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leviathanswingman · 4 years

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killing me softly, chapter 13: l’homme qui a seduit le diable

For one last time Lucifer was standing in front of the mirror, fixing every last flaw to his appearance he could find.

As planned, he had met up with Asmodeus two hours prior to the event. Immediately after having entered Lucifer's room Asmodeus had thrown multiple bags onto the bed before hoisting a big make-up case onto the dressing table. He snapped the clasps open and revealed multiple compartments filled to the brim with beauty products ranging from different foundation shades to various lipsticks in any colour imaginable.

„Well, let's get to work! I can't wait to make you even more gorgeous than usual“ Asmodeus had chirped as he began working on his brother, apparently chipper, but still there was an undeniable shaking to his hands.

An hour later, the job was done and Asmo had left suspiciously early, almost as if he had been in a hurry. Lucifer decided to not dwell on that fact. „See you at the party!!“ were the last words he had heard his little brother exclaim.

Now Lucifer was left to his own devices again. His eyes were glued to the reflection in the mirror staring back at him. If he stared any longer he felt as if his reflection would climb out of the mirror, lunging towards him and grabbing him roughly by the throat, throwing him to the ground while chanting a mantra of „I'll kill you i'll kill you i'll kill kill kill-“ Lucifer slammed his fist roughly against the wall, pulling himself out of his vision. A trickle of blood slowly dripped down his roughed up knuckles, which Lucifer chose to ignore.

Once again, he observed himself in the mirror and had to admit, his reflection looked rather exquisite. Asmodeus had done an exceptional job, as usual. With various tinctures and creams he had successfully managed to hide the deep sat bags under Lucifer's eyes and with a layer of foundation his otherwise sickly pale skin tone had been turned into a porcelain one. The most amount of time however had been spent on his eyes. Shades of red blended together carefully were now embellishing his eyes, giving him a powerful look. Additionally, Asmo had applied the slightest amount of eyeliner and mascara, barely noticeable, yet still efficient.

Lucifer observed himself for another moment. In the beginning, he had had his doubts about this whole ordeal, but looking at it now, he found himself satisfied with the result. Asmodeus had kept his promise after all. Instead of painting Lucifer like a cheap harlot he had used his skills to cater to Lucifer's tastes and delivered a result which looked and felt natural to the demon. Of course, a look so flauntingly attention grabbing was foreign to Lucifer, yet he felt confident in this different version of himself. After all, Lucifer wanted to spend his last day acting and presenting himself in the most perfect of ways.

Quietly, Lucifer styled his hair as his favourite track of Levi's cursed TSL soundtrack filled the silence of the room on repeat.

As soon as he was done he went over to the closet and pulled out the outfit he was supposed to wear tonight. For a moment he lingered as he let his fingers run along the delicate seams and high quality fabric of the black lace shirt. To someone like Lucifer, clothing like this was beyond daring. Lace, so innocent in its original nature, yet so alluring now that it was dyed black. It was a fabric which eluded seductive energy, the fabric of a tempter.

L'homme qui a seduit le diable.

Lucifer put on the shirt, nodding as he felt the quality of the fabric against his skin. The fit was immaculate as well, as expected from his fashion obsessed brother. He put on the rest of the suit and then stopped in his tracks as he ogled the boots Asmodeus had picked out for him.

Once again, an item of clothing Lucifer himself would have never chosen out of his own free will. Still, he picked them up and sat down on the edge of his bed, slowly pulling them past his knees and over his thighs as he spent his time lacing them up carefully. After he was done, he walked over to the full body mirror near his closet and studied his appearance. He looked elegant, his usual modesty replaced by the undeniable allure of dirty lace and cunning heels. If Lord Diavolo could see him like this-

Before Lucifer could finish his train of thought he was interrupted by the painful feeling of petals stuck in his throat, right in-between the border of his air pipes and his esophagus. He coughed heavily to dislodge them, but his efforts turned out to be useless. The petals he could feel so very clearly were stuck and refused to exit his body. Instead of coughing them out effortlessly Lucifer ended up stuck, sinking down to his knees as he realized that his only way out was to throw them up. Under his dressing table was a trash bin, so he grabbed it in an almost routinely manner and relieved himself. The sound of Lucifer's gagging, as involuntary as it was, filled the room. Lucifer didn't see the need to feel exposed, after all, his room was sound proofed. As a demon who took pride in his torturing skills, sound proofing in his room was very much a necessity. After he was done he roughly wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, getting rid of any sort of evidence of his illness.

Lucifer then made his way down to the conference room of RAD where he was supposed to meet up with Barbatos and Diavolo before the celebration for any last minute questions. He arrived at the arranged meeting time, stilling in front of the door for a moment, hesitating as his fingers lingered on the ornate doorknob. Lucifer straightened his already perfect posture, rolled his shoulders to ease the soreness and then pushed the door open.

As he opened the door, he saw Barbatos waiting for him. Diavolo, however, was nowhere to be seen. Lucifer stepped into the room, the clacking of his heels on the marbled floor filling the silence.

“ Hello there, Lucifer. You look good,” Barbatos greeted as he mustered Lucifer from top to bottom, his eyes lingering on Lucifer's boots a second too long. A slight smile spread on his face as he approached. The demon looked barely any different than usual, except for the fact that his regular suit had been traded in for a slightly more adorned, festive one. Barbatos nodded slightly as he circled Lucifer once. “I see Asmodeus has gotten his hands on you. Dare I say, it suits you quite well.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the comment. “Thank you,” he said as he stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him. “You look quite sophisticated yourself. I don't suppose Lord Diavolo is hiding in that closet back there, so I must ask. Where is he? Wasn't he supposed to be here ten minutes ago?” Lucifer sighed as he brushed his bangs out of his face “We always give him an earlier time for our meetings yet he still always manages to arrive too late. There really is no helping him, is there?”

All of a sudden, there were the suppressed sounds of a struggle coming from outside of the door. For a second Lucifer thought he could hear Diavolo's voice arguing with someone. Once again, Lucifer felt flower buds piling up in his throat, threatening to suffocate him. Quickly, he coughed into the crook of his elbow twice just as the noise started to quiet down again. How strange. He reached for the doorknob just as Barbatos touched his shoulder lightly.

“There's no need for that. We don't want the groom to see his bride right before the event now, do we?” he asked with an unreadable expression.

Lucifer turned around, suspicion growing as he got a bad feeling deep in his gut. “Who were you calling a bride just now?” he asked, voice stern and slightly too stiff. Even though Lucifer was aware of the fact that today would be his last day, he couldn't help but feel suspicious of Barbatos' motives. That demon was always planning one thing or the other, so in times like these, with Lucifer deadly sick, there were plenty of reasons to suspect him.

His throat was tickling dangerously, so Lucifer pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, coughing roughly as several petals spilled out of his throat.

Barbatos mustered him with contempt. “You are aware that you do not have it end like this, right?” he asked coldly and Lucifer threw him a nasty look as he let the handkerchief slip back into his pocket.

“There's no other way,” he stated, not in the mood to engage in yet another battle of words. At this point, there was no one who could change his mind. After all, Lucifer had made peace with the situation a long time ago. Yet somehow, deep inside, he felt a certain kind of anxiety eating him up whole. Lucifer wasn't afraid of death. He imagined it as a pitch black nothingness, a world void of neither happiness nor sadness, a state of blissful unimportance where everyone and everything were were equally as unimportant.

No, what Lucifer feared most was having to let go.

