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crowned-peony · 12 hours

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Kiss Me Better

Pairing: Diavolo X Reader X Lucifer

Summary: Months after being summoned to take part in a Devildom exchange program, you found yourself surrounded by demons, angels, and sorcerers. It had been a fun ride but ever since you discovered your lineage to Lilith you felt a shift in your relationship with some of your new friends. After a day of isolation you decide that maybe the best thing for you would be to return to the human world and forget all about the time you've spent in the Devildom. The last thing you expected was to find Lord Diavolo at your door with a convincing argument as to why you should stay.

Word Count: 4,749

Notes: This is just a little fluffy slightly angsty thing I started when I was feeling low and lonely. Really I just wanted my faves to come cuddle me so I made it happen. This is actually the first fanfiction I'll ever be posting on Tumblr and AO3 so I hope you enjoy it! Thank you @meggsngrits for buttering me up enough to feel confident posting this<3

"Mammon told me you've been missing all morning," Lord Diavolo said when you opened the door.

He stood proud– just as imposing as ever with his arms crossed– though, you weren't sure he meant to be so intimidating most of the time. It must just come with the territory of being a ruler.

You never intended for anyone to see you today but when he knocked and announced himself you felt like you owed it to him to at least inform him of your plans to leave. His small smile only faltered when you looked back at him tired, without even the energy to give a polite smile to the demon that brought you to the Devildom.

"Been here," you said, stepping aside as Diavolo made his way through your small doorway.

"Is everything okay? It's uncharacteristic of you to skip classes or ignore the others."

"Not really…"

He looked around the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

"Where are your things?" he asked, wondering if maybe someone had broken in and robbed you blind. Perhaps a reasonable explanation for your absence that day.

"I packed it all up–didn't have much here to begin with– I decided it was time for me to go back home."

"I see."

"...I ended up just sitting here when I realized I had nowhere to go, though. Nothing to look forward to even if I managed to find a way back to the human world," you hugged yourself, shrinking your form slightly as he watched with prying eyes. You put on a valiant effort not to cry again; it'd be more embarrassing than it already was to do it in front of someone else.

His brows furrowed and his folded arms shifted tighter as a puzzled expression crossed his face. You didn’t like seeing that frown on him– he was meant to smile– but seeing his pout made you feel like you were in some sort of trouble.

"Forgive me, I'm a bit confused. Are you not happy with a part of my exchange program? Please, I want to hear about anything I could change to make your stay here more pleasant. It would be such a shame if you chose to leave now after you've spent so much time working to excel in all your classes."

"It's nothing like that," you said, wringing the hem of your shirt nervously, "I was actually having a lot of fun learning everything about this world. It was overwhelming at first but after I got used to it I started to love it. No, I just… I realized how alone I felt– how different. I'm nothing special."

"Now, that's not true. You are quite special, but even if you weren't, I didn't start this program to limit the kinds of people who are allowed to enroll. I want this to be something anybody from anywhere can access. You never needed magic or impressive talents to be one of us."

He uncrossed his arms, opening himself up so you knew he was speaking from the heart. His palms faced up almost like he was pleading for you to understand.

"That doesn't change the fact that I feel different. Nobody touches me anymore. I didn't even think about how much I would miss human contact. The only demons that get close to me are the ones you assigned to keep an eye on me. When's the last time someone hugged me, really hugged me just because they wanted to and not because I did something to deserve it? When's the last time someone gave me a kiss, or, or held my face in their hands to reassure me that everything was going to be alright?" there was a noticeable warble in your voice now, which Diavolo did not fail to notice.

"I don't belong here, I never did… and I only stuck around this long because… "

"Because?"

"I had nothing else to go back to. I'd recently been let go. Recently dumped. My family lived across the world. My friends… ThThey didn't have time for me anymore– didn't want to make time, I guess–" you sucked down a deep breath in an effort to cool your scorching throat. And another, and another until before you knew it the tears had already spilled and you were sobbing softly in front of the most intimidating person in the Devildom.

Diavolo stepped forward to close the large gap between you. Two large, warm hands cupped your face, tipping it up so he could look into your watery eyes, and trying his best to read you.

"Hey hey, Shh…" he pulled you into his broad chest, hugging your head comfortingly as your fist flew up and clutched at the fabric of his jacket tightly. "It's okay. You belong here just as much as anyone. You've got people here vying for your time and attention constantly. Are the demon brothers not your friends?" he asked, waiting until he heard you sniffle a bit, letting you pull back to wipe some tears away with your sleeve.

