One's Lonely Two's A Crowd And Three's A Circus

A/N Amaimon is an Absolute Bastard™ and Mephisto is a Smug Bastard™ but what else is new? Also, Rin still needs a date to the festival dance and he can't look Shiemi in the eyes without thinking about all the hot demon tail he's been getting. Obviously, the only solution is to get Yukio to go with her, not that his brother is going to make that easy. And as for himself, Rin will just hope a random girl student will see him and decide she just has to go with him to the dance, no other will do. Yeah, right.

Also, Rin, literal-ball-of-sunshine's smile is irresistible- and he looks like a snack in a suit, but what else is new?

Okay, guys, last chapter for this because I definitely don't want to deal with all the crazy plot happening past this point in aoe lol

Here's some tooth-rotting smluff (smut-fluff, thanks for the new favorite term, guest reviewer jlol) to finish things off.

I hope it was as good for you as it was for me ;)


"You're going to go with Shiemi to the dance, Yukio. And not just because I can't look her in the face after what I've done this past week but because I care about you and want you to be happy."

Is what Rin wanted to say to his stubborn twin if he knew he could get away without having to explain what, exactly, it was he'd been doing, or rather, who.

If someone had told him a week ago that Shiemi was going to join their group as a new student and thus be eligible to go to the couples dance at the festival that weekend and that Rin would for some reason- not- want to go with her, well, it would have sounded insane.

As it turned out, Rin thought he might be going a little crazy.

He loved his friend and his twin without reservation, which meant he wanted them to be happy at all costs.

Up until this point he'd had a colossal crush on Shiemi, still did, to an extent. But it no longer felt right, or even the same, as it used to.

And so, the next best thing, he thought, was for Yukio and Shiemi to be happy. Together. If his two favorite people, who already liked each other but wouldn't admit it, could find happiness then Rin would be okay with that.

It was definitely a certain pair of demon's faults, though, that Rin had changed in such a way that he could no longer see himself with Shiemi, who Rin was convinced had no flaws.

Okay, that wasn't true. Shiemi was a human with all the flaws and perfections that came with being one and Rin was never the type to put someone on an untouchable pedestal. He liked her just fine the way she was and wouldn't change a thing.

But that meant he had to be realistic. And realistically Rin was finding he spent more time thinking about Amaimon and Mephisto than Shiemi nowadays and it didn't seem to be changing any time soon.

Now he just had to help Yukio see the light, so to speak, and his brother was being ridiculous.

"I don't have time to go to the festival," Yukio said, eyes narrowing, "I've got too many worries as it is to focus on that."

Rin crossed his arms, staring his twin down from his side of their dorm room.

"You don't even have to stick around, just go with her so she has someone she feels comfortable with there, you know how shy she can be."

Yukio matched him, "then why don't you go with her?"

'Shit, why don't I go with her?' Rin hesitated at why the thought made him react with an automatic 'NO' in his gut.

"Er, I've got someone…already."

'I don't have anyone, why did I say that?' Rin cursed his lack of brain to mouth filter because as far as he knew he definitely didn't know any girl classmate besides Shiemi who was available to go with him or would even want to, for that matter.

All he got was a raised brow from his brother who knew all his friends and therefor knew he didn't have any other eligible partners in the group.

"You don't know her," Rin grumbled, averting his eyes form the judgmental look he was getting.

With how little time Yukio spent around him it might as well be true, Rin sighed, feeling the typical hurt that sprung up whenever he remembered that fact.

Something of the hurt must have shown on his face because Yukio blinked and studied him.

"You…really want me to go with Shiemi, huh? I thought you liked her?"

Rin scratched at his dark hair, trying to put his feelings for Shiemi into words.

"I do. But…not like that anymore."

Yukio frowned as he tried to puzzle that out, "you've changed, Rin."

"Yeah, well, you too," Rin said, standing firm in the face of Yukio's hypocrisy.

"Fine," Yukio sighed, capitulating, "I'll go with Shiemi to the festival."

"You don't have to make it sound like a chore," Rin shot back.

All he got was a wry grin from Yukio before the other gave some piss poor excuse to leave for the day.

But, Rin had gotten what he wanted, and he hoped Shiemi would have more luck figuring out what was wrong with his brother. She always seemed like she understood him better than Rin ever had.

Once again, a depressing thought, but Rin contented himself with the fact that he had convinced his reclusive brother to join in the fun for once.

Now he just had to worry about finding his own partner for the dance. Somehow.


"Man, you still don't have anyone yet, Rin?" Shima frowned at him, having been forced to sign on as an usher just to get into the festival since he'd also been unable to find someone to go with.

Rin sighed, slumping into the bean bag chair in Konekomaru and Shima's dorm they'd gotten just for him since he spent so much time there now instead of at his own. Their way of showing support so he didn't have to go home to an empty place.

"I thought Yukio said you did, though?" Koneko questioned. The lucky guy had joined a sutra club and was going with the president to the party.

The half-demon just sighed louder, closing his eyes and leaning his head back, "I just told him that to get him to go to the festival with Shiemi instead of hiding like he usually does."

Rin put up with the jostling and tears of support from Shima for 'sacrificing himself to the greater cause,' or whatever it was he was babbling about.

Koneko sent a sad smile his way, patting his shoulder in encouragement before changing the topic like the true friend he was.

Another day went by, another day closer to the festival.

It was hard not to get excited about the parts of the activities he'd be able to participate in besides the dance. The food stall was coming along perfectly, and Rin couldn't wait to do what he did best, which was cook an amazing meal.

Plus, he'd get to enjoy all the rides at the amusement park, which, after that one mission Amaimon had crashed, he'd yet to go back to.

So, in the end, Rin decided that if he missed that part of the event it wouldn't be the end of the world and he still had a few more years at the school to try again.

The buzzing energy in the opening ceremony brought a wide grin to his face, even when Mephisto made a ridiculous entry, parachuting out of the sky to land on the stage and make his opening announcement.

