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Satan was mad.
This, of course, was a common occurrence for the Avatar of Wrath. The only difference was that you were very close by, and feeling these waves of anger meant that it would be best to calm him down. The two of you had just celebrated New Year’s together, after Satan noticed how down you were upon learning that there were no festivities in the Devildom to celebrate this event. You knew that it made sense, that there was no point in immortal beings keeping track of every year that went by. They simply had too many under their belts already. However, that didn’t stop you from wishing that something would be done, if only to try and observe this holiday like you had done with the demon brothers for Christmas. Satan was the only one that didn’t brush aside your sadness, whisking you away after school to enjoy the rest of the day with him at a restaurant. Thanks to his connections, he was able to call the owner ahead of time to make a New Year’s menu just for the two of you, which you thought was really sweet of him. Unfortunately, it was cut short because Satan became drunk from the toso he had, and so you had to escort him home.
He was practically asleep by the time you made it to his room and put him on the bed- at least, you thought he was. While you overheard Mammon and the twins in the hallway, so did he, and he was terribly angry to find out that Belphegor told the owner to put alcohol in the toso, when Satan had asked for a non-alcoholic one before. You only blinked once before Satan had vanished in an instant, appearing in the hallway in his demon form. By the time you realized what happened and rushed after him, you saw the three of them running away. All you could do was laugh at this turn of events. Satan, however, didn’t see it that way, and most likely would have ran after them if you weren’t with him.
The two of you are standing in the currently quiet hallway, as you watch Satan mumble something under his breath about double checking drinks before ingesting them.
"But Satan, you looked cute," you protest, following him back into his room. Earlier, he was half asleep and more touchy than usual, but you find that his anger sobers him up quickly, erasing much of what is left of drunk Satan- which you had wondered about on several occasions.
"This isn't the time for that," he says, still visibly annoyed by his brothers’ antics, but blushing at your comment. You close the door behind you.
"I mean, I'm annoyed as well, but it was pretty funny to see you get angry at them. That changed their attitudes real quick."
To see Mammon running away with the twins in pursuit is a rare sight. You find yourself enjoying it, to say the least, and you know that deep down, Satan does too.
"Yeah, I guess so..." he sighs, sitting down on his bed. You watch as the frown disappears from his face and he lets out a small chuckle. "It was... kind of funny."
You grin, sitting down next to him. "See? See?" You poke his shoulder. "Come on, you can laugh about it." His smile becomes wider, and soon the two of you are laughing at his brothers' expense.
Satan turns to you, fixing your hair with a sigh. "I'm sorry about this. Truly. I planned this so you could have a special day, and they ruined it for you."
"No, it's okay!" You reassure him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It ended in true House of Lamentation style, which is always pure chaos."
"I wanted it to be different for just one day. It's an impossible wish, I suppose."
"Aw, Sachan, come on," you say, bumping his shoulder with your own. "It was great! I had fun, and honestly, you were the only one who did something like this for me. The others just brushed me off, and I was a little down about it, but you gave me something to remember."
Satan blinks at you in surprise. "Really? You had fun, regardless of having to drag me back to my room after I fell asleep at the table?" He looks away again. "The memory is still fresh, and quite embarrassing, as well." He must be angrier than you think, because he's still in his demon form with his eyes glowing brightly.
"Hey! Sachan, don't say that. Today was great, and I mean it." You rest your head on Satan's shoulder. He tenses at first, but eventually shifts to make you more comfortable. "I think... I would have been really sad if I didn't get to celebrate this year."
"Really? Why is that?"
"Well," you sigh, enjoying the feel of his feather boa on your face, "Since I'm in this place, away from home and all the celebrations there, it just feels... weird. Like I'm missing something. Does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't."
Satan takes a few seconds to process this information, biting down on a feather while he does so. It's much more attractive than you think it would be, so you force yourself to look away.
"Hmm... I think it does make sense," he replies. "I know there are some celebrations here which I partake in and end up looking forward to the next time. Perhaps it's not as intense as your longing for human celebrations, but I understand the feeling, more or less."
"Yes, pretty much like that," you say, breath tickling his neck. He looks down at you, a light blush on his cheeks.
