Stella was sure the trip would have taken half as long if not shorter if Lucifer didn't feel compelled to about the history of all the shops, but at the end of the day, she did appreciate his help. They eventually stopped in front of a grey brick building with a magenta roof with trimming to match and strangely enough, a platter that seemed to be perpetually tended to. The crossed fork and knife on the front of the building swayed to and away from each other, and the cup was being filled by a floating silver teapot. It was…
"Magical…" Stella breathed out the word as she stared up at the slightly run-down building. Sure it looked about half as old as dirt but Stella couldn't help but feel that the potential was there. It reminded her of the dingy diners that she had in her small hometown, the kind where you knew the entire staff and the place exuded a laid-back attitude. 'Guess demons like laid-back diners too…' She thought to herself.
Lucifer's sadistic chuckle brought her back to reality, "I see you are interested in this place. Good, this is where you'll be working from now on…" He then waltzed to the front door and opened it, "Unless… you wish to go back and forget this whole endeavor?" He had a small smile on his face as if he was daring her to change her mind. Stella's eyes widened and she shook her head, "No sir, I'm coming," She quickly walked past him inside the diner, and was surprised to find that it was practically empty. "This… are you sure this place isn't abandoned? It's so… quiet,"
Suddenly from the back, a gurgled yell erupts out, "WHO'S THERE!!! WAIT FOR ME WON'T YA?" Stella jumped back in alarm, bumping into Lucifer in the process. He looked down at her with a sadistic smirk, "Surely you aren't scared now are you Stella?" She stepped away from him and shook her head, "N-no Luci-sir- Lucifer! I'm fine…" She blushed and stood on her toes to see if she could catch a glimpse of who was in the back. Thankfully, she didn't need to wait for long. The double swinging doors opened, letting a green oozing monster wearing a "kiss the cook" apron crawl slowly towards them, "AH LUCIFER. YOU BROUGHT COMPANY. GOOD TO SEE SOMEONE BESIDES BEEL VISIT ME…" Stella's face paled significantly as it took all of her power not to scream at the sight of the… creature? Person? Living ooze.
"This is Stella, she is a human exchange student and was interested in a job here, isn't that right Stella?" Lucifer turned to her with a sadistic smile, relishing the fear radiating off of her being. Stella took a couple of deep breaths before remembering how to talk, "Yes! I um. It's nice to meet you… sir? Ma'am? Uh- Forgive me I don't know how to address you-" The ooze chortled heartily, its entire body jiggling as it did so, like a strange cross between melting cheese and jello, "NO NEED TO BE SO FORMAL LITTLE LADY. I'D BE HAPPY TO HAVE A HELPING HAND. WHAT CAN YOU DO?" Stella's mind went blank for a moment, she had had waitressing jobs before but she wasn't entirely sure that this would be similar to those, "Uh- I… Uh…" She took a deep breath and mentally calmed her nerves, 'It's just a person. A person made out of ooze but still a person. Seems nice enough so remember to be polite Stella…'
"IF YOU CAN COOK AND TAKE ORDERS THAT WILL HELP, I CAN TRAIN YOU IF NEED BE," Stella gave a small smile in relief as she looked at the oozing chef, "I have had a couple of jobs in diners. I haven't been completely familiarized with Devildom cuisine but if you show me a cookbook I am pretty sure I can manage…" The ooze monster smiled big, well three smiles. One where its mouth was and one for where its 'eyes' would be. Stella shivered quietly at the image but the monster didn't seem to notice, "I CAN'T WAIT TO WORK WITH YOU, LET ME GET YOUR CONTRACT AND APRON!" Before she could ask what the being meant by that, it quickly crawled back to the kitchen.
