Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day started deceptively normal. Satan woke up to the normal muffled yelling from downstairs. He grabbed his RAD uniform, putting it on with a simple spell. He brushed his teeth and checked his hair in his bathroom. He set his late night book on his nightstand and grabbed his morning book — the third book in one of his favorite high fantasy series — and left his room. Normal, every day, getting ready things.

He walked downstairs to the latest battle between Mammon and Levi. He sat down at the diner table and ate his breakfast while he read. Asmo told him the latest gossip, he schemed with Belphie, and he insulted Lucifer on his way out. Normal, every day, breakfast things.

He arrived at RAD, Asmo next to him, and walked to his normal place. He stood by and read as Asmo showed off with his first friend group. He followed when Asmo went to his second friend group. He leaned against a locker and read as Asmo flirted with his partners. Normal, every day, morning things.

He walked to his locker to grab the things he needed for his first class. He grabbed his textbooks and exchanged his morning book for the book he read during class. A mystery with a hint of romance, his favorite genre. However, the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end and he had the overwhelming urge to switch into his demon form. Some of the demonic students around him already had. This was not part of his normal, every day routine.

The hallway was thick with fear. Any demon within 60 feet was trying to make themselves seem bigger and anyone with common sense was getting ready to flee. The braver ones — and the more idiotic ones — turned their eyes to the source of everyone’s fear. Some demons were already leaving the hall, trying to save their own skin from whatever was about to happen.

Satan, choosing to think of himself as those among the brave, turned his head to look at what the cause of all this fear was. He already had an idea — none of his brother’s wrath felt like this and the smell of cinnamon wafted through the air — but it didn’t make his discovery any less shocking. After all, Diavolo never dropped his smile, much less looked as murderous as he did right now.

The demon prince was standing at one end of the hall, staring down a now clear path to the two on the other end. Satan recognized one. He lived in the same house as Lucifer, so it was never hard to spot his familiar black hair and perfect uniform. The demon beside him, however, wasn’t someone Satan recognized. In all honesty, he looked similar to Diavolo. But, then again, that’s probably why the prince was currently fuming at the other end of the hall.

The moment the suffocating air of fear entered the hallway, Lucifer had turned around, locking eyes with Diavolo. The demon beside him did as well, though he was smirking instead of frowning like Lucifer. Lucifer opened his mouth to speak — no doubt a formal greeting — but he was quickly cut off by Diavolo walking over, practically smoking, he was so angry.

“Dantalion,” Diavolo said, tone dangerously cold. He didn’t seem to care half of the student body was watching them right now. No one dared move. Satan’s head began to ache because of how strong the smell of cinnamon was, but he’d rather suffer smelling Diavolo’s wrath than have it directed at him. Lucifer frowned when he was ignored, but he stepped away from the two taller demons. “I didn‘t know you were visiting. I would’ve prepared a welcome.” Diavolo was feigning politeness. It was his way of saving face.

“My apologies, Prince Rex. My visit was sudden. Now, if you excuse me, this pretty fallen angel I understand is your student council vice president was showing me around.” The demon, Dantalion, offered a hand to Lucifer. Before the avatar could take it, however, Diavolo stepped in between them, almost territorially.

“Actually, I think it’d be better if I showed you around. It’s only right. You’re a Duke, you deserve some special treatment.” Despite his kind words, Diavolo bared his teeth with an obviously fake smile. A switch clicked in Satan’s head and a wave of information came flooding in.

Dantalion Iram, Duke of the Wrath Ring. Unrelated to the original royal family, but powerful. Mephisto, a fellow duke, called him Dante for short. He was an only child like Diavolo and looked quite similar, but he was missing the signature dragon-like wings all the demon kings shared. He was a wrath demon, like Satan, though he didn’t have nearly as much control as he had. According to Mephisto’s latest calculations, Dante ranked above all the demon brothers except Lucifer.

“Well then. Lead the way, Red.” Diavolo frowned at the nickname, but led the taller demon away, leaving a disgruntled and insulted Lucifer in his wake. The fallen angel said something in Celestial, then turned to the demons waiting in the hallway. “All of you, get to class!” He ordered, pride bouncing back quickly. Satan sighed and rolled his eyes, shutting his locker. Well, at least he had something interesting to tell Asmo at lunch.

“Please, Satan. That’s the most interesting thing that’s happened all day and you don’t think I don’t know? I’m the queen of gossip in this school,” Asmo said matter-of-factly, playing with Solomon’s hair. “But go on. I want to know the real story so I know what to exaggerate. The biggest exaggeration I’ve heard thus far is that Diavolo kissed Lucifer and I know a group of demons who would be going crazy if that actually happened.” Solomon frowned at Asmo’s comment, but continued eating otherwise, ignoring the demon leaning across his shoulders and playing with his hair.

“Nothing too crazy. Diavolo walked over and told Dante he would do the tour instead of Lucifer. He literally stepped in between them. It was weird,” Satan stated, turning back to his book. This one was his second half of the school day book, a high fantasy romance with big stakes.

"Don't tell me people are already gossiping about that.” Lucifer’s voice echoed from beside Satan, causing the blonde to look over at him. He had his standard lunch for periods he didn't have with Beel. The sixth born was adamant Lucifer ate, but if he wasn't around, the eldest was free to eat his favorite meal, coffee and nothing else.

“Oh, come on Luci-Goosey. Nothing interesting has happened in a week. People are hungry for gossip, and what's better than the crowned prince making a scene with a new kid no one has ever heard of?" Lucifer glared at Asmo when he used the nickname, but didn't say anything, turning to his phone as he drank his lunch. Satan turned back to his book, though he couldn't help but respond to Asmo’s inaccurate comment.

“It's not a kid no one has heard of. His name is Dantalion Iram. He's the Duke of the Wrath Ring. He's crazy powerful too. He honestly reminds me of Diavolo, just way less optimistic and sunshine and rainbows." Satan caught Lucifer glance up with a look of annoyance when he made his comment about Diavolo, but the first born didn't comment. Asmo sighed and leaned against Solomon further, forever a drama queen.

“That's so boring. Who cares if he's a duke? What does Diavolo care anyways? He had to be pretty angry to make everyone scared like that. He's all smiles normally. I wonder what pissed him off." Asmo said his musings aloud, though no one answered him. After a moment – and receiving a text on his phone – Lucifer left the lunch table with a disgruntled sigh and an annoyed look on his face. Though, Satan was unsure if that was simply his resting face or if he was actually annoyed. It was hard to tell with Lucifer sometimes.

“I heard he’s one of Diavolo’s only contestants for the throne. Dukes can still challenge, you know. They’re so similar. It’d be an interesting fight,” Solomon chimed in once Lucifer left. The sorcerer didn’t want to annoy Lucifer further, so he spoke about Diavolo when he wasn’t around, especially when it could be taken as insulting. The only reason Lucifer put up with vaguely insulting comments from his brothers is because they were family. If he heard anyone else badmouth the Prince, they’d be dead, or at least injured.

“You really think he might?” Asmo sat up when he heard even the hint of drama. Upon Solomon’s nod, he immediately pulled out his phone, no doubt to begin the rumor. “Well, then why not tell everyone? If he’s a duke, we might as well tell everyone!” Satan sighed at the demon’s tone. Wasn’t he just saying that him being a duke was boring? Asmo never operated on logic, Satan wasn’t sure why he expected him to now.

“Can we contest for the throne?” Satan asked, though he doubted Solomon knew the answer. The sorcerer seemed only to care about the actual bloodline royals, not them. If Satan had to guess, it was because he wanted pacts with all of them. He got Barbatos, why not get the rest of them? “All of us rank about the same with one of the dukes.”

“No, contesting for the throne doesn’t work like that. All the royal families can contest, but not you seven. You have to be descended from the Devil herself, mother of all demons, creator of Devildom. No one has for the past two kings because everyone knows Diavolo’s family is too powerful for them to defeat. Dante only has a chance because he’s descended from the same succubus that Diavolo is descended from. The only difference is that Dante’s grandfather was a wrath demon, not the king like Diavolo’s grandfather.” Asmo glanced up long from his DDD long enough to register the conversation and reply.

“How come Diavolo’s grandmother cheated on his grandfather?” Asmo asked, looking back at whatever gossip forum he had pulled up on his DDD right now. Satan stared at him in disbelief. Did no one in their family know the history of the royal family? Lucifer might, but they were all demons. It was taught in history class! Although, when Satan had classes with Asmo, he tended to be making-out with the partner of the week or Solomon, so it made sense he wasn’t paying attention.

“Diavolo’s family has always been polyamorous. His grandfather, King Diaboli, had a huge harem. Any type of demon, any gender. Didn’t matter to him. From that family, there were 666 children,” Satan paused, making sure Asmo was paying attention. When he assured he was, he continued. “That’s where the devil’s number comes from. Not all of those children were related to the king, but those children became the duke, Marquis, and Earl families we know today. Every royal is descended from that original harem.”

“That must’ve been so fun. I want a harem that large,” Asmo commented, turning back to his phone. Satan sighed and shook his head. At least he listened to what I said for once, he thought, turning back to his book. “So if Dante is a threat, Diavolo was probably trying to win over a mate. Demons have weird instincts, you know. This one guy I hooked up with…” Satan tuned Asmo out, focused on what he said before. “Diavolo was probably trying to win over a mate.”

“What mate would he be trying to win over?” Satan said, incredulous, effectively interrupting and annoying Asmo, who was in the middle of a detailed description of him hooking up with some demon. “Who would Diavolo possibly be courting? I haven’t seen him around any demons lately.” Asmo and Solomon exchanged a look, one that pissed Satan off. Like they knew more than him.

“Come on, Tan. You’re a good detective. Figure it out.” Asmo’s words were condescending. It made the wrathful beast Satan normally kept buried rear its ugly head. “Diavolo is old enough to be inheriting the throne. It’s only natural he wants to find and impress a mate. It’s basic demon nature. Don’t you pay attention in class?” Asmo teased. Satan slammed his book shut, causing Asmo and Solomon — and the students around their table — to jump in their seats.

“I’ll be going now. Asmo, if I see your face again today, you’re dead.” Satan kept his tone dangerously calm as he stood from the table. He knew he wouldn’t actually kill his brother, but the threat would keep him away and keep Satan from going on a rampage. He left without saying another word, book in hand, seething with rage.

Satan wanted so badly to punch every kid he walked past. Still, Asmo’s words echoed in his mind. “Diavolo was probably trying to win over a mate.” What mate? Diavolo didn’t even have a crush, much less a partner. “You’re a good detective. Figure it out.” Satan glared at a demon who bumped into him, sending her bolting. Who did Asmo think he was? Challenging him like that. He outranked him! He could kill him!

Satan pushed past a taller demon, not caring when they shouted at him. A hand grabbed his shoulder, turning him around quickly. Satan was about to shout at whoever it was, but the words died in his throat. Dantalion stared down at him, clearly not happy about being pushed. Satan tried to remove the hands that were grabbing his shirt, keeping him in place, but he was stuck.

“Do you have a death wish, blondie?” Dante asked, pulling him closer by the collar of his uniform. As much as Satan despised the name blondie, — one too many comments from Mammon — he was not about to fight a duke, especially one ranked higher than he was. “Answer me, Avatar!” Dante shouted in his face. Satan dully noted that the duke knew who he was.

“Look, I was just walking. I didn’t mean to bump into you. It’s not a big deal,” Satan answered. He may not want to fight, but he was not about to apologize to anyone, much less an egotistical royal demon. Dante scoffed, letting him go. Satan smoothed out his uniform, ready to bolt, but the duke stopped him.

“You’re that cute fallen angel’s brother right? All you Avatars are related.” Satan rolled his eyes at the mention of who he assumed to be Lucifer. It seemed like half the school had a crush on the eldest and it only served to piss him off more. It also gave him all the more reason to knock him off his pedestal sometimes and remind him he was a demon, just like the rest of them.

“I need your help with something,” Dante said, glancing around at the empty hallway. As if he didn’t want someone to hear. Satan crossed his arms. “I hear you’re good at being a nuisance. Mephisto told me about your little Anti-Lucifer League. I need someone to keep Prince Rex off my back for a bit. Can you help?” Satan smiled. As much as he hated the word nuisance, he was good at creating distraction. Years spent planning pranks with Mammon and harassing Lucifer made it easy for him to make a demon’s life miserable without actually harming them.

“What’s in it for me? I’m a busy demon. And don’t try money. I'm the Avatar of Wrath. If you want someone you can pay off, go to my idiot brother Mammon,” Satan scowled as he spoke. Dante sighed and glanced around, seemingly making sure someone — probably Diavolo — wasn’t around.

“What do you want? Power? Materials? Information? I’ve got it all. Name your price.” Satan smiled, reveling in the power of being able to demand what he wanted. As of currently, he was in control and not Dante. Satan caught himself before he let his ego get too big. He wasn’t Lucifer.

“A favor. Whatever I want, to be named at a later date. You’re indebted to me, I help you. Deal?” Dante scoffed, as if thinking he wasn’t serious. Upon seeing the devilish smile on Satan’s face, he sighed and offered a hand. Satan gladly shook it and bowed slightly. “Pleasure doing business with you. Let me know what kind of distractions you want. You can get my number from Asmo. He’d love to meet you.” Satan didn’t wait for a response. He simply walked away, leaving Dante alone in the hallway. Asmo definitely would love to meet him and now Asmo would owe him. Two birds with one stone.

“He was so cute! And his muscles, ugh, Satan, I thought I might die. I wish he agreed to at least hook up! I want a taste of that, you know?” Asmo was rambling, sitting on Satan’s bed while the fourth born searched for his various stashes of glitter. He grimaced in disgust the moment his younger brother mentioned hooking up, but didn’t say anything. “Sol asked me out when I started flirting with him though, so at least I got that out of it. Satan, are you even listening?”

“Not really, no. You think Dante is hot and Solomon is going on a date with you. Thats the gist of it, right?” Satan asked, glancing over at the pink-haired demon on his bed. Asmo crossed his arms and pouted, but nodded. Satan rolled his eyes and turned back to his bookshelves. “I’m trying to make a glitter bomb, Asmo. Just give me a moment, then we can talk.” Satan reached behind some biographies and grabbed a container of glitter Lucifer hadn’t found when he did room inspections.

“A glitter bomb? I thought Lucifer said he’d dye your hair black for a month if you did that to him again. You know he’s mad when he gets creative like that. Do you really want to test him? He seriously might.” Asmo’s voice had a hint of concern in it, aside from the usual aloofness. Despite being the only blonde in the family, Satan often felt the rest of his brothers fit the “dumb blonde” stereotype than him. Especially Asmo and Mammon.

“It’s not for him. It’s for a different target. Dante wants me to keep someone distracted for him, so I'm making a glitter bomb card.” Satan grabbed the tissue paper from the floor and folded it neatly, gluing the edges together. He grabbed his container of glitter and poured a third of it into the pouch. “Hand me that love letter,” Satan said, motioning to the card next to Asmo. The fifth born sighed, but handed it to him. Satan glued the pouch inside the card and muttered a quick enchantment so it would explode when opened. Diavolo wasn’t one to check for enchantments on love letters, but Satan still muttered another spell that made his exploding spell untraceable. When he was satisfied, he glued the pouch to the other side of the card, wrote a quick, vaguely insulting message, and closed the card.

“Who’s it for? Who would open a love letter and not be suspicious,” Asmo asked. Upon receiving a look from Satan, he rolled his eyes. “I meant besides me! No one in our family really receives love letters and Diavolo,” Asmo cut himself off with a dramatic gasp. “Saints and sinners, Satan! Is that glitter bomb for Lord Diavolo?” Asmo practically shouted and Satan cringed. He put a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion.

“Quiet! I can’t have Lucifer overhearing you! He’d kill me if he knew I was going to glitter bomb his precious prince. He’s a lapdog, remember? He’d lock me up in the attic!” Asmo rolled his eyes at Satan’s comment, rolling over on the bed to look at his DDD. “Oh come on! That was funny! Besides, Belphie and I joke about it all the time, it’s not like he’ll care!”

“It was not funny and Luci might actually lock you up, so watch your back,” Asmo said, matter-of-factly, answering texts on his DDD. “Lucifer is scary when he’s angry. Do you really want to be the subject of his wrath? Diavolo may laugh it off, but Lucifer will for sure start a witch hunt.” Satan rolled his eyes, setting the glitter bomb carefully in his bag.

“Calm down, Asmo. I know how to pull pranks and not get caught. Besides, Lucifer won’t notice if he isn’t there, right? I’ll get Dante to distract him and I’ll leave the glitter bomb in Diavolo’s bag. He’ll get annoyed and be too distracted to notice Dante with Lucifer. I just need to distract him long enough for Dante to ask Lucifer to the opera. It’s easy, trust me.”

Asmo rolled his eyes, turning to his DDD and sending a Mammon. “Satan is sending Diavolo a glitter bomb. Wanna watch him prob die to Diavolo?” Mammon replied quickly with an excited yes. Asmo looked up and sighed as he watched Satan leave. At least there’d be something interesting to gossip about tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Satan fidgeted with his hands the entire meeting that afternoon. He had placed the card in Diavolo’s bag earlier, ensuring no one saw him besides Asmo, who already knew what he was doing. Asmo gave him a disapproving look, but there was no going back now. Satan’s plan was simple. He’d get Lucifer to leave before Diavolo. Lucifer, annoyingly, always hung back to wait for Diavolo, even if they didn’t live remotely close to each other. Satan had already paid Mammon to make a distraction outside so Dante could talk to Lucifer without Diavolo around. The distractions gave him three minutes, max, but the duke had agreed, so it was out of Satan’s hands.

Satan desperately wanted to brag. When Mephisto had asked him about any recent pranks, he had to hold his tongue. If Mephisto knew he was glitter bombing his precious prince, he’d tell him and that was something Satan couldn’t afford. He used a lot of glitter. Asmo nudged his shoulder, breaking Satan out of his thoughts. It wasn’t like Lucifer and Diavolo were expecting any of the student council members to be paying attention. When it came to RAD affairs that weren’t events, they were basically a two man show. Really a one man show, but Satan always gave Diavolo a little credit for his occasional contributions.

“I know it’s probably too late, but you should bail on this. Lucifer is going to kill you,” Asmo whispered. Despite his whisper, Lucifer paused to glare at him. The man had the hearing of a bat, which was why Asmo didn’t specify what he was going to do. Satan pranked him often enough the phrase “Lucifer is going to kill you” didn’t set off any warning bells in the old man’s head.

“I am not a coward,” Satan said defiantly, refusing to look at Asmo. He stared at Lucifer and Diavolo, who were currently in a heated discussion over, from what he heard through half-listening, what color tie Lucifer should be wearing with his RAD uniform.

“You’re right, Satan. You aren’t a coward.” Satan smiled at Asmo’s agreement. “You’re an idiot.” Asmo’s face was smug, but there was a hint of seriousness behind it. Satan opened his mouth to protest that he wasn’t, in fact, an idiot, but Lucifer’s sigh cut him off. That sigh only meant he was done arguing and he was done with this meeting, which meant they all were. He dismissed them and Satan gave a look to Mammon, who happily jumped up from his seat. Mammon ran past Lucifer, stealing a glove right off his hand with practiced ease. Lucifer immediately ran after him, leaving Diavolo in the room.

As Satan expected, Diavolo opened his bag to find the love letter. Barbatos shook his head in annoyance, no doubt that yet another person was going to have their heart broken by Diavolo. Satan attempted to leave the room before the bomb went off, but he was unsuccessful, accidentally stepping behind Diavolo right as he opened it. Effectively, his clothes and hair were covered in glitter in a matter of seconds. He groaned in annoyance, attempting to wipe the glitter off, making the mistake of glancing up to look at Diavolo. The crowned prince was covered from the chest up in glitter, staring down at the card in complete surprise. Pink sparkles dusted his hair and skin in such a way that almost made him look like a fairy.

Satan suddenly remembered he had written an insult in the card. And he had signed it Anti-Lucifer League. Which Diavolo knew he was a part of. Asmo was right. He was an idiot. Diavolo turned to look at him. Satan had never been more afraid of Diavolo until that moment. Maybe he wouldn’t make it out of here alive. Maybe his anxiety was right. Before Diavolo could speak or make a move, Satan ran, leaving a trail of glitter in his wake. He threw open the council room door, running for his life. He could hear Diavolo chasing after him.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped and Satan paused to turn around. Diavolo had paused at the mouth of a hallway and was staring down it, murder in his eyes. Satan approached him carefully, peering down the hallway. Lucifer had Mammon by the collar, making sure he didn’t run away even while he was laying against the floor and was chatting with Dante. Lucifer laughed at something the duke said and Diavolo began walking towards them. Lucifer turned and greeted him with his normal “hello, my lord” greeting, which Diavolo returned with an obviously fake smile plastered on his face.

“I saw you and Dante were speaking. I wanted to ensure that nothing was wrong with his stay here.” The lie was obvious – Diavolo had never been the greatest at lying – but Lucifer didn’t comment on it. He released Mammon’s collar – who quickly scampered away – to cross his arms and stare at Diavolo.

“Dante and I were just speaking. In fact, he asked me if I could go out to the opera this weekend. You know, the one I’ve been talking about for weeks.” Lucifer’s tone was snarky, something Satan rarely heard from the eldest, but he couldn’t dwell on it long enough to form a proper insult. Satan could smell the anger wafting off of Diavolo. As an Avatar, he could smell when someone was deep in sin. The stronger the smell, the stronger the sin. Useful for tempting humans, not good when you’re a demon in Devildom, constantly surrounded by sin. The smell of cinnamon – Diavolo’s scent – was practically choking his senses.