"Alright, who's hungry?" Rin cheered as he and Godaain began taking orders and their stall opened for business.

Things went off without a hitch.

Then, through the chaos, his nose caught a familiar scent and he looked up, searching the crowd until he saw Mephisto striding past the various stalls, clearly enjoying himself.

Rin grinned up at him when he appeared in front of their stall, already handing him a bowl of the pork miso soup for him to try.

There was something instinctual in him that was very pleased at the thought of providing for the elder demon that Rin didn't think too hard about.

"This is magnificent," the demon praised, eyes crinkling in a smile and Rin felt his tail try to wag despite being hidden under his shirt.

"Tell me, Rin," Mephisto began, handing the bowl back, the slight brush of his gloved fingers against Rin's sending a shiver of through him, "will you also be going to the dance tomorrow night?"

Rin pouted, even Mephisto seemed to have noticed his dilemma and was teasing him over it, not that he expected any different from the demon.

"It just so happens my niece is joining the academy as a student in your year and I thought she might be your plus one to the dance. You can show her around, introduce her to her new classmates. It would be a favor to me, if you could."

Rin froze. A niece? How? And who? He stared up at the Mephisto with an odd sense of betrayal that made him feel stupid because of course the demon had a million secrets that Rin would never know. But, for some reason, this one in particular really bothered him.

"Uh, sure, that would be great," Rin found himself mumbling. It would solve his problem for sure, at least.

"Perfect, I'll let her know to meet you at the entrance, then," Mephisto said, somehow not picking up on Rin's conflicted emotions despite usually being so astute about them.

"As for you," Mephisto indicated Godaain and the rest of the guys from his class working the booth, "I must have this stall set up at the festival square tomorrow night, although you should add more girls, it's far too messy as it is now. Don't worry about equipment and so forth, I have the budget set aside for it."

Rin shook his head, trying to scatter the disruptive thoughts and join in on the excitement now that they could all go to the dance.

"Hey that's pretty lucky, right?" Godaain nudged him, "I wonder what the headmaster's niece looks like. Somehow I can't imagine it."

"Yeah, me neither," Rin responded absently, staring at the retreating back of the demon king.

"But," Godaain hesitated, "most of our classmates will be participating in the party so I don't know how we'll have enough workers."

"Don't worry, I'll go ask Izumo again," Rin promised, trying to cheer him up and hoping she would agree this time around.

"Awesome, you're the best, man!"

Rin smiled, rubbing at his head at the praise and got back to work.


"You're the only one I can trust with this, Izumo!"

Rin clutched his hands together, imploring Izumo while she blushed and sputtered at his words.

"Fine! I'll be there!"

Rin grinned so hard his mouth hurt, he knew he could count on his friend.

"But I don't trust any of you!"

Rin watched, befuddled as Izumo stalked off with the outfit he'd brought her for when she manned the booth. But, then, Izumo always seemed to keep a distance from the rest of the exwires and Rin hadn't been able to puzzle out why, yet.

He ran home to get ready for the party, putting aside the mystery that was Izumo for the time being.

He got back to his dorm and stopped as soon as he opened the door to his room, taking a heavy breath and feeling a purr try to force its way out. The room smelled like Amaimon.

Rin looked around the small space, hoping the demon was still around even though the scent was fading. He must have been there when Rin was out finding Izumo.

But there was something on the bed that hadn't been there before he'd left and he frowned, moving over to it.

He blinked, staring down at the folded suit upon which sat another one of those flowery-smelling cards Mephisto liked to use.

Rin used his nails to cut open the envelope, recognizing Mephisto's writing.

'Rin, thank you for agreeing to take my niece to the dance tonight. I've taken the liberty of procuring you a suit for the occasion. Please, wear it. Johann Faust.'

Rin scowled at the note, its brevity and lack of explanation pissing him off, when usually Mephisto was too wordy.

Still, Rin brought the card up to smell it, scenting out the demon king under all the perfume, though it made him sneeze. He tucked the card into his desk along with the first one he'd received from Mephisto. If Yukio ever saw the cards he'd really think something was wrong with Rin but that didn't stop him from hoarding them.

Card safely hidden, Rin went to inspect the suit.

It was really expensive feeling. Not that Rin knew much about that, seeing as he'd been raised in a church and had never owned an expensive thing in his life besides the heirloom Koma sword. But he could still tell that he'd have to be extra careful not to ruin the suit or he'd probably be paying off his debt to Mephisto for the rest of his immortal life.

He rubbed his hands over the smooth fabric, careful to not catch his nails on it.

Although…

Rin brought the suit up to his nose and breathed in.

Yep, Amaimon had been the poor errand boy. Rin grinned, pulling away and unfolding the fabric to see what he'd be wearing.

Rin finished buttoning everything up, adjusting the slim three-piece suit and admiring himself in the mirror.

The half-demon slid his hands down his chest, following the tapered lines of the suit to tug at the bottom of it and smiled, feeling oddly embarrassed.

He looked really good.

Like, this was definitely not his school uniform he was wearing. Everything fit perfect on his frame, hugging more like a second skin than the semi-baggy clothes he normally wore.

Could something be considered indecent if it covered everything?

Rin shook his head, shaking the awkward thoughts out of his head and going to try to tame his hair into a manageable form. If Mephisto's niece was anything like him, she'd be a stickler for presentation and proper attire.

Looking as good as he was going to get, Rin headed over to the festival entrance, trying to hide how self-conscious he felt every time someone looked his way when he passed them on the sidewalk.

He was almost there when he realized it might be polite to get a flower for his date. He'd always been a romantic and, before, when he'd first heard about the festival and had thought he'd be going with Shiemi, he'd imagined tucking a flower into her hair and then leading her to dance.

Girls liked flowers, right?

Rin glanced around, hoping to spot something.

There! A small flower stand lined up along with a few others on the sidewalk, selling things geared towards couples.

