Work Text:
Maybe staying up three nights in a row wasn’t such a good idea in retrospect. In your defense, quite a few exams were coming up. They were about topics that you’d been struggling to understand since they were first brought up in classes. With a lack of sleep and a less than nutritious diet consisting of energy bars and sugary drinks, a cold was inevitable. Despite all of your studying efforts, you were now stuck in bed with sniffles and a slight fever. You’d been spending most of your time either sleeping or reading webcomics; occasionally drinking water and enjoying some plain crackers for your upset stomach.
None of the demon brothers had come to visit you; save Beel who offered you some treats that ended up being vomit in a bucket. His intentions were pure, though, so you couldn’t stay mad at him for too long. The others were busy with exams and their own personal things at school. So, here you were, alone and reading the thousandth comic today.
A sharp knock was rapped against your door.
You raised an eyebrow, sitting up in your bed to make yourself look mildly presentable in case it was Diovalo coming to check why you’d been absent during exam seasons, “Come in.”
To your surprise, the eldest brother stepped inside and clicked the door shut behind him. Lucifer was dressed in the school’s uniform, though he looked a bit more disheveled than normal.
“Sorry to intrude,” Lucifer had a tray in his hands with a steaming cup on it, “But after Beel told me about your cold I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Oh, well, thank you. I’m alright. Still feeling a little hot and hungry,” you watched him set the cup on your bedside table. Lucifer sat at the edge of your bed, “Don’t you have student council things to do?”
Lucifer sighed tiredly, “Of course. There’s always something to do, and Diavolo seems to think he can push things off until the deadline. Besides,” he paused, then looked away, “I was worried about you.”
It was a bit of a surprise to see the always meticulous and well-spoken eldest brother shy away from the conversation. You blushed nonetheless; you would be lying if you said that some romantic feelings had been developing between the two of you for some time now. The feelings were unspoken, allowing them to fester because you didn’t want to bother Lucifer while he was clearly taking care of other business. You couldn’t speak for Lucifer, though.
“Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
Silence loomed over the two of you until Lucifer cleared his throat and stood up,
“Right. Well, I brought you some peppermint tea to help your stomach. Just send me a message if you need anything else.”
He moved to leave the room. In a shot of confidence that you didn’t know existed, you grabbed his hand and said, “Wait. Stay, Lucifer.”
The raven-haired demon’s face was as red as your own feverish one. Quickly, you pulled your hand away as if it was burnt, “Ah, sorry. I don’t know why I did that. You can go now if you--”
“I don’t want to go,” Lucifer sat back down beside you, grabbing your hand once again, “At least not until you finish the tea.”
You smiled, running your thumb over his knuckles, “Okay.”
Lucifer passed you the cup, warning you that it was still hot, but at this point, your skin was probably just as heated from embarrassment at your own boldness. The tea tasted like it was made with care; a pinch of sugar and cream just the way that you liked. Both of you idly chatted until you took one last sip. Lucifer gathered the tray and cup.
“Alright then. I’ll be going now, get some rest.”
Before he could leave, you pulled him down by his sleeve, being careful not to jerk him too far. You planted a thankful kiss on his cheek, “Thank you Lucifer. I mean it.”
He looked surprised and held his cheek where you had kissed him. Lucifer cleared his throat, pulling away so he could adjust his tie, “Of course. Um, right. Yeah. You’re welcome. I’m going to go back to the student council room.”
Lucifer left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Once the weight of what you’ve done washed over you, you shoved your face into one of your pillows and screamed in embarrassment. You can’t believe you’d done that…!