Summary: Look what the storm's blown in! Mephisto gets comfortable in certain personal spaces and Amaimon makes himself at home.
Notes: Thus begins the second arc of this fic, things are heating up in the au~
So I figured it would be fun to go add all the different recipes/drinks I've been sticking in here like I usually do my song of the chapters lol
Recipes of the chapter:
Caramel Macchiato: /better-than-starbucks-caramel-macchiato/
Mint Thai Iced Tea: recipe/247052/spiced-thai-iced-tea/?internalSource=hub&referringContentType=Search
This one wasn't quite what I had in mind but apparently the drink I made up doesn't exist :|
Green tea cheesecake: recipes/food/views/green-tea-cheesecake-with-raspberries-and-raspberry-mint-tisane-233720
Song of the Chapter: Give Me Something by The Man Who
Green and blue lights shifted on the wall as Rin blinked awake, tears in his eyes until they stopped being so dry after sleeping with them open the whole night.
The sun pouring through his window reflected through two translucent shapes he'd lined up together on the sill. Beside both, he'd set the red flowering bonsai.
Rin inhaled, scenting out the traces of expensive cologne and earth like the air after it rained.
He had to get up, get to work, had to feed Kuro before he started complaining.
His tail twitched by his feet where it wound, longer strands at the end hopelessly mussed after the restless sleep he'd had.
They were both faint now, more memory than actually there, and Rin was surprised they hadn't already faded completely by the morning.
Listening let Rin know Kuro wasn't moving from his spot in the small living room of his apartment, just a faint heartbeat that spoke of sleep. He was alone in his room.
At the thought, the tail he'd draped in random coils shifted.
Fur tugged from beneath his leg, each strand prickling at the sensitive nerves straight up his spine to pool in his gut.
It reached in a languid slump, looping to fall into his hands. Rin arched, stretching with a groan as more of the haze of sleep drained in the flickers building at his core.
The one benefit, he'd realized quickly, to living alone except for Kuro for the first time in his life, was the privacy.
Claws scrapped through the short fur and down the length of his tail followed by a harder drag of his fist. A deeper heat sent his head back before an impulse had him tugging at the waist of his sweatpants, hips lifting until he could get a grip on his length.
"Mmn," he sighed, palming himself and toying with the end of his tail as he hardened the rest of the way from the state he'd woken up in.
Another thought brought a bright flash of pain to join the pleasure from his increasing pace as he bit further into his lip, blood welling to coat his tongue.
"Hah," the soft breath escaped him, eyes closing to slits as he dropped his head to the side. Pre-come gathered to slick his hand, his tail lashing to thump at his legs and stomach like it had a mind of its own; belonged to someone else. Rin sank his teeth in further, piercing to the other side and shocking a startled whimper he stifled along with the tears his bite sprung in his eyes he'd squeezed shut before fluttering to clear them away.
Rin's gaze caught on the faint, shifting colors on the wall and, without his say, he sucked in a deep breath, searching for a scent, two.
Earth and the spice of a cologne hit him just as his pleasure crested and Rin gasped his release, pulse shattering in his veins and breath out on his exhale. He panted, eyes shooting open and heat rising in his cheeks as he resolutely refused to look over at his windowsill. His tail flicked in erratic twitches where he hadn't let it go, claws extended to dig into his palm because he'd gripped too hard.
"Shower, gotta shower and get to the shop," he mumbled, throat tight for reasons he wouldn't acknowledge. Already, the holes in his lip and palm had healed.
Shuffling to the shower and blasting the cold water woke him up, shaking the rest of the webs attached to his thoughts. Rin put the morning behind him as he scrubbed signs of it from his body in jerky movements.
He'd gotten home after baking the morning's selections for his usual nap before he had to go in to start the shift with Izumo, never needing the same amount of sleep they did and able to get everything prepped for the morning rush without help during the early hours. It was a far cry from his childhood of sleeping past noon or barely making it to school because he couldn't be woken despite his family's best efforts.