"T-they are, I just… I feel like an imposter. After finding out about how I'm a descendant of Lilith it just feels like things are different again. Like I stopped mattering as much by myself because there was this external thing connecting them to me now instead of the bond we formed before that. I'm not sure how to explain it better. "

"I believe I understand."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to see me like this. I thought I just wanted to be alone…" his arms were still around your shoulders and something in you craved to be hugged tight again.

He must have noticed because soon you were being pulled back into him.

"Don't apologize. I figured it might be overwhelming for a human to exist in a demon's world but I suppose I never considered how powerless it could make you feel. For that I sincerely apologize. However, I do still believe you were the perfect candidate even without considering your lineage," Diavolo's fingers found their way to the soft ends of your hair, playing with them idly as he continued to comfort you.

"There is not a single thing that we've sent your way that you did not enthusiastically accept or learn. You had already bonded with the brothers even before learning about Lilith, forming pacts with most of them in a manner of time almost unheard of for a human. You've been doing exceptionally well in your studies. I'm not sure that I'd expect many other humans without an innate magical sense to pick it up as fast as you have been."

You hid your face in his chest, no longer caring if you got his clothes wet or snotty. Hearing everything he had to say was a bit overwhelming.

"And no other human has ever been as captivating as you. Not just to me. You're so incredible that you managed to enthrall seven demon brothers, two angels, a very powerful sorcerer, and the ruler of all demons to top it off."

"I don't believe I've caught that kind of attention from all those people. Okay Mammon for sure, Levi I could believe. Asmo I might believe more if he wasn't just one big flirt to everyone. The rest are… I mean the angels just seem like they're nice in general, Beel and Belphie, Satan, Lucifer? They're just, I dunno, above all that somehow. Even Solomon seems to be so comfortable here dealing with magic and everything that I feel a little inferior to him."

"And me?" his arms tightened around your shoulders.

"Y-you… Oh god– I've been crying all over your fancy jacket– ...I'm normally super intimidated by you but I think you're kind and you've been more than gracious about inviting me here and I wish you hadn't caught me like this today. I don't want you to think I'm being ungrateful."

"You don't have to worry about that," he said, chuckling softly. "What can I do to help you understand how much I– the brothers, the angels, Solomon– value your friendship?"

You shrugged. He'd probably say anything to placate you. Even if you wanted to believe him you knew your mind would twist his words and find some way to discredit them. As much as you didn't want to be this way, you knew yourself.

His hug was warm and you could convince yourself it was full of love and care if not for the louder part of you proclaiming that he was only doing it to be polite or to get you to stop crying. Like all of this was solely for the benefit of his program and not from a genuine affection for you as a person.

"Tell you what. I'm going to go ahead and tell you all about how I feel about you," he said pulling away to tilt your face up and lock eyes with you, "then I'm going to sit with you for as long as you need, and after you feel a little bit better I am going to respectfully ask if I may kiss you. Okay?"

He didn't give you a chance to protest before walking you both to the edge of your bed as he dove into his confession.

"Seeing you that first day stirred something in me that I never anticipated. I couldn't have prepared for what to expect once you arrived even if I'd known how taken I'd be with you in person. You really swept me away. I think your boldness is charming and your beauty is unmatched. You are impressively intuitive for a human with no prior knowledge of my realm or magic and while I still find myself worrying over you, I know I can trust that you can manage on your own surrounded by any demon here. You have a way of enchanting even the lesser demons with little impulse control and there's no doubt this has more to do with who you are than the blood that runs in your veins," he ran a soothing hand up your arm.

Your eyes pricked with more tears ready to fall. Try as you might, you could not resist leaning into his touch. Friend or not, he was a warm body sitting close enough to make you forget all about wanting to be alone.

"Do you really think all of that?"

"I do. You've really surprised me and I found myself feeling increasingly more comfortable with your presence. Perhaps too comfortable. It didn't take long before I caught myself thinking… inappropriately about you. Now, I hope you don't focus too much on that last part. I want you to know how much I respect you, that is, I hope you understand how much I've been restraining myself around you when all I want is to whisk you away and keep you to myself to do with as I please," he ran a hand over your hair, petting you softly as you tried in vain to hide your surprise.

Coming up short on a sufficient response you opted to press your face against his shoulder, a long whine escaping your throat as you did.

