Work Text:
The Language of Ego (Lucifer x Reader)
It was said that the pride of someone could be their biggest downfall. Maybe it was because the sense of it gave people the greatest sense of supremacy in some way, whether it would be over family background, wealth, job or achievements. Whenever people talked about it, it was always with a negative connotation.
Pride could be compared to that like to alcohol. The liquid which consumed their being to the point their mind becomes egotistic if taken too much. Depending on it to guide them and thus, pushing others away. Denials when confronted with the truth because simply, their pride is at stake and they wouldn't back down. The [short, average, tall] heighted human thought of that when they gazed at Lucifer and even then, they could count the moments of times he had let that facade fall on the tip of their fingers.
They often watched his pride strengthen whenever they did something reckless, telling the other brothers he could do it alone but that didn't stop the human from pondering how he was like with his mask dropped. They knew underneath his pride, he carried a loyalty to those he cared about and a soft nature that he wouldn't be seen often with. From the stories Belphegor told them with — before his fall, they could imagine it.
Breaking out of their thoughts, they walked over to the living room where they found the second born being scolded for his misdoings. Sitting next to Asmodeus, they simply watched.
The [H/C] haired exchange student watched the eldest brother reprimand the greedy younger brother again — a daily occurrence they soon found themselves getting accustomed to. It wasn't everyday they got dragged from the human realm (as the demons called it) and dropped into Devildom, where they were luckily picked to be an exchange student for the year.
“Your punishment will be,” Lucifer paused, watching Mammon’s face fall into an expression of dread, “hanging upside down for three weeks straight.”
“N-no!” the Avatar of Greed cried out, his voice fading into the distance as the human and the rest of the brothers watched the eldest drag him out for his punishment.
[Y/N] turned to look at Satan, “How many times has that been now?”
“Uh,” the blonde hummed, “seems like five times so far he’s got hanging upside down as punishment?”
“Hm,” they hummed along, “I kind of want to do something crazy.”
Satan groaned at their words, rolling his eyes to add emphasis on how he thought it was stupid. Asmodeus could only grin slightly at their words, the brunette shuddering at all the times the human dragged him out to do something ‘fun’ (dangerous in their books).
“What is it?” the Avatar of Wrath asked, hoping he could at least put a stop to it before they began their so-called genius plan.
They grinned and placed a finger onto their lips, “You will wait and see.”
Oh no, all the brothers thought when they saw the mischievous expression on the human’s face. They hoped Lucifer would stop them but alas, they would come to realise that the human had planned it all out so the brothers, especially Lucifer, couldn't stop them.
A few weeks later, the blonde watched the human climb up a tree. A very large tree. Considered to be one of the largest trees to exist in Devildom and to shelter the whole forest it lived in. He wasn’t sure if they were crazy or insane, so he decided to pin it on the latter considering all the things they had done risked their life. He rubbed his face with his hand, missing the scream.
The human lost grip and found themselves falling. Satan quickly looked up and freaked out, running under the branch. [Y/N] crashed into his arms, the two rolling over until they stopped, they looked up and grinned at the blonde’s scowling expression.
“Please don’t ever do that again,” he muttered as he helped the human up and dusted himself off, the [short, average, tall] heightened human doing the same to themselves.
They whined once they processed his words, “Eh, why?”
“You nearly hurt yourself,” he rolled his eyes.
“I mean-” the human began and tried walking, groaning at the pain that flared up from their ankle, “fuck.”
“Maybe I spoke too soon.”
The brothers were greeted by the Avatar of Wrath carrying [Y/N], their clothes having bits of dirt and grass hanging on from their tumble. [Y/N] groaned as they were seated onto the couch, the injured leg hanging in the air to not worsen the pain of their swollen ankle (though Satan had deducted they probably had sprained it but the human didn't want to hear him). The Avatars didn't question the injury, they probably assumed they injured it from whatever mischief they dragged the blonde into and somehow suffered the consequences of their misdoings.
