Midnight Snack

Hell's Kitchen was packed on a Friday night. The aroma of greasy fries and fatty burgers greeted one's nose at the door, and the clamouring sounds of clinking cutlery and crashing plates was drowned out by the sea of conversations.  

Belphegor and Matilda sat side by side at the bar, watching the chefs skillfully prepare each dish before their eyes. The youngest brother leaned on his elbows, sliding to the side to rest his head against her shoulder. She rolled her eyes, not necessarily hating the close contact but not approving of it either.  

"I can't believe you made us exercise today," he yawned. "I'm so sleepy." 

"But you didn't do anything. You just lay there." 

"Looking at you jumping around was tiring enough." 

"Well," she huffed, "you could be resting at home right now, but someone was hungry for a midnight snack." 

"You could have brought me takeout," he said simply, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. 

"Belphegor, I am not your servant! Ugh." 

Matilda had lived in the Devildom for just over three months, but she swore she would never get used to his complaining. She was grateful when the waitress finally came to take their order: the usual plate of fried quetzalcoatl brains for him, and a chocolate wirry-cow milkshake for her. 

"So," Belphegor said, between a mouthful of his favourite food, "did you hear about the concert yet?" 

"Please don't talk with your mouth full." 

He pouted. "So did you, or did you not? Lucifer was talking about it during the student council meeting today." 

"I may have overheard him mention something. Diavolo... I mean, Lord Diavolo," she hastily added, "wants a special year-end celebration, doesn't he?" 

"Yeah. Isn't that stupid?"  

Belphegor never did like Diavolo much, but Matilda shrugged.  

"I don't know. Could be fun. I like celebrations." 

"Do you?" That piqued his interest. "Well, did you want to go together?" 

"Maybe," she mused, fiddling with the straw of her milkshake. His forward advances unnerved her, but that was just the way he was. "I'll think about it."

They finished their meal and left Hell's Kitchen. It had started to rain in the time they'd been inside. Belphegor flipped his hood over his head and glanced over to the brunette expectantly.

"What?" Matilda stared vacantly at him for several seconds before realization dawned on her. "Oh, no. No, you're not." 

"It's raining pretty hard, and your place is closer."

"No!"

He flashed her a disarming smile, the most endearing smile he could manage, tilting his head to the side like a hopeful puppy.

"I'm not looking!" Matilda covered her eyes, but the head tilt reminded her of her little brother and she knew he had her wrapped around his finger. 

"Besides, if I get sick, how will I study for exams?"

"Oh, all right. But once the rain lets up, you're heading straight home. Understand?"

"Hehehe. I'm so happy!" Belphegor hugged her, a darker thought crossing his mind as he held her close. Scummy demon, shamelessly playing with her emotions like that. 

Not that he felt bad about it at all.

--

They finally made it back to the Enchanted Place, thoroughly drenched by the downpour. The porch light was still on, and they found Kathryn asleep on the couch with a chess strategy book clutched in her hands. 

Belphegor made a bee-line for the stairs, yawning as he trudged up each step. 

"Hey! You're not going into my room--Belphegor!" Matilda shouted at his retreating back, sighing when he ignored her. Droplets of water falling from his hair made a trail on the ground, and Matilda grimaced at the thought of cleaning that up later. 

She turned her attention to the sleeping redhead, giving her cousin a gentle shake.

"M-Mattie? You're finally home." Kathryn rubbed at her eyes. "I was getting worried."

"You didn't have to wait up for me." Matilda helped her cousin sit up. "How was your chess game with Lucifer? Did you kick his butt, like we practiced?"

"It was so close! I just need more practice. I had such a great time though, Mattie," Kathryn sighed dreamily, a goofy smile spreading over her face. "We had coffee at a posh little cafe, and I could tell he was impressed that I learned so much in such a short time."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Is Satan over? I thought I heard someone heading upstairs."

"Well," Matilda paused, pushing wet hair out of her face. "Not exactly." 

--

Belphegor nudged Matilda's door open with his foot. Her room was impeccably tidy, like something taken straight from a movie set. A desk sat in one corner, piled with neatly stacked notebooks and a large assortment of pens. A few shelves were pushed against the walls and filled with books; some books sat on the floor in front of the shelves. The bed was made, with the pillows fluffed up and the floral pattern comforter pulled tightly over each corner. It was exactly the kind of space one would expect a girl like Matilda to dwell in. 

Except, there was one thing that stood out of place. The oddly shaped stuffed animal sitting on the nightstand caught his eye--some sort of rabbit plushie, with three red horns atop its head. He picked it up, and the beady button eyes seemed to stare right back at him as he inspected it. 

What an ugly doll, Belphegor mused. It didn't seem like Matilda's style at all. Where did she get this from? Maybe he should get rid of it for her.

"Belphegor!" Matilda appeared in the doorway and threw a towel in his direction. "You're sopping wet! I told you not to come in here, didn't I?"

He caught the towel with a free hand and shrugged. "Where else am I supposed to sleep? I'm tired. You don't mind if I sleep in your bed, do you? There's enough room for two."

"I said you could wait out the rain here, not crawl into my bed for a sleepover," Matilda said sternly. She avoided looking at him directly, but a telltale blush burned on her cheeks and neck. 

"Why not? Satan sleeps here, doesn't he?" Belphegor's brows furrowed together and his voice rose a few octaves. "If he can, then why can't I?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" 

"Yes, I am! You only like Satan because he's so well-behaved, but you don't know him. Not like I do. If someone like him can stay here, then I can too. I'm more deserving than him."

He was glaring at her now, clutching the towel in one fist and the truth bunny in the other. A dark energy began to curl around him, growing like flames from his body.

Matilda couldn't believe how childish he was acting, even more so than usual. She breathed deeply, exhaled with a trembling chest, and breathed in again. She had to calm him down before he did something rash, like destroy the house, or kill one of the humans.

"Okay," she finally relented. "Why don't we get you dried up first? Then we'll see, okay? We'll need to find something for you to wear."

After shoving Belphegor into the bathroom with a change of Nate's t-shirt and sweatpants, Matilda collapsed onto the couch, exhausted.