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Chapter Text

The Devildom; a place devoid of sunlight, a realm overflowing with monsters and sin, an absent ruler, and seven indifferent demon princes.

The Devildom contained demons and only demons. No ruler had dared to broaden its already bruised relationships with the other realms, afraid to burn an already fragile bridge. But that was before, and this was now.

Diavolo was the present, and Lucifer hopes, the future as well.

”Welcome to the Devildom!” Diavolo exclaimed, arms out and ready to welcome the representative of Devildom’s future.

But this—

The man looked at Diavolo, at the polished floor of RAD, the chandelier (and likely god), before looking back at Diavolo, “What the fuck?”

—Lucifer wasn’t too sure.

. . .

Koi trudges through the streets of hell- Devildom- whatever the fuck, as he mentally rewinds through the past half an hour. 

Demon prince with big tits, tired demon dad, a fucking demon otaku, a demon narcissist, and a demon school with demons in the demonic realm of Devildom, Koi recites in his head. He goes through it all again and decides ‘such is life’ and resigns himself to a horrible fate.

Koi sighs, he knew that surfing Reddit while stoned out of his mind was a bad idea- and yet here he was. He just hopes this is a bad trip and someone had slipped acid into his joint.

”That’s your 5th sigh in the past ten minutes. Quit sighin', it’s annoying!” The manchild he can’t quite remember the name of- just that his eyes are pretty—whines dramatically, “Sighin' in the presence of the Great Mammon. The god damn disrespect, I tell ya.”

Koi rolls his eyes at The Great Mammon. He mainly just wants to sleep, wake up, and find that this was all some goofy ass dream and go along with his pitiful life. Instead, they arrive at a mansion he- again, cannot remember the dumbass name of, and Mammon leads them inside.

The moment Mammon opens the front door to loudly announce his presence, a very cute, and very upset demon confronts him.

I haven't even gone through the front door yet, Koi thinks, looking over Mammon’s shoulder unamusingly at the obstacle in their path. Koi picks at his ears and decides fuck it, and shoves his way through both of them. 

Behind him, he could hear the protests of both, but for all he cares they could suck a fart out of his ass before they wrap him up in whatever bullshittery they’d been bickering about. After entering the grandiose banquet hall, Koi belatedly realized he has no goddamn clue where his room is.

Mammon slammed his door shut, muttering up a storm as he threw himself onto his bed, "Stupid human, thinkin' he's all high and mighty- leavin' me with Levi like that. What a prick." He picked up his D.D.D. and surfed for something to distract him with. He saw that previous message from the new human, asking him to show him where his room was.

Thumbs tapping angrily, Mammon told him to go fuck himself.

Feeling satisfied, he huffed to himself and threw his phone onto the other end of his bed. With nothing to do, Mammon was left with his thoughts.

Though, that puny human is kinda pretty, he thought. Koi was nicely built and tall- for a human, at least, and he certainly wasn't taller than any of his brothers. But he was objectively attractive, Asmodeus wouldn't shut the fuck up about it, and he'd been quiet and reserved, steeling himself in this mysterious aura that made Mammon want to squeeze information (and money) out of. 

He accepted his fate pretty quickly too, Mammon snickered. He wouldn't lie and say it wasn't amusing to watch the guy run through 30 different emotions in 30 minutes until he eventually tired himself out and resigned himself to the demons. Mammon rolled onto his side and wondered when he could squeeze some Grimm out of him. He looked a bit like a pushover.

. . .

"-it's been centuries- CENTURIES- and he still hasn't paid back what he owes me!" Leviathan (who Koi had to find out through the contacts of his phone and process of elimination because he hadn't even had the decency or urgency to introduce himself) was pacing around the room in a furious stupor, cursing out his older brother for being a dead-beat scumbag. "Doesn't he know that Ruri-chan takes the stage: virtual singers edition!! is hosting a new LIMITED-TIME EVENT??? Which- by the way- is life or death to me, but I don't expect a normie like you-" Koi gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes, "-to understand, but if I DON'T GET Ruri's new UR+ card I can AND I WILL kill myself. So he has a DUTY to me, as my older brother, to help me not kill myself!!!" Leviathan ranted, throwing his hands around and waving them erratically in hopes of dispelling as much anxious energy and stress as he could. 

"That's cool- or sucks, I wasn't really listening, but what does that have to do with me?" Koi sighed, unpacking the minimal amount of things in the few boxes that were already prepared in the middle of his new room. Just school things, a uniform, a toothbrush, and two pairs of pants at best. Thanks, Lucifer! Prick.

"Because-!!" He shouted, spinning around and facing the other with so much chaotic energy and stewing anger Koi was physically prepared to get smoked, "-now a human is here, and you can forge a pact with him! Then you can force him to get my money back! I need as much grimm as demonically possible if I want to max out Ruri's new card and-"

Koi snorted, "Yeah, no thanks."

"-because I didn't think there would be an event so soon so I haven't saved up much and- wait, what?" Leviathan paused, staring in confusion at the man who was arranging his new things and texting up a storm to the eldest brother for more necessities. "Did- did you just say no? To me?"

"Yeah, not sure if you lot have ever heard of the word before, but my answer is no."

"What? Why not?! He's a prick and you know it! I mean, you've only been here for like- maybe half a day at best, but still! You can just feel the douchebag energy from him!"

Koi sighed and turned to the fuming otaku, quietly noting the demon's balled-up fists, "Prick or not, it doesn't change the fact that he's essentially my babysitter. If he's the reason I'm not going to get gobbled up and spit out when I go out, it's probably in my best interest not to get on his bad side. And no offense, but forming a pact sounds like a bad thing."

Leviathan snorted, "You'd see that guy give grimm to a homeless demon before you see him doing his job. Honestly, he'll probably be the reason you'll get gobbled up if anything."

The human groaned, "Perfect."

The demon closed in on him, walking Koi closer to the wall. He noted how Leviathan looked like a snake with its fangs bared, "Look, just force him into a pact. I'll text you the details. If you don't, and I don't get Ruri maxed out when the event comes out- I am going to be the one who gobbles you up and spits you out, got it?"

While Leviathan was definitely not the most intimidating man he'd met, Koi had no doubt he was telling the truth.

He huffed through his nose, pushing past the antsy otaku to fix his bed, "I'll think about it."

Leviathan seemed content with that and finally left the human to brood in his room.

With a ding, Koi receives a message late at night. Leviathan's name stared back at the man curled up in warm yet unfamiliar blankets.

Force him into a pact, the demon sent.

I've got a bargaining chip you can use.

Koi grimaced. Something- an unnamed emotion grabs his heart and squeezes. Foreboding, like a storm swirling in the pit of his stomach. He can tell this is a bad idea, but he can also tell that defying Leviathan is also a bad idea.

With a sigh, he shut off his demon equivalent of an iPhone.

He'll respond later.

Chapter Text

Koi was immensely displeased to wake up the next morning. He'd hoped it was all in his head and he'd come to in a mental institute, but here he was, fiddling with a tie he has no clue how to fix and walking sleepily to have breakfast with six demons.

Thankfully, he wasn't the last to arrive. Actually, he seemed to be early considering the small number of people present for breakfast. Lucifer (how could he forget such a condescending and spiteful-looking old man) sat at the head of the table, Leviathan sat not too far from the very opposite end, and the blonde he can't remember sat across from him. They all ate in silence and Koi prayed for someone to shoot him.

"Kioshi," Lucifer called, setting down his fork as he watched the human get situated.

Said man grimaced, "Please do not call me that. Koi is fine."

He ignores the odd look Lucifer sends his way but he doesn't seem to push the matter further, "How are you getting settled? I doubt you ever thought of coming to the Devildom."

Koi picked at the oddly shaped burger that he was 95% sure wasn't alive, "It was always in my plans." He replied sarcastically. The slight twitch at the blonde's lips does not go unnoticed. Lucifer hums at him, visibly displeased with the answer.

"Is any of this safe for humans?" he asked, pointing at the selection of food scattered along the breakfast table. Things he's never seen before and he's thankful to have never seen before.

"Of course," the head honcho replied, "I hope you're feeling adventurous. While not fatal when consumed, so long as Solomon hadn't produced it, I cannot guarantee it will satisfy your human palate."

"Fun," Koi whispered.

By the time the other brothers had arrived to eat their share, Koi had tried everything on the table and could confidently say they were not to his 'human standards'.

"If you're not going to eat that-" Beelzebub (this one he remembered, only because he looked the nicest out of them all) mumbled through his mouth full of food, "-I'll eat it."

Koi, thankful for an out, smiles at the testosterone-filled titan sitting beside him, "Have at it, big guy. All yours." He pats one of Beel's muscly arms and passes the plate over. He tries his best to keep a straight face when the man inhales everything, nearly taking the plate along too.

I am not going to survive, Koi thought, mostly unbothered by the realization as he waddles his way back to his room to grab his (Lucifer-provided) school bag.

Koi desperately needs to invest in some headphones. Even though his D.D.D. lacked the human artists he was accustomed to, he was willing to listen to anything as long as it could drown out Mammon's bitching directly in his ear. He'd tuned out a majority (albeit, it took five full minutes to truly forget he was there, a persistent pain in the ass- it would seem) of Mammon's whining since they'd left the House of Lamentation, and despite reaching RAD, he has yet to shut up.

While Koi can't say he was surprised, it was jarring to see demons of all shapes, sizes, and colors filter in and out of RAD's lecture rooms. In his startled state, a demon (who must've been at least eight feet tall) shoulder-checked him on his way past, presumably to their class.