"It was nice of Chef Goobus to give me a job, but the apron might need a wash first…" Stella looked down at the sticky and dripping apron, apparently whatever Goobus touched got covered in its slime. Lucifer chuckled amused, "I was so certain you'd run off screaming given the way you looked at them…" Stella flushed and turned to him with a glare, "Next time you want to introduce me to someone, maybe tell me their species so I can mentally prepare myself Lucifer!" Lucifer smirked and kept walking with her, "You should be grateful… Had it been any of my brothers they wouldn't have even bothered to help you. Especially Mammon. Knowing my imbecile of a brother he would have dropped you off and set up his D.D.D to catch your terrified face and blackmailed you for Grimm lest he publish it,"
Stella pursued her lips at this, she wanted to argue but she couldn't deny that if she was in Mammon's shoes she might almost do the same thing. Mammon, who had been following them for the last hour making sure Lucifer didn't pull anything funny, was fuming. "Hey! I wouldn't just drop her off, I'd stay and then get the whole thing on video. Get it right Lucifer," he hissed under his breath. Lucifer casually glanced over his shoulder to look at Mammon himself, Mammon squeaked and hid behind a building's corner. Lucifer knew he had been following them but if Mammon was too chicken to confront them he decided he was going to have some fun.
"Honestly, I'm always cleaning up after Mammon's messes. He tends to gamble away anything he earns and comes crawling back to me for help. At first, I had some sympathy for him, but after a couple of thousand years, it gets old. I had put you in his charge as a way of forcing him to grow, and have some responsibility for once. I'm almost not surprised he managed to drop the ball with this as well. It's been less than a week and I'm covering for him once more. I just hope he is spending his time well, once I find him I'm going to give him the talking-to of a lifetime. Perhaps I might confiscate his card once more. I'm sure he can be without it for the next couple hundred years…" He smiled to himself as he could hear Mammon's pathetic and desperate squeal from a block away.
Stella stopped walking and turned to Lucifer her ears pink from anger, "Pardon me for saying this Mister Lucifer but I've had it up to here with people talking sh about Mammon. I understand Mammon is sometimes a handful but he is still a… Well, not a human but a person! Maybe the reason he keeps messing up is because no one is willing to take a chance on him and encourage him to try to be better. If all he's heard from the past hundreds if not thousands of years is everyone calling him stupid and an idiot and everything under the starry Devildom sky, then it makes sense he always trying to boost his ego. He is the only one doing so!"
Lucifer stood in mildly stunned silence. He was surprised that she had felt so passionate about this that she was willing to tell him off in the middle of the street as well as in front of Mammon. He quickly glanced behind her and sure enough, in the distance, Mammon was slack-jawed, starry-eyed, and staring at Stella in disbelief. Both Demons were unable to comprehend why she would stand up for Mammon of all people but Lucifer could at least hide his shock, "That's very sweet of you to defend him after knowing him for such a short amount of time. Seems like you've taken a shine to him despite his treatment of you…" Stella paused and looked away, "...I just can't stand to see someone get treated so horribly is all…"
Lucifer nodded with a smirk on his face, "I'm sure you have your reasons… Now, then…" He straightened his coat, "If you wish to assist me in cooking dinner I will consider it as repayment for helping you today. The sooner we get back the less likely Beel will eat the kitchen itself due to our absence…" Stella's eyes shined in excitement at the prospect of learning to cook Devildom food. She quickly nodded and followed Lucifer back home. Mammon, however, opted to take a scenic route to get back. He still couldn't quite wrap his head around the idea that Stella, the human who he'd treated so poorly, was willing to talk back to Lucifer! LUCIFER OF ALL DEMONS! Even he wasn't stupid enough to do that. "Da it… She's just… Being nice is all…" He looked up at the stars and sighed heavily, "...guess I have to be nice too…"
Dinner, thankfully, went off without a hitch. Despite Stella's initial nervousness about dealing with Devildom ingredients, she managed to keep up with Lucifer and make a meal Beel approved of. Stella blushed as the brothers unanimously agreed that she was a wonderful cook, "Are you sure you're not trying to butter us up, Stella? A cutie that can cook food so well has to be scooped up one day~" Asmo winked at Stella as they ate. She blushed and slumped in her chair slightly, "I just… I like cooking is all… No biggie…" Asmo laughed and gestured to Beel and Levi, "Beel is on his 14th serving and it's only been ten minutes… Meanwhile, Levi looks to be taking notes over there. Wanting to get her into a pact to make you both food or something you two?~"
Levi went bright pink and glared at Asmo, "As if! It's not every day you get to have food made by a human! The food has just enough differences from when Lucifer cooks that a critic such as myself can tell, unlike you normies. You agree with me right Beel?" Beel, rather than responding turned to Stella and looked down at her embarrassed figure, "Can you cook every day? Until you die?" Stella laughed and felt herself slipping even deeper in her chair, "I appreciate the sentiment but um… I should be going to bed…" She slipped out from the chair and stood up, "If you need me I'll be in my room…" She gave a quick and embarrassed nod to the brothers, catching Mammon's eye for a moment.
