sinnoman

— 

It begins with a song. 

Mammon is surprised to hear a slow clap after he finishes singing. Whipping around, Mammon watches as Barbatos descends the steps of the house and enters the planetarium of the House of Lamentation. The royal steward gives him a small smile and Mammon can feel the heat rush up to his cheeks. Most of it was from embarrassment but a bit of it was flush from the praise he received. 

He doesn’t know why Barbatos was even in his home. Barbatos doesn’t visit often. When he does it’s usually because Lord Diavolo had demanded a change of scenery and wants to hole himself with Lucifer in his brother’s office. Even then Barbatos is often glued to Diavolo’s side tending to his every need as it’s required of him. 

“I did not know you possessed such a voice, Mammon,” Barbatos says smoothly. Mammon can feel his heart beat a pace too fast in his ears. “It was beautiful.” 

Mammon, who feels his brain and nervous system shut down, stands in silence as he stares down Barbatos with a shovel and plant nutrient in his hands. The praise does far too much for how vague it was but Mammon is sure it is not entirely his fault. Relying on instinct alone, he tries his best to make sense of the situation. 

Singing is a vulnerable language for him. Singing carried depth for him unlike how little meaning it has for everyone else. Depending on how he sang, it was very important that he received appropriate recognition for his performance. The last time he sang was to lull Belphie to sleep when he was sick with devil flu. Mammon had been singing this time to the plants in hopes they’d grow steadfast without any problems.

So when Barbatos praises his singing, the small thought of “mate?” that rings in his head makes Mammon consider the steward. 

Barbatos is about the same height as him, only an inch taller. He’s slim, but he makes up for it with amazing posture and honed skills in other areas. Mammon’s sure, from what he’s seen from Barbatos’ bare hands when the steward washes dishes, that Barbatos was well-toned. Under a faux golden moon and diamond stars, Mammon can almost imagine a life of both of them together. 

Yes, Barbatos will do. 

It takes him two whole minutes of standing in awkward silence to process the words before he flushes completely red. “Oh. T-Thanks.” He managed to stumble out. 

Scratching the back of his neck, Mammon lowers his head a bit to hide his face before looking at Barbatos, “Would you like to hear another song?” Mammon whispers as if anyone could hear them. 

Barbatos nods and gives him a look of expectancy. Mammon bends down, placing his shovel and spray bottle down, and slowly walks over to Barbatos closing the gap between them as best as he can without making Barbatos uncomfortable. 

Fiddling with his fingers, Mammon takes a deep breath before he starts to sing softly. This time, it’s not a song with words but rather a tune that Mammon forms precisely just for Barbatos. The melody conceals coos and clicks, as customary of a courting song. Once he’s done, Barbatos claps once again and Mammon feels giddy all over. He’s done it. He’s succeeded in mating with Barbatos. 

“Well done once again, Mammon.” Barbatos praises, putting his arms down once he finishes clapping. “Before I forget, Lucifer is looking for you. I believe you told him you would help him understand a banking transaction.” Barbatos informs him, turning to walk away. 

A clicking sound causes Barbatos to pause before turning back to Mammon. “Did you hear that?” 

“Must be the telescope.” 

— 

In the late hour of the night, after he frees himself from hanging from the ceiling, Mammon shakes Lucifer awake. 

Discombobulated, with spit running down his cheek, Lucifer’s eyes blink one after the other as he sits up looking at Mammon with the hardest look. But Mammon couldn’t care less. 

“I did it, Luci,” Mammon whispers excitedly. 

Groaning, Lucifer runs his face, “What have you done?” 

“I found a mate,” Mammon tells him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking back and forth. 

“Excuse me?” 

—

Mammon spends the next two weeks embroidering black silk gloves with thread mixed with hues of green and blue. While his sin and instinct urge him to quit wasting time on this one thing and hurry to present many valuable items to his mate, Mammon takes the time to craft his gift to perfection. 

Of course, no matter how much his brothers make fun, Mammon isn’t entirely stupid. It would be taking Barbatos for granted if he didn’t uphold his side of the relationship. So, like a good mate would, he sent his crows to drop off smaller gifts for him. His last gift was a tea bag worth half of what he got paid for his last modeling gig. Sure, it wasn’t anything valuable but his closest familiar (that he named Luce, after Lucifer) said Barbatos did not have it in his cabinet of tea. 

And who is Mammon to deny his mate what he loves?

When he is ready to give Barbatos his gift, he catches him in a partially secluded area of R.A.D. 

“Did you commission this?” Barbatos asks, hands tracing the stitching in awe. There is not a stitch out of place and every teal stitching is practically symmetrical down to the curls of its design. “Or..?” 

“I embroidered the teal parts of the gloves,” Mammon says looking away with a blush. “S-Sorry I gave it t’ya late. Embroidery takes time.” There’s silence as Barbatos fiddles with the fabric in between his fingers. He aimlessly watches as Mammon also begins to fiddle with his fingers as they both linger in the awkward silence between them. But Mammon, as his reputation prevails, is quick to break it. “I noticed yer white gloves get dirty easily. These would be better, right?” 

The hallway they were standing in was practically empty unless you counted the few lower demons who were rushing to get to class before the final bell. A small part of Barbatos, the most logical part, wants to give it back to him. If Mammon had truly meant to give him this gift he would have done so at a better time. Causing him to be late to class is nothing but a hindrance to him and his perfect attendance. But the bigger portion is grateful for it. 

“It would… This is extremely thoughtful, Mammon. Thank you.” Barbatos says, giving him a saccharine smile. 

Another click leaves Mammon’s mouth, causing him to slam his hand over his mouth. 

Barbatos’ eyebrows furrow as he makes the connection, “That clicking sound. Are you the one making it?” 

Mammon blushes hard. “I can’t help it.”  

“What is it?” Barbatos asks, a bit curious. He really should be going now. 