Would it really be alright to leave his brothers, Diavolo and all the other demons to their own devices? In all honesty, Lucifer could not find the answers to all these questions, no matter how long he let them ghost through his brain. Leaving was the most difficult thing for him to do. All he had to do was pass the reigns over to someone else, yet there was a heavy, dull feeling in his chest whenever he so much as thought about it.

He knew he was about to tear out a piece of his loved ones hearts, but he knew they would eventually get over it and grow stronger from it.

After all, his brothers were strong. Yuuta had been through a lot already, he knew how to bounce back. And Lord Diavolo-

Diavolo would be heartbroken, this much Lucifer knew. Thinking about it too much only made his head hurt, so Lucifer shut down the downward spiral of his thoughts. Lord Diavolo had Barbatos, he would have to pull through somehow. Lucifer coughed into the crook of his elbow once again.

The celebration was about to start and Lucifer still hadn't seen Diavolo around. Normally he would get restless and order an entire sweep of RAD to find his demon lord, yet Barbatos' laissez-faire attitude made Lucifer doubt that Diavolo had simply overslept. There was definitely something going on, and the fact that Lucifer seemed to be the only person left out filled him with a certain sort of nausea. He knew that in the best of cases, only Asmodeus and Barbatos were involved. Knowing his brothers however, if one was involved that generally meant that the whole bunch of them was somehow in it as well.

Lucifer sighed deeply as he headed over to the bathroom. He tried to stop worrying about everything, after all there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Of course, there was always the option of choking out Asmodeus for answers, but that wouldn't do it today since Diavolo's celebration had to take utmost importance. All he wanted was for the celebration to go over smoothly, but there was that voice in the back of his mind promising him that sadly, that wouldn't be the case at all.

As he pushed the door open, he firstly noticed that Barbatos and all of his brothers were already present, mingling with their first guests.

All of his brothers were there. This had to be a fever dream.

Lucifer approached just as his eyes focussed on Leviathan clumsily standing in front of a guest, apparently having run out of small talk material, so they were just awkwardly staring at each other.

“Good evening, you must be Lady Naamah. It is awfully good to see you, I hope your arrival has been nothing but pleasant. I am Lucifer, Lord Diavolo's second in command,” Lucifer greeted, a pleasant smile on his face as he shook Lady Naamah's hand gently,

The woman flushed deep red as she took his hand. “O- oh thank you, my travel to Devildom has been nothing but pleasant. I thank you for your hospitality, please give Lord Diavolo my deepest regards, he has outdone himself once again. After all, he is the finest of demons,” Lady Naamah gushed as she let go of Lucifer's hand.

“Of course, now if you'll excuse me, I have other guests to attend to.” Lucifer bowed slightly as he took Levi by the shoulder, leading him away from their guests. As soon as they were by themselves Leviathan's head slumped down. With shaking fingers he timidly messed with his bangs.

“I'm really a good for nothing shut-in,” he muttered as he kept his head down. “I tried, I really did.”

Lucifer put his hands on his hips as he thought of the best way to approach his brother. Social gatherings had always been hard on Leviathan. Due to his shut-in nature being around too many people made him freak out.

Gently, he put his hands on Levi's shoulders. “Look at me,” he said and Levi finally lifted his head again. “You don't have to approach the guests unless you want to. That is my function. Stick to Yuuta, he isn't the most sociable either. I don't need the two of you running around making yourselves uncomfortable.” He ruffled through Levi's hair in a teasing manner. “Understood?”

“Hey, stop that,” Levi mumbled as he pushed Lucifer's hand away. He cleared his throat and awkwardly fumbled with his hands. “But thanks,” he added quietly before running off to find Yuuta.

Lucifer sighed as he straightened his posture and went back to the celebration. More guests were arriving from minute to minute and he had to portray himself in the most positive of lights. He had to do it for both Diavolo and the future of RAD.

He discreetly coughed into his handkerchief, noticing slight speckles of blood on it out of the corner of his eye. Almost nonchalantly, Lucifer let the handkerchief slip back into his pocket. Nothing new. It was almost perverse how used Lucifer had gotten to the fact that he was stuck spending evening after evening bleeding and spitting, fields of bloody petals growing beneath his feet like a cursed field of flowers.

His chest felt heavy and it was hard for Lucifer to hide the fact that he couldn't breathe all that much. Although he looked pristine, thanks to Asmodeus' help, he felt incredibly awful.

Before the celebration Lucifer had downed as many painkillers as he could without casually offing himself before his inevitable death this evening. Still, there was only so much painkillers could do against a lethal illness.

For a moment Lucifer excused himself before walking out the door, rounding a few corners until he found an empty, slightly remote hallway. Hidden from the public eye, Lucifer slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. Every time he tried to take a deep breath, there was the unmistakable sound of his lungs rattling. Every time he tried to take a deep breath Lucifer could feel the way his lungs were straining, struggling to keep him going while roots held him at gunpoint.

Lucifer's chest felt heavy with discomfort and lamentations as he pressed his hand against it, prodding carefully.

His hand rested on his chest, right where his left lung was placed. He closed his eyes as he took a shallow breath, feeling the rattling in his chest.

The vivid image of sharp roots and thorns protruding from his body, having pierced through his lungs and ripped through his body as Lucifer laid on the floor, crimson blood, terrifyingly vibrant in contrast to the white marbled floor, gushing out of his mangled body. His brothers were scurrying around desperately, and someone was leaning over his body, screaming desperately as Lucifer took his last breath and with one final bloodied cough the life left his eyes forever. The last thing he saw were wet, golden eyes, distraught in sorrow.

Lucifer snapped out of this twisted fantasy of his and pushed himself off the wall, stumbling a bit. He straightened his posture, checked himself through the camera option of his DDD and made his way back to the celebration, leaving an empty hallway with several petals on the floor behind him.

Back in the ballroom, Lucifer mingled with the guests for a while. There was still no sign of Lord Diavolo. Lucifer's hand twitched in annoyance. Where was that bothersome man? The celebration hadn't officially started yet, but the possibility of Lord Diavolo coming too late to his own celebration was a horrifying thought to Lucifer.

As he overlooked the current state of the celebration, making sure that everything was going smoothly, he spotted two of his brothers lingering around. Lucifer approached Beelzebub who was sitting at one of the tables, a dead asleep Belphegor slouched against his shoulder. Without hesitation, Lucifer flicked Belphie's forehead with two fingers, waking him up almost immediately.

“Don't go and fall asleep anywhere you go,” he lectured as Belphie cussed quietly, rubbing his forehead which was turning slightly red with one hand and his eyes with another.

“But I'm sooo sleepy.” He blinked once, then glared at Lucifer out of tired eyes, then blinked again in slight surprise. He looked up to Beel and suddenly started laughing, sounding moderately deranged. “Beel, look! He really did it, fuck me!”

Lucifer's scowl deepened as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “First of all, language. Second, what are you trying to say?”

Beel mustered Lucifer and nodded. “You look good, Lucifer,” he stated as he grabbed the menu and stared at it for a moment. His stomach grumbled loudly. “When will they bring out the food? I'm hungry.”

Belphie was still wheezing, slapping his knee repeatedly as he tried to breathe. “Lucifer, you really let Asmo get his hands on you? You look like a real Prince Charming, you know that,” he mocked as he lazily stood up from the chair, stretching out his legs.

An icy look crossed over Lucifer's face as his fingers twitched. This little-

Belphegor knew exactly how pedantic Lucifer was about keeping up appearances in the public eye, so he knew there was no way for Lucifer to get violent.