Movement from outside the bathroom let Rin know Kuro was up and about to start demanding food. With a last shiver whose source he pretended was the air after he shut off the shower, Rin went to get ready for his day.
"Er, Rin?" Shima said, "why's there a plant on the windowsill?"
Rin looked up from the counter and beamed. "It's a gift!"
"Oh," came the weak response, Shima unmoving as he stared at the vivid red flowers on the bonsai now sitting proudly in its new home. "Another gift, huh?"
In Rin's opinion, it immediately made the shop a million times better, livening the place up and bringing a smile to his face every time he saw it.
"Yup! But don't touch it! He's going to come in once a week to make sure it's ok."
Shima's mutter to the effect of, "Yeah, gotcha, no touching," drifted in the air, but Rin didn't pay attention. He was more tuned into listening for Mephisto's arrival.
After the partial success of the last drink, Rin had to see if the one he'd planned for today was closer or farther from Mephisto's favorite and Rin winning the bet.
Several customers came and went. Rin flicked his gaze to the door as if maybe he'd just zoned out and missed the rumble of a limo.
He hadn't. Izumo had begun sending him glances he knew carried pity as they got the deliveries ready for Shima. More time passed and Rin handed the last of the orders out, bag just leaving his hand into Shima's.
Smoke, pink and sparkling, exploded into existence in the middle of the shop, startling a high-pitched scream from Shima as he jumped and lost his grip on the bag. Rin snatched it mid-air and sighed his relief, hand going to his chest as he recovered.
"You would not believe the annoyances I've just spent the morning dealing with," Mephisto said with a scoff and a shake of his head before spotting Rin.
His smile replaced the disgruntled scowl and sent Rin's heart pounding harder after the scare, but a return grin already stretched on his face.
"You're late!" Rin said in a tease, still bent over the counter with the bag in hand.
"Apologies, Rin," Mephisto's smile went crooked and he bowed lightly as Rin rose, "I'll tip nicely for making you wait."
Snickering, Rin got to work, Mephisto indicating another pastry he handed off to Izumo after he'd set the rescued order down. Though Shima didn't leave after grabbing it.
Had it been the chocolate drizzle? That the drink was iced? The beans he'd used? The milk ratio? Rin had thought about what Yukio might do, coming at it in a process of elimination. in an orderly fashion to narrow down the results and promptly ignored it to go with the first thing he thought of that day.
"There!" Rin set the cup down. He'd taken off the whipped cream this time, going for something caramel and hot, just to be sure Mephisto maybe preferred a hot over an iced drink. It could be he just liked the level of sweetness and the specific flavor didn't matter. There was also that Rin hadn't tried the variety of teas or non-coffee drinks and any one of those could be Mephisto's favorite!
The way Mephisto accepted the drink with a deep inhale, savoring the scent of it as contentment formed on his face, had Rin locking his gaze to the sight. Did he like it? Did he like it the best?
"Mmh-sorry, Rin," a sly smile accompanied Mephisto's words. Rin didn't bother hiding his disappointment, knowing the answer as soon as the apology left his mouth. "You're getting colder."
Now Rin glared at the drink as if it had betrayed him, pouting and slumping over the counter as he ruthlessly crossed it off his mental list.
Before he could speak, a cheerful noise erupted and broke Rin from the list of things to try next he'd been working through. Then he realized how little distance there was between them, jerking back just as Mephisto snapped to reveal a bright pink phone in his hands, the source of the ringing.
A scowl and drawn brows took the rest of the light teasing from Mephisto as he straightened with a glare of his own at the innocent phone.
"Wonderful," he said in a huff that shifted the strands of his bangs, tossing the coffee back as if to give himself the strength to answer his phone. "Even my lunches aren't free from these vultures."
In the same way he'd arrived, Mephisto vanished again. The shop echoed with the sounds of a snap as a pink cloud dissipated before Rin's eyes, taking the coffee and pastry along too.
"Man, he didn't even pay this time," Shima's voice tore Rin out of his frozen silence. A growl vibrated in his chest that he forced down, keeping it inaudible to human ears because he wasn't going to scare his employees.
