V  /  VI  /  ????

"SO, DICE," THE Devil said, "why did you come into my office?" He asked.

King Dice sighed "Yes uhm, there are children in the casino."

"Okay and?" The Devil raised an eyebrow, not pleased with the answer.

Children entered the Casino's walls more often than anyone thought, but they always ran home crying once Satan stepped foot out of his office and met their innocent gaze.

"Yeah uh," King Dice faltered, biting the inside of his cheek, "they belong to that woman, apparently."

The Devil groaned, rolling his yellow eyes. "I hate that woman.."

Suddenly, the door to the office opened, and the cup brothers and Mrs Shakira's children walked in. They all had a rather bitter expression on their faces.

"Hey boss and baby boss," Cuphead greeted sarcastically, receiving a glare from King Dice, "we got babies who need to get taken care of, and I ain't a babysitter."

Lyla seemed to growl at the comment and irritatedly glare at the cup.

"Okay, okay,", King Dice sighed, "we'll take care of them."

"Who the fuck you taking care of, dipshit?" The white cat hissed. Dice scoffed while the others stared in silence.

"What did you say, bitch?"

"You heard me, you old, crusty bitch. And it's Lyla, by the way."

Tension filled the room, making the atmosphere so thick that you could cut it with a butter knife.
King Dice and "Lyla" seemed to be having a fearful staring contest, both their eyes almost glowing.

"Dice-" The Devil muttered.
"Not now."

"Lyla don't."
"Shut it, Apricot." Lyla hissed

Mugman and the Devil seemed highly uncomfortable, while Cuphead was almost slightly excited about seeing them fistfight or something. After a while, the two just sighed and gave up whatever they were trying to achieve with that glaring contest. Apricot, the peach-coloured kitty, pat her sister on the back, trying to calm her down.

Silence roamed, not one sound left either of their mouths.

Suddenly, the white cat sprung up and ran out of the door and presumably out of the casino's walls. Apricot's eyes widened as she gazed at Cuphead who seemed to turn towards her. Perhaps he was having a slight deja vu back to when Mugman almost abandoned him at the start of their journey. Cuphead could almost feel the kitten tense up and start to panic inside.

"I gotta fucking go." She muttered under her breath as she ran out in search of her sister.

The door slammed behind her and the four men were left alone in the room. A few glances were exchanged between them until Cuphead broke the awkward silence.

"Nice social Skills, Dice." He complimented sarcastically, smirking widely.

King Dice scoffed and stepped forward, intent on wiping that grin from the Cups face with a smack on the head.

The Devil chuckled at the sight as King Dice tried to pursue his intention. Lucifer adored- no, absolutely loved- Dice's attitude. His silver tongue and snarky remarks, his confident persona, his charming, greedy but at times caring personality and the pure joy he had in his eyes whenever he was authorized to do anything even remotely evil. Everything King Dice did was extraordinarily charming and delightful to the Devil, one of the many reasons why he was his right-hand man.
And he wouldn't trade him for the world. (Plus, he already owned hell, why would he want the earth?)

"Boss, are you good?" A gloved hand was placed on the Devil's furry shoulder, causing him to sit up, slightly startled by the sudden interruption which dragged him out of his admiring thoughts.
"You seem distracted." He whispered as to not alert Cuphead and Mugman.

The Devil just shrugged and nodded, ignoring a strange sensation that spread across his entire body. He could feel his cheeks heat a tiny bit, which raised a question in him.

The fuck?

This was something entirely new for him- he couldn't even describe this feeling.
It was almost a nostalgic feeling.
Okay, let's be clear- he always felt like this around King Dice, but never had it been so heightened, especially not in this way.
So of course, that raised the question; What is this new emotion?
But he would ponder later.
Or he would forget, we'll find out later.

Soon, the Cup Brothers left the room, and so did King Dice shortly afterwards to continue with his duties and probably smoke a cigarette with Mr Wheezy. He deserved a long ass break after the encounter with furry-karen had taken place.

Speaking of, Dice himself appeared to feel incredibly uncomfortable and perhaps a twinge embarrassed, which led him to exit the office much sooner than he usually would. The Devil knew something was wrong, but he assumed that it was the lady's accident which caused him to act in such a way,- but there was more.

The man frowned and began working on some paperwork, scribbling with the tip of a rosé gold-coloured pen. The ink flowed smoothly, like a dark puddle, mirroring the colour of the Devil's fur.

Involuntarily, the words slowly turned into little, almost unrecognisable letters, and then into small doodles, and then hearts.

The Devil huffed harshly and buried his face in his paw-like hands.

Well, shit.