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obey-only-me · 5 months

Text

Don’t touch what’s ours

Note: very long, sorry. Also available on AO3 Here.

Another story from the human world with our MC and the brothers.

It broke your heart, but you had to go back to the human realm. You’d promised Solomon and the Sorcerer’s Guild that you’d help with some environmental clean up in the Pacific, so you needed to be nearby while that was going on. Diavolo also felt you needed to go back so you stayed acclimatized, although you wondered if he said that so the brothers would stop fussing! 

They had spent hours in heated argument certain that Solomon was trying to steal you away. As if! You laughed softly. They were your family, your life. Nobody was ever going to match them, but they were so insecure. It was almost too cute.

When you finished packing what you wanted to take, including all the trinkets the brothers had given you, you made your way to the front entrance of the house. You huffed when you carried the 2 bags you had down the hall. It wasn’t like you, yourself, had much you wanted to take, but the boys! Crazy demons. Levi was sure you’d have nothing to watch so pushed 2 seasons of a new anime on you. “The day I woke and found i”d reincarnated as the chef to the demon king and he fell in love with my meringues!” it did sound good so you caved and packed it.

Satan also pushed a whole series of the latest who-dun-it into your hands. He was adamant that you needed to read them so you could discuss the plot when you returned. Asmo had given you bottles and jars of lotions, perfumes, shampoos and on and on! All with a 3 hour lecture on when to use what, and how much of that should be used. You were confused still. Did you use the blue toner before the green mask? Or vice versa?

Beel had tried to give you a whole roasted devil hog, but you’d managed to talk him out of that in exchange for a promise to take the package of demon pork rinds. The bag was already half empty as he’d sat and ate them while you’d packed.

Belphie, the sweetie, had given you a pillow as soft as air. For all his brattiness, he was often thoughtful.

Mammon said he wasn’t giving you anything because you were leaving him behind, how could you?! Apparently you didn’t deserve anything for that, but then he’d snuck into your room when he thought you were asleep and slipped a gold bead bracelet on your wrist. It had crows stamped onto the beads and a jet bead on the closure. Not very subtle but lovely just the same. Lucifer really hadn’t given you anything. He’d watched his brothers squabble, intervened where necessary and otherwise helped organized your departure. You guessed his pride wouldn’t let him admit anything so you told yourself it wasn’t for long. Surely the time would fly by, and you could come home again to see everyone. Yes you were fine! It wasn’t the least bit scary or depressing to be leaving the familiarity and security of your demons.

You stopped at the front hall. All the brothers were waiting by the door, all glanced up as you appeared. Mammon huffed and muttered “I don’ see why ya gotta go. Solomon can handle whatever just fine by hisself!”

Satan sighed, “Give it a rest Mammon! She made a promise and its part of her training to become a sorcerer!” Levi stood frowning, Belphie dozed against the door and Asmo rushed to you squealing over your outfit and taking photos for his Great Goodbye Devilgram story. You smiled for the photos, and then felt the bags being lifted off your shoulders. Beel’s voice rumbled “They look too heavy for you, let me carry them.” He strode off through the door like the bags weighed nothing.  

Lucifer spoke up suddenly. “Do you have everything MC?” As you nodded, your throat tightened up and you were afraid to speak in case you started crying. Lucifer’s hand took yours and you glanced up at his face. He had a small smile on his lips, almost like he was going to start teasing you. “Come along, they’re holding the portal at the castle, we shouldn't be late. Solomon promised to meet you in the human world.”

Your eyes burned, but you smiled and nodded. Taking Lucifer’s arm you started the walk to the Castle, the others following. Since the others were chatting and arguing as they normally did and with the stars glittering above it felt like any other day when you’d all been invited to the Castle for a meal. Lucifer’s hand stroked over yours and he smiled down at you, but didn’t speak.

At the Castle you hugged and kissed each brother as they murmured their wishes and sorrow in your ear. Lucifer was the last, and with a small smirk on his lips, he kissed you and murmured “Wait just a bit longer, when we meet again I’ll give you your present.” He laughed softly as you scowled at him, and Diavolo interrupted before you could ask what he meant.

“MC! Take care of yourself. I know you will do a wonderful job. We expect nothing less from you.” He leaned over and kissed you lightly. “Don’t fret, the time away will seem shorter than you expect” and he smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. He knew something, but you didn’t bother asking, he was impossible when he was like this. Barbatos coughed and beckoned you forward. “MC. It is time to leave, Solomon is waiting.” He wrapped his arms around you, and held you tight. You felt more than heard his sigh, and then he was pulling back and kissing you on he cheek before turning towards the door floating before you. You could see the city skyline in the distance and heard Solomon’s voice coming through the doorway. “MC are you ready? Step forward and I’ll guide you through.”

You looked back as you adjusted your bags, and smiled at everyone. You waved and called out. “I love you! I’ll see you soon and I’ll text every day until then!” You turned quickly before you chickened out and stayed. A quick intake of breath and you stepped through the portal. You gasped as you felt yourself drop, and almost fell over, before Solomon grabbed your hand steadying you.

“Whoa, steady on MC! Welcome back to the Human Realm.” Solomon smiled at you, giving your hand a brief squeeze before letting go. You smiled back and leaned in to kiss him. He blushed and pulled you into a hug. “How have those demons of yours been? Has Lucifer seen my petitions for a pact?” He laughed, his eyes twinkling. “Oh yes, he saw them”, knowing full well that Lucifer had scowled and then burnt them in his hand without opening them. “What did you need me to help with? Your message was really vague, but it still sounded urgent.” Solomon picked up your bag, wincing at the weight. “Oof, good thing you didn’t fly with this! What did you bring? I’ll explain on our way to your lodging about the task.” He paused looking pissed off and sulky. “Some friends of mine have offered you a room for the duration of your stay.”

“Oh that is nice of them”, you looked at him out of the corner of your eye. Why was he so pissed that his friends had offered a room? You let it go as he continued on describing the task he asked you to help with.

“There’s a dangerous magical “spill” in the waters off the coast. This is bad enough as it could affect anyone who travels through it, whether through swimming or boating. Not too likely for swimming as it was far enough from the coast that humans wouldn’t be out there. However, it was also in a protected area for both magical and non-magical sea creatures. It could impact their health and potentially cause severe damage to their environment. Think wild sea life being transformed horribly, or the loss of feeding grounds which could cause mass die off.” You scowled in dismay, “who would let something like that happen? Have you found the culprits?” Solomon smiled at you, relieved that you understood the ramifications of this. “We have suspicions but the Sorcerer’s guild is still trying to find out. Some feel it might be a natural occurrence as there is a rift located near the spill, but others feel it was done on purpose for some kind of distraction. The main thing is that its taking a lot of magic, done in shifts, to clear

the mess. The whole magical community is helping out. Witches, sorcerers, and others. All of us with apprentices are bringing them in as well. Not only because we need the man power, but because its also a good learning experience for all levels.”

As Solomon walked and talked you realized that you’d already gone a few blocks from the area where you first appeared. It had looked like an alley between office buildings, and since it was the weekend, the streets weren’t as busy so nobody had seen you appear out of thin air. The area you were in now, seemed to be up-scale townhouses. It was a cul-de-sac and at the far end was a huge house, larger than the others. It was gated and you assumed someone very well off lived there. To your shock that was the building Solomon led you to. “Is that your friend’s place? Is it multiple apartments? It looks like a giant mansion!” You glanced at Solomon and realized he had an amused smile on his face. “Sadly yes, my friends live here. They obviously have too much disposable income and time on their hands.” With that obscure comment he reached out and pressed a button on the gate.

You’d noticed the camera on the pillar of the gate had turned to focus on the two of you, and heard a click before the gate slowly started to swing open.As you neared the front door of the mansion, it opened and Barbatos stepped out.

“Welcome to Villa Stella de Mattino MC”. He smiled and bowed. You let the two of them usher you into the hall. “Wait, what? Barbatos what are you doing here?” You were surprised and confused. “What about Dia? You didn’t leave him alone did you?” A soft laugh made you spin around. Lucifer and Diavolo stepped through into the entrance hall. Lucifer with a smug look on his face and Diavolo with his usual delighted smile. He stretched his arms out. “No I didn’t get left behind MC! What do you think? Lucifer let me be here for your surprise!” Diavolo beamed a massive smile at you, practically jumping for joy. You glared at Lucifer. “What is going on?”

He smirked and replied. “It is my gift to you MC. You needed a place to stay, so I provided a place to stay. I thought a taste of home would make it easier for you to rest after your work and what is more comforting than having your own bed to sleep in? Barbatos has kindly linked all the bedrooms to our own in the Devildom, as he did one other time we came to the Human Realm to be with you.” He bowed to Diavolo and Barbatos. “They wanted to be here to welcome you, but they will both be heading back to the Devildom after dinner tonight.” Diavolo pouted at those words and Barbatos just rolled his eyes. “You have too much work to do my Lord, we shouldn’t even stay for dinner technically. But since it is a special occasion I will not say anything.” Barbatos smiled as Diavolo scowled.

A laugh bubbled up out of you. “Seriously Lucifer! You could have told me this, I wouldn’t have had to fuss over what to bring!” You smacked him on the chest, but the smile on your face took the sting out of the comment and he stroked your hair in response, an indulgent smile on his face. “Ah but my brothers would have been unbearable, and you wouldn't have gotten all those presents from them then.” You decided to change the topic and the rest of the time was spent touring the new house, seeing the rooms and grounds. It was amazing! Each of the brothers, and you, had a direct link to your Devildom bedrooms. There was a huge kitchen with an eating area attached, plus a formal dining room, formal living room, casual living room, a couple of offices (apparently Solomon and you would use one when you needed to work on paperwork, the other was for Lucifer to keep on his Devildom duties), there was an inside sauna and hot tub, an indoor pool. An out door patio with outdoor kitchen and seating for several people as well as a wading pool to stay cool. A fake grotto was in one corner and to your surprise you saw a familiar snout poking out sniffing. “Cerberus?” A head poked out, followed quickly by two others. Lucifer stood beside you with a sigh. “Yes he made such a fuss when he found out that not only were you leaving, but we were too, that i had Barbatos link his cave to here. But he’s been told only to come out when we’re here and not go out on his own! So don’t encourage

him.” You grinned at Lucifer and ran over to hug and pet Cerberus. A few more scratches and kisses and Lucifer continued the tour.

As you re-entered the kitchen you couldn’t help but ask. “Where are the others?” It had been so quiet and that was very strange. Barbatos turned from the stove where he was heating up some dishes he’d retrieved from a cooler. “I believe Lucifer and His Lordship required them to finish their last classes today at RAD.” You bit your lip to keep from giggling. They must have been furious about that! “Do they know about the house?” You looked at the others, and they all shook their heads. “I hadn’t told them yet, otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to classes. Barbatos has temporarily linked the House of Lamentation’s front door to the door here, when they return from class they will be sent here for the first time. Be prepared.”

Solomon sipped his tea and sighed to himself. So much for having MC all to himself everyday. Lucifer just raised his eyebrow and smirked at him.

The arrival, later that afternoon, of the rest of Lucifer’s brothers was as chaotic as one could assume. They were silent for about one second as they processed they weren’t in their home, but elsewhere. And when they saw you. Well! All chaos burst out as they whooped and hollered and grabbed you, swinging you around in the hall passing you from brother to brother until you got dizzy. Then they demanded a tour which you lead. By the time they’d explored and poked around, and ran in fear (Mammon found Cerberus’ grotto before anyone else), dinner was ready and everyone clustered around the big dining table to enjoy the fruits of Barbatos’ labours. It was as delicious as ever, and you were amused to see the mixture of Devildom and Human dishes on the table. “Oh oh oh! Barbatos! These chicken wings are to die for! I love you!” Barbatos smile was smug as he took a bite of potatoes. The brother’s scowled but couldn’t say anything as the wings were excellent.

After Barbatos and Diavolo left, you cuddled up on the sofa between Mammon and Asmo, with Levi and Beel sitting on either side of your legs and Belphie draped across your legs. Lucifer and Satan chose to take arm chairs nearby. You ended up wasting the rest of the night watching silly shows on TV before Lucifer shooed you off to bed since you were yawning so much. “You have to be up early Solomon said, so you might as well go to bed and get what sleep you can. I gather you have a full day ahead.” He brushed your hair off your face and kissed your forehead. You nodded, and rose up on your toes to kiss him good night, then wandered around the room giving the others good night kisses too. Mammon dragged Asmo off you when the kiss started getting a little too heated.

As you lay in bed, your mind whirling with the events of the day, you smiled and turned over. Cuddling the pillow to your chest, you let yourself relax and drift off.You never felt the covers move and the mattress dip as Belphie slipped in beside you and curled himself around you. You were safe and you had adventures awaiting.

Solomon showed up as all of you were eating breakfast, and Lucifer excused you for household duties as you were going to be busy with affairs for the Sorcerer’s guild. Solomon snagged a piece of bacon off your plate, earning not only your “Hey!” but multiple glares from the brothers for daring to touch your plate. Beel’s growl and glare had Solomon backing up, hands in the air to apologize which made you giggle. “Where are we going Solomon?” You bit your last piece of bacon and watched him curiously. You knew about saving sea life, you’d seen plenty of documentaries about saving aquatic birds from oil spills, and how people had fought to save coral reefs around the world, but magical spills? You didn’t know the first thing about them let alone how you could help fix things.