"Shima, what are you even still doing here?" Izumo hissed, "You're behind on those orders!"
"Hey, that's right!" Rin blinked, waking up from the burning in his skull and beneath his ribs he didn't want to think about, jabbing a finger towards the door. "We're gonna get bad reviews if you wait any longer, dammit."
Smoke and a vast presence poofed into existence behind Rin, raising his hackles as he tensed his body to spring away from the threat at his spine. Spring away, or attack. Low growling began to rumble through him as he prepared to react.
Warmth and the scent of an expensive cologne enveloped Rin, followed by the feeling of a hand sliding down his back, glancing at the loops of his quivering tail, to end over-
He dragged in a ragged inhale, catching deeper scents entirely unique to one demon.
"How rude of me, I nearly forgot to pay," Mephisto purred into his ear, breath ghosting over the tip, along his cheek, both flushed a vivid red and burning. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rin."
Just as quickly as he'd returned, Mephisto vanished again, ozone and burning metal and the cologne he'd left all over Rin lingering in the air.
Shivers wracked his body in intermittent spasms. Rin's nostrils flared, chasing the scents, his claws extended to wedges, his tail a noose squeezing at his ribs until he began to feel light-headed because he couldn't breathe.
"Yes!" Shima cheered, shattering through Rin's shaking concentration for the second time that day. "That's what I was waiting for."
Pink moved like a target across Rin's vision. "Take care of our fearless leader, Izumo, I think he's malfunctioning after that stunning play by my favorite contender."
"I'd say stop making a scene, Shima, but I don't think anything we do will phase people at this point."
Izumo's drawl and weary sigh had Rin sucking in a final breath, willing the extended fangs he'd hidden under his lips and the claws he'd narrowly avoided gouging into the counter back to their human appearances.
"Go, Shima," Rin said, short, but at least his order was obeyed. When he looked to Izumo, all he got was her hands raised and lips twitching to hide a smile, but she dropped it too.
Rin reached to his back pocket, phantom heat in his cheeks as he pretended not to hear Izumo's snicker and removed the money Mephisto had stuck there.
"And then bam! Our lucky boss goes brighter than those flowers and he's getting felt up," Shima crowed to an unimpressed Bon and Godaiin, who didn't pretend to hide the lopsided smile on his face.
"Could you stop? We're in public," Bon said with a snarl that bordered on demonic, probably saving Rin the trouble.
It didn't cow Shima as he waved to one of their regulars, a college student sitting in the corner by the bonsai. "Nobody minds. You don't mind, Right, Karin?" An absent shake of her head she'd barely raised from the computer in front of her and he nodded, continuing, "See? Karin doesn't mind."
Was that a vein twitching in Rin's forehead? There was definitely one in Bon's.
"I told you it doesn't mean anything, Shima, he's a demon, they're just like that," Rin hissed, scrubbing at one of their remaining metal cups. He hadn't answered Shima when he'd asked why another was currently twisted and warped out of shape where it had been hidden behind the counter.
Shima's grin widened. He loved when Rin said things like that. What did it make their esteemed boss? The one time he'd asked, Rin had brushed him off with a million babbled words that measured up to nothing. Shima was determined to figure out the mystery that was Rin, despite his talent for evasiveness that was honestly inspirational.
Not that anyone but Shima seemed to see it, but he was used to that.
"Should we really be encouraging this?" Godaiin spoke up, scratching at his cheek while Bon threw his hands up as if glad someone was finally talking sense.
"Uh, yes, why wouldn't we?" The pool with his name on those winnings said they should definitely be encouraging demon kings after Rin's tail, the one Shima was ninety-percent certain existed but had yet to see.
"Well, it's just," poor, normal Godaiin said, "Isn't that guy kinda shady?"