The guilty feelings of his anger stirred up in her once more and she turned away quickly. She didn't know if he was still mad at her but she figured she'd let him cool off before confronting him. After Stella left the dining table became much quieter, it seemed that with their main topic of conversation running off none of the brothers quite knew how to talk to one another. Or at the very least didn't have a reason to.
After everyone had long gone to bed, Stella was tossing and turning in hers. She had tried to go to sleep as soon as she came upstairs but the day had weighed heavy on her mind. Luke's adamant warning on demons being absolutely untrustworthy had stuck with her, far more than she wanted to admit. Being surrounded by demons 24/7 didn't help matters either. Then there was Mammon's outburst. She hadn't felt someone's pain and frustration like that before. She hated that she understood what he was feeling and why he blew up at her. It was like being six years old all over again, all the expectations and criticisms crashing down on her, causing her to erupt on whoever was around or simply trying to help her. It was absolute he. And that was only a couple of years. Mammon had to put up with that sort of thing for a couple of millennia. She could not fathom the amount of pain he was in…
When she finally managed to fall asleep, she wasn't surprised that she was immediately thrown into a nightmare. Her day had been bad enough to guarantee that she wouldn't be sleeping easy. It started with her walking down a foggy street, not knowing where she was or where she needed to go. After who knows how long, the ground started to get sticky, changing her anxious walking to a desperate jog. She looked down to find that the road had become slime akin to Goobus' ooze. Then came the voice. Some she recognized: Mammon's angry threats, Lucifer's sadistic laugh, the less powerful demons' whispers, and the bullies of her youth. It was driving her insane.
Stella tried running to escape the cacophony of voices but ended up tripping and getting swallowed up by the oozing ground. As she struggled to break to the surface she felt herself slowly starting to sink faster and faster. She tried swimming through the goo but it was no use. The surrounding ooze had disappeared and she was falling through the air. Arms flailing wildly she screamed for someone, anyone to save her. She then heard a similar scream to her left. Her eyes widened as she saw a beautiful angel will golden locks beside her. Her wing had been pierced with an arrow causing feathers to shed away from the angel. The angel turned to Stella with tears in her eyes, hand outreached desperately, "Save us," She mouthed silently as they approached the ground. Stella reached out to the angel, mere inches away from her.
Suddenly all went black and Stella gasped as she sat up in bed shaking and tears streaming down her face. "Just a nightmare… Just a nightmare…" She felt the tears still flowing despite reassuring herself she was safe. This, however, didn't satisfy her shaken soul. Not wanting to disturb anyone she decided the best medicine was to distract herself by exploring the mansion. Despite being here for a couple of days she never once plucked up the courage to ask for a tour of the place.