"You certainly have a way of taking my mind off things," came your muffled voice eventually.

He chuckled, scratching the top of your head until you felt brave enough to look up at him again.

"This isn't… some mean demon joke?"

"I promise it isn't."

"So you actually had feelings for me?"

It terrified you to hold his gaze for too long. He would stare back, unwavering in his conviction, and the feeling of being so seen was too much to bear. So you had to look away. His bright golden eyes would always draw you back in, though, and he waited until you were looking into them again to speak.

"Have, yes."

You took a deep breath, thinking over his words. He was among the first of the demons you'd fallen hard for. At first it was a survival thing– looking out for any semblance of familiarity in a strange new world and seeking out either him or Lucifer for comfort– but then you got accustomed to your new life, your new routines and new friends. And yet you still searched for those two wherever you went, hoping to bump into one of them just to talk.

You never wanted to admit it to yourself but the way your friends made you feel– the way Diavolo and Lucifer made you feel–… it was something out of a romance novel. Your stomach would twist into knots and fill with butterflies. Your palms would sweat and you'd become even more of an uncoordinated mess than you normally were.

"You probably already know how I feel about you."

You desperately wanted to hide your face again but his gaze held you fast.

"Tell me anyway," he said, smiling at the way your face lit up bright red, his eyes flashing with something you couldn't name.

"I can't say I haven't thought of you like that… when I got here I thought it was a little unfair how attractive all of you demons are. I thought maybe this was all a form of torture to be honest. Like maybe I died and was sent to hell to agonize over all the things I could never have."

"Does it still feel like torture?"

You shook your head, heart pounding and hands trembling.

"Well, not as much."

"I can work on that. I won't have my guest of honor feeling tormented on my watch."

"It's the good kind of torture now. I'm sorry it took me being an idiot and planning to run away to admit my feelings to you."

He hummed softly, pulling you back into an embrace. His arms around your shoulders remained solid as he hugged you close. With your ear pressed against his chest, you listened to the strong beating of his heart. He allowed you both to sit in silence for a while–content to just play with your hair as he gave you time to process.

"So, is now a good time for me to request that kiss?" he whispered eventually.

Your cheeks flushed with warmth but you slowly nodded. You pulled away from his hug and he cupped your cheek, thumb caressing your jaw before hooking his finger under your chin to tip your face up. He leaned forward, closing the gap between your lips at an agonizing pace, ready for you to rescind permission or back out in some way.

But you didn't, instead closing your eyes at his proximity, waiting for something you've wanted almost since your arrival.

It was just as his upper lip touched yours– shocking you slightly, making your body buzz for more– that you heard a sharp knock. It stopped Diavolo in his tracks and his mouth turned up at the corners as he put on a forced smile for whoever had interrupted this moment.

The sound had jolted your eyes open and made you pull back as if you'd been caught doing something you shouldn't. In front of you, Diavolo remained in place where he was about to finalize your kiss. Though he had on his trademark smile, his eyes seemed dark, no doubt irritated about the intrusion.

Another knock.

"MC, are you there? I've been looking for you everywhere. My brothers tell me you've been missing since this morning," came Lucifer's voice full of an uncharacteristic concern.

Diavolo sighed and slowly straightened up. Even sitting, his size was impressive. Your heart was still pounding in your chest as he stood and made his way over to the door, opening it up for Lucifer but blocking his line of sight into your room.

"Diavolo! This is a surprise, I didn't expect to find you here," came Lucifer's shocked voice.

"I just came by to check in on our prized exchange student," Diavolo said easily.

"Did you? I heard she has made herself scarce today. Everybody was worried. Might I have a moment to speak with her?"

"What about you, Lucifer?"

"Hm? What about me?"

"Did you worry for her?"

Lucifer's eyes tried to search your room, hoping for any sign of you, though he wasn't able to see much with Diavolo's large frame stepping into his view and blocking everything.

"Of course I'm worried. It's my job, isn't it?"

"I meant beyond the job. Come, my friend. You can't tell me you didn't have more personal reasons to be looking for her now, all by yourself."

You heard a long pause. From your position you couldn't see Lucifer but you could guess what his expression might look like. You imagined he might have that annoyed look on his face– sour– as if he was too busy or too important to have to deal with all this nonsense. You shrunk into yourself, falling back on the same pattern of thought that had caused you to lock yourself away all morning.

As curled up as you were, your ears still perked up when you heard Lucifer sigh.