Pft! Shima snickered. Mirth shook his body because, understatement of the century. Of course a demon king was shady as hell, actually, no sane person should ever approach one of them, if Shima was being honest. He certainly wouldn't be dating a creature that looked at him and other humans like interesting toys to pick apart at will. That stare they gave you that always said, "Look! You're a field mouse and the local predatory big cat can't decide if you're prey yet. Fun!"
But their Rin wasn't normal and half the time Shima wasn't sure he was as sane as first appearances suggested.
Something a simple guy like Godaiin wouldn't really understand, or he would, but not the way Shima did.
"Yeah, shady and rich! Rin's gotta get on that!" he said instead, ducking the swipe from Bon with long practice. It wasn't the worst thing he could have said! Bon should cut him some slack on this, he had a ton of other very thought out points on why it was a great idea for them to try hooking up their buddy, Rin, with the local demon king besides his probably infinite wealth that also had to do with his infinite experience. If you knew what he meant.
"Ow!" Shima yelped when Bon's next swipe cuffed him over the ears and he rubbed at his head.
"I recognize that look, seriously, Shima? Can you not for five minutes?"
"Thanks, Bon," Rin said with another one of those growls that sent Shima's hair rising. "He's been like this all day and there's not enough orders to keep him busy."
Cruel, especially because they'd had plenty of orders, Shima just happened to have gotten enough gossip content that morning to keep him talking the rest of the day. Izumo had been the only one to appreciate it, though she never liked to admit those kinds of things.
Ah well, couldn't please everyone. Shima slid his way to the counter, batting his lashes and leaning to drop his chin in his palm before a grumpy Rin. "You got those deliveries all ready to get me out of your pretty hair?"
Pretty tousled, but maybe that was what demons went for. Shima wasn't an expert and he didn't want to be. He'd leave that dubious honor in Rin's hands.
"Yes, dammit, get out of my hair," Rin grumbled, though the way his lips twitched said he was starting to get over Shima's teasing.
Giving a two-fingered salute, Shima made his way to the door, opening it just as a cloud of gray smoke poofed into existence.
"Ah!" he shrieked, clutching the deliveries to his chest like they would protect him as he shrunk against the door.
The cloud cleared to reveal dangerous gold eyes, pupils slitting as they zeroed in on his body he couldn't stop from trembling.
Those eyes seemed to track the sweat-drop running down his throat, he opened his mouth and Shima saw the glint of light off needle-point fangs he knew could slice into delicate skin and he'd be dead before he touched the ground.
"Amaimon!" Rin's cheerful call broke the staredown, instantly taking the pressure from Shima and he could breathe again. "I didn't know you were coming today! This is great!"
Shima wanted to whimper. Great? Maybe for a known king like Samael who'd been batting in humanity's corner long enough they could mostly assume they wouldn't die if he got upset. The earth king might as well have been a walking natural disaster for all he interacted with humans, one that apparently liked Rin's pastries.
"Come here, I've got something you're gonna love! I was trying the recipe out to bring it next time I saw you," Rin kept going like ordering around a king known for leveling mountains when he was pissed or the day ended in a 'Y' was normal.
An internal scream filled Shima's head as Amaimon left, walking past him into the shop, having decided Rin giving him orders was fine, actually.
Bright joy had completely wiped the earlier grumpiness from Rin's face, and Shima swore he'd seen a lightening of the dangerous expression on Amaimon's into something matching.
He spared poor Bon and Godaiin a look, getting two miserable ones in turn and glad it was them, not him, who had to watch Rin make eyes at destruction wearing human skin.
'Ah," the thought breached his mind as he got the hell out of dodge, 'the competition.'
They'd have to rework their betting pool to deal with the new contender for Rin's heart.
Amaimon stalked past the shivering human, sniffing to get the fear-scent from his nose and replaced with something much better.
There, the wonderful smell of various pastries filled his senses, and overlaying it all was the strange scent he couldn't place of the creature who owned the shop. It smelled like kin, but Amaimon was sure Rin wasn't descended from earth kin.
Rin smiled at him without fear, but also without the blind worship he'd received from humans in times before.
It was refreshing after centuries of stale existence.