"Well... I mean, if it made you happy, then I'm happy as well," he decides. He rests his head on yours, absentmindedly reaching for your hand. You're quite comfortable like this and very much enjoying the moment when you feel something cool wrap around your waist and rest by your hand. You jump, causing Satan to glance at you.
"Are you alright?"
"Uh..." you start, looking for the source of the odd sensation. Your eyes widen in awe as they land upon a certain green-tipped appendage brushing your fingers. "It's your tail!" You laugh. You try to touch its smooth junctions, but it leaves as soon as you mention its presence, as if it's meant to remain invisible.
"S-sorry," He mumbles, withdrawing from the comfortable position and stealing the shared warmth. "It just moves of its own accord when I'm not paying attention to it."
"Oh. But-"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," he continues, cutting you off as he blushes furiously.
"Wait, don't," you manage to say quickly, and he pauses, staring at you curiously.
"Why?"
Saying what you want now seems a little strange, but you somehow end up speaking regardless.
"I... wanted to touch... your tail..." your voice grows fainter with each pause. "Sorry, that must sound weird."
"You want to-" Satan cuts himself off, and his face becomes red again while he closes his eyes. The tail in question is very still now.
"I got you flustered," you say, a laugh replacing your initial nervousness.
"Stop it," he mumbles, but takes a peek at you again. His eyes finally return to their regular shade of green. "You really... want to touch it?"
"Well... yes?" You hope there isn't a wrong answer here. You hold your breath for what seems like minutes as Satan bites at another feather- he should really stop, it's hard to look away- and turns to you fully after contemplating something.
"Alright," he says, seemingly trying to convince himself more than reassure you it's okay. The tail moves back to you slowly.
You start by holding the end in your hands, which is lighter than you expected. It's quite long as well, which you notice because it was wrapped around Satan's leg as he stood in the hallway. It's bright green by your hands, but it fades to black behind Satan. The gradient seems to shimmer and move around depending on how you hold it under the light.
"It's so cool!" You laugh, running your fingers across the smooth surfaces. The pieces make soft clinking noises against your nails. If you focus hard enough, you can feel some remnants of his wrath as well, which is still pretty noticeable despite his much calmer exterior.
"Oi, oi, that's enough," Satan mumbles, and you notice that he's blushing again. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I'm serious! It's pretty."
Satan regards you with a look you can't quite place. "You're so strange."
"Thanks," you reply, and he shakes his head. "Are you okay?" You notice he's still blushing.
"I'm fine," he replies, and the tail slinks to his other side. "Tails are just sensitive, that's all."
"Yeah, I remember that from one of the books you lent me," you say. "It said something about them being a sign of emotions, or the unconscious."
It was no secret to anyone at the House of Lamentation that you were maybe a bit too curious when it came to the brothers' demon forms. The horns, wings, and tails fascinated you, but whenever you asked to inspect them up close, they became flustered, save for Asmo, who encouraged it. You tried to ask him once, and he mentioned something about intense sensations before Mammon told him to shut up. They started to argue as Beel and Belphie dragged you to their room for an impromptu naptime, complete with plenty of snacks to eat beforehand. After that scene, you figured it would be best to do your own research, and asked Satan for books about demons instead. He always lent them to you, on the condition that you simply return the previous books you borrowed. Despite having a ton of books, Satan could always remember which ones you borrowed, even when you had written lists for yourself and still forgot to bring all of them back. It was amazing to see his memory in action.
"So you didn't mean to put your tail near me?" You look at him.
"Definitely not. My apologies for that."
"Don't worry, it's fine!" You say cheerfully, and then become quite still as you remember what you just said about tails.
Satan notices the abrupt change, and tilts his head in confusion. "Is everything okay?"
"Mm? Yeah. I just remembered," you start, looking up at him. "If a tail represents unconscious thoughts, then did you... want me to stay close to you?"
The silence that follows is deafening, and you're almost convinced that you might not have remembered that piece of information correctly.
"...I did," he admits hesitantly, staring into your eyes. His trademark honesty still catches you off guard at times like this, especially when you think he's too embarrassed to speak. "I'm still feeling wrathful under the surface, but I still wanted you here because I feel bad about what happened earlier. I just wanted you to have a good time today."