The demon snarled at him in annoyance, fangs as long as Koi's fingers laid bare before him, "Watch where you're going."

He nodded stiffly.

You should've watched where you're going, I wasn't even moving, Koi thought, but had enough brain cells to keep it to himself and moved to make way.

The demon narrowed its eyes at him, seemingly respecting an apology that the human refused to give.

Mammon, heavily displeased with the fact that the traffic has stopped before him, kicked the tall demon in the ass, "Oi! The hell're you doin' takin' up the whole hallway? Move your ass!!" Despite Mammon being half a foot, or maybe more, smaller than the other, the power imbalance was clear in the kick he'd sent to the offending demon.

Koi watched the stranger hold his tongue in front of Mammon and refrained from spitting whatever insult had been on their forked tongue. Instead, they simply huffed, grumbled some insults under their breath, and stomped off.

Before Koi could give Mammon his thanks, the man had swerved around, waving his hands in the air like a madman, and immediately tore into him, "Are ya serious?! You've been here two seconds- you walked through the front door ten fuckin steps ago, and you're already pickin' fights?! Lords above and below, how could Lucifer stick me with such a hot-headed troublesome human? Shit. This is the worse."

Koi decided to put a raincheck on showing his appreciation and instead faced him with an appalled look, "Hot-headed? I stood there. It was the other guy's fault for having no idea he's built like a door and is as wide as a bus."

Mammon mirrored his expression, though seemingly more bothered by the audacity to talk back than anything, "Ya shoulda just apologized. That 'bus of a demon' was sizin' you up for a meal. It'd do ya some good to grovel a bit if ya wanna survive here."

The other huffed, unable to find a proper retort, and decided to change the topic, "Do you know where 305 is? It's for uh-" Koi double-checked his phone, "-Devildumb history 101?"

"One, it's Devildom, if Lucifer hears ya say it like that he'll really have yer head," Mammon scolded, yet clearly amused, "-and two, I've got no clue, and I also don't care."

"Huh? But you're my- like- attendant or something, didn't you tell Lucifer you had my schedule-"

"HUH? OH, ME? YEP! COMIN' PROF!" Mammon covered his ears, exclaiming loudly for nearly everyone to hear, "-whoops, what tragic timing. Looks like they're callin' for me! See ya!!"

"What-?! Hey!" Koi attempted to grab the back of the demon's uniform before he could run too far, but regretfully, Koi did not have very long arms.

"Don't get eaten while I'm gone!!"

The student body parted for Mammon but couldn't be bothered with him. So within mere moments, he'd disappeared.

On second thought, Koi may just respond to Levi's text from last night.

I feel both relieved he's gone and also extremely stressed, Koi thought, glancing around his surroundings like a lost lamb. Thankfully, the hallways were less crowded than they were five minutes ago, so the number of students had thinned, and more of his environment was visible.

Koi clutched his school bag and huffed through his nose. Steeling his nerves and relaxing his shoulders, he walked with confidence like he knew where he was going (he did not), and met the eye of every demon who'd paid him any mind. Just think of them like dogs, they can smell your fear, he thought as he rounded the corner to another seemingly endless hallway.

"Um, hello, are you-" a hand settled on his shoulder, and Koi, with all the grace of a startled cat, tripped over his feet to face the voice, swung his bag through pure instinct, and whacked whoever was there with all five (Lucifer provided) textbooks in his book bag straight into a nearby wall.

"...and so that's what happened."

Solomon, who'd introduced himself upon his arrival, did little to hide his amusement. 

Koi, who had remorsefully followed Mammon's advice, groveled as pitifully as possible at the feet of the gorgeous angel he'd hit with about 30 pounds of knowledge, "I am so sorry. I swear it was instinctual and completely unintentional."

Simeon waved him off with one hand, the other soothing the bump on his cheekbone that has begun to swell, "It's quite alright. I apologize for startling you."

"It's not alright, I'll- I'll treat you to a meal! I swear I will as soon as I know what restaurants won't kill me...and when I have money...and freedom." Solomon snorted before attempting to save face and poorly hid it beneath a fake cough. Glad to see the only other human here was reveling in his distress.

Simeon laughed, it was light and airy and it made Koi want to swoon (and cry from guilt).

"Really, it's fine. I won't hold it against you. I'm just glad I found you when I did! While I know Mammon can be unpredictable and distractable at best, I didn't think he'd abandon you like that."

Koi stared up at the angel with tears full of gratefulness and unadulterated adoration, "Wow, you really are an angel."

The man startled at this before bashfully waving once more and hiding his flush with whatever odd piece of clothing he was wearing.

"Well, aside from greeting Simeon with your bookbag," Solomon started, throwing a hand out to transfer Koi's attention to him, "-would you like to introduce yourself?"

The other cursed under his breath, fumbling to get off the floor to clumsily shake Solomon's hand, much to the pale man’s amusement.

”Sorry- so sorry, my name is Kioshi, but Koi is fine. And you are?”

The man returned Koi’s grip and smiled politely, “Solomon, the other human here. You’ll hear some of my other names- mostly Solomon the sorcerer, or Solomon the wise, some old acquaintances may call me King Solomon but that’s a bit embarrassing now…just Sol or Solomon will do.”

”And that’s Simeon. While his face is beautiful, I would advise not using it for target practice.” Solomon responded, pointing to the angel organizing his papers before the lecture starts.

”Please..” Koi whined, burying his face in his hands and collapsing into the seat beside Simeon, “-just forget that happened. Or better yet, just eviscerate me here.”

”Oh, Simeon is the last person to hold a grudge in all three realms.” Solomon replied, seating himself on the other side of the human.

”Three?” he questioned.

Solomon hummed, “Three.”

”You’ll learn soon enough,” Simeon smiled, organizing his papers in a way that dreadfully reminded Koi of his college years, “-or as soon as the professor arrives.”

”Hey Simeon, I’ve got a question.”

Simeon smiled, “And I have an answer. Well, most likely.”

”There’s supposed to be a second angel, right? What are they like?” Koi asked, pulling his (Lucifer-provided) pencil case from his (Lucifer-provided) school bag. 

“Oh, Luke? Well…” Simeon paused, pursing his lips and furrowing his brows, ruminating over the question.

”A chihuahua.” Solomon responded.

”Yes!” The angel snapped his fingers, pointing at Solomon, “a chihuahua.”

Koi held back a grimace, “If they’re anything like Mammon I think I might cry.”

Simeon snorted, “Luke is a different kind of chihuahua. Although both he and Mammon are typically all bark and no bite, that’s only due to Luke being a child. He’s young and is still maturing, that’s all.”

Seems Mammon is more immature than I thought if he’s being compared to a kid, Koi thought.

”He’s a good kid. I think he’ll like you.” Solomon stated before snickering, “So long as he never finds out you hit Simeon square in the nose.”

”Can we please stop talking about that?”

Simeon, truly an angel, had given Koi a map of RAD and marked where his classes were, and parted ways after the lecture was over. Solomon didn’t seem to share much of the same schedule as he did, so Koi probably won’t see much of him until next semester. Or whatever the demon equivalent of a semester is.

Koi trudged to his class, already wiped from just an hour at RAD, and pathetically pushed the door open to his next class. The name was unfamiliar to him, so he had no clue what he’d be learning here.

Stumbling inside, a majority of the class was already seated and were situated their things to prepare for when the professor arrived. Upon the many unfamiliar and unusual heads, Koi visibly grimaced when he locked eyes with Mammon. The demon made a similar look back.

Mammon seemed to call out to him, but Koi blatantly ignored him and chose an empty seat at the opposite end of the room. He already dislikes this class. Koi sighed and put his head in his hands.

He’s only been here a day and he already wished some demon-monster-thing would eat him whole. If anyone, he hopes it’s Beelzebub. He seemed nice enough to make it quick.

Koi's phone buzzed once, then twice, and upon opening it- he found a slew of angry (but mostly panicky) texts from Mammon. Don't tell Lucifer about earlier this, and don't say I abandoned you!! that. Simeon was right to compare him to an immature child. In response, he leaves Mammon on read and instead sends a smiley face to Simeon and asks where he'll be for lunch.

...

"Oi, human!!" Koi grimaced and began walking faster, he really did not want to deal with the secondborn right now. Shoving through the crowd- far too tired to care about the received glares, Koi sped-walked to the cafeteria Simeon kindly directed him towards over text. 

He turned the corner, speeding into the corridor leading to the cafeteria. The respite was so close and yet-

"Hey, you are ignoring me!" A tan hand caught the shoulder of his uniform and spun Koi around with unsettling strength. Mammon cornered him against the wall, the flow of demons effortlessly avoiding him. 

"Listen to me when I call you, damn it," Mammon grumbled. 

"Considering how you treated me this morning, I've decided to be selective with my hearing."

The demon scoffed, backing off a step to give the human room to breathe, "Oh please, you're fine. Here ya are, standing tall! No one ate you!"

Koi, despite his hardest efforts, seemed to let his annoyance show on his face. Mammon frowned, "Hey, don't get mad at me alright? I'm a busy man, I had things to do."

Already fed up, Koi shoved past him, uncaring for the consequences, "Fuck off man. If you're not gonna do your job, then don't. Both you and I couldn't care less if someone here chopped me up into little bits."

Mammon, unaware of the other man's annoyance, or simply uncaring, followed, "Yeah, but if ya do get chopped up it's my head on the block!"