“I thought you were going to stay at the castle all Saturday. We were going over plans for the new event,” Diavolo replied, clearly trying to keep his cool. Satan couldn’t fully tell from where he was, but he thought he saw his brother smirk at Diavolo’s barely concealed anger. Lucifer crossed his arms, stepping closer to Dante.

“Actually, the opera is on Sunday. It won’t interfere with our plans at all.” Lucifer seemed almost happy at how tight Diavolo’s smile was. Satan nearly gagged from how strong the smell of cinnamon was. Diavolo opened his mouth to say something, but Lucifer cut him off, something he’d never done before. “Before you say anything about how I normally reserve Sundays for my brothers, it’s in the afternoon, when Asmo and Mammon are going shopping, Levi is holed up in his room, Beel and Belphie will probably be out for a ‘snack’ before dinner, and Satan will be in charge, probably reading in his room. I’ll be free to go out for a few hours.”

“Well,” Diavolo said, voice dripping with venom. He wasn’t even attempting to hide how annoyed he was anymore. “Then I suppose you will enjoy your date. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you would punish Satan.” Satan nearly jumped when all three pairs of eyes turned to him. “You see, he placed a glitter bomb card in my bag. That is why I am currently very sparkly,” Diavolo motioned to his face and hair, causing Lucifer to laugh. The smell of cinnamon let up a smidge as Lucifer ruffled Diavolo’s red hair, causing pink glitter to fall on the floor.

“I’ll see to it immediately. Dante, you have my number, I’ll see you Sunday. Diavolo, good luck ever getting that out. I still find glitter in my room from an incident 5 years ago.” Lucifer walked past the royal demons and made eye contact with Satan. Knowing what was coming, Satan ran like hell. Everything considering, getting tied up was definitely worth it.

As much as Lucifer despised dates, he absolutely loved the opera. He hadn’t been lying when he said he had been talking to Diavolo about it for ages. It was an opera Lucifer had never been able to watch due to the creator being a human artist. However, as the human had recently died, Lucifer was able to pull some strings to get him to create the opera in Devildom. Diavolo had been keeping him horribly busy so he hadn’t had the chance to actually buy tickets to go see it. By speaking about it with Diavolo, he hoped the prince would make time for him to see it or even offer to take him, but Diavolo was strangely bad at reading Lucifer, so he had to settle for never seeing it.

That was, until Dante had asked him to it. The outburst from Diavolo was strange, immediately putting Dantalion on his radar. Anyone could see how jealous Diavolo got when the duke was anywhere near him, fueling the Avatar’s pride more than any praise could. There was something thrilling about being fought over. Normally, Lucifer would just take the tickets and deny the date, but the look on Diavolo’s face was worth going to an opera with a random duke for.

Anytime Lucifer made a public appearance outside of RAD, he had to be absolutely stunning. Currently, he was finishing his make-up. Dark red eyeshadow paired nicely with his gray-black eyes. He didn’t stay in his demon form during dates unless his date did. Lucifer doubted Dante would, but even if he did, the red would match his eyes. He was currently finishing applying his lipstick. Unlike Asmo, Lucifer didn’t like the light pink, almost nude look. If he bothered wearing make-up, it was bold. His lipstick was a darker red, but it still popped against his pale skin. He chose a loose black top with crimson roses stitched onto the fabric. The top was a turtleneck – there was nothing Lucifer hated more than showing too much skin on a first date – but it was still flattering on him. He chose silver jewelry instead of the usual gold, and it pulled the whole look together nicely.

Lucifer’s phone buzzed and he checked it. Dante had texted him, letting him know he was outside. He had kindly offered to provide the ride there. Lucifer was dressed too pretty for his motorcycle and he had no motivation to drive his convertible. Besides, it would be nice to talk in the car he assumed would be a limo. Royal demons loved to show off. He answered it with a simple ‘be out in a bit’ message before stuffing his phone in his back pocket. The pants he had chosen were loose enough to not be slutty like most of Asmo’s clothes, but tight enough to lean on the side of indecent. Lucifer took one last look at himself in the mirror and smiled. Gorgeous, he thought to himself before leaving, blowing a kiss to himself in the mirror as he left.

“Woah! Who’s the lucky date? Diavolo?” Asmo teased, lounging on the couch. He was waiting for Mammon to be ready, no doubt. “Oh wait, you’re wearing silver. So? Who is it?” Lucifer rolled his eyes at his brother’s interest. He grabbed a light jacket from the rack next to the door, putting it on. “Come on! Luci! You can’t be that pretty for no reason.” Lucifer sighed, giving in to his younger brother’s whines.

“I’m going on a date to the opera with Dantalion. He’s the Duke of the Wrath Ring,” Lucifer stated, checking his hair in a nearby mirror. He wanted to hit Asmo for the squeal that came out of his mouth. He glared at Asmo, but found the fifth born was no longer on the couch. Instead, he was hugging him tightly, still making that wretched high-pitched noise.

“That’s so great! Luci has a date to the opera! You know, I always thought it was sad you went on your own, but now you have a real date!” Asmo squealed again, causing Lucifer to grimace. He was going to reply about how his visits to the opera were not sad, but Asmo pulled away before he could. He pulled out his phone and began typing up a text. Lucifer rolled his eyes. Great, now half of RAD would know he was going on a date. Why did he tell Asmodeus anything ever? “Mephisto is going to love this!” Lucifer grimaced at the mention of Mephistopheles. Now everyone at RAD would know about his date by tomorrow. Perfect.

“That’s great, Asmodeus. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I'm going to go to the opera. Goodbye.” Asmo half-waved to him as he left, too engrossed in his phone to answer properly. Lucifer couldn’t help but roll his eyes again as he left the house. As expected, a limo waited outside the House of Lamentation. A butler opened the door for him and Lucifer had to snap himself out of surprise when it wasn’t Barbatos. He really needed to find someone who took him out besides Diavolo. It was messing with his brain.

“Wow. You look stunning,” Dante said, sitting a bit too close for comfort. The duke reached out and tucked a loose bit of hair behind Lucifer’s ear and smiled. “I expected you to dress up, but not this much. I feel underdressed,” Dante joked, causing a smile to blossom on Lucifer’s face. He never minded when someone stroked his ego, especially when he looked this good. “Honestly, I’ve never seen someone look so beautiful in something so simple.” Lucifer rolled his eyes at the flattery, turning his gaze to Dante.

“Please, if you continue this needless flattery, it won’t mean as much.” As Lucifer spoke, he took in Dante’s outfit. His dark hair was slicked back to show the jewelry ordaining his ears. The silver stood out well against his dark skin. He wore a black button-up that had the first few buttons undone, showing the top of his chest. It was hard to make-out, but there was a hint of scales on his chest and trailing up his neck. Dante also wore somewhat tight pants, though they were far more indecent than the ones Lucifer had chosen. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, showcasing his muscles. Lucifer wondered if it was on purpose, to attempt to get a reaction out of him, and if it was, it was definitely working.

“Not needless. You did absolutely take my breath away, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll stop.” Dante settled back in his seat and Lucifer noticed how tight his shirt was. He silently cursed himself for admiring the duke’s muscles. “So, do you know the opera? I’ll be honest, I chose it because I knew you enjoyed the opera from a friend of mine. I’ve only seen a handful of theatrical performances in my life and I am sad to report none of them were operas.” Lucifer scoffed at his confession, but didn’t hold it against him. Very few truly enjoyed the opera like Lucifer did, especially among demonkind, so it wasn’t uncommon for one to not know much about the art.

Immediately, Lucifer launched into an explanation of opera. The voice parts, the way stories were composed, why he loved it so much, and then began his explanation on the story of the opera they were seeing today. His entire explanation, Dante nodded and seemed to be listening, smiling and agreeing at parts that were needed, expressing his sadness over the tragedy of the story, and things like that. By the end of his explanation, Lucifer was slightly out of breath and they had arrived at the opera house. Dante opened the door for him and Lucifer mentally cataloged that he was a gentleman.

The opera house itself was gorgeous. It was one designed by Lucifer himself when he was helping Diavolo civilize and modernize Devildom. Black and gold pillars, large space, it all was gorgeous. Dante had secured box seats, which Lucifer was always grateful for. They got to their seats right on time, sitting down right as it began. The moment the first voice echoed through the theater, Lucifer was left speechless. It was composed in French, which Lucifer was familiar with, so he understood the story. He watched in fascination as the story progressed, not caring about his date. He came here to watch the opera, not chat like the people in the surrounding box seats.

Eventually, the opera concluded and Lucifer was left satisfied. It was as good as he expected from the human. When he stood, Dante chuckled, causing Lucifer to look over for the first time in nearly four hours. Lucifer gathered his jacket from where it lay on the back of his chair and cocked his head. “What’s so funny?” He asked, checking his phone for any emergency texts and was glad to find none.

“Well, you can’t get mad at me,” Dante stated, a smile playing on his lips. Lucifer scoffed and turned to him. “I didn’t really watch the opera. I was too busy watching you.” Lucifer rolled his eyes at his words, leaving the booth. “No, no! I meant that in a good way. It was fascinating the way you reacted to the opera. I could tell exactly what the audience was meant to be feeling, what the character was feeling, how you felt about the actor, it was gorgeous.” Lucifer kept walking, keeping his face out of Dante’s view. He didn’t need the duke to see that he was blushing. “I can’t get you to go to dinner, hm?” Lucifer paused at his words, allowing Dante to catch up.

“No. I’m afraid I must attend dinner with my brothers.” Dante smiled, despite the disappointment in his eyes. “I do apologize. Perhaps next time,” Lucifer said, walking towards the limo. Dante’s eyes lit up at the offer of next time. He ran ahead to open the door for Lucifer, who couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thank you.” Dante bowed before closing the door behind him. Once Dante was inside, he ordered his chauffeur to take them to the House of Lamentation. Once the car was moving, Lucifer finally spoke up. “I did enjoy tonight. I’ve wanted to see that play for some time.” Dante smiled brightly at him.

“I enjoyed tonight too. Even if I didn’t understand most of the opera.” Lucifer actually laughed at his joke, causing Dante to smile brighter. Cautiously, the duke reached for Lucifer’s hand which was settled next on the seat. Lucifer allowed him to take it, if only because he was wearing gloves. Against his better judgment, he enjoyed Dante’s company. Perhaps that was because the duke reminded him of Diavolo, but that was a thought Lucifer chose not to dwell on. After a while of comfortable silence, they arrived at the House of Lamentation.

Dante was kind enough to open his door for him and walk him up to the gate. Lucifer didn’t feel like inviting him inside, given he knew where that would inevitably lead and he was far too tired to deal with those repercussions. Dante smiled at him, hand still holding Lucifer’s. “Thank you for agreeing, even if you only came for the opera.” Lucifer chuckled at his words.

“I didn’t know you knew about that,” Lucifer replied through laughter. “But I did enjoy your company. If you wanted to ask me out on a date at Ristorante Six, say, this Thursday at 7, your treat? I can’t say I would deny you.” Dante’s eyes lit up at Lucifer’s offer.

“Of course. I’ll ask you tomorrow, how does that sound?” Dante’s voice was casual, going along with Lucifer’s little game. Lucifer chuckled and nodded. “Perfect. I’ll see you then, once I properly ask you, of course.” Lucifer laughed a bit louder, hiding it behind the hand Dante wasn’t holding. Dante smiled, purposely lingering so they could talk more.

“I’ll see you then,” Lucifer answered with a genuine smile. Dante placed a cautious hand on Lucifer’s chin, tilting his head up so they could look each other in the eye. Dante leaned down and did something Lucifer didn’t expect. He kissed him. It wasn’t passionate or heated, it was cautious and soft. Much to Lucifer’s surprise, he didn’t pull away. After a moment, Dante stood straight again, a soft smile on his face. He brushed Lucifer’s hair out of his eyes again, but this one felt different. A faint red stain was left on Dante’s lips from their kiss and it made Lucifer blush. What is wrong with me? Lucifer thought, cheeks pink.

“I’ll see you at RAD, darling.” Lucifer blushed at the pet name. Something was seriously wrong. He really needed to go on more dates. This was embarrassing. Dante seemed as if he was going to kiss him again, but thought better of it. He gave him one last soft smile before leaving. Lucifer felt abandoned, at the gate of his home, utterly confused. He did this for the opera but now he had agreed to a second date. Dante had an effect on him that he didn’t like. Still, the stupid, emotional, godforsaken romantic in him was looking forward to it. Why did things always have to be so complicated?

Chapter Text

Lucifer’s office was delightfully quiet. Generally, in the mornings, Diavolo would be joining him in his office. The prince hated being alone and, as long as he wasn’t too big of a distraction, Lucifer would allow him to stay. Today, however, despite it nearing 8:00, nearly an hour before RAD began, he didn’t have any visitors. No Anti-Lucifer League, no bothersome brothers, no random demons, no distractions at all. He was free to complete his never ending pile of paperwork on his own. Someone knocked on his office door and Lucifer sighed. He really needed to stop jinxing himself when it came to stuff like this.

“Come in,” Lucifer stated, annoyance clear in his voice. A vaguely familiar chuckle echoed through his office. Lucifer glanced up and smiled despite himself. “Good morning, Dantalion. Or, I suppose I should be calling you Dante now?” Lucifer stood from his desk, walking over to the taller demon. Dante’s hair was hanging free, unlike the previous night when it had been slicked back. Lucifer had the urge to mess with it and he grimaced internally. He had forgotten how much he despised the romantic in him. Emotions caused more problems than they were worth.

“Good morning, Lucifer. You look as perfect as ever. And, yes, given we went on a date, I do believe formalities are out of the question. Ah, that reminds me, are you free this Thursday?” Lucifer nearly laughed at Dante’s proposal. “I want to ask you on a date to… Ristorante Six was it? At 7? I would pay, of course.” Lucifer covered his smile with a gloved hand, not wanting Dante to see how strangely happy was in his presence. He really hated the effect Dante had on him.

“That sounds perfect. Is that all?” Lucifer replied once he got that godforsaken smile off his face. Dante’s smile disappeared and he looked guilty. Lucifer’s indifferent expression dipped into a frown as he noticed Dante was hiding something behind his back. “Whatever you have better be flowers,” Lucifer stated sourly, holding out his hand for whatever Dante had behind his back. The duke looked guilty as he handed over some papers. The school newspaper. Right on the front page was a photo taken of Dante kissing Lucifer outside the House of Lamentation.

Fucking Mephistopheles.

The title of the article was Scandalous Date with a Duke: The Angel Whore Revealed Lucifer silently cursed himself for ever letting the duke kiss him. This would take weeks to undo. He had carefully curated his reputation and one stupid decision was going to ruin it for weeks all because he wanted to see an opera. That kiss was good, the idiotic voice in the back of his voice commented. Lucifer cursed aloud as he skimmed the article. Mephisto ruined his reputation every chance he got and this time was no different. What was the duke’s obsession with his life anyways?

“Lucifer?” Dante attempted to grab his hand, but Lucifer moved away before he could. He was forming a plan in his head to make sure this all blew over in just a week. Dante was high ranked, so he could lean into the angle of a new boyfriend, but that would give Dante far too much hope. He could deny it being a date, saying Dante was being forward and the kiss was unwanted, but that seemed unneededly cruel to him. For some reason, he really liked Dante and didn’t want to ruin this. It made the whole ordeal complicated.

Lucifer left his office quickly, not waiting for Dante. He needed to talk to Satan or literally anyone on the newspaper committee. He needed to fix this before the entirety of the school body saw it. Dante called after him, but Lucifer wasn’t listening. He turned a corner sharply and bumped into a student, nearly falling. He opened his mouth to insult whoever it was, but shut up the moment he made eye contact with familiar golden eyes. “Hello Lord Diavolo.”

“Lucifer!” Dante’s voice called from behind him. Diavolo’s annoyed eyes turned to Dante and annoyance turned into fury. Lucifer stood from the ground, mumbling about his uniform being dirty, before realizing he was in the middle of Diavolo and Dante’s glare off. He stepped out of both of their gazes, if only to stop feeling like he was on fire. “Ah, Diavolo. How have you been?” Dante’s voice was tight, his tone careful. The duke was bold, but not dumb enough to provoke the Prince of Devildom when he was angry.

“Just fine. Have you seen Mephi this morning? I must speak with him at once. You see, I just picked up today’s paper,” Diavolo stated, showing Dante the newspaper in his hand. He sent an unamused glance towards Lucifer, who immediately wanted to disappear into the wall. Just because he enjoyed seeing Diavolo jealous didn’t mean he didn’t crave the prince’s praise. The unimpressed, almost disappointed look hurt more than Lucifer cared to admit. “I do despise when the newspaper delves into my council’s personal relationships, so I was going to ask if he could get this changed.” Lucifer rolled his eyes at Diavolo’s words. If by ask, he meant intimidate until Mephisto turned to liquid, he thought to himself, brushing nonexistent dirt off his uniform.

“I was just heading there myself. Rather, I was going to find Satan, but Mephisto will suffice. Dante, I trust we’ll speak later?” The duke glanced between Diavolo and Lucifer before sighing and nodding. He pushed past the prince to place a kiss on Lucifer’s forehead before continuing off to a class. Lucifer felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, unable to meet the golden gaze burning a hole into his cheek. “Let’s go,” Lucifer said, walking briskly past Diavolo. It didn’t take long for the prince to catch up – he was far taller than Lucifer and therefore had longer legs – and soon they fell into step like they normally did. Unlike normal, however, there was an air of hostility between them.

“So, are you and Dante an item now?” Diavolo asked after a moment, breaking the tense silence. The question was posed casually, but Lucifer heard the tightness in his voice. Not to mention, Diavolo kept clenching and unclenching his fists as they walked, brimming with barely concealed anger. “I mean, after the kiss, you must be. Unless you plan on telling everyone it was a mistake and you were using him. That he was going too fast and you didn’t like him that way.” Lucifer almost smiled at Diavolo’s comment. The prince knew the way his mind worked, knew the way he kept his reputation intact when Mephisto attempted to ruin it.

“We haven’t put a label on it yet. The opera was nice, thanks for asking,” Lucifer said pointedly, reveling in his victory when Diavolo grimaced. “Given you never brought me any tickets or offered to go, even though I quite literally brought the writer and director out of punishment to put it on.” Diavolo’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white and Lucifer smiled at yet another victory. “Oh, and for your information, he’s a great kisser.” Lucifer had to make one last snide remark, which was ultimately his downfall. In one swift motion, Diavolo had him pinned against the wall of the hallway. Thank hell it was too early for students to be walking by or Lucifer would’ve been mortified.

“Where the hell do you get off?” Diavolo hissed, pinning the smaller demon against the wall by his arms. “For years, I’ve been asking you to operas and inviting you over to the castle for drinks and asking you out to restaurants. I miss one opportunity and you’re up my ass about it. Not only that, but the guy who does get you tickets for it gets a kiss at the end of your so-called opera date? Where the fuck is my kiss, Lucifer? I never got one.” Despite the fact Diavolo was seething with anger, Lucifer’s pride wouldn’t let him back down.

“Perhaps, unlike you, Dante wasn’t a coward and actually took what he wanted. You never even asked to kiss me. Dante just kissed me. Maybe if you had more balls, you would’ve gotten one. But guess what, you didn’t. A coward who didn’t make a move can’t complain when someone else does and gets rewarded for it.” Lucifer smirked once he had finished, despite the fear coursing through his veins. After a moment, Diavolo scoffed and released him. He seemed to have regained his cool, given he had his normal easy smile on his face. Beneath that, however, there was mischief in his eyes.

“Fine, Lucifer. If I have to make the first move, fine, I’ll play the game.” Diavolo leaned closer, golden eyes boring into crimson. His voice was lower than normal, stirring a feeling inside Lucifer he chose not to dwell on. “You just can’t complain when I win.”

Without another word, Diavolo pulled away, walking down the hallway with his normal unwavering confidence. Lucifer was left leaning against a school hallway wall, stripped of his pride and utterly confused. He stared after Diavolo, eyes wide in shock. What the fuck had he just gotten himself into?

“I am so surprised you aren’t dead.” Satan rolled his eyes, reading his book. Or, at least, he was trying to. Beel had left a big gash in his side, so the pain made it hard to focus on Beatrice’s thoughts. Landon had just confessed, but she wasn’t sure he was who she wanted. Personally, Satan much preferred Ezekial for her love interest, but he had known Landon was endgame from the start. It was too bad Ezekial was a plot device. “I’m being serious, Satan. One of these days, you’re going to almost die because you plan a stupid prank or let your ego get in the way. If you dare start on your rant about how Lucifer lets his pride get in the way again, I am going to kill you. We all have sins and I’m tired of you complaining about Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride, having an ego. That's like getting mad at me for sleeping around.” Satan rolled his eyes at Asmo’s words.

“I can control my sin. If he’s so great, why doesn’t he control his?” Satan remarked, giving up on rereading the same page over and over again. Asmo pulled tighter on the bandages wrapping the gash on his side, causing Satan to hiss in pain. They exchanged glares, but neither commented on it. “Besides, I don’t rant about him that often.” Asmo glanced up from his bandages with an unamused expression. “I don’t! I only comment when it’s necessary. Besides, that old man needs to be put in his place. Who does he think he is? I’m just as good as him at magic! Why can’t I have some of his old spellbooks?”

