? Nature was weird sometimes.

Opening up, at this point, was a second nature to you — wipe down the tables, run the machines, put out the baked goods. It was simple.

Any tension that the crows had brought onto you eased as you slipped into the familiar actions of your work. Hours quickly passed by as your regular morning customers came and went.

Eventually, noon hit, and you got to work preparing what was always your biggest order of the day.

The cafe's bell rang as you as packaged the last of the pastries.

"Hi," a soft voice spoke behind you.

You glanced over and smiled at the familiar ginger, towering awkwardly over the cash register. You smiled brightly as you gathered the multiple bags of baked goods and carried them over. "Hello, Beel! I got your order here for you. Seven cupcakes, three croissants, half a dozen cookies, a scone, and-" you reached back behind you and cheerfully set down a cup beside the bags, "one extra large mocha with extra chocolate and extra whip cream."

His amethyst eyes widened as he gaped at the bags. "Y-You ... You remembered my order?"

You huffed playfully and crossed your arms over your chest. "What kind of a barista do you think I am? You've been coming here every day with the same order for the past month. At this point, we make an extra batch of everything just for you. Of course, I know your order. It'd be kind of hard to forget."

His cheeks rouged as he bashfully nodded his head. "Right. But it means a lot. For you to take note, I mean."

You chuckled, "I'm just doing my job. Your total is $60.66 by the way."

"Same as always," he joked, tapping a golden card against the credit machine. He tilted his head, staring at you as he began collecting his bags in his arms. "Are you alright? You look a little tired today?"

You tried to maintain your professional, customer service smile as you shrugged. "Just work and other things."

He hummed and nodded his head towards one of the many empty tables. "Want to sit and talk about it? There's no one else here and I could use some help getting through all of this," he lifted the arm-load of food a little higher up.

A quick glance at the clock, and you were shaking your head. "Sorry. My lunch break isn't for a while yet. Besides I've seen you devour the entirety of your order on your own with no issue before. Honestly, I don't know how you do it."

"You'd be surprised," he smiled tenderly down at you. "But I was being serious. No one will even notice. You can step back behind the cash the second another customer comes in, I promise. Just sit and talk for a bit."

You knew you shouldn't have, but Beel had been nothing but sweet to you since coming to the cafe, and it really would be nice to hear someone else's opinion on everything that had been happening.

"Okay," Beel's eyes dazzled as he lead you over to a table by the window.

A crow sat on the other side of the glass. You frowned at the bird for a moment before taking your seat.

Beel's smile only grew bigger as he passed you a cupcake and took a sip from his mocha. "Here. Red velvet is your favourite, right?"

You hesitated as you took the dessert from him. "Yeah. Always has been. How did you know that?"

Beel merely looked at you with that tender expression he seemed so keen towards and shrugged, "Lucky guess. You said work and stuff was bothering you. What's stuff?"

You unconsciously side-eyed the crow to right, only to find the creature already staring at you. You couldn't fight off the shiver that ran down your spine as you turned your attention back to your best-paying customer.

"Well," you began, "There's been a few weird things."

Beel paused mid-bite as his previously delighted expression suddenly became concerned. "Weird things? Are you alright?"

You waved off his worry as you took a bite of your own dessert. "It's probably nothing. But I've been on edge lately and I keep either losing things in my house or find them not at all like I remembered," you lean forward, feeling the words that you hadn't allowed yourself to speak out loud finally spill from your mouth. "Like my body spray. It keeps vanishing! I'll buy a new bottle, and I'll use it for a few days and then suddenly fwoosh! Gone!"

The ginger narrowed his eyebrows. "Is it possible you just misplaced it?" he questioned around a mouthful of cake.

"Four times in one month?" You easily shot back. "And that's not all! I have always made my bed in the morning, but lately I've been coming home and the blankets are just a little more ruffled than I remember, and even if I've just washed the bedding, it always smells used, you know? Like someone has been laying in it all day!"

CAW!!!

You jumped to your feet as the crow beside the window screeched and jumped around a little. "And the crows! The stupid crows! They've been following me everywhere, and I think they've been leaving notes and books on my doorstep, or at least someone has!"

