Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mammon was greedy, everyone knew that.

And everyone knew that his greed extended to many things:

(1)Money—gambling was one of his specialties (even though he owed so many people that as soon as he earned even a little bit, it was gone before he knew it). 

(2)Cars—the one in his room being his show piece, of course, but the underground garage of the House of Lamentation was packed with other models. 

(3)Clothes—he liked to brag to everyone who would as much as look his way how much of the clothes from his modeling gig he actually got to keep (which was like, at least half, which was so not fair). 

(4)People.

Now, it was no secret that for one person in particular, Mammon’s greed could go to unspeakable lengths, whether it was the innocent act of hissing at any demon who came too close or even going as far as to literally pick said person up and carry them away like they were just one of his many possessions.

Which, depending on how you looked at it, they sort of were.

Looking at it from a safe distance, Asmo couldn’t help but think it was adorable. Not that he would ever say that to his older brother’s face, but sometimes it was the thought that counted, right? Also, Asmo really couldn’t blame Mammon for his possessiveness. He himself felt quite protective over this person more often than not. And who could blame him, honestly? 

MC was such a sweetheart.

...most of the time.

...when they were not actively invoking the wrath of whatever demon they had decided to piss off that day.

Or right now, when MC, for some indecipherable reason, thought it was a good idea to ignore Mammon at the entrance of the school (where he had been waiting for two hours just so he could walk MC home, Asmo knew) and instead walk over to some other random demon and start talking to them. 

They didn’t even glance in Mammon’s direction.

Ouch.

Meanwhile, Asmo was quietly minding his own business on a park bench just off of school grounds, surrounded by the most perfect roses that had been blooming ever since the beginning of the week (and he needed to make every second count with the short period of time he could use those flowers as his personal real life Devilgram filter), filing his nails and looking them over every two seconds or so—

Okay, so maybe he also picked this spot so he could spy on his moronic brother and obvious crush. He couldn’t help it. Blossoming romance was just as good as blossoming flowers, alright? He needed to experience it, the entertainment too good to pass up on.

Except that right now it looked more like a welting romance.

From his perfect spying spot, Asmo could just make out the growing redness of Mammon’s face, the demon in question staring holes in MC’s back. Oh, if looks could kill… then MC would still be alive since Mammon was too much of a softy to do anything, but that's besides the point.

Anyway, Mammon was staring and he was visibly getting pissed. Asmo could recognize that expression anytime. The second oldest was a couple of breaths away from exploding.

And from Asmo’s modest outside perspective, his brother had all the reasons to do so. 

MC pushed a lock of loose hair behind their ear as they laughed about something the other demon had said. They looked sideways. They were blushing.

Oh hell no.

Just as Asmo was contemplating doing something himself, Mammon seemed to have made the decision for him, the second oldest stomping over to MC and the random demon with a murderous look on his face. He took MC’s shoulder and forced them to look at him. MC smiled, but… Hmm, Asmo couldn’t pinpoint why exactly, but the smile seemed... fake?

Mammon then said something, probably along the lines of “Oi, don’t ignore me!” or something petulant like that, and MC just shrugged, already turning back to the other demon and continuing their conversation.

Okay, now they definitely deserved the angry Mammon. 

Mammon seemed to think so too, because without any further prompting, he grabbed MC’s wrist, yanking them away and towards the path leading to the House of Lamentation. MC just stumbled along, shooting a (longing?) glance towards the other demon and quickly waving him goodbye with a smile.

Then, Mammon and MC were gone.

Asmo immediately started packing up his nail-care items. To say Asmo’s daily entertainment had been weird was an... understatement. He’d better not miss any more of it.

Quickly, Asmo left his posing bench and followed the duo with a dashing grin plastered on his face, making sure to mask the slight worry he was feeling from MC’s weird behavior. 

It was probably nothing.

...right?

---------

Oh, it was definitely something, because Mammon never, and he meant never, went to one of his brothers for advice.

Yet here he was.

“So what do I doooooo,” Mammon whined, lounging on the loveseat in Asmo’s room as he swung his head backwards to look at his younger brother upside down. 

Asmodeus, sitting behind the loveseat at his small tea table and painting delicate little flower designs on his nails (the roses had inspired him), didn’t even look up as he said, “Dunno.”

It had been a week since Asmo had witnessed the tragic ‘random demon’ incident. To his knowledge, in the days that followed it had only gotten worse. MC was full on ignoring Mammon now, not even budging when he tried to physically drag them somewhere, and they were hanging around more and more with that random demon as the days went on. They even started canceling some of the plans they’d had with the others—Levi had not shut up about his canceled gaming session with MC during breakfast that morning and even Satan had been more quiet than usual when MC canceled their ‘book club afternoon’ (a cover for an afternoon MC and Satan often spend in the cat café in town, Asmo had discovered once) just the day before.

The brothers had all agreed that there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with MC gaining one more friend outside of their house, but… it was easy to say things like that and far less easy to actually accept it.

Especially for the embodiment of Greed.

Mammon groaned and lifted his head back up. “But I didn’t even do anything wrong this time, they literally have no reason to ignore me!”

“Did you say sorry yet?”

Mammon squeaked indignantly. “I just said I didn’t do anything!”

Asmo shook his head and softly blew on his nails. “Oh my dear, sweet, innocent brother,” he cooed, “You definitely did.”

“And what would that be, eh? Being too awesome?”

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know what you did.”

“Hah?! But you just sai-”

“I said you did something , do I look like your personal babysitter? Darling, I know it will hurt to hear this but it doesn’t matter what you did. You have to apologize. That’s just how this kind of stuff works, I don’t make the rules.”

“...Apologize.” Mammon echoed soullessly and looked at Asmo as if he’d grown two heads. 

...or maybe just like his brother had said something nonsensical, because if Asmo really had grown two heads out of nowhere, he guessed a lot more screaming would have been involved and maybe Mammon would have fled to get Lucifer or Satan to help him get rid of the second head, but then a lot of problems with curses would have followed and maybe he never would be able to get rid of that second head and he would be stuck with it for like forever and—and he was getting sidetracked.

Asmo cleared his throat as he blinked the weird scenario away. 

Right, he had been talking about apologizing.

“Yes, just apologize and get this over with already. I can’t staaaaand watching you two fight.” Asmodeus put his freshly drying nails carefully over his chest and pouted. “It breaks my heart.”

