You’re late for your date.
Like, Late late.
And of course, if the situation were switched, you wouldn’t have minded.
In fact, you would have expected it.
But you are you and Mammon is Mammon.
So of course, his leniency for being ignored is next to zero.
He leans against the front door inside the common room of the House of Lamentation. And he looks at his watch.
4:00
4:00
You’re an hour late.
And of course, Mammon tried to play it cool at first, swiping through his D.D.D with an unimpressed look on his face. He’s cool. Nonchalant. His brothers can’t know he’s internally freaking out;
Because he’s totally not.
Of course not. No way. Not over you of all people.
But he can’t hide the jitters so graciously given to him by his nervous system.
“Are you being stood up?”, Satan calls from a nearby armchair in the room, not bothering to look up from what he’s reading.
“I ain’t being stood up! They’ll be here, they’re just…busy. Yeah, that’s it. They’re busy.”
Asmo lays upside down on the couch, scrolling on his own D.D.D.
“Of course they stood him up, they’d much rather go on a date with mwah”, he gloats from his position.
“Oi! Shut up will ya?!”, Mammon screams back, now standing rigidly, hands balled up at his side in anger, leaning into the conversation, ready to make it an argument.
As he takes another breath to get a word out, Satan cuts him off.
“Where were you going anyway?”
“Yeah, where?”, Asmo brightly echos back.
Mammon sighs, body relaxing as he slouches back into his leaning position.
“We were supposed to go to Devil Coast ‘bout an hour ago. But of course MC ain’t got a bone of urgency in their body.”
He grunts, frustratingly looking down at his D.D.D. Twenty-five messages. No replies. What was up with ya?
Asmo cackles wildly, “Maybe they forgot about you, hm?”
Mammon’s face begins to heat up with anger.
“Listen here you little-”
Satan once again cuts him off. “We all know there’s no way they’d forget about Mammon. He’s much too loud”, he says, turning his page.
“Would y’all shuddup? Jeez”, Mammon’s tone becomes lethal in a way his brothers know they should stop pushing, so they do, shooting each other concerned glances.
“Have they texted you back at all?”, questions Satan.
Mammon sighs, “No, not yet.”
He looks down at his phone, scrolling through your message thread.
2:50 PM
Mammon: Yo! Ready to go?
Mammon: I’m by the front door, I’ll be waitin’ for ya.
Mammon: Remember to bring your coat ya dummy, cause I ain’t letting’ you borrow mine this time!
Mammon: Okay
Mammon: Maybe I would let ya borrow it if you really needed it and were shivering and stuff and needed The Great Mammon’s help to warm ya up.
Mammon: But you gotta say please 😜
2:57 PM
Mammon: Alright, where are ya?
Mammon: Thought we agreed on 3:00
Mammon: Do ya need more time gettin’ ready?
Mammon: Tryin’ to look good for your first, huh?
Mammon: I’ll wait a little longer for ya.
3:10 PM
Mammon: Hurry it up, will ya?
Mammon: I understand wantin’ to look nice, but it’s ten after! Ten!
Mammon: Ya know, you’re the only human that keeps me waitin’ like this!
3:30 PM
Mammon: Okay, yer bein’ kinda ridiculous right now.
Mammon: I mean come on, ya gotta date with Mammon. THE Mammon. Ya know how lucky you are?
Mammon: Alotta people would kill to be in your position.
3:35 PM
Mammon: But of course I wouldn’t go with them. I wouldn’t go on a date with anyone but you, okay?
Mammon: That’s why you need to get yer ass down here!
3:40 PM
Mammon: You’ve got some nerve makin’ THE Mammon wait around for ya!
3:45 PM
Mammon: Whatever, isn’t like I wanted to go out with ya anyway.
Mammon: I was doin’ this for you, ya know.
Mammon: Why would I wanna be see around with some lousy human?
Mammon: What am I, yer babysitter?
3:55 PM
Mammon: Look, I didn’t mean that, alright?
Mammon: Please come down.
“Are you sure they’re not asleep?”, Satan ponders curiously.
“Nah, I don’t think so. We’ve been talkin’ about this for weeks”, Mammon says defeatedly, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck.
“Are you sure they’re okay?”, Asmo asks, voice laced with concern.
“Okay?!”, Mammon shoots his attention to the avatar of lust. “Wah- what- why wouldn’t they be okay?”
Asmo looks around sheepishly, bringing his nails up to his lips to bite them, something he never does unless he’s either A) super stressed or B) covering something up.
Mammon steps towards his brother, anger beginning to boil, knowing what his mannerisms mean. “Whadda you know that I don’t?! C’mon, spill it!”
The urgency in his voice compels Asmo to speak, knowing how sensitive his brother is when it comes to you.
“Well… I promised them I wouldn’t tell you…”
“Tell me what?!”
His brother remains quiet for a moment.
“Asmo…”, Mammon threatens dangerously.
