Archive of Our Own ^beta

• At first, you didn't know the crows were his, you just found familiarity in the animals since they can be found in the human world too;

• while the brothers were initially weary of you, they were still trying to be accommodating, all while not knowing much about humans. So you ended up with a bunch of little snacks to eat until the demons found out what was deemed 'safe' for humans to eat;

• that left you with a bunch of wrappers, your bedroom's trashcan almost overflowing already, and a nagging fear or the creatures lurking outside that made you incapable of taking it out without grabbing attention to yourself;

• that's when you notice, one morning, a black smudge on the outside of your window. Deciding to at least check what it is, you find a singular crow, looking up at you, a golden band dangling from his leg comfortably. The bird flies into your room casually, as if used to doing it, and you notice it's interest on the overflowing trash can;

• "Oh, do you want some? I saw somewhere that crows like shiny stuff, is it the same for Devildom crows?" the bird lets out a happy caw, and you open the trashcan, taking out a golden protein bar wrapper and giving it to the bird;

• it flies away content, and you feel a bit more at ease knowing that there is some familiarity here;

• what you didn't expect was the two other birds outside your window the next day. or the flock that came the next week;

• soon enough, your trashcan was empty, and the flock was visiting every week. Strangely enough, they started bringing back Grimm, watches and even a pair of earrings at some point. you were honestly scared to ask where they found it, so your collection slowly grew as you familiarized yourself with the others;

• after a few weeks you were considerably more comfortable next to the brothers, especially Mammon, who was assigned to take care of you, even if it felt more like you were taking care of him;

The two of you were out after RAD classes were over, sitting at the tables in front of your favorite ice cream shop, munching on a bloodberry sundae, when Mammon's eyes glistened, falling to your wrist as you move to grab a tissue.

"Hey! That's my watch!" The demon points, eyes widening. "How did ya' get that? I've been looking everywhere!"

"W-What?" You look down at the watch one of the crows dropped on your bed a few days ago, confused. "This is yours?"

"Uh, yeah? My golden watch with blood-red diamonds? I haven't worn it in a while, but it's limited edition and this one is definitely mine!" He crosses his arms, annoyed. "Where did you find it? Did Lucifer confiscate it to sell after last week?! He can't do that!"

"No! It… okay, this is gonna sound absurd." You start, fidgeting with the jewelry anxiously. "It was a crow. I mean, a flock to be more exact."

"A… crow?" His eyes narrow.

"Yeah! I've been giving them some of the wrappers from all the candy you guys gave me when I moved here, and they started giving me stuff back." Your eyes are glued to the table, ashamed. "I didn't know they were stealing from you guys…"

Mammon's eyes widen again, before he lets out an incredulous laugh, hand running through his hair as he tries to gain his composure back. After a few awkward seconds of you stupidly staring (and, as soon as it is to admit, swooning) at him as he laughs, he lets out a loud whistle, leaning back onto his chair and holding out his left arm.

A few seconds later, a crow lands on his outstretched arm, looking curiously at the two of you for a second before turning to clean its wings. Mammon clears his throat and the bird jumps, looking startled before noticing the shiny band on your wrist.

It's an absurd situation, but you can almost feel the guilt in the animal's face and posture as he turns towards the demon with a meek caw. The white haired demon sighs, petting the bird's cheek with one of his fingers and smiling softly at the way it preens his hand back.

"'This the culprit?" He asks, looking back at you, and you feel your heart do summersaults.

"Yeah, the one with the golden leg band!" You exclaim, reaching your hand to pet the crow, fingers brushing against Mammon's, making him take his hand back for a second, cheeks flushed. "He was the first one to appear, but now there's at least ten."

"A-And they gave you my watch?" His hand slowly goes back next to yours, bumping occasionally as the two of you pet the bird. "What else did they get you?"

"Uh… a few earrings, two other watches, a few grimm…" you recall, pensive. "Coming to think of it, the earrings from yesterday are definitely Asmo's…"

He laughs even more, his eyes crinkling and tears threatening to fall out, his hand falling from the bird to the table, ringed fingers snapping as he raises the arm the crow is resting, bringing him next to his face and nuzzling him.

"You're… not mad about the watch?" You ask, confused.

"I mean, can't fault them. I was the one to teach them what to do after all." His cheeky grin is contagious and soon you're laughing too. "But seems like they've turned against me. Who knew ya could be bought with a few shiny wrappers, ya stupid chickens."

His words are harsh, but the tone is nothing but caring, and you can't help but stare as your demon best friend who you may-or-may-not have a crush on coos at the animal. Two other birds come down, sitting at Mammon's shoulders like parrots, and you scoot closer to pet the few you recognize.

"Hey, this is the one who got me the earrings I was talking about!" You point.

"Dior?" The crow caws, answering happily. "Huh, are ya sure? He's not one to go for jewelry."

"Yeah, usually he brings me grimm or wrappers." Mammon's still looking at the crow, curiously. "But it was definitely him, his beak is a bit crooked to the left. Wait, is that mean to say? It looks cute!" You're talking more to the bird than the demon, but he laughs anyway.

"It's more flattering than anything that ya managed to recognize him." Mammon gets up, and the crows flap their wings, happily. "Come on, let's go home, it's getting late, and these guys are very annoying if I take too long to feed them."

You walk next to him, hearing the caws all around you, a few other crows coming down to peck at Mammon's rings playfully, the smaller one even landing on his hair and cooing, making the demon shake his head, annoyed.

"Oi! Ya can't do that! My hair's gonna get all messed up!" He smooths it down again with a pout.

"I like it that way." You open your mouth before your brain can stop you, averting your eyes as soon as the words come out of your mouth. "C-Come on, you can look through the pile of stuff they brought me and see what's yours."

Mammon pumps his fist and quickens his pace, smile bright on his face. You smile back fondly, remembering the watch on your wrist and taking it off, extending it to him.

"Also, your watch. Sorry I involuntarily stole it from you." Mammon blushes, looking anywhere but at you as he opens his mouth.

"Ya can keep it, looks better on you anyway…" his face gets even redder, and you feel the heat creeping up on your own cheeks. "And you're already giving me free access to your treasure pile so I'm still profiting!"

The sound of your laugh makes a few crows gather around, and you walk happily back to the House of Lamentation, Dior perched on your shoulder and the white-haired demon right next to you.