Instead of punishing his little brother Lucifer put on a shining smile. “Thank you for the compliment, dearest brother,” he pushed out through clenched teeth.

Tomorrow, he would- oh. In the heat of the moment he had almost forgotten that there was in fact no tomorrow. All he had left was today. Lucifer didn't even realize he had frozen in place until he was brought back to reality by Mammon flailing his hand back and forth in front of Lucifer's face.

“Oiiiiii, Lucifer. Lucifer! I think ya guys broke him!”

Taken by surprise, Lucifer grabbed Mammon by the wrist, stopping him in his acts a bit too forcefully.

“What do you think you're doing?”

“I was callin out for a while, but ya weren't respondin. I had to do somethin!” Mammon winced and squinted his eyes shut, expecting some form of punishment.

Lucifer snorted once and raised his hand as his brother quivered. Although instead of being rough, Lucifer plopped his hand down onto Mammon's head and messed with his thick locks.

“Aaah!” he yelled out, but then stopped quickly as he realized he wasn't in any sort of danger. “Huh?! Hey stop it, don't treat me like a dog!” Mammon whined.

A short moment later Lucifer dropped his hand and chuckled softly. “I was distracted, that's why I didn't react,” he explained himself. “I'll go looking for Barbatos, so now go and be good, do you hear me?”

With that, Lucifer turned around, in search of Barbatos, leaving behind a confused Mammon who just stood frozen in place for a moment. “No way,” he mumbled stupefied before he caught himself again.

“Well that was something,” Belphie murmured from where he was leaning against the wall, half-asleep again. “Someone thawed Lucifer's icy innards.”

Mammon quickly whipped around to his brother. “Ya saw that too, right? That wasn't just a weird ass daydream??”

“Yup.”

“Just wait until Yuuta hears about this,” he said, bewildered. “Oi, Yuuta!! Ya'll never believe what just happened,” he barked as he took off running.

Beelzebub and Belphegor shook their heads almost simultaneously in amusement. “ Mammon really is his favourite, huh,” Beel said as Belphie started nodding off again.

“I'm just glad it isn't me. That would've been awkward-” Belphie mumbled as he slipped back into his dreamland.

As his twin fell asleep Beelzebub's expression darkened. He couldn't help but feel despair whenever he watched Lucifer, knowing that he was putting up a front. A part of him wanted Barbatos to be wrong, wanted to feel at peace with the fact that Lucifer couldn't possibly leave them any second to never return again. Looking at his brother however, so shiny in appearance, yet obviously so strongly in distress, made Beel's stomach turn. To normal demons, Lucifer seemed like his regular self, but to his brothers, the difference was obvious.

For a split second Beel found himself pushing the blame onto himself and his brothers. If only they had noticed earlier, would it have changed things? They should've noticed earlier. In hindsight, there had been so much evidence and strange behaviour coming from Lucifer, yet they all had shrugged it off, thinking it was just Lucifer being in a weird mood.

Now, their only chance at saving Lucifer was the plan they'd come up with. That plan however, was not foolproof and relied mostly on Lucifer's compliance, which was quite the shaky foundation to begin with. None of them could even imagine to what kind of world they would wake up to tomorrow. All they had left was pure faith that Lucifer would for once put his pride aside.

Beelzebub sighed as he picked up the menu again. He stared at it, but realized that he felt sick to his stomach.

Lucifer crossed the ballroom in search of Barbatos, stepping around lingering guests as they were wasting their time until Lord Diavolo's welcoming speech would take place.

Finally, he spotted the back of Barbatos' head near the entryway. Lucifer sped up his steps as he walked over to Barbatos.

“Barbatos!” he called out, voice deep and gravelly, and the demon turned around to him.

“Oh, Lucifer. Good to see you again. Is there anything you need?” he asked nonchalantly as he checked his pocket watch quietly, yet suspiciously well timed.

Lucifer crossed his arms and leaned forward a bit. “You know exactly why I'm here,” he hissed in a hushed tone. “Lord Diavolo still isn't here and he is supposed to hold his speech in five damn minutes. The fact that you don't even bat an eye is telling me that you know something about this.” With one finger pointing at Barbatos accusingly and without taking his eyes off Barbatos, Lucifer grabbed one of the glasses of demonus the servers were carrying around on trays and took a heavy sip. “I believe you have some explaining to do, what are you planning.”

Due to the nature of his angry rant, Lucifer had completely forgotten to control his breathing, so almost immediately he was sent into a heavy coughing fit. Pushing the handkerchief he carried with him to his mouth, he managed to calm down rather quickly, but not without noticing the alarming amount of blood he had just coughed up. Slowly, he turned around to the guests, checking if anyone had seen too much. Everyone still seemed to be lost in different conversations, so he was quite sure that no one had noticed. The only thing seemingly out of place was Asmodeus, who was surrounded by many guests, but had his full attention on Lucifer. With one hand on his chest and the other buried in the fabric of his pants, knuckles white, he locked eyes with Lucifer for a moment, eyes pleading, before turning back to the guests he'd been entertaining. A young man passed him a glass of demonus and Asmodeus downed half of it in a hurry.

Lucifer turned back to Barbatos, who typed something on his DDD and then looked up at Lucifer again. “Going back to your previous accusations, yes I am in the knowing as to why Lord Diavolo hasn't arrived yet. But to accuse me of planning anything mischievous is almost slanderous. Do I seem like the kind of person to do something like that?”

“Yes you do,” Lucifer stated, not even raising an eyebrow as he mustered Barbatos. He had known the demon long enough to know that he could never fully trust him. Before he could keep going, he suddenly heard the chatter of the people increase in volume. Shreds of a particular conversation caught his attention.

“You said he'd be here, so where is he? You know how worried I am.”

“Come on, grandpa. He's back there with Barbatos, look, I can clearly see them. Perhaps you've gotten blind? Have the cataracts finally started to develop?”

“Now don't be like that, Satan. Show at least a little bit of respect.”

“That's certainly not Lucifer. He would never wear-”

The voice caught off just as Lucifer turned around towards it. So he had been right.

Lord Diavolo was staring at him intensely, his cheeks dusted bright red as he let his gaze wander from the top of Lucifer's head to the bottom of his soles.

“Lord Diavolo,” he greeted as he approached Diavolo, who was joined by Satan to his left and Solomon to his right. That combination was such a strange one, Lucifer could almost feel it fuel his suspicions on the spot. “Pray tell, where have you been all this time? I already feared you miss out on your own celebration and someone,” he looked back at Barbatos passive aggressively, “didn't see the need to inform me of whatever is going on.”

Barbatos walked over innocently. “Oh, I must have forgotten about that. My apologies.”

There was a little part of Lucifer that played with the thought of strangling Barbatos right there on the spot. For the sake of Diavolo's reputation however, Lucifer did not, in fact, choke Barbatos out for all their guests to see.

All of a sudden Diavolo left Satan and Solomon's side and quickly walked over to Barbatos and Lucifer.

Before he could foresee it, Diavolo had encased Lucifer in a bone-crushing hug. If he hadn't gotten so used to the constricting ways of his lungs, Lucifer would definitely not have lasted for as long as he did this time.

Some of the guests were turning their heads to enjoy the show, and seeing the way they watched them in such a compromising situation made Lucifer's cheek turn dark red. “L-Lord Diavolo, please, we have guests,” he forced out and Lord Diavolo released him from the embrace, yet kept his hands tightly on Lucifer's shoulders. “Lucifer!” he exclaimed, his excitement akin to that of a puppy wagging its tail at the sight of its favourite toy. Once again, he mustered his right hand man from head to toe.