Gehenna was boring. Assiah was boring. The humans and demons who came to his shop were boring. Amaimon was bored.
Or he had been until a fearless creature stumbled into his shop. He would keep prodding to see if Rin had the spark to get Amaimon through at least a few decades because his alternatives were wearing thin.
Before Rin had come, he'd considered those alternatives.
The last century was spent fighting increasingly slim odds, wearing his perfect host to the bone again and again, wondering what was worse, eternal degradation and a host that would fail him but at least the years carried weight, or now, where he couldn't distinguish one day to the next.
So Amaimon had come to Assiah. Samael hadn't had a solution when he'd asked what he should do with eternity those centuries after Father and their new reality settled around them, but he might now.
"Er, unless you're here to check on the gift?" Amaimon blinked from his thoughts, seeing hesitation on Rin's face as he went back over the question.
"No," he said, glancing to the window to see the camellia bonsai perfectly content in its new spot, "I'm bored."
Rin nodded as if he understood, though Amaimon didn't think that was possible. "It's too bad you didn't bring Behemoth, maybe I'll get Kuro to stop by and they can play together, that might be fun."
Offering ideas? Amaimon brought his clawed thumb to his mouth, gnawing at it as he wondered if it would be fun, as Rin said.
The reactions Rin gave to sudden surprises were much different than most. If he could pull Rin along with him, he might startle him into falling again. Amaimon would like that.
"Yes," he said and dropped his claw, ignoring the healing wound he'd made to scan the pastry selection. "What will I love?"
"This!" Rin's excitement came through without attempts to diminish it as he reached behind the counter. "Here-ah!"
A clatter sounded as Amaimon raised a brow, watching Rin curse and duck to grab something that had fallen to the floor.
"Damn thing, why haven't I tossed this yet?"
Rin's scowl when he rose again pointed at a metal cup twisted and warped out of shape-almost like it had been crushed by the hand holding it-that he dropped to the counter with an order to "Stay put." Humans liked to yell at inanimate objects, one of their consistent traits Amaimon had witnessed enough over the years to remember.
That was all secondary to what ended up set before Amaimon's eyes.
"What is it?" He was curious, there were so many combinations of ingredients and Rin managed to craft them together in wonderful ways each time.
"Green tea cheesecake, you know, because of your hair-oh! And the golden raspberries because of your eyes," Rin said with triumph in his voice and grin beaming back at Amaimon.
Oh. He'd made it in Amaimon's image. There was even a triangle of white chocolate on top he assumed was meant to represent his horn. A strange effigy, but he already felt saliva pooling in his mouth and didn't bother holding himself back any more. The cake lasted long enough for Amaimon to taste the shortbread crust and rich cream of the cake, subtler notes of the green tea and fruit dancing across his vessel's tongue in a way that had him shivering. Before Father, he would have had the same cake and only tasted half of it.
Did it make up for the unchanging boredom he faced daily now?
"Hah, I guess I don't need to ask if you liked it, but uh," Rin trailed off as Amaimon cocked his head at him, "did you like it? This was kinda the trial version so I was testing it out..."
He tongued between the divots of his fangs, collecting the traces there and picking up the mint Rin must have added for flavor.
"Yes," Amaimon said and watched the delight over his simple statement bloom on Rin's face. His gaze went to the warped cup still on the counter next. Amaimon grabbed it to the curious sound Rin made. A flex of the energy he commanded and Amaimon drew fingers over the surface, smoothing it back into the intended shape.
"You fixed it!" Rin burst out, fumbling as Amaimon dropped the newly restored cup into his hands without preamble. "I was gonna have to replace that, so thanks."
"I'd say that gets you a drink on the house."
Even better. Amaimon nodded, gaze traveling the rest of the shop while he waited. The two humans in Rin's employ kept on the edges, a nervous smile from one and stoic tension from the other when they noticed his attention.
If he curled a lip over his fangs, they'd flinch. If he let the earth break beneath his feet, they and every human in the radius would be consumed in the crumbling ground. They knew it, too. The only one who didn't seem to know was the strange creature humming over the drink he made for Amaimon.
