Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mammon and Asmo are currently arguing over whether Mammon has probably cheated, even though he swears, 'I ain’t lyin’!' Lucifer has an irritated look on his face as he holds two cards between his index finger and thumb; he looks as though he is about to exit the scene himself. Levi started to reach into his jacket, assuming he was going for one of his smaller gaming consoles. He has been telling you about this new game he got, based on one of his anime with a very long, hard-to-remember name. Beel quite literally dragged him out of his room (with the bribe of food from Satan and a demand from Belphie) to join us in this card game, which was also sworn to have gone well. 

Beel is eating something that looks like a chicken leg, and Belphie lies asleep on Satan’s shoulder, who has also disconnected from the scene and is nose deep in a book. No one is paying attention to the game. Lucifer stacks his cards together on top of the rest of the stack and drops them on the table, rises to his feet, and walks out of the living room. There goes that. 

Your D.D.D chimes, and it sends a warm shock up your spine, ping pong balling more minor shocks through the rest of your torso, and a hint of butterflies in your stomach. They almost feel synthetic, as if you'd imagined them. Solomon must need my attention right now. His messages are the only ones that do that, but when you ask him how he does that, he smiles and asks you, "What are you talking about? You must have a sixth sense when it comes to me wanting your attention.” 

Taking one more look at the chaotic scene around you, you reach out for your own distraction. You begin to feel your lips slightly curl up at the sight of Solomon's name. I knew it.

"Looks like you're in quite the disheveled situation! I'm assuming it once was a game of cards?" The message reads. Blinking a few times at the message, then looking around, but the white-haired sorcerer was nowhere to be seen.

Rereading the text while wondering where the sneaky sorcerer is hiding. You hover your thumbs above the keyboard until the three-dotted typing bubble appears again.

"Are you busy?" The message reads.

"Not necessarily, everyone is already checked out of the game we didn't finish."

"Come to me, my sweet." His message reads, uncertain if you imagined his voice in your head or if he actually read it to you somehow, but you definitely heard him. The message gives you butterflies again, making the room feel warmer, but you know it's just you. This time, you're sure it was authentic.

Taking one last glimpse around; Satan is irritated with Asmo's obnoxious complaints and keeps making remarks, Levithan is trying to get Beel not to touch his game console with his greasy food fingers, and Belphie has resorted to just lying on his pillow. Seeing no one paying attention to you, you start to shimmy away slightly before slowly rising to your feet and tiptoeing away from the area. With one last glance behind you before leaving the room, you lock eyes with a sleepy Belphie; he looks at you through heavy eyelids. You give him a sorry smile, and he slowly nods his head once as he lets his eyes flutter back shut.

Now out of the room, you look around at the empty entrance hall. You walk towards one of the stair entrances towards the second floor as you're still glancing around, looking for the attention-starved white-haired sorcerer who longs for your presence.

Taking a few steps upwards, you don't get far when you feel a light tug on the bottom of your shirt. Quickly diverting your attention to behind you, you're greeted by no one. Feeling the faint incantation of magic, you immediately recognize who that was, even if he's not here among you. Heading back down the steps, your intuition tells you to leave out into the front. Placing your hand on the cold metal door handle, you prepare to open, and your chest flutters with giddiness, sending an instant smile to your face. I know I'll see him soon enough.

He's not outside the door as you had privately hoped. You take a few steps forward, looking around on a seemingly endless hunt for this tease of a sorcerer. Your D.D.D pings one more time, light shocks bursting in your chest again, and it's a sticker sent from Solomon. It's the sticker of Happy Nancy.  

Staring for a moment longer and looking around the front of the House of Lamentation, not moving a step, and still seeing no one. Paranoia and anxiety start to build up as you get the sense someone-something is watching you, you're just not sure as to where they are.

Taking a slow step back, reach your left hand out for the door handle, and try to head back into the house. Your plan halts when you feel someone grasp your extended hand gently. In one quick motion, you're fully spun and now face the one you've been searching for. He places his other hand on the small of your back, and you're both in the position of two people dancing. The only factor opposing you two appearing to be dancing is your right hand hovering over his chest, as you were about to push him away before realizing it was him.

You stood there in shock as he had a cheeky grin on his face, seemingly about to laugh. But, instead, he lets a low, throaty laugh slip from him.

"Did I startle you?" He asked, tilting his head slightly and still holding a smile. His hand felt fidgety in yours, as if he were weary about something.

Finally taking a breath and relaxing your tense shoulders, you sputtered, "You did a little more than that." You expressed with a stifled laugh, half finding this amusing and half liberating the shock. You reposition your hand from the direction of his chest and rest it just below his shoulder. He strokes your back with his thumb, slowly rubbing it up and down a small portion of your spine. His hands are warm, and a faint scent of jasmine, olives, and dry dirt emanates from him, as if he had just returned from a desert excursion.

"Where were you just at?" You questioned him. His only response was the release of your back as he spun you around once more. The only difference from this time is that you spun around entirely, and now you're both in a different area. Definitely not in the front of the House of Lamentation anymore.

You appear to have teleported onto a cliffside, in a small clearing that stands apart from the rest of the thick forest. This spot is untouched by other civilians of this realm.

To your right, there's a luminous view of the Devildom. The city's lights shine like stars with no overcast in sight. The actual stars in the sky are glowing radiantly. To your left, a thick, dark forest with no trail to get to the spot. It's a quiet night; the faint sounds of city chatter and the gentle breeze make the nearby trees rustle and sway. Solomon lightly squeezes my hand 2, No, 3 times before he releases it. Your palm immediately goes chilly from the sudden lack of company, and you let it lower to your side. He backs away from you and faces the lights, taking in the city's view while you take in him; He wasn't holding himself like he usually was. His shoulders slumped exhaustedly, and he rested on one leg more than the other. Not something he typically did, he was always sure-footed. His white hair shuffled in the light breeze, some strands seemingly glowed from the city. His left hand held his right hand together behind his back.

