Too Many Feelings

Chapter 9: Bonding Over Baked Desserts

After classes were over Stella approached Beel hesitantly, "Hi Beel... So... I wondered if you wouldn't mind walking home together?" Beel looked down at her mildly confused, "Me? I thought you were close with Mammon or Asmodeus," Stella gave an embarrassed smile and looked towards the floor, "Yes but, Mammon is in detention, and Asmo... Well, he makes me uncomfortable. But if you don't want to accompany me that's fine..." Beel shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't have a problem, but do you have any snacks? I'm hungry..." Stella chuckled, relieved, and walked beside Beel, "Not on me currently, no sorry. I was gonna go bake cookies at home so-" Beel stopped dead in his tracks and gently held her arm, "Cookies?" Stella yelped at being grabbed and looked down at his hand apprehensively, "Uhh... Yeah? I wanted to apologize to Mammon by making him some as soon as I got home and-"

Without another word, Beel picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, "We're going home now. I want cookies," Stella went bright red and gently tapped Beel's back as he started jogging back home, "B-Beel! S-slow down! And put me down! I can walk just fine! This is embarrassing!!!" Either Beel didn't hear her or chose to ignore her as he bolted towards the house, food being the only thing on his mind. Stella groaned exasperated and tried not to bounce too much while she mentally yelled at herself for getting into another mess. 'It's not even been a week and I'm ready to go home. And I don't even like home! I just keep getting into one awkward situation after another! I swear I have the worst luck!!!' Thankfully, Beel got them home fast enough that she didn't have to revel in embarrassment for too long. He gently yet firmly set her down and stared down at her, "We're home now and I want cookies. Make them fast, I'm hungry. "

Stella fixed her skirt and let out one last embarrassed huff. She knew Beel meant well but even this was a bit much for the Gluttony of Sin. "Well, Beel... To make cookies I need a recipe. Do you have a recipe book somewhere? The ones I know aren't going to work if I don't have... Y'know. "Human world" ingredients..." Beel nodded and quickly disappeared to who knows where. Stella sighed and started looking around the kitchen for ingredients and/or supplies. Before Stella came to the Devildom, at home, she didn't have fancy cooking equipment when she felt like making sweets she just made do with what she had. However, to her surprise, the House of Lamentation seemed to have gigantic cooking facilities. "Makes sense they're the seven demon brothers and one of them is Beel... well, face brothers Beel and me right now..." By the time Beel returned to the kitchen Stella had already brought out and acquainted herself with several instruments of mass baking, "Shall we?" she smiled as she opened her hand for the cookbook.

A couple of hours later tweaking the books' recipes to give her own spin on the desserts, keeping Beel from devouring everything in the kitchen and somehow being able to stand the ingredients for the recipes, Stella had over a dozen batches of cookies fresh out of the oven. However, she had to relinquish about half of them to Beel as he refused to let her finish if she didn't. In the end, there were about two dozen cookies left on the countertop with a note that read "Hope you enjoy. -Stella" After she cleaned up her mess she walked upstairs with a small plate of her baked delicacies and made her way to Mammon's room. Beel decided to follow her in hopes she would let him have more despite eating a small child's weight in baked goods. Stella knocked on Mammon's door quietly as she waited for his response. "GO AWAY! I don't want to see your stupid face! Already humiliated me enough!!!" She winced internally and calmly spoke, "Mammon... It's me... I wanted to apologize for... what happened this morning... I brought some cookies as a peace offering,"

Mammon's room was quiet for a few moments then the door opened a crack, "Cookies... they don't smell half bad, for a human..." Mammon glanced up behind Stella as Beel was visibly drooling. "And why the he## is he here??? To steal my sh##y cookies you brought me?" He reaches over and takes one off the plate, as Stella keeps the plate away from Beel, "No Mammon... he is moral support for me... and also my cooking companion. He isn't bad in the kitchen when he isn't eating everything..." Mammon stood by the door listening to Stella as he chewed. In his mind, the flavors were actually pretty good, not that he'd say it out loud. It was a traditional Devildom dessert, no. But it had a unique vibe to it, one that had to come from a human.