“An angel trait thing. It’s supposed to mimic chirpin’ but since I’m a demon it mimics the clicking of crows.” Mammon explains, not looking Barbatos in the eye. 

“It’s cute,” Is the only thing that Barbatos says as he walks away from Mammon toward his designated classroom. 

The sound of clicking echoes in the hallway before the final bell. 

—

There’s a chair in the middle of his room. 

Barbatos immediately pauses once he sees it. It stands out as Barbatos rarely kept any furniture in his room of many doors. With red mahogany wood, the chair is polished to the point where Barbatos can see his reflection. The golden cushion of the chair is plump enough to deem it comfortable to sit in. And while Barbatos does like the aesthetic, it makes him panic. 

Someone was in his room. 

Taking a few steps towards the chair, Barbatos uses his magic to check for any curses or hexes placed on it. He finds none. Looking around, Barbatos can’t see anything suspicious that has changed about his room. Keeping it in mind, he moves on with his day. 

Coming back to his room, he finds more furniture. This time, there’s a rug, a couch, and a bed fully covered in sheets and pillows. Barbatos notices the shiny theme that the furniture all share. Nothing important of his is missing but rather is moved around to make space for the added furniture. 

The culprit shows himself as he drags a bureau into the room. Barbatos watches, mouth slightly open at the audacity Mammon has to come and redecorate his room. 

“What are you doing?” Barbatos snaps, making Mammon pause his antics and look at him. 

Mammon gives him a toothy smile, “Putting furniture into the room.” 

“Mammon,” Barbatos says exasperated. “You cannot furnish my room without my permission. Take it out.” 

“H-Huh?” Mammon gives him a look full of hurt and Barbatos is nearly on his last nerve. In what timeline would Mammon care so much about the state of his room when Mammon has his own. 

“Take. The furniture. Out.” Barbatos emphasizes, watching Mammon bite his lip as a whimper escapes him. 

“Okay.” 

And Mammon does remove all the furniture from his room by the end of the day. 

He also doesn’t see Mammon for the rest of the week. 

—

“No matter how many times I perform a correction spell, my eyes still end up needing glasses,” Solomon said irritated, his eyes squinting at the paper as he leaned closer to it. In his hands was a packet of evaluations that were going to be discussed at the R.A.D. meeting this afternoon. Barbatos can’t help but chuckle at the banter in front of him. The man had a whole week before going over this packet but, Solomon wasn’t known to do things the moment it was presented to him. 

Simeon hums, “Try pulling the paper away from your face.” He placed his teacup down on its appropriate plate. 

“I tried that!” Solomon exclaims, slamming the packet on the table before he pushes it away. Crossing his arms, he pouted leaning back in his chair. “Do I really need to read this evaluation? It’s not like Lucifer is going to pick at my brain for the information.” 

“What if he asks you questions?” Simeon countered, a playful grin on his face. 

Solomon caught Simeon’s glance, “It’s Lucifer. Chances are he’d end up making the entire meeting just himself talking.” Solomon’s lips flatten into a straight line. “He won’t notice.” 

They fell into a comfortable silence and a small smile fell onto Barbatos’s face. It wasn’t the first time the residents of Purgatory Hall came a few moments early to a RAD meeting. Like his master, Barbatos enjoyed watching the relationship between all of them grow. It was nice to see how awkward small talk could develop to childish quarrels. 

Barbatos places his cup of tea down before clearing his throat. “Simeon, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” The angel perks up at the sound of his name. “Are angels similar to birds?” 

Simeon nearly choked on his tea. “W-What? What brought this on?” 

“Just humor me for a bit,” Barbatos responds, not exactly wanting to dwell on his experience with Mammon. He considered that Mammon’s actions were based on angel habits that he couldn’t quite shake off despite being a demon for centuries now. “Are there certain things that angels do that are similar to birds? Perhaps gifting? Collecting and gathering?” Barbatos says, trailing off once he sees the flabbergasted expression on Simeon’s face. 

It only takes a second but Simeon is quick to answer him, “Any behavior that a bird has, us angels had it first!” He corrects, finishing the rest of the tea.

Beside him, Solomon laughs. “They’re pretty much the same species, Barbatos. You don’t know how many times I’ve caught Simeon and Luke bringing in blankets just to cover the ones they already have on the couch in Purgatory Hall.” He informs smugly, dodging Simeon’s hands as the angel tries to shut him up. 

“Nesting is essential, Solomon.” Simeon huffs. Pouring more tea into his cup, Simeon sucks his teeth, “There is nothing wrong with a comfortable home.” 

“So it isn’t unusual for angels to… nest as you put it,” Barbatos confirms, his mind wandering off to his interaction with Mammon. If Mammon was nesting, why in his room? 

Simeon hums, “Well it depends on the stage of the nest. When either Luke or I bring in new things like blankets it’s for maintenance of the nest we already made. In the beginning stage, we bring in things like—“

“—furniture.” Barbatos interrupts catching Simeon and Solomon by surprise. 

Nodding, Simeon continues, “Well yes, but it ultimately it depends on the angel. Some angels like comfortable things, or colorful things, or even—“

“—shiny things.” Barbatos finishes, almost breathlessly. He looks down at his cup, tracing the rim of it with a gloved finger. He then lifts his head, “Is there a specific reason for one to nest?” Barbatos asks, sounding a little more urgent than he would like. 

Simeon simply shrugs, “Not every angel nests, and not every angel has a reason to nest. I nest because Luke is still a fledging and he needs a safe space or else his development will suffer. However, there are other reasons an angel might nest. For comfort, protection, or to show off.” Simeon finishes, going to take a bite of the dessert Barbatos had made for the meeting. 

“Show off?” Solomon echoes in confusion. “Show off for what?” 

“For who,” Simeon corrects after swallowing his sweet. “Some angels build nests to court other angels.” He informs as if it were common sense. 

Solomon’s face contorts to a shit-eating expression. “Have you ever tried to show off for me?” He says as sweetly as possible. Simeon rolls his eyes. 