"Then either do your job or don't. Either way, it's not my problem." Koi nearly slammed the door open to the cafeteria and nearly fell to his knees in relief to see Simeon and Solomon on the far side of the large room. Dashing over and leaving Mammon without a goodbye, he resisted the urge to jump into one of their arms.

Solomon smiled at his arrival, "Hey, how are you holding up?"

"It's only been one lecture later, I don't think much could've happened in such a time," Simeon chuckled before he turned to face Koi, "Actually, I take that back. Are you alright? You look like Cerberus dragged you by the hair."

"Mammon."

"Ah."

"Ugh, that stupid greedy demon?! What'd he do to you?? Did he hurt you? Listen, you should never trust demons. Especially not a conman like him!" A voice called. Koi turned to the sound and found himself looking below him. Ah. A child? He had picture-perfect blonde hair with beautiful blues, pale skin, and flushed cheeks puffed up in defiance. He can't tell if the kid looks cute in a cute way, or cute in an angry pomeranian way with legs too stubby to do anything but bark and hop.

"Pretty sure conmen are supposed to have at least a couple of brain cells to pull off their schemes," Koi retorted before smiling at the kid and reaching out his hand. "My name is Koi, I'm a human exchange student. Can I assume you're Luke?"

The boy flushes, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce myself! That was rude-" The boy grabs his hand firmly and shakes it, "Yes, my name is Luke. I'm an angel. It's nice to meet you!"

Cute kid, Koi smiles. He resists the urge to pet his head. It would be too soon not to be considered rude. Patience, he thought, fists clenched. Patience is a virtue.

The minor small talk, the four exchange students buy their lunch (thank the lords for sending down Simeon, and thank you Simeon for sharing his Grimm) and awkwardly find a place to eat. Koi grimaces at his food. Despite not eating breakfast this morning, the food on his lunch tray definitely doesn't make him hungry. With a glance around the table, he's relieved that the angels feel the same way. Solomon however, wasted no time and spent no hesitance in eating. What a weird guy.

Simeon talks about what had happened in his previous class but before Koi could become too invested, he feels a weight crush the seat next to him. Slightly horrified, he wonders if an anvil fell from the sky to answer his prayers.

Instead, Beelzebub sits beside him, meekly eating his lunch and keeping to himself. He wonders why the demon would choose to sit here of all places. Maybe he's friends with Solomon and the angels? God, now he feels like he's in high school all over again.

Koi taps the table to get the man's attention before silently sliding his tray of food over. He receives a shimmer in Beelzebub's eyes, indeed lighting up with happiness before he nods in thanks. Cute, Koi thinks, like a big puppy. A very, very big puppy.

Before the human can ask why he sat here instead of wherever his brothers were, Luke's appalled gasp cut into his ears, "Is that true?!"

"Is what true?" he asks, tuning into the conversation again.

Luke stares at him, utterly horrified on his behalf, baby blue eyes gleaming with enough sympathy and worry to cure a drought, "Are you really being forced to stay at the House of Lamentation? That's horrible!"

Koi shrugs, unsure if Luke has noticed one of its residents behind him, "I mean, I wouldn't give it a five-star rating, but my bedroom is huge, its got a real tree in it, a huge one, and the water pressure at that place is wicked- so I wouldn't really say it's terrible. But it's certainly not ideal, either."

"No, no, I'm not talking about the household appliances- I'm talking about the demons!! You're living with demons!" Luke nearly screeched. Even the sentence was too much for him to bare.

"Yep."

"That's all you have to say?!"

"Settle down, Luke," Simeon coaxed, "-there's no need to yell."

The boy squeaks out a sheepish apology before turning to Koi again, "Listen, you can't trust any of them."

"They're demons. They might seem okay, but it's all just a facade. They're deceiving you. That's what they do. You need to be careful around them. Who knows what they'll do." 

Koi sighs, peeling off his uniform and tossing them onto his bed as he ruminates over Luke's words from before. It wasn't anything he hadn't known or considered before, but the weight of his gaze held a particular unease that's stayed with Koi since. He thinks back to Mammon; how he'd left him to fend for himself just because, he thinks about Leviathan; his threats, and the proposal he has yet to respond to, he thinks about all the demons he'd seen today just barely concealing their indifference. He thinks about his safety, and how he should even go about it.

It's not like he's a stranger to danger, or to the scarcity of a place he felt safe, but this time he had a choice- it was up to him if he wanted to put in the effort.

Pulling on some pajamas he found himself drifting to Leviathan's unanswered message.

With hesitance, his thumbs pad across the digital keyboard.

Alright, fine.

I'll get you that stupid pact.

Chapter Text

Koi stares at the frozen credit card.

"Unexpected, but within reason," he mutters, fishing it out from the freezer. It seemed fitting that Mammon's most prized possession was quite literally hidden in plain sight, in the fucking fridge. Koi senses he doesn't have a single domestic bone in his body.

"Well? Hurry up." Leviathan orders. 

Much like his older brother, Leviathan was fastly approaching the end of Koi's patience, tap dancing on his nerves without a care in the world. Mammon had long dived into the pit of distrust. Just barely resisting the urge to shoulder-check the man, Koi passed the blue-haired demon and half-heartedly tossed the credit card into the microwave. He didn't care if it exploded. Honestly, he kind of hopes it does.

Pressing 1, the microwave lights up with heat as it thaws the card for the next minute. Leviathan, who lurks behind him, but still sensible enough to maintain both their personal space (thank god), hums at him, "You sure one minute is gonna be enough?" 

Koi shrugs, turning to face him, "If not, we'll put it in for another."

The man frowns, "We're kind of on a schedule, you know."

He glares in response, "Hey man, we either thaw it slowly to ensure the cards- and our bargaining chip for whatever stupid ass game you need it for- is safe," Koi turns around, adding another minute to the microwave simply to spite the other, "OR we nuke it, blow the thing up, including the microwave, and we will not only lose what we need to convince Mammon but we will also have Lucifer fifteen inches up our ass for breaking his shit."

Leviathan is glaring back by the time he turns back around, seemingly annoyed by the smug look on Koi's face that he is undoubtedly wearing, "Take your pick."

The demon huffs at him, pushing past him to cancel the time and reset it for only a minute. Koi grins at this win. 

A W is a W no matter how small, he thinks as the demon walks to the edge of the kitchen to brood in his own little corner. Good or bad, it gives Koi time to himself and his thoughts. As Mammon's credit card turned inside the microwave solemnly, begging to be released, he really feels his hair stand on the back of his neck. This is absolutely a bad idea, he thinks. 

"When a demon is in a pact with a human, that demon is forced to follow the human's every command. No matter what!" Levi had told him inside of the safe confines of his degenerate otaku den. Koi felt the body pillow inside the bathtub stare holes into him. Shuddering, he tried his best to ignore it. 

"Really?" the human asks, not convinced at all. 

"Yep," Leviathan said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You'll be his master, and there's nothing he can do about it."

"He can't kill me?"

"Uh..."

The hesitant pause really reassured Koi. Great. He was so fucking dead.

"I don't think so?" the demon eventually responded.

"You don't think so? Aren't you the expert in this situation?"

Leviathan just shrugged, not particularly bothered, "Solomon has like- a million pacts with every demon and their mothers. He even has one with Asmo, and he's not dead."

Okay. Slightly comforting.

"So you don't think Mammon will kill me for forcing him into a pact?"

Levi pauses.

"Uh- sure."

Great.

Koi sighs, the ding of the microwave pulling him from the past. He pulls out the plate holding the card and finds that the ice has slowly thawed. The block has lessened, smoothing down the edges as the residue forms a puddle on the plate. But there was still a good amount of ice to get through.

He wipes off the melted ice with a nearby towel and pops it back in for another minute.

Aside from Mammon, Koi begins to wonder about Leviathan. He's had his fair share of wacky otaku weirdos doxxing him for saying he didn’t like this character or doesn’t like that show and he really hopes Leviathan was not like that. If he has to live with a basement dweller of that kind, he may just invoke his future pact with Mammon to kill him.

"The hell?" The man of the hour stumbles into the kitchen, grimacing at the light and visibly, yet mentally, asking why it was not dimmed. It was the House of Lamentation. The lights can be fucking dimmed, especially at the ass crack of dawn. 

Levi grins at Mammon, which was a bad sign already, and Koi shuffles in front of the microwave, a mix of tired physically, and tired mentally.

"Good morning," Leviathan chips, waddling over to the microwave as well.

"If yer here to bang, go do it somewhere else. Like in the common room or somethin'," the older mutters, shoving past to open the fridge. Probably for something to drink. "Not sure why you'd choose Levi though, he probably likes to lick toes."

Leviathan's face shrivels into something akin to complete and utter despair before turning to disgust, then back to despair.

"No, Mammon, we are not in the kitchen to have sex," Koi sighs. Honestly, what the hell goes on in that guy's head? The demon merely hums at him, clearly still half awake. Rightfully so, Koi also wishes he was doing nothing other than laying in bed.

The microwave beeps just as Mammon closes the fridge. Pulling out the plate, most of the ice was now gone. The puddle on the plate grows bigger.

Suddenly, like the screech of a hawk, Mammon startles at what Koi is holding, "WHAT IN THE-"

Fast, like lightning, Mammon dashes over to the human, leaping for his card. Leviathan, the only one in the room to match the speed of the sleepy demon, steps in front of Koi with the smugest of smug smirks. "No can do, big bro. Gonna have to back it up."

"HUH?" The older shouts. Koi grimaces. Does he have to be so loud so early in the morning? At this point, he was going to wake up everyone in the goddamn house.

