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Lucifer was usually great at holding his Demonus. With six younger brothers to babysit care for, he had to be the responsible one, usually only allowing himself a sip or two in their presence to get the edge off. Who knew what kind of nefarious deeds his brothers would get up to if they ever caught him so much so as tipsy? It was better not to risk it.
Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, Diavolo had the ability to rid Lucifer of most of his inhibitions, especially on quiet nights like these. He often found himself indulging a little too much whenever he was in his presence.
“Would you like me to pour you some more Demonus, Lucifer?” Diavolo’s speech was slurred, but he still took care to enunciate every word, “You still have some left in your bottle. You might actually lose this competition at this rate.”
The room swam in front of him, and Lucifer struggled to keep himself upright. He rested his chin against the palm of his hand to prevent himself from toppling over. “In your dreams.” Lucifer held out his glass. He was the one who suggested this competition in the first place, and he had no intention of losing.
Diavolo’s hand wobbled as he poured the Demonus, causing some of the blue liquid to splash out of the glass. Lucifer paid no mind to it and downed the drink in one gulp, allowing the bubbly taste to numb the back of his throat. He put down the glass with more force than necessary, causing a clinking sound to emanate in the air.
“How have they been faring so far?” Diavolo took a considerably smaller sip from his own glass.
“Who?” Lucifer squinted, racking his brain as to who Diavolo could be referring to. He did tie Mammon to the ceiling this morning, so maybe that was it. He seemed fine when Lucifer was leaving, but he did spend the entire afternoon shouting complaints at the top of his lungs.
Lucifer thought it was ludicrous that Mammon had the audacity to claim that it wasn’t his fault, especially considering how Lucifer was punishing him for his newest money-laundering scheme. Though, he did think it was kind of impressive how Mammon managed to–
“The human exchange student?” Diavolo laughed, “I haven’t had the time to catch up with them recently, so I was just curious.” Another sip.
Oh, yes. He should have known. “They’re doing fine, I suppose.” Lucifer sat up in his seat. “They’ve been busy with RAD as of late, so I hadn’t had the time to talk much with them, either.”
“Does that upset you?”
Lucifer gave Diavolo a deadpan glare, who silently looked back with a wide smile. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, and Lucifer was certain that his own gaze did not fare any better. “No, it doesn’t,” Lucifer said, “In fact, I’m proud of them for taking their work seriously. My brothers could follow their lead in that regard.”
“They’re quite intelligent, aren’t they?” Diavolo swirled the Demonus in his glass, causing the blue liquid to sparkle and shine against the warm light of the fire quietly crackling in the fireplace.
Lucifer poured himself another drink. “You don’t know half of it.” He hiccuped and played it off as a cough. “I offered to tutor them in Devildom History once, and during the session, they ended up correcting me on some inane fact that I had apparently forgotten.”
Diavolo tossed his head back and cackled, slapping his thigh for good measure. “I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall during that conversation!” He continued to giggle, “What did you say?”
“Nothing. I simply corrected myself and moved on. They kept bringing it up the entire session and afterward, though. It was annoying having to deal with their incessant bragging to anyone who would listen.” Lucifer sighed when Diavolo let out another peal of laughter. A smile threatened to tug on his lips, but he fought the urge. “I didn’t tell them, but I was really impressed. Not only by their grades but by how easily they’ve acclimated to the Devildom.”
“Go on…”
Lucifer had no idea why Diavolo was egging him on like this, but his mouth started to move on its own. “I don’t know.” He stared at the ceiling to look for answers that weren’t there. “I just think it’s nice how they’ve started making Devilom meals during their dinner duty or listening to our music.” Diavolo gave him a questioning look, so he clarified, “I caught them listening to one of my cursed records in my office. I was about to scold them for sneaking inside, but they looked so…” Lucifer struggled to find the right words. “ ...happy . Their eyes were closed and they were singing along to the music. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I sat outside and listened in.”
Diavolo nodded along to his story…and kept nodding a tad longer than what was socially acceptable. “Wow, Lucifer, that’s–”
“They had a nice singing voice, too. A little loud but melodic. I’ve never heard them sing before, so it caught me off guard.” Lucifer hadn’t meant to cut Diavolo off, but the words kept tumbling out. “You know, at one point, I closed my eyes and pretended that they were singing just for me.” His cheeks immediately flushed when he realized what he had just said. Lucifer massaged his forehead with his forefinger and thumb, mumbling a swear under his breath.