Eventually, he sighed and opened the door to let them both in, "Fine. But touch my sh## and you're dead. Got it? That goes for both of you..." Stella breathed a sigh of relief and nodded gratefully to Mammon, "I appreciate it, Mammon. You have no idea..." Mammon glared at her as the two passed by him down the stairs, "Yeah, well... I'm just letting you in so you don't camp outside my room, Lucifer will think I stole something from you or whatever..." He walks down the metal stairs and they all sit on his black leather couches interview style as Stella tries to keep Beel away from the plate of cookies she has.

After a long uncomfortable silence, Mammon rolls his eyes in annoyance and snatches the plate out of Stella's hand as he stuffs another cookie in his face, "So! What is it you wanted to ask? You have that guilty "I need a favor from you oh Great and Wonderous Mammon because I'm a stupid human" kinda face..." Stella grimaced and she cleared her throat, "Well... as much as that was rude and hurtful... Yeah, I do have a favor to ask. Of both of you I guess..." Beel looked mildly surprised and Mammon scoffed as he scarfed another cookie down, "What do you need him for? Ain't I enough or something? And I bet you'll beg me ever so nicely instead of using the stupid pact on me, eh? So go on, spit it out hu- Grr! Stella... I hate that I still can't control my own mouth..."

Stella gave a bittersweet smile, "Well. I got into a bet with Levi that I'd beat him in a quiz for one of his animes and-" At this, Mammon started coughing violently and had to drop the plate of desserts onto the table, which Beel quickly stole. Stella ran up and started firmly patting him on the back as Mammon turned to her with an incredulous, "ARE YOU F###EN NUTS??? YOU DID WHAT???" Stella flushed pink from embarrassment, "You make it sound like I signed a death sentence, Mammon," Mammon hit his balled fist against his chest and cleared his throat, "You might as well have... You're such a dumba##... And it's not just me that would say this, my brothers would agree too... Right, Beel?" Beel however, was sitting contently on the couch licking the plate and would probably eat it any minute now, "She makes good cookies..." Mammon rolled his eyes and pushed Stella's arm away gently, "Beel, you're useless. And you." He turns to Stella, "What the he## did you bet? I need to know because if my a## is on the line, I wanna know..."

Stella shook her head in reassurance, "Nothing bad I promise. He said if I lose I will do his homework for the year..." Mammon nodded and glared at her impatiently for her to continue, "And... If I won, he'd get into a pact with me. He brought it up not me so I hope that doesn't make me look bad..." Mammon nodded and looked down contemplatively, "...so he got cocky... Not surprising he practically knows everything weeb-related... But if you won..." He got a mischievous and evil glint in his eyes, "I'd get that f###er to eat his own karma! He'd be in the same sh## boat as me!!!" Mammon turned to Stella with an invigorated light in his eyes, "Count me in!!! We'll ruin his image so bad even the stupid otakus won't want him back!!!"

Stella chuckled at Mammon's sudden enthusiasm and turned to Beel with a lopsided smile, "And what about you Beel? Up for some late nights studying this anime and offering me some support?" Beel shrugged as half the plate was still in his hands, "If I get food I will stay. I'll take 100 dozen more of these cookies to start..." Stella laughed and shook her head as Mammon finally realized that Beel had eaten his snacks, "YOU SON OF A BI###!!! THOSE WERE MINE!!! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!!"

Meanwhile, up in the attic, lay a man with dark black and white tipped hair on a spacious bed. Although he was far away from the hustle and bustle that was going on in Mammon's room, he could hear through the vents that something big was going on. Despite being isolated from the rest of the mansion, he could hear a good deal more than he let on. He was still thinking about how he heard someone in the stairway last night. It sounded like a woman but Lucifer sent her away before he could talk to her. He scowled as he thought about that ba#####. Every day he was stuck in this stupid attic, his hatred for Diavolo's lapdog grew more and more... "One day I'm going to get out of this he##hole, I'm going to make you regret everything Lucifer..."

In the meantime, he was stuck behind a cursed door that taunted him with its intricately designed holes; Showing him a glimpse of the outside world that was out of his grasp. If he could find a sap stupid enough to make pacts with all of the brothers of the House of Lamentation, then they'd have enough power to overpower the magical lock that kept the door shut. Then he'd put the devil back in Devildom... They'd all be sorry. The humans would be sorry too, he'd be able to get revenge on them after all this time...