"MC."

"What?!" You snapped as you spun around. You froze as Beel looked at you in pity and your words crashed back into you. You scrambled to your feet. "I am so so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have put that all on you or shouted at you like that. Christ, you probably think I'm insane."

Beel quickly rose to meet you. "Hey, hey. Don't talk like that. It's alright."

"You're my customer," you wallowed. "This was horribly inappropriate. I'm sorry. I ... I have to get back to my shift," without another word you rushed to the back room.

You were completely oblivious to the glare that Beelzebub was giving the crow.

You were slightly dazed for the rest of your shift. There wasn't nearly as much conversation between you and your customers as you served them, and eventually, your boss decided to let you leave early.

The bike ride home was as eerie as the bike ride there — only this time it was because the ever-present crows were now missing entirely. It left a tightness in your core that you couldn't shake, an unease that clung to your very soul.

Maybe it was because, even without the crows there, you could still feel the cold, sensation of eyes following you.

You finally made it back to your small apartment, and you quite honestly, couldn't wait to lock all your doors and windows and just fall asleep. Today had been long. And tiring. And weird. And-

Your door creaked open as you flicked the lock and a strange puddle laid in front of you.

Breath caught in your lungs and your heart froze. You took a cautionary glance around your surroundings — there was no one else in the hallway with you and, from a first look, your apartment was empty, and yet there was a trail of wet footprints that you definitely hadn't left there leading deeper into your apartment.

With a trembling hand, you reached over and grabbed the umbrella sitting by your doorway and held it like a sword.

Each of your careful steps echoed loudly throughout your lone, single apartment, regardless of how quietly you moved. With your heart threatening to jump out of your chest, you slowly followed the steps to the bathroom.

SLAM!

You threateningly held your umbrella out in front of you as you kicked the bathroom door open — empty.

You couldn't help but laugh, a small manic laugh, as you looked around yourself once more. It was nothing. Just like the bed. And the perfume. And the crows. And the eyes. And the books. It was nothing.

Were you going crazy? It certainly felt like it.

All these little things had completely uprooted your peaceful happy life and thrown it into haywire. And yet, there was no evidence to prove these things to be true.

On weak legs, you forced yourself to further inspect the bathroom. There was a strange lingering scent — almost like sea water — but nothing appeared to be missing.

As your eyes scanned over the tub, they doubled back near the drain. You narrowed your eyebrows as kneeled down to get a closer look.

There was a short blue hair, that most certainly didn't belong to you, resting there.

Your hand came up to cover your mouth as you stumbled away.

Someone was here. That had to proof of that right? Someone had come into your house while you were gone. You weren't crazy. There was actually someone-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

You yelped, jumping as you whirred around and slashed at the air with your umbrella.

Your eyes fell towards your entrance way — the source of the knock.

You swallowed thickly, taking a deep calming breath and tightening your grip on the umbrella before making your way over to your door.

You stood in front of it for one, two minutes. Waiting to see if the person would knock again.

Nothing.

Goosebumps rose on your skin as you peered through your peep hole and once again, nothing.

Your trembling hand came to rest on the door knob. "It was probably just someone pulling a prank," you mumbled to yourself. "O-Or maybe it was a package."

Regret was already pooling inside your heart as you twisted the doorknob and pulled it open.

A tall man in a black suit with midnight hair and blood red eyes stood not less than two feet from you.

A high shrill burst passed your lips as you tried to slam the door shut, but the man moved with almost unnatural speed and quickly blocked the attempt.

His crimson eyes glittered down at you as he smiled. "Now, that's no way to treat a guest, MC."

Rather than responding to him, you brought your umbrella down as hard as you could onto his head.

A grunt echoed behind you as your bolted for your room, quickly shutting and locking the door behind you. You wasted no time, and began dragging your dresser and desk to block off the door as the sound of the man's loud footsteps came closer and closer and-

A man with navy and white hair sat groggily in your bed. His amethyst eyes, so similar to Beel's, widened as they met yours. "Shit," he cursed. "You're home."

"Urgh, what's with all the noise?"