“Don’t you have seven hundred wives? Can’t you flirt with one of them?” 

The residents of Purgatory Hall continue to bicker back and forth but Barbatos tunes them out. Simeon’s words repeat in his head over and over again. Courting? Mammon has been courting him this entire time? With a sense of dread, Barbatos goes to stand. 

He has made a grievous and heartless error. And he must fix it immediately. 

— 

When he finds Mammon, the Second-Born hands him a random bottle of wine that he accepts gracefully. 

“When you were bringing furniture into my room, Mammon. Were you nesting?” Barbatos asks bluntly. He watches as the Avatar of Greed stiffens at his words and nods slowly. 

“But ya didn’t like it,” Mammon whispers sadly. A small sad trilling noise escapes him and it pulls at Barbatos’ heartstrings despite him not showing it. 

“I didn’t know,” Barbatos whispers back. “I didn’t know you were courting me.” If he had, he would have at least let Mammon down gently. 

“I wasn’t courting you,” Mammon states, slightly annoyed. Barbatos’ head is practically reeling at his words. None of Mammon’s behavior has made sense and the little bit of information he was able to gain just appeared to be useless. 

“Ah,” Barbatos responds, unsure of what to say next. 

“We’re already mated,” Mammon informs him.

“Oh.” 

—

Being Mammon’s mate is… something. 

Mammon had explained that Barbatos complimenting his singing was in fact Barbatos agreeing to a relationship with him. How those two very separate things correlate with one another Barbatos isn’t sure. What he does understand is that it is frankly dumb. 

He expected much more attention and disturbance in his day-to-day routine. Furthermore, he expected this whole courting and mating thing not to last long due to arguing on his part but surprisingly none of that happened to be true. What ended up happening was Mammon treating Barbatos as if they weren’t mated. Nothing truly changed except the weekly gift-giving that Mammon said was absolutely necessary whether he liked it or not. When Barbatos brings it up, Mammon is able to explain. 

“Y’don’t like PDA. I’m okay with taking things at your pace.” They’re hushed away in a corner of the ballroom, watching as everyone celebrates the current event of the season. Mammon stands close to him, but not too close to draw any suspicion to either of them. 

Barbatos frowns, “I feel guilty. As if I have led you on.” He does genuinely feel bad. Mammon has devoted his time to planning each and every second he spends with Barbatos. If he cannot see him, Mammon makes sure to spoil Barbatos with thoughtful gifts such as the gloves he wears tonight. 

And here Barbatos is, not reciprocating anything in return. 

Mammon shakes his head, “Yer not. I’m not expecting anything special. I already know ya like me back.” 

His words make him freeze. “W-what? Mammon, when have I told you that I reciprocated your feelings?” Barbatos’ questions, eyes flickering between him and the guest of tonight who seemed too busy distracted by Lucifer and Diavolo dancing the night away. 

“Ya don’t have ta. I can see it through yer actions. Like when ya compliment my choice of gifts, or when ya let me put my nest back. If ya didn’t like me, wouldn’t have let me do that. You don’t let things like that carry on for long.” Mammon explains, raising his hands to clap when everyone else does. 

Barbatos follows suit, not caring what is going on publicly. Remaining silent, he thought hard about it. What he thought was being a good samaritan, apparently wasn’t clearly translated to Mammon. While he had let Mammon put his nest back and continue his bird mating habits, it was simply because he did not have the heart to shut Mammon’s shenanigans down. 

But now that he really looked at it from Mammon’s perspective, did he truly have feelings for Mammon? 

“We could start small.” Mammon continues, his eyes averted from the dance floor and linger on Barbatos. “In private, I mean. Hand holding, hugs, we could practice touching until yer comfortable to do it in public.” 

Barbatos feels like he’s suffering from whiplash. How has this conversation gone from explanations to talks of progressing their romantic relationship that he has just been made aware of? 

But instead of saying no or even breaking up with Mammon, Barbatos lets his curiosity get the best of him and nods. 

“Okay.” 

—

In the privacy of Barbatos’ room, Barbatos and Mammon sit crisscrossed in front of one another. They’ve been sitting on the rug that Mammon had put back in his room for about half an hour now and Barbatos thinks he should probably say something before it becomes too late to do anything. 

“Mammon, do you want to try holding hands?” Barbatos asks softly. 

Mammon hums, chuckling a bit, “I wanna do more than hold hands, sweetheart.” But despite the sexual innuendo in his words, Mammon blushes. “But yeah, we can hold hands if ya want.” 

Shuffling on his knees, Mammon moves closer to Barbatos until their knees are touching. Slowly, he grabs Barbatos’ wrist with one hand, and with the other, he digs a finger underneath the cuff of the gloves he gifted the older demon. Steady, he slides the glove off and watches as the fabric falls onto the carpet with a plop. 

Although it is simply Mammon taking off his glove, Barbatos can’t help but think about how lewd that was just now. With the way Mammon practically undressed his hand, Barbatos sure that if anything serious were to happen he wouldn’t last very long. 

Mammon grabs his bare hand with his and holds it firmly. “Is this okay?” 

Not trusting his voice, Barbatos nods. Mammon nods as well and then focuses back to their hands. Shifting his hand, Mammon goes to intertwining their fingers, holding his palm firm with his. 

“Is this okay?” Mammon whispers, red sitting pretty on his cheeks. Barbatos would tease him about it but he’s sure he is just as red as he is. Whatever composer he had left has been long gone. 

Barbatos nods vigorously, “It is more than okay.” He whispers back. 

They hold hands for what seems too short of a moment between them. The constant cheering and laughter coming from the ballroom seems to remind them that they should probably return to the festivities of the night. Neither of them makes the move to leave though. 

“So did’ya figure it out?” Mammon asks after a while of them sitting in silence. “That ya like me?” 

The words leave Barbatos before he can even think about it. “May I kiss you?” 