Rin came away with a clipped red carnation tucked into his chest pocket and an extra red chrysanthemum he'd just liked the look of for some reason, then went to wait near the entrance.

He watched the stream of happy couples heading through the arching gates, wondering how he was supposed to pick someone he'd never seen out in the crowd or if he'd even gotten there at the right time, seeing as he'd been given no information.

Hands came up to cover his eyes from behind him, a warm body pressing against his back and a chin resting on his shoulder.

"Guess who."

Rin felt his breath catch, heart jolting in his chest.

"Amai-"

He found one of the hands wrapped over his mouth, cutting him off.

The purr going through the body behind him had Rin going lax in the hold, joy welling up through him to push past the confusion.

"You look- edible-," came the dark rumble by his ear.

Rin shivered as his neck was nuzzled into, feeling the hint of fangs scraping at the line of skin showing just over his collar.

'Maybe I'll skip the party,' Rin thought, shaking at the thought of what he could be doing instead.

Not able to resist anymore, Rin turned in Amaimon's arms only to stop short with a squeak, blush rising to his cheeks so fast he felt light-headed.

"Hi, I'm Ambrosia Faust. It's nice to meet you, Rin Okumura."

Was he dead? Rin gaped at the demon in front of him that had to be Amaimon, right?

Rin took a cautious sniff, wondering if his nose was playing a trick on him.

Seeing his confusion brought a smirk that was all Amaimon, however, and the scent matched that of the earth king.

What his appearance was telling Rin was entirely different.

Gone was the ragged maroon coat, the mis-matching patterns of his striped shirt, green tights, and dotted shorts.

In its place was an elegant black dress draping over the tall demon's lithe frame with a slit going all the way up to the jut of his hips on one side to reveal shapely legs. Had the demon shaved? Was he even wearing underwear? Rin wanted to find out, eyes traveling down to see that yes, Amaimon was taller, strappy black stilettos giving him another six inches to Rin's already average height.

The earth king brought a gloved hand up to Rin's hair, teasing with the wisps that had escaped his attempts to tame them and letting him get his fill of looking.

A tasteful black choker hid any hint of an Adam's apple and somehow- Rin was betting Mephisto had something to do with it- Amaimon's hair was up in a graceful bun, loose strands of hair framing a face perfectly made up to accentuate the sharp cut of his cheekbones and suddenly fuller-looking lips.

Rin swallowed, mouth gone dry and mind blank, unable to think past the fact that Amaimon made for a stunning girl.

He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a croak.

Instead of trying to find words that wouldn't come, Rin found his hand moving up his chest to grasp at the flower he'd put there.

Amaimon blinked as Rin shoved his hand forward, red carnation held before him like a peace offering.

Rin had his eyes clenched shut so he only felt the demon pluck the flower from his hand, not knowing how he would take the gesture.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Rin felt his heart drop, opening his eyes to see Amaimon examining the flower pinched between his fingertips.

"Ah, it's for, or it was supposed to be…" Rin trailed off helplessly, reaching out to take the flower back and tucking it into Amaimon's hair by his pointed ear instead of trying to explain human courtship practices to the demon.

Amaimon let him do all this with more patience than he'd ever shown so Rin forced himself to take a deep breath before he made a complete idiot of himself.

"What's going on?" Rin gave up trying to figure out what his life even was at that point, hoping Amaimon would take pity on him and explain.

The sly smile he got from the earth king did funny things to his heart, especially seeing the hint of a fang indenting the dark red lipstick he was wearing.

"I know you're not very good at remembering names, so I'll tell you again."

Gold eyes gleamed, looking so much more intense with the smoky eyeshadow highlighting them.

"My name is Ambrosia Faust, niece to Johann Faust. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rin Okumura."

Rin whimpered, body weak as he realized what, in fact, was going on.

"Ah," Rin coughed, trying again to form a coherent sentence, "will you- are you ready to head in, then?"

Amaimon's lips curled, the demon not even bothering to hide how much enjoyment he was getting out of tormenting Rin.

Still, he held out his arm for Rin and Rin scrambled to take it, tucking his arm in the crook and shivering at their closeness.

The strangeness of being so close to the demon king absorbed Rin the whole way to the gate. It wasn't that he hadn't been near the other before then, but never in such a human way.

Every other time had been as a way for Amaimon to try to bring Rin's demonic instincts to the surface and do away with his human mannerisms. This was a complete one-eighty of the previous pattern of behavior Rin had grown accustomed to.

In other words, "was this Mephisto's idea?"

He saw Amaimon look at him out of the corner of his eye, expression giving him no hints as to whether he was right or wrong.

"I didn't want those humans thinking they could put their hands on you."

Rin stopped, blinking up at him at that possessive statement, "wait, are you saying you went through the trouble of enrolling in classes and dressing up like this because you thought someone might think I'm datable?"

Amaimon narrowed his eyes at him, "you have no idea what you look like right now, do you?"

Rin dropped his stare, "I thought I told you, nobody likes me like that. At least, not humans."

He found his chin gripped and pulled up to meet Amaimon's gaze, the earth king looking furious, "and I thought I told- you- they don't deserve you."

Rin grinned at the demon, reaching up to grasp the hand at his chin, bringing it away but not letting go. If the only beings on Assiah who thought of him that way were two immortal demon kings, then he thought he would be okay with that.

He squeezed the hand in his before continuing to the entrance, pulling out his student ID to present to the usher.

"Rin?"

Rin turned at the squawked shout, realizing he had forgotten something very important.

Shima and Bon were both ushering at the dance and they had both spotted Rin with his date.

He could feel the tension in Amaimon's taut arm and clenched fist, tight around his. Though he knew it wasn't because the demon was nervous, more like murderous.

Rin scrambled to do damage control, tugging Amaimon over to his friends with a disarming smile on his face, making sure to keep the demon behind him to prevent any unexpected attacks.

"Hey guys, this is Ambrosia Faust. Mephisto's niece. She's a student here in our year now and I'm showing her around."