Mammon groaned, letting his head drop in his hands. After a second of silent anguish, he grumbled, “You better be right about this.” 

“I always am,” Asmo replied cheekily.

Mammon rolled his eyes and stood, dusting off his jeans—as if Asmo’s room was that dirty, how rude —and turned one last time to Asmodeus. “Here goes nothing then I guess.” And with that, he left the room.

Now, Asmo had two options. Wait until his nails were dry and apply the top coat... or follow Mammon and experience the next episode of ‘his stupid older brother and his way too obvious crush-The Saga’.

He hadn’t even finished that thought before he’d left the room.

---------

“MC, open up already, will ya? Ya know I hate waiting.”

This was Mammon’s third attempt already. He’d tried knocking, he’d tried bribing, and now he was just straight up begging. It was kind of pathetic.

Asmo rolled his eyes, but kept himself hidden around the corner of the hallway. Whatever it was that Mammon had done, it was probably serious. MC had let Mammon resort to begging only one time before when… Asmo felt the shiver run down his spine at the mere thought of that day. 

Yeah... whatever Mammon had done this time must have been really, really bad.

“MC? Are ya even in there or what?” Mammon knocked (read: banged the door and just barely kept the wood from denting) again.

Some shuffling was heard from the other side of the door. Oh, MC was definitely in there.

“Let me in, please?” Mammon’s voice grew softer and Asmo almost felt bad for eavesdropping. Almost. “I don’t know what I did this time, but…” Mammon shifted in his place. “Was it the leftovers? I know ya wrote your name on them, but I was honestly banking on you believing Beel had eaten them again… so I’m sorry if you’re upset about that?”

No answer.

“Please, I’m sorry for whatever I did, just… Let me in and I can explain...?” 

Okay, Asmo had not emotionally prepared himself to get feelings , but… he could count on one hand the times he had heard Mammon sound this unsure about something. Surely, whatever had happened between their local troublemaker duo couldn’t have been so bad that MC wasn’t even willing to hear Mammon out?

Hanging his head against the closed door, Mammon let out a sigh. His hand dropped to his side. Then, he sniffed and lifted his head again. “Fine. Whatever. I’m busy anyway. I’m in my room if ya need me or anything.”

He turned and left, leaving Asmo alone behind the opposite corner of the hallway.

Something annoying panged in Asmo’s chest. He almost felt… sorry for Mammon. Screw that scumbag of a brother for making him emotionally invested in this. 

Asmo took out the tiny mirror he always carried around and quickly reapplied his lipstick, clicking the stick closed again as soon as he was satisfied. He smacked his lips.

Show time.

He pirouetted around the corner and skipped to MC’s door. “Oh, MC~” he said in a sing-song tone as he knocked.

...and almost fell back from the shock as MC’s door opened within seconds.

MC smiled up at him. “Asmo! Hi! Do you need anything?”

Asmo gaped at MC before he remembered to recollect himself. He carded a hand through his curls to try and calm his nerves. 

MC mirrored the motion unconsciously, their bracelet tingling around their wrist.

“Uh, yeah…” he said, desperately searching his brain for something he could say that wasn’t an indicator he had been following this melodrama the whole day. He cleared his throat. “Uh, ah, have you seen our dearest Mammon by any chance?”

MC tilted their head in thought and frowned. “Not since breakfast, why?”

Uh… Asmo didn’t know why! He just said the first thing that came to mind! Ugh, he so wasn’t prepared for this. 

“Nothing!” he said, “Nothing, totally nothing. Just checking. I mean, I wanted to show him this new webshop I found. Yeah, that’s what I wanted to do. Just thought I could find him here!”

MC’s frown deepened. “In my room?”

Asmo nodded, a little too quickly. “Yes! Yes, exactly. In your room. He’s often in your room, is he not? So it was only a really smart move of mine to come check here first!” He laughed awkwardly.

MC shook their head. “He’s not over often at all, Asmo, you know that. I barely see him.”

Asmo almost frowned at that, but managed to school his face back into his beautiful smile. Barely saw him? MC and Mammon had been glued to the hip just the week before. Whenever anyone would barge into MC’s room, you almost always had more chance to find Mammon there than MC themselves. Barely saw him? Just nonsense!

“But you-” he started.

MC cut him off. “And you didn’t check his own room first?”

Asmo really had no idea where this conversation was even going, but he just went with it and nodded. “Right? Right, yeah, I didn’t check his room at all.”

“Well, maybe you should do that,” MC said, giving a small smile. “Good luck finding him.” Softly, they closed the door. 

Asmo stared at the dark wood in front of him. Rude. That hadn’t gone at all like he’d hoped. And he always thought he was such a smooth talker… There went that particular skill...

Asmo sighed. He was already involved now. He couldn’t back down. Time to actually, actually get involved.

---------

“I was wrong.”

Mammon spit his drink.

“Wa-what?”

Asmo dramatically flopped onto Mammon’s bed, having let himself in without knocking (of course), and raised a hand to his forehead with a loud sigh.

“Oh brother, must you torture me so?! My fragile heart can’t bear speaking that sentence again! It can’t! Don’t make me say it!”

Mammon walked over to his bed and kicked Asmo’s dangling legs to the side, sitting down next to him with a huff. “Alright, alright, don’t get your panties all in a twist. Still don’t know what ya think you’re wrong about, though.”

Asmo sighed and dropped his head onto the mattress. His hair spread out around his head in a perfect circle, framing his pouting face with just the right drama. He quickly pushed a lock aside that had fallen in his eye. “MC,” he said after a pause, “I just went to them and… they were weird. Like more than just pissed at you weird.”

Mammon regarded Asmo with a frown, his shoulders hunched, his hands in his lap. He looked shielded or closed off or...hurt. “...Whadda ya mean?” 

“Well, I…” Should Asmo say he had been eavesdropping? He didn’t think that was needed for his story to make sense, but… “I went to MC’s room and, and I thought I saw you leave just now, so I thought ‘huh, then they must have made up, right?’ So, I went and knocked and MC opened their door-”

“...They opened it?” Hunching his shoulders even further like that would certainly be bad for his posture in the future, but Asmo decided not to comment on it for now. His brother was allowed to feel low once in a while.

“Yes, and without a second to waste in fact, the sweetheart.” 

Mammon flinched.