“Do you not realize what you’re doing, Satan? You’re complaining about him again! Ranting! For someone who claims to be in control of your sin, you take out your wrath on Lucifer a lot, both in your pranks and comments. Satan, are you even listening?” Asmo exclaimed when the blonde stood from his plush bed. He had a devilish smirk on his face, characteristic when he was thinking of some new prank to pull. Asmo sighed, flopping against his bed. “Whatever. Your bandages are done, leave my room. I’m calling Sol over. At least he listens when I talk.” Asmo glanced up from his half-finished text to Solomon to find Satan already gone. He rolled his eyes, sending a quick text to his sorcerer. Why did he even bother trying to talk sense into Satan?

Chapter Text

Satan rushed to RAD Wednesday morning, ready to hatch his plan. Dante owed him and he was bound to have some high-level spellbooks, or at least have access to the sections of the library forbidden to Satan, due to his Duke status. He spotted an annoyed looking Lucifer with a Morning Glory tucked behind his ear and a box of chocolates in hand, mumbling about someone being insufferable, but Satan didn’t stop long enough to eavesdrop.

Dante was waiting in the courtyard where Satan told him to meet. The duke looked annoyed at Satan’s smile and only grew more so when the blonde couldn’t stop moving out of excitement. “Do you have your library card like I asked?” Satan questioned, bouncing on his feet with barely concealed excitement. Lucifer was so going to regret not giving him those spellbooks. Dante handed over his library card, which Satan snatched very quickly. He walked away before the duke could question him further, shouting behind him as he left, “Your favor is paid!”

The library opened with Dante’s card, as expected. Satan walked briskly over to the forbidden section, ghostly chains and locks keeping him from entering. He knew his library card wouldn’t let him pass without express permission from Lucifer or Diavolo. However, much to his delight, Dante’s library card opened the locks and chains, causing them to disappear before his eyes. Satan couldn’t help the giant smile on his face as he skimmed past titles. His gaze landed on one particular title.

Hexes and Curses: Volume 8. Satan owned volumes one to four and Lucifer had volumes five to ten in his office and Satan knew he had at least volume twelve in his bedroom. He grabbed the book off the shelf, checking to make sure no one saw him, before walking out of the forbidden section. The chains and locks reappeared the moment he stepped out, locking the section from him once more. Satan set the book on one of the tables, flipping it open to a random page. How to summon a tsunami, the page title read. Satan rolled his eyes, turning to a new page. If he wanted a water spell, he’d just tell Levi the Lord of Shadows was an awful person and Henry was worse.

Magic Restriction. Satan’s eyes skimmed the words before his mind caught up. He stopped turning the page to stare at the spell. Level: 9. Type: Abjuration. Warning: Do not use this spell if you are not level 9. This spell can rebound onto the user as well. Steps: Concentrate on your intended target. Ensure you can see your target. Once your target is in sight, pronounce the chant. The chant beneath was in a separate language, but Satan quickly translated. It looked like it would sound like Iizalat alsihar. Satan read the chant again, moving his mouth to sound it out. Lucifer wouldn’t know what hit him.

"All student council members, please report to the council room for a meeting," Diavolo’s voice called over intercom. Satan grabbed the book, stuffing it into his bag for later. Before he left, he scanned the barcode, checking it out to Dante, before stuffing it in his bag once more. What if it backfires? You’re level seven, not nine in magic. What if you’re magicless forever? Satan’s anxious thoughts filled his head, but he brushed them off. He’d be fine. He was basically level eight anyways. You just got to level seven! His thoughts screamed, but he brushed them off when he reached the council room door. Inside, Levi and Mammon were already arguing over some money Mammon owed him while MC was attempting to calm them down. Satan took his seat quietly, staring at Lucifer. The prick needed to be put down a level. Or three.

“You shouldn’t have that,” MC’s voice called from behind him. Satan tilted his head with a smile, asking MC to elaborate. They pointed to the book stuffed into his bag. He glanced down, alarmed, quickly covering it with another book. “Aren’t you barely level seven? I mean, I know your traditional magic teacher hates you, but I don’t think he’d make you level seven if you were level eight or nine. I’m not as familiar with the scales as Sol, but that doesn’t seem high. Don’t they go until level 15 or something?” Satan shrugged their concerns off.

“If Lucifer can perform level nine spells, I’m sure I can manage.” MC laughed, shaking their head. “What? I’m serious. What can he do that I can’t? I mean, I can control my sin, I can actually be nice, I can disrespect Diavolo without immediately apologizing, I can do plenty of things he can’t.”

“Yes, but unlike you, he can let things go. Besides, doesn’t he have, like, 20 thousand years on you? He’s bound to be more advanced,” MC stated as they took a seat next to him. “How did you even get that anyways? I’m not allowed in the forbidden section and I know you aren’t either.” Satan smirked, pulling out Dante’s library card.

“I have friends in high places,” he stated simply, tucking it back in his pocket. MC chuckled, but was cut off when Lucifer called their meeting to order. Beel had just walked in, sweating from Fangol practice, carrying Belphie, who was unsurprisingly fast asleep. They took their normal spots and Lucifer began the meeting. It was boring, almost putting Satan to sleep and putting Mammon to sleep. Lucifer didn’t seem bothered by this, but was bothered when Satan yawned when they accidentally made eye contact while he was talking.

“I’m sorry, Satan, am I boring you?” Lucifer’s tone was hostile, far more hostile than it should be. The old man was already in a mood and was taking it out on Satan. The fourth born opened his mouth, but was cut off by Lucifer. “That’s enough. Come speak with me after the meeting.” Lucifer sneered at Satan’s frown, even more so when the blonde slumped in his seat.

The rest of the meeting passed smoothly, save for the continuous murderous thoughts in Satan’s head, but that wasn’t uncommon when it came to Lucifer. When the meeting adjourned, Satan met Lucifer outside as expected. Before the fallen angel could say a word, Dante showed up, all smiles. Satan cocked an eyebrow at him. He’d never seen the duke smile. It looked fake. Lucifer gave him an apologetic look and motioned to Satan, as if he was the problem in this exchange. Dante walked over to where Diavolo was perched, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed just like the prince, though unlike Diavolo, Dante was frowning.

“Satan, I am tired of your blatant disrespect. I don’t have the time nor energy to deal with your stupid antics. Do you agree to stop being so difficult? Because I really don’t care how you think I’ve wronged you today. Just please stop being so… rebellious and a teenager.” Lucifer’s tone was annoyed and Satan wanted to wipe that sneer off his face.

“Iizalat alsihar.” Satan recited exactly from the book, wrath coursing through his veins. Lucifer stared at him for a moment, recognition flashing in his eyes. Power ripped through Satan’s body, causing him to wince in pain, his inner thoughts screaming. Then, all at once, it was gone. Not only that, the regular power that coursed through Satan’s veins, the magic he regularly found so comforting, was gone. The spell reversed like it said it would. Satan stared up at Lucifer in horror. He noticed a scar beneath Lucifer’s eye that hadn’t been there before. His illusion spell was gone. It had worked, but at what cost? Did he even check how long this lasted?

“Satan. How did you even access that spell?” Lucifer spotted the book in his bag and yanked it out. He ran his eyes down the title before looking at Satan in fury. “You don’t have access to my office and you can’t enter the forbidden section of the library. How did you get this? Do you have any idea how bad this could’ve been? You could’ve died! Not only that, you’ve trapped us both in our human forms unless someone allows us to borrow their magic! Are you an idiot? Who even let you borrow their library card to access this?” Lucifer’s voice was full of fury as he lectured Satan, his tone intimidating the fourth born into compliance, if only to get his anger off of him. Satan shakily pointed to Dante, glancing back just quick enough to see the panic in the duke’s eyes.

Lucifer stormed right over to Dante. The duke attempted to back up, but he was already leaning against the wall so there wasn’t very far to go. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Lucifer’s glare was harsh enough to make someone want to shut themselves in their room for the next millennia like Levi. Dante opened his mouth to speak, to defend himself, but Lucifer shut him up quickly. “Don’t you dare make excuses. There is nothing you can say that will make me forgive you, not only for putting my brother in danger by allowing him access to the forbidden section that has magic far too high for his caliber, but also putting everyone in danger of wayward magic, including the fucking prince, who, need I remind you, is irreplacable unlike you.” Satan watched the event go down like one might watch a car crash. It’s awful, but you just can’t take your eyes away from it.

“Lucifer, my friend, calm down.” Diavolo placed a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder, but Satan didn’t miss the mirth in his eyes at Dante’s expression. “No one was harmed. That is the important thing here.” Lucifer’s fury was quickly turned onto Diavolo as the fallen angel swerved to face him. Diavolo kept his easy smile, but there was a hint of caution in the prince’s eyes.

“No one was harmed? No one was harmed?! I am stuck in this godforsaken form until this spell wears off, which, by the way, is three days from now. Not only can I not shift my form, I cannot protect myself. Unlike you or Satan, who is grounded, by the way, I do not have the natural build nor strength to protect myself. I cannot hold a shield spell or heal my injuries or cast my fucking illusion spell!” Lucifer shouted, echoing off the empty hallway walls. He was breathing hard, a mix between fury and how much he was shouting, and he kept furious eye contact with Diavolo.

After a moment, his gaze softened. “But that isn’t your fault, so I shouldn’t be yelling at you for it. My apologies. However, given it was Dantalion’s fault,” Satan saw Dante cringe when Lucifer used his full name, “I will be blaming him. Therefore, our date for tomorrow is off. Diavolo, I accept your proposal for dinner tomorrow at Ristorante Six at 7. Pick me up at 6:30. If you will excuse me, I am going to go drink until I can’t walk in a straight line. Goodbye to the three of you.” Without another word, Lucifer left. Diavolo smiled after him, as if he had just won something, before patting Dante’s shoulder and walking off. Satan and Dante made eye contact and Satan could smell the duke’s wrath. For once, he listened to his good sense, threw Dante’s library card at him, and ran for his life.

Chapter Text

Diavolo, as expected, was annoyingly on time. This was, for once, not what Lucifer wanted. Being without magic made dressing up ten times harder and one hundred times slower. He pushed back his hair for the thousandth time, but it didn’t stay. Lucifer sighed, horribly annoyed. He wore a simple black suit with a red tie and gold jewelry. He chose a darker red for his lipstick and black eyeshadow. The only thing wrong was his hair, which refused to cooperate. Normally, it was kept in place by magic, but given his idiotic younger brother/rebellious son had removed his magic, he was left with traditional hair products.

After receiving yet another text from Diavolo, he gave up, allowing his hair to fall how it wanted. He had showered and blow-dried his hair, which was his downfall. His hair was annoyingly fluffy, probably due to the fact he was, as the human called him, a “bird boy.” He had managed to straighten it and style it enough to keep it from constantly falling in front of his eyes. He put on his black heels as quickly as he could, stumbling out of his room. Satan was going to make a snide comment, but Lucifer raced past him before he could. Barbatos opened the door with a smile when he saw Lucifer rushing out of the house. Lucifer sat in the car seat, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

“You look stressed, Morningstar. It’s already 6:50.” Diavolo’s tone was teasing, but Lucifer was already annoyed. Between his hair and rushing out of the house and Dante’s betrayal and not being able to use his music, he wanted to punch Diavolo. “Barbatos, to Ristorante Six, please,” Diavolo called to his butler, who immediately began driving. Lucifer crossed his arms, brushing black hair out of his face everytime the car bumped over the uneven roads. Diavolo respected his silence, only laying his hand over Lucifer’s gloved one when he set his hand on the seat.

After a few minutes, they arrived in front of the restaurant. Lucifer stepped out, ignoring the eyes of other guests arriving. Some people took photos when Diavolo stepped out of the car as well, mumbling instructions to Barbatos, before taking his place at Lucifer’s side. The demons around them looked away with one look from Diavolo and put their DDDs away. Diavolo brushed hair out of Lucifer’s eyes and tightened his tie with a quiet smile before motioning to the grand doors of Ristorante Six’s building. “Shall we?”

Lucifer sighed and plastered on a fake smile. Diavolo frowned for a moment before offering an arm to Lucifer, who took it. They both expertly ignored the stares as they walked inside, taking a seat at their normal table. Diavolo thankfully avoided the small talk Lucifer hated so much in favor of ordering food and Demonus. He ordered Lucifer’s favorite Demonus, causing a soft smile to blossom on Lucifer’s face. “Trying to loosen me up, are we?” Lucifer commented, staring out at the other demons at various tables.

“There’s no harm in it. You’ve had a stick up your ass since you left the House of Lamentation,” Diavolo said casually, as if he didn’t just insult Lucifer. The prideful demon scoffed, taking a sip of his wine glass, enjoying the taste of the red alcohol. Diavolo chuckled, placing a hand on Lucifer’s, drawing his gaze back to his date. “I’m right, aren’t I?” Lucifer couldn’t help the slight upturn in his lips at Diavolo’s soft smile.

“If you were anyone else, I’d kill you for that comment. I’d at least string up a brother for it.” DIavolo laughed at his statement, causing the smile on Lucifer’s face to explode. It hurt his face from how much he was smiling. Maybe he hated the effect Diavolo had on him more than Dante. No normal demon should smile this much. “So, what is up with you and Dante? I’ve never seen you so aggressive with someone, especially someone so high ranked. Are you jealous, Lord Diavolo?” Lucifer asked teasingly, but was shocked to find Diavolo avoiding his gaze. “Wait, seriously?”

“Have you seen that man? He’s, like, the epitome of a rival!” Diavolo exclaimed, as animated as he normally was. He had a giant smile on his face, but the look in his eyes betrayed his jovial nature. He really was jealous. “He’s tall, he’s strong, he’s scaly!” Lucifer couldn’t help the loud laugh that erupted from his body in surprise at Diavolo’s last comment.

“Does scaly really matter in this?” Lucifer asked through the tears forming in his eyes from laughing. Diavolo nodded enthusiastically, causing Lucifer to erupt into laughter again. “If you say so. Honestly, it shocked me when you stepped in between us originally. I didn’t know you were capable of jealousy and I certainly didn’t think it would be that intense! Honestly, you should work on your anger with him.” Diavolo scoffed at Lucifer’s statement, taking a drink from his glass.

“You’re one to talk. I didn’t explode at him like you did! I mean, I don’t necessarily think you were in the wrong but it was still pretty shocking to see you explode on him like that. Satan looked absolutely terrified!” Diavolo exclaimed, laughter creeping into his words. Lucifer didn’t bother hiding his smile from him. Diavolo had seen him smile, laugh, cry, scream, you name it. A result of being friends for thousands of years, Lucifer supposed. “Seriously, I thought you might kill him!” Lucifer couldn’t help the laugh bubbling up from his throat, but he attempted to cover it with a cough when the waitress came to give them their food. He didn’t mind Diavolo seeing him laugh, but he still had an appearance to keep.

“I would never murder my own brother. Ground him for the next millennia, sure, but never kill,” Lucifer said, turning to his food. Diavolo chuckled in response, food already in his mouth. Diavolo was strikingly unprincelike in many ways, but he thankfully had manners. They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. Lucifer people-watched and Diavolo Lucifer-watched. On multiple instances, Lucifer glanced back to find Diavolo’s molten gold eyes on him and he had to glare at him to get him to look away, only for his gaze to fall back to the fallen angel the moment he looked away. “Stop staring at me,” Lucifer stated sourly.

“Sorry, Morningstar. You’re just so…” Lucifer readied himself for any number of normal compliments. Beautiful, gorgeous, handsome, and pretty were standard for these moments. Lucifer sighed, looking back at Diavolo, who seemed to be attempting to find the right word. The prince reached for his hand, which Lucifer allowed him to grab. Diavolo was, infuriatingly, a romantic. “Perfect.” The word caught Lucifer off guard. Diavolo had said it many times before, but Lucifer had caught his eyes when he had said it this time. The look of sincerity in his eyes, the serious tone, the half-smile on his face, the faint dust of blush on his cheeks, it all tugged on Lucifer’s heartstrings in a way he wasn’t sure he liked.

“We should be grabbing the check,” Lucifer whispered, not meaning to make his words so quiet. He probably looked like a deer in headlights right now, but he couldn’t help it. Diavolo had a way with words and Lucifer hated him for it. Diavolo’s eyes left his and Lucifer took a deep breath. Damn golden eyes, he thought to himself, removing his hand from Diavolo’s hold. They always make me look like a fool. Diavolo motioned for the check and the waitress brought it over. He paid for the meal – the man had four vaults Lucifer knew of that were full of gold, he could pay for one dinner – and stood from his seat. He offered an arm to a still flustered Lucifer. “Thank you,” Lucifer muttered, taking it.

“Of course, my pride,” Diavolo said casually, leading him out of the restaurant. A fresh layer of red colored Lucifer’s cheeks. That nickname is new. Diavolo waved at the occasional passerby, one hand on the small of Lucifer’s back, leading him to the car while the demon was stuck in his thoughts. Once they were inside, Diavolo placed an arm around Lucifer’s shoulder. Lucifer glanced up at him and nearly looked away immediately at the bright smile on his face. “Back to your place or would you like to come to the castle?”

“The house, please. But you may come in, if you’d like. I don’t want a repeat of the incident last time,” Lucifer attempted to joke, but due to how much he was attempting to keep his composure, it came out more serious than he intended. Still, Diavolo nodded to Barbatos and they began the drive back to the House of Lamentation. Lucifer leaned against Diavolo, who moved the arm around his shoulder to wrap around his waist. I really shouldn’t have drunk as much as I did, Lucifer thought to himself, but he didn’t pull out of Diavolo’s comforting embrace.

Eventually, they pulled into the driveway of Lucifer’s home. Diavolo stepped out with Lucifer, motioning to Barbatos to wait for them. Unlike Dante, Lucifer invited Diavolo inside. He wouldn’t judge Lucifer like a newcomer would for the messiness of the house. Diavolo seemed too focused on making sure Lucifer wasn’t too drunk to walk right to notice his brothers causing chaos around them. They thankfully reached his office without interruption. Lucifer closed and locked the door behind him before grabbing a bottle of Demonus and two glasses. “Is drinking really the safest option right now, Lucifer?”

“Please, I can handle far more than you. I’m not even drunk,” Lucifer stated, taking a seat on the couch next to the coffee table. Diavolo took a seat next to him while he poured both of them a glass. Lucifer handed him his glass before leaning against the taller demon. Diavolo smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist. “So, tell me more about Dante. What makes him such a threat to you?” Diavolo stiffened a bit at the prompt. He sighed and drank the entirety of his glass, causing Lucifer to laugh.

“Alright, sure, let's discuss my rival on our date.” Lucifer laughed a bit louder at Diavolo’s statement. The prince moved so he was facing Lucifer, setting his wine glass on the coffee table. “Alright, so, you know my grandfather had a huge harem that had a ton of children?” Lucifer nodded, taking a sip of his wine glass. “So, his parents came from my grandma and some wrath demon. He’s a wrath demon, but since he’s so close to the royal family, he’s already a threat. Not only that, he’s strong and tall.”

“And scaly,” Lucifer butted in with a laugh. “Sorry, sorry. Alright, so he’s tall and strong and similar to you. So what? That doesn’t mean you’re that aggressive with him.” Lucifer filled Diavolo’s glass again, handing it back to him. Diavolo took another drink, sitting back against the couch cushions.

“Okay, yeah, but he just feels like a threat. On an instinctual level, I seriously want to murder him everytime I see him to make myself seem better to…” Diavolo trailed off, glancing at Lucifer, who tilted his head in confusion. “A potential mate,” he finished, returning his gaze back to the ceiling. “You know, demons and all that.”

“Yeah, sure. It totally wasn’t because you think he’s a threat to your relationship with me.” Lucifer stated with a smile. Diavolo looked at him in surprise. “I pay attention, Diavolo. I know how royal demons work, especially princes I spend most of my day with. I’m grabbing more Demonus.” Lucifer stood from the couch, ignoring the slight blur in his vision. He wasn’t drunk yet. Before he could reach the cabinets, his vision spun. However, this wasn’t due to the alcohol, but due to the prince currently pinning him against his mahogany desk.

“So you do know that I view you as a mate and you still went on a date with him. That’s cruel, Morningstar.” Diavolo’s golden eyes were locked on Lucifer’s crimson ones. The fallen angel could feel his breath on his cheek, yet he didn’t want to pull away. If he leaned forward, he could kiss Diavolo. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

“Play the game,” Lucifer whispered, staring into Diavolo’s eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips. Recognition flashed in Diavolo’s eyes and the prince smiled. Without wasting another second, he pressed his lips against Lucifer’s. Unlike Dante, Diavolo kissed passionately, like a starving man feasting on a buffet. Lucifer wrapped his arms around Diavolo’s neck, kissing back. Hands took hold of his hips and pressed him against the desk before lifting him onto it. Lucifer couldn’t help the drunken giggle that was pulled from his throat when Diavolo’s kisses trailed down his neck. He tangled his fingers in red locks, giggling at every new kiss to his sensitive skin. Alcohol really did make him a fool.