Solomon took a sip of tea he’d fixed and pulled out a map which showed the coast and surrounding ocean. “See here, a 100 km off shore, that’s the start of the preserve, around this small cluster of islands. There’s an enclave of mermaids there, and the oceans in this area are home to dozens of magical aquatic animals. Marine dragons, smaller relatives of Lotan, and others. There are even said to be sea kappas living in the area. The spill was a spell that went wrong in a magical vessel. It was supposed to provide them with ease of passage through the waters and magically assisted winds, instead it’s stirred up whirlpools and broken free some dangerous cargo that we’re trying to retrieve before the seals break and poisonous compounds are released into the water, we're already worried that some has been released. They could devastate the area for decades to come. Leviathan gasped, tearing his headphones off. “Wwhat? why were you transporting that through the area?” He glared at Solomon and you realized that being the Devildom’s Admiral and his affinity to sea life would make Leviathan more sensitive to a disaster like this. “Solomon, could Leviathan help? He could speak to the sea life?”

You stopped talking as Solomon shook his head. “The Sorcerer’s guild won’t allow it.” He sighed and bowed to Levi. “As much as I know you would be of benefit, the Sorcerer’s Guild don’t trust you or your brothers. I had to spend days convincing them to allow me to bring MC with me to help.” You stared at him stunned. You? They didn’t trust even you? Just because of your pacts? Lucifer snorted and mumbled something that sounded like “idiots” but when you turned towards him, he just sipped his tea and focussed on his paper.

***

You stared at the witches and warlocks and others that clustered around the shoreline. You’d travelled with Solomon to the coast where you’d been shown the building, located at the local port, which would serve as the headquarters for the clean up. Now all those that had shown up were down by the waterfront, waiting for the boats that would carry all of you out towards the first island where you’d learn more about the issues and be separated into groups based on skills. As you looked around in fascination at the boats in dock, you’d always found boats fascinating and thought about talking Lucifer into renting one so you and the brothers could go out on the water, your eye was caught by a super fancy yacht that was docked farther along. As you looked it over, you noticed a couple of men standing on it watching you. They didn’t look very happy, so you turned away and focussed on what was being said by the leader of the group you were with and forgot about the yacht.

“In light of what we’ve told you, we’ll be breaking you up into teams based on your skills and strengths and assign you areas and times to work.” You looked at the information that had downloaded into the tablet Solomon had given you and frowned. So much damage had already been caused! You glanced up when you heard your name called. You were being assigned to the deep water teams, probably due to the fact that Leviathan had taught you those spells to help breath underwater, and your comfort with being far from land on the water. Thankfully you had mainly morning and afternoon shifts, the brothers would have raised a fuss if you’d been assigned to evening shifts.. you suspected Solomon had been instrumental in those assignments. You couldn’t ask the brothers to help as the Sorcerer’s guild didn’t trust them, they were still unsure about you! So Solomon most likely hinted that assigning you late night shifts would ensure the brothers would interfere whether the sorcerer’s liked it or not! And that wasn’t a lie, you knew they’d hover if you had to be out at night. They were so over protective! you smiled anyways, what could you do?

Back at the house that night you went over your tasks and the areas you’d be covering with Lucifer, Solomon and Leviathan. Both Lucifer and Leviathan wanted to know exactly where you were meant to be at any given time. Solomon tried to distract them but they weren’t having any of it. If MC needed to be there to help, they wanted to know what exactly they were being asked to do, and the exact location in case they were needed. Levi made you practice the breathing spell in the swimming pool and Satan took you aside later that night to teach you a locater spell, so that you could always know where you were. It also acted as a beacon so that if one of the brother’s cast a counter spell they could locate you in seconds. After dinner you made sure to cuddle and praise the brothers to ease their fears and anxieties. Needless to say, you had a pile of demons sleeping with you that night.

It took a lot of kisses, hugs and finally Solomon just picking you up and using his magic to get you out of the house and to the site on time. You laughed and warned him that he’d pay for that later. He just shrugged and patted your head and then verified you knew where you were going and walked off to join his group. You’d been surprised that you wouldn’t be working together, but then he had strengths that went beyond yours so of course he was closer to the actual danger than you were. His way of keeping you safe was to make sure you were assigned to clean up and rescue duties instead of facing the actual spill site. You didn’t mind, you met with the group lead and learned the spell to detect the poisons and how to cleanse the areas you found them in. They also showed you how to soothe any magical creatures you might meet. The mermaid’s were easy to communicate with, and were actively participating in the clean up, but some of the smaller magical creatures weren’t used to any humans regardless of whether they wielded magic or not. And some could be dangerous when startled or angered. Your boat left the dock, and you noticed the other sorcerer’s leaving as well, their boats ranging out in a fan towards the different islands and areas thought to be affected. Your group was going to be one of the few that went so far out, and you watched the islands off to the left grow smaller. You also noticed a ship anchored off the far side of one of the farthest islands but assumed it was either a resident or one of the rescue ships.

Your boat stopped periodically and let the different group members off, each one proficient in deep sea diving. A witch, two sorcerers and a naga who had ocean snake ancestors. You were the last to be dropped off, and there was no land in site. The crew threw out a buoy with a blinking light and a rope that trailed down into the water, and had a constant beacon that you could hone in as this was the marker the boat would use to pick you up. You cast your spell and jumped into the water. As you sculled by the buoy you linked your magic to the beacon so you could find it when you needed to. You watched the boat float away from you, and then the engines caught and they roared off. You activated the spell to breath and pushed yourself off and started to swam down. Your goal was the deep sea reef, several meters down to check on the deep sea dragons nest. Unbeknownst to regular humans, there was a hidden reef in the depths that was a nursery for deep sea dragons and some other magical sea creatures. They hesitated to send you to it, but Levi had assured Solomon that you would be okay. He didn’t tell Solomon the reason for that, which swam up seconds after you started to swim down. Lotan glided slowly up to you, his left head nudging you gently as his others kept a look out around the area. He pulled ahead of you and presented his fin and you grabbed it gratefully. Why swim when Lotan could pull you down to where you needed to be? You laughed to yourself. The sorcerer’s would have freaked if they knew the legendary Lotan, scourge of the magical sea and the most dangerous thing here, was helping you. Levi had told you back when you were first asked to help out that Lotan knew about the spill and that he’d demanded Levi let him come to protect you from other creatures and the humans. Apparently Lotan didn’t think the Sorcerers

should be trusted and refused to stay away if you were going to be in danger. Since Levi and his brothers felt the same way, Lotan got his way. Within minutes you were coming up to the reef and you cast the spell of detection. Thankfully, while the spell showed poison in the water, it wasn’t as bad as you originally feared and you asked Lotan to stop so you could perform the spell to cleanse the area. As you cast the spell, watching carefully for any you might miss due to eddies and whatever might have clung to coral and rocks, you realized that small colourful sea dragons and creatures similar looking to eels were appearing from the crevices and sands surrounding the nursery. Some larger, and braver ones, went up to Lotan and seemed to be communicating with him as they soon turned their attention to you. With cautious movements, a few came over and seemed to be tasting your spell. One started to roll in the water and it dawned on you that it was using your spell to cleanse itself. Once you realized that you told Lotan to let them know if those who were affected came closer you’d cleanse them individually. This had a positive effect, and an amazing one as not only did those who were around Lotan come up to you, a few at a time, but suddenly smaller versions were coming out of hiding being pushed and nudged along by the larger creatures. They were bringing out their offspring for cleansing and your heart skipped a beat when you saw their trust in you to help their children. You started to hum as you cleansed the little ones and Lotan’s soft calls echoed the joy you felt. It took a while, you weren’t sure of the exact time, but eventually you’d cleansed the area and the inhabitants so that the spell showed the area was free of contaminants. You were feeling slightly exhausted by that time, and grabbed Lotan’s fin feeling relieved that you didn’t have to swim by yourself back to the buoy. Lotan sang and turned the two of you back the way you’d come, swimming a tad faster to get you to the surface. He shook you free, just short of the surface and watched as you swam the last few feet by yourself. You saw the boat approaching as you surfaced and realized that Lotan had hear them coming and had chosen not to show himself. The crew had to jump in and help you up the ladder you were so exhausted. They made you drink a recovery potion and helped you to a free bunk. A few of the others were already asleep, so you knew you weren’t the only one who had given your all. A hand shaking your shoulder woke you. “Hey, wake up sleepy head. We have to get back to the house before Lucifer and the other’s descend on the port and cause trouble.” Solomon sounded amused, but your overly tired brain recognized the reality of what he said. You groaned and rolled to sit up, a yawn forcing you to stay seated. He laughed and pulled you up, holding you straight and the next moment you were standing outside the front door of the house. Solomon didn’t even get his hand up to knock when it was opened suddenly. Lucifer stood there with a frown on his face. He reached out and scooped you out of Solomon’s hold. “Finally. They’re exhausted! Why didn’t you bring them back earlier?” He stalked off without giving Solomon a chance to answer.

“Hello to you too, and I didn’t have a choice. I had to wait for their boat to return before i could get them.” Asmo giggled, and Solomon looked up. He hadn’t realized Asmo was at the door too. “We were all worried about MC. Satan put a spell on the front step to alert us if anyone arrived. Come in, come in, you look like you’re going to collapse as well! Let me take care of you.” Asmo purred that last bit and eased his arm around Solomon’s waist, a gleam in his eye. Solomon rolled his eyes, and gave in. He was too tired to argue and he knew Asmo wouldn’t go too far, he hoped.

You woke briefly to take a shower and Mammon was there with you, he said to keep you from falling over but you noticed that he took great pains to gently wash your hair and wipe the salt water off you. You sat in Beel’s lap for dinner, letting him and Belphie feed you. You didn’t know it was Belphie who carried you to bed and curled up with you when you feel asleep before finishing. You didn’t know it took Lucifer and Mammon 20min to calm Beel down as he was so upset that you didn’t each much.

The days progressed like this, some days you were less exhausted but the amount of work that needed to be done made you push yourself to help. Thank the demons you had Lotan to help you reach the deep places you needed to go and to help keep you safe. On one day you’d finished early and Lotan had take you back to the buoy , then he headed back out further to sea to stop a pod of whales from passing through the affected area. You clung to a small ledge on the buoy after sending your signal that you were ready for pickup. As you watched the waves around you, a small surge in the water alerted you that a boat was nearby. You instinctively ducked down when you realized it wasn’t your pickup boat, this one was more like an old fishing boat, and it was moving quite quickly, heading directly through the affected area. You made note of the name to tell the team leader. If they were catching fish in the affected area, they needed to be stopped! Not only because these creatures were protected, but because if they’d been affected by the poison and it got into the restaurants on the mainland... well it wouldn’t be good. You watched it speed by and sometime later your pickup showed up. As you climbed aboard you started telling the team leader what you’d seen, the name and style of boat. He frowned but patted your shoulder. “Good job, I’ll send a message back right now, they might be able to still catch it at port”.

Unbeknownst to you, the fishing boat turned out to be a drug runner, and the next few weeks meant the port was flooded with police. Three raids happened on neighbouring warehouses and added security checks meant it took longer to leave and return to port each day. On one of those days, as you fielded questions from the police, yet again, you were surprised when a gentleman in a suit stopped you as you headed towards the HQ for the team. “Are you MC?” The gentleman asked as he stepped in front of you, stopping your progress. You halted and cautiously nodded. “I’m Mr.Phelps, I’m investigating the incident that happened. I’ve been informed you were the one who originally alerted the authorities to the boat that brought the drugs in? May I ask you a few questions?” He watched you with quiet, but intense eyes. It made you uneasy, but you’d started to get used to all the questions the various agencies kept coming up with. You wished Satan or Lucifer were with you though, even Solomon as you found they helped divert the questions after a while. You nodded, and he asked if you could go to a coffee shop nearby, since it was in a populated area, you said yes. From there he asked a variety of questions that were similar to the others, but then he started asking questions about where you’d originally seen the boat and why it made you question it. You swallowed your drink and paused. You had to be careful as the team leader had already alerted you that not all the agencies knew about magic or the magical reserve and the issue that you were currently dealing with. You sighed internally, again if only Satan or Lucifer were here! You started telling him how you’d been diving out in the deep, doing research on the fish population. This was a story Solomon had helped create to defer questions as to why you were out there alone. You told him that your team were assigned to different areas and you’d been waiting for pickup when the boat when by. How it had seemed strange for a boat that should be fishing close to the coast or up the rivers was so far out to sea and that you’d mentioned it in passing. Thinking maybe they’d lost their way. He nodded, seeming to accept your answers. Then he suddenly said, as he gathered his notes and got ready to leave. “Its interesting that a ‘research’ team is so large... I was under the assumption that teams are smaller due to funding. Yours seems to be quite large. I think I counted close to 50 people coming and going from your offices in the past couple of days.” He nodded politely and left before you could respond causing you to wonder what he suspected all of you of doing.

You mentioned it to Solomon when you met up, and he frowned slightly. “How strange, most of the agencies aren’t questioning what we’re doing. I suspect because someone in a higher position has been made aware of the work were doing. I wouldn’t worry about it, if he brings it to his supervisors he’ll be asked to stand down.”

A few days later you had one of your precious few days off, and you had plans with Asmo and Satan in town. Asmo was chomping at the bit to get you into a shop for a new wardrobe and buy you new lotions. He’d been whining about what the sea water had been doing to your skin and hair so you caved and said you’d go shopping. Since there was a huge bookstore in the mall, Satan had invited himself along so he could go browse the newest selections.

