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[eloquencejones]

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[sea_green]

Levi nodded slightly, allowing himself to drift back into sleep - until the words fully sunk in and his eyes flicked open as he felt a sudden, sharp stab of pure jealousy course through him. His grip on Belphegor tightened without him even meaning to, and it was a genuine effort to keep his temper in check.

It was... strange. Far stronger than he was really expecting to feel; when one felt a particular emotion repeatedly it dulled a little, and he wasn't used to feeling it in response to the mere thought of someone having something he wanted. It wasn't the first time he'd ever felt it so strongly, but it had been a while - he'd grown comfortable here, in a world where whatever he wanted could be gotten almost immediately, his envious nature was almost always immediately satisfied, but he couldn't control Bel as easily as he could the mortals, and suddenly he was faced with the genuine possibility that he might not get what he wanted.

It wasn't like he hadn't taken a tumble or two (or two thousand) with Asmodeus himself, or that he expected Bel to never have done so before, but suddenly the thought of the other Prince's hands on Bel made him feel sick.

[retire]

It wasn't often that anything managed to drag Bel back from the verge of sleep once he was so close. He'd slept through literal natural disasters in the past, so he obviously wasn't easily stirred by things like alarms or attempts to wake him.

But the sudden tightening of the hold around him was not only enough to make him open his eyes, it was enough to have him lifting his head to shoot Levi a glance. The lift of his head nearly brought them face to face as he eyed the other prince, trying to figure out the source of the sudden reaction without immediately asking. But there was only so much he was willing to consider as sleep started to creep up again and he found himself tipping his head forward, forehead resting against Leviathan's for a few moments.

"What is it?" Bel finally asked instead, eyes closing again as he continued with a more appropriate question, "What do you want, Levi?"

[sea_green]

Leviathan hesitated before answering, he was always cautious about admitting it when he was jealous of the other Princes - oh, they had all known him long enough that most of the time they could figure it out, of course, but they were demons after all, and most of the time the majority of them would cling even tighter to whatever it was he wanted - whether just to watch him squirm or to use it against him, it didn't matter, it was just as frustrating for him either way.

What did he want? He didn't even know how to answer that, and for some reason having Bel's face so close to his own was making it even harder.

"It's nothing," he said eventually, tone short "Go back to sleep."

[retire]

Unlike most of the other princes, Bel was the demon most likely to give in to the whims of the rest of them if it meant getting them off his case quicker. And in most instances, he didn't have to think about what it was he was expected to give in order to make that happen. Leviathan was a special case with the way his wants changed so easily, the sin he embodied making him probably the most fickle of the bunch of them.

Still, Bel preferred his company to many of the others, maybe because of that fickleness.

"If you're sure." The agreement came after a couple of moments, Bel's head tilting as if to nod against Levi's. Then he let his head tip to the side, breaking the contact of their foreheads in favor of nuzzling into the other demon's shoulder again. "Night."

[sea_green]

That allowed Levi to relax a little, knowing that Bel wasn't going to push (of course he wasn't, that would take effort. Belphegor might have his irritating habits, but Levi couldn't deny he was easy to be around), and his grip loosened enough to be comfortable.

"Night." He replied, voice calmer, and allowed himself to relax a little more. The sudden jealousy was manageable as long as he didn't think about Asmodeus, and he told himself that it would take Bel far longer than a few days to get around to moving on anyway. He had nothing to worry about.

Despite his self-assurances, it was at least another hour before he finally fell asleep, hoping that the feeling will have moved on in the morning. Maybe he'd go out and get drunk, surround himself with people who had wonderful things to covet, and it would distract him...

[retire]

Once that grip on him loosened, Belphegor had little trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep.

What that meant was the next twelve (or more) hours slipped by with little effort on his part, all of the time spent asleep and most of it spent wrapped around Leviathan. At some point in the morning, Bel's hold on him was relinquished, possibly thanks to some internal clock that registered when Levi usually attempted to pry him away to climb out of bed.

So, when Bel finally woke, he expected to find himself alone and with a need to force himself out of bed to seek out Levi elsewhere in the house.

[sea_green]

When Leviathan woke he did so slowly, drifting back into consciousness with the sunlight peering round the edge of the curtains, later than he usually did, he was sure, and feeling far more comfortable than he had in a long time. Truly comfortable wasn't a feeling he was used to, he always wanted something else, something more, but for a few moments there was a contentedness. It didn't last, of course, when the feelings from last night resurfaced and made themselves known.

He disentangled himself from Bel with unusual gentleness (normally he was well aware of how much Bel could sleep through and just shoved the other prince off him), hoping that being away from him might help to get rid of the feelings. Normally he'd satisfy his desires by just taking what he wanted, but Bel was already here, how was he supposed to satisfy it this time?