"I was out in the eastern desert, on the search for an ingredient I utilized once." He spoke softly, still facing away from you. "Long ago." He hesitated.

"Did you find it?" You questioned carefully.

"After extensively digging and thorough searching," He breathed in through his nose. "I was successful." He exhaled shakily.

"That's good," You tried to sound enthusiastic. "I hope?"

His shoulders tensed. "It can be," He hesitantly whispered. You just barely caught what he had said when the wind started to pick up, bringing the once breeze to a robust one. The leaves are cracking against each other, and the winds are howling through the branches and sticks. A chill runs down your spine as the once refreshing breeze now makes you feel colder. Holding both of your elbows to preserve the rest of the warmth in my body. You aren't necessarily dressed for outside weather; you were just inside for the night.

A leaf slaps onto your ankle, and when you look down at it, it's soon gone with the wind.

"Sol, is everything all right?" You ask him as you look back up to him. His back is still facing you, but the cape is blowing in the wind more now, yet his hair looks the same as it did before. He's tapping his heel using the leg he's resting.

"No." He finally utters. "No, I'm not all right right now." He half turns to me, meeting my gaze. When he sees your body language practically screaming that you're freezing, he detaches his cape and wraps it around you. The wind is entirely off the rest of your body once it's fully wrapped around you. You grab each side near and hold it together near your chest. Keeping your arms warmer.

He places a hand on your face, caressing your cheek, and lightly brushes your cheekbone with his thumb. You rest your head in his gentle hand, letting your clenched jaw relax. He opens his mouth slightly, getting ready to say something. Only to stop and smile at you, water building up in his tear ducts. He's careful not to blink.

He pulls you into a tight embrace when the corners of his mouth quiver and his eyebrows start to furrow slightly. He tilts his head down, mouth close to your ear, "You know it, right? Please tell me you've been thinking about it too." He whimpered. You're sure he's crying now.

"Solomon, what's going on?" You ask as you nuzzle my face in the crook of his neck. Your cold nose grazes his warm skin.

His warm, shaky breath runs down your neck. "You're mortal."

My heart skips a beat at the mention of this. This was something that has gone unspoken about for a long time now.

"I'm," He hesitates. "I'm not." He whispers slowly. "I'll watch you grow older and I'll just," He hiccups, "I'll just... be here. Without you." You take your arms out of his cape, wrapping yourself around his waist. You began stroking your hand up and down his spine, carefully.

You both remain in this position for a while, the only sounds being the whistles and howls of the wind, with the sorcerer's faint sniffles and hitched breaths in your ear.

A branch from nearby starts cracking and scraping against itself, soon to fall to the ground. Though you weren't worried, despite the emotional state your sorcerer is in, you knew he'd protect you. No matter what was happening, you wholeheartedly believed he'd be by your side, there to guide you and assist whenever you sought it. As he promised you, forever and always.

But your forever is diminutive compared to his. Your expected lifespan is minuscule compared to his.

"Sol..." You rub his back one more time before trailing them both to his waist, gently pushing him away from you. He held on, reluctant to let go as if you'd disappear the moment he let go, before he kissed your temple. Slowly backing away, you get to see his pretty, tear-stained, and flushed face. You bring your left hand up to wipe away stray tears with the back of your hand. Once you've gently cleaned his face off to the best of your ability, you bring your hand to caress his face. He leans into it and brings up his right hand to support yours. His hands feel jittery but stable.

"Yes, my sweet?" He whispers into your palm. His eyes are glassy and reddish.

"Ask me." You spoke softly to him. His other hand trails down your arm, meeting your right hand that holds his waist. He wedges his thumb into the palm of your hand, slowly lifting your hand off his side, and intertwining his fingers with yours. He places a gentle kiss on your left thenar.

You've never seen him so timid before. For someone who would commonly be considered arrogant and haughty, he's definitely holding back on his tongue now. Checking every word to that question, guessing every outcome, and trying to understand each look and judgment that goes out to him from you. You rarely get to see this side of Solomon, but you're nevertheless appreciative that he trusts you with this. You feel the urge to giggle at his shyness, but remain gentle and patient as he asks his question.

“Will you spend eternity by my side? Together, we can thrive in this world, untouched by the passage of time.”

At last, you allow yourself to release your giggles. You clutch the hand in yours tighter, "Yes," You exclaim. "Of course, of course I will." Your own eyes begin to swell up with tears. He disconnects your fingers from his and brings both hands to clasp your face. He's laughing with you as he presses chaste kisses on your nose, your cheeks, your temples, to the middle of your forehead. He was ecstatic, and you felt every part of his joy. His heart had burst open, and he allowed you to hold it together for him. An act of kindness he hadn't allowed another to do for him in a long time.

His lips met yours, and he kissed you passionately. He wrapped his arms around your back, pulling you in close. Trembling, nervous hands pressed firmly against your skin. Your heart pounding up against his. The wind danced and eased, sparks zipping in your ear, and warmth spreading through you. This kiss felt like a first all over again, but it wasn't. The two of you have kissed and embraced each other over time, but it was truly ethereal. This kiss was more than an expression of affection; it was a declaration of the rest of eternity between you two. A promise of adoration, no matter how far apart you two may be. No matter how much time has passed since you have seen or spoken with one another, the loyalty and devotion will remain unbreakable. In this moment, nothing could sever the two of you now. Forever fervored between hearts.