Ouch. Okay, maybe a little bit of a painful way to word it in the current situation. Asmo went on, “But then I asked them if they had seen you and do you know what they said? They said they hadn’t seen you since breakfast today! And I just know that was an unattractive lie, because I just saw you leave MC’s room, so...”

Asmo looked towards his brother, who was just sitting in silence, staring off to the side. He reached out with his hand, gently touching Mammon’s thigh.

“So why would they say that?” he asked Mammon softly.

“They didn’t open their door for me… Me, the Great Mammon! Their First! Unbelievable, right?!” Mammon looked down at his hands, palms up, and stretched his fingers. In a softer voice he added, “I don’t- I don’t know why, but they’re ignoring me...”

“Yeah, but Mammon, this is where I think something else is going on,” Asmo said, “MC sounded sincere. As if they hadn’t even heard you outside their door. As if they hadn’t even seen you at the Academy. And, do you not sit next to each other in almost every class?! This just doesn’t make sense! Also, they claimed they barely saw you at all! But I mean, weren’t you just the other day at the gaming hall together? Why would MC say they don’t hang around with you that much?”

Mammon clenched and unclenched his hands. His eyes looked… sad. “Whadda you reckon is going on then?”

Asmo threw his hands above his head, letting them flop on Mammon’s blanket without touching his perfectly fallen hair. “I don’t know! But I can’t stand seeing you so sullen! It gives you early wrinkles! And did you know that it could make your skin break out if you’re not careful?”

Mammon snorted half heartedly.

“So we have to figure out what is going on with MC, because we need to get you back to your annoying, awful normal self! At least that Mammon got wrinkles from smiling instead of frowning!”

Mammon turned around with an indignant expression. “Oi, I’m not getting wrinkles, period!”

Asmo waved him off. “Sure, sure, believe what you want. Let’s both just ignore the amount of creams I can see in your bathroom right at this second -” 

He cut himself off. “The point is, we need to figure this thing out because it makes me sad! And you know what? I just came up with the perfect plan, isn’t that just amazing of me?” 

He didn’t wait for a response that was probably not going to come and continued with, “Here’s what we’re going to do… We’re going to follow MC for the whole day tomorrow. Then, we will definitely find what makes them act like this!”

Mammon frowned. “Ya really think that’ll work?”

Asmo nodded with confidence, flashing a dashing smile. “Yup!” He pushed himself upright and reached out to poke Mammon in his cheek. “Now stop frowning already! People are more likely to fall in love with you if you smile~”

Mammon rolled his eyes and huffed. He stood from his bed. “Alright then. Tomorrow, we’ll figure this all out.” He turned to Asmo. “But for now… Get out of my room already! You’re wasting my time and time is money, ya know!”

Asmo giggled as he was swatted away from the bed. 

Just as he ran towards the door, he spotted a small smile forming on his stoic brother’s face. He slipped through the door, but not before yelling back, “Keep showing that smile and you’ll definitely have them falling for you in no time~!”

“...just go!”

--------- 

Tailing MC as two tall, easily recognizable and, may he say it, extremely attractive demons (he more than Mammon, of course) proved to be easier than he’d anticipated. Slightly disappointing, but alright, they could work with this.

The two brothers ducked behind a bush just in time before MC came walking by, heading toward school grounds with a small bounce in their step. Just before going into the building however, MC headed down a different path, a small dirt one that led around the school garden and ended at the gym. Mammon and Asmo looked at each other in confusion, before stealthily following the human.

They ended up behind another set of bushes—with blossoming roses, to Asmo’s delight; he quickly took a selfie or two—as MC stopped walking. They jostled the backpack hanging from their shoulder. They seemed to be waiting for something. 

Or someone. 

Just as Asmodeus decided he didn’t want to be stealthy anymore and stood up, Mammon was tugging him back down immediately.

“Look,” he whispered.

Coming from the other direction, a demon came into sight, walking up to MC with a friendly wave and more than friendly smile. They greeted each other, but it didn’t stop there. The demon gently placed a hand on MC’s upper arm, rubbed it a little, and smirked while raking a hand through his short brown hair falling just over his eyes.

He winked.

MC laughed about something he said.

Asmo had to physically hold Mammon back from not ruining their spying mission, the greedy demon next to him starting to look bright red as his eyes bore into the other demon’s figure.

Oblivious to the two struggling spies, MC seemed to ask something to the demon, the demon nodding in return. Then—and okay maybe Asmo could feel his own heart filling with jealousy as well, because, like, that was so not fair , MC never allowed him to do that—the demon softly took a hold of MC’s chin and stroked their cheek with his thumb, MC practically melting at the touch. Their knees at least visibly twitched and turned inwards a bit before righting again.

And then… Asmo almost wanted to close his eyes in disgust, but he forced himself to keep them open and watch, because then… the demon kissed MC. A small little peck on their cheek, but a kiss nonetheless.

Gross.

One glance to his side and Asmo could just see the green tint that was slowly spreading over Mammon’s face, his brother’s hands clenched on the ground with so much strength that his knuckles were already turning white.

He completely understood.

The demon said something else and MC giggled, a high pitched, disturbingly alien sound when it came from their very own MC. They had never giggled like that around any of the brothers…

“I’m gonna kill that bastard,” Mammon growled. 

Asmo swatted the back of his head. “Shhh!”

The two of them stared a little longer, Asmo just barely keeping Mammon back as they kept watching how MC was blushing and the demon kept flirting with their human.

So focussed on the scene in front of them, Asmo almost fell from where he was crouched on the ground when, out of nowhere, the sound of the first warning bell broke the silence. Classes were about to start. The brothers couldn’t care less about school at that moment, but as soon as the bell rang, MC and the demon quickly departed. Hand in hand, because of course it just had to be hand in hand .

Asmo watched his brother with sympathy, but then nudged him with his shoulder to follow him back. They’d better get going too if they didn’t want to get into trouble with Lucifer, as they really couldn’t add that to their list of problems right now.

And so they left. But not before Asmo made sure he had the random demon’s face burned into his memory… who knew when he would get a chance to get that demon alone and teach him some... better manners.

---------

Classes were always boring, but having a restless Mammon seated in the row right in front of you made it even worse. Asmodeus normally didn’t pay that much attention during lectures, but he at least managed to get the gist of it at the end.

Now though… he didn’t even know what the topic was the teacher was droning on about, his mind too preoccupied with flashes of someone else than him flirting with MC, mixed with glances of Mammon’s twitching fingers and bouncing leg in front of him.

