"How are you feeling now?" Damien asked River, handing him a glass of water.
"I'm fine," River quietly said, holding the glass in his hands and placing it on his lap without taking a sip. His head was bowed, and his hair covered half of his face.
They were both in River's room. When River had been crying on Damien's chest, the older had picked up his mate in bridal style and carried him to his room.
"Look at me," Damien softly requests.
River looked up at his mate, and Damien got lost in his beautiful hazel eyes.
"Why so upset?" Damien asked, cupping River's cheeks. River involuntarily leaned into his touch, closing his eyes to bask in the warmth of Damien's hands. Damien seemed satisfied with his mate's reaction.
"Don't leave," River whispered somberly.
"I'm not going anywhere," Damien replied, slightly taken aback by his mate's words.
"We can't be so sure," River whined in a low voice, opening his shimmering eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere," Damien repeated more firmly, sincerity in his gaze.
"Oh," River smiled widely. "Really?" he cutely asked.
"Yes. I'm not going anywhere," Damien assured him, his sincerity almost bringing tears to River's eyes.
"I can't believe this," River said, a childlike smile adorning his soft features.
"You better believe it," Damien replied, placing his forehead against his mate's.
"Wait! I have to inform my mom about this!" River exclaimed.
"Wait, calm down. You can tell her anytime; she's still on the palace grounds," Damien tried to calm his hyperactive mate.
"No! You don't understand. My mom is about to sign a contract with Lucifer. She's handing me over to him as my guardian. But she said if I find my mate, she'll cut off the contract, and I'll leave with my mate!" River explained, bouncing on the bed with his butt.
"Oh, who makes a deal with the Devil anyway?" Damien asked, confused by Monica's bold move.
"My mom. She trusts Lucifer more than she trusts herself. No need to worry; I have a very protective brother," River said, flipping his hair.
"Cocky much?" Damien teased with a smirk.
"I-I'm sorry. I got carried away," River stuttered, making Damien chuckle.
"It's fine. You can be your true self around me; you are my mate, and I want you to be as open with me as possible," Damien said, staring lovingly into his mate's eyes.
"Really?" River asked, looking at his mate with child-like excitement in his eyes.
"Of course. Now let's go find my future mother-in-law," Damien said with a smirk, leading to River having a pink dust of blush on his soft cheeks.
---
"That's it," Monica said as she sealed the spirit contract with Lucifer.
"Your son is in safe hands, Monica," Lucifer said seriously.
"Fortunately. Don't spoil him too much," Monica said with a pleased smile on her lips.
"Now, I can't promise you that," Lucifer said with a slight smirk adorning his lips.
"Well, I'll take my leave. His bags are in his old room, and please remind him not to oversleep all the time," Monica grimly said in the last part.
"He takes after you, Monica," Lucifer mused.
"Well, bad for him," Monica dryly said.
"Hm," Lucifer hummed.
"If you'll excuse me..." Before Lucifer could reply, Monica had already vanished from the garden where they signed the contract, leaving behind an amused Lucifer.
"Couldn't wait to get her son out of her hair; didn't even say bye. Poor boy," Lucifer mused.
"Mo- Oh, Lucifer. Do you know where my Omma is?" River asked as he appeared with a certain figure standing behind him, watching all his moves with adoration in his eyes.
"Earth. She's back in Asia," Lucifer revealed.
"Oh, the old woman couldn't wait to get me out of her hair. Have you guys sealed the contract?" River asked, unbothered by his mother's act.
"Yes," Lucifer said.
"Well, she said if I've found my mate, she'll nullify it. I've found my mate already!" River said excitedly.
"A dumb one at that," Lucifer looked at River with sympathetic eyes.
"No, I've got a great mate!" River said, his eyes sparkling.
"Of course," Lucifer dryly replied.
"I think I should write a letter to Omma," River said.
"Do whatever you want to," Lucifer responded in the same dry tone.
"Adios!" River cheerfully exclaimed, about to leave the garden, but he stopped when a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Yes?" River asked Lucifer, not sure why the Devil had stopped him.
"See me after dinner," Lucifer said seriously. River nodded and turned to leave, dragging his mate along with him by the hand.
---
"Tell me about yourself," River excitedly said, looking at his mate with puppy eyes.
"There's nothing much to say," Damien replied with an amused smile on his lips.
"I want to know everything!" River pouts, his cheeks puffing out involuntarily.
The duo were back in River's room, on his bed. Damien sat on the bed with his back against the headboard, while River's head was placed on his lap.
River curled himself into a ball, using his mate's folded legs as his pillow. Damien locked River's eyes with his own as he looked into his mate's eyes intensely, making River blush.
"Well, I'm a demon; Lucifer's brother," River's eyes widened at this information, though he didn't make any move to interrupt Damien. Damien briefly paused, giving his mate time to digest this information, then he continued:
"I've lived for a few centuries—over a thousand. I migrated to Earth a few years back in a quest to find my mate. I manage a business there on Earth to not appear suspicious... My life is mostly boring." Damien smiled down at his very attentive mate; he saw thousands of questions in those beautiful eyes of his mate.
"I never knew Lucifer had a brother," River awed.
"That idiot never talks about me, not that I'm complaining, though."
"And you live on Earth?! To find your mate?! I was there all this while!" River said with a pout.
"You have lived just a little time on Earth. You are barely twenty," Damien teased.
"I'm twenty-four," River huffed.
"My bad," Damien said with a smirk on his face.
"How dare—" River was cut off by a loud voice right outside his door.
"Hey, lovebirds! It's dinner time!" They heard Bruno's obnoxiously loud voice. River huffed as he stormed away from his mate.
Damien was left speechless as he watched his mate leave with an upset expression on his face. This was just the first day, and he had managed to upset his mate. He felt like such a lost cause. His brother was right; he was so dumb.
Damien scolded himself over and over in his head before exiting his mate's room with a sigh.