A wave of paralyzation hit you as another strange voice yawned behind you. Tears of pure, concentrated fear lined your eyes as you silently shook your head and turned around.

Before you could say a word, splinters of wood exploded from behind you as your door was easily kicked in and the furniture thrown aside.

The sleeping creep quickly clutched onto you and yanked you away from the destruction. He curled himself around you, almost as though he was trying to protect you from the danger happening in your own house.

"Devils and gods, Lucifer! Watch it! You could've hurt them!"

"If I remember correctly, Belphegor, you're supposed to be long gone by now."

You instantly tried to rip yourself from Belphegor's grasp only for him to tighten his hold around you. "Easy. Easy. You're going to hurt yourself. Just relax," he cooed as he ran a hand over your head.

Your heart stopped as their words registered within your horror-riddled mind.

They knew each other.

A strange wave of drowsiness washed over you and you felt your heart plummet further and further.

Belphegor chuckled as tears finally slipped from your eyes. "I can see what Beel was talking about. They're even cuter in person. Like a scared little bunny."

Lucifer hummed as he tilted his head at the pair of you. "Yes. I suppose they are."

You sob as you weakly kicked and scratched at the arms holding you, but they held no affect. The drowsiness clouding your brain only grew thicker and thicker with every hit.

"Please," you whimpered as you strained in the man's hold. "Leave me alone. L-Let me go."

"After all the trouble we went to find you?" Gloved fingers gently tilted your chin upwards and forced your eyes to lock with the tall man — He filled every inch of your vision as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "It was already lucky enough that we even found out about your existence. You — a descendent of Lilith," the arms holding you tightened at the name. "But here you are."

You could feel Belphegor nuzzle his face into your hair. "And when we saw you, it was so strange. You are not Lilith at all. You look nothing like her, and you're so very different. You're almost better than her," he sighed in contentment. "I can't wait for you to be home with us."

You felt your eyelids grow heavier and heavier as the world around you began to blur. The last thing you saw was Lucifer smiling at you. "It seems you won't have to wait much longer," he took you from Belphegor and lifted you into his own arms just as your consciousness finally began to fade.

"Goodnight, MC. When you wake, you'll be in your new home."

***I have discovered that I actually love writing this spooky stuff! It was so much fun! I hope you guys really enjoyed this! Thank you so much for the love and support!***

TAGLIST:

@thegrimgrinningghost @henry-and-the-seven-lords @satans-beloved-riv @cosmixbun @sufzku @obey-mes-treasure @kissed-by-a-dementor @yukihaie @justtiarra @mammoneybb @poly-bi-mf @burrixino @salvationprodigy @pumpkins-mainside-blog @acousticpen @sucker-for-angst-and-fluff @itskrispy @10paradox10 @vallison-rea @ivoryclive @newfangled-artistry @pumpkinpatchkid @chirikoheina @sailboat21 @theother4 @todoroses @circus-of-freaks @mcx7demonbros @bloopthebat

Headcanon that you’ll have to pry out of my cold dead hands: Lucifer gives his brothers goodnight kisses almost every night

This kind of thing happens only at about 3 am, for two reasons. (1) his brothers are asleep by then and he would die if anyone caught him doing this. (2) it’s the time of night where the Bad Feelings™️ kick in and he has an unshakable feeling that can only be assuaged by checking that his family is safe. He’s either already awake, still at work, or waking up from sleep because of this icky feeling.

The first one he checks in on is Leviathan. Levi is usually the only one of his brothers who is also awake at this time, so he starts with him. He scolds him for being awake at this hour (hypocritical much?) and gently threatens him that he better be asleep by the time he comes back. When he returns to Levi’s room after checking in on everyone else, the third-born is passed out, clutching a Ruri-Chan body pillow for dear life. Lucifer places a kiss on his forehead, and the otaku seems to blush at the contact, even in his sleep.