The bell rang and both brothers practically shot from their seats and out of the classroom, Mammon dragging Asmo around the corner of the hallway where they stopped, pressing themselves against the wall and cautiously looking around it to wait until MC would leave the classroom.

And they didn’t have to wait long, but even so, the sight that greeted them was not a welcome one.

The random demon, he was there again, waiting just outside the classroom door and smiling brightly. His smile turned to MC as they stepped into the hallway and he immediately latched onto the human again, their hands intertwining in a sickeningly sweet manner.

It was only lunch break, but Asmodeus already had the feeling that they wouldn’t be returning to any classes after this… if that was because they would be found out and scolded by Lucifer or if they finally could enact revenge on the random demon, Asmo wasn’t sure yet. He much prefered the latter, though.

The spying duo followed MC and the demon towards the schoolyard where the lovey-dovey couple sat down side by side, or rather thigh to thigh, on a bench that was just shaded enough from the twilight that no one else could clearly see what they were doing. Their hands stayed together.

The most frustrating lunch break that Asmo had ever experienced followed. It was filled with scraped knees and awkward bending positions for him and Mammon; flirting gestures that didn’t come from Asmo but were directed at one of his favorite flirting subjects; traded hisses and grumbles between the two brothers; and overall just a lot of jealousy at the awful scene they were forced to witness (because yes, it was necessary to spy on them).  

And really, did that Rando need to touch MC in so many different ways? Was that even appropriate on school grounds?

Maybe only if Asmo was the one doing it… like a subtle hand on MC’s hips as they walked close together or maybe a short caress on their cheek as he joked and flirted with them inbetween classes...

He was getting sidetracked again.

The school bell rang and Asmo’s gut feeling was proven right: the two lovebirds (ugh, Asmo felt nauseous even thinking the term) stood up from their bench, lunch boxes hastily thrown back into their backpacks, and went the complete opposite direction of where their classes were supposed to be.

They hadn’t discussed this, but Mammon and Asmodeus didn’t need to, the two of them silently following MC and the demon across the school grounds. Honestly, the two brothers were far too comfortable with skipping classes on a whim. Maybe they should try to change that, Asmo mused…Nah.

Mammon and Asmo followed MC and their ‘friend’ towards a far off corner on the school grounds as the two sneaky class skippers ducked into a small pathway between buildings, perfectly hidden behind large bushes and thick branches of overhanging trees. It was a dark place, and yeah, that was how the Devildom worked, but this was way darker than normal since it was shielded from any possible twilight glow that could have normally provided some light. 

Asmo and Mammon settled behind one of the larger trees that grew against one building and leaned around it to keep MC in view. Meanwhile, the random demon tugged MC along until they were standing in the middle of the alleyway, exactly in the spot that wouldn’t be visible from any of the two open ends of the path if one didn’t know where to look. 

The demon snaked his arm around MC’s shoulder and turned them towards him, kissing them straight on their mouth.

Mammon silently gagged.

The worst part was that MC was going along with the kiss, lifting their hands and straddling the demon’s strong jaw as they deepened the kiss. The kiss heated up, both of them opening and closing their mouths and tasting each other’s lips in a way that Asmodeus was (he had to admit) slightly impressed with. He’d always assumed MC had never kissed anyone before, the human just giving off that aura of sweet, innocent, has-to-be-protected-at-all-costs virginity, but it seemed they knew exactly what they were doing.

Huh. 

The demon roughly pushed against MC’s shoulders and made them smack their backs against the wall, his lips never leaving the kiss. He grabbed MC’s hair and twisted his fingers through their locks to keep their head in place. A little rough, but some couples liked that, Asmo supposed. He himself was more of a gentle lover, a fact he prided himself on quite a bit. Soft cuddling, slow kisses, romantic dates and flirty eyes when and wherever was appropriate (or not, sometimes)—yes, he was a delight to love, thank you very much.

Still, he knew others had their own style. 

His was the best, though.

...But back to the problem at hand. The demon started trailing lower, leaving rough, lustful kisses along MC’s jaw, moving to their neck and shoving their head to the side to allow for better access as he kept trailing down.

MC’s hands just grabbed the back of the demon’s jacket, their hands clenching the fabric as soft moans came from them.

Asmodeus felt guilty to admit he was still watching in awe at the display before him, especially since Mammon had already turned away, his eyes stuck on a random pebble next to his feet and his cheeks a fiery red. 

The demon kept kissing; MC let him. The demon roughly janked MC’s blazer over their head and didn’t waste a second to resume kissing, going lower and lower down their shoulder. MC just kept still in his hold.They were only wearing a simple t-shirt now, but apparently the cold was not a problem to them as they patiently let the demon have his way. Another point Asmo was getting impressed about: the random demon seemed to be able to both take his time and somehow find a way to make MC patient enough to love whatever he did. The demon’s hands slowly found their way to MC’s belt, and as his fingers impatiently tugged against the thing, the demon’s kisses halted. Brown bangs hung over half-lidded eyes, as the demon took a step away from MC, his gaze raking lustfully over MC’s body.

“Strip,” was the only thing the demon said, his voice low and husky, but not necessarily pleasant to hear.

To Asmo’s growing discomfort, MC listened. They grabbed the end of their shirt and took it off, leaving them bare chested in front of the demon. Then, they unbuckled their belt and let their uniform fall down their legs, kicking it away to the side. Now, only their underwear remained.

“Don’t stop.”

MC didn’t; their shoes were the next to go, kicked away as well. Then their socks. Then their underwear. 

MC stood naked in front of the demon and without hesitation, he went back into making out with MC, hands trailing all over their body just as his lips did. MC just stood against the wall, eyes following the demon’s movements with a… Asmo couldn’t make out their expression, but it was… weird .

Next to him, Mammon was frozen in place, having only glanced up once the demon started talking and not taking his eyes off MC ever since. He looked awfully pale.

“This isn’t right,” he whispered. “This isn’t MC.”

Asmo didn’t hold back his frown, even if his eyes stayed stuck on the display in front of him.

“What do you mean?” he asked quietly.

Mammon shook his head as if he needed to get his thoughts straight. “This isn’t right,” he said again, but slightly louder.

Before Asmo could ask him if he wanted to walk away because this scene was too intimate to spy on, Mammon was already gone from his spot.