To distract himself (at least until the bars opened), he made his way to the living room and dragged a computer towards him, clicking on the first terrible news entertainment site he could find so he could get a short term fix - it wasn't long before he saw a suit he wanted, it would look much better on him than the actor that was wearing it, and it was enough of a distraction to hunt down the designer responsible for it and work on getting it for himself.

[retire]

Finding himself alone was of little surprise. What was a surprise, though, was the bit of disappointment at it, as if things were suddenly going to change and Leviathan was going to decide to stay in bed for the same ridiculous amount of hours that he did.

It was a feeling that was shaken off easily enough as Belphegor climbed out of bed and left the bedroom. Finding Levi took very little effort and it was soon enough that Bel was parking himself on the couch beside the other demon, leaning over into his space to peer at the computer screen with mild curiosity as to what Levi was seeking out to order. It was always something, so there was no real surprise to see he was trying to find some designer for whatever it was he desired.

"Show me what you're planning to get," he requested after a few moments, lazily leaning against Levi's shoulder while he looked at the screen. And then, as if he needed to bargain with Leviathan in order to get him to share, "I'll get us something to eat."

[sea_green]

Belphegor completely ignoring any concept of personal space wasn't anything new, if he could use someone else to avoid having to stand or sit up straight, he was going to do it, but this time Levi was actually relieved. Things happening just as they usually did was reassuring after the strangeness of his emotions, and it wasn't like he had any problem with Bel leaning up against him.

"This," he explained, clicking back to the page with the suit on it "Don't you think it would suit me more than him? It should be mine." he was asking the question, but it was quite obvious from his tone exactly what he expected the answer to be. At the comment about food he snorted slightly, amused, glancing sidelong at Bel - he didn't look inclined to move any time soon.

"I'll believe that when I see it."

[retire]

It was true, Bel had no real concept of personal space, particularly in regards to the other princes. They all knew him well enough to expect it at that point, after all. Though he did prefer it with some more than others. That was a given with the differences in disposition that they all had.

Levi was one of the more tolerant ones and living with him was just enough of a step to destroy any lingering hesitation Belphegor had about getting too close. It wasn't like Leviathan hesitated to push him away if he wanted his space anyway.

When he saw the suit, he tilted his head and glanced it over before looking at Levi, humming softly. "It would. Where will you wear it?"

The glance and comment that went along with it were enough to earn a slight smile from Bel as he settled a little more heavily against Levi's side. "You know me too well."

[sea_green]

"I don't know. Somewhere fancy. A red carpet event maybe," he decided, taking inspiration from the pictures on the screen in front of him "I'm just as important as these people, they should be taking pictures of me."

He nodded slightly in agreement, part of the reason he had chosen Bel to invite to move in with him was because he found the other prince the easiest to read. None of them were particularly complex creatures, not when you got right down to it, but Levi felt like Bel just made sense to him. He'd never really examined why, it wasn't like envy and sloth were particularly similar, it was just the way of things.

"We know each other too well"

[retire]

"Send me pictures when you do. I'd like to see you in that suit." There was no doubt in his mind that Levi was going to make his way to some kind of event for the sake of showing off the suit in question. It wasn't like any of them had a hard time when it came to persuading humans.

While the two of them weren't extremely similar, Bel was aware of the way some of them overlapped. And not just in the sense of some of their desires or traits, but in the way he knew he felt underlying urges led by some of the other princes' sins. They were all demons, after all, so it made sense. Gluttony resonated most with him, though his form of it had nothing to do with food. Envy also struck him at times, as did greed. And there always seemed to be a small undercurrent of lust.

"Mm, we do." His agreement was coupled with a nod as he turned his attention from the computer screen to Levi. "If you help me find a place, I'll be out of here faster."

[sea_green]

"Of course. Perhaps you could come with me, see it in person." He had no idea what possessed him to make the offer, why he suddenly thought it might be nice to have Bel attend such an event by his side. He doubted the other prince would even manage the level of effort it took to dress up for these things, and yet... so many people would see them both there, would know at a glance that they couldn't have Bel because he belonged..to... where did that thought come from?

"Yes, we should look," he continued quickly, shaking the idea from his mind and turning his attention to the computer screen, searching for a place Bel could live.

[retire]

"Come with you?" The offer was almost baffling in a way, as if Bel wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. It seemed like the point of attending the event would've been to inspire envy in others, but he wasn't sure how bringing him along was going to do something like that. Somehow, though, the thought of it wasn't so awful. There were definitely things he would've avoided over spending more time with Levi. "I can, if you want me to."

His agreement came as Leviathan started to look into housing options for him and he turned his attention to the screen again. "I only want one floor. Or an elevator. Money isn't a problem."

[sea_green]

"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Levi immediately backed off, seeing how confused Belphegor had been by the very suggestion. He didn't really know what was going on in his own head right now, but he did know he didn't want Bel to know about it.