Next up is Mammon. Even when he’s out late, he’s usually in bed by this time of night. Although at this point he’s spent of all his energy, and can be found face-down on his bed in his clothes from the day and spread out over the sheets. Lucifer sighs and helps his little brother out of his shoes and his jacket. He tugs at the sheets under his body and places them over him. He gently brushes his haphazard hair out of his face and presses a kiss to the crown of his head. When he’s feeling especially sappy, he’ll gaze lovingly down at the demon, remembering when he was just a small angel, Lucifer’s first little brother, and he wonders where the time went.

Lucifer goes to Satan’s room next. Most of the time, Satan is fast asleep, since he realizes being well rested helps him manage his anger better throughout the day. But often times he’s also stayed up late to finish a book he simply couldn’t put down. He’s sitting up against his headboard, head hanging low over the book that has fallen on his chest. Lucifer carefully (with gloves of course) removes the book from Satan’s hands and places it on his nightstand, careful to mark his place. He guides the demon down into the bed and tucks the sheets over him. He kisses him on the top of head, sometimes whispering on a particularly emotional night “goodnight son.”

He makes his way over to Asmodeus next. Same as Mammon, Asmo is usually asleep at this point even if he was out partying. The difference is that he still took the time to get into his pajamas, do his face care routine, and wrap himself tightly under the covers. Lucifer grins cheerfully at his brother, his face as graceful as ever as he dreams peacefully. Lucifer plants a kiss onto his cheek. Asmodeus tends to run hot at night, which will wake him up and make it hard for him to fall back asleep. So Lucifer unwraps him from his sheets and pulls them down just below his chest. On particularly stuffy nights, he’ll also open his window to let some fresh air in.

Then, Lucifer ventures into the twins’ room, stopping first to check on Beelzebub. Freshly asleep from his midnight snack run, Beel snores loudly. Lucifer fights back a chuckle at the noise and takes out a handkerchief to clean off crumbs from Beel’s face. He’ll sit on the edge of his bed for a minute, stroking his forehead with his fingers. He knows the poor demon is often wracked with nightmares. He doesn’t have Belphie’s power of dream magic, so he hopes that this little gesture will help soothe his baby brother’s pains. Beel often leans into Lucifer’s touch, a small smile spreading across his features. He kisses Beel on his forehead before moving onto his twin.

The last brother up is Belphegor. It’s often a challenge to find him, sometimes he’s in his room, sometimes in the attic, sometimes on top of the fridge, sometimes in the laundry room on top of the warm dryer. But wherever he is, Lucifer usually brings him back to his bed and tucks him in before giving him a kiss on his nose, like young Belphie used to do to him in the Celestial Realm. On the really rough nights, especially after letting him out of the attic, Lucifer takes a moment to lay his head against his youngest brother’s. Just basking in gratefulness that his brother is free and alive and relatively happy with his family.

MC doesn’t really fall into an order. If they’re in their bed, Lucifer checks on them last. Often times though, they can be found in one of the brothers’ beds, especially their favorite. His heart warms at the sight of MC, safe and happy with his brother(s). He feels especially warm if he happens to find them in his bed. He gives them a gentle kiss or two on their forehead, and renews the protection spell he already has in effect on them.

Once he’s finished with his rounds, he finally feels settled enough to get back to work or sleep. Unbeknownst to him, everyone in the HoL knows about Lucifer’s routine. But they wouldn’t dare say anything, they don’t want to lose this little bit of affection from their beloved big brother.

Also, at some point, every brother does this, with Mammon and Beel doing it the most often aside from Lucifer. Mammon is too scared to do it to Lucifer though, whereas Beel will straight up crush Lucifer in a hug. Lucifer pretends to hate it.

Honorary mention: whenever Luke sleeps over, he also gets a goodnight kiss from Lucifer. He’ll usually find the angel in bed with MC. Sometimes he’ll also be sleeping with Beel or Mammon or in very very VERY rare occasions when the former three aren’t around, Lucifer will let him sleep in his bed (neither Luke nor Lucifer will ever admit it). Most of the time, however, Luke is the first to get a goodnight kiss because he falls asleep by 10 pm no matter what and MC demands all the brothers bid him goodnight. Lucifer’s heart warms whenever he sees the sleeping angel. Luke reminds him of his own brothers when they were small, cute, loving, and obedient well-behaved.