Rin kept his smile plastered to his face in the empty silence that answered him.

"Oh my god, Rin," Shima whispered, eyes bugging at what he was seeing.

Rin winced, could they see through the ruse?

"You didn't tell me you were going with this complete babe to the dance tonight!"

Bon still wasn't talking but a suspicious blush had started creeping up his face.

Rin turned to make sure Amaimon wasn't about to shred them apart at the disrespect and saw the demon staring down at the two exwires with a contemptuous sneer on his pretty face.

Before Rin could figure out a way to get out of the conversation and get Amaimon away from Shima's flirtations, Bon spoke up.

"Is this what the headmaster called you away about that night we fought the family portrait demon? To introduce you to, er, Ambrosia?"

Rin blanked, mind short-circuiting as he went back to that night in Mephisto's office.

"Wait," Shima interrupted, looking like he was connecting the dots, "so you really weren't lying to Yukio about having a hot date to the dance. That's so cruel, man, holding out on us like that. Why didn't you introduce us before?"

Rin's brain stuttered back online, and he felt an oddly heated anger building up in his chest at the flirtatious tone in Shima's voice.

He realized he'd begun to growl when Bon looked at him funny and he cut himself off with a cough.

"Sorry, guys, I just didn't know how to bring it up."

"But," Rin stated, tone booking no argument and glare firm to make sure he got his point across, "she's my girlfriend, so keep your hands to themselves, Shima."

So saying, Rin turned around to pull Amaimon into a kiss, hands coming up to either side of the demon's face. He could taste the sweet gloss that had been applied to Amaimon's lips and was a bit surprised the demon hadn't licked it off himself yet.

He hummed in satisfaction as the demon placed his hands at his waist and deepened the kiss, glad his claim had been accepted.

Rin forced himself to pull away before things got awkward. Well, more awkward than they already were.

Amaimon was watching him with a hungry look in his eyes and it took all Rin's will power to turn away from him and back to the stunned faces of his friends.

Shima was the first to recover, clapping and whooping in congratulations, "yeah, Rin! Who knew you had it in ya'? I'm so proud of you."

Bon let out a choked sound, smile fond despite the flush in his cheeks that had yet to subside, "hey, man, I'm glad for you."

"And," Bon turned, serious expression on his face, reaching a hand out to Amaimon to shake, "I look forward to getting to know you, Ambrosia."

Rin gulped, hoping the other recognized the gesture and heaving an inward sigh of relief when the demon king deigned to reciprocate instead of tearing the hand off.

"Right," Rin started, taking Amaimon's hand again, making sure it was the one Bon had touched last to soothe his possessive instincts, "I'm gonna go introduce her to everyone else. I'll see you guys later. Bye!"

He led Amaimon through the crowd until they were out of sight and Rin sighed only to find himself tugged back into Amaimon's chest.

He looked up, hesitant, into the demon's eyes, unaware of how the other had taken that interaction.

"I didn't know how else to get him to stop flirting with you," Rin muttered, shy all of a sudden.

Amaimon gave a slow lick to his plush lips, gaze penetrating, and Rin held his breath while he waited for an answer.

"You staked your claim," his eyes narrowed, "I accept."

Rin didn't understand and then all of a sudden, he did, smiling wide enough to hurt as he reached up to bring Amaimon back into a kiss.

Amaimon was the one to break the kiss, keeping his lips near Rin's to speak, "I want you to fuck me tonight. Will you?"

Rin whined into his mouth at the thought, almost deciding to leave right then before forcing himself to stick to the vague plan he'd decided on the second he'd seen Amaimon in his dress.

"I still need to do two things with you, then we can. Please?" Rin asked, begging the other for patience.

Amaimon frowned at that request but acquiesced with a grudging nod.

Rin smiled at him and led him towards the center where crowds of students were dancing together.

He stopped at the edge of the crowd and turned with his hand outstretched towards Amaimon, "will you dance with me?"

Amaimon quirked a wry smile at him, shaking his head but taking his hand anyway, "do you know how to dance?"

"Nope," Rin chirped, pulling Amaimon back into the thread of the moving crowd, "but I want to dance with you."

The demon king leaned to tuck Rin's head under his chin, reaching down to move Rin's hands to his waist before placing his own arms around Rin's shoulders, swaying against him.

"Mephisto knew you would," Amaimon said, shrugging, "he made me learn."

Rin's breath hitched at the thought of the two demons dancing together.

"Is he here tonight?"

Amaimon turned him around in his arms, directing his attention to one of the buildings with a balcony standing above the pavilion so that it overlooked the whole festival.

Rin searched until his eyes caught the gaze of the demon king of time. Mephisto was leaning on his arms on the wooden railing, staring straight at them and grinning his Cheshire grin.

"Hey, why do you call him Mephisto, too?" Rin suddenly thought to ask. It was something that had been niggling at him ever since he'd learned the demon's true name.

Amaimon scoffed, "Samael goes by whatever name the humans decide to call him in the current century and he insists on us calling him by it so we don't trip up whatever game he's playing at the time. It's a waste of effort to argue with him."

Rin hummed at that, confirming what he'd been thinking, "so wait, does no one know who he is here?"

Amaimon sighed, "no, that's the sad thing. They all know his true name so it's pointless."

Rin sent a mystified look up at Mephisto, "that's so dumb and dramatic."

"Rin!"

Interrupted for the second time that day, although in this case Rin didn't mind as much as Shiemi fought her way through the crowd, pulling Yukio behind her and waving to catch Rin's attention.

He heard a low growl come from Amaimon and Rin smiled up at him, squeezing his hand in reassurance, "I'm yours, remember?"

Amaimon intertwined their fingers, growls subsiding as he watched the two humans approach.

"Who's this, Rin?" Shiemi asked politely, cocking her head in curiosity.

Yukio looked completely lost, eyes taking in the beautiful girl he'd had no idea Rin even knew, so divorced from his life that he'd missed out on the developing relationship.