As Asmo held your arm, chattering about patterns and styles, Satan watched the people and glanced at the windows of the shops they passed by. When Asmo picked some items for you and shoved you towards a changing room, you saw Satan casually place a hand on his arm to prevent him from entering the room. You smiled at him, thinking he was jealous of the PDA Asmo was showing and entered the room by yourself, sighing at the amount of clothes Asmo wanted you to try on!

Asmo glanced at Satan in question as you closed the door. Satan leaned down and whispered in his ear. “We’re being followed and I don’t think its because you’re beautiful. Their focus seems to be on MC and it doesn’t feel friendly.” Asmo nodded and whispered back. “I thought I felt more gazes than normal, and I noted a few men looking at MC with decidedly unfriendly intentions.” He frowned then said. “What should we do? I don’t want to worry MC and I won’t let anyone stop me from buying them some new outfits!” He pouted and Satan sighed. “I’ll keep watch, we won’t do anything until we can discuss this with the others.” Satan stepped back and grabbed a top off the shelf. “I still think this colour would suit them, just ask them to try it on. I don’t see why you get to make all the design decisions!” Asmo choked but took the top. “Fine.” He tossed his hair disdainfully. “But I know they won’t like it, and I can tell it won’t suit them.” He disappeared into the change room leaving Satan shaking his head outside. Satan turned around and openly gazed around, making sure to nod at sales people and shoppers alike. It did the trick and he noted the watchers pull back to avoid being seen.

That night, as you played games with Belphie and Levi, Satan and Asmo recounted what had happened and what they’d observed while shopping. Mammon nodded. “Yeah, I thought I’d noted more people around the gates of the HQ MC goes to. And they ain’t all them police and drug agency fellows.” Lucifer frowned. “I don’t like this. Something is off. Mammon, Satan. I want you to start looking into the businesses around here. That wasn’t a coincidence that the boat MC reported turned out to be used for drug transportation. We need to know if there’s a group working in this area, and if they’re targeting the Sorcerer’s group. I don’t frankly care if they do, the Sorcerer’s can take care of themselves, but if it involves MC in anything...” The others nodded. No way were they letting MC get sucked into some turf war the humans started.

You didn’t think anything of the brothers following you around for shopping, and running errands. They did that in the Devildom, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. You did notice that sometimes the brothers disappeared on their own, or in pairs, but they always had some excuse that made sense so you didn’t worry about it. If Lucifer wasn’t worried, why should you? Everything came to a head though, a couple of months after the initial boat incident.

You’d been asked to come to the port early to go back out to the original site to review how the cleanse was holding. As you walked with Solomon down the sidewalk, the morning sun just

cresting the horizon, a sudden blast ahead of you jarred the both of you out of your thoughts. Solomon grabbed you and pulled you down behind a car as another blast went off, knocking a car up and over into the middle of the street half a block ahead of you. The noise was deafening as you laid on the ground, half under Solomon, your hands over your ringing ears when you heard a series of popping sounds hit the pavement on the other side of the car you were behind. Solomon started swearing and you slowly realized that you both were being shot at. You looked at Solomon in horror. Solomon gave a grim look and nodded his head to his left. You looked and noted a small, narrow gap between the two buildings. Solomon motioned for you to hide inside. You looked back at him, unsure what to do. He grabbed your shoulders and pushed you towards the gap and you started to crawl, looking back once as he waved his hand at you to hurry up. Another series of popping sounds, and the windows of the car shattered, showering Solomon with fractured glass fragments. He ducked covering his head and you slapped your hands over your mouth to keep from crying out. Solomon quickly muttered some words and a magical shield covered the gap you were hiding in. Seconds later you saw bullets bounce off the shield, inches from your face, making you fall backwards in shock. Solomon disappeared from sight, he must have used an invisibility spell and you were left alone. Gun shots and explosions happening around you. You shook in fear, what was going on? Why was this happening?

Mammon swore and pulled out his DDD. “It’s going down! Solomon and MC are caught in the middle of it!” He hung up and flashed to demon form. As he changed he jumped into the air and fought for height in the sky. There, one of the bastards was up on that roof, hidden from street level. And he had a good view of the area behind the car he’d seen Solomon pull MC behind. He saw Solomon disappear, but knew he could take care of himself. He glided silently around and came at the guy from behind. Needless to say the guy didn’t know he was there until the last second when Mammon grabbed him and lifted him to the skies. The guy’s shrieks and attempts to break free were futile, Mammon had lifted far heavier prey, and nobody squirmed like Leviathan in his demon form and Mammon could still lift him! At a height of 500m above the roof, Mammon let go. He smiled with satisfaction when the guy’s body hit the roof and actually broke through. They didn’t make buildings as strong as they should in the human world apparently. A buzzing sound brought his attention to the north where he saw Beel, in full rage, coming over the buildings. Lucifer, and Asmo not far behind. He glanced down and sure enough, there was Satan. He assumed Lucifer had sent Leviathan towards the waterfront to hold anyone off from there, and yup. He heard the screams of terror and rushing roar of water. He’d obviously alerted Lotan to what was happening. Mammon swung back to meet the others. Asmo was looking in curiosity at the hole in the roof as Lucifer held Beel in stasis to keep him from bulldozing the buildings down in his rage. Bad enough Satan seemed to be doing enough damage on the streets below, judging from the noises.

“Not sure where Solomon is, but I saw him shove MC into an alley and seal it with his magic. That one behind the blue mercedes.” Mammon pointed to the wreck of the car and the demons could just see a magical glimmer that denoted a shield. Lucifer nodded. “They’ll be safe enough then. Where are the rest of the instigators?”

Mr.Phelps, took a call and frowned. He swore and turned towards the man sitting at the desk behind him. “Boss, it doesn’t look good. They lost communication with Tommy and something seems to be taking out the others. They can’t give a description, just guys are suddenly dropping and the coffee shop was destroyed in some sort of explosion.” The man he spoke to, nodded. “I see.” He turned in his chair to look out onto the waterfront just as a sea monster exploded out of the water and destroyed his yacht. ‘Holy mother of..” The one named Mr.Phelps stared, stunned at the creature wrecking havoc in the port. “What the hell is happening out

there?” His boss stood up, striding towards the elevator. “Mr. Phelps, I suggest we evacuate and pull the boys back for now. We’ll recoup and strike at a later date. I see there is more going on than we originally realized. I didn’t think the Sorcerer’s were this powerful.” He pressed the button and just as Mr.Phelps reached his side the elevator door opened. Lucifer stood in the centre, back in his suit. He finished straightening his cuffs, and looked up. “Ah, just the people I wanted to speak to.” His step forward, his aura swirling around him in dark purple, black and a red so dark it could be mistaken for black was visible to the two men and they were forced to step back to make way for him. He glanced around the office. “Simple and elegant, very nice. Do you mind if I sit here?” He pointed to the Boss’s chair and sat without waiting for an answer. “I’ve a bit of a dilemma, I’m hoping you gentlemen can help me. See I’m only here on a temporary basis. A ‘honorary’ pass if you want to call it that. Technically I’m not supposed to take part in anything that happens between the Sorcerer’s guild and the rest of humanity.. but you’ve done something that is dragging me into it.” He took his gloves off and laid them on the desk. His eyes were dark, but Mr.Phelps was slightly horrified to see that a redness seemed to be seeping into them.. were they bleeding? Lucifer crossed his legs. “Oh pardon me, I didn’t introduce myself. I know you are Mr. Phelps, he pointed right at him, and you.” He tilted his head and smiled humourlessly. “You are known as the Boss. You control the area around the Port and environs correct?” Mr. Phelps looked at his Boss for guidance. How did this guy know info about the Boss?

His Boss just nodded watching the man warily. “You know who we are, so who are you? I’ve never met you, and I don’t recognize you.”

Lucifer sighed. “Really? I’m sad to hear that. Well let me clear the confusion. My name is Lucifer. Lucifer Morningstar. And these..”, he turned his chair slightly as the elevator chimed and opened allowing three more men to enter. “These gentlemen are my brothers. Allow me to introduce Asmodeus, Mammon and Satan.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes and the three new comers nodded as each of their names was announced. The pretty one smiled seductively and it made Mr.Phelp’s knees weak with fear. His Boss laughed. “What unique names! What family do you belong too? Is it the K*** family? The G*** family? Both of them have been thorns in my side for the past decade!”

The three men ranged behind the one sitting. Who smiled in what seemed true humour. “Ahahahah. What family? We’re the Seven Lords of the Devildom.” As he said this he stood, and before their eyes all four of the men changed. Mr.Phelp’s mind couldn't comprehend. They were larger, they had wings, and tails and horns! His mind tried to make sense of what he was seeing and he realized he could hear a high pitched scream and it still took him a second to recognize it was him. He was screaming, in fear. Asmo laughed delightedly and stepped forward. “Now now..”, he put his hands over the man’s mouth, shutting off the scream. “It’s too soon to be screaming like that. We have much more fun to have before you should need to do that!” He laughed delightedly and grabbed Mr.Phelp’s waist holding him close as he pulled him into the air and out the window, glass shattering as they disappeared. The Boss stood shaking, trying to keep Lucifer, Mammon and Satan in his sights.

“You see ‘Boss’..” Lucifer’s voice help mockery as he glided towards the man who’d so recently been in charge. “I don’t care if you buy and sell drugs, or have people killed. In fact that makes you a future candidate to join our realm.. but you made a mistake. You touched someone dear to all of us. Someone we won’t allow to be pulled into the dark side of humanity. When you targeted them, well you signed your death warrant.” Mammon and Satan stepped up and grabbed the Boss’s arms. “Our Prince wishes to see you, and my brother’s are going to escort you safely to his domain. I’ll visit you later.” Lucifer smiled, his eyes fully red now, causing the Boss to whimper and lose control. Satan grimaced and yanked the man forward. “Come on, let’s get him to Diavolo so we can get back.” Mammon nodded and yanked the man’s other arm, the

two of them dragging him towards the elevator. Lucifer watched them press the six on the door and waited until the red flash indicated that Barbatos’ portal had activated before exiting via the window. He soared back to the scene of destruction and landed next to the glimmering shield. He easily broke the spell and stepped into the entrance of he alley way. MC stood there, ready to cast a spell when he stepped forward.

You felt the barrier drop and readied a spell. Damn it, if it wasn’t Solomon! You didn’t want to hurt a non-magician, but you didn’t know who had caused the destruction and why they were targeting you and Solomon. It took you a second to recognize the silhouette before you. Tears started running down your face as you launched yourself at Lucifer, wrapping your arms around his neck as he caught you and pulled you close.

“Shhhh, it’s okay MC, we’ve caught the ones responsible. You’re safe.” Lucifer held you close, his voice whispering in your ear as you cried on his shoulder. The fear and uncertainty you’d been feeling and had built up, now you could let it out. You clung to him, allowing him to carry you out of the alley. Allowing him to ease your fear and make you feel safe again. Running feet pounded the sidewalk as Lucifer held you. He turned his head and watched Solomon slow as he realized who he was holding in his arms. “Ah Lucifer, you found MC. I can assume it was you and your brothers who discovered the culprits? I had to soothe the Head Sorcerer when Lotan suddenly started running rampant in the docks.” He smiled bitterly. “You do realize that you have broken the conditions for being in the human world. You weren’t supposed to draw attention to the seven of you being here. You do know that its going to cause months of negotiations and paperwork?”

Lucifer snorted and turned away. As he spread his wings in preparation for flight, he looked over his shoulder. “They shouldn’t have touched MC then.”

He launched himself into the sky, gathering MC more securely against his chest. Their crying was slowing and he murmured soothing words in their ears as he headed towards the mansion. His brothers met them there, the door open as they all stood on the porch, waiting for their arrival. He landed and stalked through the others into the mansion, letting Mammon slam and lock the door. He added his layer of protection to the others protection spells surrounding the mansion and lowered MC so they could stand on their own. As the others flocked forward to hug and caress MC, he pulled out his DDD just as it rang. “My Lord, we’ve returned to the mansion. How long before Barbatos can open a portal for our return home?”

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obey-only-me · 5 months

Note

Rooo!!! I have Levi brain rot rn, and I need to share Grand Admiral! Levi thoughts with u :/

As an important figure in the military, Levi has to go out sometimes to check up on the outskirts bases of the Devildom. Make sure that everything is working as they should.

This usually lasts for weeks, and today you had found out how long 2 weeks can feel when your loser gamer boyfriend is out on assignment.

Finding solace in his uncharacteristically empty room, you cuddle up in the bathtub bed, desperate to feel anything that reminded you of your beloved player 1. Using his favorite jacket, watching replays of his old streams, sleeping in his bed, that's slowly losing his scent and feel.

But one day, while curled up in his gaming chair, rewatching his old clips for the thousandth time. Levi comes home. Still in his uniform as he marched into his room, not expecting to find his PC on.

Once you realized he was there, you quickly jumped into his arms, peppering kisses all over him. When you pull away, you expect to see the usual sight; Leviathan a blushing mess, stammering about something you can't quite make out. But now, he wasn't blushing at all. He barely changed his stoic demeanor.

"L-levi...?"

You asked confused, removing yourself from his embrace to look at his attitude. Giving a hurt look as you basically pouted. Throwing a small tantrum that he didn't miss you at all

Unbeknownst to you, Levi was freaking out. After weeks out on field he just wanted to sleep and go back to his shut-in lifestyle. What he didn't know was that what he needed was to see his player 2 dressed in his jacket. Being an adorable tsundere as she pouted.