You manage to fight your own embarrassment to reassure him. "I-I told you! It was fine... I won't have to keep saying that, will I...?"
"Hmm, I don't know," Satan replies, his voice already taking on a mischievous tone. Seeing this quick change in attitude, you wonder if he was actually flustered at all before. "I put a lot of work into this day. It would help to be reminded, you know?"
"Why, you- are you joking right now?"
"No. I'm very angry. Won't you console a poor soul like me?" Satan smiles at you, but you notice that it's a bit too tight, and his eyebrows aren't relaxed at all. You see that he's trying hard to keep calm because of you, but you know his anger will subside soon if he's acting like this. The only thing you can do is wait for an opportunity to get back at him. You would say it’s like a competition between you two to see who can tease the other more often, if only it wasn't already part of who he is. Satan is too good at catching people off guard, and he especially likes to do it to you, to gauge your reaction while you try to make a comeback. He is always more playful than he lets on.
"Poor soul, my foot," you grumble.
"I'm sorry, darling, I couldn't hear you over my anguish." He still had the nerve to sound cute while pushing your buttons.
"I had a good time, you dramatic demon," you sigh, narrowing your eyes when he smiles. It seems like he's ready to annoy you. It’s rare to see this side of him, and while you are already annoyed on the outside, you are secretly happy that he is becoming less grumpy than before.
"What was that?"
"I. Had. A good. Time."
"But you sound like you're trying to get rid of me instead," he says.
"Well, maybe that's the point."
"My goodness! Not an ounce of sincerity. That really hurts, you know." His smile doesn't waver an inch. You know you would be laughing already if the roles were reversed.
"I know you're not talking about sincerity right now, Mister Lord of Masks." You poke his chest. "Don't start with me."
"Start what? I just wanted some reassurance. I was actually nervous, you know."
"I can't take that seriously when I can see you're teasing me right now."
"You wound me." He wraps his arms around you from behind, and rests his chin on your head.
"Do you think a hug makes this better?" You ask, but you end up snuggling further into him and playing with the feather boa.
"Will a hug make you say it again?"
"No."
"Please?" You can see his tail moving again. You chuckle as it makes its way towards your arm.
"You know what? If you don't stop it, I'm going to touch your tail again."
And then his mouth is by your ear. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Tell that to the tail wrapping itself around my arm, you fool," You reply, doing your best not to shiver at his warning. Sure enough, when you lift your arm, his tail is already snaking around it.
"Again?" He groans, moving away.
"Hey, that's on you," you shrug, enjoying that he is flustered again. He is always calm and composed, very much the opposite of his sin, and that makes it all the more satisfying whenever you successfully tease him. You would think that this is the effect of the toso if you weren’t aware of his tendency to do the same to you whenever he gets the chance. Perhaps it’s really a mix of both.
"Very funny."
"Right?" You grin, watching his tail move again. This time, it looks like a question mark behind him. "Hey, are you... happy right now, by any chance? No more angry vibes or anything like that?"
"Well," he looks at his hands and chuckles, "These ‘vibes’ that you speak of never really leave, but my anger has subsided, thanks to you. I'm alright now."
You can't stop the smile that makes its way to your face and turns into a chuckle.
"Is something funny?" He tilts his head at you, and you cover your mouth, not before a few more giggles slip out.
"It's just that... you let me borrow some cat books."
"Well, yeah. You wanted to learn more about them. Where is this going?" He asks, clearly confused at the sudden change in conversation.
"Your body language right now... is looking an awful lot like the pictures I've seen. Oh my god," you burst out laughing, "You really are like a cat!"
It's true. An upright tail is a sign of happiness, and you had already established that Satan wanted to keep you close when it had wrapped around you, much like a cat does when it wants to show friendship.
"You must be joking," you barely hear him say, while his face becomes red.
"I'm not...! Oh man, this has been the best part of my day."
"Now I really am in anguish," he says with a sigh. "You see me as a cat."
This only makes you laugh more. "It's such a cute image, really. All you need now are cat ears and whiskers!"