Honorary honorary mention: when Solomon sleeps over (normally with MC or Asmodeus or both), he does NOT get a kiss. Lucifer just stares at him for like a minute, grimacing and wondering if he should curse the sorcerer. Nothing major, just something to significantly inconvenience him. He ultimately decides against it because he knows it’ll make MC and Asmo mad and he doesn’t want to deal with that.

Dragons in the modern world I

Sister's Keeper pt. 7

*** And we're back with my favourite series again 🥰 Can I just say THANK YOU for all the love you've been giving Harlow and this series? It means so much to see all the love you've given this. This series has become so much more than I intended and that's all because of you 🥰❤️ -B ***

Summary: MC wasn’t pleased about being forced out of their home and into the Devildom for this so-called exchange program, however, they were pissed that their little sister Harper was brought with them. MC wants nothing more than to make sure their sister stays alive and safe while in the Devildom, but first they need to figure out why these Demon bastards won’t stop gawking at her.

CW: Mentions of abandonment and the foster system.

Previous Part, Series Masterlist

The scratching of silverware against ceramic echoed awkwardly through the dinning room.

There was no giggling from Harper, or gentle instructions from you. There were no quips from Leviathan or scolding from Lucifer. The table was filled, not only with food, but with a choking silence that held all of its occupants in a muting hold.

All, with the exception of Mammon.

"Oh wow!" Mammon cheered awkwardly as he shoveled food into his mouth. "This meal is some good, huh? Really outdid yourself today Satan. It's um, very tasty, that's for sure. We could totally sell your food to like the lower demons or some shit. Imagine the Grimm we could wring it! And they're stupid enough that once we get 'em thinkin' that it's always gonna be top quality we can start cuttin' a few corners here and there an-"

"Mammon," Lucifer hissed through his teeth. "Enough."

You rolled your eyes as Mammon huffed and Harper sent a harsh glare over to the older demon as Lucifer continued to very pointedly ignore you.

Silence hung like a guillotine over your heads once more.

Across from you, Leviathan pouted into his morning eggs — you got a sick wave of pleasure from the darkened bruise that surrounded the bridge of his nose. He stiffened as your eyes met, and quickly looked down in what could almost be called shame.

You couldn't help but scratch at the new orange mark branded into the back of your hand.

Satan eyed the movement, the corners of his mouth digging into a deep frown as he sipped his melancholy coffee. He hadn't spoken a word to you since the incident, other than checking to make sure you were unharmed — a quick checkup had determined that while you had a mild concussion, you were otherwise alright. There was a heavy tension that he carried on his shoulders like a cape, and you couldn't help but feel uneased by it.

You quickly pushed back the feeling, and wrapped an arm around Harper. You couldn't allow yourself to become distracted down here. Not by Leviathan, or Satan, or anyone else. You needed to focus on Harper and staying alive; last night had only further proved that.

Your sister nuzzled in close to you as she nibbled on a piece of cantaloupe. You ran a hand through her hair as you looked down at both of your empty plates. With a quick squeeze to Harper's shoulders, you shifted out of your seat and scooped up your dishes. "If anyone needs us, we'll be in our room," you explained in a flat tone as Harper clung silently to your hip.

"One moment," Lucifer interrupted, gaining the attention of the room. "I have been informed that Diavolo will be having an exchange party at his castle. We are all required to go to his castle for the weekend and partake in the activities he has planned."

You sighed and nodded, "If it's required for the program, then I suppose we don't have a choice."

Asmo giggled and leaned into the palm of his hand. "Don't act so glum, MC, this will be fun! A weekend at Diavolo's castle means a weekend of utter luxury. And who knows! Maybe we'll even get to be roommates!"

You resisted shuttering from the mere thought. "Let's hope not," you mumbled as you finally left the room, dishes in one hand and Harper in the other.

The two of you quickly swung by the kitchen — taking care to wash and put away your dishes, before moving to retreat to your room.

"MC!!!"

You yelped, jumping back and shoving Harper behind you as you whipped around to the shadow that had just leapt out from the hallway.

A sheepish Leviathan stood before, hands up carefully in defense.