Mammon’s eyes widen and he pulls back from their space but he relaxes with the softest smile on his face. As gentle as a midnight breeze, Mammon places the quickest peck on Barbatos’ lips. 

In awe, Barbatos watches Mammon sit back with a grin. “Another one?” Barbatos asks. 

Mammon scoffs playfully before rolling his eyes. He raises himself on his knees once more and leans into Barbatos’ space and places another kiss on his lips. This time it’s a bit more of everything. A bit longer, a bit more passionate. 

A bit too short for Barbatos’ liking when Mammon pulls away. Barbatos, gripping Mammon a bit tighter, damn near whines. “Again?” 

“You could kiss me as much as you want, Barbatos.” Mammon smiled, “It’s practice.” 

It’s all the confirmation he needs to pull Mammon down with him and lock him in place. Taking one hand to hold Mammon’s chin, Barbatos presses his lips to Mammon’s. Instead of pulling away, Barbatos does the opposite and deepens the kiss further. 

He only parts from Mammon once he hears another round of cheering coming from the ballroom. “We… should head back Mammon,” Barbatos states, taking in Mammon as he fails to cover the flush in his face. 

This is ridiculous, absolutely stupid. He shouldn’t be entertaining any bit of this but instead going to stand he continues to do everything but go back to the party. He holds Mammon’s cheek and lightly plants kisses along his jaw before moving up to his cheek and then relatching to his lips. 

Mammon calls it “practice” but Barbatos doesn’t understand what they’re practicing for. It’s now Saturday morning and they’ve spent the last five hours of the night glued to one another just kissing. 

Their current position was rather promiscuous. Moving to the bed, Barbatos hovers over Mammon, his thighs spreading Mammon’s legs apart as Barbatos lays on top of him. One of Barbatos’ hands rests behind Mammon’s neck and his arm is curled under Mammon’s back holding him close. Mammon doesn’t lock Barbatos down with his ankles but does let his fingers run through green locks of hair. The most memorable part of their position was the kissing. 

Barbatos’ lips have come across every inch of Mammon’s face and neck by now. The only time Barbatos has parted from Mammon for more than 30 seconds was to change them both into something more comfortable. 

Even now, as Barbatos pushes their bodies together, tongue slipping past Mammon’s lips, groaning at the way Mammon moans into his mouth, all he can think about is how he wants to continue this until he has to get up to ready the castle that was supposed to be serviced an hour ago. 

Barbatos pulls away, looking down at Mammon who smiles back at him. The clicking sound comes back along with a few happy-sounding trills and it pulls a smile out of Barbatos. Pushing away the hair that has stuck to Mammon’s forehead, Barbatos gives him one more peck on his puffy lips before moving completely off of him. 

Panting, Barbatos watches as Mammon huffs along with him as he sits up. “This was not at all what you meant by touching was it?” Barbatos laughs breathlessly. 

Mammon laughs with him, “Nope! But s’greatly accepted.” He chirps, trilling away in the comfort of the pillows he bought for Barbatos. Barbatos’ lips twitch upwards at the sight. Mammon slowly blinks desperately trying to stay awake. With his hair a mess and clothes all wrinkled Barbatos can’t help but coo at the sight of him. 

He had to admit Mammon did look adorable. 

“I am extremely late for work.” Barbatos mumbles, picking up his D.D.D. and looking at the time. The countless messages from Diavolo and even some from Lucifer scold him for his lack of attention to his position. 

“Ya didn’t sleep,” Mammon tells him. Lazily, Mammon pulls the comforter down and shuffles over making space for Barbatos. He pats the spot beside him. 

“I have a job that I am committed to, Mammon,” Barbatos responds. He hopes that Mammon does not begin to argue with him about it. He’s always known that Barbatos was a busy demon. The time demon was not going to change his ways simply because Mammon had imprinted on him or whatever it was he’d convinced himself of. 

“I never said yer weren’t committed,” Mammon whispers. “But ya can’t be the best if yer fallin’ asleep on the job. Come lay down.” He orders gently. 

Pulling all-nighters is nothing unusual for him, but with the way Mammon opens his arms for him inviting him for a cuddle he can’t help but let the tired wash over him. As he crawls through the wrinkled mess of sheets and curls up in Mammon’s arms, he can hear the left and right sides of his brain argue over the decision. 

A quick text of not feeling well is sent to Diavolo before his phone is thrown aside. 

As he contemplates the past ten hours of his life, Barbatos allows the soothing melody of Mammon’s voice to lull him to sleep. 

— 

Mammon turns out to be a distraction. 

The week rolls by before Barbatos knows it and although it is completely peaceful, the itching of his greed gets the best of him. There’s a slight decrease in effort to perform his duties as steward as perfectly as possible, his attention in class cannot be accounted for, and there is a lack of care for anyone speaking directly to him other than his mate-sorta-not-mate. In short, Barbatos is a mess. 

He supposes that it is somewhat his own fault. Barbatos never truly let his greed run rampant as long as it has now. Whatever item caught his eye was quickly retrieved whether it was from this timeline or another. His greed was almost always sated immediately. He’s never experienced deprivation like other greed demons have. 

And unfortunately the apple of his eye this time happens to be Mammon. 

He’s all Barbatos thinks about as of late. What Mammon might be doing? Is he causing trouble or was he relaxing? Is he currently suffering from one of Lucifer’s punishments? Has he eaten? Would Mammon like his baked goods? Should he try preparing spicy foods? Would Mammon prefer a dish made by him? Does Mammon miss him? Is Mammon thinking of him? 

Dear all things sinful, this was getting pathetic. 

But the more he thinks about Mammon, the more he wants to be near him, holding him, kissing him—

The kitchen door bursts open and surprise, surprise Mammon strides in with a giddy look once he spots him. “I’m not here for long, I promise.” He says, practically skipping over to him. 

He pulls out a goodie bag and slides it to him over the counter. His fingers pat the edge of the kitchen counter excitedly as he watches Barbatos open the goodie bag and a smile forms on his face. 