“Hey, what-”

“OI,” Mammon raised his voice to the demon as he marched into the narrow pathway, “Let MC go!”

The demon startled and broke away from where he had begun to ground against MC’s hips. MC didn’t look away from the demon at all. Their eyes kept staring forward.

“Leave us alone,” the demon commanded, “Can’t you see we’re busy right now?” He brought his hands back to MC’s waist and kept them against the wall as he glared at Mammon.

Mammon just kept walking closer. “Ain’t doing that,” he growled, “And I won’t say it again. Let. MC. Go.”

It was as if a dark cloud had covered the sky above them, the ends of the alleyway misting slightly, any and all light that might have been present immediately disappearing and leaving the three demons and the human in total darkness. 

The demon scoffed at the small display of power. “Or what, huh? Are you gonna shout at them to run?” He lazily gestured to MC, who hadn’t moved from their spot at all and kept staring straight ahead. Their eyes were glazed over, Asmo could see it now, and their face was slack, no recognition whatsoever present that Mammon was even intervening.

The demon laughed, a wrong, evil sound, and flicked a finger against MC’s chin, causing their eyes to lock onto his. He looked back at Mammon. “Come on then, try it.”

Mammon’s whole body was rigid with tension, the muscles in his shoulder blades visibly straining as he kept his powers back. “MC,” he said slowly, aware that something was not right, aware that he had to stay in control, “MC, please, let’s just go.”

MC didn’t respond. Their eyes kept staring at the demon. The demon grinned, his pointy teeth showing and dangerously glinting in the dark.

“Seems like they don’t want to leave,” the demon taunted. He turned to MC, stroking a finger along their chin. In a disgustingly husky voice he asked, “Don’t you wanna stay with me, love?”

Instantly, MC nodded. Mammon almost physically took a step back.

“MC,” he pleaded.

MC kept nodding.

MC was still naked.

Okay, Asmo could not stand by anymore. In just a few brisk steps he came from his hiding place and went straight for MC, taking off his school uniform jacket in one swift movement and placing it around MC’s shoulders, effectively dragging them away from the demon in the process.

“We’re leaving,” he simply stated. He glared at the demon. “I don’t know what the hell you did to our precious friend, but I won’t stand for you treating them like this. We’re leaving.”

With that, he intended to turn around and take MC away, but all was not done so easily. 

MC wouldn’t budge.

“MC-” Asmo said.

A kick landed against his knee.

Asmo almost fell to the ground, but managed to stabilize himself against the wall as his knee buckled from the attack. It didn’t matter though, because MC had freed themself from his grip and stepped right back to their place between the wall and the demon.

“I want to stay,” they said. 

They were back to their staring.

Asmo was officially creeped out now. 

Plus he could feel the spot where a bruise was surely forming, which would ruin his otherwise spotless skin. He wouldn’t stand for this!

“What did you do to MC,” he gritted out, noticing how Mammon hadn’t even moved yet, his fist trembling against his sides as the older of the two brothers came dangerously close to losing control and lashing out with more than just words and an icy glare.

The demon just smirked, shrugging his shoulders. “MC loves me, isn’t that obvious?” He nodded towards the nonresponding human. “We hit it off right off the bat and now we’re as tight as can be. Isn’t that right, love?”

MC nodded, but this time they smiled as they did it, a wide, unnerving smile.

“Right,” the demon said, reclaiming MC’s waist and drawing them into a quick, deep kiss.  

It seemed that was the last straw for Mammon.

In a flash, black wings flapped outwards, horns curled out of white hair and clothes morphed away. Mammon’s claws shot forward, catching the demon on his throat and throwing him against the ground, Mammon landing on top of him.

“What did you DO ,” he growled.

The demon finally, finally seemed to regain some of his common sense, because he at least looked a bit intimidated. His grin stayed, though, so Asmo wasn’t satisfied in the slightest.

“Not telling,” he said and his eyes glanced to MC. “Babe, a hand please?”

MC unfroze and bent forward, resting a hand on Mammon’s shoulder and turning their back to Asmodeus. 

Asmo blinked. He had a perfect view of MC’s butt. As if a balloon inflated, his anger dissipated and worry quickly took its place. Clearly, MC was not fully in control of their actions right now and they didn’t seem to even realize they were naked in front of the two brothers. Quickly, Asmodeus took off his soft pink vest and tied it around their waist. 

MC didn’t react to him and instead said to Mammon, voice devoid of any emotion or intonation, “Let him go, you’re hurting him.”

Mammon shook their hand away, his eyes only focussed on the still far too smug demon beneath him. “You will pay for this,” he said, not even responding to MC. He raised his free hand in preparation to hit. “You let MC-”

“Babe-”

And before Asmo knew it, Mammon was wrestled away from the demon, MC putting all of their weight in pushing him off. The Random Demon was quick to jump back to his feet, but not quick enough to avoid the next pair of claws (pink stripes on them glinting in the darkness) that pinned him back down again. His head slammed into the ground with a sickening crack. Asmo had had enough, and did nothing to hold back his own transformation as he attacked the demon in Mammon’s place. He grinned in satisfaction at the demon when he heard the demon’s pained groan. That bastard deserved all the pain.

Meanwhile, Mammon was trying to get MC off of him without hurting them, but that proved to be difficult as they refused to give up in their state.

MC struggled. “Don’t you dare attack him, demon -”

“Oi, let go of me-”

“Babe-”

And even if the demon didn’t finish his command, MC let go of Mammon in an instant and instead attacked Asmodeus. The two of them rolled across the ground, both struggling, but one with the intent to harm and the other with no intent to use any of his actual strength. Even if it was getting more difficult the more MC refused to stop, Asmo couldn’t let up, he couldn’t hurt them, please -

MC’s bracelet tinkled next to his ear and it was as if a flash of lighting had struck his brain, the solution to all of this presenting itself so fast in his mind it almost literally flashed before his eyes. 

Nice bracelet, love, where’d you get that?

What? This? Oh, I got it from a friend yesterday! Isn’t it pretty? I think I’m gonna wear it every day now!

Of course.

In a bold move, he quit holding back, instantly overpowering MC and pinning them against the ground. He winced when he heard the thwack of skull hitting stone. Still, he had to go on. With both of MC’s wrists pinned above their head, Asmo had no trouble wrenching the bracelet from their wrist.