“Ugh, okay I’ll tell you”, Asmo sighs, mumbling quickly under his breath, “MC, please forgive me!”
Mammon stares at his brother impatiently as he starts,
“Well, MC came to me the other day after class. I knew something was wrong because there were tears in their beautiful eyes”, Asmo lays his hand across his forehead as if he were faint.
“Skip the dramatics and keep talkin’!”
“Okay, sheesh. So MC came to me and told me they haven’t been feeling very good lately.”
“What, are they sick or somthin’?”
“No no, nothing like that. More like, their brain feels sick? They said they don’t really know why, but they’ve been feeling bad about themselves lately - which I told them was totally ridiculous! AND I offered them a full makeover WITH facial and they denied it, but that always makes ME feel better.”
Asmo pouts before continuing, “Plus, with all the extra work Lucifer and Lord Diavolo have been giving them with the student council, they said they feel like they’re under so much pressure, they’re gonna crack soon.”
“Why ain’t they tellin’ me any of this!?”
“Because,” Asmo says annoyed, “they don’t want to upset you!”
“What? That’s ridiculous!”, exclaims Mammon.
Asmo matches his volume, “I know right?! That’s what I told them! But they said you were so excited about your date that they didn’t wanna ruin it- hey, where are you going!?”, Asmo yells as Mammon walks out of the room.
“Where’d ya think! I’m gonna go talk to MC!”, Mammon yells back.
So that’s why you weren’t there? You’ve been hurting? For awhile it seems, and you didn’t tell him?
He’s gotta admit, he’s a little hurt. But he knows this isn’t about him right now.
It’s about you.
Mammon didn’t know he would be nervous to see you until he was standing in front of your door. What if says the wrong thing and makes it worse? What if he can’t help you at all? What if he made you feel this way?
Okay. He realizes with that last one that he’s spiraling. Time to fix this.
He lifts a shaky hand to your door, knocking three times rhythmically - the one you know is his knock. And only his.
He cringes when he hears your weak voice choke out a small “come in”.
The room is dark; All the lights are out and it’d be pitch black save for the window next to your bed, illuminating your form, a shivering lump hiding under your blanket.
He lets out a sigh as he walks further in. He should have known about this. He should have been able to pick up on this. Boyfriend of the year, huh?
You sniffle as you pop your head out from under your hiding place.
“H-hey Mams”, you hiccup, giving away the tears that still stream down your face. “I-I’m sorry I ruined our date. I should have texted you, I-I just…”
Mammon walks till he’s leaning right over you, hands on his hips. “Uh-uh, I don’t care about that right now. What I do care about is you, mainly why didn’t ya tell me you were feelin’ like this before our date?”
The tone is his voice gives way to his own hurt, and you can’t help but start to cry again at the sound of it, knowing it’s your fault.
“Shh, shhh,” he quickly sits down on the bed next to you and puts an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into a hug. “I ain’t mad at ya or anything, I just wanna know why.”
He knows why; Asmo told him. But, he wants to hear it from you.
You pull your arm out from under the blanket (and Mammon’s hold) to wipe your face. “I’m fine really, it’s just”, you sniffle, but Mammon cuts you off.
“Ya clearly not, c’mon MC”, he says, oceanic eyes meeting yours and - it’s hard not to crack under that gaze. “Tell me what’s the matter, please.”
Mammon stares at you in silence, signaling that it’s your turn to talk, and he would quietly listen. As long as you trust him, he’d always listen to whatever it is you have to say, no matter what.
You sit up a little straighter, pulling your arm out from under the comforter to wipe your tears. Composing yourself, you look into his eyes. His face softens at the sight.
Clearing your throat you start, “I don’t know. I’ve just been so overwhelmed.”
“Overwhelmed with what? All that work Lucifer and Lord Diavolo keep pushin’ on you? Tell ‘em to shove it!”
You shoot him a dangerous look. “We both know I can’t do that.”
“Sure ya can, I do it all the time!”, Mammon proudly declares, making you smile brightly and chuckle.
“And you always end up hanging from the rafters”, you laugh.
“I never said I got away with it”, he replies, smiling just as brightly back.
Your giggle peters out as you begin to speak again. “I’ve got so much more work to do and so little time to do it”, you frown. “And I’ve been pushing myself really hard! And- I dunno. I guess it’s taking a toll on me.”
“Yeah, Asmo said you were havin’ it pretty rough.”
At the mention of Asmo’s name, you shoot upwards in shock.
“He told you?!”
“Course he did. Did ya forget which ones of us you can trust with secrets?”.
You grumble in anger. “That little - UGH! I’m gonna kill him.”
“Let’s put murder on the back burner,” Mammon says, pushing your shoulder to lay you back down in your slouching position. “How’s ‘bout ya tell me what’s really bothering’ ya and I’ll help ya threaten the primadonna later, yeah?”.
You give him the side eye, but collapse under his gaze. Curse those eyes! You swear he can put you under some kind of truth spell with those things.