Stella eventually found herself in front of a spiral staircase that she assumed led to the attic. She looked up at the seemingly never-ending spiral and gulped, "H-hello? Anyone up there?" She went quiet and shook her head, 'Why am I asking? Of course, there is no one-'
A hushed and curious voice answered, "Is someone down there? I'm trapped… Help…" Her eyes widened and she quickly started up the stairs, "Hey! I'm coming!" She had made it a quarter way up when suddenly, "Just what do you think you're doing up here?" Stella yelped and almost slipped down the stairs, getting caught by a very unamused Lucifer. "It's the middle of the night. Why are you exploring?…" Stella clammed up and looked down ashamed, she couldn't tell Lucifer he had a nightmare and was trying to calm her nerves. She was sure he wouldn't be sympathetic so she kept quiet. Lucifer rolled his eyes as he set her upright once more, "This stairway is forbidden. I understand curiosity must have gotten the best of you but for future reference refer to the term, "curiosity killed the cat"... Understood?"
Stella slowly nodded and willed herself not to cry in front of him. After a moment Lucifer's glare softened and he sighed, "I'll let you off tonight, I can tell that you've learned your lesson. So I will see you tomorrow…" Stella bowed her head silently and slowly shuffled down the stairs. She got halfway to her room when she stopped and felt herself break down inside once more. She sniffled and tried wiping her eyes, knowing that the tears would keep coming no matter how many times she dried them. "I just… I need a hug," She muttered desperately. Stella shuffled down different halls for a while and eventually found herself in front of Mammon's door. She wasn't sure how he would react to the sorry state she was in but at this point, she was desperate.
Stella took a deep breath and knocked on the door, "Mammon… Are you awake?" She sniffled quietly and waited for him to answer, even if it was to tell her to piss off. What she didn't know was that demons have sensational hearing. So while she was shuffling down the hall, Mammon could hear every step, every shaky breath, and every small sniffle. By the time she had gotten to his door, he was mostly dressed, as he slept in the nude due to it being comfier. "Yeah yeah… I'm coming…" He hopped up the steps unsure of what was going to greet him when he opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw a disheveled, tear-stained, and honestly pathetically sad Stella.
"Da. What happened to you?" He immediately regretted his brashness when Stella looked down and started to cry more, "I mean… What… What are you doing here? It's like… past midnight, Stella…" She sniffled and looked up at him with an embarrassed and forced smile, "Nightmares… I couldn't sleep so…" Her smile faltered and she started to cry once more, much to Mamon's discomfort, "I am so sorry for today Mamon… I know I don't have permission to be asking this, but could I please have a hug?" Her eyes were holding unspilled tears and her arms were clutching her sides as if she was bracing herself for him to send her away. It was pathetic. Pathetic how it made him empathize with her.
"H-Hey… You're okay… Just… Shut up and c'mere," Without a moment to spare he pulled her up to him and held her close, "I was a today, Stella. You don't need to cry. Just… calm down k? I ain't mad at you," Stella felt herself go pink when he pulled her close, realizing too late that he had failed to button his shirt all the way but his embrace… It was soothing. She found herself snuggling up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist, "I'm sorry… Everything is so new and scary… After making a pact with you everyone is so afraid of me and has such high expectations of me I just…" she sighed and wiped her tears with her hands so it didn't soil Mammon's shirt. "It's all so much Mammon… I don't want to be a burden on anyone, especially you…"
Mammon felt his heart constrict in his chest. 'Even at a time like this she still is being considerate of me… man I'm such a sap to be falling for this…' He hesitantly reached up to her head and patted it nonchalantly, "Hey hey… take it easy. You're doing just fine. You ain't a burden and you're carrying your weight just fine…" he chuckled darkly to himself, "I mean, you're doing leaps and bounds compared to a screw up like me. Anyone will tell you so. So could you please stop crying?" Stella looked up at him, her teary eyes gave her a kawaii and soft look, "But, you're not a screwup Mammon. You're every bit as great and worthy of praise as the rest of your brothers, I promise…"
Mammon's eyes widened in surprise at this comment. He turned away hoping to hide his blushing cheeks, "Y-yeah. I know that. Don't need to tell the Great Mammon that…" Stella giggles quietly and leaned on him, enjoying the warmth of his embrace, "Just… just making sure you know that Mammon…" She sighed and rested her eyes for a minute, "Thank you… I needed this…" She gives one last squeeze before she begrudgingly lets him go, "I should… let you go back to sleep. Thank you again…" She looked down at the floor embarrassed as she started to walk away.