"On the bed, and strip. Leave the jacket on"

Levi commanded, looking serious as you stood there. Shocked at his words.

"E-excuse me?"

"Did I stutter? Strip, on the bed."

"W-wait–"

Shocked and confused, You stood their unsure of what to do. And why the hell that turned you on so much

It wasn't the first time Levi was in control, but he was usually so sweet and gentle. Not this... demanding. You're not sure if it's the uniform, the attitude, or the fact it was Levi being so assertive. But you followed without hesitation.

And you're so greatful that you did, because the two weeks waiting for him were quickly rewarded. Levi being as merciless with you as he took what he wanted. Leaving you a blushing mess, passed out in his bed, as for the first time in two weeks, you slept with him again on his bed.

The next day, he profusely apologized at how rough he was, while all you could think about was when could you bring that side of him out once more

(AHHH IM SORRY FOR GOING ON FOR SO LONG BUT I NEEDED TO SHARE IT SO BADLYYY 🙏 IDK IF THIS IS SMUT OR FLUFF BUT I JS LOVE HIM AHHHH)

Nsfw!

Looks like fluffy-smut to me- holy shi 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 ‘n idk what happened but my add-on is definitely smut helpjdksj

Levi didn’t actually expected you to obey his command so quickly. He watched as you stripped down, leaving the jacket on like he had ordered. Fuck you look so good It took his breath away and he has to shake his head a bit, collecting himself as you climbed into his bathtub bed.

He quickly joined you, climbing on top of you in the bathtub before pulling you closer and kissing you, moaning softy as he deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue to tangle with yours.

His hands didn’t stop either, roaming over your body, exploring every inch of it, as if trying to burn it into his memory again.

Honestly there was something about this side of Levi that you couldn't resist. It was as if you were being taken by a completely different person, one who was confident and assertive…the grand admiral....it’s really hot-

You moaned when his fingers finally found their way between your legs, pressing against your already dripping cunt. He thrust two fingers inside you, causing you to moan loudly.

"You- you look so beautiful like this." Levi breathed into your ear, his voice low and husky. "I've been waiting for weeks to feel you again…..and I can’t wait anymore.”

He lines his cock up with your ready pussy, waiting for you to nod before sliding in and letting out a little whine he just can’t stop from slipping out, “S-so, good, messed you so m-much..”

He wanted nothing more than to keep you close, to let you feel how much you meant to him, as he fucked you faster, harder-

It was as if he had been holding back for weeks, waiting for this moment to release all the passion that had built up inside him.

“G-gonna cum soon….need, need you to cum with me.” as he leans down to kiss you, one of his hands slides back down to you clit and his thumb rubs against it roughly. Making Levi moan against your lips as you tighten around him, soon as he feels you orgasm take over your body Levi cums. rutting his hips into yours, riding through your orgasms together.

Panting Levi hides his face in your neck for a moment and he can hear you let out a little giggle, before whispering "I've missed you too, Levi." and Levi laughs, pressing a few soft kisses along your neck~

The next morning you’ll wake up to your, sweet boyfriend acting like his usual self. Looking over your body and apologizing endlessly, he promises he’ll be more gentle next time!! Wait no- he didn’t mean it like that!!- he did-

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obey-only-me · 8 months

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Apparently, my other video did load properly from my birthday, lol. It's also lagging like my other video, so sorry in advance.

#obey me #lucifer #asmodeus #diavolo #mammon #leviathan #satan #beel #belphie #luke #simeon #solomon #barbatos #happy birthday

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obey-only-me · 8 months

Text

Sorry about the lagging in the video. Apparently, the Obey Me game wanted to be stubborn on my birthday, lol.😅

#obey me #lucifer #asmodeus #diavolo #mammon #leviathan #beel #belphie #barbatos #satan #luke #solomon #simeon #happy birthday

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obey-only-me · 8 months

Text

Again, sorry for the video lagging. Both of the games decided they wanted to be slow on my birthday.🤣

#obey me #lucifer #asmodeus #diavolo #mammon #leviathan #satan #beel #belphie #barbatos #luke #simeon #solomon #happy birthday

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obey-only-me · 10 months

Text

If I Had Been There…

This is Father’s Day number 3, guys! How exciting!! So this year, you guys are getting some ANGST, but don’t worry, I have some crack coming up today or tomorrow to make up for it.

Genre: Angst

Warnings: The alternate timeline has Asmo and Lucifer being REALLY shitty dads.

Masterlist

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Another year, another Father’s Day.

Lucifer sat in his office, leaning a little too far back in his chair, gently turning a record over in his hands. It was a lovely gift from Venus, they claimed they had to fistfight a ghost for it, and while Lucifer doubted the validity of the story, he was pleased with his present nonetheless.

After popping the record into the player, letting the music wash over him, Lucifer let out a content sigh. The house was quiet for once, all except for the music. Asmo and Mammon were off with Ash and Cecil, Venus was up in their room sleeping, Belphie was passed out by Beel in the living room, and Lucifer could only assume Levi was out at a convention somewhere.

Peaceful, blissful, quiet.

It was so nice, that Lucifer almost missed the present that appeared on his desk in a tiny puff of smoke.

The little box was wrapped in deep burgundy paper with a tiny black stick-on bow. A little white note card was attached, and from what Lucifer could see when he eventually cracked open his eyes, the handwriting that was on the card was quite nice.

Lucifer gently reached out to grab the present, but stopped short as his eyes suddenly narrowed. This could be a prank from Satan, who had been unusually quiet that day…

Weighing his options (and taking a moment to remind himself where his favourite red rope was, just in case), Lucifer gently plucked the notecard from the box and read it.

Happy Father’s Day, Lucifer,

I hope you and Venus had a lovely day together. I found these files while cleaning out my laptop, and I think you’ll find what’s on them as adorable as I did. Enjoy.

-Deianira

Ah, a gift from Venus’ human parent. Breathing out a quick sigh of relief, Lucifer gently opened the present, and sitting inside was a little chocolate, and a USB.

Popping the chocolate in his mouth and wondering whether or not his laptop even still had a USB port, Lucifer powered on his computer and, after finding the port, plugged his gift in.

Clicking on the new file that appeared on his Home Screen, clearly labelled “Venus’ Videos”, dozens of photos and videos popped up, each neatly labelled with their dates and contents.

Lucifer clicked on the first video.

The screen was dark at first, and for a moment Lucifer wondered if he had broken something, only for the camera to be picked up and pointed at something.

A baby. A baby with eyes Lucifer could recognize anywhere.

“Come here, Venus,” a gentle voice prompted from behind the camera. The baby looked up, then wrapped a chubby fist around a table leg and hoisted themselves up. “Walk to me, walk to renny!”

A smile began to form on Lucifer’s face as Venus reached forward, stumbling a little, but managing to clumsily walk. He took a moment to softly chuckle as the scene continued, Venus with even chubbier cheeks was mind numbingly adorable.

“Like a little zombie~” Deianira giggled as Venus reached for them. “OOP!”

Venus fell right to the floor. They looked up at the camera, confused, then their lower lip began to quiver and they let out a wail.

“Oh no, sweetie…” despite how sweet their words were, Deianira was still giggling.

The video suddenly cut, this time it appeared the camera was peeking around the corner into a room. Once again, Venus was clinging to the leg of a chair, all on their own, eyes trained on the floor as they hesitantly reached their foot out, and began to walk forward.

“Oh would you look at that,�� Deianira whispered, “they’re doing it all on their own.”

The video ended, and the grin on Lucifer’s face had somehow managed to grow even wider as he quickly clicked on the next one.

There were a few more videos of baby Venus, some had them playing with their toys, others had them gently sleeping and cuddling things five times their size.

One video began with an unflattering close-up of a two year old Venus.

“Hi.” The baby said into the camera. “I’m playing.”

The camera was clumsily dropped onto the floor and showed Venus toddling over to a small table set up with a plastic tea set, and surrounded by a couple of toys.

As the video continued on, Lucifer felt something other than the pleasant warmth that had begun to spread in his chest.

It wasn’t exactly sadness, that’d be too simple. A hellish cocktail of envy, regret, and sorrow began to spread, overwriting the happy nostalgia that the videos were laced with.

Lucifer quickly shook his head, hoping to clear the feeling that seemed to seep into his bones as he clicked on the next video.

“It’s someone’s first day of school~” Deianira cooed.

The video showed Venus halfway out the door, then looking back to give the camera a radiant little smile. They couldn’t be older than four.

They adjusted their little backpack that was quite adorably shaped like a bear, adjusted their glasses that seemed to be a little too big for their face, then looked up at their parent.

“What do you wan’ me to say?”

“Say bye bye!”

“Oh.” Venus cleared their throat, then gave the camera an award winning smile and a wave. “BYE BYE!”

The video ended, but the roiling ball of sorrow in Lucifer’s chest refused to dissipate.

Every photo and video he clicked through, none of them did anything to quell it. In fact, it only made it worse, but Lucifer couldn’t stop watching it.

He was watching his child grow up. He was watching it second-hand through videos and pictures he didn’t take. He was watching moments he wasn’t there for.

He was watching a ten year old Venus begrudgingly accept a second place ribbon at the science fair with their parent right next to them. He was watching Venus’ eleventh birthday party, watching them blow out their candles only for one of their human cousins to smash their little fists into the cake before they could even try a piece.

He wasn’t there. He couldn’t have been. For the briefest of moments, a scowl crossed Lucifer’s features as he watched Venus sneakily push one of their friends into a pool, before being immediately pulled in after them.

Deianira didn't tell him he had a child… despite the bitterness of the thought, how easy it would be to blame the human, Lucifer’s common sense trumped the notion almost immediately. How would she have told him? Only the most powerful of witches and sorcerers were even able to attempt summoning him, and even then, Lucifer wasn’t the kindest to those who interrupted his work.

Lucifer rubbed his temples as he took a shaky breath. He clicked on the last video.

“Look who’s back from RAD!”

Lucifer’s attention was snapped back to the screen.

Venus, newly thirteen and back in the human world for the summer. They smirked and adjusted their glasses before giving the camera, and their parent a wave.

“Back and tired.” They rolled their eyes, their smirk growing into a lazy grin.

“What?” The camera turned to follow Venus as they tugged their luggage to their room down the hall. “Did being with your father and uncles make you tired?”

“You have no idea!” Venus called back before walking into their room and shutting the door behind them.

The final video ended, and the screen went black. The replay button appeared, but there was no prompt to go onto the next video. Lucifer had watched them all.

He leaned back in his seat again. The music had long since stopped playing, but Lucifer didn’t even notice. His mind began to wander to a familiar place.

It wasn’t the first time he’d thought back on the past, moments he wished he’d done something else, conversations he longed to redo, wars he wished he had won…

But this time, his mind wandered back to his child. He wished, he wished with his full heart he had been there when they were little. He wanted to watch them grow up, watch them grow into the half-demon that looked up to him and adored him, and who he adored in return.

Lucifer shut his eyes, wishing he was where he had been three hours ago, with the music washing over them.

…

Looking down at his teacup and letting out a sigh, Lucifer leaned back in his seat on one of the couches in Diavolo’s favourite sitting room. It wasn’t unusual for Lucifer to visit the castle, in fact, it had become even more common in the recent years as Lucifer had begun to hang out with Diavolo as a companion rather than his right hand.

But this time, he wasn’t here for Diavolo. He was here for someone else.

“You know, Lucifer,” Barbatos drawled as he expertly poured himself a cup of tea. “As much as the young master would probably love for you to nurse him back to health, I cannot allow you two to meet. You’d infect your brothers, and I can only imagine how terrible that would be.”

Lucifer let out a humourless snort of laughter as he shook his head. He straightened his posture and placed his untouched tea on the coffee table in front of him, squaring his shoulders and looking Barbatos dead in the eyes, Lucifer spoke.

“I actually came here for you, Barbatos.”

“Oh really?” The butler raised an eyebrow, then took a sip of his tea. “May I inquire as to why?”

“I need your expertise.” Lucifer continued. “I need you to search for another timeline.”

Watching as Barbatos placed his teacup down a little too forcefully, which was the butler’s equivalent to openly rolling his eyes, Lucifer tsked under his breath.

“You know I can’t do that, Lucifer.” Barbatos said calmly. “But which timeline, pray tell, would you like me to look for? I’m dreadfully curious.”

“I want the timeline where Mammon, Asmodeus, and I knew about our children from the start. The one that’s closest to this one with only that change.”

“You know I can’t show you that.” Barbatos almost huffed. “I can’t show you, or even look myself. Any visions of other timelines and futures are involuntary unless specifically requested by the young master during an emergency-“

“Barbatos please!” Lucifer leaned forward, letting his mask of calm down and showing the desperation underneath. He must have looked awful, he hadn’t slept in two days since he watched the videos, hadn’t eaten properly, and had barely taken the time to care for his appearance. “I… I have to know…”

Maybe it was the desperation in his eyes, maybe it was pity, or maybe it was the fact that Lucifer Morningstar seldom begged anyone for anything, but for just a second, he saw a flicker in the butler’s expression. A slight change. For just a second.

“You may not like what you see, Lucifer.” Barbatos warned, his eyes flashing gold.