“Ya like?” Mammon asks, desperately waiting for Barbatos’ approval. 

Barbatos hums, “I do, Mammon. Thank you. But may I pry, where do you get these? Some of these tea bags are not in season.” The last thing he wants is to be enjoying tea that has been stolen. 

Mammon gloats in the praise, “Haha, of course, ya like it. I am the Great Mammon and my gifts are the best!” He says. He pauses once he’s realized that he’s been asked a question. “Oh. I go down to the ports. One of the lower demons gives them to me in exchange for free labor.” 

Barbatos pauses before giving Mammon a disbelieving look. Not only because Mammon is doing manual labor just to bring Barbatos four tea bags that will soon be put on a shelf.

But because there’s some lower, not worth mentioning moron, is giving things to Mammon. His mate-positively-sure-mate! 

Just like that, a flare of Greed overwhelms them both, and Mammon’s lips split into a shit-eating grin. “Are ya jealous?” 

“I am not.” Barbatos lies. Mammon disregards his words as he walks away giggling but not before letting Barbatos kiss him. 

If the lower demon down at the port randomly goes missing, Mammon doesn’t say anything. 

—

Barbatos figures that he doesn’t really like Mammon, he just likes playing his role as the Avatar’s mate. 

Simeon tells him otherwise during their weekly tea. Luckily for him, Solomon is too busy bothering Asmodeus after being nagged by Simeon for shamelessly flirting with anyone in sight. When Barbatos catches him up Simeon’s jaw drops. 

“That’s why you asked me all those questions?” Simeon said, a happy glint in his eyes. “Who would have guessed you and Mammon?” 

“It is not as if I like him, Simeon,” Barbatos says, taking a sip of his tea. 

Simeon scoffs, “You just spent the past half hour telling me how nice it was to kiss Mammon.” He sets his teacup down on its designated plate. “Not to mention you called out sick just to cuddle with him.” 

“Kisses are nice in general,” Barbatos says automatically as if he were reading from a dictionary. He was not even going to address the other part. 

Simeon’s eyes narrow. “Alright, would you kiss Solomon?” He asks cautiously, analyzing the look on Barbatos’ face. 

Barbatos looks disgusted. “Absolutely not.” 

“Why not?” 

There is a beat of silence before Barbatos speaks. 

“Because… he’s not Mammon.” 

— 

When Lucifer stands in front of him arms crossed with a hard look, Barbatos can’t help but feel numb. He had forgotten that if he was dealing with Mammon he was also dealing with Lucifer by extension. To make matters worse, Mammon happens to be Lucifer’s favorite no matter how much the eldest brother denies it. 

“Mammon tells me..” Lucifer begins, unsure how to start the conversation. “That you, the both of you, are involved… romantically.” He finishes. Red eyes look him and down expectingly. 

Barbatos isn’t sure of what to say. To be frank he’s still making sense of the fact that he and Mammon are involved romantically and have been apparently for the past three weeks. 

“We are?” Barbatos says although it comes out more like a question. 

“Are you not sure?” Lucifer asks him. He then sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please do not tell me you have let yourself be coerced into a relationship.” 

“It is only coercion if I am unwilling.” Barbatos mumbles, catching them both by surprise. There’s a pause of silence before Barbatos continues, “He tells me we’re mated.” Barbatos informs him. 

His words were true. After a long consideration of what others might deem make-outs and cuddles, Barbatos came to realize that he did enjoy Mammon’s company. He didn’t hate the idea of being Mammon’s mate at all. 

“And you are okay with that?” Lucifer presses, looking for any sign of displeasure from the royal steward. “Let me illiterate, do you understand what that means?” 

“It means,” Barbatos trails off trying to come up with the words, “that I am involved with a bird.” 

A gargled noise escapes Lucifer. “I just want to make clear that I value you as a friend Barbatos. But I am not above choosing Mammon over you at any point in time.” Lucifer tells him sternly. 

Barbatos ignores the way it sounds more threatening than basic shovel talk. He’s sure that the rest of the brothers will come to him one by one and present him with threats but he will deal with that later. Instead, he hands Lucifer a teacup on top of a matching plate. 

“Yes, yes. Aren’t you a devoted brother,” Barbatos teases before pulling a stool in front of Lucifer and sits down. “Now tell me, will I have to perform a dance or gift your brother a rock?” 

—

The night comes soon enough and Barbatos finds himself being pampered. Mammon suggested that he help get him ready for bed. What Barbatos thought was going to be a quick change of clothes and a tuck into bed turned out to be quick exchanges of kisses and nuzzling. 

Now Mammon has Barbatos sat in a chair as he brushes his hair. Barbatos sits contently, eyes closed, as he indulges in the way the brush softly strokes his scalp. The sounds of soft trills and clicks fill the room. Barbatos pulls away for a second before turning to Mammon, “Is this another of your bird traits?” He asks the younger demon. 

“Uh,” Mammon says, “I dunno. It just feels right. You could see it as preenin’.” 

“Preening,” Barbatos echoes. He summons all the knowledge he’s read about bird behavior on his phone last night and comes up blank. 

“Yeah, but ya don’t have wings so I’m just pamperin’ ya.” Mammon explains simply, going back to brushing Barbatos’ hair. 

“Ah.” Barbatos responds dumbly. He looks at Mammon through the mirror and figures this is an appropriate time to say what he is about to say, “I like you.” 

Mammon freezes, “I know y’do.” 

“I did not say it,” Barbatos tells him a bit sadly, “When you asked me the night of the event.” 

“S’okay,” Mammon smiles at him, “We have the rest of our lives to tell each other we like one another.” 

Barbatos gives him a look of confusion and Mammon kisses his temple, “They didn’t tell you?” 

“Tell me what?” 

“That angels' mate for life,” Mammon responds looking Barbatos straight in the eye. “We wouldn’t be mates unless one of us dies.” 

