The door whispered shut behind you, muffling the fading laughter and footsteps of your birthday entourage. Shopping bags dangled from your arms, the soft rustle of tissue paper brushing against your sides as you made your way upstairs. The house was quiet, heavy with the peaceful stillness that only came after a day brimming with joy. Your limbs ached pleasantly from walking, laughing, indulging—your heart still full from the celebration.

You turned the knob to your room, already dreaming of curling up in bed with your new gifts.

But when the door swung open, the dream fractured—then twisted into something far more surreal.

There, stretched out across your bed with sinful leisure, was Belphegor.

Naked. Completely, unapologetically bare.

The Avatar of Sloth lay tangled in your sheets like he owned them, one arm pillowed beneath his head, the other resting just low enough on his abdomen to make your brain short-circuit. Dusky light from your window filtered across his pale skin, kissing the contours of his lean, lithe form, casting soft shadows that played wicked tricks on your mind. His tousled dark hair spilled across your pillow like ink, and that damn cow-print pillow clung to his side like a misplaced halo of innocence.

And then—his eyes.

Lazily half-lidded, violet depths shimmering with heat and mischief, they locked onto you with a look that sent a shiver up your spine. Not startled. Not embarrassed. No, Belphegor’s gaze was smug, dark with something far kinkier than surprise. His lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk, as if this entire situation had played out in his dreams first—and now he was watching it unfold in real time.

“Took you long enough,” he murmured, voice thick and lazy, like warm velvet. “I was starting to get bored waiting in just my skin…”

He stretched, shamelessly, deliberately, the way cats do when they know you’re watching—taunting and tempting all at once. His tail flicked lazily behind him, a subtle twitch of satisfaction.

“And since it’s your birthday…” His eyes sparkled with wicked amusement. “Don’t you think it’s your turn to be unwrapped now?”

The bags hit the floor with a soft thump.

And the air in the room grew just a little more dangerous.