"Excuse me? That is my credit card! My Goldie! My precious, most prized golden Goldie!!" The man squawks as Koi wipes the plate down, leaving the rest in Leviathan's probably incapable hands. "Where did you even find it? Give it to me-!"

"Uh-uh, I said back up," the younger sang, holding his place.

"Levi I am going to kick your-"

"Quiet down, both of you." Koi groaned, "You're grating to the ears and you're two milliseconds away from waking up Lucifer. Do you want to wake up Lucifer?"

Mammon's face sinks as fast as his heart, both most definitely falling into his ass, "No, no, there's no need to go so far!"

"Then quiet."

Surprisingly, he actually shuts up. The satisfaction is immense, and he's beginning to see the upsides to this pact thing.

"God- whatever. Human, can you just give me the damn card?" he says, all sass and ego as he reaches his hand out expectantly. Wow. The gall of this man. He can't help but feel his face pull into a very clear look of disgust.

"Nope, the human here is-"

"I have a name."

"-anyways, he's here to force you to give me my money back."

"Your what?" Mammon sighs.

"Uh, yeah. You know, my money? That you still haven't given back? For two fucking centuries now? " Leviathan spits, gritting his teeth and glaring.

"Oh for-" the demon sighs, waving his hand dismissively, "-sure, yeah, whatever. I'll give it to ya once ya give my Goldie back."

"Uh- no. The last time I did that you went a whole damn century completely avoiding the topic. I am forcing you to give me my money back."

Mammon snorts, "Yeah, okay. How do you plan to do that?"

Leviathan glances at him and the stupid fucking plan that he'd cooked up is transferred telepathically to his head by the sheer power of stupidity and Bluetooth connection.

"Lucifeeer." Koi calls monotonously, not at all putting effort into his acting, "Mammon is here thawing out his credit carrrrdd."

"WOAH, WOAH HEY-!" Mammon immediately panics. It really is a wonder just how magical Lucifer's name is.

"Oh noooo, Luciferrrr! He's-"

"Christ on a bike, OKAY!" The demon concedes, putting his hands up in the air, and surrenders his pride to the two before him. They both grin. Mammon sighs with all the weight in the world, "What do you want now, Levi?"

"I want you to enter a pact with the human," he answers, grinning through slightly pointed teeth.

"You what."

"Yep," Koi responds.

"Yer okay with this?!"

He merely shrugs, "You'll never listen to me otherwise. I'd be nice to have a protector that actually, you know, protects."

Mammon snarls at him, "Oh, human, I am gonna-"

"LUCIFER-"

"GOD OKAY. JESUS."

Mammon groans into his hands, drags them down his face, and sighs once more, before defeatedly letting his shoulders fall with a slump.

"Pact, sure yeah, whatever. Just please don't call Lucifer?"

Koi smiles at him, "It is nice to hear you say please. Didn't know you had it in you."

Mammon fixes him with a weak glare.

There’s a brief bout of silence as the three of them stand in an awkward circle. Mammon glances at Koi, who glances at Leviathan, who glances at Mammon.

”So, uh- how do we do the pact thing?” Koi asks. “Do we have to cut our palms and shake hands or something?”

“Good question.” Leviathan hums.

”You don‘t know?” 

The other fixes the human with a look, “How should I know? No one wants to make a pact with a demon like me.”

”I thought it was my job to be the stupid one?” Mammon groans, sighing into his hands.

He then bends on one knee, like he was going to propose, and reaches out to take one of Koi’s hands. The demon shuts his eyes, breathes in, and speaks, “I will serve.”

A burning sensation melds into the skin of Koi’s neck. He gasps, his other hand clutching his throat as a sigil burns into his flesh.

Mammon looks up at him, golden eyes glowing a bit brighter than before. He fixes the human with a heavy look, uncertain of the intentions, but the weight of his gaze makes Koi’s stomach turn.

”I will be of service.”

The moment the demon lets go of his hand, matching sigils have formed on the back of one of Mammon’s hands and on the front of Koi’s neck. The human stumbles into the counter, gritting his teeth at the lingering fire sweltering in the newfound pact mark. It burns with power and it’s making it harder for him to breathe.

”Done, now gimme Goldie back, damn it.”

Levi tosses the half thawed credit card at his older brother who enthusiastically catches it. He curls in on himself with happiness, rubbing his cheek against the block of ice containing his love.

Both Leviathan and Koi grimace at him. God, what a loser.

”Well, I’m off. There’s an event starting in fifteen minutes,” Leviathan says, turning on his heel to leave.

”Wait,” the human calls, “-I thought you wanted me to order Mammon to give your money back?”

The demon shrugs, “He just got his card back. He won’t be able to cash it out till the morning anyway. Besides, now that you have a pact with him, he can give it to me whenever I want.”

Leviathan leaves him with Mammon. Awkward silence surrounds the two.

”Hey, listen-“ 

“Nope.”

Mammon turns on his heel and leaves.

It takes every fiber of Koi’s being to not order him to stay and listen. But he was also tired, and they could talk in the morning. 

With a sigh, he trudged back to his room and collapses into bed.

. . .

Mammon groans into his pillow, screaming in utter despair. How could he be so stupid?

It was the following morning (technically the same morning, depending on how you see it), and somehow Asmodeus and Satan already knew about his new pact. His first pact. God. Not to mention they were blowing up his phone with insults and laughing stickers. What a bunch of pricks. Would it kill them to have a little bit of sympathy for him? 

When his phone rings for the fifth time in the past hour, Mammon angrily sits up in his bed, answering the phone aggressively, "Asmo I swear to the nine rings if you call me one more time just to be a dick I am going to rip YOURS from your body."

The line is silent and finally, he thinks he's won.

"Yikes. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Mammon stiffens, unintentionally straightening his back as Koi answers him. Shit. Must be a pact thing.

"Thought you were one of my annoying ass brothers."

"You thought wrong."

He sighs into the speaker, "What do ya want now? If ya tell me to give Levi's money back right now Imma march over to yer room and kick yer ass."

"So feisty. Would it hurt to be nice to me? Beelzebub is fastly approaching my favorite."

Mammon's eye twitches along with his fist, his body begs for a reason to sock the human, "I couldn't give less of a shit."

"So vulgur," the human chuckles.

"Are ya gonna tell me why ya called me? Or should I just hang up on you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting to that." Koi sighs and he can hear the human shuffling things around on the other end of the line, "Could you come to my room? We need to talk."

"Nah, don't feel like it."

Koi sighs in his ear. It makes Mammon shiver.

"Please don't make me order you. Just be good and come over, okay?"

He doesn't like how that sounds. He also doesn't like the way the human is talking to him. He sounds different this morning. More...civil. Open to conversation and his insults don't seem to annoy him as much. Mammon would really like to avoid Koi for as long as he possibly can, but he also doesn't want to figure out how it feels to be ordered in a pact.

Begrudgingly, he mutters an agreement into the phone.

The human hums, and he can almost hear his smile, "Thank you, Mammon. I'll be waiting?"

Mammon hangs up on him.

You'd be waitin' forever if I could have my way, Mammon thinks stubbornly. With a sigh, he pulls on a shirt and makes his way to the exchange students' room.

Mammon holds up the peace of paper, “The fuck is this?”

”I don’t really know how these pact things work- so I thought we’d make a physical contract.” The human answers, “You know, so we’re both on the same page.”

“Huh?”

Koi sighs, turning in his desk chair to face him properly, “Mammon, look. I really didn’t want to do this either, okay? But I’m pretty sure Leviathan would’ve chucked me out the window if I didn’t.”

The demon makes a look at that, “Levi’s a damn coward. He wouldn’t do that. Not with Lucifer breathin’ down all of our necks.”

He just shrugs, “Didn’t feel like risking it.”

Koi sits up and crosses his arms, staring at him as he gestures towards the contract, “I don’t want you to think I’m going to use this pact against you. The thought of ordering you around against your will makes me feel…” he trails off, stoic face scrunching up with thinly veiled disgust, “-not good.”

”I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. Okay?”

Mammon watches with careful eyes. He gazed at the human looking for any signs of conceit or lies, but he doesn’t find any.

Huh, he thinks. With an odd feeling curling in his insides, he reads the contract.

The employer; Kioshi hereby swears to abid by the contract. Failure to abid by the contract results in punishment of varying degrees decided only by the employee.

The employee: ____ hereby swears to abid by the contract. Failure to abid by the contract results in punishment of varying degrees decided only by the employer.

Clauses:

1. The employee can no longer call the employer by ‘human’. Other phrases, nicknames, and insults may be used as alternatives.
   
   
2. The employee cannot fatally or morally injure the employer.
   
   
3. The employer cannot fatally or morally injure the employee. Using the pact to force the employee to harm themself, provoke others to harm themself, or any use of the pact to inadvertently harm the employee is strictly forbidden.
   
   
4. The employer cannot use the pact to force the employee to do or say anything against their will.
   
   
5. The pact will bend around the word(s); ____. Use of this word(s) nullifies all effects of the pact temporarily. During that time, the employer cannot use the pact against the employee. 

”What..?” Mammon feels confusion flood his features as he turns the contract around to point at clause 5. “What is this supposed ta mean?”

”It’s a safe word.” Koi responded. “I figured we’d decide on one together.”

“A safeword…” 

“Yes.”

”Wha- why ?” The demon asked. “But- I mean, you’ve got a pact with a demon. With me ! I-I’m one of the seven rulers of hell and- and you don’t want to… you want to give me a safe word ?”