"I take it she isn't here either. You of all people know how much I care for her. If something happened on my watch, I would be beside myself. I'm not entirely sure what might have occurred– if I did something to upset her or if one of my brothers was careless with her– but as soon as I find out I will personally see to it that, whoever it was, they are punished accordingly."

Diavolo's hearty laugh rang out, startling both you and Lucifer.

"You've always been quite the serious one, haven't you?" Diavolo stepped back, opening the door fully to allow his friend to see you.

He closed and locked the door quickly as Lucifer hurried his way inside, kneeling in front of you where you sat on your bed.

He had such a look of concern on his face that it caused your lips to tremble. Your emotions swelled, hearing the depth in his answer to Diavolo reminded you that there was always a real connection there. Once again, tears were spilling down your cheeks. You tried to look away but found that his hands had come up to cradle your face encouraging you gently to keep looking at him with that open vulnerability written all over his features.

"Tell me what happened. Did someone do something to you? Was it something I did? Why have you been ignoring our calls all day? You had me worried sick."

"Lucifer…" your voice cracked a bit, too full of regret at how you'd been thinking about them all today.

A hand clapped onto Lucifer's shoulder which momentarily took his focus off of you.

"She was worried about how her lineage could be affecting the relationships she has with you and your brothers," Diavolo thankfully explained for you. "It seems she feels as though her bonds with you are superficial."

You blinked hard, keeping your eyes shut as the tears streaked down your cheeks, wetting your ears uncomfortably but doing nothing about it. You were grateful Diavolo didn't mention the fact you'd been planning to run away.

"Is this true?" Lucifer asked, taking your hands in his, in the softest gesture he'd ever shown you. It surprised you how easy it was for him to be so vulnerable even with Diavolo present but it also did more to reassure you that whatever strained relationship you felt you had with him was all in your head.

You nodded, a few stray tears plopping onto the back of his hand where it held yours in your lap, soaking into his silken glove.

He shot a look to Diavolo, eyebrows creased in concern.

"I'm sorry, MC. If I made you feel any different then please know that was not my intention."

You finally opened your eyes again, peering up at him with your head lowered in shame.

"You didn't do anything. I was just in my own head and being silly about everything… I'm sorry I made you all worry."

"I hope you can come to me the next time you have thoughts like that," Lucifer said in a voice much softer than you'd ever heard it. "I'd be more than happy to clarify anything for you.

He pulled his hands free of yours, tugging his gloves off and tucking them carefully into his pocket. Taking your face in his palms again, he wiped away a few more tears for you, then–content enough that you'd stopped crying– returned to his place on your lap with your hands between his.

You squeezed his fingers, nodding once and vowing not to isolate yourself next time and create a false image of your friends.

"Promise."

"Good," he said, letting you pull a hand free to dry your eyes.

You scrubbed your face until it was sufficiently free of tears, slapping your cheeks and making sure your snot covered sleeve was rolled up so your friends didn't have to see it. It was probably a pitiful sight, you thought, face red after crying over what turned out to be nothing. You shook the thought from your head, taking Lucifer's hand back in your own and squeezing it any time another self pitying thought emerged.

Diavolo had taken up his seat next to you on the bed again, idly playing with your hair–leaning in subtly to smell your shampoo in the lock of hair draped over his hand. He remained silent with a small smile on his lips, waiting for you to settle yourself after your talk with Lucifer. He was endlessly patient with you, they both were.

"Wonderful! Now that that's resolved, I believe we were in the middle of something," Diavolo said, already leaning into you as he cupped your cheek to tilt your face toward his.

Lucifer stood back up, staring down at you a bit awkwardly as he kept your hands in his. There was an unwillingness to leave you, he didn't feel like updating his brothers just yet–to ruin this quiet moment with you and Diavolo.

"What about Lucifer…?"

"He won't mind," his forehead bumped against yours. He waited for a breath, taking in your heat, your scent, your excited heartbeat.

You involuntarily squeezed Lucifer's hands when he pressed forward and his lips touched yours. Your eyes closed tight but you quickly found yourself relaxing into the kiss, then pushing your mouth against his eagerly. Lucifer's hands forgotten, your fingers reached up to graze against Diavolo's large bicep, sliding down to rest your hand at the crook of his elbow as he slowly weaned you off his kiss.

When his soft lips finally disconnected from yours, you released a shuddering breath.