"You'll never let me live this down, will you?"
"Oh, absolutely not." You give him a wicked grin. "Not even in your ninth life."
"Really? Was that necessary?"
"Duh." You stand up. "You know what? Maybe I should go before you find a way to tease me again."
"So soon? I don't think so." He stands as well, pulling you back to him. "You need to stay here as punishment, to compensate for hurting my feelings. Besides, my terrible brothers cut our evening short, so you need to make up for that as well."
"Okay... that's not... a punishment," you mumble. He is your favorite, after all. "But why am I making it up to you if your brothers are at fault?"
"I'd much prefer your company over theirs." He squeezes your hands lightly.
"Even though I called you a cat?"
"Even though you called me a cat. The more I think about it, the more I like it, actually." His tail snakes around your waist again and you laugh.
"Are you doing that on purpose now?"
"I am, indeed."
"Okay, tell you what. Let me go, and-"
"I refuse." He pulls you into a hug and your face heats up.
"J-just... let me finish," you say into his shoulder. "I wanna change my clothes. I'll only come back if you pick some books and make hot chocolate. With whipped cream, and preferably non-alcoholic."
Satan holds you at arms' length. "You had to get that last jab in there, didn't you? Alright, fine." He kisses your hand and nudges you towards the door.
"Opportunist," you mumble, and this time he gives you a smile you know is genuine.
"I don’t have the slightest idea of what you'd be referring to. Go change."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going."
"Hey," Satan says, and you turn to face him. "Happy New Year to you, my darling. It certainly feels like one when you're here with me."
You beam at him, very much enjoying his nickname for you. "Thank you, Sachan. It feels more like a new year with you, too."
"Come back soon, alright? I'll get started on the chocolate now, so don't let it get cold."
"I could never do such a thing to hot cocoa. Don't worry."
"You wouldn't want to keep me waiting either." He gives you a mysterious smile that makes your face warm up, but you're able to take it in stride.
"Well, I'm more focused on the chocolate."
"Wow. Alright. I suppose I'll enjoy the rest of the evening by myself."
"Are you serious?" You laugh.
"Very much so." He leans against the doorframe. You decide to leave immediately, because if your eyes start to wander, Satan will most definitely tease you for it.
It's too late for that, of course, because your eyes move for one second, and his smile grows wider.
"Wandering eyes will get you nowhere," he replies.
Before you freeze on the spot, you manage to say one last thing that you know will turn the tables. "Um, Sachan..."
"Mmhmm?" He is decidedly smug, being able to read you all too well.
"I want you to look for a cat book, okay?"
He immediately blinks, surprised at the request, then blushes and frowns as you grin at him.
"...Well then. I suppose I should start looking. And I will most certainly be in my human form by the time you return."
"Yeah, I bet," you laugh, heading towards your room. "See you in a bit!"
---
When you come back, you find Satan -in his human form- with two cups of chocolate and a book whose cover you can’t see yet, waiting for you with a catlike expression. You can already tell that he has something up his sleeve.
"Your request was quite open ended, so I thought long and hard about what you might enjoy the most. Since you're so intent on observing body language, I figure you might as well learn about the complete anatomy of cats."
There’s the catch. Anatomy of cats? Seriously? Leave it to none other than Satan to have such a book in his possession. It’s highly possible that he has at least one book for practically any subject, but this is a bit much.
"Uh..." you blink rapidly. “Why do you even have a book like that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He smiles. It’s the type of smile that a cat certain to catch its prey would definitely wear if it could. You suddenly feel small, and very much like a mouse. “It’s because I love cats, and as someone pointed out, I practically am a cat, so I might as well learn more about myself. And you’re going to learn as well.”
"Petition to switch books?"
"Denied." Somehow, his smile becomes wider, and you can tell that he likes watching your expression. "Come, sit here." He pats the space next to him and you comply, but then you realize it's much smaller than you thought. He places the book on your lap and leans into you, his mouth right by your ear. "This is educational, don't you think? We should get very comfortable. This will take a while.”
You can barely focus, thanks to his proximity combined with the smell of books and chocolate on him, but you manage to nod anyway.
This is going to be an interesting evening.