aren't humans supposed to be scared of death?
lucifer/main character
also posted on ao3
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His glare alone could kill a thousand souls.
It wasn't a fair battle for (M/C) only had one, the same soul that was almost some demons' dinner earlier.
Most of the time when his eyes would fall on her, her heart would skip a beat and she'd forget how to breathe. Right then, she was still at lost for breath, but only because it seemed like he wanted to rip her lungs into pieces. A contrast to how gentle he was holding her in his arms moments ago.
It was times like these that (M/C) wished she had even half of Beel's athleticism. Adrenaline wasn't enough to increase her speed, but at least it helped with distracting her from her aching feet. There were two– no, three demons chasing her. If it was only one, she would've decided to fight, but their number didn't give her a choice but to run for her life.
She turned to an alleyway hoping to find somewhere to hide and found nothing but a dead end.
"You done wasting our time yet?" A panting voice came up behind her.
Trying to catch her breath, (M/C) quickly turned to the owner of the voice. The same demons who she turned down– one she might've given a black eye –were blocking her way. There were five of them now, five demons with hungry eyes starting at her. Where the hell did the other two come from?
She backed up and widened her stance. Running away and hiding from them were crossed out, there was no way she could get out of this situation without at least trying to defend herself. With a sprained feet and a trembling body, she for sure wouldn't win, but what choice did she have?
One of them spoke. "If only you just accepted our offer. You really had the guts to reject us, you, a human!" There was a hint of disgust in his last words.
She was about to say how she would rather lose her soul than accompany them to The Fall when the same demon aggressively pulled her by the wrist, making her squeak. His grip was so tight that it stung her skin, but she couldn't careless. All she wanted right then was to give the demon multiple kicks in the balls.
The others cheered him on as his face moved closer to hers. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull away but his grip only tightened. She could feel his breath on her neck when he said, "Such a pure soul too. Free dinner's about to be good."
Her stomach flipped in the most unpleasant way as she shut her eyes, expecting to meet pain. Memories of soft crimson eyes flashed through her mind and she found herself internally calling for its owner.
It was only then that the fear started to sink in.
As if her prayers had reached the celestial realm, in a matter of seconds, the tight grip on her wrist disappeared and her feet was off the ground. Harsh wind blew through the alleyway and the scent of musk she loved so much hit her nose. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who was holding her but when she did, the same crimson eyes met hers and suddenly, all the tension in her body faded away.
She had always felt safest in Lucifer's arms.
(M/C) could almost taste the bitter atmosphere filling his office as Lucifer stood in front of her with his arms crossed. Daring to look him in the eye once, she regretted that decision immediately when a chill ran down her spine. She held onto her own arm for comfort.
Whenever his brothers would misbehave, he'd scold them for an eternity as one of the many punishments. He haven't said a word ever since he fought the group of demons who tried to murder her tonight, though. She'd rather have the repetitive reminders and sarcastic remarks than his silence that was more terrifying than the Devil King himself. She haven't even met said king.
After moments of hesitation, she finally found her voice. "Lucifer, I'm–"
"Mind telling me what you were doing alone in the streets of Devildom in the middle of the night?"
(M/C) gulped at his sharp tone. "I just– I needed to buy supplies for my school project due tomorrow, so I went out to get some."
"And you chose to go alone?"
"Well, everyone's already asleep."
"You of all people would know that I would still be in my office even at this hour. I would have been willing to accompany you if you asked." It was obvious that he was trying his best to keep his composure, but the way his voice was getting louder and more aggressive was ruining his facade.
She took a deep breath, praying to his father that her next words wouldn't fuel up the fire too much. "I doubt that you would even leave your desk if I ask you. Besides, the store wasn't that far and I didn't wanna bother any of you."
"That is not an excuse!" She didn't know it was possible but the furrow on his brows got even deeper. "It is irresponsible to do school projects the night before the deadline, first and foremost."
He lost her at the word irresponsible. (M/C) was pretty sure she had received this very same talk for over a million times, she didn't need to hear it again.
The way he spoke with such authority reminded her that she was talking to Lucifer, the Vice President of the student council and Diavolo's right hand man, not the Lucifer who would wake her up early in the morning so they could have the table on their own during breakfast or the Lucifer who put his coat on her when she accidentally slept on the couch.