”Of course I do,” the human responds, standing from his chair. He hates the way Mammon shrinks under his gaze, clutching the contract in growing confusion and conflicting emotions.

”But-“

”I’m not giving you a safe word. It’s not just for you, it’s for both of us. We don’t have to use it just for the pact. We can like- use it in everyday stuff too. Like if I stumble on a topic you don’t like or feel uncomfortable about we can just- you can just say the safe word and I’ll drop it! No questions asked. And it’ll go the same way for me too.”

Mammon stares at him and he feels his heart break a little. He hopes, he really, truly hopes, that someone hadn’t broken Mammon’s trust so badly.

”But what if I say it when you’re just asking for me to listen to you? What if I use it all the time and you’ll never get to use the pact on me?”

“Then I won’t use the pact on you. Ever. It’s that simple.”

Mammon feels like it’s not that simple. But he knows it is. He knows Koi isn’t like the witches. That he’s probably a good person, and at the very least, isn’t nearly as horrible and cruel as the witches. 

But- freedom? He’s actually giving Mammon freedom in his pact? As much freedom as he wants?

His throat closes and he feels the pact mark burn into his tan skin. The human watches him expectantly, yet patiently, with gentle eyes that make Mammon want to hide. 

A confused noise weasels its way out of Mammon's throat, Koi can't tell if it's a sound of agreement or confusion. The demon turns the contract back around and hesitantly continues to look over the rest of the contract. 

6. The employee cannot steal or exploit the employer.

Mammon huffs, "Really man?"

Koi just grins that stupid grin of his, "Just a precaution, my friend."

The rest of the contract is blank despite a large, unused gap between where the clauses end and where the paper ends. Mammon turns the contract ever to look at the back and only sees where the pen bleeds through the cheap paper Koi must've stolen from god knows where.

"Where's the rest?" he asks.

"I figured I'd leave it up to you. Anything you want to add?" Mammon's eyes shine and he seems visibly pleased. Koi just huffs a laugh as he hands the demon a pen, "Within reason, please."

Mammon snatches the pen from the human's hand and waltzes over to his nearby desk, sitting himself there like it was his own room. Koi doesn't mind. He's lived in this house for who knows how long and while he doesn't know what this room was used for previously, Mammon’s probably more familiar with the room than he was. So he doesn't feel bothered by Mammon acting like he owned the place.

He joins Mammon at the desk, peering over the man's shoulder as he furiously scribbles on the contract. Koi snorts, "You've been alive longer than I can fathom and your handwriting is still this shit?"

The demon gives him a nasty look before huffing indignantly and continuing his previous efforts.

7. The emplr employer is required to come when called. No matter the time or day. The employer is now considered the employee's patr partner in crime, no matter the crime.

Mammon grins at him with an almost giddy joy that Koi finds himself too weak to protest the absurdity of the new clause. With a defeated sigh, he nods, "As long as you promise to protect me if shit hits the fan."

"Who do ya think I am?! I'm one of the seven princes of hell! I mean, some people don't take me seriously, but everyone knows not to touch what's mine." Mammon fixes him with a gaze he cannot tell the intent of, "So ya don't have to worry. No one'll mess with ya now."

Koi opens his mouth to respond but finds the words dying on his tongue. He stands there, awkwardly, as the temperature rises in his cheeks. 

"Wow, Mammon, I didn't know you felt that way about me," Koi jokes, because he doesn't know what else to do. He wiggles goofily and is relieved when Mammon turns red.

"THAT'S NOT-" the demon's voice cracks. There's a beat of silence before he clears his throat, even redder as embarrassment settles on his face, "I just mean that we're in a pact now. It means yer my master, and ain't no one my master. If this thing is gonna work, it's the other way around, ya got it?! No one is the master of the Great Mammon!"

Koi waves him off and lets the demon save face despite feeling bashful himself, "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. No need to get your panties in a twist." Mammon looks like he's gonna squawk again so the human doesn't give him the chance to speak, "-So, you got anything else to put on there? I'm gonna hang it in front of my desk so that we can take it down and change anything if need be."

The demon pauses to think before he turns around and begins to write again.

8. MOST IMPORTANT!!!!! The employer MUST call the employee the Great (GREAT!! Make it enthusiastic!) Mammon.

"Absolutely not. I'd rather die." Koi responds as he steals the pen from Mammon's hold and crosses out number 8.

The demon huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, "Yer no fun."

"Stop sulking, you child," he laughs, pinching Mammon's cheek and nearly marvels at how soft his skin is. Now that he thinks about it, Mammon has flawless skin. Must be the perks of having demonic genes.

The demon is still huffing and puffing as he goes about his room to gather his things. When he's still complaining about disrespect and whatnot, he shoves Mammon's head without much strength, a playful push, as he passes him to grab his phone. "Come on you big baby. We're gonna be late for breakfast. Leave that on my desk, will you? And take a picture of it, so you don't forget what's on it. We can decide on a safe word later."

Koi closes the door behind him as he leaves, letting Mammon stew in his room. The demon finds himself speechless and slumps into the chair as a flurry of emotions hit him in the human's absence. Koi is giving him freedom. He's letting him add to the contract. He's trusting Mammon in his room alone. Something settles in his chest and Mammon puts his hand over it. He can't tell what the feeling is, but it's not bad. He almost feels...content. Like he could get used to it.

Huh. Maybe this pact thing won't be so bad.

Mammon closes his eyes and breathes out the stress from the morning.

The room smells like Koi. Mammon could smell the stress on him too. It comes off him in waves that it still lingers even without Koi's presence. And yet, he couldn't smell an inch of fear on him. He feels like that should make him upset. Koi should fear him. It would be better for Mammon and his family if he did. If Koi was scared of them, maybe he'd behave, and maybe this exchange program would go well. Then Diavolo would be happy, which would make Lucifer happy, and then Belphie could come home. But he's not. And somehow, that doesn't make Mammon feel any different.

He kind of doesn't want Koi to be scared of him.

...

"I should get ready too."

Koi concept art!!! For anyone that would like a visual in your head!!!!

Chapter Text

Koi crashes through the hall, knocking over one of the tapestries that hung loosely from the paint-peeling walls. He wrinkles the rug as he trips over his own feet, scrambling to get away he hastily rises and continues to run. Escape was so close. His bedroom door loomed over him at the end of the hallway, but the walls stretched and the floor lengthened to unimaginable lengths. Safety was just before him, but he knew that it would only be temporary even if he made it. He was so close. He could feel it in the pounding of his ribcage and the shakes of the floor, the house trembling beneath his outrage. 

The boy slows from running to walking before he eventually stops. He stands there, helpless, but he resigns himself to his long-awaited fate. Koi turns around and waits for the other door to swing open and reveal him in all his imposing glory. But a figure captures his attention, a shadow out the hallway window. The rain continues to fight against the thin glass and as Koi blinks, he expects the mysterious phantom to disappear. Not even the undead deserves to see what is next. No one should bear witness to such a gruesome scene.

Instead, violet eyes peer at him from the other side of the glass. The storm assaults the figure and lightning fills out the silhouette properly. Horns, and a boyish figure belonging to that of a young man. He seems...familiar. But only faintly.

The rain soaks the mysterious man and he stands there, eyes locked with his own. The figure faces nature's storm and Koi is left dry in the dimly lit hallway. Despite that, Koi knew that he would've been safer out there, in the rain, underneath the blanket of darkness.

"Run," he tells the unknown. The figure shows life for the first time as it blinks owlishly at him.

"Run," he repeats, he knows his face betrays his terror as his little kid body trembles from familiar despair, "or he'll get you too."

Koi jolts awake. The sound of rain beating against the window by his bed filters in slowly as he gathers his bearings. This room was not his own, this bed was not his own.

Right.

This realm was not his own either.

Koi sits up and reaches for his phone. He stares at the date in muted disdain before registering the time. It was barely past midnight and the morning was too far to stay awake. But adrenalin and fear run rampant in his veins and he knows he will not rest anytime soon. He looks at the date again before sighing and pulling himself out of bed.

That time of the year again, huh? The thought puts him in an even worse mood as he pulls on enough clothes to be somewhat decent as he trudges sluggishly to the kitchen. The storm was loud and it keeps his footsteps quiet enough to not bother his housemates. As he reaches the main room and takes a sharp left turn to find something to drink, he stands frozen by one of the oil paintings that hang from the wall.

Violet eyes peer down at him.

. . .

"-and then he was like-"

"-I can't even belie-"

"-oi, look at-"

"KOI !!" The human flinches, flung back into the present and he finds Mammon's displeased face at his side as he snaps his fingers not far from his nose. "Jeez, where'd ya go, man? It's like ya couldn't even hear me. I was tellin' ya all sorts of important things and yer not even all there! 'S hella disrespectful, ya know."

"Oh."

"Ya, oh."

Koi sighs, running a hand down his face as he stands from his desk. Most of the students have filtered out by now but some were still packing. Good, it hasn't been that long since the bell rang then. He's a little surprised Mammon bothered to wait for him, but then again, since they'd formed that pact, he's become a near-constant presence in Koi's schedule. 

"Sorry, I guess I'm not feeling well." The human says as he gathers his things and leaves in step with the demon.

"Huh, are ya sick? If ya are, don't expect charity from me."

"Don't worry, I didn't," Koi replies with a roll of his eyes. Although the man is a tad bit less annoying lately, he is still a bit much, and definitely too confusing to read.