The instant the cold, golden metal stopped being in contact with MC was the instant it all changed for the better. The body beneath Asmo stilled, MC’s eyes blown wide and mouth slightly agape. A light returned to their irises.

“A-Asmo…?” 

It was said softly, but everyone in the alleyway had heard. And everyone reacted at once.

“No-” The demon scrambled back across the ground, making sure to get away as quickly as he could, but still not quick enough as Mammon was on him instantly. The mighty second-born pressed the demon harshly against the pavement and growled at him, teeth bared, eyes narrowed. His claws dug into flesh.

That bastard couldn’t even think of fleeing, Asmo thought smugly. Now, he could put all of his attention on MC, who was still staring at him in confusion and… Asmo really hoped that wasn’t fear, but seeing the position they were in… it could very well be fear. 

Asmo let go of MC’s wrists and helped them sit up against the wall. His fingers found the edges of the jacket he’d thrown around MC’s shoulders and tugged the fabric further closed.

“Are you alright, darling?” he asked gently, straightening his vest around their middle while he was at it.

MC looked around them wildly. “Wha-Asmo, what-”

“First things first, lo-” Asmo’s words got stuck in his throat and he awkwardly cleared it. He didn’t want to use that word right after that Rando had just used it in such an awful way. “-sweetheart,” he said instead, “are you okay?”

MC blinked, but slowly nodded. They hesitantly lifted a hand to their head. Asmo’s eyes immediately found the red marks around their wrist, the very same wrist the bracelet had been worn around. It was as if they had been burned by it, raw skin blaringly red and raw. 

“I think I’m alright now, thanks,” MC said softly, “My head still hurts a bit. But Asmo, what happened? Why are you-”

It seemed that MC finally realised the state of the demons around them, because their eyes widened again. 

“Asmo! Your demon form, why-” Their eyes flitted over to Mammon. They gasped. “Mammon!”

As soon as his name sounded through the alleyway, it was as if a switch had flipped, Mammon’s demon form instantly melting away as his shoulders sagged. He maintained his grip on the demon, making sure he wouldn’t be able to escape, but did lift his head and look back around, meeting MC’s worried eyes head-on with his own relieved ones.

“MC…”

“Mammon!” MC scrambled from their spot against the wall. They flung their arms around Mammon’s neck. “I’m so, so sorry!” they said and hid their face against his jacket. “I didn’t know what was happening, I swear I didn’t! I would never forget you, I swear, I swear, I swear-”

Mammon frowned and shared a worried glance with Asmo, who understood the message and slid next to Mammon’s side, taking over the hold on the demon on the ground so Mammon could return the hug from MC that he so desperately craved. His arms circled around their smaller frame.

“What are ya talking about MC?” he asked and gently nudged them from where they’d been pressed against him. Their eyes met. “What do ya mean ‘forget’ me?”

MC’s lip wobbled as they answered,” I didn’t mean to, I swear-” A tear slipped from their eyes and down their cheek.

“Shhh,” Mammon soothed. He softly carded his fingers through MC’s hair. They sniffed, leaning into the touch. “I don’t know what ya’re talking about, but it’s okay. Everything’s okay now, just believe The Great Mammon on this, alright?”

MC nodded and pressed back against Mammon. The greedy demon sighed, no doubt relishing in the contact and attention he hadn’t received for a whole week. They would get their answers another time. For now, and Asmo was completely sure his brother was sharing the sentiment, making sure MC was okay was their top priority.

Or maybe that spot was taken by the annoying being that tried to struggle beneath Asmo’s claws.

With a little wriggling of both parties, Asmo managed to pin the demon’s palms above his head, pressing them down with only one hand while the other expertly fished his phone from his back pocket and sent a quick text to a certain older brother of his. This demon would never cross the brothers or their human exchange student ever again, not after he had to answer to the Demon King and his loyal to a fault right-hand demon.

Inside Mammon’s embrace, MC shivered quietly.

“Let’s get you home, eh?” Mammon said softly. Without waiting for an answer, he hooked an arm under MC’s knees and easily lifted them up in a bridesmaid's carry. Asmo was quick to follow with his own charge, but instead threw said demon over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, not caring at all if the demon was uncomfortably positioned with his head near Asmo’s behind.

In fact, the demon should be grateful he even got this close to it, since not many a demon received the opportunity to do so. It was a f*cking privilege .

“Oi, ya coming or what?” Mammon stood at the open end of the alleyway already, MC’s head tucked into his chest. Asmo hitched the demon further over his shoulder (earning a low grunt from him) and grinned at his brother.

“Coming~”

---------

Asmodeus desperately needed a bath. A bubble bath. With at least three glitter bath bombs and a charcoal face mask. Maybe some scented candles for the mood. Or rose petals and some soft string music for the aesthetic...

But alas, he was still stuck in his t-shirt, bare arms still giving him the cold treatment after he had given both his coat and pink fuzzy vest to MC. 

He shivered and hugged himself tightly.

After dropping the Random Asshole off at Diavolo’s castle, Asmodeus and Mammon had quickly brought MC home so they could finally get them a change of clothes. Back in the alleyway, they had done their best to try and dress MC, but, not wanting to force themselves on them, they had only been able to do so much while also trying to grant MC a bit of the privacy they already had so little left of…

Still, it seemed that no matter how many layers they offered to MC, the human wouldn’t stop trembling in Mammon’s arms, and the brothers were at a loss of how to handle it. Deciding a shower would probably be the best course of action to try and get the human warmed up, the brothers had initially brought MC to their own room, but the human had refused to let go of Mammon, shaking hands clasping his jacket’s fabric as if letting him go would mean letting go forever.

And maybe, for MC, they really feared that to be true.

Asmodeus had then offered his own bath tub for MC to use, but they refused that too, a small shake of their head the only indication they’d heard the suggestion as they buried themselves closer against Mammon’s chest and still stubbornly refused to let go.

So that’s how the trio had ended up like this: Mammon had carried MC to his own room and had promised to help them with whatever they needed, not letting go of them if they really, really didn’t want that, and had left Asmo on his own to wait outside. He was sitting on one of the small couches in the hallway in front of Mammon’s room, simply staring at the door, waiting for a sign that MC was at least physically okay.

Because boy, did he know that that mentally would be a different story.