The times the demon brothers somehow got dragged into their mischief, only to be proven wrong though the human’s pride didn't let them accept it. Their pride being the thing that could be their downfall, to their death. Satan watched as the [H/C] exchange student poked fun at Mammon’s scheme to get rich quickly — he didn't want to resort to this but he hoped that a talk with Lucifer would get them to stop or do less reckless things.
Who knows, maybe a reprimand from the Avatar of Pride was what the exchange student needed to stop risking their life despite the fun and thrills they claimed it to be. The blonde demon hoped it would work, he knew he would be dragged into their mischief if they weren't and the other human transfer student found amusement in their undoings. It was starting to become a headache for him. Satan watched as Lucifer became concerned over the smallest things the human did and towered over them — the human didn't take note of this and if they did then they decided to ignore it.
[Y/N] limped towards the kitchen — not noticing the shadow of the first brother lingering behind them, watching them to ensure they wouldn't injure themself. The limp was already enough that clouded Lucifer’s mind, planting in the fact on how fragile humans were compared to demons and angels. The fact their life could be snuffed out like the flame of a candle.
“What is there,” the [H/C] haired human muttered as they looked through the pantry to find something to eat, “did Beel clear out the pantry again?” they muttered sullenly and turned around to head back only to find Lucifer standing there, watching their figure with sharp eyes, “Luci — what are you doing there?”
The ravenette demon snapped out of his stupor and squinted at the human, “Nothing you should be concerned about.”
They grinned at his words and hobbled over towards him, “Liar.”
He let out a huff of amusement and steered the human towards the living room, where the rest of the brothers were lounging about. [Y/N] shook their head and used the crutch closest to him to nudge him on the leg lightly.
“I want to go on a walk with you,” they whined and leaned on their crutches, giving the first born puppy eyes.
Lucifer rolled his eyes but obliged with their request — ignoring the brothers’ complaints when he led their human out of the house and on the path towards the castle. As they passed the familiar flora and fauna and the homes and stores that belonged to other demons in the realm, the exchange student thought of something and turned to look at the Avatar of Pride.
“Lucifer,” [Y/N] sang out — calling for his attention, “what is with you and your ego?”
He kept his face ahead, not turning to face the human fully and thought over their words.
“What do you mean?”
[Y/N] let out a huff of annoyance and walked along to Lucifer’s steps, “You put up this facade of seriousness and as the Avatar of Pride, you don't want people to see your weakness even if you are around Lord Diavolo, Barbatos or even your own brothers,” they paused catching their breath, “even if you do you only do it around me.”
“I see,” he hummed out, “could be the fact that Devildom isn't as nice as the Celestial Realm or even the human world.”
“So you're telling me,” they leaned against the fence of the castle, “you put up this facade to keep up an appearance of toughness to protect your brothers and the lord?”
The human understood his reasons well enough, even if it wasn't family but they remembered doing something similar to this to protect the ones they cared about. The only thing that set them apart was how weak they were compared to the first born. He was something to not be messed with thanks to the powers he had received. They were only human, even as the descendant of the great Lilith, the beloved sister of the brothers. Lost too soon during the war.
“You could say it like that,” the first born nudged the human off the fence and onto the path leading to the entrance to the castle, “why are you so curious?”
The human smiled at him and then faced the door — knocking it, “It could be your downfall one day.”
The door opened revealing the green two toned haired butler and he smiled at Lucifer and [Y/N], welcoming them in, “We were expecting you Lucifer but not you [Y/N].”
“I decided to tag along.”
The Avatar of Pride shook his head in amusement at their words and walked on ahead, the human watched before turning their attention towards the butler, smiling as they started talking to him.
“You want to help me bake sweets for the meeting?” Barbatos asked the human — leading them to the kitchen.
“Sure, just don't be surprised if I mess up something.”
The butler only shook his head in mirth at their words, remembering the words he heard through the door earlier. The human is something of a bubbling curiosity, he thought as he stared at the human following the instructions.
As the human followed the instructions, the words of Lucifer echoed throughout their mind and a smirk appeared on their face at his words. What the two didn't know was the discussion brought them closer to an understanding, even if by a tiny bit.