Lucifer didn't miss the way his eyes were roaming over his body and for no explainable reason whatsoever, Lucifer felt exposed. He could be standing there buck naked and he would have been less embarrassed than he was feeling right now. As he made eye contact with Diavolo he couldn't help but feel captured by those fierce eyes. The way they were shining in the dim light, Lucifer was stuck between feeling impassioned and feeling intimidated.

“I have never seen you like this, Lucifer. What a powerful thing you've been hiding from me! You look absolutely breathtaking, murderous even!”

The way Diavolo always managed to gush about Lucifer as if he were the greatest gift to Devildom always managed to bewilder him. When it was about his demon lord, Lucifer tried to be as humble as possible. But how could he stay professional and humble if Diavolo was acting like this? The roots in his chest tightened in a sudden painful grasp and Lucifer shivered as he suppressed the urge to flinch.

“Lord Diavolo, didn't we talk about this? Talking about me like that in public is quite embarrassing,” Lucifer muttered, his fingers, for once gloveless and exposed, curling around Diavolo's hands which were still locked tightly on his shoulders. Slowly, he brought them down. Just as he was about to let go, his gaze fell onto the sight of their hands together, joined in unison. Slender, pale fingers with nails painted red wrapped around tan, slightly calloused hands. He looked up to realize that Diavolo had been watching him closely and Lucifer quickly pulled his hands away, almost flinching. “Excuse me,” he grumbled, looking for any kind of distraction. His head was throbbing and his chest felt incredibly strained, similar to the feeling of a lump in your throat when you're holding yourself back from spilling incriminating tears.

His eyes focussed on Diavolo's appearance and Lucifer almost sighed in relief when he found a good enough distraction. “Your clothes are all wrinkled. You're supposed to hold a speech looking like that? Not on my watch. And look at your tie! Were you drunk when you tied it? Lord Diavolo, you really have to pay attention to these sorts of things.” Lucifer smoothed down Diavolo's clothes before pointing at a somewhat hidden corner of the room. “Over there. I am not going to tie your tie in front of all our guests. What would they think?”

They moved over to the corner and Lucifer untied Lord Diavolo's tie. “I won't be here forever, stuff like this for you,” he mumbled almost inaudibly.

“What was that?”

Lucifer tied the tie a bit too harshly before undoing it and then redoing it accordingly. “Nothing.” Then, he checked his DDD for the time and pushed Diavolo forward softly. “It's time.”

Lord Diavolo grabbed Lucifer by the sleeve before he could walk off. “Wait,” he mumbled. Without thinking, he reached for Lucifer's right hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly. “Thank you, Lucifer.” He let go of his hand and made his way over to the podium.

Glad that he was in the darkest corner of the ballroom, Lucifer broke out in a severe coughing fit. As he forced himself to calm down, he realized he had coughed up one white and one blue rose.

Was Diavolo actively trying to kill him faster? Lucifer's knees buckled and he fell to his knees for a second. His ears were filled with his own heavy breathing and it took him a few seconds before he had collected himself enough to stand up again.

He slowly walked back to Barbatos, who had been waiting for him. Side by side, they walked over to Diavolo, who was about to hold his speech. Barbatos stood to his left and Lucifer walked over to Diavolo's right. Arms crossed behind his back, with his heart racing, he put on a favourable mask as Lord Diavolo started to thank the guests for coming.

Half an hour later, Diavolo ended his speech and opened the banquet. Officially, the celebration had begun now.

Lucifer was sitting at a long table decked with various dishes and drinks, Diavolo and Barbatos next to him. His brothers were also sitting at the table, chatting as they were being their chaotic selves.

Barbatos chuckled as he watched Mammon threaten Asmodeus with his fork. “Everything seems to be going quite well,” he stated, turning around to Lord Diavolo. “All that's left now is the ceremonial dance. I take it you have decided on your partner?” he questioned, a secretive look on his face. Diavolo coughed awkwardly, eyes shifting to the side. “I will ask them right before the dance.”

Lucifer had completely forgotten about the ceremonial dance. It was one of the only parts of the celebration Barbatos had been solely responsible for. Actually, Barbatos had specifically asked to be the only one responsible for it.

The ceremonial dance was unimportant for your average demon. For demonic royalty however, it was of utmost importance. Their partner of choice would be harshly critiqued by the public eye, since to normal demons, royalty like Lord Diavolo were upheld to the status of a celebrity. People always loved to gossip, so Diavolo had to be careful with the partner he chose.

However, as an easy way out, Lord Diavolo had the option to sit out on the dance. This would signal the public that he had no partner in mind, so there was no reason for him to pick out a random demon he didn't actually care about. Given the fact however that Diavolo had chosen a partner, the whole situation had changed. Choosing a partner for the ceremonial dance was a proposal, an admission of sorts to the public, akin to telling the public that you had found a deserving equal.

Lucifer's skin crawled at the thought of him inevitably watching Diavolo profess his love and respect for another demon in front of the whole world. He had always been comfortable with the reality of Lord Diavolo sooner or later finding his match, whether that would be out of love or for his status. Still, that didn't make any of it easier on him.

“Oh?” he simply asked as he kept a tight grip on the disinterested mask he had screwed tightly onto his face. Under the table though, he clenched his fist around the fabric of his suit as he felt a petal threatening to force its way up his throat.

The way he was acting made him feel almost sick, so audacious and utterly selfish. Jealousy was running through his veins, green and ugly, poisoning him more and more as they nourished the flowers growing inside of his chest. He was supposed to be delighted by the fact that Diavolo had finally found someone to tie him down, yet he couldn't bring himself to fake it.

“Yeah, they are truly amazing. I hope I won't get shut down!”

Suddenly, he felt Diavolo's hand on his shoulder and Lucifer quickly slapped it away, his breathing increasing. For a moment, he could hear the rattling of his lungs again which he had been suppressing the entire evening. Diavolo's expression shifted and he leaned forwards towards Lucifer.

“If you'll excuse me,” Lucifer brought up before standing up a bit too forcefully, the chair swaying a bit, threatening to tumble over. Lucifer sped out of the room and as soon as the doors closed behind him and he couldn't see any guests anymore, he picked up his pace and sped towards the bathroom. He tumbled to his knees and gripped the rim of the toilet seat as his lungs ached dangerously, choking him.

Petals and flowers were stuck in his airway, forcing him to cough violently in hopes of dislodging them. It didn't work. Lucifer was gasping for air as involuntary tears ran down his face. He reached into his mouth and as soon as he felt the head of a particularly big blue rose, he yanked on it harshly until it finally gave way. Thorns were cutting into the soft pink flesh inside of his cheeks as he finally pulled out the giant flower. Plenty of smaller buds followed, some with stems, some without. Lucifer sat on his knees, leaning his forearm on the rim of the toilet as he wheezed. The straining feeling in his chest had gone down a little bit, but Lucifer still felt terrible. Experimentally, he coughed a few times, but no more flowers followed.

He eventually stood up and left the stall. He tried not to flinch as he noticed the presence of another person in the cramped bathroom. It was Asmodeus.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then, Asmodeus simply hugged Lucifer tightly for a moment before pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and starting to dab Lucifer's face, getting rid of any trace of what had just happened. “They sent me to get you, the ceremonial dance is about to start,” he murmured, his voice soft and shaky.

Lucifer nodded. “Of course,” he answered with a hoarse voice.