Rin felt a little smug in the face of his twin's confusion but turned to answer Shiemi.

"This is my girlfriend, Ambrosia. We met a few months ago but just started dating last week when Mephisto introduced us. She's his niece."

"O-oh," Shiemi gasped, happy smile overtaking her face to see the obvious pride Rin took in 'Ambrosia' and blushing at the revelation.

"Mephisto's what?" Yukio narrowed his eyes, suspicion evident as he glared at Amaimon.

The demon king answered in turn, tension singing through his body at the challenge, "that's right. I'll be joining the academy this year."

Rin could only stare. First of all because he could tell the conversation was only going to decline from there and second of all because the voice Amaimon had just spoken with was that of a girl.

Was the thing about speaking in tongues something demons could actually do or was this a hidden talent of Amaimon's Rin had only witnessed just then?

"I see," Yukio clearly didn't see, "I didn't realize the headmaster had siblings he was particularly close to, to take in their children."

Rin felt a headache build at his sibling's pointed jabs.

Amaimon sneered down at the exorcist, "in fact, my uncle does."

"Are you a demon or not," Yukio hissed, giving up the pretense at polite conversation.

"Why don't you come closer and find out?"

A curled lip showed Amaimon's jagged fangs, bared in a snarl, slit-pupiled gold eyes adding to the effect and Rin remembered that bared fangs were a challenge for demons.

He stepped more in front of the earth king trying desperately to think of a way to calm both parties down.

"Yukio stop it!" Shiemi said, standing in front of the exorcist and glaring reprovingly at him.

"Shiemi," Yukio trailed off, seeming to deflate in the face of her stern reproach.

"Say you're sorry and that you're happy for both of them," Shiemi continued when she had his attention.

Yukio looked, helplessly, towards Rin, who waited for the apology he wasn't certain would come.

"Rin. Ambrosia…" Yukio sighed in defeat, pasting a smile on his face, "I'm sorry for my behavior. I'm very happy for you two."

Yukio hesitated, looking at Rin as if unsure how to proceed, "would it be alright if we talked about this tomorrow?"

Rin gave him a tired grin, accepting the peace offering for what it was and unable to deny his younger brother anything, "sure, Yukio. We can talk."

Shiemi nodded, happy with the results before she turned to Amaimon and bowed to him, "I'm very happy to have met you, Ambrosia. Rin is a good friend of mine and I hope we can be, too."

Rin shot a hopeful look over his shoulder to see Amaimon looking a bit stunned, although it was hard to tell on his blank face. Rin thought it possible that Amaimon defaulted to the look when he didn't know how to deal with his emotions, though he would have to test that a little further to confirm it.

At a squeeze from Rin's hand, Amaimon nodded his head, looking a little disoriented in the face of Shiemi's kindness, "thank you."

Rin and Shiemi beamed at each other, satisfied that everyone was getting along.

"We'll leave you two alone to dance. Bye, Rin! Bye, Ambrosia!" Shiemi said, waving goodbye and grabbing Yukio's hand to lead him away with her.

Rin watched them fade into the crowd before he found himself wrapped in an embrace by a perturbed demon king.

"Can we please leave now?"

Rin hugged Amaimon back, realizing the poor demon had had enough of the crowds and pretending to be human for the night, even though they hadn't been able to do as much as Rin would have liked at the festival.

"Yeah, okay. Where do you want to go?"

Instead of answering, the demon raised his hand as if signaling someone and Rin had only a moment to wonder who before he was blinking and opening his eyes to an ornate room, the sounds of the festival muffled by thick red-wood walls and various silk-screen hangings.

"My, My, retiring so soon? I thought you would be out enjoying the festival for much longer."

Rin released Amaimon and grinned sheepishly at Mephisto as the demon approached.

Amaimon blew at the stray wisps of his bangs, shooting a scowl at the elder demon at the inane statement.

Rin smiled back at the poor, put-upon earth king before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Mephisto, feeling him tense at the unexpected move.

"What's this?"

Rin snuggled his face further into the folds of the yukata Mephisto was wearing, feeling a contented purr rising in his chest when the demon brought a hand to stroke at his hair.

"Thank you."

Rin inhaled, closing his eyes to better enjoy being enveloped by the scent the two demon kings, a sense of safety and protection overcoming him as Mephisto returned his embrace.

A second pair of arms joined them and Amaimon set his chin on Rin's shoulder, annoyed at being left out, "he didn't do anything. Why are you rewarding him and not me?"

Rin snickered as Mephisto grumbled about ungrateful demons.

"While I will credit you for the initial idea to accompany our Rin to the dance, I'd appreciate it if you recalled who it was that actually planned everything out."

"And," Mephisto pulled out of the embrace, stepping back to survey them from afar, "I am quite satisfied with my work in dressing the two of you for the occasion."

"Amaimon looks amazing!" Rin said in complete agreement, bringing his hands up to place them over Amaimon's arms, currently crossed around his chest.

The earth king snorted, nudging Rin's cheek with his nose, "he meant you, too."

"O-oh" Rin stuttered, unsure how to take the compliment to his looks, "I didn't- I don't- Um."

He practically felt the glare Amaimon was shooting Mephisto, the demon's arms tightening around him.

"This is your fault," the earth king accused, "he's got self-esteem issues because you left him alone, thinking he was human for so long."

Mephisto raised his hands in surrender, "in all fairness, this was hardly the way I expected events would play out when I set things into motion."

Rin became aware of a lump in his breast pocket, remembering something and gently unlatching Amaimon's arms from around him to take out the red chrysanthemum he'd put there earlier.

He held out the slightly damaged flower to Mephisto, a small smile on his face, "I got one for Amaimon. This one's for you."

"I still don't understand why," Amaimon grumbled behind him, not liking being ignorant of something that Rin seemed to find obvious.

By the delight in Mephisto's green eyes as he came forward to take the flower, Rin knew the elder demon understood the human custom.