Diavolo laughed again, but it was louder this time. While wheezing, he jerked his hand and spilled some of his Demonus on his shirt. When Diavolo noticed what he had done, he calmed himself down and placed his glass in the center of the table. He dabbed the liquid off with a napkin.
“Well.” The corners of Diavolo’s lips quirked up. “I’m glad that our human exchange student has found themselves right at home.”
Lucifer’s chest warmed up at the word ‘our’ and almost exploded when he heard ‘home.’ He knew that their true home was in the human world, but he genuinely hoped that they considered the Devildom home, too. At the very least, he wished that they were as happy spending time with him as he was being with them. They were always off getting themself into trouble or doing something else insane, and as much as Lucifer pretended to be annoyed, he was extremely endeared to it. They were exciting and fun, and he hadn’t been this happy since–
Lucifer’s stomach dropped, and a wave of cold rushed over him. It was almost enough to be sobering. Almost. He buried his head in his hands and gave a long, shuddering sigh.
“Lucifer?” Diavolo placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“I think…” Lucifer took a deep breath and sat up. Diavolo took his hand away from him, but it still remained hovering in the air. “I’m in love with them.”
He stared at the table, trying to digest this information himself. The engravings in the wood kept wiggling around, making it hard to focus on one thing at a time. He wasn’t sure how Diavolo was going to react. A human and a demon? Together? The mere idea was absurd.
“Congratulations on being the last one to find out!” Diavolo slapped Lucifer’s back.
“Diavolo!” he hissed.
Diavolo rubbed the spot where he had slapped Lucifer. “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized, “I’m just so happy that you’ve finally realized. It’s been a long time coming.”
Lucifer scowled at his lap. What did he mean by ‘last one’?
“So, when are you going to tell them?”
“What?” Lucifer jerked his head up. “No, no, I can’t.” The room started to spin again, but it was dizzying and uncomfortable this time. Not at all bubbly and warm.
“And why not?”
“I’m Lucifer, and they’re just some measly human. The three worlds still haven’t taken kindly to the idea of a human getting with someone who…isn’t.” Lucifer said, his lips twisting into a pinched frown, “You of all people should know that.”
Diavolo sighed. A wistful look gleamed in his eye. “Of course, I know, but I believe this could be what we’re looking for. A chance to bridge our worlds with the power of–” He waggled his shoulders. “Love.”
“This isn’t some fairytale,” Lucifer groaned, “Besides, all of my brothers are already in love with them. They’d all throw themselves at the wall at the chance to date them.”
Diavolo smiled in that same exact way that Lucifer hated. “Alright. I won’t press any further. You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t want to.”
Lucifer bit his tongue to prevent himself from shouting that he did want to. He wanted to tell them that he loved them, but, most importantly, he wanted them to wholeheartedly return his feelings. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if they didn’t like him back or viewed him the same way they did with the rest of his brothers. He wanted to be special in their eyes, even if he wasn’t ready to admit the same.
He didn’t say any of that. Instead, he thanked Diavolo and bid him farewell.
As Diavolo walked Lucifer to the entrance, he asked, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like Barbatos to escort you home?” He tripped over his shoes and chuckled at himself.
Lucifer stumbled over and leaned against the door, opening it with his weight. “No. The House of Lamentation isn’t too far. I’ll be fine.” He shivered, pulling his coat together over his body when the air hit him.
“Okay,” Diavolo said. After a brief pause, he asked, “Same time next week?”
Lucifer nodded. As much as he wasn’t fond of the sudden revelation he had today, this time with Diavolo was the only time he had to let off steam with one of the closest people to him. Diavolo patted him on the arm, gave him a bottle of Demonus for the road, and sent him on his way.
As Lucifer staggered along the path home, thoughts of you swirled in his head. Your laugh, your smile, the smug look you get whenever you try to one-up him… He couldn’t wait to get home to see you again and was yearning for your company on this chilly night. Right now, you would probably be complaining about how cold your fingers were while sneakily trying to stuff them down his shirt. He would never give you the satisfaction, but the thought made him smile.
It eventually got to be too much. Lucifer had to see you now, so he pulled out his D.D.D. and scrolled to your contact. Upon seeing your profile picture, his chest warmed in the same way it had earlier. It was too late to call you, so he started texting. His heart skipped a beat when you responded, and he had forgotten all about the chilly night air.