Asmodeus let go of Lucifer's face and sighed, looking incredibly saddened. Although he wanted to help his brother so badly, deep down he knew there was nothing he could do, so instead, he tried to support Lucifer in his own way. It just had to be enough.

He took a deep breath and painted one of his performative smiles on his face. “You should be glad I put waterproof make-up on you, otherwise you'd be looking like a full on mess right now!”

They made their way back to the ballroom. Instead of nervousness, Lucifer felt an almost comfortable sort of numbness. It's not that he hadn't known it would end like this. He had known right from the beginning. Still, why couldn't he get rid of this desperate feeling of regret? He was doing what had to be done. His feelings didn't matter. No, they shouldn't matter.

People were already standing spread out on the dance floor, partnered up and ready to go. Those who didn't feel the need to participate where sitting on their seats, eyes already set on the spectacle that was about to take place.

Asmodeus put his hand on Lucifer's shoulder for a moment before nodding in the direction of the dance floor. “Solomon is waiting for me,” he said excitedly and dashed away.

Dumbfounded, Lucifer watched his brother running towards Solomon, hugging the magician tightly. Him!? Lucifer found himself thinking, starting to doubt Asmodeus' taste in men for a moment.

He started to make his way over to his table, looking around to make sure his brothers weren't up to anything mischievous. Most of them seemed to be sitting out on the dance, as expected. Levi had removed himself from the whole situation, sitting on a chair furthest away from the spectacle as he was busy checking his DDD. Lucifer turned his head, looking for the rest of them. Belphegor was fast asleep on two chairs while Beelzebub next to him was busy working on a huge pile of food. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mammon sneaking around the tables suspiciously, his hand delving into the coat pockets of their guests. Lucifer's eye twitched in annoyance as he picked up his DDD and sent Mammon a simple text. Big brother is always watching you.

Mammon visibly flinched as he checked his DDD and then looked around hastily until his eyes set on Lucifer who simply stared at him with a disappointed, yet not surprised look.

Then, Lucifer passed Satan and Yuuta who were standing on the dance floor, Yuuta looking absolutely mortified. Apparently Satan had somehow managed to bully Yuuta into joining him.

Lucifer smiled inwardly as he watched Yuuta and his brothers. This was how he liked to remember them. Of course, they were more flawed than Lucifer would like them to be, but that was what made them special. His perfect little disaster of a family. He was glad that prior to tonight, he had already written letters to every single one of them, neatly stacked on top of his mahogany desk, ready for them to discover after his untimely passing.

Just as he reached the middle of the dance floor, Barbatos voice rang through the room, amplified by a microphone. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for Lord Diavolo to declare his chosen partner. He shall go up to them and ask them for the pleasure of sharing this dance with him.”

The guests applauded politely as they had their eyes glued on Lord Diavolo, who had emerged next to Barbatos.

Lucifer's heart beat in an unsteady rhythm.

Who would it be? His eyes focussed on Lady Naamah who was standing right next to him, the guest he had saved Levi from. Not only was she royalty, but also one of their most esteemed guests. She seemed to be the most likely candidate, especially considering how she had gushed about Lord Diavolo before.

If he could have his way, Lucifer would simply close his eyes to stay in blissful ignorance, but he couldn't let himself do that after all.

Life was harsh and so was reality. All his life, Lucifer had never been a delusional dreamer and he certainly wasn't about to start now. So he forced himself to follow Lord Diavolo's every move. The demon prince crossed the ballroom, certainty to his step, as he finally halted right in front of Lady Naamah.

Lucifer forced his face to remain as cold and emotionless as he could muster. The scent of flowers filled up his head as he decidedly ignored the painful shifting of sharp stems and roots in his lungs.

His thought process was interrupted as Lord Diavolo dropped to the ground on one knee and grabbed Lucifer's hands gently, his head bowed down for a moment.

For the first time in his life, Lucifer had no idea what was going on. He tried to come up with an answer, however his head provided nothing but static and nonsensical rambling. Perplexed, he looked down at Lord Diavolo, his heart beating to his chest.

Finally, Diavolo lifted his head again, searching for eye contact with Lucifer. Perhaps he had recognized the look on Lucifer's face as fear, since he immediately began running his thumbs along Lucifer's hands in a soothing manner.

He cleared his throat before speaking up. “Lucifer, my most loyal servant and friend, many decades have passed since we first met, yet you are still as radiant as you were the day I first laid eyes on you. I respect you and hereby accept you as my equal. Will you allow me to share this dance with you?” Diavolo's sturdy voice rang through the room as the guests observed their interaction with bated breath.

All Lucifer could see was Diavolo kneeling before him with a crooked smile on his face as he held his hands, awaiting a response, his golden eyes shimmering in the light like stars.

Lucifer was completely overwhelmed. He didn't know what this meant to Diavolo. Sometimes, that man could be incredibly daft. Who knew, maybe to him this was some highly elaborate friendship ritual.

Still, with his lungs begging him to accept the invitation, Lucifer felt utterly helpless. This man had him act in ways he never would have allowed himself to before. Lucifer was completely whipped.

Just once, he wanted to know what it was like to openly be with Diavolo, out in public, full of pride as Diavolo's chosen one.

This was probably the last time he would see him ever again before he died. Lucifer's hands shook slightly as he smiled at Diavolo sadly. After all, he was killing him slowly, yet softly and Lucifer had to come at peace with that.

“Yes, you shall have this dance, Diavolo,” Lucifer answered loudly and clearly as he heard several gasps coming from the audience, followed by booming applause. The music set in almost immediately and Diavolo stepped up again, still holding Lucifer's hands. “Let's go then,” he beamed as he let go of Lucifer's hands, instead placing one hand on Lucifer's back as Lucifer slid his hand up to Diavolo's shoulder. Their free hands were interlocked now and Diavolo grinned as he pulled Lucifer closer, flush against his chest for a moment. Lucifer feared Diavolo could feel the beating of his heart through the thin fabric of his shirt.

They started swaying to the one-two-three of the classical piece that was playing, both lost in a different world. As they swayed and twirled, the people around them blurred to a hazy grey. Nothing was of importance in that moment except for Diavolo and the way he looked so powerful in that suit, eyes shining like polished golden coins as he focussed on nothing and no one except for Lucifer alone. Calloused hands holding his slender ones, red and black in a tangle of fingers. The clacking of Lucifer's boots on the ground as they followed the routine of the waltz, the warm feeling of Diavolo's hand steadying Lucifer's back as he held onto Diavolo's muscular shoulder, feeling the way those muscles shifted in their dance. Lucifer wanted to say something, anything, but words failed him.

The rhythm of the music changed slightly and a devilish grin spread across Diavolo's face. Lucifer raised an eyebrow in silent question when Diavolo suddenly dipped him, strong arms supporting him as Lucifer went with it. As they came up again, they both started laughing. It'd been a while since Lucifer had ever felt so light and free.

But all good things had to end some way or another. As the dance came to an end, a bitter smile spread on Lucifer's face, his wet eyes betraying the nonchalantness he tried to portray.

Lucifer knew he was in over his head. In the end, to Diavolo this whole dance didn't have as much meaning as it did to Lucifer. Lucifer had known this the moment Diavolo had knelt before him.

His most loyal servant and friend was about to betray him terribly. Brutus himself had taken possession of Lucifer. He knew Diavolo trusted him, yet he couldn't bring himself to give up on his pride and admit that he loved him. After all, Diavolo deserved different things. A fallen angel turned demon wasn't a partner anyone could be proud of, especially not Lucifer, the poster child for the failings of his holier than though heavenly father.