The strange creature with the even stranger scent smiled and presented him with his newest creation. Amaimon inhaled, considering the scents and the way they mingled and giving a pleased hum.
"What's this one?" he asked as he peered into the swirls of vibrant green between the crushed mint, ice, and thick layer of cream at the surface.
"Well, I had extra of that mint syrup I made for the cheesecake so I made a mint cream iced tea-ah, and there's sweetened condensed milk at the base."
So he tasted, drink half-finished and mint shocking across his senses, followed by the milk he hadn't bothered to mix until it left a coating over the bottom of the plastic cup.
That was the best part. Amaimon's brows scrunched and he tilted his head, letting his tongue extend to collect every drop. Some dripped onto him, making white lines over his cheek he frowned at. The cup went to the counter and Amaimon swiped his tongue, getting the rest of the drink with the last move.
"Ngh." The soft, strangle sound took Amaimon from his head. He sharpened on the sight that greeted him, interest roused. There, red stained Rin's cheeks, his pupils dilated and pinned to Amaimon's face without seeing as if zoned out. That was interesting.
Just as Amaimon considered if Rin might want to share the drink he'd made, the door to the shop opened and Rin snapped from his daze to welcome the human that entered.
Amaimon wanted to scowl, but there wasn't a point. He reached over as an impulse hit him and, before Rin could realize what was happening, flicked him across the forehead.
"Ah!" Just as Amaimon had expected, another flush rose in Rin's cheeks as he rubbed at the light mark Amaimon had made, but he didn't look scared, just confused.
"Oh, are you leaving?" Rin said, blinking as Amaimon nodded, and somehow understanding him where so many hadn't in the past.
"Bye, Amaimon!"
He left, wondering again at the warmth filling his vessel that only seemed to show up when he caught sight and scent of one creature. Like laying on a heat rock, and Amaimon could bask the entire day away.
It was interesting.
Bracing himself with the drink Rin had created for him allowed Mephisto the necessary tempering of his irritation to not terrify the humans at his office when he arrived.
Though the more savvy of his humans picked up on the irritation anyway and shrunk back in their desks as he passed.
"Ah, Sir Pheles," one of the braver ones said.
"Yes, dear?" His attempts at soothing them only half-worked.
"You've got a visitor, sir."
Yes, he'd realized the moment he'd appeared on the premises.
They were too new to know that. Mephisto nodded and thanked them, keeping his manners as he made his way to see the one he had no doubt was rifling through his things without a single ounce of shame.
"Today has tested me, so I'd appreciate if whatever you're here for doesn't add to that," he said as he opened the door.
"Azazel."
"Samael!" Red eyes flashed with unhidden humor as Azazel grinned over from his desk. He raised his hands and smoke poofed to reveal two six-packs of the cheap beer Azazel enjoyed.
"I brought drinks."
"So I see," Mephisto said as he went to his seat at the desk, dropping into it with a sigh and accepting one of the six-packs as Azazel took a seat opposite.
His eye twitched when Azazel made himself comfortable, feet thunking to the surface where they crossed and leaning back in his chair as he flicked the cap off his first bottle. Aside from the grin stretching on Azazel's face, he didn't remove his feet and Mephisto gave up hoping he'd learn decorum any time soon, breaking into his own drink.
"So, what's brought you into town?" he began the small talk after watching as Azazel scratched idle claws through the beard he'd grown long again.
Azazel scoffed when he heard his question, waving in a flippant motion Mephisto took to mean he was having a similar week.
"They keep throwing new rules and regulations at me, as if there aren't enough already. I miss when they settled things with a fistfight." That, Mephisto understood very well, but there were always loopholes to exploit, and he knew Azazel was more than able to find them if he got truly irritated.
He was just being lazy. "You let them take too many liberties and this happens. I did warn you. Many times."