“Whatever it is, I need to see it. I need to know what would have happened if I were there. I want to see-“

Lucifer felt like something just punched him in the gut as he forced his next words out. “I want to see myself raise my child…”

“Fine.”

So sharp, so sudden, Barbatos rose from his seat and placed a hand on Lucifer’s forehead. His eyes rolled back, and Lucifer’s vision went black.

…

“It’s yours.”

Lucifer opened his eyes, a strange weightlessness spread across every part of him, and yet, when he looked around, he saw that he had no body at all. He was a spectator, just here to watch and react.

This timeline’s Deianira looked to be about three months into their pregnancy, their arms were crossed, and they were staring expectantly up at- at Lucifer.

The look of shock mixed with abject horror on this Lucifer’s face would have been funny had the context of the moment been stripped away.

Lucifer felt himself wince, he wasn’t naive enough to think he would have leapt for joy at the news, especially considering how he viewed Venus during the start of the exchange program, but even that didn’t prepare him for what left his counterpart’s lips.

“And why haven’t you gotten rid of it, then?”

Deianira’s stare hardened in an instant. “I’ve wanted to be a parent for a long time now, and the opportunity has been given to me. Simple as that.”

Their icy tone didn’t seem to phase this timeline’s Lucifer, as he scoffed and rolled his eyes. He turned on his heel and began to pace through what Lucifer recognized as Deianira’s living room.

“Do you have a shred of an idea how dangerous a half-breed is?!”

“I come from a family of witches, Lucifer, we know how to handle magic.”

“Magic isn’t what I’m concerned about.” The other Lucifer growled. “Those things don’t have any qualms about wrecking havoc anywhere they go! It’s what they’re meant to do! It’s why Lord Diavolo stopped allowi-“

“This is a child you’re talking about!” Deianira shouted, stepping forward and jamming a finger into Lucifer’s chest. “My child! If you don’t want the responsibility of watching it then I’ll take it! I never asked you to-“

“Oh no.” Lucifer grabbed the finger and shoved it away from them, staring Deianira dead in the eye. “If you’re keeping the thing, I’m going to come up here and watch it. I’m not going to leave the thing to cause chaos and ruin Lord Diavolo’s plans.”

“Plans- what are you-“

“Call me when it’s born.”

The vision shifted, Lucifer could feel himself being yanked forward and then stopped suddenly. He was in a hospital room.

Deianira lay on the bed, holding a baby in their arms, an older woman kissed their head and whispered something before quickly leaving the room, leaving the two alone.

Lucifer allowed his consciousness to drift around, floating closer and closer to the baby. He longed to be able to hold them, cuddle them close to his chest and whisper how much he loved them, but alas, Lucifer had no body, and he was only here to watch.

And watch he did, as this timeline’s version of himself appeared and cast a quick glance down at the two before sighing in annoyance.

“You went to a human hospital?”

“Where else was I meant to go?” Deianira replied, their voice completely deadpan and uninterested.

“How were you going to explain a pair of horns to a human doctor if they had come out with them?”

Deianira raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “…Lucifer. Not even baby goats come out with their horns. They grow later.”

Lucifer reflexively bit back a snort of laughter as he watched his counterpart stiffen at both the comparison, and the correction.

“Whatever.”

There was a beat of silence, Deianira didn’t seem terribly bothered by it as the baby on their chest gently slept. After a few moments, Deianira took a deep breath, and shifted the baby in her arms.

“Do you want to hold them, Lucifer?”

Yes.

Lucifer found himself actually attempting to say the word, but with no mouth to speak.

Please.

That’s all he wanted. Hold his child just once.

The other timeline’s Lucifer looked down at the baby- down at Venus for barely a moment, before he harshly shook his head.

“No.”

At that exact moment Lucifer felt his heart shatter.

He didn’t even hold them.

If Lucifer had proper eyes he would have started to cry.

Why didn’t he?! Why didn’t he just…

Lucifer was kidding himself. He knew exactly why.

To him, at that moment, Venus was nothing but a mistake.

A chore.

Something Lucifer had to remedy.

And then, something especially harsh hit Lucifer.

…I… wouldn’t have held them…

The scene began to shift again, and Lucifer longed to dig his claws into the floor to stay there. To admonish his other self for being that short sighted and terrible.

But no, he watched as years flew by right before his very eyes. He watched as this version of himself never once acted like the father he longed to have been. He missed Venus’ first steps, and when the child walked over to him on his next visit, he didn’t even care.

“Almost every living thing learns to do that, am I meant to be impressed?”

Lucifer wanted out. This couldn’t be the right timeline. Barbatos must have made a mistake, an awful awful mistake. It had to be. It had to be a punishment for even asking to look at another timeline. These visions had to be fake, fabrications made up by Barbatos to teach him a lesson.

Lesson fucking learned! Lucifer wanted to go home!

The scene settled into one where Lucifer was standing in front of the door to Deianira’s home. His arms were crossed and he was levelling an annoyed scowl down at them, Venus however, was nowhere in sight. The early morning sun streamed in through the large French windows, but the pretty scene did nothing to soothe either parent’s mood.

“I can’t believe you’re actually trying to send them to a human school!”

“Well they need to learn somewhere, Lucifer, and I have a job and can’t be home all day.”

“Ah yes,” Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Send them to a human world school where some random child will set them off and cause them to go ballistic. A wonderful idea, Deianira, truly.”

At the edge of Lucifer’s senses, he heard a faint sniffle, then a hiccup. Drifting away from the argument and up the stairs, he saw a pair of wide eyes behind massive glasses peeking out from one of the rooms.

Venus, no older than four, tears streaming down their cheeks.

Almost on instinct Lucifer tried to rush forward, wrap his arms around them and demand to know what made them so upset so he could fix it, but this time… he knew damn well what was upsetting them, and it was right downstairs.

Wiping their tears and shakily walking down the hallway towards the staircase, Lucifer watched them flinch as his counterpart raised his voice.

“Be quieter!” Deianira snapped. “You’re going to scare Venus!”

Lucifer watched as his counterpart rolled his eyes like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world that he should even care about something like that.

“That doesn’t matter! What does matter is that Venus isn’t going to be able to control themselves if someth-

“I’ll be good!”

The pair turned to see Venus halfway down the stairs, all dressed for school. They quickly rushed over to their parent, grabbing their leg and looking up at Lucifer, barely managing to mask their fear.

“I’ll behave!” They said. “I promise.”

Lucifer’s eyes only flicked to the child for a fraction of a second before he returned to arguing with Deianira.

Lucifer visited once a month. Once a month to demand answers from Deianira about how the child was progressing and whether or not they had done something to expose their demonic side.

In all that time, he hardly ever spoke to them, and Venus barely made an attempt to try and speak to him.

It was plain to see. Venus was terrified of him.

Well, terrified until they turned eleven.

“You know, I’m standing right here.” Venus, newly eleven said to Lucifer. Despite their confident posture and glare, it didn’t take a genius to see that they were still nervous.

“I can see that.” Lucifer’s counterpart sighed, turning to the child and raising an eyebrow. “And?”

“You don’t have to ask my ren everything about me. I can just tell you myself.”

The other Lucifer let out a humourless laugh and shook his head. “No, that isn’t necessary. It’d be quite tedious to ask your parent afterwards if you were lying.”

“Fine then. Enjoy getting info second hand, Lord Lucifer.”

That. That right there. That was the first time Venus addressed him by name.

They hadn’t called him father, or dad, or even by his untitled name. Lucifer had pushed them so far away, the first time Venus uttered his name was in disgust and with his fucking title attached.

The scene shifted again.

The exchange program. Venus had been called down entirely by accident. Unlike the amount of barely concealed excitement in the child Lucifer knew so well, this version of Venus looked so silently devastated.

“Can I just- pardon- can I just stay with the other exchange students?” Venus asked Lord Diavolo, who tilted his head in confusion.

“Do you… not want to stay with your family?”

Venus’ gaze flicked to Lucifer for just a fraction of a second, before eventually… they only managed a shrug.

“Just try staying with them for a bit, Venus,” Diavolo urged with a kind smile. “You might end up liking it.”

To put it simply, they didn’t.

Just like in Lucifer’s own time, his brothers weren’t immediately endeared to the child out of familial love, no no no, just out of interest in a shiny new thing that happened to belong to their dear big brother.

And there were no adventures to endear them to each other. Venus barely left their room. No romps through the labyrinth, no school festivals, no being trapped in video games. Nothing.

Finally, the scene settled again, Venus was in Lucifer’s office, and the demon was thumbing through a report card.

“Decent.” Lucifer said after a long beat of silence, he placed the report card down and went back to his paperwork. “You can go now.”

“I have a question.”

Looking up from his paperwork and raising his eyebrows Lucifer inclined his head. “Speak.”

“What did I do?”

“…what? Venus you need to be more specific-“

“What did I do that was so wrong to make you treat me like this?”

The question froze Lucifer’s counterpart in place, but only for a second before he rolled his shoulders and went back to his work.

“Nothing. And I don’t know what you mea-“

“YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I MEAN!”

The sudden outburst was enough to stir Lucifer from his paperwork. He scowled over at Venus, who’s fists were clenched to the point where they were shaking.

“Don’t you dare yell at me.”

“I’m going to fucking yell and you’re going to take it!” Venus snarled, tears beginning to pool in their eyes. “You’ve treated me like shit my whole life! You’ve never once told me you loved me, or you were proud of me- NOTHING! Did I do something wrong?! Just- just- WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH ME THAT YOU COULDN’T LOVE ME?!”

Nothing. You did nothing wrong… Lucifer longed to say to them, assure them that he loved them… but that wasn’t what the other Lucifer had said.

“You, Venus, are a penance I have to endure.” Lucifer stood up from his desk and walked over, his glare sharp as the point of a sword. “You are my mistake to deal with. You are that, and the exchange student, nothing else.”

A tear rolled down Venus’ cheek, they turned on their heel, and moved to walk away.

“Well, with that attitude, no wonder two of your brothers won’t come home.”

Two… wait-

The scene shifted, Venus was standing in front of Diavolo, crying.

“Please just- send me home!”

Diavolo’s eyes widened as Venus wrapped their arms around themselves and cried.

“I don’t want to be here anymore! I want to go home, to my real parent!”

Almost on instinct, Diavolo opened his arms and Venus ran into them, holding onto him like if they let go, they’d drown.

“I hate him… I hate him…” Venus whimpered. “I just hate him so much…”

Venus and Lucifer had their ups and downs. Lucifer knew that. He wasn’t perfect, despite his attempts to make others think he was. He was flawed. He had neglected them at times, he hadn’t been the father they deserved. Venus wasn’t perfect either, hell, they had accidentally cursed their family and wiped Lucifer’s memories, but they had worked together to fix that.

At the end of the first year of the exchange program, Venus chose to stay with Lucifer.

They were a family, and this family loved each other.

And now Lucifer was watching his child beg his friend to let them go home. To the human world.

But… a thought entered Lucifer’s head. Two brothers… two missing brothers…

…

Where was Mammon?

Belphie was still in the attic, Venus hadn’t let him out, but where had Mammon gone?

…

The scene began to shift again.

This time, the other timeline’s Lucifer wasn’t present. Mammon, and who Lucifer recognized as Ash’s mother, were standing in front of each other, and whispering in hushed conversation.

“I didn’t mean to leave all sudden like that…” Mammon scratched the back of his neck. “But my brother called n’… yeah…”

“It’s not your fault… at least you left your number.”

“Heh… yeah…”

Lucifer had heard the story of what happened in his timeline from Ash dozens of times. Mammon and their mother had spent a week together, Mammon had been summoned back to the Devildom, and Ash’s mother was left without a phone number to call, and later found out she was pregnant.

It was an honest mistake on Mammon’s part, he had no idea he had left a hookup hanging, but it seemed in this timeline he was able to scrawl his number down on a piece of paper before he was pulled back down.

“So… a baby…”

“Yeah,” Ash’s mother’s face hardened. “Are you going to stick around, or try and fly the coop?”

“Eh?! I wouldn’t do that!” Mammon snapped back, an embarrassed blush painting his cheeks. “W-we’re gonna do this together, right?”

Relief painted across Ash’s mother’s features, she then nodded. “Good… good…”

The scene warped again, Mammon was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar bedroom, a baby, about six months old sitting on his chest.

“Sittin’ up already, buddy?”

“Aaah!” The baby, Ash, leaned forward and lightly whacked Mammon on the nose, who snickered and shook his head.

“So violent, you got a temper, huh?”

“Amaaaa…”

“S’no big deal, little buddy, I’ve had worse.”

“Gah…”

Despite himself, a warmth began to spread through Lucifer. At least in this timeline Mammon and Ash were happy. There would be no childish bickering or malice between the two, not this time.

The scene warped and shifted, Lucifer was back in the Devildom, and Mammon was resting his head on one of his outstretched hands in the dining room, a scowl on his face.

“I’m tellin’ ya, Levi,” Mammon shot a glare at his younger brother. “I didn’t take your shit.”

This was a common argument the two would have. Honestly, it was a toss up as to whether or not Mammon was actually guilty in any case.

“I know it was you Mammon!” Levi snapped, slamming one of his fists on the dining table. “I smelled you all over my stuff, and I want my figurine back!”

“I didn’t take any of your fuckin’ figurines! We played video games in your room less than three days ago, maybe that’s why your stupid room smells like me!”

As Mammon and Levi continued to argue, an audience began to form, Satan and Asmo lingered in the doorway, leaning in and listening to the exchange, while Beel and Belphie were bold enough to actually sit at the table.