"Did you know," the demon king began, considering the thin red petals before him, "a red chrysanthemum signifies a deep, passionate love. And that lovely deep red carnation you've given Amaimon says your heart aches for his love. It's very romantic of you, Rin."

"Why give meaning to a plant? They don't care one way or another what your feelings are," Amaimon complained, plucking at the red petaled flower still in his hair.

Rin just laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "I didn't know all that, I just wanted to give you guys something."

"I don't understand it," Amaimon stated, reaching to attach himself to Rin again, "and I don't understand love either."

Rin blinked, trying to puzzle that out, though he relaxed into Amaimon's hold anyways, happy to stay there as long as he could.

Seeing his confusion, Mephisto explained, "love is one of those funny human concepts that never made it over to demons. It's quite foreign to us, another one of those nebulous ideas humans like to squabble over."

"But," Rin began, brows furrowed as he tried to conceptualize that, "you both like me, right?"

When he received a confirming nod from Amaimon into his shoulder and an 'of course' from Mephisto, he continued, "and you're both mine- and I'm yours, right?"

"Mm, mine," Amaimon nuzzled further into his shoulder in agreement.

Mephisto just watched him with hooded eyes, waiting for him to make his point.

"Then that's love," Rin concluded, voice firm.

"Ah," Mephisto breathed, a testing tone to his voice, "and what would you say if I told you that I am not and have never been one for monogamy. I've had many demons and humans alike in my bed in the countless years I've been alive, you realize."

Rin just shook his head at the attempt to get a rise out of him, "yeah, I remember you saying something like that when you told me about your real name. I didn't forget."

Mephisto grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners, coming to press a kiss to Rin's crown, "then that, as you say, is love."

"Are we done? Do I get my reward now?" Amaimon prodded, bored with the conversation.

"And what we have here is a sad lack of romanticism," Mephisto sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Rin didn't care, turning and bringing his arms to Amaimon's shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek, having to stand on his toes to reach since the other still had his heels on, "yep! One reward, coming right up."

"And what, exactly, did you have in mind?" Mephisto breathed into his ear, nibbling at the tip of it as Rin gasped and leaned back into the elder demon.

"Amaimon said I could have him tonight," Rin said, voice cheerful, despite the slight flush to his face, still not up for any of the dirtier terms the other two used.

Still, he could see the earth king's pupils dilate, staring, unblinking, into his eyes.

"And what if I decide I would prefer something else?" Mephisto said, hand reaching down to his waist, rubbing a clawed finger along the thin fabric over his stomach where his shirt tucked into his slacks

Rin grinned back, teasing, "sorry, you're not allowed to this time."

Amaimon stopped from where he'd been kissing at Rin's throat at his statement, sharing a raised brow with Mephisto.

"How do you mean?" Mephisto said, head tilted at the curiosity of having been denied. It didn't happen very often, or at all, really.

"Well," Rin said, drawing the word out, enjoying having the upper hand for once.

"You said you'd owe me a favor for taking your 'niece' to the party and introducing her to the other students."

He glanced over his shoulder to see the effect he'd had on the demon king, "I want to call that favor in."

Mephisto had that draconic look in his eyes again.

Amaimon laughed up at the elder demon, mocking, "he's caught you in your own game, Samael."

"That's an interesting request," Mephisto began, voice dangerously soft, "I'm surprised you realized what I was offering in that exchange. You didn't seem to notice it at the time."

"Actually," Rin said, mouth widening in a sly smile and blush returning, "my reward for Amaimon is separate. I wanted something else from you."

A rumble built up in Mephisto's chest, reverberating through Rin's back and causing him to shiver pleasantly.

Rin extricated himself from the two demons, although Mephisto's arms tensed, reluctant to release him.

He went around so he was behind Amaimon, the earth king studying him with careful eyes to see what he would do.

Rin ignored them both to observe the way he trailed his finger down the open-backed dress before him, enjoying the way Amaimon's breath hitched and Mephisto's eyes focused on the sound.

"I wanted to watch you two again."

Mephisto stopped breathing, eyes appearing incandescent with the heat in them, until his nose flared and his breath escaped him in a long hiss, "what did you say?"

"You heard me," Rin said, tone blithe as he pretended not to have noticed the effect he was having on the two demon kings, still running his finger over the suddenly tensed muscles of Amaimon's back.

"Yes," Amaimon hissed out, sounding animalistic as he shuddered in anticipation of fulfilling Rin's request.

Rin planted his palm flat against the center of Amaimon's back, letting it rest heavy there and feeling the demon's heart thudding in his excitement.

He glanced up to see whether his proposal had been accepted, raising a brow in silent question.

"Why?" Mephisto growled out, still pinning them with unblinking eyes.

"Because I can't hurt him like you can," Rin said, making sure he held that unblinking stare and seeing those pupils become slivers, almost lost in the acid-green color.

"I don't like hurting people. I really don't know how," he continued, accentuating his remark with a light scratch of claws that had grown sharp at Amaimon's back as if to contradict that statement, "but you like to, and he likes being hurt."

"And," Rin said, feeling his fangs lengthen in his mouth to give his voice a guttural sound and his ears become just that much more pointed, "I like to watch."

Amaimon was almost quaking at Rin's words, turning desperate eyes towards Mephisto.

"Please, Samael," the earth king groaned, panting at how keyed up he was with anticipation.

"What a…rare breed you are, Rin," Mephisto said, voice dark and eyes hooded, "I accept your proposal."

Rin didn't wait any longer, shoving Amaimon forward and into the waiting arms of the demon king.

He turned his back to them to walk to a nearby chaise lounge, settling down onto it with his elbows bent on his knees and his face impassive beneath his brows.

Mephisto had Amaimon in his arms, head pulled back at a harsh angle while the demon placed one butterfly-soft kiss to his collarbone before sinking his fangs into the meat of his shoulder, eliciting a hoarse shout from the earth king.