Your eyes instantly hardened as a venomous scowl fixed onto your lips. "What do you want?" you spat, holding tightly onto Harper.

He chuckled awkwardly, maintaining his 'I-mean-no-harm' stance. "Woah. I'm not here to hurt you,"

"Only because you can't anymore, meany!" Harper shouted from behind you. "You have to listen to MC now, which means you don't get to be a bully anymore!"

Levi's nose scrunched as he physically reeled back, his shaky eyes remaining glued onto Harper's face. "I'm not a bully! Y-You ... You can't say that!"

"Well, you can't be one anymore," she huffed with her nose held high. "Meany."

A pained wheeze pressed from Leviathan's lungs.

Despite knowing that Harper's words were true, you couldn't help but hold her just a little closer to you. "We're trying to get back to our room so I can recover from the concussion you oh so gracefully gave me, so if you don't mind,"

"Will you wait?!" Levi hissed as he moved in front of the two of you once more. "I'm trying to- to um ..." he let out a heavy sigh as you swallowed down the fear climbing up your throat. "I'm sorry, okay? I took things too far. You ... You won that quiz fair and square and I never should've lashed out at you. I never even gave you a chance," a bubble of disgust formed in your gut as he smiled at you. "But now that I know that you really aren't a normie, I can help you out like the other two!"

You froze at the statement.

Leviathan wanted a place in your life. Him. The man who yelled at you. Who hurt you. Who demeaned you all before you had the chance to even show him who you really were — not some weak person. Not this fictional MC that he made of you in his mind already. You.

An ancient crack fractured deeper across your heart.

Your lip curled into a snarl and the demon took a step back, his eyes widened at the unsteadiness behind your gaze. "You are not forgiven," you whispered despite yourself — you were horrified as you recognized drops of grief trickle down your spine. "Pretty words mean nothing to me. You say your sorry? Prove it," his breath caught in his throat as you held up your hand and revealed the orange symbol glowing brightly on it. "Only apologize if you genuinely mean it." you ordered with ease as the demon shivered. "Well?"

Leviathan, quite literally, began to gag.

You placed a hand on Harper's head as she pulled herself closer to you. "That's what I thought," you mumbled, ignoring the confusing disappointment that settled in your stomach. "We're out of here. But in the mean time, don't pull that shit again unless you actually mean it."

Harper gently pulled on your hand as the demon whined. "Can you tell him to be nice to everyone too?"

Another strangled cry from Levi as continued to woefully open and close his mouth, attempting to force the words out. The light tears brimming his eyes as he starred, heartbroken, at your fearful sister made you hesitate.

You sighed, letting go of Harper's hand as your marched forward and grabbed the demon's face, forcing him to look you in the eyes. "Look. It's like Harper said. Right now, you're a bully. You've done nothing but antagonize us, so obviously, we aren't going to want you around. Think about that. Change that. The first time I went to your room, it was because Harper wanted to play games with you and watch TSL."

Levi's eyes widened at the relevation, the amber irises, momentarily flicking behind you. "I ... I-I didn't know that."

You scoffed as you dropped his face. "Yeah. Because instead of building a potential allyship, you burned it before I even had the chance to make an offer," you crossed your arms over your chest as the demon's head hung in shame. "Don't give me worthless apologies. Think about what you did. Do better," you finally looked away as you took Harper's hand back into your own and began to walk away. "Then we can talk ... I guess."

Leviathan pulled his freshly, marked hand to his chest as he watched you go — both of you unaware of the voyeur hidden in the doorway.

***

"Wait, you punched Leviathan and then basically scolded him for actually apologizing?" The man in the attic demanded with wide eyes as you finished recounting the weeks events.

You huffed as you leaned back against the railing. "Yeah, he fucking well deserved it," you raised an eyebrow as annoyance flickered across his expression. "I'm sorry. Is there a different way you would've done it?"

He shrugged falling slouching into the cross-legged position you had found him sitting in when you arrived. "I don't know. I mean, punching Lucifer I get. He's the reason we're both stuck here, but ..." His bangs hid his expression from you as he fiddled with his fingers. "The others don't even know what he's doing. He's ... He's insufferable and they're all just morons."