“That’s it!” Mammon said, suddenly pushing away from the table and standing up, throwing up his hands in defeat. “I’m leavin’! I’m done!”

“Where are you going, Mammon?” Belphie asked, his tone bored, but his eyes locked on Mammon like a predator before a strike. “Going to visit that human?”

Mammon froze. “The fuck’s it to you?”

Belphie snorted and shook his head. “That’s what I thought, go run to your human and the half-breed then, if you’re going to be with them instead of your family then we don’t want you.”

The room went quiet.

Quiet until of course, this timeline’s Lucifer walked in.

“What the hell are you all yelling about?”

“I’m leaving.” Mammon started walking towards the exit again.

“Where and for how long?” Lucifer asked, almost sounding bored. “So I know how long to string you idiots up for interrupting my work-“

“It’ll be forever if you jackasses keep this shit up!”

“What?” Asmo piped up, the familiar venom in his tone. “Why? You can’t possibly think they’d actually put up with yo-“

“They’re nice to me!” Mammon turned and shouted. “They don’t call me names and accuse me of shit like you bastards do! I’m done! I’m going.”

And with that, Mammon walked out.

“He’ll be back.” Satan said, checking his newly painted nails. “He’s not going to stay up there forever.”

The scene changed, months later, Mammon hadn’t come home, and Lucifer was now standing in the middle of a small apartment kitchen late at night.

“Mammon, home, now.”

“No.” Mammon shook his head. “I’m not leaving them.”

“You’re a demon Mammon, are you going to spend the next whoever knows how long pretending to be human?”

“I’d rather do that then go back with you!”

Running a hand through his hair and growling in frustration, Lucifer fixed Mammon with a stern glare. “You’re being ridiculous, are you really going to walk away from us like this? You’re a demon lord of hell, you have responsibilities!”

“Yes! I would!” Mammon growled. “And if you try and take me back by force, the Devildom’s never seein’ a drop of money again.”

The other Lucifer went quiet, his eyes widening for a fraction of a second before returning to his previous glare. “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t tell me what I don’t mean.” Mammon snapped. “I’m sick of being the family punching bag! You all can just- just- FUCK OFF!”

The scene shattered.

Time went by. Mammon got to watch his child grow up and got to be the father Ash deserved. Though, as Lucifer watched, he couldn’t bring himself to be happy for them.

While Ash and their mother had an easier life than they did in Lucifer’s timeline… Mammon had left his brothers. Ash wouldn’t know his uncles, they would never meet Cecil and Venus…

The family was incomplete, and Lucifer knew perfectly well why.

During those years, all the way up until Venus had been pulled down, Mammon’s behaviour had worsened, which caused the insults and punishment to worsen, which in turn, made Mammon misbehave. But still… he wouldn’t have- wouldn’t have left after all that! There had to have been something else! Something that wasn’t there in Lucifer’s time-

Venus.

This Lucifer had to… “deal with” Venus in this timeline.

Mammon was the punching bag for all that stress…

No wonder he left… Lucifer thought, his heart twisting in his chest.

And no wonder I never saw Venus as anything other than a burden… Lucifer continued as a horrid realization struck him as hard as a punch to the face. Mammon left them all for a half demon.

As Lucifer felt something begin to tug him backwards, he wanted to wince.

He had one more brother to watch… didn’t he?

…

Lucifer could smell the perfume in the air before anything else. Asmo being summoned to the human world was always accompanied by a blast of whatever newest scent he had become obsessed with.

Cecil’s mother had found Solomon, and the sorcerer was kind enough to summon Asmo to meet his child…

“Oh they look just like me!” Asmo cooed, leaning down and poking at the baby’s cheeks. “Look at those eyes, awww, you’re a charmer like your daddy, huh~?”

“Be gentle, Asmodeus,” Solomon tutted as he noticed that Cecil’s mother seemed too nervous to speak up about Asmo’s handling of the baby.

The baby, Cecil, on the other hand, seemed to be plenty capable of speaking up for themselves as they whined and reached for their mother. Ignoring this, Asmo continued to turn the baby over and mess with their hair and outfit, making his displeasure at any imperfections known.

“I am being gentle, gentle as a kitten. Now look at this onesie, it’s hideous!”

“That’s the thing about Asmo,” Lucifer remembered Leviathan joking one day to Venus, “he wears down your self esteem over a number of years without even trying.”

Asmo would visit, once a month, and talk all about his favourite topic. Himself.

Every visit, from when Cecil was an infant to a preteen, Asmodeus would talk about himself.

Unless of course, something displeased him.

“Your hair is a mess, have you considered cutting it?”

“Did you pick out your outfit? Ugh, it shows.”

“If you put a bit of effort into your makeup you’d look better.”

And those were the times when Asmo didn’t forget he even had a child to look after. At first the visits were frequent, but as Asmo lost interest, the time spent with his child began to dwindle.

Lucifer watched Cecil sit at their dinner table, all on their own, waiting for hours on end for Asmo to show up, and never appearing.

All he did was talk about himself and they still waited… Lucifer thought bitterly. You really are too good, Cecil.

But it wasn’t like Asmo completely erased the child from his memory, oh no. He loved to brag.

Loved to brag about what a wonderful father he was. Loved to talk about how his child totally adored him. Loved to give advice on how to be even half the picture-perfect father he was.

Finally, the second attempt at the exchange program. Venus had left, and Cecil was brought down. Alone.

The scene shifted and warped once again, Asmo and Cecil were in Asmo’s room, the half demon painting his nails as he gabbed away.

Lucifer watched as Cecil’s eye began to twitch. It was quick, so quick that Lucifer wondered if he was just imagining things, but then it happened again. He watched as Cecil’s grip tightened on their father’s hand.

“Stop talking.” They said, their voice clear as day.

Asmo didn’t seem to hear them, he kept on rambling. Rambling. Rambling. Rambling.

“I said shut up.” Cecil’s scowl deepened, but Asmo wasn’t even paying attention.

“And then I told her to stop trying to get me to wear something that garish. Can you imagine? Me wearing that?! Anyway I-“

Finally, Cecil dropped Asmo’s hand and stomped over to Asmo’s dozens of perfume bottles, they grabbed one, and threw it straight to the ground.

The room went silent the moment the glass shattered against the floor.

Asmo opened his mouth to demand what the hell Cecil thought they were doing, but Cecil beat him to the punch.

“What’s my middle name?”

“…what?”

“My middle name!” Cecil repeated, their cheeks going an angry red. “What is it?! Don’t you know your own child’s name?!”

“Cecil, I don’t know what has gotten into y-“

“Of course you don’t!” Cecil snapped back. “You know nothing about me, you self-centred NARCISSIST!”

Asmo crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Wow, Cecil, how original. If I had a nickel for every time someone tried to insult me by calling me a narcissist I’d have enough money to-“

“I. Don’t. CARE!” Cecil screamed, stomping down on the fragments of broken glass with their shoes and shattering them further. “What’s my favourite colour?! What’s my favourite movie?! What musical instruments can I play?! Huh?! You claim you’re such a good dad, now TELL ME WHO I AM!”

Asmo opened his mouth to respond… then slowly closed it.

He didn’t know.

“Who are my friends?! What are my hobbies?! What are my grades at this stupid school?! No, you don’t know, because you only care about yourself!”

And with angry tears running down their cheeks, Cecil stormed out, slamming the door behind them, leaving Asmo wide-eyed on his bed, completely motionless.

My Asmo wouldn’t. Lucifer repeated that, over and over again in his mind like a cultish chant. He adores Cecil, he loves hearing about them and what they do- he loves-

He didn’t always.

Lucifer grimaced. He knew his little brother, and despite how much he loved him, Lucifer knew Asmo didn’t have the best track record with rolling out affection. It was almost never selfless. It was always to gain something.

The admiration or respect of others, a product, status, a partner for the night, it didn’t matter.

And at first Cecil was no different.

Asmo was so excited to find out that he had a half human child in Lucifer’s timeline because Lucifer was a father and he saw what Venus did for his image. That wasn’t to say Asmo didn’t love Venus, but Asmo knew what made his follower count balloon into the stratosphere.

This Asmo never stopped seeing Cecil as a simple tool.

…

Lucifer’s eyes snapped open. He was holding his cup of tea in a shaking hand, looking dead ahead at Barbatos, who was calmly stirring milk into his tea.

“I told you that you might not like what you see.”

The butler continued to stir his tea, before eventually putting down the spoon and taking a sip.

“Was that really what would have happened..?”

“It might have.” Barbatos said simply. “There are other timelines, but you asked for the closest one, and that was one of the closest I could find.”

“…I see.” Lucifer put down his tea, almost completely untouched, before he gave Barbatos a shaky nod and stood up from his seat. “I’ll be going now.”

“See you tomorrow, Lucifer.” Barbatos said as Lucifer quickly walked out of the room.

As the demon made his way home, he couldn’t help but wonder when he had stopped viewing Venus as a chore. When he started seeing them as a child and not a dangerous ticking time-bomb.

…Lucifer remembered laughter.

It had been a nice day out, the bright moon was fading to its dim nighttime glow, and Lucifer was waiting by the entrance of RAD’s middle school division. Despite child after child coming out the door, Venus hadn’t made their way outside.

Hearing a familiar voice cheer just out of sight, Lucifer couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Venus was goofing off, most likely.

He stepped into the school and walked down the halls, moving past the stragglers and teachers cleaning up their classrooms at the end of the day, and finally made it to the yard.

Over by the swingset, he spotted them.

“Hi father!” Venus waved as their swing swung them backwards. “Gimme a sec! I’m gonna jump!”

“Venus, it’s time to leave, now.” Lucifer said through gritted teeth, the day’s exhaustion and frustration seeping into his voice.

“Just wait, I gotta get high enough!” Venus replied, kicking out their legs and leaning back, forcing the swing to go higher as their little audience of three of their peers began to cheer their name.

“Vee! Vee! Vee!”

Venus let go at the highest possible point, but the moment their feet hit the wood chips, their legs slid out from under them and they landed on their back.

“Ow.”

“Ooo…” one of the children winced, a girl with pink hair and a lollipop in her mouth. “Ouch. Vee, don’t you have wings?”

“Yeah!” Venus said as they sat up. “But in the human world we don’t use wings to land! I can do it- just watch agai-“

“Venus, we’re leaving.” Lucifer began to walk over in order to tug his child to their feet and pull them home. At this rate the two would be late for dinner and-

“Just a second!” Venus shot to their feet and ran back to the swing, hoisting themselves onto their feet and beginning to kick back and forth again.

“Enough of this,” Lucifer sighed. “Do you want to be late?”

“We won’t be late if you push me!” Venus said, pushing their crooked glasses back into place as they began to pick up speed.

“Push you? No.”

“Come on, father.”

“Venus, get off the swi-“

“Pleeeeeaaaaaase? Please let me jump one more time!”

To his absolute shock (and mild horror) Lucifer felt his resolve begin to crumble. He slowly stepped behind the swing, and caught the chains.

“Aw- father but-“

“Hold on.”

Lucifer pulled the swing back, then pushed it forward, sending Venus flying upwards as they held onto the chains for dear life.

“WOOOOO!” They cried as they sailed through the air, daring to free one of their hands and pump their fist in the air.

“Hurry up and jump, we don’t have all-“

Venus leapt from the swing, soaring through the air until-

“HAH!” Venus hit the ground on both feet, waited a moment for their balance to be perfect, before holding up their arms like a gymnast. “See! I told you I can do it without flying!”

The three other kids snickered and gave them a halfhearted, but friendly round of applause as Lucifer grabbed one of their arms and began to lead them out of the playground.

“Bye, Vee!”

“Bye guys! See you Monday!” Venus called out before turning to Lucifer with a big grin on their face as they slipped their arm out of his grasp and causally replaced it with their hand. “I bet them I could stick the landing without using my wings and I did it!”

“Yes, I saw.”

“Mhm, we do that all the time in the human world, it’s not hard.” Venus explained with a proud smile. “Now what’s for dinner? Can we have Akudonalds?”

“What? No.” Lucifer looked down at them, bewhildered. “We have food at home.”

“With Uncle Beel there? No way.” Venus replied, pouting. “What about pizza?”

“No.”

“Sushi?”

“No.”

“Ugh!” Venus huffed, puffing out their cheeks and looking up at Lucifer with a frown as the two turned the corner and began walking down the street to the house. “What do you plan on feeding me, then?”

“Hm,” Lucifer tapped his chin with his free hand in mock thought. “Gruel. It’s nutritious enough.”

“Ewwww!” Venus stuck out their tongue. “Maybe that’s what you eat but that’s nasty!”

“It’s good enough.”

“Good enough for someone who runs on… motor oil, maybe! Father, you run on motor oil!”

“Mhm.”

“Bleh…” Venus shook their head and began to look into the windows of shops they passed by. Despite himself, Lucifer began to crack an amused little smile. “Well if you plan on depriving me of deliciousness, can we at least get ice cream after dinner?”

“If you eat all your broccoli,”

“I like broccoli. That’s not going to be hard at all.” Venus said proudly.

“And your green beans.”

“What?! No way! You know those are nasty!”

“They’re nutritious.”

“Ewwww! No no no no! This is against the Geneva convention! At least make them in like- butter or something! Come on, father, they’re terrible!”

“If you don’t eat it, I’ll take everyone else out for ice cream.”