The dance came to an end and Lucifer could feel the petals coming up again, but this time it felt different. The branches and roots in his chest were shifting slowly and Lucifer could feel them growing in size. He took in a wheezing breath as he noticed Diavolo watching him.

“Lucifer?” he asked, a worried expression on his face. “Talk to me.”

Quietly, Lucifer shook his head as he struggled to breathe. There was no doubt, this was it. Right from the beginning, he knew he would be pushing it, spending a whole day with Lord Diavolo, yet still, there had always been this irrefutable part of him that was yearning for Diavolo.

The only thing Lucifer hadn't anticipated was that he would have to go so soon. He had thought there were at least a few hours more left.

All of a sudden, his nose started to bleed profusely whilst a trickle of blood escaped his mouth at the same time.

Quickly, Lucifer removed himself from Diavolo, whipping out his handkerchief and pressing it to his nose with one hand. Diavolo stared at him in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape.

For the last time, Lucifer raised his hand to Diavolo's face, cradling it for a moment as he locked eyes with him one last time. “I'm sorry, but this is goodbye.”

Before Diavolo could answer, Lucifer bolted out of the room, a few guests looking after him in a confused manner.

Lord Diavolo stood frozen in place for several moments. “Damn it,” he muttered as he rushed over to Barbatos. “You host the party!” he simply yelled as he darted out of the room, following Lucifer.

Lucifer ran as far as his feet could carry him, his lungs protesting with every step he took. He made it out into the gardens when he finally collapsed in a field of amaryllises, trying to keep himself somewhat upright as his hands dug into the stems of the flowers. An aching pain spread through his body as his throat filled up with oh so many roses, fully bloomed with thick thorns. Lucifer coughed up plenty of flowers, lost in a sea mixed with red, white and blue. He tried to push himself up again, elbows digging into wet earth, only to collapse again.

In his delusional, pain-riddled mind, Lucifer thought he could make out a voice, desperately reaching out to him. A hoarse, “No,” escaped his lips as he heard footsteps approaching.

“Lucifer!” Diavolo yelled out again, roaming through the gardens, panicked yet determined. Something was incredibly wrong. From the way Lucifer had been acting to the words he had left him with; Diavolo felt like an utter imbecile for not having intervened earlier. What had he been stalling for? Everyone had told him about Lucifer's hanahaki disease, hell, he himself had seen what it did to Lucifer. Yet still, he had decided to live in denial and rebuke any sort of argument that would so much as imply that Lucifer had hanahaki because of him. Guilt was tearing Diavolo apart. He had to find Lucifer, no matter what it would take.

He ran through the gardens, using his powers to detect Lucifer's presence. Right there, he could feel it, weak but definitely there.

Diavolo looked around and finally, he spotted a blurry figure in the distance, lying on the ground, trying to get up out of a field of flowers. He increased his speed as he ran towards it, almost tripping over his own feet as he ran across the flower field, dropping to his knees right in front of Lucifer's body.

Diavolo could only stare in horror. Lucifer was laying on the ground, surrounded by white and blue roses, struggling to breathe as ungodly amounts of blood slowly poured out of of his nose, his mouth, his eyes.

With shaking hands Diavolo cradled Lucifer's body. “No, no, no. Don't do this to me. You can't do this to me,” he muttered as he pressed Lucifer's body against his own. With one hand, he stroked through dark locks of hair, wishing there was any way for him to end Lucifer's suffering.

“D-Diavolo?” Lucifer uttered quietly, coughing up more blood along the way. “This isn't how-” A bunch of roses came up and landed in-between Lucifer and Diavolo. “This isn't how this was supposed to end,” he finished, his voice weak and damaged. He looked up at Diavolo, his gaze hazy as a single bloody tear rolled down his cheek and he lost himself in another bout of coughs. “This time it isn't Lilith who's dying,” he mused quietly and reached up to Diavolo, shaky fingers lingering on his cheek. “You weren't supposed to know.”

Diavolo shook his head as tears filled with eyes. “What can I do? Tell me what you need and I will do it! I can't lose you Lucifer!”

Tiredly, Lucifer shook his head, picking at one of the roses he had thrown up with tired fingers. A shuttered breath escaped his heavy lungs as he gathered all the energy he had left to pick up two roses with one hand, one white and one blue, pushing them onto Diavolo's chest as his head sank down. Lucifer coughed once again, wheezing under the strain his lungs were on. After that, he lifted his head again, searching for Diavolo's eyes. Once he met them, he chuckled faintly, and without breaking eye contact, he uttered the truth he had been trying to hide so desperately for so long. “There is nothing you can do about it, because they are for you.”

The roots in his chest twisted painfully and Lucifer buried his hands in Diavolo's suit jacket, knuckles turning white. An unnatural groan escaped his lips, a groan that would follow Diavolo into his worst nightmares.

“Lucifer, you-” Diavolo started as he grabbed his hand, holding it so he could feel that Lucifer was there, that he was still alive, that he hadn't died just like that. “Why didn't you say anything?” he asked.

A slow smile crept onto Lucifer's face. “For your sake, “ he mumbled, eyes far away as he tried to deal with the pain, almost crushing Diavolo's hand as he held onto life with all he had.

“For my sake?! Lucifer, what were you thinking! Don't tell me you-” Diavolo froze when realization hit him. Desperately, he pulled Lucifer's weak body closer to his chest. “You didn't want to endanger my career. You didn't think you were worthy to stand by my side as my lover,” he concluded.

Lucifer let go of Diavolo's suit jacket, the look on his face exposed and raw as he looked up at the dark night sky. “I swore to be your obedient servant first,” he said quietly. “It is my duty-”

Diavolo put Lucifer back onto the ground, kneeling beside him as he held onto his hand for dear life. “Bullshit! Lucifer, can't you see how enamoured I am with you? Can't you see that I've loved you ever since I first laid my eyes on you?!” he exclaimed, his head bowed down, shoulders shaking

Lucifer's eyes widened as he coughed up more flower buds covered in blood. “H-how? How could you,” he started, but was interrupted by the painful feeling in his chest, roots and stems roaming around dangerously. There was no way his body could withstand this much longer.

Weakly, he reached out to Lord Diavolo, placing a weak hand on top of his head, ruffling through the crimson locks.

Strangely, Lucifer didn't feel any pain anymore. A gentle kind of numbness spread through his body as he could still make out the feeling of blood trickling down his nose. His vision was blurry and nothing but static filled his mind.

He was a fool, after all.

“I think this is it,” he mumbled as he felt himself fading. He let his hand slide down Diavolo's head, until it was cupping his cheek weakly. He let his thumb graze over Diavolo's lips once. “I am devoted to no one but you,” Lucifer started, taking a break to collect himself in his wrangled state. “How could I love anybody else.”

A rattling breath escaped Lucifer's lungs and finally, Diavolo knew what he had to do. He knew that he had to do the thing he had wanted to do for so many years now.

His hand slid over Lucifer's, which was still cradling Diavolo's face. With the other one, he propped himself up, palm sinking into the wet, earthy ground as Diavolo leaned forward, locking his lips with Lucifer's.