Barbatos, although he should be shocked or angry, isn’t. He simply grabs one of Mammon’s hands and kisses his knuckles. “Good thing we are immortal then.” He says, looking up at Mammon. 

“Yeah,” says Mammon. “And it’s not like we’re in danger.” He adds, giving Barbatos a saccharine stare back. 

“Who knows when we’ll ever be,” Barbatos tells him, dragging Mammon towards the mattress. Once the younger demon is tucked in, Barbatos allows himself to be nuzzled by the trilling fallen angel beside him. “Could be years.” 

“Centuries.” 

“An eternity.” Barbatos finishes. He plants one passionate kiss on Mammon’s lips. 

The minute the door to Barbatos’s bedroom closed, Mammon found himself pressed up against the wall. He gasped as he felt warm lips on his neck. The bedroom was dim and Mammon couldn’t see much of anything but odd shapes. It didn’t matter. He was focused entirely on the hands that were gripping his waist.

“What task did you abandon to come here?” Barbatos asked against his skin. His voice was low and heavy, rumbling through Mammon’s veins.

Mammon pulled in a breath. “Devildom Law,” he managed to say.

Barbatos chuckled. “I see,” he said. “Too dull?”

Mammon let his head fall against the wall behind him. “Why do they gotta make us write reports?”

Barbatos hummed thoughtfully. “Perhaps you simply need better motivation.”

Mammon was about to protest, but he gasped instead when Barbatos bit down on his neck. His already flushed face seemed to get hotter, if that was at all possible. More importantly, he was hard as a rock and he was both excited and nervous for Barbatos to notice.

Barbatos pressed his leg between Mammon’s thighs. Mammon grabbed his arms, fingernails digging into the exposed skin, as he tried to bite back a moan.

Barbatos paused in his movements, suddenly going quite still.

Mammon tried to gulp down air for a moment, feeling like he was going to overheat.

“You should return home and finish your report,” Barbatos said, his voice mild.

Mammon whined for a moment before swallowing the sound down. “Ya wouldn’t really do that to me, would ya?”

Barbatos traced Mammon’s jaw with his fingers. “Hmm. We both know what will happen if you fail Devildom Law again.”

Mammon shuddered involuntarily. Lucifer had been especially angry with him about it last time and made quite a few threats.

“I ain’t gonna fail again,” Mammon said.

Barbatos met his eyes and Mammon saw a soft, indulgent expression there. “You must promise me.”

Mammon flushed. Barbatos still had his leg softly pressing between Mammon’s thighs and the pressure was making him crazy. He would promise anything in that moment. “I promise,” he said.

“So quick to agree,” Barbatos said, amusement laced in his voice. “Do you wish for no reward in return?”

Mammon frowned at him. “What kinda reward?”

“If you like, you can consider this a preview,” Barbatos said, pressing up just a little.

Mammon gasped. He’d had enough teasing. He couldn’t take it anymore and he suddenly didn’t care if Barbatos knew how needy he was.

Mammon tightened his grip on Barbatos’s arms and turned with him so that their positions were reversed. Now Barbatos was pressed against the wall, though his expression remained one of amusement.

Mammon slid his hands down to Barbatos’s hips and pressed himself against Barbatos’s body, meeting his lips in a deep kiss that left no question of how he was feeling.

Barbatos responded easily, opening his mouth and meeting Mammon’s tongue with just as much intensity. He pulled Mammon closer by the nape of his neck before allowing his hand to push up into Mammon’s hair. He gripped and pulled Mammon’s head back, breaking the kiss just so he could run his tongue up Mammon’s throat.

Mammon sucked in large breaths, panting. “You’re makin’ me crazy,” he managed to say. “You’re doin’ it on purpose, too, ain’t ya?”

Barbatos pushed gently on Mammon’s chest, making him walk backwards for a bit. In the darkness of the room, Mammon had no idea where he was going, so he could only trust Barbatos to direct him.

When the bed hit the back of Mammon’s knees, he let himself fall onto it easily. Barbatos was on top of him in an instant, lips by Mammon’s ear.

“You have been making me crazy for too long already,” Barbatos said, his hand running up Mammon’s thigh. “Don’t you think it’s only fair that I return the favor?”

Mammon groaned as Barbatos’s fingers ghosted over his still clothed but painfully erect cock. “Whaddaya want me to do? Beg?”

Barbatos chuckled. “While I wouldn’t say it’s required, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

Mammon gripped Barbatos’s biceps hard. “Barbatos,” he said, his voice gone high into a whine. “Please.”

He was thrilled to see the way a blush bloomed on Barbatos’s cheeks. Finally, he had flustered this stoic demon a little bit.

But Barbatos didn’t say anything. He ran one hand down Mammon’s chest and pulled open Mammon’s belt with the other hand.

Mammon squirmed beneath him in anticipation, nerves and impatience both bubbling up in him.

Barbatos freed Mammon’s cock from his clothes and Mammon bit his lip in an attempt to stay quiet as Barbatos touched him.

Barbatos glanced up at him. “You needn’t hold back,” he said. “No one will hear you.”

Mammon met his eyes. His senses were dulled from need and his guard was down. Quietly, he said, “You will.”

Barbatos tilted his head at this. “Is that a problem?”

Mammon covered his face with his hands. “It’s embarrassin’!”

Barbatos laughed softly. “I disagree. To be clear, I would love nothing more than to listen to you moan.”

Mammon was about to protest, but he found himself unable to speak as Barbatos put the tip of his cock in his mouth.

Mammon's hands flew into Barbatos’s hair, gripping and releasing as he tried not to pull too hard on it. But he was so overwhelmed by sensation as Barbatos proved to be an absolute master with his tongue that Mammon was finding it increasingly difficult to pay attention to what his hands were doing.

All concerns he had about being embarrassed flew out the window when Barbatos took the full length of his cock into his mouth.

Mammon arched his back and moaned. He had to cover his face with his arm because it was too much. He was sure Barbatos was too busy to notice anyway.

