Work Text:
mammon loved to hate you.
the human exchange student — weak, spineless and a tad bit annoying — that he was assigned to keep a close eye on during the one year period of the program. you were a burden to him; putting a rift in his daily routine — which mainly consisted of him skipping classes, gambling and dodging his eldest brother’s punishments. honestly, how did lucifer and the rest of the student council expect him to scurry around after some little runt all day long? he had better things to do!
he hated the way you’d trail behind him while he walked through the hallways of the royal academy, struggling to keep up with the strides of his long legs. like a scared pup, scampering around my ankles, he used to say with a snicker.
he hated how many questions you asked, acting as if he was your personal search engine. he scoffed at even the most harmless of questions, advising you to look it up on your phone, instead of bothering the great mammon about it.
he hated the way he had to tilt his head downwards to meet your gaze. you always looked so small and minute below him, like a microscopic ant. after all, you were just some puny little human, and he was a powerful, mighty, millennium-old demon.
he hated the way you spoke to him, your voice all soft and gentle, and your sentences free from the usual bitter venom of his siblings. his heart always seemed to flutter in his chest when you defended him from the remarks made by his brothers, or gave him a well-deserved compliment. although, he always pushed the feeling away almost as soon as it happened. there was no way in heaven — or hell — that a pathetic human would ever make him feel that ecstatic with mere words.
he hated the way you could fluster him with a simple grin. it was adorable; your eyes crinkled at the corners, nose scrunched, lips pulled into the most beautiful smile he’d ever laid eyes on. frustratingly, he ignored the way his heart thumped violently in his chest, but was determined to make you smile forevermore.
he hated the way you melted his heart in a way that no other demon — or human, or angel — had ever done in the thousands of years he has been in existence. with every touch, or compliment, or even nothing worth noting at all, he could physically feel his chest bursting with joy. he couldn’t the last time he felt this happy. he couldn’t remember life in the devildom before you arrived, and he hoped to whatever god there was that it would remain that way for as long as possible.
but most of all, he hated the way that he didn’t hate you at all. not even a little bit, not even in the slightest. he’s torn apart when you aren’t around, and he’s complete when you’re by his side. he’s unconditionally in love with you, as much as he denies it to his brothers, you and himself. you’re a part of him.
perhaps, he didn’t love to hate you.
mammon hated that he loved you.