In the time Mephisto had taken to berate him, Azazel had put two of his six bottles away, something Mephisto noted because, while he was a demon and as prone to excess as they all were, he usually preferred to enjoy his leisures. Unlike a certain earth king, who inhaled food the same way he had from the start.
Clearly, there were more than simple irritations amiss.
"You should speak to our dear Lucifer about regulations, he seems to enjoy creating them in his new empire," Mephisto continued with a roll of his eyes.
A snort and Azazel laughed. "And you love your loopholes, the janky cog in his smooth-running machine."
"A janky cog, me?" Mephisto feigned insult, though honestly, he was anything but a cog. "I'm the only thing keeping him on his toes. We can't let him get too complacent in peace."
Claws twisted around the intricate braids in Azazel's beard, a lopsided smirk forming at Mephisto before falling away. Another bottle joined the empty pile.
"I suppose Lucifer must be grateful you don't give him any headaches, then," Mephisto said when Azazel didn't respond. "Keeping yourself entertained in your marble halls with your scholars-how is the library, by the way?"
The question prodded Azazel from his contemplation.
"Great! Except my humans won't let me put a waterslide in the place," he said, scowling at the inconvenience. "I wanted to have it going through my office but they kept grouching at me about 'the historical integrity of the oldest library' and 'preserving things for future generations' as if they didn't think my idea was the coolest."
"Humans do love their preservation for posterity's sake, I would have put in the waterslide." Mephisto nodded his sage agreement, wondering if they'd reached the end of Azazel's tarrying.
"Exactly!" Azazel's fist met his hand. He reached for the second to last bottle. The shorter strands of hair on his head stood in frazzled tufts. "I knew you'd understand."
"But…" he trailed off and glanced from the heavy consideration he'd been giving his drink, rolling the bottle between his fingers when he noticed Mephisto's unwavering attention.
"Someone messed with the books."
Mephisto didn't react except to set his own bottle down in a slow, careful movement, the heavy glass tapping to the surface of the desk. His claws met the surface next, a metronome picking up as he smiled.
"Oh? Did those scholars finally get into your pornography stash?" he said to the red eyes watching him with a heaviness neither of their words carried.
"Hah! If they did, I would have heard the screams from my office and I wouldn't be coming to you because the mystery would be solved," Azazel crowed, fingers tightening dangerously over the delicate glass.
"What happened?" Mephisto said just as Azazel closed his eyes and gave up the game.
"Someone or someones messed with the wards," he said in a long sigh that shivered from his mouth he scrubbed at a second later. "Used concentrated Armumahel crystals to nullify them."
Mephisto's heart slowed in his chest. "And you have no clues besides that."
Not if Azazel had come to him, though given the nature of what existed behind those particular wards, he might have come anyway.
"Samael, there aren't many with access to those crystals in that concentration," came the slow words, though it wasn't new information, just a grave reminder of what their situation looked like. A thread pulled taught in the timeline, snapping into place and sending new ripples Mephisto acknowledged and set aside for the moment.
"I figure you out of anyone has the most at stake here," Azazel's gaze flicked to his fingers where they kept up their pattern on the desk. "You're pretty much the last culprit who'd be behind this."
It was the truth. Mephisto nodded.
"So," he exhaled in a whoosh, mouth quirking in a weak smile that failed as it formed, "I'm trusting you to take it from here. I'll tell you if I discover anything else."
"Thank you, Azazel," Mephisto said as Azazel stood, last bottle in hand. It ended up tilted in his direction before he raised it to his mouth and the tension drained to leave him in a lackadaisical slump, hand shoved into his pocket as he vanished from Mephisto's office.
Mephisto echoed the long breath. In the end, Azazel both had and hadn't helped his day any. He snapped to clear the empty bottles from his desk and began considering his next play.
End Notes: O :O
Also, I am pretending Azazel is like a more chill Shiro for this fic. He kinda gives me a mix between Roman philosopher and frat/dude-bro vibes just from the fact that he's bffs with Lewin and looks like he's just straight chilling in his crystal shape in the series lmao His groove's been thrown off tho~