All in Due Time

Chapter 9

Beelzebub woke up three times that night before he gave up on sleep altogether.

The first time the orange-haired demon woke up, he didn't bother checking the time and just walked down to the kitchen. Where he ate the last quarter of the Hellfire-baked cheesecake that he had bought at Madame Devian's, before shuffling back to his room and crawling into bed. The second time Beel followed much the same pattern. Though, after the third time he woke up and that uncomfortable feeling was still buzzing in the pit of his stomach, the avatar of gluttony knew that his appetite wasn't to blame.

Purple eyes fluttered open, and Beel immediately rolled on his stomach and buried his head into his pillows. Reaching out with his left hand, he moved to grab his D.D.D from the chair beside his bed. Though, after a few seconds of blindly groping the cushion without finding the phone, Beel lifted his head, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the empty seat. He quickly racked his brain to try and remember if he had forgotten in the kitchen during one of his midnight snacks, when a late night full of internet searches and checking for texts from his sick older brother came rushing back to mind. And with a hum of realization, the sixth born picked up his comforter, and watched the device fall and land on his mattress with a soft thud. He turned it on, his eyes squinting as he stared at his lock screen, the shining 6:21am burning his eyes.

Originally, Beel had decided to go back to sleep. Despite it being his usual wake-up time, the avatar of gluttony was still exhausted. But as he lay there with his eyes closed, his thoughts kept returning to Mammon no matter how much he tried to clear his head. And as last night's conversation replayed in his mind, the buzzing in his stomach only continued to grow and grow; until he couldn't stand to lie still any longer. Shooting up into a sitting position and swinging his legs over the side of the bed in one swift motion, he let his feet rest on the carpeted floor. The second youngest then proceeded to stretch out his arms and legs, twisted his core, and rolled his neck; in an attempt to rid himself of the stiff feeling of a restless night. Once satisfied, he pushed himself up and quietly pulled open his wardrobe.

Although he didn't necessarily want to go out for his morning run today, the sixth-born forced himself to get ready. He was sure if food couldn't help the worry pooling in the pit of his stomach, then some fresh air would do him wonders in trying to alleviate it. Grabbing his black tank top, camo fangol shorts, and his favourite pair of running shoes, he made quick work of getting changed and slipping out into the dark hallway.

Beel didn't bother turning on any lights as he walked down to the front door. His legs moved on muscle memory through the hallway, his eyes glued to his D.D.D as he looked to see if Mammon had sent him any texts. But like every other time he checked that night, he had no new notifications. The thought itself should have been comforting. To think that everything was fine. That Mammon was fine. Yet no matter how much he repeated it to himself, the feeling in his stomach only grew. With each step down the stairs, he debated going back to check on his older brother; but forced himself to continue forward with the reminder that it was only 6:30am. Mammon would still be asleep, and the avatar of gluttony wouldn't wake him up just because he was a bit worried; after all, the second-born needed all the rest he could get.

As he stepped out the front door, the moon's dull light washed over him as he moved towards the front gate. Taking the first step down the stairs, Beel began fishing through his pockets, searching for his earbuds. Only realizing, once his feet hit the pavement, that he had left them in his room. With a small huff of annoyance, the sixth-born spun on his heel and began dragging himself back upstairs.

And if only to try and ease the concern still buzzing in the pit of his stomach, Beel took the long way around so that he could take a quick peek into Mammon's room.