Belphegor shut the bedroom door behind him, thankful that today was over. He had been pretty bad about skipping classes lately.

Lucifer had practically dragged him to RAD himself this morning, regardless of how much Belphegor complained. At least now he was back where he felt most comfortable. Your room.

It had been a little over a month since you left the Devildom. Your room was nearly the only thing that brought him any kind of consolation after that day. Being in here hurt like hell, but it still felt like you were here. Your scent still hung in the air as though you had just left the room.

He tiredly shuffled over to your bed and climbed in under your blanket. When you told him you weren't taking everything of yours back home, it kind of upset him. Did you not like your things?

That wasn't the case and he knew it. If you were able to, you would have brought everything back. You said so yourself. As he snuggled deep into the comforter on your bed, he felt thankful you left a few things behind. They reminded him of you.

This was the comforter you bought not long after the ball. The Devildom was considerably colder than the human world, and you decided to buy a thicker comforter to battle the especially cold nights.

Your old comforter lay folded up in the closet along with some of the other things you left behind. A few shirts, a jacket, and the outfit you wore to the ball were hung up neatly. There were also a couple pairs of shoes set up on the top shelf next to some boxes of stuff you left behind.

Again, he was thankful for some of the things you left. This comforter was also the one that the two of you slept under together, and knowing so made it feel that much more cozy. Belphegor scooted down into it a little more and closed his eyes.

"Your" room had pretty much become his room. This was where he slept, where he took naps, and where he spent all of his spare time.

The only thing he really bothered touching was the bed. If he messed with anything else, it would almost feel like erasing the mark you left here.

Part of him felt bad too. Almost like all of this was causing him to leave Beelzebub behind. Beel didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest though. As long as Belphegor still spent time with him, Beelzebub wasn't one to complain.

As much time as he spent with Beel, the emptiness in his heart from your absence was never filled. He knew that the exchange program wasn't something that was going to last forever. He knew you had to go back.

Looking back on it, maybe he should have been apprehensive. Perhaps he should have just kept you at an arms length the entire time. Maybe it would have been best if you had just left him locked up in the attic.

That was a selfish thing to think though. The two of you shared so many good memories. If he would have stayed locked up in the attic, you would have been robbed of them all.

Not only that, but he wouldn't have gotten to see all the times you smiled. He wouldn't have gotten to hear your laugh. God, the love he felt for you was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

Belphegor was so close to confessing the night before you left. He would have done it too if it weren't for Satan's stupid phone call interrupting everything. After that, it felt like it was too late to say anything about it. Maybe that was for the best.

After rolling around in your bed for a little while longer, Belphegor let out a frustrated sigh and got up. It only took a few steps to cross your room and start digging through your closet. There was one thing that usually helped him sleep, and that was one of your shirts.

He felt awful. He knew you were looking for it when the two of you were packing. Although he probably should have just acted like he found it, what was done was done.

Belphegor removed his jacket and his shirt to pull on yours. Just wearing it made him happy. He set his clothes in a pile by the closet, and hurried to get back into your bed. This felt much better.

It didn't take long at all to realize he still wasn't going to be able to fall asleep easily. This wasn't anything unusual as of late, but it was extremely frustrating.

Belphegor grabbed his phone from the other side of the bed and opened the messaging app. He had sent you so many messages, but none of them had ever gone through. It had been a whole month without talking to you.

It wasn't your fault obviously. How were either of you supposed to know how stuff like that worked? If he had the opportunity right now though, he would totally tell you that he told you so.

Right or wrong, it didn't matter. This wasn't something he wanted to be right about. This wasn't even something he actually thought would happen. It was just supposed to be one of those stupid "what if" thoughts that he could laugh about later.

Belphegor rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Nothing was going to happen if he just stayed like this.

A loud chime came from his phone, causing his heart to skip a beat. He quickly sat up to check his phone. The text wasn't from you unfortunately. It was just Mammon.

Mammon was asking for money, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Apparently he owed some witch in the human world a bunch of money and he needed to pay up soon.

Although Mammon was being a bit of an annoyance right now... it did give Belphegor an idea. Mammon was always able to go to the human world whenever he pleased... and he had to get there somehow.

He felt like such an idiot for not thinking of it before. There was a way for him to get to the human world.

It was the weekend, so Lucifer couldn't pull the "your classes are important" card. Maybe if things worked out, he could just bring you back to the Devildom. At the very least, he'd be able to see you again.

As much as he wanted to leave right this second, he didn't want to get caught. If he waited until later tonight, he should be able to make it out the front door without anyone noticing. By the time anyone noticed that he was gone, he would be in the human world on his way to find you.

He used to sneak to the human world all the time when he was an angel. This time was just going to be a little bit better with you involved.

• • •

It had to be around here somewhere. He'd spent the last two hours walking around the city with no luck, and Belphegor felt like he was going to freeze. Or maybe his legs would fall off first. Who knew?

At the very least, all of this walking was helping narrow down where the portal was.

Barbatos was able to open them independently, but there were also a very small number of portals scattered throughout the Devildom. Every time Mammon needed to visit the witches, he always headed for the city.

A wave of chills overcame him, stopping Belphegor dead in his tracks. That had to have been because of the portal. It was close! Finally.