"Stella," Mammon called as he reached out his hand, quickly clearing his throat when she turned around surprised, "I um… as your demon, it wouldn't be right to let you go to sleep like this. Lucifer would string me up for a week if he found out I left you like this…" he folded his arms and continued to act as if this was a chore for him, "Because of this and the fact I'm just so da nice, I'll stay next to you till you do get some shut-eye. But after the first hour, I'm charging you…" Stella felt a wave of relief wash over her as she ran back to give Mammon another hug, "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you… I was so scared to go back by myself…"
Mammon felt his cheeks go bright pink as he tried to pry her off of him, "Geez! Getting all handsy now that I let my guard down. Now let go before I smell like you, humans have an unpleasant odor that takes weeks to get out of your clothes and the Great Mammon doesn't have time for that…" Stella giggled once more and released him, "Sorry… it's been a long while since I got a hug from someone… it felt nice," she smiled up at him gratefully as they walked back to her room. Despite his protests, he had to agree, her hugs did feel especially comfortable. Not that he would ever say so out loud.
After he pulled up a chair next to her bed, Stella got under the covers, "Are you sure you won't get bored Mammon? I mean you don't have to stay here-" Mammon poked her in the nose smugly, "Now see here hu-, I mean Stella…" he cleared his throat, "You have received the honor of having me watch over you tonight. And I will not be this generous again. So do yourself a favor and get some sleep, because the longer I'm here the more I will charge you, understood?"
Stella looked down at her nose and then up at him, a small smile dancing on her lips, "Whatever you say Mammon…" he pulled his hand away, doing his best to hide his embarrassment, "Yes. It is what I say. Now go to sleep already, time is ticking…"
Stella tried to go to sleep but every time she opened her eyes, she saw that Mammon was anxiously looking down at her. Suddenly a very silly thought popped into her mind, causing her to blush. Mammon noticed this and decided to call her out, "Why are you blushing? Better not be thinking about anyone else but me- I mean-" he started to go pink as well, but put on a tough look to hide it, "Spit it out already, you weirdo…" Stella took a deep breath, then looked at Mammon in his brilliant blue eyes, "...would you hold my hand Mammon? It'll help me sleep easier…"
His jaw dropped and he hoped that it was dark enough that Stella couldn't see his cheeks go red, "You want me to what??? I suppose you want me to hold you all night as well. What do I look like, Asmo???" Stella slumped underneath the covers as her whole face went red, "I mean… it would be nice…" she mumbled embarrassed, "You give nice hugs and all… and it'd be a reminder I'm not alone…" Mammon shook his head at the audacity she had, "In the morning I'm charging you double. I'll figure out what double means but for now, scooch over. You're hogging the bed right now…"
That night Stella, despite the major embarrassment she initially felt, eventually fell asleep being held in Mammon's arms. Mammon, despite his promise to leave once she finally fell asleep, decided to stay. 'She forced me to stay due to our pact. She refused to let me go by turning on the waterworks when I tried to go. Yeah! I was held here against my will… That's what I'll tell the others if they find out…' he then looked down at the helpless, and now that he was paying attention, cute Stella, "Da you… it's not fair, how can you make me feel like this…"
Mammon glanced around to make sure he was alone with her, that nobody else would hear what he was about to say. Once he was satisfied he rested his head on hers and let out a satisfied sigh, "This is my human now… and no one is going to hurt her ever again…"