Work Text:
Lucifer
Overworked. Overstressed. But if he stops, it will leave his mind free to wander. Free to worry. Free to question his choices and mistakes.
They depend on him. See him as a pillar. A leader. As much as he loves them, they can’t function without him. How would they respond to seeing even just a glimpse of weakness?
It’d be utter chaos. Whether they agreed with his choices or not, it hardly mattered, he was their anchor.
So why must he feel like he was sinking?
And why…
Why was a human’s simple act of kindness such a breath of fresh air to a demon who never realized how long he’d been drowning?
Mammon
It’s always been easy. Bluffing. Hiding his true intent. Hiding what he really wants. Nothing really matters if everyone thinks you’re only after cash.
The rush is addicting, it’s the only time he feels like he might be happy. Elated. Free. Everything else fades away and he finally feels like the winner he wishes he could be.
But when the chips are counted and the cards are gone he’s left to think about what he doesn’t have… what he’s lost…
So just don’t think about it. Focus on what he can gain again. Move on to the next scheme, nothing else matters. Let them believe that’s all he feels, it’s easier than feeling anything else. Wanting anything else.
Why’d you have to be so nice to him? Why’d you have to light up whenever he made you laugh? Why’d you have to make him feel… special. Valued. Why… why’d you have to make him want you so impossibly so?
Leviathan
Why did everything IRL have to be so annoying?? Couldn’t he just escape into these games and stories where he could be the hero? Where it didn’t matter how cool or strong you were, all that mattered was being the smartest or trying your hardest. Anyone could shine in anime and games! It’s where he could be the true object of envy. 3D stuff didn’t matter, he’d let it go ages ago. So far back he couldn’t remember.
The worlds behind images and screens. That’s where he belonged. Where he could be free. Free from ridicule. Free from judgement. Free from self doubt.
S-so quit looking at him. Quit trying to invade his space. What?! You… you want to listen to him ramble? Talk about his passion? But… but no one cares about what he values. Everyone thinks it’s so stupid.. so they must think he’s stupid.. such a waste.
He’d be a stronger demon if he could just focus. Apply himself. Work hard like Satan. Hell, even Belphie aces classes with little to no effort, so what’s his excuse? He’s online all day… wasting hours away…
Quit trying to convince him he’s worth anyone’s time. It’s a mistake! One anyone can see you’ll regret! It’s a common trope, your fantasy is doomed to fail!
But… if… if you really really want to. If you’re sure you want to stay and make this terrible choice… well… maybe…
Maybe it’d be okay to let you. But. He’ll still try and warn you. Warning you and watching you leave is better than trying to trick you into staying, right?
Satan
It happened again. Why must they always say his name? How can they not understand that being compared to Lucifer is the opposite of praise?
His work is never appreciated as his own, yet giving into this anger in front of others is even more disgusting. His Wrath. It’s wretched. Nothing about himself is even of himself.
He just wants to retreat. Lock himself in his room and disappear into another world within pages. Forget how little he can trust his own feelings. But when his D.D.D. chimes, he can’t help but want to check it, seeing a message from you.
You’re at Madame Screams. They’re selling kitten cupcakes today, and seeing them made you think of him. Of him.
Sometimes it feels as if you’re the only one that sees him, even when he can’t see himself.
Asmodeus
Gorgeous. Beautiful. Flawless.
Vain. Vapid. Shallow.
All these things and many more applied to him, gave him life. Gave him meaning. What did the reason behind the praise and worship matter? All that ever mattered was simply that worship was given. Admiration. Devotion. Recognition for the true beauty that he was.
And yet…
When did it start to feel so empty? When did he start to yearn to see something more in his captivating reflection? When did this new aura, this new glow, start to shine in his eyes?
Was it you? A careless little human, somehow immune to his flawless charms? He’d never been so insulted, so sickened at the thought of rejection and yet-
His charms… weren’t needed here. Because you… admired him of your own accord.
Beelzebub
He wasn’t there. He didn’t make it in time. It was his job to protect, and he failed. How could he ever let that go? Move on?
No one held it against him, even Belphie forgave him and yet… he always felt so empty.
Gluttony was a fitting punishment. Forcing him to feel the pain of emptiness forever, never letting himself forget how he let her down. Let him down. Let everyone down.
This empty feeling… it was a part of him now, and always would be. Food and exercise could be useful as distractions in the moment, but deep down he knew it would never be enough.
When you arrived he knew he’d be a goner. Another opportunity for him to fail. There was a reason he rarely went to the human world after Diavolo’s new order. Even just being in the same room as you was enough to make him salivate… fantasize about all the delicious ways you must taste…
Still you… you weren’t afraid of him. You laughed with him. You listened to him. You… you saw him as more than a gluttonous demon and it… fed him a way he never knew he craved. How was that possible? He thought he knew every way it felt to starve and yet…
You made him feel full.
Belphegor
Shame. It’s an emotion he’s been intimately familiar with for a while now. An emotion no demon truly possesses, yet one that can never leave his heart. Shame that lingers and festers inside his soul, his only reprieve brought from dreamless slumber. Yet even in his dreams, sometimes he’s tormented with memories of her.
Then you had to arrive. You had to find your place among his family while he was gone. You just had to repair the broken threads of the bonds they’d once shared before they lost her. Lost everything.
While he did nothing.
He hated you. Loathed you. Despised you. Not just for being what you are, but for being the way that you are. How dare a human act as if they understood anything he or his brothers felt? How dare you even consider to show any one of them a sense of compassion?
How dare you…
How dare you make them mourn for your death. Making him see pain and anguish he hadn’t in millennia in their eyes. And now? Now it’s even worse. Sure, you may feel afraid whenever he’s near by but you’re still kind now and then. You understand even if you won’t forgive him. Loathsome humans… so full of compassion and warmth.
How dare you.
How dare you make him wish to keep you safe? Protect you and his family’s happiness until the end of your days?
