Archive of Our Own ^beta

At first, you’d assumed a branch was tapping against your window and shrugged it off, curling further into the blanket. The sound ceased at first, but started up again seconds later, upgrading from a light tapping to relentless knocking. One glance at the clock on your nightstand reveals that it's 3:01 am, which deepens your simmering agitation. If you ignored it, the madman trying to wake you up would have to give up eventually, right?

Wrong. Once the knocking subsided, your D.D.D. began pinging in its place. It didn't take long for you to cave under the repetitive twinkling of your phone; you make a silent vow to set it to vibrate right after you’ve strangled the culprit. Storming over to the window, you yank the curtains to the side; jerking back when you come face to face with the demon pressed up against it. Mammon flinched at your sudden appearance, nearly losing his balance in the process. His knees were pressed into his chest as he just about managed fit on the narrow ledge.

Pleading eyes locked with yours and you felt the irritation slip away- just a bit. Grumbling, undo the latch on the window, stepping back as he stumbles forward into your room. “Took ya long enough!” He huffs, dusting himself off. You notice he has a backpack slung over one shoulder, stuffed to the brim with what you assume to be stolen goods.

“Remind me why you couldn’t just use the front door?” You yawned.

“You crazy? If Lucifer catches me sneaking in through the front entrance again, he'll bury me alive!” Mammon replies, shuddering at the thought. You figured the constant threat of being strung up for a couple of centuries would deter him from breaking curfew, but then again, this is Mammon we’re talking about; no amount of punishment could stop him from making the same mistake thrice.

“What were you even doing out so late…” his mouth twists into that cocky grin- the one that says ‘you won’t BELIEVE what The Great Mammon just did’- and you instantly regret asking. “Actually, don’t tell me. It’s far too early for this…” 

“Why you gotta be so cold?” he pouts, “I’ll have you know, I was out making a killing at the Hangman’s Casino! Those blowhards never knew what hit ‘em!” He removes the bag from his shoulder. Its contents were blinding, the sea of glistening gemstones and Grimm blinking obnoxiously under the dim light. 

You level a deadpan stare, “Did you actually win all of this or were you pickpocketing aristocrats?” 

“Hey, I won these fair n’ square, alright? Geez, why does everyone assume I stole somethin’?” You’d always admired how cute he looked when he was sulking, eyebrows knit tightly in fleeting irritation.

You sigh, “Look, as much as I wanna hear about your ‘tales of badassery’, can we maybe not do this at 3am? There's a maths test tomorrow, y’know.” 

“Wait, seriously!? Dammit, I forgot all about it!” he groans, before thrusting the bag into your arms. “Anyway, do me a favour and hide this in your room. Can’t have the others knowing about my winnings, they’d get super jealous.” He strides towards the door but spins on his heel with a grave expression. “Oh yeah, if Lucifer asks, I was studying with ya all night, got it?” You give him a half-hearted salute which seems to appease the Avatar of Greed. 

Once he’s gone, you decide to stuff the bag into the closet that housed the other curios you’d accumulated during your stay in the Devildom. Your careless movements result in some of the contents spilling out, clattering against the hardwood floor. You bend down to scoop them up, but your eyes are drawn to a peculiar jewel- a ring. 

You examine it closely, entranced by the intricate sigil etched into the gemstone at its core. By no means were you a jewellery enthusiast, nor did you wear rings, but something about it just captivated you. You hadn’t even realised you’d slipped it on until the cool silver was hugging your ring finger. Despite its dainty appearance, it was a perfect fit, almost too well-fitting, as if it’d been made specifically for you. 

Snapping out of your trance, you attempt to pry the ring off your hand, only to find it won’t budge an inch. Strange, it wasn’t exactly tight on your finger, you barely felt any pressure at all, yet it was stuck. After a few unsuccessful tugs, you give up on it altogether, simply too tired to put up a fight. You gather up the stray coins, cram them back in the bag and drop onto your bed like a sack of bricks. Burrowing into the covers, you ignore the dull throbbing that centres itself on your head and back. It took you longer than usual to fall back asleep, but soon the darkness arrives to claim your consciousness. 

---

What felt like mere minutes after you’d finally fallen asleep, your D.D.D. began screeching under your pillow. Figures. Your body aches as you shift into an upright position, swiftly disarming the alarm on your phone. You began your morning routine on autopilot, making the bed as your mind caught up with the rest of you. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but something felt off… like there was a foreign weight that was throwing your balance off-kilter. You absentmindedly run a hand through your hair, only to jab something firm poking out of your skull. 

You freeze. With both hands, you seize two rigid appendages, running your fingers along their lengths; you give an experimental tug, but they don’t come off. You rush to the bathroom, locking the door behind you. With a deep breath, you turn to face yourself in the mirror, confirming your suspicion. Tall horns stood proudly atop your head, jet black with a slight ivory tint towards the tips. 

“What the…” you gape, stuck somewhere between awe and dread. A flicker of movement catches your eye, prompting you to turn around. It seems not only did you sprout horns in your sleep, but a tail to boot. You felt it twitch under your scrutiny; it was roughly the same length as your arm span, sleek ebony fur coaxing you to touch it. You curl it around your forearm, tickled by the softness. For a fleeting moment, you were stuck in this subdued state of fascination. 

Then the panic kicked in. 