When he felt hands delve beneath his shirt, Lucifer placed his hands on Diavolo’s shoulders, causing the prince to stop. Diavolo looked down at him, confusion in his beautiful golden eyes. Even sitting on a desk, Diavolo was taller than him. It almost made Lucifer let him keep going. “You’ll have to earn the right to go any further than kissing,” he stated simply, alcohol slurring some of his words. Diavolo frowned and leaned closer, placing a quick kiss on Lucifer’s lips. “You won’t convince me otherwise. Now go, you have a butler waiting on you.” Lucifer pushed himself off his desk, as if to punctuate his sentence.

“Fine, but I will prove I’m better than that jerk. Just you wait, Morningstar.” Diavolo pulled him in by his waist for another kiss. “I’ll show you what a real demon king looks like,” he mumbled against his lips. Lucifer desperately wanted to keep kissing him, maybe drag him upstairs to his bed, but he knew that was the alcohol talking. Diavolo pulled away and left the room. Lucifer smiled, laying on his couch. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Lucifer woke up to horrible neck pain. He sighed, stretching his sore limbs. He forgot why he never slept on his couch. His outfit from the night before was wrinkled and his make-up was no doubt smudged from sleep. He stood from his couch and stretched, his back making a satisfying pop. Lucifer ruffled his fluffy hair, muttering a quick spell to fix it. He stopped his walk to his bedroom when the hair didn’t move into place. Satan cursed you, that annoying voice in his head reminded him. He sighed and removed the hand from his hair.

When he looked at himself in the mirror, he grimaced. Hair tangled, lipstick smudged, clothes wrinkled. It would take forever to right this without magic. Damn Satan. Lucifer grabbed his uniform from his closet, happy to find it not wrinkled. He put it on, adjusting his tie in the mirror. He grabbed the make-up wipes he kept for emergencies. It took ten minutes, but he finally got off the make-up from the previous night. He begrudgingly grabbed his foundation and covered the scar on his cheek. Another imperfection caused by Satan. He always was causing problems.

After ten more minutes and a quick shower, Lucifer deemed himself presentable enough for RAD. He walked out of his room, putting on a faux smile. The human was alone in the kitchen when he walked inside to grab coffee. “Hey Lucifer. Are you okay? I heard what happened. Satan regrets what he did-”

“I’ll stop you right there, MC,” Lucifer interrupted, sneering at their words. “If he wants to apologize, he’ll have to do that to my face.” The human looked annoyed by his interruption and even more so by his words. They both knew Satan was grounded, forced to stay in his room until the spell wore off, so he couldn’t apologize. Lucifer knew he was being petty, but he couldn’t use his magic for two more days, he was entitled to a little bit of pettiness.

“Lucifer, don’t you think you’re overreacting? It’s not like it’s permanent. He feels bad, that should be enough!” Lucifer scoffed, walking out of the room. The human followed behind him, stomps making it clear they were angry. “Lucifer, you’re blowing this completely out of proportion. He’s cursed you before, who cares? You just don’t have magic for two more days! Boo hoo! Go cry about it!” That comment made Lucifer stop walking. He turned sharply, near crushing the coffee mug in his hand with how tightly he was gripping it. The human backed up, seemingly realizing their mistake, but Lucifer grabbed the collar of their uniform before they could get very far.

“Need I remind you, human, that I could kill you in seconds. Unlike the rest of my brothers, I have very little attachment to you. You’d do best to not provoke me. And for your information, my so-called overreaction is because, unlike Satan, I was not made for physical battles. I was not made to take punches with the full force of a demon’s strength. Unlike the rest of my brothers, my body didn’t shift to a demonic one when I fell. Magic is one of my few defenses. So forgive me if I don’t accept his measly apology when he’s put my life in danger.” The human shook in his hold, like prey. He released them after a moment, smoothing out the wrinkles in his uniform. With a final glare to the human, he walked away, intending to not talk to anyone the rest of the morning.

For once, Lucifer succeeded on his plan of ignoring everyone. When he arrived at RAD far too early, there was no Diavolo roaming the halls nor Dante looking to apologize. There wasn’t even a Mephistopheles to terrorize him. He was allowed to walk to his office in silence, nothing but coffee to keep him company. This comforting silence was ruined the moment he stepped into his sound-proof office.

Diavolo had Dante pinned to the ground, on his nice carpet. The duke had a bloody nose and was struggling to push Diavolo off of him. The demon prince kept him pinned and punched Dante’s face right as Lucifer walked in. The Avatar sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He never could have nice things.

“Diavolo! Dantalion!” He shouted, gathering both of their attentions. Both demons stared at him before scrambling to stand and untangle themselves from each other. Diavolo had his normal easy smile on, but Dante’s smile was missing. Instead, the duke wore a sour frown, one that reminded Lucifer of Satan. He grimaced at the thought. “Why are you two fighting?” Lucifer asked, crossing his arms. The two taller demons looked at each other, then at him, both looking guilty. “Well?” He prompted, utterly annoyed.

“I came to give you back a ring you left in the car last night,” Diavolo stated, holding up a golden ring with a ruby stone. It was a ring Lucifer wore yesterday and it was also a gift the prince had given him. It made sense why he returned it instead of simply keeping it like so many of Lucifer’s items he left at the castle or in one of Diavolo’s cars. “Dante was in here when I came in. He insulted me, I was being civil, things escalated, and he attacked me.” Diavolo’s smile was sharp as he glared at Dante, who was still frowning.

“Liar. I came in here to apologize and explain myself. When Prince Rex came in, he told me that I was unwanted here and that now that he had taken you out on a date, I was useless. He told me to leave, I didn’t, and he pushed me. Only then did I punch him. If anything, he started this.” At Dante’s final statement, Diavolo began arguing again. The two shouted at each other and Lucifer couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Children, he thought to himself, walking past the quickly escalating fight, and taking a seat in his chair.

“Girls, you’re both pretty. Is there anything else, or am I free to work in silence, without you two here.” Diavolo and Dante looked at each other before turning their backs to the fallen angel and whispering to each other. Lucifer sighed again. Children. Lucifer picked up his quill, grabbing the top of a nearby stack of paper, skimming over the information. “Hurry up now, I’m a busy man.”

“Lucifer, Dante and I are in agreement,” Diavolo stated, a serious look replacing his smile. Lucifer looked up from his paperwork, raising an eyebrow. Agreement? That’s a surprise, Lucifer thought to himself. He set his quill back into the ink pot, sitting back in his chair. “We want you… to choose. Him or me?” The smile reappeared on Diavolo’s features, as if he knew he’d won. Lucifer scoffed. As if I’m a prize to win.

“Well, that seems unfair,” Lucifer stated, standing from his chair. He circled to the other side to lean against his desk, arms crossed. “Unfair to me. Neither of you have proven yourselves to me. Prove yourselves and you’ve got yourself a deal.” The duke and prince glanced at each other, then back to the prideful demon smirking at them. “Three attempts. We’ll say… flowers, chocolates, and…” Lucifer trailed off. What would be best for a third trial? Assuming neither had won by then. “A date at your homes. The Demon Lord’s Castle and Iram Manor. Deal?”

“Deal,” Diavolo agreed quickly, looking to Dante as if he’d already won the competition. The duke’s frown deepened, but he nodded to Lucifer. “We’ll see you Monday, Morningstar. For my victory.” Diavolo’s tone dripped with arrogance and the faint scent of cinnamon wafted through the air. He bowed slightly before sauntering out of his office. Lucifer rolled his eyes and turned to Dante.

“You’ll have to try hard to beat him. So, your apology. Make it quick,” Lucifer said impatiently. The duke sneered in Diavolo’s direction as he left, but his smile returned when he turned to Lucifer. He took a step in his direction, but Lucifer put up a hand to stop him. “Only those who win a trial earn my affection. You’ll stay where you are and explain yourself. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to choose Diavolo.” Dante grimaced at Lucifer’s words, but nodded, taking a step back.

“Diavolo is furiously protective over you, but from what I’ve gathered, you two aren’t dating, correct?” Lucifer looked away. When Dante had asked him out, he and Diavolo were on a break due to the stress of recent events and a particularly bad fight over something Lucifer didn’t even remember now. But to the public, he and Diavolo weren’t anything more than the prince and his right-hand man, so Lucifer nodded to the duke’s question. “I wanted to ask you out. A friend of mine in the newspaper club, Mephisto, told me one of your brothers, Satan, was a member of the Anti-Lucifer League. They apparently play pranks on you, from what I’ve heard?”

“Yes. Insufferable, but I’ve given up stopping them. I didn’t know you were friends with Mephistopheles, but I suppose it makes sense. You two are dukes. Did he send you to ruin my life by pretending to be in love with me and ruin my reputation, or did you enlist Satan’s help and he created that glitter bomb for Diavolo to distract him?” Lucifer cocked an eyebrow, a knowing look in his eyes. “You wanted to distract him to ask me out because otherwise he wouldn’t have let you be anywhere near me. The reason you wanted to ask me out at first was to mess with Diavolo, but now it’s to prove yourself a better, what was the word Diavolo used? Mate?” Dante looked embarrassed.

“Yes. I wasn’t aware you knew about that, but I suppose it makes sense. Yes, I want to prove myself stronger than that prick. If you wish, I would greatly appreciate any help with winning you over. I have no doubt he knows everything about you, so one hint wouldn’t hurt, right?” Dante smiled and Lucifer’s heart melted. Damn his romantic side.

“I love the Princess’s Poison Apples,” Lucifer conceded with a sigh. “There, that’s your hint. Now leave my office. I have a lot of work to do.” Dante smiled. He bowed as well, but took Lucifer’s gloved hand in his own and kissed his ring finger. Lucifer hated the blush that spread across his cheeks. The duke left with a smile and Lucifer collapsed into his office seat. Why did he ever involve himself in this sort of thing?

Chapter Text

Lucifer had completely forgotten about the game he created by Monday. Saturday was filled with paperwork and a Beel rampage. He had to rush to the grocery store to restock the fridge and buy food so the raging sixth born didn’t destroy the whole house. Sunday was mostly calm, save for the human barging into his room after dinner, dragging Satan with them. The blonde seemed uncomfortable, but apologized for his curse. Lucifer dismissed him with a sigh, muttering a quick acceptance.

He was in a remarkably happy mood when he arrived at RAD. He’d allowed himself to sleep in, so he got to school around the time of the early bird students. He was smiling at students as they passed, including a very confused Mephistopheles. The duke scoffed when they made eye contact in the hall and Lucifer smiled. He almost seemed a bit unnerved by the avatar’s smile. Lucifer paid him no mind as he walked, making his way to Diavolo’s office like normal to plan what they were going to speak about at today’s meeting or to discuss if they even needed a meeting today.

Diavolo was inside his office, like Lucifer expected. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he read the document on his desk. Lucifer couldn’t help the smile on his face, blaming it on his cheery mood. He sat in the seat across from Diavolo’s, waiting for the prince to notice him. It didn’t take very long – Diavolo had never been the best at concentrating on his work – and soon Lucifer’s smile was outshone by Diavolo’s.

“Lucifer. Good morning. Did you just arrive? You seem cheerful. Given your lack of flowers, I presume I’m your first?” Lucifer’s smile dropped a bit at the mentions of flowers. First? Flowers? What in the world is he talking about? Lucifer thought, before the realization hit him. The choice between Dante and Diavolo. How could he have forgotten?

“Oh, yes. I haven’t seen Dante at all this morning,” Lucifer replied. Diavolo smiled before grabbing something hidden from Lucifer’s view by a stack of papers. The prince hid whatever it was behind his back, walking around the desk to where Lucifer was sitting. Lucifer stood with a sigh, crossing his arms. Diavolo always enjoyed surprising him, especially with presents. It made sense that he would keep his flower choice hidden until the last possible moment.

After a look of annoyance from Lucifer, Diavolo finally handed him what was hidden behind his back. It was a bouquet of five flowers, tied together with a small red ribbon. The petals were dark purple with a pink and white center. Lucifer couldn’t help the soft smile blooming on his face. “Morning glories,” he said softly, turning his gaze up to look Diavolo in the eyes. “You remembered.”

“Oh, come on, Morningstar. A flower so similar to your name? And they’re your favorites? How could I ever forget?” Diavolo pulled Lucifer closer, though, for once, the smaller demon didn’t stop him. “They’re beautiful. Though, your perfection far outshines them.” Lucifer blushed at the compliment. Diavolo had a way with words and it was utterly embarrassing how much they affected him.

“Always a flirt,” Lucifer mumbled, setting the flowers off to the side. He leaned up and kissed the prince, though it was far shorter than any of their regular kisses. Diavolo was smiling like an idiot when he pulled away. The prince nuzzled into his neck, causing a godforsaken giggle to erupt from Lucifer’s throat without permission. Thankfully, Barbatos walked in before Diavolo could coax Lucifer into another kiss – or maybe even more – with his silver tongue.

“My lord?” The butler called, causing Diavolo to turn to him with a smile, though he refused to release Lucifer from his hold. “May I speak with you in private? Lucifer can be here, but Duke Dantalion was asking for him.” Diavolo frowned at the mention of Dante, but released Lucifer.

“Don’t stray too far, Morningstar. I’ll see you later to discuss today’s meeting?” Diavolo normally didn’t care about such a thing, so Lucifer had a sneaking suspicion that the prince was just looking for an excuse to have him in his arms. Still, he nodded. He was his right-hand man, it would’ve been rude to refuse. His reasoning wasn’t at all related to the fact they hadn’t done much more than that drunk kiss in his office in months and it was starting to mess with his head. Nothing to do with that at all.

Lucifer did a slight bow to Barbatos, who did the motion back, before leaving the room. He didn’t have to walk far before an arm was snaked around his waist. Only two men had the confidence and audacity to do that. Given one of them was currently talking with his butler, Lucifer didn’t have to look up for his greeting. “Good morning, Dante.”

“Good morning, Lucifer. How are you?” Lucifer smiled at his politeness. Dante was walking beside him, arm snaked around his waist to keep him by his side. Lucifer didn’t really have a destination in mind, so he supposed they were just walking together. How pathetically romantic.

“I’m doing just fine. Diavolo has already given me his flowers, if you were hoping you were first,” Lucifer stated simply before realizing he hadn’t grabbed his flowers before he left. Oh well, Lucifer thought with a sly smile. All the more excuses to go back to Diavolo’s office. Dante nudged his hip in a direction, pulling Lucifer out of his thoughts. They turned and they were in the courtyard. Dante led him to a bench and sat beside him, moving his arm to rest on Lucifer’s shoulders.

“I knew I wouldn’t be first. I’m fine with that. Knowing Diavolo, he already gave you your favorite flower. So, I didn’t try to find your favorite. I wanted to give you something unique,” Dante explained with a smile, causing butterflies in Lucifer’s stomach. The only downside of being fought over was that he had the embarrassing romantic feelings doubled.

“Unique? You’ve intrigued me,” Lucifer stated, shifting his body to face Dante’s slightly. His smile from this morning was gone, but his eyes still held the softness of his cheerful mood. “What is this so-called unique flower?” Dante muttered a spell and a flower appeared before him. He looked nervous as he handed it over, almost sheepish.

“I apologize for not having more. Death Pixies are notoriously hard to find, especially this time of year. My manor has one of the only gardens in the entirety of Devildom. I had to travel hours just to find one in bloom.” The flower was a vibrant green with a blood red center. The petals looked like fairy wings and the center looked like a skull. “I assume he won, but I didn’t want to waste my time on something as plain as roses. You’re worth something far more extraordinary.” Dante’s words stirred the butterflies again.

Why do these two have to make this so hard? Lucifer thought with a sigh. Dante was correct, Diavolo had won. While the rarity of the Death Pixie was sweet, Morning Glories were simply too beautiful. Still, Lucifer wanted to reward the duke for trying so hard. He placed a hand on Dante’s jawline, tilting his head down far enough for him to lean up and kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Dante. This was very sweet,” Lucifer said softly, his kind demeanor far unlike him. All this romantic crap is making me soft, he thought bitterly, pride still in full swing. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget your chocolates.”

Lucifer stood from the courtyard bench and left, ignoring Dante’s blushing face. He thought of the Morning Glory bouquet Diavolo had brought and smiled. Surely, Barbatos was done by now. Diavolo deserved to be rewarded for winning, and who was Lucifer to deny his reward?

Lucifer woke up to a very loud crash. He jumped up, awake yet still half asleep. His back ached and he realized he was in his office chair. He slept in his office last night. He was behind on paperwork. His hair was messed up. His shirt was wrinkled. His pen had gotten ink on his face. Damn it. He glanced at his phone, which was plugged in next to him. 8:00. Double damn it.

He rubbed at his eyes and glanced around his office. Next to one of his cabinets was Mammon, looking like a deer in headlights. He had his precious Goldie in one hand and had a glass container that held silver blood in it in the other. Between Goldie, the vial filled with the very little archangel blood Lucifer owned, and the crash that awoke him, there was only one explanation for this.

“Maammmooon.” The second born jumped, quickly placing the vial on the nearest flat surface, and bolting. Lucifer sighed, rubbing at his eyes again. He still had to shower and get dressed and today was probably his day for breakfast, knowing his luck.

After fifteen minutes – mostly including almost falling asleep while drying and brushing his hair – Lucifer was ready for RAD. He still had a pounding hangover from drinking way too much while on call with Diavolo last night while they worked. In his defense, Diavolo said he would only do his work if Lucifer took a shot everytime he completed a paper. He probably didn’t expect Lucifer to agree to it, but that was Diavolo’s own hubris, not Lucifer’s. Okay, it was slightly Lucifer’s hubris, but mostly Diavolo’s.

He walked into the main hall to find Solomon and Asmodeus making out near the doorway. He frowned, somehow feeling like the sorcerer’s mere presence was making his hangover worse. “Solomon!” He shouted, causing the human to jump and detach from Asmo. “You know the rule, get out of my house! If I see you, I’m allowed to curse you!”

“Right away, Lucifer! I’ll see you at RAD!” Solomon called down the hallway. Asmo was frowning at the lack of attention and pulled Solomon into another kiss. Lucifer scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’ll talk to you about a pact later!” Solomon yelled, but Lucifer was already out of his sight. Lucifer rolled his eyes at that comment.

He walked into the dining room to find Levi playing on some console, incredibly focused. Beel was happily eating a mountain of pancakes as Satan brought more out. Once the blonde saw him, he pivoted to set the plate of pancakes in front of Lucifer’s normal seat. He gave him an apologetic, uncomfortable smile before rushing back into the kitchen, no doubt to grab more food for Beel. The human and Mammon walked in with each other, one glaring at him while the other avoided his gaze. They were meant for each other, both utter idiots who seemed to enjoy pissing him off.

Belphegor was actually awake this morning, seemingly helping Satan with breakfast. He set Beel’s refilled drink beside him and a mug filled with coffee for Lucifer. The eldest was surprised by Belphie’s kindness, but he accepted it anyways. He watched the human loudly tell Mammon about what Lucifer did yesterday before he left as he took a sip from the coffee.

And immediately spit the salty beverage out. He heard Belphegor’s loud laugh from the door to the kitchen and turned accusingly to them. Satan looked genuinely alarmed while Belphie just kept laughing. Lucifer stood from his seat, slamming the cup down on the table, nearly shattering it. “Salt? Really? What are you, pitiful human children looking for revenge?” The human glared at him from where they sat, but he couldn’t care less. Between his headache, his back hurting, and how late it was, Lucifer wasn’t in the mood to be nice. He stormed out of the room and out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

He walked in angry silence, but soon another set of heels joined his, clicking on the road. Lucifer knew who was walking behind him. He could smell the vague scent of apples, both from the demon’s pride and his perfume. Mephistopheles sped up to walk beside Lucifer, his chin held high despite being small, even in his white boots. Lucifer rolled his eyes at the duke’s arrogant expression.

“Hello, whore. Just come back from hooking up with another guy, or are you just keeping it between the two?” Lucifer’s steps faltered when he heard Mephisto’s annoying voice. He expected an insult, but the duke had never been so forward, especially with calling him a whore. He’d said it in the papers plenty of times, but never to his face. Based on Mephisto’s current attitude, Satan had been fighting hard to keep an article about Lucifer being a two-timing whore who is betraying the prince out of the paper for a while.

“I haven’t slept with either of them. I have only gone on one date with either of them- you know what? Not important. I just came from my house with my six brothers and an annoying exchange student. This morning, I drank salty coffee, had to see my younger brother kiss the second greatest annoyance in my life, behind you, and I am going to be late to my morning meeting. I do not want to talk to you currently, so you’d do best to leave.” Mephisto scoffed, keeping up with Lucifer surprisingly well.

“Please. Everyone knows that you’re just the angel slut who will sleep with anyone who shows you even the slightest bit of attention,” Mephisto taunted, a smirk on his face. Lucifer’s nails dug into his palm as he attempted to keep his temper in check. “You’re such a desperate whore, begging for attention. I bet this whole fight is played up for theatrics. I bet you begged the prince to go on a date. I bet he only agreed out of pity.” Lucifer knew Mephisto was speaking lies. He knew the duke was only speaking out of jealousy and pettiness. Still, the words got to him.

“Mephisto, at any given moment, until we reach RAD, I could harm you. I could suffocate you. I could break your arm. I could punch your teeth in. I could snap your neck. I could do any number of things.” Lucifer turned his gaze to Mephisto, who was refusing to meet his eyes. He didn’t have the patience to deal with all his shit today and this sure was fun. He enjoyed watching the duke’s steps stiffen with every new threat. He loved the way he couldn’t meet his murderous gaze. “But do continue with your insults. You’re just making my patience wear thinner and thinner.” Lucifer reveled in the way Mephisto tripped over his own pace at the silent threat. The duke coughed and made an excuse before rushing off, to the safety of the approaching building. Lucifer smirked after him.