Mammon knew the second Barbatos lifted his mouth away that he had miscalculated. He should have known that Barbatos noticed everything.

And indeed, he felt a hand grip his arm and pull it down gently from his face.

Barbatos was looking down at him with a soft smile. “Please don’t cover your face,” he said.

Mammon couldn’t reply, only blushing more and wishing he could go back to covering his face.

Barbatos pulled on his arm again, making him sit up on the edge of the bed.

To Mammon’s great astonishment, Barbatos knelt between his knees and looked up at him. Barbatos reached up to cup Mammon’s cheek.

“I like to see you,” Barbatos said simply.

And then Mammon’s cock was back in his mouth and Mammon had to hold onto Barbatos’s shoulders for dear life. He moaned again and leaned forward, his hands spasming and twisting Barbatos’s shirt.

Barbatos looked up at Mammon’s red face through his bangs and when Mammon met his eyes, he almost came on the spot. He was overwhelmed by seeing his own desire reflected there.

The pleasure built as Barbatos concentrated on his task, his mouth tight and hot and wet, his tongue pulling the sensations from Mammon. He tried not to buck up his hips in response, but it was difficult.

Barbatos didn’t seem to mind and he never broke his pace, no matter how much Mammon moved and squirmed and moaned.

Mammon twisted his fingers harder into Barbatos’s shirt as he felt himself reaching the edge. He suddenly couldn’t stay quiet even if he wanted to.

“Ah,” he panted out. “B-Barbatos-! Ahh, I’m- it’s- I can’t-!”

Barbatos did not stop, did not slacken his pace, only continued on until Mammon was babbling incoherently. He couldn’t form words anymore, only letting out a cry as he came, his hips lifting involuntarily.

Mammon bent over Barbatos’s head, panting, his hands moving from Barbatos’s shoulders to his face.

Barbatos looked up at him and Mammon pulled him up just enough to kiss him. He could taste the salt of his own cum on Barbatos’s tongue. He bit down on Barbatos’s bottom lip, needing to taste more of himself.

Barbatos indulged him for a moment until he pulled away, leaving Mammon feeling empty and almost cold.

Mammon let out a low whine.

Barbatos chuckled. “You are quite needy, aren’t you?”

Mammon blushed and frowned. “L-like ya didn’t know that already…”

“Indeed, I have always been aware of your personality,” Barbatos said. He reached up and ran his knuckles down Mammon’s cheek. “You are greedy, as am I.”

Mammon stared at him in surprise for a moment.

But then Barbatos got to his feet and pulled Mammon up to his. Mammon nearly tripped as his pants were still halfway down, but Barbatos kept him upright. He yanked Mammon’s pants back up, even buckling Mammon’s belt for him.

“What-?” Mammon said.

“You must return to the House of Lamentation now,” Barbatos said. “I do believe you left a report unfinished.”

Mammon grabbed Barbatos’s hands. “But what about you?”

Barbatos smiled at him. “We will have plenty of time to continue when your report is done. Is that not enough motivation to complete it quickly?”

Mammon glared at him. “You’re messin’ with me, aren’t ya?”

Barbatos pretended to look offended. “I am merely looking out for you, Mammon. After all, if Lucifer follows through on his threats, I fear you would have to spend quite a bit of time recovering. You would be unavailable for… other activities.”

Mammon huffed. He stepped closer to Barbatos, leaning in to nibble at his ear for a moment before saying in a low voice, “I know ya think it’s fun to tease me like this, but ya better be prepared for what I’m gonna do when I’m done with that report.”

To Mammon’s immense satisfaction, Barbatos shivered ever so slightly. He straightened Mammon’s jacket. “Please finish your work quickly.”

Mammon practically ran home. Every single one of his brothers was confused about the way he locked himself in his room to work on his Devildom Law report. They speculated among themselves if maybe he was sick. Only Lucifer seemed unconcerned.

Mammon pressed himself up against the wall of the castle as he crept down the massive hallway in the semi darkness. He knew the passages well enough by now, having mapped out the most important ones. This particular hallway would lead him to the vault if he followed it far enough. However, Mammon also knew this was the way to the kitchen.

Technically, he shouldn’t be here. He should be at the House of Lamentation working on that stupid report for Devildom Law. And yeah, he’d tried to write some of it. It took maybe five minutes before he was bored out of his mind and decided he had something more important to do.

He was so focused on the task at hand that he didn’t notice Little D No 2 until he was tripping over him.

“Ow, hey watch it!” No 2 protested.

“Shhh!” Mammon bent down to clasp a hand on No 2’s mouth.

“Mm-mm!” No 2 exclaimed.

“How many times do I gotta tell ya?” Mammon whispered. “I ain’t nobody’s papa! Now be quiet or he’ll hear you!”

A door opened and light spilled into the hallway, illuminating the scene. Barbatos looked about for a moment before spotting them.

Mammon stood up straight, No 2 still clasped in his hands.

Barbatos shook his head a bit. “Did you truly think I would not notice you sneaking by?”

“I wasn’t sneakin’!” Mammon said immediately.

No 2 kicked his legs. “Mm! Mm-mm-mm-mmmm!”

“Ya little traitor!” Mammon said.

“If you would please let Little D No 2 go,” Barbatos said calmly. “He has his own work to be getting to.”

No 2 groaned as Mammon put him down, surprisingly careful.

“But Mr. Barbatos!” No 2 exclaimed as soon as Mammon removed his hand from No 2's mouth.

“No arguments, No 2,” Barbatos said, though his voice was soft and there was a trace of a smile on his face. “You still have dusting to do, if I’m not mistaken.”

No 2 groaned again, but he scampered away down the hall as he did so.

Barbatos looked across the hallway at Mammon, who stayed where he was, frozen in uncertainty.

“You’re slipping, I fear,” Barbatos said. “Normally you make it quite a bit closer to the vault before being caught.”