This was the Lucifer his brothers would daydream of punching on a daily, but still the Lucifer she'd risk everything for.
"What's wrong? Having trouble falling asleep?"
(M/C) only blinked at the demon. She should've known she would run into Lucifer when she decided to roam around the halls of the House of Lamentation when everyone was asleep. It was rare for him to leave his desk at this hour, though. Perhaps luck just wasn't by her side.
"Uhm, yeah kind of." She answered honestly.
"May I ask why?"
She could only bite her lip. Was it a good idea to say she was just missing her room in the human world? Or that she was craving for her parent/s' hug? Would he even understand what homesickness was? It didn't matter, she wasn't scared of opening up to him but knowing Lucifer, he'd probably report this to Lord Diavolo and knowing Diavolo, who knew what ridiculous human event would he attempt to pull off if he found out. Although, it would be fun to watch the crown prince try, it would only remind her more that she wasn't in the human world with her family.
She gave Lucifer a hopefully convincing laugh. "Oh, it's pretty stupid. Levi and I watched a horror movie earlier. It's kind of hard to sleep when the creepy stuff keeps replaying in my head."
"Hmm. I never thought you'd be the type to be scared of fictional monsters, (M/C)."
He was right. (M/C) was in literal hell for Devil King's sake. No monster or ghost could ever scare her anymore.
"I guess you just don't know me as well as you thought." She said, keeping the act.
It took him too long to speak again that she was afraid her lying abilities were getting rusty. "Well then, I have a suggestion." A grin formed on his lips. "How about we share the bed?"
Her breathing stopped as the room grew several degrees higher than usual. Share the bed? Share the bed?
It seemed like her head didn't have control of her mouth for she just said, "Sure. Why not?"
Later as (M/C) felt the other side of Lucifer's gigantic bed dip, she started to realize why Why not? was such a stupid thing to ask.
It was like she was on her first day at RAD again, growing an interest in the most powerful demon in Devildom. She couldn't help it, he was undeniably attractive and the way he so confidently presented himself was gravitating. Lucifer was, for lack of a better word, hot.
But that was only what he was to her, an eye candy that was way out of her league. He was too much of a stuck up for her anyway, so she decided not to let her feelings grow into anything more.
She thought she had managed to forget about her embarrassing crush, but the way her heart almost jumped out of her chest as she felt him lay down beside her told her otherwise.
"(M/C)." He called.
"Yup?"
"You're going to end up falling off if you stay on the edge there. It is much comfier here in the middle, come."
The way his voice dropped at the last word made her feel things, particularly in her lower region. She shook off the thoughts before it could conquer her whole body. Giving the wall she had been staring at for minutes an internal farewell, she finally faced him for the first time she lied in his bed that night.
The butterflies in her stomach flying around for fun were now in chaos.
Right before her was Lucifer in a plain black shirt, looking as ethereal as ever. With a cheeky smile on his lips, his gloveless hand gave the space beside him a pat and she settled closer beside him like the fool that she was.
"Happy?"
He chuckled, most likely at how her face was heating up. "Very. So what's the true reason?"
"Excuse me?"
"What was the reason you couldn't sleep?" He must have noticed how she froze for a second for he let out another snicker. "Don't act so surprised. You laugh for no reason whenever you aren't being truthful. A pretty bad liar for someone so cunning."
She should feel embarrassed but the way he noticed this little fact about her just made her grin. "Alright, you got me. I didn't lie about the horror movie, though. We did watch one but... yeah, it's not the reason I couldn't sleep."
Crimson eyes just stared at her as if asking her to continue. (M/C) sighed. "I was just missing my life back home. That's all."
"Are you not enjoying your stay here?"
"No! No, of course not. I like it here. You and your brothers are like family to me. Sometimes I just miss my family in the human world, you know?"
He hummed in what seemed like understanding. "It can't be helped. You've never been away from them for this long, correct?"
She shook her head in response, chest getting heavy at the fact that she haven't talked to her family in months. "No. I guess this is normal, though, I'm just naturally a family person. I rarely even go to sleepovers just because it feels weird not being a room away from them."
"Is that so?" His eyes avoided hers. "We aren't as different as I thought."