Someone tapped on Lucifer’s shoulder and he turned to his left, but found no one there. A familiar laugh exploded to his right and Lucifer sighed, a soft smile replacing his arrogant smirk. He turned to his right, meeting the gaze of friendly golden eyes. “Good morning, my lord. How are you?” The greeting was standard, but Diavolo still smiled as if Lucifer had just confessed his love to him.

“I’m doing wonderfully, my love.” Diavolo’s smile was bright, like the sun. Lucifer almost smiled in response, but that was quickly stopped by his own pride. As they walked, Diavolo pulled Lucifer closer by his hip. Once they were inside RAD, Diavolo leaned down to kiss him. The prince was promptly stopped by a black gloved hand to his lips. He stared down at Lucifer in confusion, pulling back slightly. Lucifer removed the taller demon’s hand from his hip and took a step back.

“Only those who win a trial earn my affection,” he stated simply, repeating what he had said to Dante when he apologized. The fallen angel put out a hand for the chocolates. Diavolo glanced between Lucifer’s face and his outstretched hand in confusion before realization dawned on him. The prince reached into his bag and pulled out a small container of chocolates. He hesitantly handed it over and Lucifer realized the prince was nervous. This was a gift he wasn’t sure about. How surprising.

Before Lucifer could open the box, he spotted Dante down the hall. He waved the duke over, much to Diavolo’s dismay. The duke was frowning, but once he neared Lucifer, a smile was plastered on his face. Lucifer nearly frowned at the fakeness of the action, but didn’t comment. Upon seeing the container in Lucifer’s hands, the duke muttered a spell and handed over his chocolates. Lucifer glanced down at the containers, uncomfortable under the eyes of both Diavolo and Dante. He looked up to find their gaze locked on him. I have control over them, Lucifer thought with a smirk. I’ll show Mephisto desperate.

Lucifer turned on his heel and walked away from the two demons. They faltered for a moment before rushing to catch up with him. Lucifer was delighted with the sound of their footsteps behind him. He snuck a glance to see them glaring at each other, following him like ducklings. Or like lovesick admirers. Lucifer nearly laughed at the thought. He turned a corner, opening a container, making sure to keep which one he had opened out of eyesight from either demon following him. He popped one into his mouth and smiled. Dark chocolate. His favorite. So this container was Diavolo’s then. He turned another corner, opening the other container, and popping it into his mouth.

The taste was unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time. Lucifer nearly made a sound from how much he loved the taste, nearly embarrassing himself. The taste was amazing, yet he couldn’t place how he knew it. Then, it hit him. It tasted like poison apples. Dante had somehow found a random shop that made poison apple chocolates and gotten them for him. Lucifer smiled at the thought. He didn’t even know these existed, yet Dante still tried to find them. How sweet.

Lucifer opened the door to his office, not caring that Dante and Diavolo were following him inside. He set the chocolate containers on his desk before turning around. Both demons stopped in their tracks, both looking equally nervous. Lucifer looked them both over, wanting to draw this out for as long as he could. It was true that Diavolo and Dante were similar, but if you took a proper look at them, they were totally different.

Dante was an inch or two taller than Diavolo and the scales on his shoulders that trailed up his neck were a dark green, not red like Diavolo’s. Dante’s hair was black and slicked back while Diavolo’s was red and unruly. Dante leaned on one foot and stuffed his hands in his pockets when he stood while Diavolo held his weight equally on both sides and crossed his arms. They were similar, yes, but definitely not the same.

“The score is one to one,” Lucifer said once he deemed enough time had passed. Diavolo and Dante looked at each other in confusion. “Diavolo won the flowers. He brought me Morning Glories,” Lucifer explained. “Dante won the chocolates. He gave me poison apple chocolates and gave me a new favorite chocolate.” Diavolo glared at the duke, who had a smirk on his face. “Dante, given you won, you can name your reward.”

“I get to choose my reward?” Dante asked, though Lucifer took it as rhetorical, given Dante’s smiling expression. “I want the first date to be at my manor.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the request. It seemed like a waste of a request. Still, Lucifer nodded. Upon his agreement, Dante added, “And I want to spend the morning in here. With you.” The duke’s gaze turned to Diavolo’s, his smile turning into a wrathful glare. “Alone.” Diavolo rolled his eyes at the request, but the annoyance quickly turned into surprise at Lucifer’s nod.

“Very well. We have 20 minutes. Diavolo, I’ll see you in class?” Diavolo seemed furious, no doubt jealous that Dante got the whole morning to himself. As if he didn’t get half an hour’s worth of making out yesterday morning, Lucifer thought with a scoff. Despite his jealousy, Diavolo obeyed Lucifer’s request and left the room. The moment the door shut, Lucifer found himself wrapped up in Dante’s arms and had lips pressed against his.

Greedy, the cynical part of Lucifer thought. Still, he found himself kissing back. Dante wasn’t as passionate as Diavolo was, at first. The hands wrapped around his body kept to their place, not daring to venture up or down, to touch Lucifer anywhere that would make him pull away. As time went on and Dante continued kissing him, the possessive nature seemingly all royals had showed its colors.

Dante’s hands moved from his back to his hips, pushing him up against the nearest wall. Lucifer sighed, but didn’t break away from Dante’s furious kisses. Once the duke had successfully pinned him, his hands started wandering. Lucifer’s uniform was thick in layers, but the duke rid him of the top jacket quickly. His eyes were crazed as he tugged the top buttons of Lucifer’s button-up open. Lucifer allowed his head to be tilted up, keeping his sounds down as Dante moved his kisses – and occasional bites, much to Lucifer’s dismay – down to his neck.

Lucifer covered his mouth with one hand, careful to not let any sound out. Why did Dante have to be so good at this? Lucifer did not need to be dealing with these feelings during school hours. Right as Lucifer was about to give in and deal with the consequences of his actions, the bell rang, halting Dante’s action. Lucifer took the opportunity to remove himself from Dante’s hold and grab his uniform jacket. He rebuttoned the shirt beneath, ignoring the marks on his neck. Dante frowned, pulling Lucifer in for one more kiss.

“Class,” Lucifer muttered against his lips. Dante sighed, but he nodded. He pressed a kiss to Lucifer’s forehead – causing those damn butterflies, like the asshole he is – then pulled away. Dante left his office and Lucifer collapsed in one of his chairs. He was an idiot for getting himself in this mess, but damn if being an idiot didn’t feel good.

Chapter Text

Lucifer sighed into the emptiness of his home office. He had been doing paperwork since he got home, yet he’d barely made a dent. His brain was turning into mush from signing paper after paper. He stopped trying to read them ages ago. His vision was blurry as he set aside another paper.

“Luci!” A sing-song voice called from his doorway. Lucifer glanced up, unable to deduce whose voice it was. His vision was still blurred and the light shining in from the hallway hurt his eyes. “Lucifer? Earth to Lucifer? Hey!” The person called again. They stepped into the room, as well as another person. Once the door was closed and it was back to the comfortable candle and lamplight of Lucifer’s office, he could actually somewhat make-out the features of the two demons. One was significantly shorter with strawberry blonde hair and the other was tall, blonde, and had a jacket sleeve loose. Asmo and Satan. Your brothers, his tired brain reminded him.

“Hello, Asmodeus. Good… morning?” He asked, uncertain of the time of day. It was common for him to pull all-nighters, so it wasn’t out of the question a whole night had passed since he realized where he was. Based on the way Asmo was smiling and Satan scoffed, it was not morning. “Why are you in my office?” Lucifer blinked slowly, rubbing at his eyes to try and fix his vision. He still felt brain dead, but the more he wasn’t on mind numbing paperwork, the clearer his thoughts were.

“Well, Satan got into a fight,” Asmo stated, but was cut off by a yelp of pain when Satan elbowed his side. Lucifer would comment on the fight if it wasn’t common and if he had the bandwidth to think about anything except keeping his eyes open and processing what Asmo was saying. “His nails are messed up and I haven’t fixed your nails in a while. Plus, I want the inside scoop on this little rivalry. My fans depend on me for the latest hot gossip, you know.” Lucifer stared at the fifth born in confusion, processing what he was saying. Fix your nails. Gossip about Diavolo and Dante, his thoughts finally told him. He numbly nodded.

“Hurry up, old man. We won’t wait forever,” Satan commented as he opened the door to leave. The action once again flooded Lucifer’s room with bright light, causing him to grimace as he stood from his desk. Asmo smiled as the tired eldest walked past him, shielding his eyes from the bright light. Satan scoffed as he led the way to Asmo’s room. The fifth born chose to walk beside Lucifer.

“Hey, Luci, are you feeling okay?” Asmo’s voice was soft enough that Satan couldn’t hear him, but loud enough for Lucifer. “You seem tired. You’ve been in your office for three hours. It’s nearly dinner time.” Lucifer sighed, rubbing at his eyes. Asmo looked genuinely concerned, but the eldest hadn’t cleared his head enough to take his emotions into account.

“I’m fine. Paperwork is as mind numbing as usual,” Lucifer answered simply, forcing a small smile. Asmo frowned at his brother’s expression, but they reached his room before he could comment. Lucifer was happy for the silence as Asmo rummaged through his drawers for the proper colors for both his and Satan’s nails. Satan was first, so Lucifer was free to flop on Asmo’s bed.

“So, Lucifer, what's up with Diavolo and Dante? I want to know what's up with you two. Still fighting over you or have you chosen?” Asmo asked, scratching off the remaining nail polish on Satan’s nails. Lucifer sighed from his position on the bed, laying an arm over his eyes. “I heard you had a threesome with them, but I know you’re a prude so that probably isn’t true. Unless…?” Asmo trailed off suggestively, smirking at the frown that immediately covered his older brother’s face.

“No,” Lucifer stated firmly. “I would never desecrate myself in any manner, especially something so unrefined.” Lucifer sat up to glare at Satan. “As much as a certain duke keeps calling me a whore, I am not one.” The blonde cringed and looked away from Lucifer’s glare. He couldn’t move far due to Asmo keeping his hands in place, but he still did his best to avoid Lucifer. “Diavolo and Dante have both won a trial, so I have to go on a date with each of them. Dante’s is today, right after school.”

“Back up, back up. Trials? Is that what the chocolates and flowers were for? I hope you don’t mind, but I took your Death Pixie. They make great poisons and they’re so rare.” Lucifer sighed at Asmo’s admittance. In truth, he had already figured out who took his flower and he was already over it. “So, are you excited for your date? Dante seems like he has a temper, from what I’ve heard. He doesn’t seem like your type.” Lucifer perked up at that statement.

“Temper? He’s been nothing but nice to me. I’ve only seen him angry once or twice.” Satan and Asmo both stared at him, then looked at each other. Lucifer frowned at the looks they exchanged. He didn’t like how all of his brothers had another they had a secret language with. It seemed unfair that his family could do that and he couldn’t. Though, he supposed he had that same secret language with Diavolo. “Has he snapped at you two before?”

“Hell yeah!” Satan jumped in, eyes widened in shock. Asmo nodded in agreement, focusing on painting Satan’s nails green. “The first time I met him, he yelled at me for just bumping into him. Not to mention, he snaps at anyone who even comes near him at RAD, even Diavolo. I can’t believe you’ve never experienced that with him.”

“It’s probably because he wants to go on a date with Luci. He can’t go around ruining his chances with him because he’s angry. But he’s the Duke of the Wrath Ring. It only makes sense he has the temper of Satan,” Asmo said matter-of-factly, ignoring Satan’s shout of protest. Lucifer rolled his eyes, deciding his brothers were messing with him. No one can keep their wrath in for that long.

“I can assure you he doesn’t have a temper. No one can keep their head that level for that long, if you’re right about him having the temper of Satan.” Lucifer received a glare for his repeat of Asmo’s comment. “Just hurry up with your nail painting. I have a date later and I should be getting ready.” Asmo glared at him, but motioned for Satan to get up. Satan sighed, but moved to the bed so Lucifer could sit in front of the fifth born. He removed his gloves for Asmo to repaint his nails. The red was still mostly intact, but Asmo removed it all anyway.

They sat in silence. While normally a chatterbox, if Asmo felt insulted, he would keep quiet. It never bothered Lucifer any and Satan was busy reading something on his phone. It was probably fanfiction, based on the small glimpses Lucifer got of his screen. It didn’t take very long for Asmo to finish the red and he begrudgingly agreed to paint on a few gold designs on Lucifer’s nails. Once they were dry, Lucifer thanked him, not caring for the little rebellion Asmo was still putting on. He saw the small smile on his face when Lucifer complimented how they turned out, so he knew he hadn’t actually insulted him.

Lucifer already had an outfit set out, so getting ready for the date was simple. He took a quick shower and fixed his hair with magic, slicking it back besides a few hairs like normal. He tugged a black turtleneck over his head before pulling on his normal black slacks. He grabbed the dark red button-up he set out earlier and put it on, buttoning it up outside of the top two buttons. He looked himself up and down in the full-length mirror, smiling at his reflection. He glanced at his normal black gloves, but decided against them. He was going to be eating, not being forced to touch something gross. The only time that had happened at a dinner was when Diavolo decided to be funny and smashed a pie on Lucifer’s face. The Avatar had to wipe it off with his ungloved hands and nearly threw up at the texture.

Lucifer shook off the memory, walking into his bathroom. He applied red eyeshadow and black eyeliner, adding a wing to the end like Asmo taught him. He reached for his lipstick, but thought better of it. It wasn’t like he was going to be out in public and lipstick was a hassle when he was eating. It was easier to go without it. He took one final look in the mirror, almost twirling as he examined his outfit. Diavolo had nicknamed the action “peacocking” but Lucifer chose not to think about how similar he was to the gorgeous bird.

Lucifer’s phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket. Dante had texted him the address to his manor. Lucifer glanced at the time. On his motorcycle, he could get there in an hour or so, but he risked ruining his hair and make-up. Still, he had his magic to fix it if that was the case. After one final glance at himself in the mirror, he left his room, leaving his gloves on his bed.

“Hey! Lucifer, do you know where my package is?” Levi asked him as he walked past the living room. Lucifer pointed next to the front door, where an Akuzon package was hidden behind a plant. “Oh, thanks! Hey, where are you going? You look… amazing.” Levi looked absolutely miserable as he finished his sentence, sin poking through. Lucifer sighed as he walked past, ruffling his hair.

“I’m going on a date. I’ll be out late. Don’t wait for me, okay? Love you, tell Mammon to leave Goldie on my desk unless he wants to be strung up for weeks. Satan is in charge of dinner. Don’t stay up too late.” Lucifer placed a quick kiss on his shorter brother’s head. Levi nodded, though he seemed a bit annoyed at Lucifer’s instructions. “And don’t start any fights. I don’t need to come back home to a destroyed house.” Levi grumbled, but gave him a thumbs up as he grabbed his package. Lucifer sighed, knowing he probably would come home to a fight. He always did, but hopefully it wouldn’t be house-destroying.

Lucifer walked down to the garage, grabbing his helmet from the shelf dedicated to it. He had spray-painted it red a while ago and had his brothers do a small design on it, so long as it wasn’t inappropriate. That didn’t mean Asmo and Mammon both tried multiple times to draw a poorly scrawled penis on his helmet, but they eventually gave up. All six agreed to paint their initials on his helmet, including Satan. It was small, but still a cute gesture. The helmet was too precious to wear out normally, but given his other helmet had Diavolo’s name painted on it in cursive, this one would have to do. Dante probably wouldn’t be too happy with him wearing a helmet that was painted Rex Red and had Diavolo’s name signed in gold letters to their date.

Lucifer turned to his motorcycle. He took good care of her, giving her a nice shine. If he didn’t have the time to keep her pretty, he’d pay Mammon to come down here and keep her happy. “Hey, Harpy. Ready for a ride?” He asked, placing a hand on the handles of the bike. He knew he was being stupid by talking to his motorcycle, but it was something he always did. After checking his phone for any emergencies before he traveled to the wrath ring, he put on his helmet, doing his best to not ruin his hair. Now to just get to the wrath ring.

“Fuck you, asshole!” Lucifer shouted as another car sped by, nearly hitting him in the process. The wrath ring, governed by the Iram family, had no traffic laws. Therefore, Lucifer was fighting to not be run over. This was why he normally walked everywhere. Demons had no self-preservation and it made life very difficult for him. Just because you reform after five thousand years doesn’t mean you can just run someone else over.

Finally, he arrived at the manor. Dante was waiting at the large doors of his home. His eyes widened when he saw Lucifer park his bike. Lucifer removed his helmet, muttering a spell to keep the paint safe, and set it on the handlebars. He ran a hand through his hair and muttered a quick mirror spell to see the state of his appearance. Once he fixed a few loose hairs and rubbed some smudged eyeliner off, he turned to face Dante.

“No lipstick today?” Dante commented with a smile. Lucifer rolled his eyes, immediately rethinking his decision to not put it on. Dante placed a hand on his cheeks, brushing his thumb against his lower lip. A soft smile blossomed on his face. “I like it. Now you feel like a real demon and not some ethereal god.” Lucifer scoffed, moving past Dante, towards the doors.

“That’s too bad. I lost my mystery,” Lucifer stated, turning to look at Dante, who was still staring at his bike. The duke was frowning, but the smile was back the moment he noticed Lucifer looking at him. “Dinner?” Lucifer motioned to the ornate doors of Dante’s manor. The duke nodded, opening the doors for him. “Thank you,” Lucifer mumbled, walking inside the building.

Dante’s home was nowhere near as impressive as the castle, but it was still one hundred times better than the House of Lamentation. Dante’s house colors were present everywhere. Iram Green drapings, curtains, covers on paintings, rugs, everything. The rest of the building was mostly gray and black marble, most paintings of old demon royalty – including someone who looked like Diavolo’s grandmother alongside another demon – having silver frames that fit nicely with the green everywhere.

Unlike Diavolo’s home, Lucifer actually saw the servants scuttering about. Most seemed to be low ranking wrath demons, all dressed in Iram Green uniforms. Lucifer caught sight of a sigil burned into the back of one’s neck and it made his stomach churn. He rubbed at his wrist, thinking of the pact mark forever inscribed on his back. He never regretted agreeing to Diavolo’s deal that day, but the pact still haunted his nightmares. He feared the day Diavolo decided to use it against him.

“Lucifer, where are you going?” Dante’s voice called him back to the present. Lucifer looked up from the ground to stare at Dante. When the duke had turned, he kept walking down the hallway. “Come on. The table has already been set.” Dante placed a hand on his back as he ushered him inside and Lucifer thought he felt his pact mark sting. That’s just your imagination, Lucifer, he told himself taking a seat at the table. The table was far smaller than Diavolo’s, which was made for a banquet. Lucifer had- Stop! You’re on a date with Dante, not Diavolo. Stop thinking about him! His inner voice urged. Lucifer sighed, turning his attention to Dante, who was sitting across from him.

“So, what is for dinner today?” Lucifer asked with a smile, trying his best to erase Diavolo from his mind. Even when on a date with another guy who Lucifer is interested in, he can’t stop thinking about the wretched prince. About how his hair is unruly and the way his eyebrows scrunch when he’s focused and his dimples when he smiles and how good of a kisser- Lucifer! Stop fantasizing about the prince!

“Devil Zebra Steak with Hellfire Curry Rice,” Dante said, motioning to a nearby servant, no doubt to grab their food. Lucifer stared at him, surprised at the menu. Sure, dukes were rich, but even that kind of food was hard to come by if you didn’t own a restaurant or were the crowned prince himself. Of course, that was just accounting for the center ring, not any of the sin rings. “I hope that’s alright.” Dante seemed to have taken Lucifer’s surprise for disgust, so the prideful demon quickly swiped it off his face.

“Of course. I just wasn’t expecting such an extensive meal. Is Devil Zebra easy to come by in the wrath ring, or did you order it just for me?” Lucifer teased, nearly laughing when Dante avoided his gaze. “So you did? Cute.” Lucifer smiled warmly. Only one person had done so much for him before, and that person would remain unnamed so his thoughts didn’t wander back to him again.

After a few minutes, servants came out with the food, setting it on the table. They all didn’t look either of the demons sitting at the table in the eye, which was quite a shock for Lucifer. He was used to the friendly smiles exchanged between the servants and Diavolo, as if they were all friends. Dante was cold to his servants, pretending as if they didn’t exist outside of a pointed glare when one nearly dropped his bowl of Hellfire Curry Rice.

“Lucifer,” Dante began, catching Lucifer’s attention. “Is the meal to your satisfaction? We recently hired new cooks after the previous ones attempted to poison my father.” The comment caught Lucifer off guard. He nearly choked on his food, causing Dante to raise an eyebrow at him. Lucifer cleared his throat and mumbled an apology. He wasn’t used to the non-dorky, non-smiling, non-complimenting Dante. It was throwing him off.

“Yes, the food tastes great. I didn’t expect something so expensive, but I am a fan of Devil Zebra Steak.” Lucifer had a polite smile on his face, trying to figure out what was wrong with Dante. The duke nodded, turning back to his food once he had his answer. Lucifer tried to make sense of the demon in front of him. Maybe he was just a quiet eater? Lucifer was used to chatter during meals, so it made sense he was uncomfortable.