No amount of wishful thinking or cold water to the face made them go away. This had to be a dream right? Or a very elaborate prank. Despite how real they felt , there was just no way, right? Pacing around the bathroom, you think back to everything you’d done up until this point; anything that could have incurred the wrath of a witch or demon. After a brief staring contest with your scowling reflection, your eyes are drawn to the bright coral object sitting on your finger. The ring . Much like a few hours ago, it still refused to come off. Great, of course, you just had to put on the cursed ring that turns humans into demons. You could already see Lucifer giving you that ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed’ face as he chastises you for being so thoughtless.

Your meltdown is interrupted by the familiar chime of your D.D.D. You peer over, anxiety swirling around in your stomach. 

 

Solomon

[ Solomon:  Hey, do you still have that book on archaic chemistry that I lent you? ]

 

A lightbulb went off in your head as you hastily typed a response.

 

[ Y/n: Solomon, this is an emergency. Meet me behind RAD in an hour. ]

Barely a few seconds pass before he responds. 

 

[ Solomon: Something tells me this isn’t about the book. ]

[ Solomon: Is something wrong? ]

 

[ Y/n: I can't explain it right now, but you'll see what I mean. ]

 

[ Solomon: How curious, what could possibly get the fearless y/n so worked up? ]

[ Solomon: I guess I’ll find out soon enough. ]

 

With that, you hastily throw on your clothes and whirl around the room gathering up your school necessities. The horns make it a challenge every time you lean down as they smack into the wardrobe and desk on multiple occasions; similarly, your tail would accidentally knock things over if you weren’t constantly holding it flat against your back. Honestly, how did Levi and Belphie manage with these things? You knew Satan typically had his wrapped around his leg, but the other two made it look so easy to control. It felt like the moment you stopped thinking about it, the tail would gain sentience and seek destruction on anything in range.

Once you’d acquired everything, you dug through the closet, fishing out an old mask Levi had bought for you during a cosplay event. Sliding it over your face, you take in your appearance one last time at the mirror. From afar, you probably just looked like you were wearing a shoddy Halloween costume- it really wasn’t half bad. If you weren’t so freaked out about the others finding out you did a dumb again, you'd take the time to appreciate this new demon form of yours. But alas...

You had your hand on the doorknob when you realised that there was no way in hell you could simply walk out looking like this. The clock read a quarter to eight, meaning that at least 4 of the 7 brothers would be awake and 3 of them potentially roaming the halls. ‘It’s really too early for this shit…’ you hiss, turning your attention to the window. Mammon had snuck in through there earlier, so surely you could use it to get out. The bitter morning air nips at your skin as you wrench the window open, greeted by a two-storey drop that could easily break your legs if you weren't careful.

Scaling the willowy tree was no easy feat, given it threatened to snap at the slightest amount of pressure, but you managed to drop down from a reasonable height. The moment your feet hit the ground, a knock echoes through your abandoned room. You dive behind the tree, holding your tail in a white-knuckled grip. The door creaked open as an all too familiar voice called out.

“Rise and shine, y/n~” Asmodeus purrs, stepping into your room. Typically he’d find you in the dining hall around this time, but today you seemed to have slept in. He looks around, his attention immediately drawn to the empty bed, mourning the loss of its sole inhabitant. A frown tugs at his lips. 

“Y/n? Helloooo?” Suddenly he becomes all too aware of how drafty it is in here, turning to see the jaws of the window stretched wide open. He runs over to the window, leaning over the ledge in panic. When there was no sign of a y/n-shaped corpse waiting below, he let out a relieved sigh. 

“Honestly, who leaves their window wide open like that?” he mumbles something about how the cold air was bad for your skin as he pulls the frames back in place. 

The moment you hear it click, you deflate, unaware that you’d been holding your breath in the first place. You don’t dare to move until you’re certain he’s gone, ears straining for the slightest bit of sound above-

A sudden chime in your breast pocket ejects your soul from your body. It takes all of your self-control to refrain from hurling it skyward, instead opting to check your messages.

 

The House of Lamentation

 

[ Asmodeus: Heeey, have any of you seen y/n? ]

[ Asmodeus: I think they left their window wide open last night. ]

 

[ Satan: I haven’t seen them come downstairs. ]

 

[ Mammon: Wait, they did WHAT!? ] 

 

[ Asmodeus: Eh? Do you know something about that Mammon? ]

 

[ Mammon: Huh!? ]

[ Mammon: Psh, of course not! ]

[ Mammon: I mean, it’s not my fault y/n forgot to close it! No siree. ]

 

Crap. 

 

[ Y/n: Sorry, I was in a rush this morning and forgot to close it. I left earlier to meet up with Solomon. ]

Setting your phone to vibrate (finally!), you pull yourself to your feet and rush off to RAD, oblivious to the following messages that arise.

 

[ Satan: Really? I must have missed you. ]

 

[ Asmodeus: Aww, you should have told me! We could have gone together ♡ ]

 

[ Mammon: Hold up! What business do ya have with Solomon, huh!? ]

[ Mammon: Hey! Are ya even listenin’ to me? ]

[ Mammon: <Angry Emoji> ]

[ Mammon: <Angry Emoji> ]

[ Mammon: <Angry Emoji> ]

 

[ Lucifer: Mammon, if you don’t cease the spam, I will throw you out of the said window. ]

 

[ Mammon: <Scared Emoji> ]