Belphegor picked the pace up, and rounded the corner quickly. The portal was in this alley. He could feel it. But someone else was also here.

Lucifer stood in the middle of the alleyway with his arms crossed. And man did he look pissed.

"What are you doing here?" Belphegor asked. "How did you even know that I was coming here?"

"I've honestly been expecting this for a while, but you were quite loud when you left tonight. Now it's my turn. What are you doing here?" Lucifer asked sternly.

Belphegor approached him, refusing to feel scared or intimidated. Not this time. "I'm leaving," Belphegor replied coldly. Lucifer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "You can't."

"Yes I can. And I will. And you can't stop me," Belphegor spoke decidedly and pushed past Lucifer. The portal was there. He could see it. All he had to do was go through it.

"Belphegor wait—" Lucifer called out to him. Belphegor ignored him and pushed forward anyways... and phased right through it.

"What the hell?" Belphegor mumbled, and turned around to look back to see the portal. It was still there. Lucifer was still there. How was he still in the Devildom? Why?

Lucifer stepped around the portal and walked up to Belphegor, all while keeping a little bit of distance. "When I said you can't go anywhere, I meant you can't," Lucifer explained.

"What do you mean I can't? Why... why not?" Belphegor asked desperately. Lucifer crossed his arms, giving Belphegor an agitated look. "You don't have enough power to do this on your own," he explained.

"So I can't go to the human word because I'm too weak?" Belphegor asked shakily, staring down at his palms.

"Belphegor..." Lucifer replied calmly. Belphegor looked up at him and felt his blood boil. Lucifer was looking at him with pity.

"No. No no no, don't you dare look at me like that."

"What are you talking abo—" "I don't want your pity!" Belphegor yelled, cutting Lucifer off. "I don't want your pity, I don't want your comfort, I don't want any of it! You've always acted too high and mighty about everything before, so what the hell gives you the right to..."

Belphegor's voice cracked and he could feel his cheeks heat up. Everything right now was beyond embarassing. He had been feeling like a bit of a crybaby lately in the first place, but the last person he wanted to cry in front of was Lucifer.

"What the hell gives you the right to act like you care now?" Belphegor asked quietly as he clenched his fists.

"Because I do care. I'm your brother," Lucifer replied gently. "Why are you so insistent that I don't care about you?"

"Because you never have before!" Belphegor yelled back. "You've never cared, so you don't have the right to stand there and act like you do now!"

"You don't know that! I've been trying my best, Belphegor, and I don't have time—" Lucifer stopped himself and took a deep breath. "We don't have time for this right now. Not here. Let's go back home."

Lucifer turned to leave, and Belphegor scoffed and rolled his eyes. "This is what I'm talking about! You don't give a damn as long as it doesn't affect your image!"

"You are being irrational right now," Lucifer replied, continuing down the alley without bothering to look back.

"I am not!" Belphegor cried. His demon form clawed it's way to the surface, leaving Belphegor looking like some angry dog at the front door. "You've never cared, and you still don't!"

Lucifer turned around, looking as though he had finally snapped. "You are being irrational. You came here with no plan, without preparation, and with no direction. Belphegor, you are tearing yourself apart from the inside out."

Belphegor chewed on the inside of his lip as he stared at the ground. As much as he hated to admit it, Lucifer was right. He didn't really have a plan or any idea what he was doing.

"They're human. Human lives are short, and we don't need to meddle in theirs anymore," Lucifer explained gently. "I know it hurts you. You can take as long as you need to accept that they're gone. But as your brother, I can not sit here and silently watch you destroy yourself."

The silence that filled the space between them felt deafening. He didn't want to feel as though he had lost all hope to see you again. Especially when that was the only thing he wanted.

Belphegor felt defeated.

Lucifer carefully walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before pulling Belphegor into a hug. "What are you—"

"Belphegor," Lucifer interrupted. "It'll be okay."

For the first time in what very well could have been hundreds of years, Lucifer truly felt like his older brother. Right now he didn't feel like Diavolo's lap dog or some overbearing parent. Lucifer finally was being his brother.

He could have smacked Lucifer, really. Well, he could have tried. Why did it take this to happen for him to finally get his brother back?

It didn't matter right now. It wasn't very often that Lucifer allowed himself just to be a brother, and Belphegor didn't realize how much he needed this. It was long overdue.

"Everything will be okay," Lucifer continued, letting go of Belphegor. "It will take some time, but things will be okay. But... I would like for us to get home. It's rather late by my standards, and especially late by yours. Now let's go."

The hug may have been brief and his words may have been a little callous, but in his own way, Lucifer was showing that he cared.

Lucifer had already started walking towards the main street, and this time, Belphegor chose to follow him. Leaving the portal felt like saying goodbye to you all over again. The chance to see you was just barely out of his reach.

Never in a million years would he be able to get over you. Time would pass, and although he may eventually come to accept that he won't see you again, his love for you would never change.

Maybe in its own way, this was goodbye.

•Authors Note•
This was a very angst heavy chapter, but don't worry! Things are gonna be getting better >:)) sorry that this took a little bit longer than I originally thought ;-; I rewrote it more than I care to admit but hey! I hope y'all like it :3 as always, thank you for reading! :,)