Lucifer ate in silence, glancing up at Dante periodically. It was so strange to eat in silence, but he made due. He watched the servants wander about, stacking his plates when he was finished. They didn’t have servants at the House of Lamentation, so he was surprised when a servant made a big deal of taking his dishes. He registered a growl when he attempted to help the servant clear the table. It shocked him for enough time for the servant to rush off with plates. “Dante,” Lucifer began to say, but was cut off with another growl.

“Sit down, Lucifer. They’re servants for a reason.” Lucifer felt uneasy, watching a servant scramble off with a stack of dishes. He caught a glimpse of a sigil burned into their upper arm. A shiver ran down his spine. Was that normal for wrath demons? “Lucifer, what are you reaching for? Are you calling for dessert?” Lucifer looked down at his hand. He was reaching for the servant, like a fool. The damn mark was affecting him.

“Uhm, yes. My apologies. I don’t have servants, so I’m not sure how to call for them.” Lucifer quickly corrected, pulling his arm back. He plastered on a smile, causing Dante to smile as well. Dante motioned to a nearby servant, who rushed off to grab their dessert. “Thank you for the meal, by the way.” Lucifer hoped his nervousness wasn’t showing. That mark was really throwing him off.

“It’s really not a bother at all. I mean, I should be expecting to feed you more often, shouldn’t I?” Dante raised an eyebrow, the playful smile on his face far more familiar than the silence. Lucifer smiled softly at the flirting. This felt better, not being in silence. A servant came in from the kitchen, holding a bowl of pudding. Lucifer instantly recognized it. It was something he’d banned from the house ever since the human had begun living with them.

“Lunatic Pudding?” Lucifer stared down at the bowl put in front of him. “A pudding designed to make human’s pheromones grow stronger to make them irresistible to mates.” Lucifer looked up at Dante, confused by the choice of desert. “Why this dessert? Is it due to the flavor or are you perhaps trying to send me a sign, Dantalion?” Dante laughed at Lucifer’s question, an easy smile on his face. Before he could answer, however, a loud crashing caught both their attention.

Lucifer looked to the entrance to the kitchen to find a wrath demon staring down at a broken bowl on the ground. Pudding had spilled everywhere and some shards were caught in her hands. She also had a sigil burned into her upper arm. Were they used as a means of designating where servants worked? But who would be so barbaric to burn the sigil of your family into a servant’s arm?

Lucifer’s older brother instincts activated the moment he saw the black blood seeping out of the cuts in her hands. He quickly rushed over to her, careful to avoid the spilled pudding and shards. “Are you alright? How deep are your cuts? Is there anything else that’s hurting besides the cuts?” Lucifer asked, speeding through his normal questions. Mammon got hurt often enough that the sight of blood didn’t make him feel guilty anymore. The servant girl seemed utterly terrified and was unresponsive.

“Lucifer,” a low, growling voice came from behind him. Lucifer looked over his shoulder, not moving from his kneeled position, not wanting to release his soft grip on the demon’s hands. “Get up, it isn’t your place to help the servants.” Dante stood over him, arms crossed, teeth bared. In an intimidation tactic. He was trying to intimidate Lucifer. The prideful beast buried deep in Lucifer’s soul reared its head and he quickly stood.

“If I want to help a fellow demon when they’re hurt, I should not be ridiculed. Do not attempt to intimidate me, Dantalion. Just because a demon happens to be a servant doesn’t mean you cannot help them when injured.” Lucifer stared Dante down, holding his position between the duke and the girl. He had forgotten how much high society demons disvalued their servants. As if they were less than people. Dante kept his glare, wrath barely kept from boiling over, but he eventually scoffed and looked away.

“Elias! Fetch bandages and call extra servants to clean up the mess,” Dante barked in command. A demon Lucifer hadn’t previously noticed bowed his head before rushing off. Lucifer caught the sight of his sigil burned at the bottom of his neck. Perhaps that meant he ranked higher? The wrath ring truly was uncharted territory.

After a few minutes, things had calmed back down. Servants had cleaned up the mess, the girl had been fetched bandages and taken away – Lucifer hoped to be helped and not punished, but wrath demons did love their punishments – and they were back to sitting. Lucifer found he didn’t have the stomach to eat his pudding, much to the annoyance of the duke sitting across from him. “Lucifer, aren’t you going to eat?” There was a wrathful edge to Dante’s voice that hadn’t been there before.

“No, I’m afraid I’ve lost my appetite,” Lucifer answered, pushing his bowl away. A servant came by – one that seemed to be Elias – and whisked his bowl off to the kitchen. Dante sighed in annoyance, but quickly finished his own pudding. Once it was finished and whisked away, Lucifer took that as his signal to leave. He stood from his chair, startling a bit at the servant who pushed it back in once he was out. The servant didn’t look him in the eyes, the burned sigil on his wrist looking fresh. Lucifer grimaced. How barbaric, he thought, turning towards the door.

Before he could leave, however, someone grabbed his wrist and gently pulled him back towards them. Lucifer looked at the culprit to find Dante’s smiling face. “Where are you going?” Lucifer frowned, attempting to remove his wrist from Dante’s grip, but there was no leeway. The duke wasn’t letting him go. “Stay the night. We can have some fun. Get to know each other better.” Lucifer found himself held close to Dante’s body, the duke leaning down for a kiss. Lucifer moved away, rejecting his kiss.

“I’m afraid I must reject that proposition. While I do appreciate the offer, I would like to get home,” Lucifer stated, pushing slightly against Dante’s chest. He underestimated his strength and threw Dante off balance. It was an accident, but a fortunate one, giving him time to walk-run towards the door. He wasn’t fast enough, it seems, and found himself slammed against the wall next to the door. A ripple of pain ran up his spine, causing him to groan. He looked up at Dante and found wrathful eyes gazing down at him.

“Look, princess, I’m tired of your antics. I get the whole former angel thing, but you need to stop acting like you’re better than everyone. I know you’ve slept with Prince Rex before, so why am I any different? I’m tired of you acting like you aren’t an angel whore, so drop the facade and just come to my bedroom, alright, princess?” There were many things about Dante’s statement that pissed Lucifer off, but the fury corrupting his thoughts was making it hard to focus. He shoved Dante away, nearly knocking the taller demon over.

“I am not your fucking princess, Dantalion. Apparently, you’ve been talking to Mephistopheles too much recently and it’s knocked a few screws loose in that idiotic head of yours. I am not some angel whore who sleeps with every demon I talk to, contrary to what that cretin believes. I will certainly not be coerced into having sex with a demon I barely know, simply because I slept with a man I’ve been friends with for thousands of years. You’ve disrespected me, you treat your staff like shit, and you’ve done basically nothing but cause me problems since I met you. I am going to walk out of that door and you are not going to stop me, if you want your head to remain attached to your body. Am I understood, princess?”

Dantalion stood from the floor, brushing off his shirt. He coughed into his hand, avoiding Lucifer’s wrathful gaze. “Uhm, yes,” he finally replied. Lucifer nodded, running a hand through his hair to calm himself down. The duke stood to the side, allowing Lucifer to walk through the door without protest. The avatar was tempted to behead him anyways, but he refrained from acting on these urges. He shot Dantalion a middle finger once he was out of eyesight, wrath bubbling to the surface for a moment, before stepping through the large doors of Iram Manor, back to the outside. He pulled on his helmet and turned on his bike, pulling out of the driveway. Maybe he’d flatten a few demons on his way home, maybe those who look like Dantalion. It was just a coincidence. Lucifer gripped his handlebars. One day, he’d kill that duke.

Chapter Text

Lucifer had to physically restrain himself from slamming his helmet on the ground when he got home. Nothing hurt his pride more than when someone used him or only saw him as some fucking sex doll. He carefully set his helmet with the other one, taking a step away from it. He forced himself to breathe normally, unfurling his fists. He calmly walked toward the door, footsteps stiff. He stared at the door that led out of the garage. His fists were clenched. You just have to open the door, Lucifer told himself. He raised his fist to the door.

And punched the hard concrete next to it. The fury felt amazing now that it wasn’t simmering in his soul. He punched the concrete again, causing a fairly large crack to streak up the wall. He stared at it, breathing hard. The damage was enough for now. He could just break some glass in the kitchen once he got inside. He opened the garage door and stepped into the hall.

Immediately, Asmo’s screaming registered. He grimaced and turned to the front door, ready to yell at his brother to keep it down. He was already feeling murderous and if Asmo wasn’t careful, Lucifer might punish him in the most creative way he could think of. However, what he saw immediately redirected his anger at a certain infuriating sorcerer.

“Just fucking leave!” Asmo shouted, eyes screwed shut. He was trying to push Solomon out of the house. The human was resisting him, trying to get a word in, but Asmo just kept shouting. “Leave you asshole! I can’t stand to see your fucking face! Go out and make some other pact you fucking hypocritical two-time whore!” Lucifer narrowed his eyes and walked over to the struggling couple. It was rare Asmo was pushing Solomon out. Something was wrong.

“What is going on here? Solomon, you know my rule. If I see you in my house, I will curse you.” Lucifer glared at the sorcerer, who instantly seemed uncomfortable. He was normally happy to see the eldest, which was even more of a clue something was wrong. “Asmodeus, what is wrong?” Lucifer kept his tone soft with his little brother. There were tears pricking at his eyes and he was shoving Solomon out with a lot of strength. It would be more effective if the door was open, but Lucifer chose to not comment.

“I want him out and he won’t just fucking leave!” Asmo shouted, pushing Solomon harder against the door. Lucifer frowned at his brother’s non-explanative explanation. With a sigh and a flick of his wrist, Lucifer threw the front door of the House of Lamentation open. Solomon tumbled out, landing on his ass with a huff. Lucifer caught Asmodeus before he went down with him. The fifth born stared down at him before smiling triumphantly. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, but he happily closed the front door. “And stay out!” Asmo shouted at the closed door, a victorious smile on his face.

“So, am I allowed to know what happened now?” Lucifer asked, staring at the door with his arms crossed. Asmo dramatically fell against him with a dramatic sigh. “Asmo, you can’t answer every inquiry I have about your life with dramatic sighs to try and make me go away. It worked the first hundred times, but now it just makes me want to pry.” The fifth born stared up at him with a pout on his face. After a momentary staring battle, Asmo straightened from his dramatic fall.

“Fine, we can talk. But, only if we’re in my room and we watch the bachelorette or the Kardashians.” Lucifer rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Back when he was less busy, before RAD, he and Asmo used to watch shitty reality TV and Asmo would gossip with him. While it was nice, Lucifer thought that was in the past. It seemed he was wrong and he wouldn’t get any work done tonight. Despite his annoyance, Lucifer nodded in agreement. While he may pretend to hate gossip, he did love to talk about people behind their back. It was a bad habit – one Diavolo himself didn’t like – but Lucifer couldn’t change who he was, so the prince just dealt with it.

Asmo pulled Lucifer to his room. He grabbed the remote to the TV and handed it to Lucifer. “Pull up Bachelorette. I’m grabbing chocolates. Do you want anything?” Asmo asked, stopping in the doorway. Lucifer shook his head with a smile, mumbling a thank you. “Okay. No shoes on the bed and get comfortable!” Asmo shouted from down the hallway as he left. Lucifer chuckled to himself, kicking off his low, black heels. He unbuttoned the red button-up he was wearing and tossed it to the side before climbing into Asmo’s plush bed. He settled against the pillows, pulling a weighted blanket over his lap and turning on Asmo’s TV.

The fifth born returned right as Lucifer turned on old recordings of the Bachelorette. He held two bags of chocolates, one of which was poison apple flavored. Lucifer raised an eyebrow when Asmo handed it to him. “Satan said he could smell your wrath from a mile away, so I brought some comfort food. Did Dante explode on you like we said?” Asmo asked, climbing into his bed. He leaned against Lucifer, opening his bag of heart-shaped chocolates. It seemed there were penis and vagina shaped chocolates in there as well, but Lucifer ignored them in favor of unpausing the show.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me about your fight with Solomon. Don’t leave out details. If I’m forced to talk to you about Cinnamon, you have to talk to me about Twinkles.” Asmo laughed at the nicknames. Cinnamon was what they nicknamed Diavolo so they could talk about Lucifer’s romantic affairs without any of the rest of the family knowing, though Lucifer wouldn’t be surprised if some had figured it out anyways. Diavolo’s lust smelled like cinnamon and Asmo smelt it on Lucifer the night they hooked up for the first time. As for Twinkles, it was Asmo’s own degrading nickname for Solomon. One among many, but Twinkles was Lucifer’s personal favorite.

“Ugh, okay. So, Sol came over after Satan and I were done talking. I wanted to have sex, but he was refusing. He brought up how I hooked up with some random guy I don’t even remember the name of at RAD, like, a week ago and he caught us in one of the spare classrooms. I told him it wasn’t important because we’re in a polyamorous relationship, but he wouldn’t drop it. He said we agreed to ask before we hook-up with someone else. I told him I was bored and horny and I asked him and he refused earlier that day. Then he brought up how he made a pact without my permission, like, two days ago. I yelled at him because he was just getting on my ass about so-called cheating earlier, but he said it was fine because he asked Barbatos. It pissed me off so I kicked him out.”

Lucifer stared at the TV, but didn’t register who was talking. He blinked, trying to reduce the surprise so he could think. He never agreed with Solomon, especially with Asmo’s arguments with him, but damn, the sorcerer was actually in the right for once. It wasn’t nice to not ask your boyfriend if you could make another pact, but Asmo definitely shouldn't have hooked up with that random demon.

“Yeah, he’s such a bitch,” Lucifer agreed. Asmo didn’t know he was lying and Lucifer was much too tired to deal with an argument with him. He also didn’t want to hurt his little brother either. “I keep telling you to break up with him. He’s the worst and he doesn’t value you.” Asmo scoffed, taking a bite out of a penis-shaped chocolate.

“I’m not that mad. Sol is still my boyfriend, even if he is the literal worst sometimes. But I do appreciate you having my back. Satan likes to tell the truth and let me know when I’m in the wrong. While I love him, I don’t need that right now. Thanks for lying to my face to make me feel better,” Asmo stated softly, looking up at Lucifer with a smile. The eldest chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“It’s not a problem, strawberry. Now, onto my drama, since I know that’s what you actually want.” Asmo grinned, sitting up and setting his chocolate bag off to the side. Lucifer paused the TV with a sigh and set the remote off to the side. “Alright, so today was my date with Dante, right?” Asmo nodded eagerly, acting as if he was on the edge of his seat. “Well, to put it simply, it went horribly.”

“He was frowning a lot more when I arrived,” Lucier continued, eating one of his poison apple chocolates. “And his servants had their family crest burned into their bodies. Isn’t that barbaric?” Asmo nodded in agreement, taking a bite out of a penis-shaped chocolate. “Anyways, he’s awful to his staff. He said I was above them and that I shouldn’t be helping them!”

“Ugh, I hate royals who are like that! They’re so annoying! They’re the ones who will switch up so quick. Like, so cute and nice until you tell them you don’t want to go out with them. Then they’re right back to their old demonic personalities,” Asmo agreed, nodding along. “I’ve dated way too many royal jerks to not know a bit or two about them.”

“Anyways, back to my story,” Lucifer said pointedly, shooting his younger brother a playful glare. “So, during dessert, a server got hurt because she dropped a dish and I tried to help her and he had the audacity to intimidate me!” Asmo gasped dramatically, right on time. “It gets worse! He tried to coerce me into having sex with him! And he called me princess and an angel whore.” Asmo burst out laughing at Lucifer’s outrage.

“You? The most modest guy I know? A whore? I mean, once you’ve got a few drinks in you, sure. But on a normal day? I once saw you gag at people holding hands.” Lucifer scoffed at Asmo’s words, eating another chocolate. “I did! You can be a bit kinky sometimes, sure, but only when you’re drinking. But I would never call you a whore!”

“Okay, for your information, I was gagging at two people holding hands because it was you and Solomon and no one should ever touch that sorcerer. Second of all, I am not responsible for my actions nor words when drunk. I am not in control and my pride is thrown out the window,” Lucifer stated proudly, but the look quickly disintegrated as he laughed at himself.

“Your pride being thrown out the window is an understatement! You once called Lord Diavolo a dick and a DILF all in the same sentence! To his face! He was so shocked he didn’t respond for a whole 30 seconds!” Lucifer fell against the bed laughing. Asmo was holding back giggles of his own as he pulled Lucifer up. “I’m being serious! I was there!”

“He’s not even a dad! Why did I call him a DILF?” Lucifer questioned, tears pricking at his eyes from how much he was laughing. Asmo fell against his chest laughing. “Was I calling him daddy or something? I don’t understand! I don’t do that, even when drunk!” Asmo was clinging to his shirt with how much he was laughing, hiccups occasionally interrupting his laughter.

“I think,” Asmo cut himself off with a laugh. “I think you were calling him a Demon I’d Like to Fuck.” Lucifer fell back against the bed laughing at Asmo’s explanation, taking the strawberry blonde down with him. Lucifer wiped tears away from his eyes, trying to calm his breathing. Asmo was holding his stomach, laughing even though it was clearly hurting him.

After a few minutes, both demons managed to calm their laughter. Asmo laid against Lucifer’s chest, wiping his tears on his older brother’s shirt. “Gross,” Lucifer said, staring up at the ceiling. Asmo giggled in response. “Thanks, by the way. That date was definitely one of my worst. It’s always nice to hang out.” Asmo stopped laughing for a moment before Lucifer felt his arms tighten around his torso.

“Anytime,” the fifth born responded, sitting up. He wiped the final tear from his eye, a smile on his face. “Now, shall we watch the Bachelorette?” Asmo motioned to the paused TV. Lucifer nodded, sitting up and moving against the headboard. Asmodeus cuddled up to his side, grabbing his bag of chocolates.

“Those chocolates are awful, by the way. No one should ever eat chocolate dicks.” Asmo scoffed, popping a heart-shaped chocolate in his mouth. “I’m just saying, if you want to eat dicks, just get someone to pay you for head. It’s not that hard.” Asmo cackled in response to Lucifer’s statement.

“Gross, Luci!” The fifth born exclaimed. He hit Lucifer’s stomach, but the fallen angel kept smirking, proud of his comment. “You’re the worst.” Asmo said simply, settling back to his position from before. “But I love you anyways.” Lucifer smiled, ruffling his younger brother’s hair, much to his annoyance.

“Aw, thanks. You may not be my favorite, but I love you anyway.” Asmo rolled his eyes at Lucifer’s comment. If it were any other brother, that statement would’ve started an argument. Instead, Lucifer settled back against the pillows, content to watch shitty reality TV with his younger brother and ignore his awful date.

Chapter Text

Lucifer woke up to the sound of birds chirping, much to his confusion. He blinked awake, looking around at all the pink and flowers in the bedroom. This was not his bedroom, nor was it Diavolo’s. Normally, when he was this confused about where he was, he was in the prince’s bedroom, but not today, apparently. The birdsong abruptly stopped and Lucifer looked to his right. Asmo was rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he scrolled on his phone. He had a mask on his face, which looked very strange to Lucifer’s half-asleep mind.

“It’s 6:30, Luci. Time to wake up and get ready for the day. I have to start my routine and I assume you don’t want to be here when I’m walking around my room naked,” Asmo said matter-of-factly, setting his phone back on the nightstand. Lucifer stuck out his tongue in disgust, getting out of the bed. He looked at himself in Asmo’s floor-length mirror.

His hair was tousled from sleep and there were clear bags under his eyes. His black turtleneck had to be pulled down and his belt was missing. He looked tired, but also well rested. Lucifer sighed, running a hand through his half slicked back hair. “Did you sleep well?” He asked, turning to the strawberry blonde who was currently removing his face mask.

“Mhm, sure. You fell asleep way before me though. You were snoring until I laid you down and tucked you in.” Asmo smiled, walking over to the mirror Lucifer was standing in front of. “You’re so lucky, Luci. You have perfect skin and a perfect body and perfect hair and… a good personality.” Asmo looked the eldest up and down as he spoke. Lucifer glared at his little brother for that comment. He ruffled his hair, causing Asmo to shout at him to stop.

“Don’t be mean and I won’t ruin your hair, strawberry,” Lucifer stated simply, leaving the fifth born’s room, not closing the door. He heard Asmo’s sigh of annoyance and heard his door slam and couldn’t help but smile to himself. He wandered past Mammon’s door to make sure his brother was still asleep. He found the white haired demon sprawled on his couch, fast asleep. He smiled, quietly walking into Mammon’s messy room. Lucifer stepped over the various piles of clothes around him to grab Goldie off the coffee table nearest to Mammon. “You don’t get this back for longer now,” he whispered, knowing Mammon couldn’t hear him.

Lucifer shut Mammon’s door behind him, careful not to make a sound so Mammon didn’t wake up. It was too early for that. The human walked past him, coffee cup in hand. They gave him a strange look, probably because he wasn’t normally out this early. Lucifer made his way to his bedroom, checking his phone for notifications. There were five new messages from the contact Dante (Duke). Lucifer frowned, but opened the messages anyway.

“Lucifer please answer my texts,” the first one said. The two after that were angry and the two after were apologetic. The memories of the date came back to Lucifer and he groaned in annoyance. That duke deserved to be dead, as far as he was concerned. Without hesitation, Lucifer blocked his number. He grabbed his outfit for RAD and turned on a cold shower. He ran a hand through his hair. The cold water would hopefully wake him up and remove the rage consuming his body.