Mc had been raped. The two brothers had been able to intervene before it had gone too far to repair, but still… Asmo had experienced quite a few cases of abuse and rape in his time (never in person, not to fear), but he had witnessed it from a distance. The few trips he’d made to the human realm always brought a lot of scandals along, the humans around him either falling for him or for each other, and sometimes that could have… particularly nasty consequences. Especially if one of the parties was only sexually lustful and not romantically interested in the other in the slightest. Those cases tended to escalate quite dramatically and it was a wonder if either one of the people involved came out unscathed.

The point was, Asmo knew how the victims of rape generally felt after it happened and… it was not good. Not good at all. And it was all the more worrying when it happened to a person you were close to, a person you actually heavily cared for.

A person like MC was to Asmo, to all of the brothers. 

Asmo had to fight back tears at the thought of what could have happened in that alleyway. He softly huffed at himself. Stop always being so emotional about everything , he chided himself. Emotional. Attached. All of the things he always tried to protect himself from by never letting anyone close enough. Flirty jokes were a thin armor, but it was the only one he had, the only thing that kept everyone away just enough that he would not feel too awful once he left them.. once he inevitably left them. Once they inevitably left him .

Maybe a stray tear managed to escape, but Asmo was too headstrong to acknowledge it. 

Instead, he stared at Mammon’s door.

He waited.

It must have been more than thirty minutes before any sound reached Asmo, there in that silent hallway, but when he heard it he knew he could not keep waiting. 

Someone was crying.

He shot from the bench and beelined for Mammon’s door, opening it to glance inside and make sure MC was at least partly dressed before he’d barge in. 

What he saw, however, made him freeze on the spot.

MC was finally in a change of clothes, a gigantic yellow sweater (Mammon’s, no doubt) swallowing their trembling form as they desperately clung to Mammon, who had just carried them to the large couch and gently lowered them onto it. 

“No, don’t go…” MC whispered, their voice quiet and oh so fragile.

It almost made Asmo’s heart break… And if it hadn’t been for the look his older brother had given the human, his heart would have remained intact—but it hadn’t. No, in fact, he could feel his heart shatter into a thousand pieces as he caught sight of the gentle expression his brother sent MC. There was no doubt about it. His brother truly loved MC. And not in the cute crush way Asmo had initially assumed, no, his older brother, the one and only Avatar of Greed for everything and anything he could want, was actually, truly in love with this human. 

Asmo didn’t even realize another tear had slipped, but he felt it trail down his cheek and he brought a hand to it in confusion.

Why was he crying? Had he not known this for weeks now? Hell, had he not been the one to first bring the very idea of a crush up around Mammon? Had he not been the one to push and tease and try to bring those two lovebirds together ever since he had first seen his idiot older brother look like the brightest tomato in the bunch when the human had complimented him for the first time? Had he not been the one to follow their every step, their every chapter in their stupidly corny love story that he was so desperate to follow along with? Was he not the one that had always dreamed of finding love, even before he had lost his family, his title, his wings and his untainted capacity to love? 

Had he not secretly, unconsciously, already thought that maybe he had finally found that love?

Another tear slipped. And another. 

Mammon softly cupped MC’s cheek, stroked it with his thumb. Bent closer. And closer.

Asmo closed his eyes when their lips connected.

He shouldn’t intrude, he thought, and at once turned from the door and walked away. 

MC was safe now. They were in the right hands.

If only his heart could realise that too, that would be even better.

---------

A knock sounded at his door. 

“You don’t want to come in right now.”

A huff sounded from the other side of the wood. “Of course I do, why do you think I knocked in the first place?” The door opened, and MC poked their head inside. “Hey, Asmo.”

Asmo grabbed his blanket tighter and threw it further over his head. “I said go away.”

Instead of the sound of the door closing again as he’d hoped, he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer.

A weight rested next to him on the mattress and it dipped to the side.

“You actually didn’t say I needed to go.” 

Asmodeus stubbornly kept his head buried in the soft and fluffy darkness of his blanket. He didn’t grace his visitor with a response.

“I’m sorry if I scared you today…” MC said carefully. It sounded muffled from Asmo’s hiding place. “...but I guess, I just wanted to thank you for saving me.”

Asmo kept still.

A sigh came from next to him.

“Right, I guess that was all I wanted to say… Asmo, thanks for saving me, I really owe you for that.”

The weight lifted. Footsteps walked away. The doorknob turned. It creaked.

“Wait.” 

Without realizing it, Asmo had revealed himself from under his blanket, his hair tousled and really not ready to be seen by anyone, but he paid it no mind. Instead, his eyes found MC, standing awkwardly at his door, halfway turned back to him to look at him with a surprised ‘oh’ resting on their lips. 

They looked adorable.

Asmo shook that thought away. “Wait,” he repeated, “You don’t- I mean, you really don’t owe me.”

Mc frowned. “What?”

Asmo righted himself a bit more, sitting against the headrest of his bed. “You don’t owe me,” he said. He looked down to his hands as he fiddled with his blanket. “It was never about that. I was just… worried.”

MC’s shoulders sagged slightly and their hand dropped from the doorknob. They walked back to the bed and tentatively sat down at the far end of it, leaving enough space for Asmo to dive back under his covers again if he wanted to. 

Which was really thoughtful because he was still heavily debating if he should just disappear for the world again. It would certainly make things easier to ignore, to forget.

But he couldn’t. He had to say this. He knew his heart needed him to say this, and hadn’t he always been the one to let his heart lead his actions?

His eyes kept staring at his hands.

“Thank you for being worried then,” MC said after a silence and Asmo cursed at himself for having hesitated for too long, “I don’t know what would have happened if you and Mammon hadn’t been worried.”

“I always worry.” 

It came out of his mouth without his permission, but he found he didn’t want to take it back. It was true, after all. He was always worried about their human exchange student. 

About his friend. 

He sighed. “I just- I always worry about if you’re dressed in too many layers or too few, I always worry about if you’re cold or too warm or not comfortable or- and-” He paused and tried to gather his thoughts. He knew this was the moment he needed to just say everything he’d ever thought, because he knew, as soon as this moment was over, his armor would be back, would be needed again, and he would close off his heart again, lock his feelings safely away. This raw moment was the only chance he had. 

“-I worry about your self-esteem. I hear some of the things those other demons say when you’re around or walking by or not even close but I still hear them and I… I worry that you actually believe them. You shouldn’t. None of what they say is true. You’re really beau-uh, good looking for a human, and I don’t want you to believe any of the foul words anyone else dares to say about you. Or to you. None of that is true. None of it. 