Mammon folded his arms. “Yeah? Well if I’m slippin’, so are you. How long have ya known I was here? Didn’t even bother to come lookin’.”

Barbatos actually chuckled at this and Mammon was suddenly fighting down a blush. “My apologies,” Barbatos said. “I’m afraid I was unable to leave the cake I’m baking unattended in order to apprehend you.”

Mammon blushed harder and looked away. “Yeah, well, I ain’t here for the vault anyway.”

“No?” Barbatos asked and there was genuine confusion in his voice. “Then what has brought you here this evening?”

Mammon pulled a small packet out of his jacket pocket. “I-I happened to come across this. Know it’s pretty rare. Thought ya might appreciate it.”

Without even looking at Barbatos, Mammon crossed the space and put the packet in his hands.

“That’s all, I’ll see myself out,” Mammon said, as he turned away.

Barbatos caught his wrist.

There was a brief moment where neither of them moved or spoke. Mammon’s heart was racing.

“This is one of the rarest teas available in the Devildom,” Barbatos said quietly. “Did you really intend to give it to me without staying to sample a cup?”

Mammon gulped, still turned away. His wrist was tingling where Barbatos was still holding on. Barbatos wasn’t wearing his gloves, having taken them off while he was baking. The contact between their skin was both thrilling and terrifying.

Mammon turned around, effectively removing his wrist from Barbatos’s grip. “I-I mean, if ya want me to…”

“I would enjoy nothing more than serving tea to the Great Mammon,” Barbatos said.

Mammon looked up at him sharply. He was greeted by a teasing smile, but also a glimmer of genuine pleasure. Mammon took a deep breath and said, “That’s right! Of course ya want me to stay! I don’t mind stickin’ around for a bit, but ya better be grateful!”

Barbatos stepped aside to allow Mammon to enter the kitchen. “My gratitude knows no bounds.”

Mammon narrowed his eyes at Barbatos as he entered the kitchen and settled on a stool by the island counter. Barbatos went around to the other side with the packet of tea and began to prepare the tea pot.

Barbatos looked up at Mammon through the fringe of his bangs. "If you had no intention of stealing from the vault, why were you sneaking through the hallway in the dark? You should have let me know you were coming."

Mammon huffed. He was annoyed at how hot his face still was. He couldn't seem to calm down. "I just… wanted to surprise ya."

Barbatos chuckled. "Then you have succeeded," he said. "I am both surprised by the fact that you are not here to steal and by the rarity of the tea you've brought me. Do I want to know how you obtained it?"

"I didn't steal it," Mammon said instantly. His blush was gone now and he sat up straight. "I saw it for sale and Lucifer told me what it was. So I earned some extra cash by pickin' up a couple modelin' gigs, that's all."

Barbatos paused what he was doing to meet Mammon's eyes across the counter. "You would do that for me?"

Mammon knew this was his chance to be honest. For how long had he been playing this little game with Barbatos? How long had they been tip toeing around each other, never fully committing, never even acting like they were close. Mammon didn't know what was holding Barbatos back - propriety probably - but for him? It was the knowledge that this demon was too good for him.

Despite that, he wasn't afraid of being rejected. He knew better than that.

"Yeah," he said, easily, not breaking eye contact. "I would. I did."

The smile that spread across Barbatos's face was the most beautiful thing Mammon had ever seen. So often he saw the knowing smile or the indulgent smile, but this was a genuine expression of fondness. Like Barbatos had finally cast aside his mask to reveal how he truly felt.

"Thank you, Mammon," Barbatos said, simply.

Mammon's heart suddenly became noisy in his ears.

When the tea was ready, Barbatos poured them each a cup, then came around the counter to sit on a stool beside Mammon. He placed the cups in front of them.

Mammon took his cup, which was still quite warm. Steam rose from it, fogging up his glasses.

Barbatos shook his head, though he was smiling. He put down his own cup and reached across to take Mammon's glasses off himself. He put them down on the counter. "You really needn't wear your sunglasses indoors, wouldn't you say?"

Mammon was so stunned by this intimate gesture that he didn't know how to respond for a moment. "Y-yeah," he mumbled.

Barbatos sipped at his tea, then closed his eyes in satisfaction. "This is indeed a high quality blend. You must have paid quite a bit of Grimm for it."

Mammon shrugged. "Eh," he said noncommittally. He didn't care how much the tea had cost. Barbatos's smile and his satisfied expression was worth every Grimm.

Barbatos opened his eyes. "Eh?"

Mammon sipped at his own cup before responding. "It was worth it."

Barbatos seemed to understand what he meant, the part that he didn't say. Though it was often hard for Mammon to tell just what Barbatos was thinking. He was too good at masking his emotions. Mammon was aware of how Barbatos only ever let him see what he wanted Mammon to see.

Barbatos put his tea cup down on the counter and slid off his stool. Mammon looked at him curiously, once again unable to read his expression.

Barbatos took the cup from Mammon's hands and put it on the counter next to his own. Mammon let him, responding easily and without resistance.

And then Barbatos moved in between Mammon's knees and kissed him.

Mammon's eyes fluttered closed as he tasted the light flavor of the tea on Barbatos's lips. His hands reached out instinctively to pull Barbatos closer. Even as his heart was racing again and the blush had sprung back up, Mammon also wanted more of this.

To his surprise, Barbatos responded almost as eagerly, one hand on Mammon's waist, the other on his thigh. Mammon thought he would combust when he felt a light nip at his bottom lip, causing him to open his mouth.

The next few minutes was all heat and tongues and the lingering taste of tea. Mammon thought he'd fall off his stool because he felt so dizzy.

Barbatos pulled away for a moment and looked at Mammon with half lidded eyes. "Shall we take this somewhere more comfortable?"

It was a miracle that Mammon did not die on the spot. Instead, he let Barbatos lead him out of the kitchen. When Little D No 2 returned in search of his boss, he found nothing but two cold cups of expensive tea and a pair of yellow tinted sunglasses.