Most people would be taken aback if they heard his last words, but (M/C) knew better. Lucifer wasn't the most affectionate brother. In fact, he seemed like someone who'd leave all his brothers tied up on a railway if he could, but in truth, he would just leave to destroy the train itself. "You don't like sleepovers too?" She joked.
Something in her chest blooms when a small laugh came out of him. "If what we are doing now is what you consider a sleepover, then no, it is certainly to my liking." Their eyes met again and she swore she melted right then and there. "Regardless, the purpose of a sleep over is well, to sleep. Unless you really are terrified because of that horror film."
"Pff. Why would I be terrified? I'm with the strongest demon in all of Devildom."
"You are aware I could kill you, no?" It was almost funny how causally he just said it.
She shrugged. "So could anyone."
"Death doesn't scare you?"
"I mean, honestly I'm much more scared of hurting the people I'd leave behind." She answered without hesitation. "You're probably the one not scared of it." Could you even die? She thought of asking but decided to keep her mouth shut.
An odd expression grew on his face, a look she haven't seen before. It was much softer yet gloomier for some reason. "No." He let out a deep sigh as he avoided her eyes again. "Losing someone because of death, however..."
He didn't continue, and he didn't have to. The sorrow in his voice already had the weight of a thousand words.
"You know how dangerous it is out there, especially for a human. May I remind you that you're nothing but a walking dinner for most demons." He continued.
"I know that, alright? You don't have to remind me. I promise, I won't do it again." She said, taking defeat for she just wanted to get this over with. Running away from a gang of demons as she feared for her own life took a lot of energy out of her and she just wanted to rest, but she knew Lucifer was far from done.
"You better. Can you imagine what would happen if I didn't find you sooner? Not only would you get hurt and ruin the exchange program but you also–"
Something in her snapped, heart dropping deep into her stomach.
Of course. Of fucking course.
"I also what?" She asked confidently despite her whole body trembling. She didn't miss how his eyes widened for a second. "Could've damaged yours and Diavolo's reputation? Could've given you more paper works and bills to pay?"
(M/C)'s fists clenched, slapping herself internally for even thinking that he actually, genuinely cared for her, that she was important enough for him to risk his life protecting her when all this time, he was just protecting someone else's name.
All the hand holding, the good night kisses, the times he asked her to stay in line on the phone for comfort, the soft smiles, it was all done for business. He must've noticed how fond she was of him and took it to his advantage.
He was doing all of those only to make her experience at the Devildom more pleasing so she wouldn't write anything negative about the student exchange program. It was all about the stupid exchange program. In the back of her head, she already knew this could be the case, so why did it still leave a heavy weight in her chest?
She scoffed pityingly at her own foolishness. "What else, huh? I could've ruin Diavolo's dreams of strenghtening the relationship between the three worlds–"
"This isn't just about that." He let his fists fall on his side.
With tears forming in her eyes, she dared to step forward. "Well, sorry, Vice president! I didn't mean to give the student council another headache."
"(M/C)."
"I'm sorry for leaving a bad record to Diavolo's precious–"
"–YOU COULD'VE DIED!"
In the aftermath of the shout, the silence seemed so deafening. It was his turn to take a step closer and it was only then when she noticed it.
He was shaking. "You could've died." He said, softer this time. "This is more than just because of the program. I nearly lost you." There was that odd expression again.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as her mind went back to one of their previous conversations in his bed. Not missing the way his hand kept slightly lifting up and back down as he talked, she took the initiative and placed her own on his cheek. "But I'm still here." She said, almost in a whisper for they were so close, their bodies were almost touching.
He put his hand on top of hers, gently kissing its palm as an unspoken apology. It wasn't much, he was still the avatar of pride after all, but it warmed her heart that he was trying.
Taking her hand and intertwining it with his own, his head dropped to her shoulder. His soft breathing tickled her skin. As she thread her fingers through his hair, she couldn't help but appreciate this side of him. This was the Lucifer no one had ever seen, the Lucifer who despised even the thought of not being by her side, the one who loved hand holding, the one who'd turn into a blushing mess whenever she'd kiss him out of nowhere, the Lucifer only she got to see.
With a deep sigh, he finally spoke again. "What am I going to do with you?"
She tried to pull away to respond but as soon as she moved, his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back in. (M/C) couldn't protest, she didn't want to, so they stayed close for a long while.