Mammon huffs. He can't tell if the man is satisfied or upset with Koi's answer. The human groans as he rubs his temple. Maybe he should ask Solomon if he has any ibuprofen. As the two leave the classroom, Mammon continues to talk about petty family drama as they walk through the halls. He’s sure that Mammon has a class to go to- but he has a free period.

He glances at the demon at his side. He talks with his hands, but not nearly enough as Leviathan. Speaking of him, he needs to remember to accompany Mammon to the nearest ATM to get what he owed his little brother. Mammon doesn’t look at him as he tells his story, too engrossed in dramatisizing the details so he doesn’t sound as much of an asshole as he probably was.

The more Koi spends time looking at him, he finds that the demon was very beautiful. His eyelashes were winter white just like his hair and it stood out against his brown skin. He can’t see his eyes very well from where he’s looking, but he’s fascinated by how there are multiple colors.

“Why do you wear sunglasses when your eyes are so pretty?” he asks, not really thinking before he says it. He was curious so he doesn’t feel too embarrassed, that is until Mammon trips over his own feet, burning a bright red.

“The hell, man?!” Mammon shouts as if he’d been the one to trip him.

Koi huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, “It’s just a question. And while we’re at it, why wear them inside ?”

Mammon turns on his heel and starts to speed-walk away. A hand covers the back of his neck, probably to hide how red it was. Koi just grins, jogging to catch up.

“Aw, you embarrassed? Cause I called you a pretty little boy?” he teases, poking Mammon’s side.

The demon cringes, swatting away his hand, “Of course not, ya idiot! It’s just- ya know, weird ! It came outta no where!!” Mammon stares at him through those tinted glasses as the human smiles stupidly, “-And it’s none of yer business anyway!”

“Yeah, yeah, keep your secrets Mr. Mystery-man.”

The man turns his nose in the air, “I will, thank you very much.”

Koi’s smile softens as they continue to walk together. Mammon continues his story and the human can’t find any wish to stop him. Although he does wonder, does that mean his brothers also have eyes like that? As a person, Koi prefers not to make eye contact. He’s never seen a reason for it since he’s bad at reading facial expressions anyway, and something about a mutual gaze tends to make him uncomfortable.

But with eyes like that, Koi hums, I don’t think I’d mind.

“By the way, where are ya goin’ anyway?” Mammon asks. He can feel his gaze on him but he doesn’t feel like returning it unless those tinted sunglasses are out of the way.

“The library. The first day was too hectic for me to visit, but I’ve got time now.” Koi responds as they take a left turn as the bell rings. Most students have filtered out of the halls and it leaves him with just Mammon.

The demon grimaces, “I thought you had a free period?”

“I do,” he replies with a roll of his eyes, “I’m going there to look for some stuff. Besides, don’t you have a class? What are you doing hanging off of me?”

“Well, ya know, I’m babysittin’ you. Gotta make sure ya don’t get eaten in between classes.”

Koi eyes him suspiciously, “You just wanna skip class, don’t you?”

He looks away, “I dunno what yer talkin’ about.”

Koi laughs quietly as they turn another corner, “Well, I’ll take what I can get.”

“It’s the first week anyway! I can slack off a bit.”

“Isn’t the first week the most important?”

The demon shrugs, “Maybe for ya humans, but not for us demons.”

“I have a feeling that’s a bunch of bullshit.”

Mammon grins toothily at him. Koi tries not to stare at the pointed teeth, “Dunno what yer talkin’ about.”

Koi can’t help but smile back at him, feeling much more at ease since they’d formed a pact. Maybe that’s just how it is when you create a bond with a demon. He should remember to stay on his guard though, no matter how much Mammon is reminding him of a cute little puppy.

They eventually reach the library and Koi is slightly shell-shocked at the sheer size of the double doors.

“I’m surprised ya even knew how to get here. Took me a full decade to memorize this damn place.”

The man shrugs, “I have an eidetic memory.”

He pushes open the doors and stumbles inside, nearly falling on his face from shock. The library was large. Inconceivably large. There were tiny little bat look-a-likes flying about the place, the shelves reached the ceilings with floating platforms to take you wherever your located book was, and the grandiose interior screamed money. Students were studying diligently among the scattered tables and rooms off to the right that held plaques written in a language he can’t read yet.

“Woah,” he whispers, utterly winded.

“Eh, it’s okay.” Mammon shrugged. Koi steps on his foot.

A grin breaks out on Koi’s face as he nearly runs to the front desk. The demon working before him is typing away at its computer, adjusting its monocle when it notes Koi’s presence. It almost looks like it grimaces in the face of the human’s excitement—or just the human in general.

“What do you need, hun? I’m working here,” a feminine voice calls, turning in its swivel chair to face him.

“Um, where do you keep your books on magic?”

“You coulda just asked me,” Mammon says behind him.

Koi shrugs, “You don’t look like the reading type.”

“Hey, fuck you.”

The demon behind the computer pulls out a slip and hands it to Koi. Upon accepting it, a little fat bat flutters toward him.

“It’s in section E-3 on the second floor. The Little D will take you. Any questions you have they will answer.” It explains as it turns back in its chair and resumes whatever it’d been working on.

Koi blinks at the thing as it takes the slip of paper from him, reading it carefully. Oh. It has arms too. And a…top hat. Cool.

“E-3? I thought everyone knew where that was. Oh well, follow me!” It says cheerily, floating off towards a nearby staircase. Koi turns to Mammon and points in its direction, stumped.

“They’re Little D’s” he explains, dragging Koi along with him before they get left behind, “Just think of the little shits as helpers. They’re annoying as hell, so you can give ‘em as much lip as ya want. They’re too tiny to eat ya.”

“They’re kinda cute,” Koi mumbles, poking the Little D with his finger. It could fit in his palm…so adorable.

Mammon raises a brow, “You have a real weird definition of cute.”

The Little D huffs, “I am cute, thank you very much! Besides, what are you doing here? You’re as dumb as a rock!”

“Hey!” Mammon protests.

The human chuckles, “Oh, I like this one.”

“Seriously?!”

The Little D makes a small huff as it crosses its tiny arms over its tiny chest. Koi squeals.

After the little and big demon bicker more, they eventually reach where Koi was directed towards. The Little D floats to his other side and away from Mammon, sticking its forked tongue at him before turning to the human.

“So, what’re you looking for? I don’t see humans here often. Just that creepy sorcerer.”

Koi suppresses a laugh at Solomon being called ‘creepy’, “I want to look into protective magic for beginners. Could you help me?”

“Of course, I’ll help! But- don’t you get those books in class? Not sure why you’re looking for more.”

“My magics class starts next semester. I’m researching for myself but I don’t really know where to start. Any suggestions?”

The Little D nods as it happily floats above his head. It touches one book and leaves it glowing before flying to another book and leaving it glowing too. It comes back down with the books floating behind him and they fall easily into Koi’s waiting hands.

“This one,” the Little D points to the blue and yellow book titled ‘Path of Perseverance for Dummies’, “is gonna tell you about the basics of magic, and the origins of the path of magic you’re looking for. Start with this one first or the rest won’t make much sense.” It then points to the thick textbook underneath the first, “This one’ll teach you the foundations of basic protection spells. Mostly energy stuff and some shielding spells, so nothing too serious. Even folks with lesser magical prowess can usually perform the stuff in here.”

Koi nods and belatedly realizes Mammon has been unusually quiet behind him.

The Little D pats his head and the slip of paper he was given before burns to ash, “If you’re serious about studying magic, come back after you finish these. The most important thing all beings need to remember when it comes to practicing magic is to not get in over your head. Find me again when you come back!”

The guide flies off to who knows where, perhaps to help someone else, and Koi can do nothing but grin like an idiot.

“Wipe that stupid look off yer face, it’s gross,” Mammon says helpfully as he leads them back to the first floor.

“Fuck off. You’re an immortal being, you have no clue how awesome this is to me. I feel like I’m in a damn movie,” Koi looks down at the books he received before hugging them to his chest, “So cool .”

“Man, I thought people that actually liked to learn were myths.”

“I guess it’s hard for an idiot to understand.”

“I’m gonna kick yer ass down these stairs if ya keep bitchin’ at me.”

They bicker even as they leave the library.

. . .

Koi lounged around on his bed, tracing his finger over every word of his new book. It was the following night and he’d already blown through half of the newfound knowledge. Granted, the first book the Little D had recommended he start with wasn’t nearly as dense or thick as the second. But it was an interesting read considering it was all new information and it kept Koi’s mind busy—a welcomed distraction from his new life in the Devildom.

“Hey, what about Devilish Newt?”

“I said something we’re both familiar with. Quit picking demon foods and brands.” Koi sighed, not bothered enough to spare the man a glance. Mammon sat at his desk, ruminating over what their safe word will be, as he glares at the blank spot on their contract. The human was thankful he was taking things seriously.

“But why not?!” the man complained, whining like a child.

Koi sighs, noting the page he was on and closing his book, “Because it must be something we won’t use in everyday conversations! I thought this was common sense?”

The demon huffs, “Yeah, well, not everyone’s a sex fiend like you.”

The human laughs, bemused by the comment that was clearly meant to offend him, “Safe words aren’t only for sex, even if that’s where they are used the most.”

Mammon gives him an exhausted look, “Yer not even gonna try and defend yer honor? I practically called you a whore.”

Koi shrugs, “I’d prefer not to lie to you.”

A light red flush creeps up on his tan skin and the man turns around so his back faces the human, “You humans have no dignity.”