For a moment, there was no reaction and Diavolo feared that he had been too late. Another tear rolled down his cheek as he tried to pull back, but stopped dead in his tracks when Lucifer turned his hand, interlocking their hands instead. Slowly, he moved his lips against Diavolo's, desperately yet softly. The sickly scent of dead flowers and rotting blood that had been filling his nostrils was replaced with the deep, comforting scent of honey, leather and smoke. For the first time in forever, Lucifer's heartbeat slowed down from the irregular beating of a sick person to a regular rhythmic thumping.

As they separated, Diavolo collapsed on top of Lucifer, feeling drained.

Lucifer tried to push him off as he bent over to the side, his chest burning and itching in a completely new way. He felt the sting of thorns again and as he felt the telltale convulsing of his throat that indicated what exactly was about to happen, he bent over, completely exhausted.

A myriad of flowers, thorny stems, buds and petals evicted themselves from his body, splashing to the ground with ugly, wet noises.

For a few minutes Lucifer simply stayed like that, perched over to the side, just waiting for his body to calm down again. As the plants stopped flowing out of him harshly and violently, he let himself fall back onto his back again and almost immediately, Diavolo embraced Lucifer tightly, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“Don't scare me like that ever again,” he whispered as he sat up again, pulling Lucifer up with him. Lucifer held onto Diavolo, his head resting on his shoulder, sitting in a field of flowers, both normal and cursed ones, and he breathed. Finally, he could breathe again; freely and without any regrets.

After a while, Diavolo slowly pulled back, cradling Lucifer's face. He took in his rough appearance, his ruffled hair and bloodied face, and simply stroked Lucifer's cheeks with his thumbs. “I can't put into words how much I love you,” he mumbled. Lucifer simply looked at him, allowed himself to face Diavolo without any lies. He reached out with now calm hands and placed one hand on the back of Diavolo's neck, the other on his cheek. Lucifer closed the space between them, their lips connecting softly. He breathed out and his whole body relaxed. Never would he have thought that he possessed the right to have this. To have Diavolo.

Diavolo sighed as Lucifer moved his lips against his, lost in the moment.

“There they are!”

Reluctantly, they pulled apart as Asmodeus came running towards them, followed by all of his brothers, Solomon and Yuuta, stopping dead in his tracks as he took in the scene before him. “Lucifer, are you okay?!” he exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. “We were so worried, suddenly the two of you were gone and no one knew where you went, but then Barbatos said-”

Lucifer smiled for once, truly and honestly. “I will be alright,” he simply said.

Asmodeus' eyes went back and forth between Diavolo and Lucifer, who were sitting there, still quite entangled, none of them having found the strength to let go just yet.

Satan scoffed as he looked at them while Asmodeus ran over to Solomon's side, burying his head in his chest as he wailed. “I'm so relieved!”

“Took you long enough, old man,” Satan said, relief obvious on his face despite his unwillingness to display it.

“You're right, Satan,” Lucifer started, but was interrupted by Diavolo getting up again. He held out his hands and Lucifer grabbed them, letting Diavolo help pull him up. Once they were standing again, he stumbled and Diavolo grabbed him, supporting him so that he wouldn't fall again. After all, Lucifer had just escaped certain death.

“We both have been idiots,” Diavolo admitted.

“Utter fools,” Lucifer added as he relaxed against Lord Diavolo's side.

Softly, Diavolo planted a kiss on first Lucifer's hand, then his cheek. Lucifer flushed red, not used to the concept of physical contact of this kind in front of his whole family.

“In the end, we made it.” Diavolo smiled broadly. “We made it.”

Lucifer smiled softly as he watched his family fuss over him in their usual chaotic way.

After all, he was glad to still be alive, because in all names of hell, they needed him. To some degree, he also needed them just as much.

As he let hid head drop onto Diavolo's shoulder, his body exhausted to the core, Lucifer smiled freely and openly, enjoying the crispy air as he breathed in without any hindrances.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 , Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12

*nsfw chapter

taglist~ @el-does-photography

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leviathanswingman · 4 years

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killing me softly, chapter 10: the intervention

„Lord Diavolo, this is an intervention.“

The words were echoing through the music room as everyone kept quiet for several moments.

Then, Diavolo crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head. „An intervention, you say? You should have told me beforehand, I would have prepared a bit more. Who is it for?“

Satan stared at the demon prince intensely. „You have got to be kidding me,“ he murmured as he turned around to Yuuta, who was sitting next to him on the couch. „It's useless, they're both complete idiots.“ He shook his head in disbelief and Yuuta shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

Barbatos shushed them with a vague hand gesture as he approached Diavolo.

„Which is exactly why we are forced to do this,“ he added to Satan's statement. He pushed his pointer a little too hard for comfort against Diavolo's chest as he invaded his space. „We're doing this for both your and Lucifer's sake, since neither of you seem reasonable enough to put an end to this nonsense. This intervention today is for you, my lord.“

Diavolo stared at him and blinked in confusion. „Oh? And what exactly would this be about? Did I do anything that would warrant an intervention?“

Belphegor, leaning against Beelzebub's shoulder, yawned. „It's about the obvious boner you have for Luci-“ he drawled lazily, yet loud enough for the whole room to hear before Beel quickly slapped his hand over Belphie's mouth.

„Belphie!“

Belphegor pulled his brother's hand away from his mouth. „What, I'm just saying what everyone was thinking.“

Asmodeus grinned as he watched his younger brothers. „I couldn't have said it better myself!“

Mammon smacked the back of Asmo's head. „Oi, stop playing around!“

„Ow! I didn't do anything! You could've ruined my beautiful hair, you could've given me a concussion with that! Do you really want to see your cute baby brother dead so badly, you brute?!“

„Guys, now is not the time. As much as I hate to say it, we're here to help that bastard Lucifer,“ Yuuta chimed in.

Diavolo watched their conversation with cautious eyes. „You all know,“ he said, more of a statement rather than a question.

All eight pairs of eyes went straight back to Diavolo.

Asmo's head snapped back to Barbatos. „He knows?!“ he cried in disbelief.

„Yes, he knows. I caught him and Lucifer, as you would put it, in flagrante.“

„You did what?!“

„Ya caught them doing what?! Didn't think Lord Diavolo had game like that. I mean, to seduce Lucifer of all people, ya gotta have some damn good skills.“

Diavolo raised his hands in defence. „I might not know what you're trying to suggest with 'in flagrante', but I get the feeling that there's a big misunderstanding here. It is true though that I am aware of Lucifer's hanahaki. I was with him when he suddenly collapsed and started to vomit flowers. I was really worried so I carried him to my private chambers and tended to his needs.“

Levi's eyes shot up and he twiddled with the zipper of his hoodie as he approached Lord Diavolo. „I've watched a lot of anime about the hanahaki disease, so I guess you could say I'm somewhat of an expert in that department. So you were with him when it happened? Are you sure about that? I mean you could be making a mistake. Are you 100- no, are you 1000% positive about that?“ he urged, his words picking up in both pace and volume the more he talked.

Mammon, straddling a chair as he had his arms crossed over the backrest, shook his head. „Whaddaya mean 'are ya sure'? How can ya not be sure of something like that. Ya wanna get popped too, Levi?“

“I'm asking if he was the only one present when it happened, you moron!” Levi now mustered Lord Diavolo more intensely. “No matter what I've read or watched about hanahaki, the person present during most of the attacks generally turned out to most likely be the cause for the disease,” he muttered and leaned a bit closer towards Diavolo. “It doesn't seem too impossible if you really think about it, right?”

Mammon stood up and walked over to his brother, plopping down on the couch next to him, bent over with his forearms resting on his thighs.