“Mammon’s not going to eat green beans either!”

“Then he doesn’t get ice cream either.”

“This is unjust!”

Lucifer’s smirk only grew as Venus continued to whine, while he unlocked the door. His child attempted to bargain with him over exactly how many green beans they’d need to eat before they could get their dessert as the door swung open.

“Uncle Mammon you won’t believe this!” Venus shouted as they kicked off their shoes and sprinted into the house, determined to find their uncle and continue to complain about the sheer unfairness of the whole situation.

To his surprise, a small, fond little laugh escaped Lucifer’s lips as he heard Mammon’s aghast response join Venus’ horrified retelling of what Lucifer told them.

“Kids…” Lucifer whispered.

As the memory began to fade, Lucifer found himself right at the front door.

He fumbled around for his keys before he managed to unlock the door and step inside, where he was greeted by the sounds of a video game running in the living room, and the intense shouting of someone losing said video game.

“Ya can’t just blue shell your old man like this!”

“Bold words for someone who mains Bowser.”

“THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!”

In the living room, Mammon and Ash were aggressively tapping away at their controllers with their eyes deadlocked on the screen, while Levi acted as their sports announcer.

“A bold move from Yoshi, but is it enough to beat Peach on a motorcycle?”

“I think so.” Beel piped up from his spot on the couch next to Belphie, who was peacefully napping through all of this on his shoulder.

“Well I mean- yeah it is a computer opponent but-“ Levi trailed off for a moment, before picking up his announcer act again with twice the previous vigor. “A jump from one part of the track to another! Bowser once again takes the lead before- NO! He falls into the abyss of space!”

“Dammit!” Mammon snapped, waiting for his kart to drop back onto the track while Ash exploded into giggles next to him.

“Would you all quiet down?” Asmo said from the other side of the living room, sitting on the floor surrounded by nail polish with Cecil. “I can’t hear a damn thing.”

“Then speak louder or somethin!” Mammon called back, which elicited an eyeroll from Asmo.

“What were you saying, Cecil sweetie?”

“Oh- right! I was just looking at these new shoes that Devicci dropped recently, and I really think they should stick to watches because-“

The faintest of smiles came across Lucifer’s lips as he saw how Asmo hung onto every word, how genuinely happy he seemed when he listened to Cecil recount how their day went.

But despite the little get-together they seemed to be having, Lucifer couldn’t spot the person he was looking for.

He moved on, down the hallway and up the stairs to their room, and tapped his knuckles against the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Come in.”

Lucifer opened up the door, and was greeted by Venus and Satan’s dear cat attempting to climb up his leg. Sighing, Lucifer picked up the cat and carried him over to Venus, who was hunched over their desk doing homework.

“What is it, father? Do you need something or-“

Venus was cut off by Lucifer spinning their desk chair around and absolutely crushing them into a hug.

“Ow- uh- father are you-“

“I love you, Venus. Don’t forget that.”

“…father are you sick?”

Lucifer pulled away and frowned in confusion. “What? Can I not say I love you?”

“Father seriously, the last time you were this upfront about it you had memory loss-“

“Quiet, you.” Lucifer tsked, but quickly began to chuckle. “That wasn’t the best of weekends, was it?”

“No, it was decidedly not.” Venus mumbled, then shrugged. “So uh- are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes… I’m fine.” Lucifer said after a moment of thought. “I just… got a little reminder of how much time flies.”

“You had an old person moment?”

“If that’s what you want to call it.” Lucifer said with a roll of his eyes. “But it also gave me a good reminder.”

Venus tilted their head. “What was it?”

Lucifer gently reached out and ruffled Venus’ hair as he softly smiled. “That even though I came into your life a little later than I would have liked, I’m lucky enough to spend the rest of mine with you now.”

———————

Author’s Note

Okay- writing some parts of this angst honestly felt like I was dragging myself through broken glass- angst writers how and why do you do this????

AND ON A REGULAR BASIS???????

Yeah- so uh- Luci’s content with being a good dad and meeting his kid a little late rather than being a terrible dad and being somewhat around for his kid’s whole life-

Shoot me an ask or comment or something and yell at me for this please.

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obey-only-me · 11 months

Text

Prideful Devotion

- Part 1 - At the request of @dark-lady15, @aeongiies and @lovelyfriedcomputer, here is part 2 of Prides Gift. And I want to give special thanks to @aeongiies for their help in choosing the direction this will take :) Thank you for enduring my questions. This turned out to be more soft than spicy though - Song Inspiration: The Devil's Backbone by The Civil Wars - I will be posting a poll for you guys to vote for which brother I do next right after posting this so GO VOTE.

In the hallowed depths of the Devildom, where shadows danced and the air crackled with an electric fervor, Lucifer gazed upon the human before him, whose pride and resilience had caught his attention once again and this time had stolen his breath.

It was undeniable, radiant, and untempered as they navigated through the introductions and, as expected of anyone who was under the influence of his power, they were quick to understand everything they were told. They carried themself with a grace that echoed his own poise.

Then the dreaded question that was on everyone's minds was asked.

Diavolo, being inquisitive as ever, couldn't resist any longer, "How do you and Lucifer know each other?"

Lucifer saw the others perk up with interest making him scowl and huff a breath of exasperation. This seriously couldn't wait? Before he could say so, MC spoke.

"With all due respect, Lord Diavolo, that is a personal matter."

Diavolo smiled, one that did not take no for an answer, "Well, hopefully you will make an exception for me."

MC smiled back, "Of course, just not here. I would prefer to speak of it in private with Mr. Morningstar present as it is not just my business, if that's alright?"

"Just call me Lucifer." Lucifer stated.

"If you insist."

The demon Lords boisterous laughter rang through the room, "Very well. We may discuss it later. For now we need to have you shown to the House of Lamentation, where you will be staying for the duration of your time here."

Lucifer met MCs eyes, "You will need someone to look after you, and I had intended for my brother, Mammon, to do so. He is the Avatar of Greed and...how should I put it...? Oh well, you'll understand soon enough. But given the circumstances, I will assume that role."

He pulled a D.D.D. out of his pocket and placed it in MCs hands, "Here, take this. It's a lot like the cell phones from your world. It will be yours to use as long as you are here. Now, I'd like you to call Mammon with it."

He knew that his brother wouldn't answer if he saw it was him so he was going to use this to his advantage.

They listened as the phone rang before Mammon answered with little hesitation as Lucifer had expected, "Yoooo."

"Hello, Mammon." Mc replied, their voice cool and collected.

Mammon was silent for half a second, "Who the hell are ya?"

"I'm MC, the new human exchange student."

"Whaaa? Geez, I was gettin' all chilly here thinkin' it was Lucifer again. Ya should've told me right away. So what business does a human got with THE Mammon?"

MC turned her gaze to Lucifer, taking in his expression.

"Lucifer asked me to call you. It would seem you need to rectify whatever you did before he gets to you."

"Pfffft, whatever. Ya think THE Mammon would listen to ya just 'cause you're tryin' to scare me with that name?"

The Avatar of Pride extended his hand for the phone letting MC set it in his palm, "You've got 10 seconds to get home... 9... 8..."

Mammon shrieked in fright, "YESSIR!" and hung up in an instant.

"Thank you," he said as he handed the phone back then turned to Diavolo. "I will take them to the House of Lamentation to get them settled then we will meet you at the castle to explain."

The demon lord nodded in acknowledgement so they left.

Time passed quickly after that and MC had done exceptionally well in the program. They had grown close with each of his brothers as well and had an uncanny ability to make them behave, already having formed pacts with Mammon, Levi, and Beel. He had a deep suspicion they had been sneaking to the attic but had no evidence to prove it, making him even more suspicious of their intentions behind the pacts.

MC had began helping him with his work and became his unofficial assistant, forcing them to spend much more time together. Idle conversation turned to flirting, with him unintentionally flirting back. They had a charm that was hard to ignore and he found that he would look forward to the afternoons they would spend together listening to his records as they worked. His pride would get in the way, however, forcing him to step back from them even though he ached to do the opposite. But MC stood their ground and took it in stride, determined to become closer to him.

Throughout that time he had been able to get to know them better, and found he had the urge to protect them and keep them to himself despite some of the mishaps along the way, even if he would never admit it.

He had no one to blame but himself for MCs courageousness after all. The small amount of power he had granted them so long ago had influenced them to the point where being told what to do or being told they couldn't do something affected their pride, urging them to do just that. Although, he was unsure how much was his influence and how much was purely MCs personality.

Some time later, at Diavolo's castle, attending the Ball the demon lord had thrown in celebration of the exchange program, Lucifer watched MC as they made conversation with the guests.

Amidst the flickering lights that painted the ballroom in deep shades of gold, MCs mortal form, clad in garments befitting nobility, seemed delicate compared to his. Yet an unyielding strength emanated from them, a beacon that drew the Prince of Darkness near.

He asked them to dance and he could hear their heart pounding in rhythm with the infernal symphony that echoed around them.

Part of him wanted them to keep looking at him with the look of adoration in their eyes in that moment, but the other was too focused on his caution.

As they danced, he threatened them, instead of explaining the dangers of going to the attic, not knowing that hurting them the way he had would leave him with regret and guilt.

They held his gaze even though his grip was painfully tight. Even as their face twisted with pain they stood their ground. A quality that was as endearing as it was irritating.

Their dance ended and they went their separate ways, but his eyes stayed on them for the remainder of the night.

As time continued to pass, MC had formed pacts with Amso and Satan. He admired their drive and dedication, but he still held them with an air of caution.

They came to his study late one afternoon and knocked on the door, "Lucifer, may I come in?"

"What is it, MC?" he called to them without looking up from his paperwork.

They stepped inside, "I have something for you."

That made him stop what he was doing and look up at them and the vinyl record in their hands in surprise.

At his silence they continued, laying the record on his desk, "It took some time and effort to have this made, and I may have had a bit of help from Levi and Mammon, but it's finally here. After our first meeting and making our deal, my life began to get better and my career skyrocketed. When I became of age, I was able to seize custody of my siblings and give them a better life outside of our parents abuse. They are grown now and living wonderful lives. In wake of all of that, I wanted to give you proper thanks, but I had no idea if I would ever see you again so I wrote this in the hope that one day you would hear it. You had no reason to help me and even if helping me had only been for your own benefit, I am still grateful."

They left before he could respond and his eyes fell to the record. He lifted it with gentle fingers, appraising the the bold letters on the cover that read: The Memory of Pride.

He rose from his chair and moved to his record player, carefully setting the disc upon it and let it play.

The music enveloped him. Each note pulling on his heart and his pride swelled to new heights knowing that this music was written specifically for him. He could feel the emotion that had been woven into it: gratefulness, remembrance, pride. He could feel how genuine it was. He had not thought that one small, spur of the moment, action would produce this.

The feelings brewing in his heart grew, and he let the record play for the rest of the night, basking in the warmth that coursed through his veins.

But then, everything came crashing down around him in what felt like an instant. His vision became clouded with red at the sight of MCs mangled body - a mere human whose fate had become intertwined with he and his brothers conflicts.

If only they had listened to him. If only he had told them the whole truth, his pride be damned. He knew they would have understood, but he didn't. They didn't listen to him or heed his threats and now look at what has happened.

An anger he had not felt since the celestial war began to build within him. He could barely hear his brothers pleas' anymore.

A sinister aura hung heavy as he seethed. His eyes burned with a malevolent fire as he confronted his brother.

"How dare you," Lucifer hissed, his voice laced with venom. "MC was under my protection, under our family's protection. They were mine to guide, not yours to extinguish!"

Belphie only laughed making Lucifer's anger flare, his true form unfurling in a dark display of power as he stepped between MC and his younger brother. His features contorted with a mix of grief and unbridled rage, casting an eerie glow upon his chiseled face.

"Yes... Yes! Perfect! That's exactly the look I was hoping to see on your face, Lucifer!" the youngest laughed, "And this little pendant of theirs? The all powerful Lucifer couldn't have possibly given to them. So let's just get rid of it."

He crushed it in his fist and let the shattered pieces crumble to the floor.

"You dare to decide the fate of those under my care? You have defied me, Belphie, you have defied Lord Diavolo, and this transgression will not go unpunished." Lucifer's voice carried a chilling resolve.

But before he could follow through with it, MC reappeared. Their countenance alive and vibrant. His eyes that had been filled with fury and grief, now shimmered with a glimmer of hope and disbelief. The weight of despair that had burdened his heart lifted, replaced with an overwhelming sense of relief.

Everything that happened after was a blur: revealing Lilith's true fate, discovering that MC was her descendant, and the guilt of withholding it all from his brothers.

The tension took awhile to dissipate and with MCs urging his brothers began to forgive him. MC was still wary of Belphie, and with good reason, but they eventually met halfway and his younger brother made a pact with them.

The end of their year had arrived and Lucifer had finally found a name for the feeling in his chest. The reason for his unconscious need to protect them and keep them near. Love; something he didn't think he'd feel for anyone, especially a human.

They came to his study to discuss everything for their return to the human realm and the thought of them being lost to him ate at his heart.

"Have you done all you set out to do here in the Devildom? No unfinished business? No loose ends?" He asked.

A downcast expression formed on their face, "I believe so, yes. But Belphie did break my pendant. I can't replace that." A chuckle slipped past their lips. "Now that I think about it, I've yet to make a pact with you."