You narrowed your eyes at him. "You'd think that you'd have it out for all demons after they imprisoned you up here like this. I know I would."

"Well I'm not you," he spat, his purple eyes almost glowing as he glared up at you. "Forgive me for having a heart."

You couldn't help but bristle at the comment. You bit down on the inside of your cheek as you looked away. "You sound like Harper."

The man tilted his head. "Who's Harper?"

You laughed at the question as you whipped your head around to him. "No. No, no, no, no. You don't get an answer to that when I don't even know your name!"

His eye twitched with every laugh that spilled from you. "It's just a dumb question!"

"So is asking for your name! It's like the first thing people tell people! Look, I'll even show you. My name is MC, and you're ..." you dramatically swept your arm towards him for him to continue.

He pursed his lips, crossing his arms before he answered. "You can call me Bel."

You gasped as you pressed a hand to your chest. "And the sketchy attic man has a name! I have truly been blessed."

He winced at your choice in words as he shook his head. "You are seriously an asshole. How the hell you managed to get three of them under your pact already is a fucking miracle."

The insult was hardly one you hadn't heard before, but still stung none the less. You shrugged off the pain. "I may be an asshole, but I'm an asshole who's going to get your ass out of here."

The two of you sat in tense, midnight silence, tangled in your own mental swirls.

It was Bel, who shifted first, wiping his nose before clearing his throat. "Why are you helping me? I mean, don't stop. I really really want out of here. But what do you get out of this."

"Wow. So grateful," you snidely spoke as you stared at the ceiling. "To answer your question, I'm not just going to leave a person to imprisoned. That'd be screwed up in so many ways," you sighed running a hand through your hair as you shook your head. "I don't know. You mentioned your family and ... Family shouldn't be separated. They need you. And it sounds like you need them. So ... here I am."

Amethyst eyes observed you in the darkness. "Harper ... Are they your family?"

You instinctively stiffened at the question, silently nodding your head even as your stomach knotted.

"And what? Did they die or something?" He chuckled as you swiveled around to glare at him. "What? It's just a question. Us humans have to stick together, right? Maybe if we know a bit more about each other we could trust each other a little more."

You groaned, pressing the palms of your hands into your tired eyes — it had been much too long of a week for this.

"Fine," you gave in as exhaustion numbed your common sense.

"Harper is my sister. She isn't dead," you were nauseous at just the thought. "She's here with me. But ... It ..." You swallowed thickly, hugging your arms tightly around yourself. "It wasn't always like that. Things went to hell for a while and there was- was an entire year where ..." you shook your head, trying to alleviate the burning behind your eyes. "Child Protective Services took her, okay? Is that what you wanted? We had been getting on just fine after th-they ... a-after Mom and Dad left, nobody even noticed, and then some nosey old crank next door reported us and we were thrown into a home."

You sniffled, trying to hold back the tired tears that were welling up in your eyes. "I was only there for two weeks at most. The one right thing my folks did with this whole thing was file for emancipation for me before they took off. But even if I was an adult on paper, it wasn't enough for the courts," your eyes squeezed shut as Harper's phantom shrieks and cries filled your ears. "I didn't see her for three years. I fought tooth and nail every single damned second of it to try and get her back, but no one wants to listen to a kid," you let out shaky breath as you wiped at your cheeks. "It doesn't matter though. She's with me now. She's not going anywhere. I'll make sure of it."

Bel looked at you with a complicated mixture of sympathy, understanding, and confliction. "I get it. You'd do anything for those you love. Even if it meant your down fall."

You nodded and tiredly pointed to him. "That."

Silence fell once more as you regathered yourself once more. You offered Bel one a sad smile as you shook out your now-numb-feet. "I will help you get back to your family, okay? I promise."

"I'm counting on it," he murmured, avoiding your eyes.

You made your way back down the metal spiral staircase to the main floor.

There was something so peaceful about walking through the hauntingly luxurious halls of the house with nothing except your thoughts and the steady sound of two sets of footsteps.