Amaimon scrabbled at the unmoving arms keeping him pressed against Mephisto, silk-black dress bunching up to reveal that the demon had, in fact, not been wearing underwear.

Rin saw the peak of the earth king's green tail wrapped around the leg opposite the slit in his dress, answering where he'd been hiding it since he couldn't wrap it around his chest with such a low-cut back.

Mephisto removed his teeth, cleaning the blood that trickled from the punctures and ignoring the way Amaimon writhed against him.

Amaimon was unceremoniously shoved to the hard floor, made to kneel at Mephisto's knees with a hand gripping the hair of the mussed bun on his head.

"Put on a good show, Amaimon," Mephisto commanded, staring down with haughty eyes.

Amaimon didn't hesitate, leaning forwards to tug the tie of the yukata open with his teeth, letting the robe fall open to reveal Mephisto had also forgotten to wear anything beneath.

Amaimon swallowed the length in front of him, pushing forward until he'd taken the whole thing down and his nose brushed the dark curls there.

Mephisto glanced at Rin as if asking him whether he could move or not, letting Amaimon wait in agony.

Rin inclined his head, expression revealing nothing.

The demon king thrust into the warm mouth over him, fucking into the earth king's throat while Amaimon could do nothing except take it, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and saliva running down his lips.

The red lipstick was smeared irreparably by the time Mephisto released Amaimon, pulling him off and turning him around.

While Amaimon coughed, his hands were bound behind him with the silk tie of Mephisto's robe and his arms pulled taut, forced to arch his back forward to touch his forehead to the ground

Mephisto crouched behind him, gently pushing his arms up as far as they could go until Amaimon sobbed at the pain, face turned towards Rin on the floor as much as he could from that angle, but his eyes were sightless.

The earth king gasped in relief when Mephisto released the pressure, arms dropping with a thud to his back, though he remained bowed against the floor, waiting for Mephisto's next move.

Mephisto trailed his clawed hands over Amaimon's thighs, pushing up the black dress and revealing more and more skin to Rin's blank gaze. Amaimon's tail had unwound itself from his leg earlier, twitching with every scratch of Mephisto's claws on the floor beside him.

Mephisto reached out with uncaring hands to grab the tail and yank. Amaimon yowled, trying to arch his back up but unable to with Mephisto's other hand keeping him still.

Mephisto ran a soothing hand down the abused tail, watching while Amaimon heaved gasping breaths against the floor, saliva pooling there as he made no effort to swallow.

The demon king spread his hands over the swell of Amaimon's ass, parting his cheeks and glancing at Rin once more before he went to the next step.

Mephisto froze as he was met with blazing blue eyes, feeling like he was back in the presence of Satan for the first time in years.

Rin's eyes had become twin infernos, the pupils warping and turning red as his control over his flames slipped just enough to reveal his true nature in his eyes.

But Rin did nothing except incline his head again, telling Mephisto to continue without words.

The demon king shuddered at the power he could feel from Rin, unable to stop himself form complying with his unspoken demands and thrusting into the waiting body in front of him.

Amaimon cried out at the abrupt entry, rim tearing and bleeding only to heal a few moments later, leaving him shaking on the floor.

Mephisto didn't give him time to adjust, slamming into the raised hips until Amaimon's cries of pain became cries of pleasure as he became accustomed to the force.

The earth king's knees slid over the hard wood beneath them with every thrust, leaving bruises that healed and formed and healed again.

Mephisto brought a hand up to claw down Amaimon's back, once again taking advantage of the expanse of skin availed to him.

Amaimon sobbed as Mephisto ran a rough tongue over the wounds, cleaning the blood before it could reach the edges of the no doubt expensive dress

The taste of the earth king's blood sent Mephisto over the brink, releasing into Amaimon, who moaned at the feeling but didn't come, himself.

Mephisto panted, making to reach down and help Amaimon but suddenly found his hand stopped, gripped in Rin's who'd made his way unhurriedly over to the two kings while their attention had been absorbed.

The demon king stared, question on his tongue but unable to speak at the look in Rin's eyes.

Rin broke his impassive expression to smile kindly down at Mephisto, letting his captured hand go to bend down and press a gentle kiss the demon's hair, tracing his flushed cheek with the backs of his claws.

"Thank you, Mephisto. I'll take him from here."

Mephisto found himself helpless to do anything but watch as Rin leant down and pulled Amaimon off of his softened length, undoing the tie from around his hands and carrying him bridal style to the futon.

Amaimon groaned as feeling returned to his arms, pins and needles running through them, body aching as it was placed on top of the soft duvet covers.

He stared up at Rin as if just seeing him for the first time.

Rin's smile was soft as he leaned down to tug Amaimon's hair out of its ruined bun and tease the knots from of the strands, careful not to pull too hard at the ones he found.

"It's time for your reward now, Amaimon."

Amaimon gasped out a sob at Rin's words, achingly hard still and desperate for release.

Rin swallowed the sound with a soft kiss, running the warm pads of his fingers over Amaimon's face and massaging the strained muscles of his jaw.

The earth king sighed, eyes shuttering closed, as his body relaxed into the touch, bringing his arms up to clutch at the fabric of Rin's suit over his shoulders.

Rin slipped the loose straps of Amaimon's dress over his shoulders and down his arms, lifting Amaimon's hips to bring it off of him until he lay fully naked, skin glistening in the dim light of the room.

He turned to where Mephisto still sat, throwing the dress at him to catch on instinct, still mesmerized by the scene before him.

Rin cocked a cheeky grin at him and went back to where he'd left off with Amaimon, nosing down the demon's chest to lick at the salty skin there and feel the thudding heartbeat beneath his mouth.

Amaimon was incoherent, tail slipping over the sheets in erratic coils and body trying to arch into Rin's above his.

Rin didn't let him, keeping a firm hand on the earth king's hip and reprimanding him, voice apologetic, "sorry, Amaimon, this suit's expensive and I'd hate to owe Mephisto anything if I let you ruin it, so no touching, okay?"