Koi checks his phone with a nonchalant hum, “No we do not.”

There were a couple of messages he’d received from the last time he’d checked his phone. Not much, but more than he’d expected. Mammon continues to bounce ideas off of him, all promptly rejected because the demon clearly doesn’t know how to listen, and Koi scrolls through his new notifications.

Leviathan has sent him a screenshot of a new Hana Ruri UR+ card all maxed out and shiny with a few crying emotes.

Leviathan

Thank you! Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without you!! I owe this monumental occasion to you!!!!

Koi huffs a laugh, glad that the demon was satisfied. He types back.

Koi

Is it fair to say you owe me?

Leviathan

Σ(❛□❛ ✿ )

Leviathan

sigh….name your price…just keep your grubby normie hands off my merch!!

Koi rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile. Having a demon owe him one will definitely help somewhere along the line.

Koi

Don’t worry, what’s yours is yours. I’ll tell you when I think of something ^_−☆!

“Hey, do you garden?”

Koi furrows his brows, turning to face Mammon, “That came out of nowhere.”

The demon rolled his eyes, tapping his finger against the desk impatiently, “Just answer the damn question.”

“No, I don’t. Why do you ask?”

“Hmm,” Mammon hummed, looking at his D.D.D. “What about green herb?”

“As a safe word?” he asked.

“No, as a goddamn leaf to wipe yer ass with- of course as a safe word.”

Koi surrenders his hands to the air, “Alright, alright, no need to get so snappy.” He pauses to think thoroughly before shrugging, “Not bad, write it down for us?”

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea and it doesn’t matter I looked up good- wait, what? Ya think it’s good? I can write it down?” Mammon asks, interrupting his useless defense.

“That’s what I said,” the human laughed, “-go ahead. Pin it up when you’re done?”

Mammon stares at him for a moment too long and he starts to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. But before he can protest, the demon turns to write it down in the blank line and looks for something to pin the paper to the wall. He can see a glimpse of his face from where he is on the bed, and he can’t help the endearing feeling that wells up in his chest at how pleased Mammon looks. God. The more time he’s spending with this demon in his presence, the more adorable he’s beginning to seem.

Koi turns his attention back to his other messages, attempting to push Mammon and his cute little expression out of his mind. He’s really gonna have to put some distance between them before he gets swayed by the demonic presence.

The human is surprised when he finds the acting demon king as one of his newer notifications. He clicks on the contact.

Diavolo

Kioshi, how are you? Has the Devildom been treating you well?

Koi smiles. He’s glad that the demon prince was on the kinder side. He has no doubt that the ruler had a nasty streak, all royalty does, but he’s glad to be subjected to the mask.

Koi

Please, just call me Koi. To answer your question, my head is still attached, so the demons have been considerate enough.

Diavolo

Apologies, Koi. But I’m glad your first few days have gone by without any mishaps. Is there anything you’d like to ask?

Diavolo

I’m sure you have many questions, and I also know that the brothers are an odd bunch, and can be a handful at best and intimidating at worst. Should you be curious about anything and find yourself reluctant to go to your housemates, you are more than welcome to ask me or Barbatos.

Koi

Thank you ╰ (*´ ︶ `*) ╯ !

Koi

There are some things I’d like to ask but I think it may be a bit too much to send over text. When’s the earliest time I can call you?

Diavolo

Oh my, such a cute emoticon.

Diavolo

╰ (*´ ︶ `*) ╯

Diavolo

If it’s not too much to ask, I will be in the council room early tomorrow morning. Paperwork and such….

Diavolo

Just inform Lucifer that I’ve called for you. He’ll bring you to RAD with him.

Koi

Great! Thanks sm!! I’ll see you tomorrow morning then :)

Diavolo

Don’t be late. While I don’t mind and I can always reschedule, Lucifer, on the other hand…

Diavolo

( ◞ ‸ ◟ )

Koi laughs into his hand as he sends the demon prince a thumbs up. Before he has time to check his last notification the sound of Mammon standing interrupts him.

The taller seems to be packing up his things.

“Are you leaving?” Koi asks.

“Yeah,” he responds, “I got some important stuff to do before that ass Lucifer comes home.”

The human snorts, remembering the cautionary tales of talking shit about his brother Leviathan had told him, “You mean sneak out and give your older brother a migraine?”

The demon flusters, turning to argue.

“I’m not gonna rat you out or anything so quit giving me the doe eyes.”

Mammon turns red at the ears, “I ain’t givin’ ya doe eyes, quit makin’ shit up.”

Koi shrugs, “Maybe that’s just how your eyes are; always pretty and pleading.”

He relishes in the way the man’s flush spreads to his whole face, “I wasn’t gonna stop you. Just reminding you that I’m your ‘partner in crime’ now. So if you need me to bail your ass out, I’ll try my best.”

Mammon gives him an odd look before shifting on his feet.

“…whatever,” he mumbles before turning on his heel and bolting out the door.

So cute, Koi laughs as he turns back to his phone, running with his tail between his legs at one little compliment.

Koi grins as he shakes his head, trying to will away his impulsive thoughts, god. It’s going to be so hard not to tease him.

His last new text is from Beelzebub. The kind man has been searching for human-safe things to make Koi’s stay in the Devildom more enjoyable. He’s been living on fruits since he arrived.

Sweet boys, Koi thinks, who allowed these demons to be so cute?

Beelzebub

I have something for you to try.

Beelzebub

You can try it tomorrow at school. I left it in my gym locker cause I knew I’d eat it if I brought it with me.

Koi

Works for me. I have to go to RAD early with Lucifer tomorrow anyway.

Koi

Thanks a bunch, Bub !! ٩ ( ᐛ ) و

Turning his phone off with a sigh, Koi leaned into his headboard and picked his book back up. Flipping to the page he’d left off from, he continued to soak in knowledge well into the night.

By morning, Koi had finished his first book.

. . .

"Good morning," Lucifer says, a hint of amusement in his features. The smirk is faint but the smugness is severe.

"A fine morning indeed," Koi laughed tiredly, clearly not sharing the amusement. The human already had deep eye bags formed after a decade of chronic nightmares, but they were far more apparent tonight.

(They'll continue to become more apparent, Koi belatedly realizes. He'll get paler here each passing week. The Devildom doesn't have a sun, after all.)

The two of them walked to RAD, leaving the rest of the brothers behind to bicker while having breakfast.

"Did Mammon keep you up with his antics?" the demon asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"He wouldn't let me come along," he replied, rubbing his eye in hopes that it will tell his brain to wake the fuck up.

"You wanted to go with him?" Lucifer asked with thinly veiled disgust. The hardass energy was radiating off the man in waves. Koi could already tell they wouldn't get along well. He finds that he doesn't mix well with people like Lucifer. Although, it does help him understand more about Mammon's faint displeasure about his older brother.

Koi shrugged, "I didn't have anything better to do. It's not like you poofed me down here with a suitcase."

You're also lucky I passed out while I was high- I sleep naked, after all, he thinks with a light chuckle. Lucifer eyes him with a stern expression that quickly evolves into something akin to distaste when the human doesn't shrink beneath his gaze. Koi probably would if he couldn't feel the fatigue down to his bones.

"Hey," the human called, tugging on the edge of Lucifer's sleeve, "-can I get one?"

The demon follows Koi's gaze until it lands on a simple vending machine by the entrance to an alley. It contains mundane energy drinks. Lucifer doubts Koi recognizes the brand and came to the conclusion himself so he chalks it up to the human's survival instincts and lack of a healthy lifestyle.

"Why?"

The human nearly huffs, but his gut tells him he's already pushing his luck, "You got to have coffee this morning. I didn't. And I'm also 90% sure it would've caused a heart attack upon consumption. I also don't have money."

Koi sounds more pitiful the longer he keeps talking but his dishevelled state and defeat in his tone has the demon satisfied. Douche. Lucifer reaches into one of the pockets on the inside of his coat to hand the human a couple of coins. They're golden with generic skulls etched onto each side. 

"And you're so sure these won't cause you to have a heart attack, how?" the demon inquires.

Koi lets out a disgruntled noise meant to be a thank you as he takes the coins, "At this point, I'll take my chances. If it ends up dissolving all of my internal organs then at least I'll have died more lucid."

Lucifer watches with endless amusement as Koi struggles to figure out the concept of a vending machine from a different realm while half awake. It takes about five minutes before it, quite literally, coughs up a drink and spits it in Koi's face. Honestly, the human looked relieved to be hit in the face with the can.

As the two of them continue their walk to RAD they maintain a pleasant silence; Koi, happy with his drink, and Lucifer, satisfied to see the struggle.

"Koi!" Diavolo called, standing from his desk to greet him and Lucifer. He seemed thankful for a reason to leave behind the paperwork hoarding his desk. Koi shook his hand, craning his neck to look the prince in the eye. Damn tall demons. He wasn't even short.

"I'm glad you could make it," the man smiled, crossing his arms over his large chest.

"Barely," Koi wheezed, waving the now-empty can of Devil Energy. Tasted like shit but most energy drinks did, so it wasn't all that bad. It wasn't even the worst-tasting drink he's had. The human clears his throat when Lucifer's glare begins to burn a hole into the side of his head, "I mean- it's a pleasure. Thank you for making time for me despite your busy schedule."

The demon prince laughs heartily, waving the statement off, "Ah, I'm not that busy. I can always make time for one of my students!"

Lucifer eyes him in unamusement, "You're plenty busy."