Wait. Two sets of-

You were cut off as you banged into a firm chest, "Ahhhhhhhhh!!!" You screamed as you scrambled back from the stranger.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Mammon screamed right back at you as he scrambled to catch the strange bag he was holding.

"SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" You both simaltanously shushed the other as your hearts pounded in your chest.

"What are you doing?!" You hissed in a hushed whisper as you tried to will your pulse to slow.

"Me?! What are you doin'? You're the one who's concussed! You're supposed ta be restin'!" He whisper shouted, flailing his arms about. His eyes narrowed down at you as he pocked your chest. "You ain't pullin' that all night patrolin' crap again, are ya? Cause I ain't gonna to take care you as a zombie again!" His gaze focused in as he got closer to your face. "Wait. Have you been cryin'?"

You scoffed and slapped his hand away. "You didn't take care of me; I took care of myself. Besides, I just wanted to take a little walk to clear my head. That's all," you raised an eyebrow as you eyed the bag he was holding. "What's that?"

Mammon's eyes flickered between you and the bag as he slowly hid it behind his back. "If I tell you, will you tell me why ya were cryin'?"

You threw your head back, letting out a loud groan as you began to make your way towards your room. "Forget it. It's too late for this. Goodnight."

"Woah, wait!" Mammon called out as he matched pace with you. "I'm serious. I ... It's not like ya to get all emotional and junk, so I'm ... I'm curious. I-I guess."

It didn't take a genius to read between his bolden lines. "I'm fine, Mammon. You don't have to be worried."

He growled and spun around to walk backwards in front of you. "One, I ain't worried! The Great Mammon don't get worried about nobody except me!" You rolled your eyes at the lie. "And number two, you and Harper been actin' weird since the quiz. Which, I get, ya know? It was scary, f-for puny humans anyway," he frowned as he stopped in front of you, putting an end to both of your movements. "Ya could'a died, MC. Like ... for real. And I ... I was your first pact, ya know? I shoulda been there to protect ya. And I know ya had Satan, and I know you were just tryin' to keep Harper safe too, but ..." he paused, gently butting a closed fist against your shoulder. "Don't do that again. Don't ... Don't ask me to leave ya to get hurt like that. It's my job to protect you. Me. Mammon's."

You blinked at the surprisingly genuine demon. "What are you saying, Mammon?"

His face turned bright red. "Just ... These past few weeks with you and Harper ain't been so bad, I-I guess. Sure, you're both brats and I'm clearly way more superior but ..." he finally met your eyes. "Don't go gettin' in the habit of doin' stupid shit and gettin' hurt. It freaks Harper out."

The 'and me' was translated as his hand unfolded from a fist and squeezed your shoulder.

"Harper's my priority, you know that, but ... I'll see what I can do."

Mammon let out a loud breath of relief as he let you go and started walking along side you again. "Phew. Good. Not that I'm concerned. I'm not. Never worried. Nope. B-But, uh, Satan! Satan was! He's been poutin' and pourin' over his books like crazy ever since the whole quiz thing started. You have him really shakin' up."

You rolled your eyes as you finally made it back to your door. "Then he can stop ignoring me, and scold me himself," you quietly opened your door, peaking in to see Harper still sleeping peacefully in the room. "I'm going to get some rest. Goodnight Mammon."

"Night, MC," he replied, peering around your shoulder to check on the sleeping girl himself. You didn't miss the way his shoulders relaxed as he spotted her. "I'll swing by ta help ya pack for Diavolo's tomorrow, since I'm so great and awesome! The castle's the best. There are all kinds of goodies hiding away in there. Mark my words! You, me, and Harper are gonna have the best weekend ever!"

A shiver ran down your spine as the demon happily marched away.

The best weekend over ...

You closed the door with a heavy thud, and allowed the lock to click into place.

We'll have to see about that.

*** And with that, we begin the Asmo/Dia's Castle arc! Stay tuned, and let me know what you think about the series so far! I love hearing your guys's feedback, comments, theories, questions and more, so don't be afraid to drop a comment or ask to tell me what you think! Love you guys! Thank you so much for all the support you've given this series! -B ***

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