“Maybe… maybe that is why I worry about your heart. I worry about it breaking. Hurting. I didn’t like it when you started to hang out with that demon… I didn’t like the way he looked at you, but I didn’t say anything, because I worried I might overstep and you would get mad at me or cast me out or - even worse- think I’m jealous, when I’m really, really not, because why would I be, huh? Why would I be jealous of the one person that I actually like without any influence? That actually likes me without any of my powers at play? Why would I be jealous of the one person I like, liking someone else and then getting hurt in the process while I could have prevented it and I-”

MC placed a hand on Asmo’s head and ruffled his hair softly. His mouth shut closed with an audible clack of his teeth clicking.

“I always expected you felt everything so strongly, but I-” Asmo only now realized MC had gotten closer, sitting right next to him and pulling their legs on the soft blanket. “-I was never sure. You always act like you’re never attached to anyone and you only ever want to use others for a night or two…” MC smiled softly and looked Asmo right in the eye. “I guess that’s why I was always worried about you too.”

Asmo's eyes widened in surprise.

MC just giggled. “We make quite a pair, huh?”

For the first time that day, Asmo’s lips tucked upwards into a smile—not one of his selfie-worthy, award-winning, heart-stealing smiles—but something softer, something he would not allow anyone else to see except for this human who had wormed their way through his armor, straight to his heart.

“We do.” As soon as he said it, he knew it was true, but only from his side. A bittersweet feeling fell over him. “What about Mammon, though?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows in an attempt to lighten the mood and hide just how much he dreaded to hear the answer he already knew.

Instead of the unimpressed raised eyebrow he had expected, or maybe the slight remark that he shouldn’t just change topics, or that Mammon and MC were just friends... MC averted their eyes. 

And blushed .

“Ohoho,” Asmo laughed, immediately taking the opening to divert the conversation away from his insecurities for what it was, “so you and Mammon, huh? Did that blockhead finally confess to you or did you take that first step? I almost thought it would never happen to be honest. The way you were constantly circling around each other...” He grinned at MC, who seemed to get redder and redder by the second.

They also seemed to get sadder though.

Asmo frowned slightly and tried to meet MC’s eyes again, but they wouldn’t look at him. He didn’t know why, but he could feel the atmosphere turn serious once more.

MC cleared their throat.

“Do you know what the bracelet did?” they asked him, tugging their knees up towards their chest and resting their head on them. They looked small like that, curled up, as if they were shielding themselves, protecting themselves.

“Not really… it... made you love him, right?” Asmo tried. That would seem to be the most obvious answer, at least. MC had practically followed the demon’s every command with visible hearts in their eyes. That bracelet must have been the culprit, he was sure.

“Well, yes, but… it did something else… to accomplish that.” MC turned their head and looked at Asmo with saddened eyes. “I realized it as soon as I saw Mammon in that alley, I… the bracelet, it- if you already love someone, it makes you forget.” 

Their eyes glistened, but no tears fell. Still, Asmo reached out and took one of the hands that hugged MC’s knees, squeezing it gently.

“I didn’t know it was cursed,” MC went on, “I swear I didn’t, and when I could feel something was wrong, I no longer knew what, because Mammon’s presence had already been reduced to background noise and I could not put my finger on who it was I was missing… the bracelet, it let him fade away not only from my mind, but I could literally not hear or see him anymore. It erased him from my world. It… it was awful.”

“I couldn’t even imagine how that must have felt,” Asmo said.

Mc shook their head. “ I don’t even know how I felt. All I can remember now is some hazy feeling of wanting to do ... anything that demon wanted. It makes me want to puke.”

“Now I understand why you didn’t want to let go of Mammon,” Asmo said, a small, self-deprecating smile resting on his lips, “having love ripped away from you like that, I can’t imagine-”

“Stop it.” MC had returned Asmo’s gesture by placing their other hand over his. Their eyes met his with a look of understanding. Asmo blanched at that. Did they know- 

“Stop acting as if you were not also impacted by this. I found you literally sulking in your bed, you dummy.” Their eyes wrinkled with the small smile they sent Asmo’s way. “I know how big your heart is, how strongly you feel. I know… wow, this could sound really self-absorbed but- I know you like me. And I mean like me, like me-” MC snuggled against Asmodeus’ side and rested their head on his shoulder. “-and it’s okay, I may not return your feelings like that, but… I care about you a lot, Asmo. You're one of my best friends. I wouldn’t want my life without you in it either. If that bracelet would have worked with other forms than romantic love, I have no doubt in my mind that you would have been one of the first to get erased…”

“MC…”

MC shook their head against his shoulder. “Please, don’t think so lowly of yourself. I’ve seen you trying to laugh it off, but... You are more than deserving of love. Your sin does not prevent you from deserving that. Your sin does not define you .” At the last word, MC poked a finger at his chest, right at his heart, and it felt as if they had actually shot right through it, leaving Asmo bewildered and feeling fully, painfully exposed.

They had certainly hit the mark with their words. For some reason though, Asmo didn’t mind it in the slightest. Finally, there was someone who understood him. Who saw him and liked him for the part that he always hid away, because a world full of demons was not a world you wanted to show any weakness in. It was not a world you could afford to lay yourself bare in, lest you risked the chance to be squashed like a bug under someone’s boot. Asmo had learned that the hard way, in the beginning letting his heart open too much, loving too much, and not having it returned. Having his feelings laughed at. Ridiculed. Crushed.

But now here someone was, saying it was okay to open up a little, even if it was only with them. Here someone was, saying they knew and they didn’t mind that that was how he worked deep, deep inside. Here someone was, seeing past his sin and finding the scared angel behind the armor, arms trembling as they were raised in front of his chest, his heart, in a last attempt to shield it from any more harm. Here MC was, saying it was okay to let them down and trust .

And here Asmo was, doing something he had not done in centuries.

He slung his arm around MC’s shoulders, tugging them even closer against his side and relishing in the warmth that came from them, their freshly washed hair smelling soapy and clean and nice, and bending down, just a little, just a small turn of the head, and planting a kiss there.

It was a small kiss. Not lustful. Not romantic. Just a kiss of love.

Love for the first person that had said it was okay to be him.

He smiled against MC’s hair. It was nice to feel it again after so long.

He had missed to love.