His cheeks looked as red as yours felt hot, and his golden eyes shimmered with unconcealed longing as he smiled at you from under long eyelashes.

"I can't tell you how long I've waited to do that," he said.

You felt as if you were being pulled under his spell the longer you looked into his unnaturally bright yellow irises and you found yourself pushing forward to press another chaste kiss on his lips, then another, and finally a third before you sat back up and took in a breath to calm your nerves.

Beside the bed you heard shuffling before Lucifer cleared his throat softly, clearly not wanting to disrupt your moment.

Your stomach was full of butterflies and it felt like the temperature in your room had gone up 10 degrees, though you were certain it was just the result of a mean blush covering your face.

You couldn't even look at Lucifer, too embarrassed to try and talk through your goofy grin.

"I apologize for intruding on this moment for you two," Lucifer said in a restrained voice. If you'd looked up you might have caught the blush dusting his cheeks as well. "I am just glad you are okay. I can take my leave and assure my brothers that everything is fine now."

"Nonsense," Diavolo said, standing up and promptly shoving Lucifer down to sit in his previously occupied seat. "Our human needs a little more cheering up, I'd say."

"Wh– I don't–" Lucifer started.

"Kiss her," Diavolo hinted not so subtly.

That promptly shut Lucifer up, his cheeks burning as he went from staring at Diavolo to gazing down at you.

You were no better off than he was, freckled cheeks colored a deep red at the embarrassment of having been read so easily. How did Diavolo know you had a crush on Lucifer too? You thought you'd kept those feelings tightly in check this whole time but somehow the demon lord still managed to read you like a book–maybe you shouldn't have been so surprised.

Your face was tilted down toward your lap. If he rejected Diavolo's offer you had a feeling it would send you reeling again. The silence was suffocating as your smile shrank, your mind once again running in a direction you never wanted it to as it imagined being rejected by Lucifer.

Soft hands reached up, cupping your jaw as light fingers wrapped around the back of your neck.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?"

"I don't want you doing anything you don't want to."

You looked up when his face leaned in, wearing a smirk as the pad of his thumb ran gently over your lower lip. His eyes seemed entranced by your mouth until he looked up and caught you staring. Half lidded eyes blinked slowly as his smirk deepened.

"Are you really that convinced I have so little agency I cannot refuse an order from Diavolo?"

"I didn't mean anything like that, I just thought–"

"I've wanted you for a long time. The only reason I never acted on these feelings was out of respect for my Lord. But it seems now he has you, and his kindness and friendship knows no bounds– so if you're willing– please tell me what it is you want from me. I need to hear you say it."

"Lucifer…" as much as your mind was still trying to convince you this was all just a cruel prank, the look in his eyes told you an entirely different story. "Please, I want your kiss. I want whatever you'll give me… Do with me what you like," you said leaning in, eyes closing.

He chuckled and you felt his warm breath ghosting over your mouth.

"You might not want to give me so much freedom. I might just eat you up."

Then his warm lips were on yours and you found yourself melting under his touch. He was much more dominating than Diavolo. Perhaps because he wanted to make sure your attention was on him and nowhere else. When he said he would eat you up, you didn't expect it like this.

He was nibbling on your lower lip– testing how far you would let him go– when you felt the mattress sink beside you as Diavolo sat on your other side. It wasn't enough to distract you or deter Lucifer from devouring your mouth, his tongue dancing across your bottom lip enticingly.

You heart was pounding in your chest at this all, quickly getting overwhelmed to the point where your small hand pushed lightly against his chest.

He instantly obliged, leaving you with a final peck as he straightened up.

"I hope I didn't get too carried away," he said.

You shook your head. A smile seemed permanently fixed on your lips now, noting the blush he wore as well.

"You're perfect, Lucifer. Both of you are. I don't feel like I deserve this…"

Behind you, Diavolo shifted. You felt his arm wrap behind your lower back to rest a heavy palm on your thigh as his other hand made its way to your knee. His touch set you ablaze, stirring some feelings in your belly you'd long since tried to lock away. The way he and Lucifer looked at you with half lidded, shimmering eyes, sent your mind to scandalous places.

"I think that means we have some convincing to do, Lucifer," Diavolo said as he pressed a fevered kiss to the back of your neck.

"We'll be here for as long as you need, MC," Lucifer said as he slid a hand along your other thigh and pressed a kiss to your shoulder. "Can we kiss it better?"

"Convince me I deserve this," you said breathlessly, "kiss me better."

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