The shower did wake Lucifer up. It did not take away any of the wrath flooding his veins. He wanted nothing more than to hurt Dante. Punch him, kick him, maybe break a few bones. When Lucifer made it downstairs, Satan kept wrinkling his nose in disgust. Lucifer was sure the fourth born could smell his wrath. “I’m heading to RAD early,” Lucifer announced, grabbing the coffee cup Beel had set out for him. “If any of you would like to join me, you’re welcome to.” Beel’s face lit up at the offer. After all, Lucifer rarely let any of them walk with him. He was normally gone too early for anyone to come with anyway.

Lucifer only waited for a few more seconds before he walked to the door. He heard some hasty footsteps behind him and the tell-tale sign of some people jumping to get their shoes on. The eldest sighed and turned to look behind him, ready to scold whoever was coming with him about getting ready on time.

Lucifer turned to find all seven habitants of his household grabbing their bags to follow him. Mammon was leaning on Levi’s shoulder to put on his shoe, Satan was setting his book in his bag, Asmo was fixing the eyeliner he put on MC, Beel was packing up the last of his snacks into tupperware, and Belphie was pulling on his blanket. The eldest couldn’t help the soft smile blossoming on his face. “So you’re all coming with me, then?” He asked, not bothering to push down his smile or the joy blooming in his chest. “Don’t get left behind,” Lucifer sighed, walking through the front door.

He hadn’t walked with all of his brothers, plus the exchange student, in a long time. It was strange to hear their chatter and footsteps behind him. Lucifer pulled out his phone to see another text from Dante. He frowned and checked to see if the duke was blocked like he thought. It seemed his finger slipped and he was merely muted. “Answer my texts, you whore. It’s not that fucking hard to be civil,” the text read. Lucifer rolled his eyes and blocked Dante, checking to make sure he actually did. The momentary happiness from before was gone, replaced with fury. Lucifer was seething with rage and he was going to make sure everyone knew it.

Psychotic Angel Snaps at Kind Duke: The angel whore finally breaks. Diavolo chuckled to himself at the latest article for the newspaper. Dante had been rejected, it seems. It wasn’t unexpected – Diavolo was shocked the duke managed to hold his temper for that long – but he still couldn’t wait to hear the full, real story from Lucifer. Mephi’s article painted Lucifer in a bad light, as always. The angel whore, Lucifer Morninstar, coerced the Duke of the Wrath Ring, Dantalion Iram, into inviting him over for a date. The pathetic angel then had the audacity to reject Dantalion’s attempt at courtship. Diavolo set the newspaper down, not bothering to read another word from the article.

As the head of the newspaper committee, Mephistopheles approved and oversaw all stories. He had help from Satan, of course. Diavolo had heard of one occasion where the blonde had to physically restrain the duke to prevent him from publishing an article that would’ve done irreparable damage to Lucifer’s reputation. While Mephisto boasted of his maturity, he did enjoy using the newspaper as a way to slander Lucifer. While Diavolo enjoyed watching their catfights, – both pride demons could get quite ruthless when it came down to it – this was a bit too much lying for Diavolo’s taste.

“Barbatos, I’m heading over to the newspaper office. Please notify me if you see Lucifer,” Diavolo called to his butler as he left his office. The demon was as obedient as ever, simply giving a curt nod and locking the prince’s office once he left. “Oh, and let him into my office if he wishes. I’ll be back in… 30 minutes tops.” Barbatos gave a bow before returning to his alert post. Diavolo had the urge to ask Barbatos to do something ridiculous. It was an urge he had often as the prince, and one he gave into regularly. But, since they were in public, he refrained. He would have to ask him later though, it was always a delight to see Barbatos give into the prince’s silly orders.

It was still somewhat early in the day, so there weren’t as many students in the hallways. Diavolo waved to the familiar and unfamiliar faces alike. He even saw a few other dukes in town. Namely, his cousin Valefar from his father’s and his cousin Astaroth from his mother’s. They were the Duke of the Lust Ring and Greed Ring respectively. As much as he would love to catch up, based on the fact that Val was pulling a very red-faced Asta into an empty classroom, now was not the time to talk.

Diavolo caught sight of Mammon talking with some of his friends from track, MC by his side and smiled. If Mammon was here this early, he arrived with Lucifer. Diavolo would have to track the fallen angel down once he had spoken to Mephisto about changing the article so it wasn’t as insulting. After a few more minutes of walking, Diavolo finally arrived at the newspaper office. He didn’t bother knocking – Mephisto was always happy to get a visit from him – and he simply opened the door. That, it seemed, was his mistake.

Diavolo stared at the scene before him, too shocked to speak. Dantalion, the man who had literally gone on a date with Lucifer just yesterday, was currently furiously making out with Mephisto. Dante was nearly completely shirtless. The button-up beneath his uniform was completely unbuttoned and one side was falling off his shoulder. Mephisto’s uniform jacket had been tossed to the side and it seemed Dante was currently working on getting the shirt beneath it off. Before Diavolo saw anything too inappropriate for school hours, he cleared his throat, making his presence known to Dante and Mephisto.

The two dukes quickly scrambled away from each other, staring at Diavolo with equally embarrassed looks on their faces. Diavolo crossed his arms and tilted his head, a smirk on his face. He looked Dante up and down, causing the duke to button up his shirt, cheeks burning red. “I wasn’t aware you would be coming to RAD today, Dante. I figured after your disastrous date in the wrath ring, you’d stay there.” Dante cringed at Diavolo’s jovial insult.

“So you’ve come to brag about your win then, Diavolo? I didn’t peg you for the type, but I can’t say I’m surprised. You love acting like you’re better than me, why would now be any different?” Diavolo deflected Dante’s hurtful words with a laugh. The duke always did have self image issues when it came to him. He was acting like a wounded puppy since Lucifer rejected him, no doubt using Mephisto as a rebound. The two were perfect for each other. Both jealous of the same couple, just jealous of different ones.

“No, no. I had no idea you were in here, Dante. I came to discuss the latest issue of the newspaper. It needs to be changed. Using the word ‘whore’ so often hurts my eyes, plus half the article simply isn’t true. But, given you two are clearly busy,” Diavolo paused, motioning to both demon’s disheveled appearances. “I’ll come back another time. Do keep the noise down, though. Students will be here soon and I’d rather not deal with reports of strange noises coming from the newspaper office.” Mephisto’s face went red and he stared at the ground, unable to meet Diavolo’s eyes. The prince looked both of them over one last time before turning to the door. “You put up a good fight, Dante. But you should’ve known the outcome from the moment you tried. I never lose.” With that final statement, Diavolo left the office, closing the door behind him.

It was refreshing to be free of Dante’s challenge. Lucifer was always going to choose Diavolo – in the prince’s mind, they were mates, after all – but the competition did seem almost close at some points. Diavolo began walking through the halls, listening for the familiar click of Lucifer’s heels. He hadn’t gone to Diavolo’s office yet – Barbatos would’ve texted him – but he could be in his office.

The smell of pine cologne hit Diavolo’s senses and he stopped at the entrance to another hall. A faint smell of lavender was hidden beneath the pine and the heels clicking on the floor was all the clue Diavolo needed. The moment black hair came into his vision, he began to walk beside the demon. Lucifer held his normal stoic posture, but there was a hint of annoyance on his face. He was annoyed, no doubt at Dante, which made Diavolo smile wider. They walked in silence for a bit, Diavolo happy to walk beside him while waiting for his congratulations on winning.

After five minutes of walking and no words from Lucifer, Diavolo’s smile faltered. Was something wrong? Had he done something wrong? The fallen angel hadn’t even acknowledged his presence yet. If there weren’t so many students around them, Diavolo might’ve stopped Lucifer and begged for his attention. It wasn’t that Diavolo personally was bothered by someone seeing him beg Lucifer to talk to him. It was that Lucifer had asked him to stop, so he felt it would only annoy him more to do that right now.

Thankfully, Lucifer was walking to his office. Diavolo followed him inside, shutting the door behind him. “Morning, Luci,” he greeted joyfully, attempting to break Lucifer out of his annoyed state. The prideful demon simply glanced at him and sighed, not even bothering to say something back. He sat in his office chair, grabbing a paper from the stack on his desk. Diavolo couldn’t help but frown at the dismissal of his greeting. “Lucifer.” Once again, no reaction. “Lucifer,” Diavolo repeated, more firmly this time.

“I’m busy, my lord. Can’t you see that?” Lucifer looked from his paper, glaring daggers at Diavolo. “Whatever you need probably isn’t important and I’d like to finish my work before classes begin.” Lucifer turned back to the document he was reading and signed the bottom of the page before grabbing another paper.

“Lucifer, may I speak with you?” Diavolo kept his tone light, not wanting Lucifer to explode on him. He took a seat across from Lucifer, keeping his easy smile, but not making it fake. Lucifer could always see through his fake smiles. The fallen angel sighed, but still set his pen down and looked up at the prince. He motioned for Diavolo to continue. “Is everything alright? How did the date go?” Diavolo asked softly, trying to keep the calm atmosphere.

“It went just peachy, Diavolo. Yeah, dinner was great. He tried to intimidate me into not helping a servant who cut herself. He also called me whore and princess when I didn’t sleep with him. Just the perfect date, really. Oh, and he was texting me today calling me a whore for not responding. So, yeah, I’d say it went great!” Diavolo blinked in surprise at Lucifer’s rant. The fallen angel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He was awful. Absolutely horrid.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to complain or talk about it?” Diavolo asked, sitting forward in his seat. Lucifer rolled his eyes, turning back to his papers. “I’m serious, Lucifer. I want to know how you’re doing.” Diavolo almost reached out and touched Lucifer’s hand, but thought better of it. Lucifer scoffed and ran a hand through his hair.

“No, you don’t. You want to know how Dante failed. You want to hear how your competition lost. You want to feel like you’re better than him. You don’t care how I’m feeling. I’m just some toy caught in between your little competition with a possible rival for the throne.” Lucifer didn’t meet Diavolo’s eyes as he spoke, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping his pen.

“Lucifer, you know I don’t think of you like that. I couldn’t care less about Dante. If you’re not okay, that’s my concern. Who gives a shit about that duke? Fuck him. Of course he treated you like that, he doesn’t respect anyone who’s blood isn’t gold.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow at Diavolo’s statement. “Royal demons bleed gold instead of black. The higher rank you are, the more gold your blood is. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”

“It makes sense. Angel blood is blue, but it turns silver as you move up the ranks.” Lucifer sighed, standing from his desk and setting down his pen. “I appreciate your words. I apologize, my temper got the better of me. Forgive me, my lord.” Diavolo frowned and crossed his arms. My lord? He had to still be angry.

“Lucifer, I love you, but if you don’t quit it with the professional act, I’m going to swipe everything off your desk so you have to reorganize it.” Lucifer frowned at Diavolo’s statement and crossed his arms in response. “Come on, we’ve known each other for thousands of years. You can complain to me.” Lucifer rolled his eyes, but a smirk tugged on his lips. “You know you want to.”

“Okay, yeah! He’s the worst!” Lucifer finally broke, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. The fallen angel walked over to where Diavolo was sitting and sat in the chair next to him. “I wanted to kill him. I swear, if I see him today, he will have a broken nose, mark my words.” Diavolo chuckled at Lucifer’s smiling rage. “He had the audacity to intimidate me and try to get me to stop helping a servant. I hate royal fucks!” Lucifer shouted, causing Diavolo to laugh. “Not you. Well, not you most of the time.”

“Most of the time? I’m honored,” Diavolo managed to say between his laughter. “But, yeah, Dante is the worst. I grew up with the dukes and he was always the worst. Fragile ego, super insecure about his power, and, of course, the temper.” Lucifer smiled, happy to be agreed with. “Reasons he was never a real rival to me.” Diavolo smiles at Lucifer’s eye roll from his comment.

“Okay, yeah, sure, whatever. Oh, and congratulations. I saw that proud look earlier and how you pouted when I didn’t acknowledge you. It was very adorable.” Diavolo blushed at Lucifer’s comment, unknowing that he saw him. “So, dinner tonight,” Lucifer continued, pushing down the smile pulling at his lips at the pink dusting the prince’s cheeks. “Should I be dressing like we’re having dinner or ‘having dinner.’” Lucifer put quotation marks around having dinner. Diavolo tilted his head in surprise at Lucifer’s question.

“I believe that wholly depends on whether you plan on fucking,” Diavolo replied bluntly with a smile. Almost instantly, Lucifer’s face went pink and he hid his face in his hands. “I mean, you know I’ll never say no to an offer, but it may start more rumors about you being an angel whore.” Lucifer groaned and punched Diavolo’s shoulder playfully.

“Oh, shut up! Fine, if you don’t want to make a decision, I will. And I’m not telling you what I decide. You’ll just have to find out tonight,” Lucifer said teasingly, moving to lean against his desk. Diavolo scoffed, standing from his own seat when Lucifer was staring down at him. Lucifer crossed his arms, staring up at Diavolo. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked for a congratulatory gift.” Diavolo raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on his face at his offer.

“Maybe I was just waiting for you to be easy to access.” Diavolo smirked as he placed his hands on the desk around Lucifer’s body. If the fallen angel wanted to, he could remove the prince’s arms from around him. But he didn’t. He allowed himself to be caged by the taller demon. “May I?” Diavolo asked softly. Lucifer hadn’t pushed him away, but he didn’t want to force himself on him like Dante apparently tried to.

“You may.” Lucifer uncrossed his arms and pulled Diavolo closer. “I could use a good kiss.” Diavolo chuckled before softly pressing his lips against Lucifer’s softly. He moved a hand from the desk to Lucifer’s chin to tilt his face up to be able to kiss him easier. Lucifer pulled away slightly, not bothering to hide his smile.

“What? Can’t resist my rugged good looks?” Diavolo joked, as he pressed his forehead against Lucifer’s. Almost immediately, the soft smile dropped and Lucifer glared at him. The fallen angel removed Diavolo’s arms from around him and moved away from him. “What? What’s wrong?” Diavolo asked, a laugh bubbling in his throat at how Lucifer kept stubbornly out of reach.

“You’ve ruined it. You don’t get any more of my kisses. You’re done. Leave my office. Now.” Diavolo burst out laughing at Lucifer’s statements. He tried to reach for the fallen angel, but he stayed out of his arms. “Nope. No cuddles, no kisses. You make jokes, you suffer the consequences,” Lucifer said seriously, crossing his arms. He turned his back to Diavolo, which allowed the prince to pull him against his chest. The fallen angel was fake pouting and refusing to acknowledge him.

“I’m sorry. Lucifer, please forgive me. I love you. I won’t joke like that again.” Lucifer huffed in response, keeping up his annoyed facade for a few more seconds before he broke. He leaned his body against Diavolo’s chest, unbothered by the arms wrapped around his middle. Diavolo smiled and pulled Lucifer against his body tightly. He leaned his head down to rest on Lucifer’s shoulder and the fallen angel tangled his fingers in his hair.

“Do you want to cuddle until classes start?” Lucifer asked, looking down at Diavolo as he pet his hair. Diavolo grinned and nodded, pulling away from Lucifer to lay on his couch. He opened his arms for Lucifer, who laid on the demon prince’s chest. Diavolo wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his face in his hair. “If you let me sleep past the first class, I will not be letting you anywhere near my body during our date.”

“Message received.” Diavolo chuckled, pulling Lucifer closer. Lucifer’s breathing slowed as he fell asleep and Diavolo sighed, content. If he was struck down by god right here, right now, he’d die happy, with the love of his life in his arms.

Chapter Text

Lucifer had called his brothers downstairs and, for once, they listened. Asmo was fixing his hair for his date, albeit without his permission. “So, I will not be returning to the house today.” Lucifer pushed Asmo’s make-up palette away from his face, perfectly content with his limited eyeliner. “Satan is in charge and if he abuses his power, MC is permitted to order him to stop.” The blonde celebrated for a moment before a frown overtook his face again.

“So, where are ya goin’ again?” Mammon asked, looking up from the racing game he was playing with Levi. Lucifer sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing Asmo’s eyeshadow brush away from his face. Levi elbowed his side, causing Mammon to shout in pain. “What? I don’t pay attention to half the things Lucifer says!” Lucifer narrowed his eyes at the second born, who was desperately trying to avoid his eyes.

“Luci is going on a date with Diavolo at the castle,” Asmo explained, pulling at Lucifer’s tie. “And for some reason, he isn’t dressing to seduce even though he says he’s not planning on coming home, so obviously he’s going to sleep with him.” Lucifer’s face reddened as he grabbed his tie out of Asmo’s grip and tightened it around his neck. He stood from his seat so the fifth born couldn’t mess with his outfit anymore.

“Please refrain from discussing my sex life… ever, really.” Lucifer examined himself in the mirror in the foyer. He had opted for his normal black button-up and red vest, skipping out on the coat that normally went over it. His make-up was simple, as was his jewelry. There was no point in trying to impress a man who held your hair back when you drank so much you had to vomit into a toilet. “If an emergency happens, please have Levi or Satan call me so I know it’s important. Don’t message me, I will not respond. Behave yourselves, I love you. Bye.”

There was a chorus of byes behind him as he left, as well as a very whiny ‘Luci,’ but Lucifer chose to ignore whatever Asmo was about to say. His low heels clicked on the pavement as he walked to the castle. It wasn’t a long walk, so he didn’t want to bother with his car or motorcycle. It was nice to watch the people around him, all seemingly busy with their own activities.

He spotted a gluttony demon being kicked out of a restaurant, reminding him of Beel. He almost wanted to cancel on Diavolo to be with his brothers, but then he thought of that morning. The press of Diavolo’s lips against his, the feeling of the hand on his chin, Diavolo’s wandering hands when they cuddled. It was enough to make Lucifer trip over his own feet when his thoughts became a bit too active.

Focus, Lucifer. You have to get through dinner and you have to get to the castle to do that. Lucifer picked up his stride, making his way to the castle as quickly as possible. It took half the time it normally would, now that Lucifer wasn’t going at such a leisurely pace. He only had to knock once before the door was thrown open and he was pulled into a rib-cracking hug.

“Lucifer! You’ve arrived!” Diavolo’s jovial voice echoed off the hallway, forever needlessly loud. Still, the fallen angel chuckled and hugged Diavolo back, though not nearly as tight. After a moment, the prince pulled away, holding Lucifer’s hand as he pulled him inside. Barbatos shut the door behind them and kept a respectable distance behind them as Diavolo took him to the dining room.

Diavolo was dressed horribly indecently. It wasn’t unexpected, of course. The prince never seemed to wear a shirt around his own home unless Lucifer asked him to when he came over to work. Lucifer had expected something respectable for their dinner date, but perhaps he should’ve known better. The prince’s black shirt was unbuttoned halfway to expose his chest and his pants were shamefully tight around his ass. How he managed to sneak the outfit past Barbatos, Lucifer would never know.

“Come, sit.” Diavolo’s cheery voice was causing Lucifer to smile despite himself. The fallen angel took a seat on one of the sides of the giant banquet table, across from Diavolo. The prince was smiling like a dork as he took his seat, motioning for Barbatos to bring out the food. The butler brought a bowl of soup to each demon before disappearing off to his other duties. He would be there when they needed him.

“What kind of soup is it?” Lucifer asked innocently, picking up his soup spoon. Diavolo didn’t answer immediately and Lucifer looked up to ask the question. The words died in his throat when he saw Diavolo was already eating. Oh well, he could figure it out as he ate. Lucifer raised the soup to his lips, taking a tentative sip. The taste was something Lucifer couldn’t place. “What is this?”

“Oh, human blood. It’s one of my favorite traditional Devildom soups. I haven’t had it since the exchange program started due to it seeming insensitive… ah, right. You live with a human. It slipped my mind. My apologies.” Diavolo gave him an apologetic smile, placing down his spoon. Lucifer’s chest filled with warmth at the action. The prince was willing to not eat one of his favorite dishes if Lucifer didn’t want him to.

“Don’t apologize. I don’t mind. What the human doesn’t know won’t hurt them.” Lucifer picked up his spoon, taking another bite of the soup. Diavolo had good opinions on soups. It tasted delicious. Once Lucifer began eating again, Diavolo began to as well. “So, what’s for dinner?” Lucifer asked between bites, looking up at Diavolo.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I told Barb to make something you’d enjoy, so I don’t have a clue what we’re having for dinner.” Diavolo smiled apologetically, but Lucifer couldn’t help but laugh. Of course he did. When was he ever not considerate? “I apologize. Should I ask?” Lucifer shook his head, finishing his soup.

“No, no. The mystery is nice. It means we’re both in the same boat, right?” Lucifer said, smiling. Diavolo seemed surprised, but the look quickly melted into a smile. “Shall we see what the main course is?” Lucifer motioned to the door he knew led to the kitchen. Diavolo glanced at the door then down at his unfinished soup then back up at Lucifer. He picked up his spoon before thinking better of it and picking up the bowl. Lucifer barked out a laugh when the prince tipped the bowl to his lips and drank the rest of the soup.

“Barbatos, could you bring the food in here?” Diavolo shouted as he set down his bowl, ignoring Lucifer. The fallen angel was in hysterics, holding his stomach from the pain caused by how hard he was laughing. Diavolo calmly wiped his face with a napkin, pretending Lucifer wasn’t laughing. He looked up with faux innocence. “What? Is something funny?”

