Work Text:
It was a regular Thursday for Ann.
Her alarm went off, she got up, she showered and dressed. She brushed her teeth, she did her skincare, she put on school-appropriate makeup. She checked her book bag, made sure her textbooks and homework were inside, before leaving her dorm room.
Walking swiftly, she made her way to the dining hall. A cacophony of voices met her. She greeted each of the table occupants with a smile and a lively good morning, before taking a seat between the slight white-haired boy and the muscular fiery-haired boy. Breakfast was as lively as always; plans for the day were imparted, disagreements broken up by the eldest, a general rush to finish their meal as they all realized the time. Little Ds scurried in to bring in the dishes, zipping to and fro while she sipped her first coffee of the day. Beel, in the midst of eating, was urging his twin to eat something. Belphie was nodding off in his seat, trying and failing to fight off sleep.
She must have missed the beginning of the argument; all she knew was that Mammon was yelling. Again.
“Oi, why ya gotta call me the lowliest lowlife of a scumbag, huh? I never touched your dorky game, Levi!”
Levi had come in while she was preoccupied with her scrambled eggs and toast. He seemed to be accusing Mammon of stealing his brand new game. This was a common refrain in the House of Lamentation, so she sighed while giggling. That was unfortunate; she inhaled a piece of egg and started coughing. This drew the attention of the brothers. Great, even Lucifer is looking this way, she thought while valiantly trying to suppress her coughs. Beel started rubbing circles on her back. Mammon had stood up in a rush, his chair sliding all the way back, hands fluttering uselessly.
“I’m- cough - okay,” she reassured Beel, once she could breathe again. Taking a sip of water, she looked around at the various concerned faces. “I’m fine. What were you arguing about this time?” she asked Mammon, before taking a careful bite of her toast.
It was Levi who answered her. “Outlaws of the Marsh: The Woven Web of a Century arrived from Akuzon last night! I was on a raid so I was planning to start it today after school, but when I checked the box again this morning, there was no game. I even did an unboxing video for Devilgram, so I know I received it! Uuuuugh, Mammon, you lowlife scum! Give me back my game!”
“I don’t have it! I never even took it!” Mammon shouted.
“Well, I’m off to RAD,” Satan said, pushing his chair back, ignoring his brothers.
“This is so nonsensical. Wait for me, Satan~” Asmodeus said, patting his mouth with a napkin. Both of them stood up to leave.
“Ugh, shut up all of you. I’m trying to sleep,” Belphie said, eyes closed and brows furrowed. He was resting his cheek on his folded arms, but his voice amazingly carried across the room.
“Oh, I can’t believe it! Belphie told me to shut up? Can you believe it?” Asmo whined.
“MC, use your pact to make Mammon give me back my game!” Levi turned to Ann.
“Silence,” Lucifer commanded. His voice was controlled, but Ann could see a muscle ticking on his forehead. “Levi, stop this incessant whining. Mammon, give Levi his game back.”
“I’m tellin’ ya, I ain’t no thief!” Mammon rebutted. “I haven’t taken nothin’ yet!”
All the loud noises this early in the morning were making her head ache. It was a regular occurence, yes, but for some reason, her temper was on a short leash this morning. She rose from her chair like an avenging angel, and joined her voice to the uproar. “All of you, be quiet!” She felt the pull and strain on her insides as she unwittingly invoked all six pacts at the same time. Her head started throbbing. Thankfully, they did fall silent. Was that a glimmer of respect in Lucifer’s eyes? She pressed a hand over her eyes, hoping that her headache would subside. She felt bad invoking the pacts, but since it was already in place… She took off her hand covering her eyes. “Mammon, please tell me the truth: did you take Levi’s game?”
Mammon shakes his head, mute. Levi scoffed, the first to break out of her influence.
“I’m sorry for doing this to all of you,” she said. The pacts rebounded, breaking their hold on each brother. Ann staggered back, falling to her seat. Mammon and Beel worriedly hovered beside her. “I’m alright, I just need a little bit of quiet.” Her face rapidly lost its color, and her vision narrowed to Mammon’s face as she turned to look at him.
“Oi, human! You’re turning pale!” Mammon put his arm around her, shaking her a little.
“Hmm? I just need to breathe,” she said, closing her eyes and copying Belphie’s previous pose. Breathing deeply, she chased away the spots dancing behind her eyelids. She could hear them worrying about her, their voices far away, as if she were submerged in water.
A snap in her ears and a feeling of weightlessness overtook her. “No, I’m taking her! She’s my human!” She could feel warmth. Opening her eyes, she saw Mammon’s face above her, teeth slightly bared.
“Mammoney, it’s okay,” she said softly. The clamor stopped at her words. Wrapping one arm around his neck, and putting her free hand on his cheek, she said, “I am not your, nor anyone’s property, but it’s okay. I’ll always be there for you, Mammoney.”
Mammon had frozen, face red like the fires of Hell. “Silly human, o-of course ya are! I’m the Great Mammon, and don’t ya forget it!”
She then leaned her head on the crook of his neck. “Okay, love you too, Mammoney!”
His brothers once more erupted into protests.
It was supposed to be a regular Thursday for Ann.