Amaimon whimpered up at him, eyes wide and pupils blown as he tried to reconcile this new dominant Rin with the blushing virgin he'd first corrected sloppy, inexperienced kisses for the week before.

Rin smiled down at him, letting his hold soften to stroke his hand up Amaimon's flank and leaning down to draw him into another kiss.

The earth king was reaching whole new levels of arousal, still untouched by either Rin or Mephisto and leaking pre-cum onto his quivering stomach.

Rin leaned back and gestured behind him to Mephisto, "would you be able to get me that oil you used on me?"

Mephisto knew it was worded like a request but at that moment he would have given Rin anything, bringing up a shaking hand to snap his fingers so that the bottle of oil appeared in Rin's waiting palm.

Rin gave him an appreciative smile and Mephisto felt his heart flutter in his chest, body limp with shock.

Amaimon gasped as Rin prepared him, not used to such care being taken with him and unable to do anything except lay there, stunned.

Then Rin found that bundle of nerves inside Amaimon and the demon cried out, length jumping and leaking more pre-come on his belly as he shuddered and writhed against the sheets.

That seemed to be the signal Rin was looking for and he removed his fingers.

The half-demon unzipped his slacks, pulling himself out and lining up at Amaimon's entrance, but not entering until Amaimon opened his eyes and stared, about to start begging if Rin didn't do something soon.

"Amaimon?"

The earth king looked up at Rin helplessly, soundless pants leaving his throat while he waited for Rin to continue.

"I -like- you a lot," Rin said, carefully not using the other 'L' word and knowing Amaimon and Mephisto understood him just fine.

Amaimon let out a low moan, unable to respond to that revelation at all.

Still, Rin didn't move, and the earth king let out another frustrated sob.

"Are you mine, Amaimon?"

Rin tilted his head, unmoved by the desperate demon beneath him as he waited for an answer.

"Yes!" Amaimon cried out, voice wretched and looking utterly wrecked.

That was all Rin needed, finally pushing into Amaimon who let out a long, relieved groan at getting what he'd been begging for.

But Rin didn't immediately start pounding into the tight heat offered to him, choosing to move in slow drags that had Amaimon sobbing in renewed frustration.

"Mephisto asked me this last time, Amaimon, and I'm going to ask you now. Okay? What do you say when you're asking someone for something, Amaimon?"

Amaimon couldn't even understand the question at first, mind lost to any forms of higher thought and just hearing his own name repeated in the rough tones of the half-demon over him.

It took Rin slowing to a stop for him to shout the answer that came to him, anything to get him moving again.

"Please!"

"Thank you, Amaimon."

The earth king cried out as Rin began pounding in earnest, finding his legs hiked over Rin's shoulders and pressed back into his chest as Rin deepened the angle, hands gripping into Amaimon's thighs for better purchase.

And finally, finally, Rin reached down and stroked Amaimon's untouched length and the earth king couldn't last any longer, the touch sending him over until he was coming onto himself with a hoarse cry.

Rin kept moving.

Amaimon looked up with glassy eyes, hypnotized by the blue fire in Rin's gaze and mind blissfully clear.

It soon became too much, Amaimon's oversensitive nerves screaming from the continued torment and muscles clenching at the merciless intrusion.

Rin gave a guttural moan as Amaimon tightened around him, growling at the added pressure before stilling and coming into the earth king with a final thrust.

Amaimon couldn't do anything but tremble in the after-shakes, utterly debauched.

Rin panted, chest heaving as he came back from the demonic head-space he'd found himself in, pulling out of Amaimon to the other's weak cry, and gingerly lying next to the demon on the futon.

He nuzzled into the earth king's neck, breathing in the mingled scents he found there, humming in pleasure as he mouthed at the fluttering pulse.

"You insatiable demon."

Rin was turned away from Amaimon's neck to stare up at Mephisto, the king having decided to join them.

Rin felt a satisfied purr go through his chest, eyes drooping to half-mast while he waited for Mephisto to act.

"You astound me, Rin," the demon king murmured, bending down to card his claws through Rin's sweat-soaked hair.

Rin gave him a sleepy smile, wriggling into the covers beneath him as he relaxed into the touch.

"I like you too, Mephisto."

Mephisto let out an amused huff, leaning down to place a kiss on Rin's forehead before sliding down and opening his mouth to lave the flat of his tongue over Rin's length, cleaning the mess there so it wouldn't ruin the suit.

Rin's lethargic moan almost had him continuing his ministrations but Mephisto made himself leave the half-demon before anything started again to move on to cleaning up Amaimon, too.

The earth king gave a tired grumble, almost unconscious already after his exertions.

Mephisto sat back with a satisfied lick to his lips but moved back to begin tugging off Rin's suit, not wanting the fabric to wrinkle.

Rin fumbled trying to help until Mephisto sighed and batted the half-demon's tired fingers away before he did any damage, stripping the suit off to leave him naked next to Amaimon.

Finally, snapping his fingers to neaten everything up, Mephisto allowed himself to collapse next to Rin.

The half-demon cuddled into Mephisto's chest, letting his tail curl around Amaimon's arm on the other side before settling and closing his eyes.

Giving the two younger demons one last analytical gaze from his green eyes, the demon king of time, Samael, allowed himself to sleep.


God, it all makes sense now. Mephisto is Kurama, Amaimon is Hiei, and Rin is Yusuke. No wonder I like this character dynamic, they've basically been my ot3 since day one.

Would you believe cross-dressing isn't a kink of mine? I mean, it's definitely Mephisto's kink so that explains the liberal presence in the fic. On the other hand, Dominant!Rin is definitely my kink p;

Also? I lied in the notes up above. Right in the last act of this chapter a scene for chapter 5 and 6 hit me like an epiphany and I wrote the first page of 5 before finishing chapter 4 because clearly I'm as masochistic as Amaimon.