“That wasn’t very,” Lucifer cut off to laugh again. “That wasn’t very prince-like, Lord Diavolo.” Lucifer wiped the tears from his eyes, finally able to calm his laugh. Barbatos brought a dish to both of them.

“Dinner tonight is Shadow Swine Offal. Enjoy.” Barbatos bowed to both demons before dismissing himself. Lucifer tilted his head at the strange dish. If Barbatos believed he would enjoy this, who was he to disagree before he’d even tasted it? When the fallen angel looked up, Diavolo had already begun eating. Lucifer smiled, picking up his fork, and taking a bite. As he expected, he loved it.

Diavolo and Lucifer ate in silence, comfortable enough in each other’s company to keep the calm silence. Occasionally, Lucifer would catch Diavolo’s eyes and the prince would flash him a quick smile. Most of the time, the fallen angel was distracted examining the dining room. He’d been in here countless times for many different meals, but the paintings and architecture were always something to keep his eyes busy.

“Was the meal to your satisfaction?” Diavolo asked as he pushed his plate away, finishing before Lucifer. Barbatos came by to swiftly take the dish away. “Thank you, Barbatos.” Lucifer smiled at how kindly Diavolo treated him. It was a welcome change from his date the night before.

“It was good. Barbatos is an amazing cook, as per usual.” Lucifer took a final bite from his plate before Barbatos whisked away his plate. “I’m looking forward to dessert,” Lucifer commented, mumbling a quick thank you to the butler. Diavolo’s cheeks reddened slightly and he stood from his seat.

“Actually, I had a different idea for dessert.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow, standing from his seat as well. Diavolo walked over to his side of the table, which was already strange. There was a nervousness to his expression, but it was quickly replaced by a flirty smile. “I was hoping that dessert tonight…” Diavolo trailed off, bringing his hand up to Lucifer’s cheek, thumb brushing against his lower lip. “Could be you.”

Lucifer stared up at the prince, taking in his words. There were butterflies in his stomach at Diavolo’s effortless flirting. However, Diavolo himself seemed to take his silence as disgust. The prince quickly corrected his actions, taking his hand away from Lucifer’s face. “But only if you want to. Barbatos did make some cookies we can snack on while watching a movie, if that’s what you want. Or you can leave, if your brothers need something.” Lucifer smiled at Diavolo’s rambling, finding it very cute.

“No, no.” Lucifer wrapped his arms around Diavolo’s neck, pulling him closer. “I like the first suggestion.” Lucifer smiled at the prince’s blushing face. He leaned forward and kissed him, softly at first. He didn’t want to make Diavolo uncomfortable either. Diavolo hesitated for a moment, unsure of where Lucifer was comfortable with him touching, but the cautious voice in his head was quickly shut up when Lucifer bit his lower lip.

Diavolo pulled away from the kiss, tongue flicking out to lick at the bead of blood on his bottom lip. “Feisty,” he commented, pulling Lucifer in for another kiss. He pushed the fallen angel against the table, eliciting a gasp. He used the opportunity to slip his tongue into Lucifer’s mouth. Lucifer didn’t fight him, allowing the prince to explore his mouth as he pleased.

Diavolo picked him up, placing him on the dinner table, like he did after their previous dinner date. This time, however, Lucifer had no intentions of stopping him. Diavolo’s mouth met his again as the demon unbuttoned Lucifer’s vest. When they did this the first time, the prince fumbled with the buttons for so long Lucifer had to intervene and undo them himself. Now, however, through some sort of magic Lucifer didn’t understand, Diavolo managed to unbutton Lucifer’s vest with one finger. “That never ceases to amaze me,” Lucifer said breathlessly, pulling away from the kiss. Diavolo smirked, a proud look on his face.

“What can I say? I have experience.” Diavolo pulled Lucifer off the table, keeping his hands on the fallen angel’s hips. “Unless we want to annoy Barbatos, we should probably head to my room.” Lucifer laughed, causing his head to fall against Diavolo’s chest. “Come on. We need to get to my bedroom and I’ve already waited way too long to kiss you.” Lucifer allowed himself to be pulled out of the dining room. The moment the door was closed to Diavolo’s bedroom, they were together again. They were a mess of teeth and kisses and limbs, moving aimlessly towards the prince’s plush bed.

Lucifer fell against it, laughing as he hit the cushions. Diavolo was quickly on top of him again, kisses trailing down his neck. “Dia!” Lucifer squealed between giggles. He felt so foolish, but Diavolo was laughing with him, so it didn’t really matter. The prince’s sharp canines nipped at Lucifer’s collarbone, causing the fallen angel to gasp and tense up. Almost immediately, Diavolo pulled away.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” Diavolo searched Lucifer’s face for any sign of discomfort. The fallen angel sat up, rubbing at where he was bit. “I got a bit carried away,” Diavolo said, cringing at his own actions. Lucifer grinned, pulling Diavolo on top of him. He kissed the demon prince quickly, his smile never dropping.

“Don’t apologize. If I’m your dessert, you have to sample what I taste like, right?” Lucifer didn’t know where all this flirting and confidence came from, but based on the look in Diavolo’s eyes, it was working for both of them. The prince was quick to return to his assault on Lucifer’s neck, eliciting more quiet groans and gasps. Lucifer tugged at the taller demon’s hair as Diavolo unbuttoned his dress shirt and undid his tie. A groan slipped past the fallen angel’s lips when Diavolo’s tongue flicked over one of his newly exposed nipples.

A phone ring brought both of them out of their lust-induced haze. Diavolo stared up as Lucifer scrambled to grab his phone from his back pocket. The caller ID read Feral Wrath Child. Satan was calling him, which meant whatever it was was probably important. Diavolo frowned when Lucifer accepted the call, sitting up and crossing his arms. He almost looked like a child, pouting when they didn’t get what they wanted.

“Hey Lucifer. How is the date going?” Satan didn’t sound stressed or panicked, so maybe this wasn’t important. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to come home. Asmo and I took care of the issue because we wanted you to enjoy your date. However, I was messing around with a spell and accidentally made it so all of us are cursed to tell the truth for the next week.” Lucifer sighed, sitting up slightly. Diavolo was already working on removing his clothes now that Lucifer was staying over.

“So you are all cursed. Why did that warrant a call? Did something else happen?” Lucifer rolled his eyes at the sounds of shouting from Satan’s side of the line. Diavolo had removed his clothes, excluding his boxers, and was now pushing Lucifer back onto the bed as he carefully removed the black gloves from the fallen angel’s hands. The prince’s fangs soon found his neck again, causing Lucifer to stifle a groan.

“So, since Mammon could only tell the truth, he confessed to stealing Levi’s limited edition figurine and they destroyed each other’s rooms and Asmo’s room.” Lucifer could hear the cringe in Satan’s voice. It must’ve taken forever to calm them down. Diavolo was trailing his kisses down Lucifer’s torso, causing the fallen angel to shoot a glare at him. “But, not to worry, they are now tied up in the foyer. Just letting you know they will be murderous when you come home tomorrow. Enjoy your date.”

“I will. Thanks for the warning, Satan.” Lucifer really hoped the fourth born couldn’t hear the strain in his voice. Diavolo had managed to slip off his belt and was now inching the slacks he wore to the date down. It was quite the distraction. Thankfully, Lucifer hung up before the prince got too impatient. “You’re insufferable. I was on call with one of my brothers!” Lucifer scolded, sitting up to let Diavolo pull his slacks off the rest of the way.

“And it was the perfect opportunity to get these pesky clothes out of the way,” Diavolo responded cheerily, crawling on top of Lucifer to press a kiss to his lips. The shorter demon sighed, nipping at Diavolo’s lips to fight back a bit, but there was no real anger behind it. It was more playful than anything. His teeth could never do real damage to him. “Now, sit back, I have to eat my dessert.” Diavolo pulled away with a smirk as Lucifer’s face reddened.

“I think I prefer when you’re vulgar. It’s far easier to handle.” Lucifer moved to sit back against the plush pillows, allowing Diavolo to slip off his boxers. He allowed the prince to spread his legs, choosing to stare up at the ceiling so he wouldn’t have to see Diavolo between his thighs. Lucifer gasped as a tongue swiped against his entrance teasingly. “Dia…” He groaned, opening his legs subconsciously. Diavolo chuckled before probing the ring of muscles with his tongue again, eliciting a quiet groan.

Diavolo slipped his tongue inside Lucifer, causing the fallen angel to gasp and tense. He paused for a moment, making sure his partner wasn’t injured. When Lucifer’s body relaxed, he began to lap at his insides, enjoying the taste of his lover’s velvet hole. He held onto the fallen angel’s soft thighs as he ate him out. He looked up occasionally to find Lucifer’s face twisted in pleasure, biting his wrist to stifle his sounds. He thrust his tongue deeper, trying to find that spot that made Lucifer see stars.

“Dia!” Lucifer shouted, tearing a hole in the sheets when he temporarily lost control of his form, shifting into his demon form for a moment. Diavolo grinned and swiped his tongue over that same spot, eliciting another loud moan. The prince was determined to make the fallen angel cum from his mouth alone. Based on the way he was squirming, Lucifer was close. After one more press of Diavolo’s tongue to his prostate, the fallen angel came with a shout, spilling on his stomach.

Diavolo pulled his tongue out of Lucifer’s twitching hole with a smile, allowing him some semblance of rest. Diavolo’s cock strained against his boxers, but he let Lucifer have a little bit of rest before he began to fuck him again. Once his breathing slowed, Diavolo leaned down to press a kiss to Lucifer’s collarbone. “Ready for another round, my love?”

Lucifer groaned in response. He could already feel the soreness he would have tomorrow. Despite the protest of his body, Lucifer sat up and kissed Diavolo softly. After a moment, he pulled away, pressing his forehead to Diavolo’s. “You get one more round. Then it’s cuddles and sleep. Deal?” Diavolo smiled, pulling the shorter demon in for another soft kiss.

“Deal,” Diavolo agreed, moving off of Lucifer so he could change his position. Diavolo removed his boxers and turned back to the fallen angel on his bed. “Fuck.” The curse slipped out of Diavolo’s mouth before he could stop it. Lucifer had his head squished against the pillows and his ass in the air, presenting it perfectly to Diavolo’s hungry gaze. “You drive me crazy, you know that?” Diavolo said as he positioned himself behind Lucifer.

Lucifer merely groaned in response, shifting his hips to a more comfortable position. Diavolo was tempted to drag this out, if only to have his beautiful Morningstar in this position for longer. However, that thought was quickly shut down when Lucifer pushed back his hips, pressing Diavolo’s cock against his ass and made a high pitched sound that almost sounded like a whine. Diavolo had restraint, sure, but Lucifer knew how to make those walls crumble fast.

“You'll be the death of me one day, you know that?" Diavolo said, lining his cock up with Lucifer’s entrance. The fallen angel scoffed beneath him, pushing his hips back so Diavolo’s tip pressed against his ass. The prince chuckled at Lucifer’s eagerness, not pushing inside just yet. He loved to tease, especially when it made his lover so annoyed.

“Just hurry up already. I'm too tired to ride you, but I swear to hell and the seven rings, I will kill you if you aren't inside me in the next ten seconds.” Diavolo smiled at Lucifer’s tone. He pressed a soft kiss to Lucifer’s neck before pushing inside. The fallen angel’s muscles relaxed, despite the intrusion, and the prince caught him letting out a happy sigh.

Lucifer wasn't too tight that it hurt as Diavolo moved, thankfully. Diavolo's tongue had loosened him up. However, the prince’s cock was far larger than his tongue, so it still felt absolutely amazing to be inside Lucifer. They hadn't done this in so long and Diavolo relished the way his lover tightened around him. “Fuck…” he groaned once he was seated fully inside. He kept one hand on Lucifer’s hips for leverage, but moved so the other was laid over Lucifer’s, holding it.

After a moment, Diavolo felt Lucifer squeeze his hand, signaling he was ready for him to begin moving. The prince began slowly, careful not to hurt the demon beneath him. The caution was in vain, of course. Lucifer moaned quietly into the pillow at every thrust. While Diavolo loved that he was vocal, the prideful demon was always sure to hide his noises.

“Come on, love. Sing for me," Diavolo prompted, sinking into Lucifer faster than before, eliciting a groan that was muffled by the sheets. Diavolo nipped at the fallen angel's nape, trying to get more sounds from him as he picked up his pace. Lucifer’s breathing was heavier now and his moans were getting louder, but he kept his head stubbornly in the pillow. Diavolo sighed, removing his hand from Lucifer’s. “Fine, I'll take matters into my own hands."

Diavolo grabbed Lucifer’s hair, careful not to hurt him too much, and pulled his head up so he was forced to moan into the air. "Asshole,” Lucifer managed to say in between moans. Diavolo chuckled, nipping at his neck. He was tempted to sink his teeth into Lucifer’s neck, to leave a mark for later, but if he did that now, he would surely be hit. Lucifer didn't like marks, so Diavolo learned to just do it when the fallen angel was too consumed with pleasure to notice.

Diavolo pulled back, one hand on Lucifer’s hip and the other tangled in his hair, keeping his head up. He pulled almost completely out before slamming inside. Lucifer shouted into the air, cursing between moans as Diavolo set a quick pace.

“Feel good, love?" Diavolo taunted, pistoning his hips into the fallen angel. Lucifer attempted to respond, but Diavolo brushed against that perfect spot in him before he could find the words. Diavolo smirked, adjusting his position so he hit that spot head on. Lucifer moaned into the air, the previous curses he was half-groaning becoming a blabber of nonsense.

Diavolo loved this version of Lucifer. Every time he hit his prostate, he moaned louder and clutched at the sheets tighter. A thin layer of sweat covered his body as his hips rocked with the rough pace the prince set. Diavolo could feel himself getting closer and based on the way Lucifer tightened around him, he was close too.

“Come on, love," Diavolo managed to say between heavy breaths. “Cum for me.” Lucifer moaned at his words, eyes tearing up from the pleasure. The fallen angel was practically drooling from how hard he was being fucked. After another thrust and hit to his prostate, Lucifer came with a shout. He had ruined the sheets beneath them, but Diavolo couldn't care less about that now.

Lucifer was tightened around him like a vice, drawing him back in. Diavolo’s rhythm became sloppy as he chased his own release. Lucifer moaned helplessly beneath him, too sensitive for this pace, but too out of his mind to ask him to slow down. After a few more thrusts, Diavolo sunk his teeth into the junction between the fallen angel’s shoulder and neck, spilling inside him.

Lucifer panted, unable to breath properly from all the energy he just exerted. Diavolo breathed heavily above him, his cock still in Lucifer, keeping his seed inside. “Dia," Lucifer said weakly. “Pull out." The prince stared down at him, not understanding what he said for a moment before the words registered. He pulled out, watching his cum spill down his lover's thighs before laying down beside him.

“The sheets are ruined," Diavolo commented after a moment, turning to look at Lucifer. He looked absolutely wrecked. His hair was all messy, he had tears still on his face, and he hadn't gained control of his breathing. “Did I go too hard? We haven't done this in so long, I wasn't sure how far I could go and I kind of lost myself there."

“I'm bleeding," Lucifer stated simply, turning his head to glare at Diavolo. “I'm bleeding, I have your cum dripping down my thighs, and there are definitely going to be bruises on my hips from how hard you were holding them." Diavolo cringed at Lucifer’s words. "But no. You were fine and I enjoyed it, outside of the huge bite.” Diavolo chuckled nervously at the sharp glare Lucifer gave him.

"Do you want to clean up? I can run a bath.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the offer. Usually when Diavolo offered to shower together, he wanted to sneak in another round. A bath was 50/50 on where it could lead. Diavolo smiled and brushed a piece of hair out of Lucifer’s face. “I won't try to rope you into another round. We still have school tomorrow."

“Fine. Go run a bath. I'm staying here until it's ready because I don't think I can move my hips without pain.” Diavolo kissed Lucifer’s forehead, the spot above his eye where a scar he rarely saw was, before getting up from the bed. He had a bathroom attached to his room, so there wasn’t a need to walk very far. He turned the water to hot, waiting for it to heat up before he began to fill the tub. He grabbed a red robe that was hanging from the door, if only to have some semblance of decency, as well as the dark blue one beside it. Diavolo tugged the soft fabric over his shoulders, tightening it loosely around his body.

Once the water was steaming, Diavolo clogged the drain so it would fill. He made sure it wasn’t too hot – while Diavolo’s skin had the fire resistance of a dragon, Lucifer maintained the delicate skin of an angel, which wasn’t made for boiling heat – then grabbed a bottle from nearby. The castle’s water was already enchanted to heal whoever it touched, so Diavolo didn’t feel the need to grab something to help with Lucifer’s pain. He did, however, pour in a bottle to make the water bubble. It was foolish and horribly immature, but it was something he’d always done since he was a child.

“Luci, bath is ready!” He called to the fallen angel who had definitely not moved from his position on the bed. Diavolo allowed the water to continue to fill the tub as he left the room, dark blue robe in hand. As he suspected, Lucifer hadn’t moved. He sat on the edge of the bed, setting the robe down beside him. “Do you want me to carry you?” Lucifer didn’t give a proper response, just a muffled groan into the pillows at his face. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

When Diavolo moved to pick up the smaller demon, he was instantly pushed away by clawed hands. “I am capable of walking,” Lucifer grumbled, sitting up on the bed. He grabbed his dark blue robe and pulled it over his shoulders. Diavolo smiled as Lucifer walked to the bathroom, limping ever so slightly. The cursive L embroidered on the back of the fallen angel’s robe matched perfectly with the cursive D on the prince’s. “Hurry up, Dia. I will get in here without you.”

“Coming, love!” Diavolo shouted, walking briskly to the bathroom. Lucifer knelt beside the tub testing the waters. “Come on, get in. The water will heal you and you don’t have to look at your scars because there are bubbles.” Diavolo shed his robe, letting it fall to the ground. He climbed into the water, sinking beneath the warm water with a happy sigh. Lucifer hesitated for a moment, glancing down to a scar on his hand that was visible. “Lucifer, you know I’d never think of you differently for your scars. I’ve kissed them a thousand times and I’ll kiss them a million more.”

“You’re such a hopeless romantic,” Lucifer mocked, his look of apprehension slowly melting into a soft, almost smile. He carefully undid his blue robe and set it neatly on the bathroom counter. With a few more moments of hesitation, Lucifer got into the tub and sank into the water, laying his back against Diavolo’s chest. Almost instantly, warm arms surrounded his middle and a head was laid on his shoulder. The water, as promised, began to soothe Lucifer’s aching body, both from the previous activities and the general pain the fallen angel always seemed to experience.

Lucifer allowed himself to relax into Diavolo’s hold, smiling softly when the prince pressed a kiss to his wrist. He sat in the water for a few minutes before he felt Diavolo begin to massage shampoo into his hair. “You really don’t have to. I’m going to shower in the morning anyway.” Despite his words, Lucifer didn’t make any move to stop the prince.

Lucifer stayed in place as Diavolo washed his hair. He washed the prince’s hair when he got the chance. After fighting a few wandering hands, he found both himself and Diavolo to be clean. It was strange how quickly the prince managed to do that. Lucifer had barely noticed the time passing. Diavolo stepped out of the water first, his natural temperature taking care of most of the water on its own. He left the room when Lucifer stepped out to dry, leaving a very confused fallen angel in his wake.

Once Lucifer felt he had dried his feathers as well as he could, he pulled on the dumb custom, matching robes Diavolo gave him, pushing his still-damp feathers through the slits specially created for them. Few clothes had the four slits Lucifer needed, so he was forever grateful to Diavolo for the robe, even if he only ever got to use it at the castle. When he left the bathroom, robe tied tight around his waist so he wouldn’t accidentally catch sight of any scars now that his illusion spell was down, he found no Diavolo in the bedroom. A wave of sadness washed over him that he wasn’t expecting.

“Dia?” Lucifer called out, feeling a bit pathetic for doing so. He was meant with no response, just the quietness of an empty bedroom. He left because he saw your scars, the voice in his head said. It was the voice that sounded like a younger version of himself. An angelic version of himself. “Dia didn’t leave because he saw my scars,” Lucifer said out loud, trying to force the thought out of his head.

“Of course I didn’t. I love those scars. They’re part of my Luci.” Lucifer nearly jumped at Diavolo’s voice behind him. He turned to find a smiling face and a tray with a teapot and two cups. “Sorry, I had to grab some tea. It apparently helps you sleep, according to Barb.” Lucifer smiled, climbing into the plush bed as Diavolo did the same. He gladly took a cup, taking a drink.

“Chamomile. Simple, but efficient.” Lucifer finished his cup before setting it back on the tray. Once Diavolo had finished his own, the tray was set on his bedside table. There was no doubt in Lucifer’s mind it would be gone in the morning due to the prince’s ever efficient butler. Diavolo settled down against the pillows, opening his arms so Lucifer could lay on him if he wished. The fallen angel gladly took the offer, laying his head on Diavolo’s chest. The prince pulled the comforter up over him so they were warm together.

“I love you,” Diavolo said effortlessly, snuggling against Lucifer. Lucifer stared forward. The words always came so simply to Diavolo. “You don’t have to say it back. I know.” Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief, tilting his head up for one final kiss of the night. Diavolo smiled down at him, pressing his forehead against Lucifer’s. “Goodnight, my angel.”

“Goodnight, my prince.”