"A pact, you say?" He began, his face going blank. "I see. You've made pacts with all of my brothers, which just leaves me... Do you really want to make a pact with me? Truly? I don't know how my brothers felt about making pacts with you, but I am more than a name to be crossed off of your list. I can't have you lumping me together with everyone else. That won't do."

His demon form emerged and MC didn't flinch.

"Seriously, Lucifer? From the very beginning you have been held in a different light from the others. And you should know by now that this form of intimidation from you doesn't work on me anymore." They crossed their arms defiantly, head tilted to hold his gaze.

Lucifer huffed out a breath, "That defiance... I've always found that aspect of you irritating. But as irritating as it is, it's even more endearing."

As they stood face to face, Lucifer's lips curved into a smirk, a blend of mischief and desire. The air grew heavy with anticipation, the unspoken tension between them filling the void. In the depths of his ruby eyes, he let MC glimpse a tumultuous sea of emotions - a yearning.

In a gesture both daring and vulnerable, Lucifer extended a hand, his touch gentle as a whispered promise, "If you are amenable, I am willing to offer you a deal."

MC, emboldened by an inexplicable connection, accepted the invitation, their fingers intertwining. They looked up to him with heavily lidded eyes, their voice coming out a low purr, "What would this deal cost me?"

He pulled them forward, wrapping his other arm around them for his hand to rest against their lower back, and a surge of raw energy coursed through their vines, their union an alchemy of darkness and light, binding them in an embrace, a pseudo waltz of undiscovered pleasure.

His lips came to rest against the shell of their ear as he answered, "Everything. You will belong to me and me alone." He moved to face them, their lips mere centimeters away from each other. "So, what will it be? Do you wish to make a pact with me, MC?"

MC searched his face, but there was no hesitation in their reply, a whispered, "Yes."

His grip tightened, and his touch sent shivers of anticipation down their spine, MC felt the weight of centuries-old burdens slacken just a little. But in the warmth of his presence, they discovered solace and a love that could not be contained.

His voice, a velvet caress, spilled forth words of vulnerability and truth, a confession that echoed through the chambers of their intertwined souls, "I love you."

Lost in the labyrinth of their emotions, time ceased to exist as they moved closer, their breaths mingling in the sacred space between them. With a tempestuous gaze, Lucifer's hand cradled MC's face, his touch both fiery and tender, akin to the paradox of his being. Their lips met in a union both fierce and passionate, a melding of opposing forces - darkness and light, damnation and salvation.

"We are heading straight to my room," He breathed as he pulled away, a fire in his eyes that would not be put out. "You're going to spend your last night in the Devildom there, together with me... all night long until the break of dawn. I'm not letting anyone else have you now... You're mine."

In those final, eternal hours, their embrace transcended the mortal realm, and they soared through celestial planes, leaving behind the trappings of their troubled pasts. Their love, fueled by shared desire and pride, became an inferno that engulfed them completely, igniting a flame that would burn forever more.

In the embrace of the Prince of Darkness, MC found freedom - the freedom to embrace their flaws, their desires, and the capacity to love him unapologetically. And as they danced on the precipice of darkness, Lucifer and MC embarked on a new journey, their love a testament to the power of connection, and a bond that defied the boundaries of Heaven and Hell.

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obey-only-me · 11 months

Text

Prides Gift

- Prompt: MC accidentally summons one of the brothers with the strength of their sin. - I read something similar to this a while back from another creator but I can't remember who it was, all I can remember is that it was about a teen MC who accidentally summons them. The idea is very entertaining and I wanted to give my own twist to it. - I'm only going to do one for now and if it does well I will do the others. If not I'll let it die lol So let me know how it is. Any critique is appreciated. - MC is in their mid teens - I'm sick atm and my meds have made me kind of out of it so I apologize if this didn't turn out all that great or make any sort of sense lmao I'll probably read back through this when I come down from my medicinal cocktail and just think "wtf" - Not proofread - Song recommendation: Product Of My Own Design by Artio

This work contains topics that some may find unpleasant. If you are sensitive to any of these, please, KEEP SCROLLING

Warnings: Small amount of physical/mental Abuse

Lucifer

The avatar of pride hated being summoned. It was a complete inconvenience. He had far too much work to do and had no time nor desire to deal with some petty humans wants or needs. Rarely ever did a human have something of value to exchange for his influence and even more rare were they even worthy enough to be in his presence.

He had become quite skilled at resisting. Only ever giving in when he truly needed to. But this time it felt odd. Different somehow, in a way he couldn't fully comprehend.

He tried to ignore it, to keep going about his work, hoping it would pass, but it persisted.

With a growl of irritation, he slammed his pen down and shoved his chair back as he stood before teleporting to its originator.

He made sure to keep himself out of sight, hiding away in the shadows, just out of a human's perception.

What he found perplexed him. Before him were two humans staring each other down. The feeling was coming from the younger one. His eyes traveled to the other.

One of their parents he presumed. They shared features with one another. In the background he saw other children.

In their hands was a piece of sheet music.

"It's not good enough!" their parent yelled. "You are a disgrace! What good is it that you're a prodigy if all you can produce is this garbage?!"

A slap echoed through the room.

The parent continued with their cruel words. Going on and on about how worthless their child was.

The young human did not cry or yell, only turned their head back to them with a fury in their eyes. Their spine rigid, chin held high, and fists balled at their sides.

It was obviously not the first time they had endured this treatment.

He felt their pride waver and anger swell within them. The smell of frankincense and amaryllis came off of them in waves and invaded his senses. The flavor of their sin was unique to say the least and it was clear to see that summoning him had not been their intention. He had half a mind to leave but he remained out of morbid curiosity.

He tapped into their thoughts.

"You're wrong. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! How dare you?! How dare you?! How dare you?! I will be better than you! I am better than you! All you want is to take credit for my accomplishments! My hard work! How dare you act as if I am inferior?! Don't crack. Don't give in. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing me broken. They must never see me weak."

It was a sentiment he was all too familiar with.

The older human sent them to their room and he followed. He let himself indulge in their sin. Let it feed him.

When their door shut and locked behind them, the humans hands flew to their hair and pulled, a growl rising in their throat. They paced around the room for a while before finally leaning onto their desk, taking deep breaths.

"Just breathe it out," they muttered to themself. "A break down won't help."

They continued this until their emotions settled within them, or rather were locked away again.

The avatar of pride stepped out of the shadows. His wings and horns on full display, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"You shouldn't hold back, human." He said.

The human jumped and whipped around to come face to chest with him before looking up to his piercing red eyes. The slight fear at the sight of him fed his ego.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" they asked.

His chest puffed up, "Lucifer Morningstar. You summoned me. Who are you?" He demanded.

He saw recognition flash through their eyes at his name only for confusion to overtake them once more before they settled with acceptance, "MC... May I address you as Mr. Morningstar? Or something along those lines? I feel like using your first name is too familiar and a bit disrespectful."

Lucifer was surprised by their manners but didn't let it show as he gave them a slight nod of approval. Another surprise was that the fear had disappeared from them and was replaced by curiosity as they appraised them.

"You are being very polite for a human in the presence of demon," he commented.

MC scoffed in exasperation, "It is in my best interest not to earn your ire. Besides, you haven't done anything to me personally to justify rudeness."

"You aren't going to call upon god to save your soul? I can feel his influence here. Pieces of it are scattered throughout your home." The low timber of his voice vibrated through the room with an air of ridicule.

"My parents beliefs are not mine. I do not care for their god. And what good would there be in calling upon him now? He has done nothing for me and I owe him nothing. I do not need nor want his intervention."

MC walked to their bed and sat down before gesturing to their desk chair, "Have a seat if you want to, Mr. Morningstar."

His respect for the human grew just a little bit so he accepted.

"You mentioned before that I summoned you," MC began again. "How? I don't remember doing anything of the sort."

He sighed, "Simply put, my sin in you was strong enough to pull me here."

"Oh, so what now?"

He thought on it for a moment. He felt an unusual connection with the human, though he would not know why for a while yet. He couldn't help but notice the open minded air about them and their maturity and intelligence. They had the potential to be successful. A willingness to learn and persevere, to push forward and work harder were qualities he admired.

They had one immediate obstacle and that was domineering and controlling parental figures.

An obstacle he knew intimately.

"Normally, this is when you humans start stating what you desire from me, but if you are amenable, I am willing to offer you a deal."

MC watched him cautiously, "What would this deal cost me? My soul?"

"I am not some lesser demon who requires souls to gain power," He replied with a snappish tone. "I do not require yours."

"I meant no offense, Mr. Morningstar. I simply have no knowledge of demons or how deals with demons work outside the churches influence. To be honest I didn't truly believe any of it existed. What exactly are you offering and how would it work? I do not want to blindly incur debts."

He was not going to make a pact with them. They were far too young to offer immediate results or benefit him in any way, but his instincts told him that assisting this human would be in his best interest.

"It is an exchange. By giving me that which you are most proud of, I will offer you a small piece of myself that is of equal value. The power from that will make you succeed in your endeavors, but it will still require work. You must earn it."

"Aside from aiding my success, how else would this affect me personally?"

He smirked. They were perceptive as well. Good. "It will increase your pride in yourself and your work. Effectively raising your confidence and make you work even harder."

It was similar to the effects of his pact, but not nearly as potent.

"And of course, you lose any chance of going to heaven. You would be making a deal with a demon, after all." He added.

"What do you gain from this?"

"Some of the pride that you accumulate through your accomplishments will be syphoned to me."

It was an extremely simple exchange. It didn't required MC to do anything but pursue their strengths and he wouldn't have to come to human realm as often as before to meet his sins needs. It was a win-win.

The human appeared lost in thought as if having an internal debate. Then something sparked in their eyes and they stood. He watched them walk to a bookshelf in the corner of the room and pull out a binder before coming to stand in front of him.

"This is a collection of the most complex musical compositions I have written. Each of them have earned me first place in competitions all over the country. I have them all committed to memory so I have no need of a physical copy. Is this sufficient?" They asked while keeping eye contact with him.

He could see and feel the unwavering certainty in their eyes.

Without a word, Lucifer reached down and plucked a single feather from one of his wings. It settled in the center of his palm and he cast a transfiguration spell on it making it change into a pendant in the shape of his sigil.

While simple in design it was still quite large. His pride demanding that it be seen.

They exchanged items carefully.

"You must not lose that, ever," Lucifer stared them down as he stood to leave. "If you do, I will know. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, I'm leaving. I have been here far too long and I have a lot of work to finish, and no doubt more on the way from the damage my brothers have caused in my absence."

MC looked down at the pendant in their hands and back up, "Farewell, Mr. Morningstar, and thank you."

He said nothing and disappeared back into the shadows.

But before he returned to the Devildom, he had one last thing to take care of to ensure this transaction bore fruit.

He made his way through the house until he found MCs parent.

Lucifer let his presence slip into their senses. Exuding an intoxicating aura of power and arrogance and terror that preyed on the darkest recesses of human vanity.

Then he manifested before them, his true form imposing, standing tall and lean. His entire being seemed to ripple with suppressed energy, ready to unleash his dominion on any who dared to challenge him. As he stalked his way to them, he radiated an ethereal essence, swirling hues of crimson, gold, and violet dancing and intertwining like a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of color.

But it was his eyes that captured the attention of the human before him. They burned with an intense, otherworldly fire, shining like twin suns and within their depths was a potent mix of confidence, ambition, and superiority that captivated any who dared to meet his gaze. Those who did found their own doubts and insecurities exposed, their sense of self shaken to its very core.

Even the air seemed to bend and quiver in his presence. The atmosphere crackled with palpable energy, an invisible forcefield pulsating around him and with his every step, a symphony of whispers and murmurs that danced on the very edges of the psyche followed. A chorus of both awe and trepidation that only continued to grow louder.

In seconds the human found themselves trapped as he closed in on them and the air turned suffocating. They were frozen in place, limbs trembling.

"MC and I have come to an agreement," His demonic voice slithered through the air, a chilling tone that resonated with primal malevolence. Its timbre was a haunting blend of gravelly growls and seductive hisses, capable of both commanding obedience and instilling paralyzing fear. As it echoed, the words seemed to claw their way into the human's mind, leaving a lingering sense of unease and bore the unmistakable mark of the infernal, a haunting reminder of the abyss from which it emerged.

"So if you so much as lay another finger on them or harm them in any way, I will not hesitate to come back here and tear you limb from limb, understood?"

The human nodded weakly, unable to speak.

Then he was gone.

A decade had passed since then and Lucifer had nearly forgotten about it, barely even remembering their name. Being swamped in a literal mountains of work on the daily will do that to people.

This day was an important one. He was in a rush to get things in order for the arrival of the new exchange student. Doing double checks on everything. He had already had to deal with his brothers antics: Mammon disappearing, Satan trying to sabotage him with yet another prank, having to drag levi from his room, Beel having cleared the fridge again, Asmo constant inappropriate questions about the exchange student, worrying of belphie in the attic, and the list goes on. He couldn't handle another setback, otherwise he was liable to explode.

There was one document he just couldn't find and it was driving him mad. He ripped open the draws in his desk and started pilfering through his files only for eyes to fall to a binder buried underneath.

Suddenly his DDD went off and his eyes shot to its screen to see that is was a message from Diavolo stating he had the document in question and to meet him in the student council room.

Before long he and his brothers were watching as the exchange student was summoned.

They were disoriented at first and glanced around in confusion until their eyes locked with his, and a soft smile graced their face.

His own fell to the pendant around their neck.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Morningstar."

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