“Are ya implying what I think ya are? Lucifer has that damn disease because of Lord Diavolo? It's Lucifer we're talking about! Lucifer! I can't even wrap my head around the idea of him having any lovey dovey feelings for anyone to begin with!”

“Precisely. Which is why this is the only plausible conclusion, right Barbatos?” Satan questioned.

With that, Beel walked over to Diavolo and placed his hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him down onto another chair. “Maybe it's better if you sit down for this.”

Diavolo didn't protest and simply sat down, interlocking his hands as he let his elbows rest on the arm leans, a now thoughtful expression on his face. For a moment, he was quiet before turning around to Barbatos.

“I see your concern,” he started, “but I am not the solution to this problem. I want to help Lucifer just as much as every single one of you do, but even I can't just save him like that.” His eyes darkened considerably as he redirected his gaze to the ground. “No matter how much I want to,” he mumbled, barely audible.

Barbatos crossed his arms as he took in the sorry sight of his sulking lord. A sigh escaped his lips. “You are not listening, my lord. There is quite literally no other person who would come even remotely close to being a possible suspect. I found out about Lucifer's disease even before you did. It was the night of our return to RAD, right after Lucifer welcomed us back.” As he continued talking he slowly made his way towards Diavolo's chair. “Don't you remember his strange behaviour? The way he had suddenly disappeared?”

“Well-”

“Excuse my rude interruption, but I will fill you in as to what happened. I followed him and caught him as he had a severe hanahaki attack and lost consciousness. I confronted him after he woke up again. Although I will not reveal what exactly it was that Lucifer told me, I can say as much: I was very blunt with him and he did not deny anything I accused him of. Yet also, he once again proved to be incredibly stubborn. I urged him to confess to that person, but he vehemently refused to do so.”

Diavolo sighed as he rubbed his temples. “Him and that stupid pride of his. Why didn't he say anything? If I hadn't caught him that day, I would still be none the wiser now.”

Now Asmodeus chimed in as well. “I also tried to give him advice, but all he did was rudely choke me and then later throw a flower pot after me. Point taken, I did overdo it and teased him a bit too much, but now that I think of it, he didn't correct any of my assumptions either, did he, Yuuta?”

For a moment Yuuta kept quiet as he went back to their conversation in Lucifer's study. “Yeah, he threw you around like a rag doll and yelled at us to mind our own business, but he didn't say anything else. He definitely didn't deny anything.”

Asmodeus sighed as he threw his arms around Yuuta. “And I thought him and Diavolo had already talked it out! Lord Diavolo, after you asked little old me to call Lucifer to distract him I was so certain that everything would be alright and we'd have another power couple at RAD soon! Is romance really dead nowadays?” he sulked and Yuuta petted his head.

“Speaking of,” Satan added, “when I came to talk to him, I saw a peculiar thing. I expected him to be alone but when I opened the door, I walked in on him and Diavolo sleeping together in the same bed. This really doesn't help your case now, does it Diavolo?”

The whole room filled with murmurs.

“Asleep in the same bed?? How dirty! I really didn't take you for the casanova type, Lord Diavolo!”

“Asmo, now is not the-”

Levi quickly sprung up. “I just saw him in the bathroom! For some reason he had punched a hole in the stall wall, which really reminded me of 'My heart keeps racing whenever I look at you but we are childhood friends who are cursed to stay five feet apart from each other so I couldn't possibly love you', which is a-”

Voices kept overlapping until the room was filled with a crescendo of chaos. Diavolo still sat on his chair, troubled, as the demon brothers came up with instance after instance, irrefutable evidence filling his ears bit by bit, instance after instance.

“Jesus fuck, y'all make me want to take up smoking again,” Yuuta muttered as he threw an annoyed gaze at Barbatos. “Was this really a good idea?”

For the shortest of moments Barbatos was wondering the same thing. After all, Lucifer had been this secretive to not get anyone else involved, especially not his brothers.

Then, Barbatos remembered his plan, any former doubt crushed again.

“Do not fret, everything is going according to plan,” he told Yuuta confidently.

As Lucifer's brothers were still talking over each other, Barbatos rounded the chair and faced Diavolo. “My Lord, is this finally enough proof to you?”

Finally, Diavolo lifted his head and faced Barbatos, the expression on his face unreadable. After a short moment he sighed, running his hands over his thighs in an agitated fashion.

“Silence!” his voice suddenly boomed and everyone went quiet. He stood up and started to pace the room. “I know Lucifer does not love me. I have known for a long time,” he growled. There was no use hiding his feelings anymore, after all, they had never been much of a secret to begin with.

“But-” Levi began to butt in, but was quickly shushed by Barbatos.

Diavolo continued. “As I said before, I am aware of the difference between my love for Lucifer and his devotion to me. I respect your brother, which is why I am content with the loyalty he gives me.” He stopped in his tracks and turned around to Lucifer's brothers again. “But I see your concern and I see the points you've made, which is why I will humour you this once. After all, we all have the same goal. We all want to see Lucifer get better.” He clenched his fists. “Still, I am not the culprit you are looking for. Whatever it takes, I will find them and make them take responsibility. Even if it means giving Lucifer away to someone who clearly doesn't deserve him.” Even if it means losing a little part of him, Diavolo added in his thoughts. He unclenched his fists and let out a deep breath. “Leave me alone now, I need to think.”

One after another, the brothers left, stunned by Diavolo's sudden outburst. They could still feel the pressure of Diavolo's undeniable power lingering in the air.

Eventually, everyone except for Barbatos and Diavolo had left. Quietly, Diavolo pulled on Barbatos' sleeve, trying to catch his attention.

“Yes, my lord?”

“How much time do we have left? To sort this out, I mean?” he asked and Barbatos watched him carefully. He hadn't witnessed Lord Diavolo this upset in a long time. Although outwardly, the demon prince still looked rather collected, inwardly, he was clearly upset and worried. For a moment, Barbatos saw the child in him again, saw the boy he used to tend after in an empty, lonely palace, saw a boy eagerly waiting for the return of a father who had left, only to be disappointed over and over again. That boy who used to cover his pain with boisterous laughter and bright expressions was standing before him again, just as he had been back then.

Barbatos smiled sadly. “You have three days at most. I would recommend you talk to him after the celebration as he is quite busy now. Three days are the most I can give you. I have always been one to be frank with you, Lord Diavolo. He will not make it to day four.”

Diavolo let go of Barbatos' sleeve and straightened his posture, a certain sadness in his eyes. “Thank you. I'm glad I can always count on you, Barbatos.”

“Of course, my lord.”

With that, Diavolo left the music room, making his way towards his chambers, lost in thought. Memories of Lucifer flashed through his mind, unwavering and unforgiving.

The first time they met, the undeniable pull he had felt towards him the moment those deep red eyes had focused on only him, a disgusted expression sullying Lucifer's angelic features. He had looked so different back then. Clad in white, baby blue and gold, dark locks framing his face, falling down his back, down his back to where innocent white, magnificent wings were softly swaying with the breeze.

Then there was the time after Lucifer's fall from heaven. Barbatos and him had gathered Lucifer up, had picked up all the angry pieces, offering a deal. It was a deal Lucifer had taken with such fury and passion, a deal Lucifer had made with such pride. Under Lucifer's bitter gaze, Diavolo had known, he was in trouble.

And oh, in how much trouble he was now.

No matter what it would take, no matter how much it would hurt him, Diavolo was fully committed to saving Lucifer. After all, he was his one and only, his perfect morning star.

His Lucifer.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 , Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

*nsfw chapter

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