He fell silent as he scrolled through the housing options, not really resting on any of them, none seemed quite right - of course, he was forgetting that he wasn't looking for himself, but for Bel, and his opinion didn't really matter.

[retire]

Leviathan's backtrack of the offer he'd made earned a sideways glance from Belphegor, but no immediate comment to go along with it. It was impossible to ignore the way Levi was acting, something that seemed to have started the previous night and was lingering even after sleep.

He thought the task of finding a place for him would be easy given the request to get out from the night before. But Bel found himself watching as Levi scrolled through possibilities, not bothering to point out that any number of them fulfilled his minimal requirements.

After three pages worth of options being passed by, Bel looked over at the other demon again. "Is something bothering you, Levi?"

[sea_green]

Through page one, he decided none of them were good enough, on page two he reminded himself who they were actually looking for but all the options he saw were too nice and he wanted them for himself, and by page three he was back to thinking nothing was good enough for what Bel wanted, after all why move out for anything less than perfection - forgetting, of course, that it was Levi himself who had decided Bel needed to go.

He looked up with a start at the question, shaking his head perhaps just a fraction too quick.

"Nothing's bothering me, why would something be bothering me?"

[retire]

Bel stared at him as he answered, quiet for a few moments.

"Weren't you ready to kick me out last night?" he asked after a little longer, straightening up so he wasn't leaning so far against Levi as he did. It was curious, the flip flopping that Levi seemed to be going through, and he wanted to know the reason behind it.

"If you want me gone, why do you seem so against actually getting me out of here?"

[sea_green]

Leviathan stared at the screen in front of him for a long time, silent, it was obvious he wasn't really looking at anything but was instead contemplating his answer. The longer the silence stretched on, the more he knew that he couldn't get away with denying that anything was wrong.

"I don't want you going to Asmodeus." he said eventually, he knew it didn't make a lot of sense and Bel would probably have to press for more, but he didn't offer anything further, wasn't sure exactly what he'd say if he was pressed.

[retire]

The answer he finally got was a surprising one. One that made a little bit of sense of the reaction the night before, but still left questions. Jealousy was the obvious answer, Bel knew that much. But the question was jealousy over what. It was an easy thing to pinpoint when physical objects were involved, but it was a little harder given the situation and the lack of anything worth coveting.

"Is it the sex?" His question was blunt, asked with a quiet sigh. "Because you're welcome to it. You can tell him I said hi while you're there so he doesn't try to find me instead."

[sea_green]

Leviathan glanced sideways at him, eyebrow raised, curious how Bel could get it so wrong and yet so right at the same time. He knew that much at least, it wasn't Asmodeus he desired, maybe it was because he knew he could have that any time he wanted, it wasn't like the other demon would particularly complain about any of them dropping by to get laid.

"No," he corrected after a moment of gathering his thoughts "I don't want to sleep with him."

[retire]

It was true, there was no real reason for jealousy when it came to Asmodeus. For all he cared, both of them could have shown up at once and he would've had just as good a time. In that sense, he was probably the most welcoming of them.

If it weren't for the look and the tone Leviathan spoke in, Bel would have accepted the answer and simply gone on to question what else it was supposed to be instead. But he found himself looking over at Levi, eyes widening.

"You want to sleep with me?"

[sea_green]

Leviathan opened his mouth to explain that no, he just didn't want Asmodeus to sleep with him, because he was clear on that point at least, it was just his reasons for doing it that he hadn't quite figured out. Then he did figure it out, all at once, and he didn't know why he hadn't made sense of it before because really it was obvious. He closed his mouth with a snap while he contemplated it.

It was straightforward, he didn't have to think too hard about it, he wanted Bel because there was a possibility that somebody else would have him, that was the fundamentals of his sin and he didn't have to examine it any closer. Only... he wasn't sure it was that simple.

"Yes." he said eventually, cutting through his own mental circles.

[retire]

He blinked at the reply, simple and short and to the point. And, for a second, Bel almost considered asking why Levi felt the way he did. It seemed ridiculous.

But the question was held back, left behind as he considered it more. He reached out and pushed the top of the laptop down, closing it while it was still sitting on Leviathan's lap. Then he turned toward him, leaning closer.

"Are you telling me that you want me?" Bel was all too aware of who he was talking to and the possessiveness that likely went along with the feeling mentioned. He also knew the feeling probably wasn't going to last all that long with how easily Levi jumped from whim to whim, likely to move on to some attractive human soon enough.

[sea_green]

He was glad when Bel didn't seem inclined to push for more explanation, wasn't sure he was ready to try and find the words for it, though for a long moment he doesn't know how Bel is going to react. With Asmodeus, that sentiment was common, but less so for the rest of them.

He pushed aside the laptop when Bel closed it, twisting slightly to face the other prince as Belphegor turned to him.

"That's... that's what I'm telling you, yes." he nodded