“Fine. I guess… it’s just… I…”
“Any day now, Treasure.”
You make an exasperated noise and glare at him. “You know it’s not fair to use that word on me when I’m upset.”
“When you’re upset at me. And yer not upset at me right now, right? Please say right”, he finishes his sentence with a sense of urgency, now worried that he could be the cause.
He’s wracking his brain for anything he could have said or done recently that made you upset. Are you mad at him cause he teased you the other day when you did your makeup differently. He told ya he only did it cause he liked it. Are you mad because he cheated off of you in potions class? Well, he’s your first, dammit! You should be helping him anyways. That’s what a loyal subject does.
“No, no it’s not you. I just haven’t been feeling very good about myself lately.”
“What! That’s ridiculous!”, he shouts and - he’s trying to be helpful in his own way, but his raising voice makes you wince. He notices, quickly shifting his tone. “I mean, what’s there not to like, doll.”
You smile to yourself at the nickname. He’s trying his hardest to be sweet. You should try your hardest to let him in on your thoughts a bit too.
“I don’t like the way I look. I’m not pretty, I’m not cool, I don’t even know what you see in me.”
“Don’t be dumb, MC!”
“Mammon, look at you! You’re you. You’re one of the seven demon lords of hell, you’re a whole model, and you’re one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met - Devildom, Human Realm, or celestial! You know you’re hot, so I’m worried…”, you trail off quietly.
“Worried bout what, MC?”, he asks at your hesitance, worry evident in his eyes. He places his hand on top of yours on the bed without breaking eye contact.
“…I’m worried that one day you’ll realize you’re too good for me and leave.”
“Leave? Whaddaya talkin’ about? How would I leave? I live here too ya know”, he says, poking your nose.
“You know what I mean, Mammon”, you say swiping his hand away from your face. “You’ll leave me.”
Mammon rolls his eyes, waving a hand towards your direction dismissively. “Oh yeah, I’ll leave you alright. That’s exactly why I was waitin’ for ya at the door for an hour to take ya on a date. Cause I wanna leave ya soooo bad. Do ya see how ridiculous you sound?”.
You sigh, eyes looking towards the bedsheets as you play with his hand that has found its way back to yours. You don’t look up as you speak. “See, I didn’t even come down for our date. Or text you. I just moped around up here. Im a terrible partner. And I’m sure you’re gonna realize it soon.”
Mammon makes a ‘tch’ noise with his tongue, before grabbing you by the chin and making you look into his eyes, making you gasp in surprise.
“And ya think I’m such a great boyfriend, huh? I’m just the best? The guy who spends his free time at the casino runnin’ up scams? The guy who used ta blame his screw ups on ya to get outta trouble? Yeah MC, I’m a real peach. Cream of the crop if ya ask me”, he lectures, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“What are you trying to say”, you question, grabbing his wrist to take his hand off your chin, to which he carefully obliges.
“I’m sayin’ that I’m not so great myself. But you still love me, right?
“Yeah, and?”
“Exactly. I’ve got flaws, we’ve all got flaws, even father had flaws, clearly”, he mumbles the last part under his breath.
“I wouldn’t stop lovin’ ya over any dumb thing like looks or status. In fact, I can’t think of a single reason why I’d stop lovin’ ya, ya dumb human. Sorry ‘boutcha luck, but yer stuck with The Great Mammon forever”, he jokes, ruffling your hair.
“What about when I die? I’m human, you’ll outlive me by a long shot. Don’t you want to be with someone, I don’t know, with the same…life span as you?”
“Nah, I’ll still love your dumbass skeleton when you’re a stupid ghost.”
“How romantic.”
“Listen. My point is I’m yours and you’re mine. That ain’t changin’, alright? And I’m not mad ‘bout our date, we’ll reschedule it. Just next time, ya could let me know before I stand by the front door for over an hour like a jackass. My brothers got enough to make fun of me over already.”
He pulls a little smile out of you with that last one.
“And about all that student council junk Lucifer and Lord Diavolo keep thrown’ on ya, I’ll talk to them. Maybe they’ll let you divide it up between all of us, alright?”.
You sniffle, wiping your face once more and shaking your head in an affirmative nod. “Sounds good. Thank you, Mams. I’m sorry.”
“C’mon now, quit yer apologizin’. It’s fine. You apologize for somethin’ like that again, I’m tellin’ Beel you ate his pudding from Madam Screams.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, I’ll dare alright, ‘n then some”, he jokes, tackling you to the bed. “Why don’t we watch a movie or somethin’. You gotta make up the lost date time you owe me.”
You laugh at his antics, agreeing. “Okay, okay. I’m on it.”
As you sit in front of your shared DVD collection to pick tonight’s selection, you throw your voice over your shoulder.
“Hey Mams?”
“Yeah?”, he asks from his spot on your bed, scrolling on his D.D.D.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime, Treasure.”