Diavolo grins at the man, wrapping a big arm around one of Lucifer's stiff shoulders, "Oh, Lucifer, always the jokester." The man in question grimaces in disgust at the unprofessional behavior the prince was exhibiting. The old man attempted to push Diavolo away with his elbow but the man remained unphased.

Like flicking a brick wall, Koi thought.

"I shall take my leave," Lucifer declared sternly, peeling himself away from the demon's hold and straightening the new creases in his jacket, "Koi, do not keep him for long."

The human nodded, "I won't."

"And you," the demon says sharply, dark eyes narrowing at the prince, "-don't even think about escaping your paperwork. Barbatos will check on you within half an hour, it'd be in your best interest to be here when he arrives."

Diavolo grins widely, Koi felt that if the demon had a tail it would be wagging in amusement, "Of course, Lucifer."

Lucifer looked like it physically pained him to not sigh. The tired demon left, leaving the other two behind to talk. As his footsteps faded, Diavolo gestured toward his desk, "Then, shall we?"

Koi startles, nodding sheepishly and tugging at his necktie. Now that he had caffeine in his system and lucidity in his brain, anxiety, and restlessness began to plague his previously lazy confidence and ease. As the acting demon king sat himself down in his chair, Koi fidgeted nervously with the ends of his sleeves. Diavolo has only shown him kindness, but his presence exudes power and authority. It makes the human sweat.

Bringing his fist to his lips, Koi cleared his throat and began to speak, "You said that I'll be here for a year, right?"

Diavolo folds his hands on his lap, giving Koi all of his attention. He's sure that it's meant to ease his nerves but it only serves to make him more restless.

"Correct," the demon answers. "Tell me, what ails you, my friend?" Koi's eye twitches momentarily. Friend? He brushes it off as a slip of the tongue, "I shall answer all of your questions to the best of my ability."

"A few things," Koi mutters, "First, I'd like to know how I was chosen for this- uh...program."

Diavolo hums, "Lucifer chose you, it'd be better to ask him."

"Ah- no, I just-" the human breathes slowly to lessen the possibility of anxious stutters, "-apologies. I just meant, did you have my...resume- or something? I've been meaning to ask for a list of all the classes and extracurriculars RAD offers, but I didn't know if there were requirements for certain classes. Like, maybe they need to know what I major in so the professor won't think I'm dead weight."

"Oh, I see!" The demon smiles. His large shoulders seem to relax. Maybe Koi's nervousness was affecting the atmosphere, "I will tell Lucifer to give you a list of all the available courses. As for your previous education, the professors won't ask benign questions like that. Just sign up for any extra classes you wish to take and if there's space, it'll be added to your curriculum. Though some classes are mandatory."

"However, I am curious. What are these majors you speak of? Devildom schooling seems to have a different system than the human world, so I'd love it if you'd explain it to me," the demon smiles expectantly.

"Oh," Koi blinks, "I guess you can think of it as...specializing in certain subjects? Well-paying jobs in the human realm usually require a degree of some kind, which is pretty much proof that you know what the hell you're doing. You can typically earn a degree with two majors."

He finds Diavolo scribbling away in a little journal. Is he...actually taking notes? Koi has to suppress a laugh by how endearing he finds it.

"Fascinating," Diavolo grins toothily. "Tell me more, what did you major in, Koi?"

"Me?" he asks, surprised. "Oh, it's nothing interesting. Least of all impressive."

The prince blinks at him, brows pulling down in disappointment. Good god. Is he pouting?

"So you won't tell me?"

Koi coughs, "No, I just- well...I have a bachelor's degree in computer science and I majored in graphic design, sound engineering, and video game programming and development. Pretty boring stuff compared to most."

"So you like video games?" Diavolo grins. It seems like a real smile. "How nice, I do too! Leviathan is also a large fan. Perhaps you two will get along."

I don't really think he likes me, but Koi just smiles, keeping the thought to himself. It's for the best not to talk back to royalty.

Diavolo clears his throat, the youthful shine in his eyes dimming, "Pardon. I didn't mean to distract you. What are your other questions?"

Koi nods as he begins to list off everything important he'd been meaning to ask, "I'd like to know about Devildom law. I anticipate many cultural differences so I don't want to accidentally get charged with treason for something that's entirely normal for humans. I'd also like to know if there are any jobs I can apply for that are safe for me. If not, I'd like to negotiate an allowance. But most importantly, I'd like your input on the best way to defend myself if I'm being attacked by a demon."

Diavolo blinks, genuinely surprised, "Wow, you really thought this through."

"Considering I could be eaten on a casual Tuesday and have zero currency to give if I find myself getting shaken down, it seemed in my best interest to ask."

"You remind me a bit of Satan."

Koi raises a brow, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, first things first," the prince hums, taking a sticky note from one of his desk drawers, "-I am giving you a book recommendation. Go to RAD's library to pick it up. It'll give you the more important laws of the Devildom, a bit of diplomatic and political know-how, and some societal and cultural norms."

"Now the job question is harder to answer," Diavolo hums, "-I'll have to get back to you on it. Until then, I'll wire you some money to your virtual bank account. Karasu can show you the app. There's an ATM right outside RAD if you'd like to have some Grimm on hand."

Koi nods, "Thank you very much. I'll be sure to pay you back before the year is over."

Diavolo laughs loudly, large with his amusement, "Oh, you're such a funny human! If that's what you'd like, you're welcome to. But please know that you do not have to worry about paying me back."

I'd rather not be indebted to a demon,  let alone demonic royalty, the human thinks with a stiff smile.

"Now, as for your last question," Diavolo motioned Koi closer. The human rounds the desk nervously, waiting patiently before the demon. Diavolo out-stretches his hand and Koi watches in fascination as red dust conjures in his palm. Within seconds, the ruby smoke forms into the shape of a knife, and with a pulse of light, a decorative blade falls into Diavolo's palm. Large demonic hands grab smaller, human ones as he gifts the knife to Koi. It's a switchblade. Koi folds the knife edge into the redwood handle.

"While I do not approve of violence and I do not wish for you to hurt anyone, just as I wish no one to hurt you, there are demons out there who will not stop to think about the consequences of consuming your soul. I wish I could tell you strategic ways to talk your way out of danger, or a spell to trick your assailant, but the truth is a demon will not give you the time to speak if they intend to attack you."

"Normal weapons will not do much against us demons. Most won't even break the skin. But this," Diavolo gestures to the switchblade, "-is a special blade. It is engraved with an incantation capable of harming a demon. If you ever find yourself being attacked, I want you to use this. If it is self-defense, I will not prosecute you for whatever injuries you cause your attacker. I want you to aim for the vitals. Here, give me your hand."

Koi pockets the knife before letting Diavolo take his hand. The large man is gentle, it makes him feel safe. He no longer feels as anxious as he did before.

Diavolo puts Koi's hand on his sternum, "Souls tend to encompass the entirety of a demon's body, but if you strike here, you will hit the core. If you're lucky, you can heavily injure a demon like this, if not, you will at least be able to stun them long enough to escape." He lets go of the human's hand before folding his over his lap once more. "Demons come in many sizes and shapes so sometimes you may not be able to strike here with ease, and I wouldn't advise fighting head-on. If you have the opportunity, strike their back and drag it down through where a human's spine will be. If you cannot do that, I advise you to blind them. Some demons have multiple eyes, but blinding even one can throw them off balance."

"I know Lucifer has appointed Mammon to protect you and I do not doubt his ability to do so, especially now that you've formed a pact. But accidents can happen and conflict can arise when least expected. I've added one more incantation to the blade," the prince says, leaning back in his chair. Koi isn't one for looking people in the eye, but he is unable to look anywhere other than Diavolo's gaze. "When, and I truly hope never, but if and when this blade is used to harm a demon, I will immediately know. I will be able to sense where it is happening, and I will come to your aid. So if you do find yourself fighting a demon, do not despair. I will reach you before they do."

Koi opens his mouth but finds himself speechless. He's never been one for authority, especially due to the trauma he has surrounding power dynamics, but something about Diavolo is different.

Perhaps this is what power should be. He's using his power and authority to protect and to make him feel safe. It is a foreign concept and his throat clogs with his own confusion. All the human can manage is a stiff nod.

He clutches the switchblade in his pocket, squeezing his eyes shut and bowing as low as he can.

"Thank you," he says quietly. He's afraid that if he says it any louder, Diavolo may hear how terrified Koi is that he finds the prince safe.

Before he can rise, a large hand pats his head.

"You need not fear me," Diavolo says softly. "I know my title of acting demon king and my royal bloodline may be...intimidating, but I want you to know that we are equals. That is why I started the exchange program in the first place. Know that my title holds no power over you, and you are not obligated to bow down to me."

The hand on his head moves to his shoulder, pushing him to stand straight. When Koi looks at him, he finds Diavolo grinning toothily, "But if you insist on treating me like a king, then I royally bequeath the title of 'friend' upon you. So, treat me casually."

Wow, is all Koi can manage to think.

After being stunned into silence, Koi begins to laugh softly. He cannot help the smile that stretches over his face and the way his shoulders shake from his amusement.

Diavolo returns the way the human grins, "Okay, Diavolo."

The demon's eyes shine with giddy excitement, "Now that's more like it."

But Diavolo leans forward and begins to whisper mischievously, "But add 'Lord' at the beginning of that when Lucifer is around, lest you cause him to have an ulcer." 

Koi snorts, "Duly noted."

The prince smiles with content before patting the human's shoulder once more, "Now, off you go, unless you wish to be late. I don't have any late passes to give."

The human nods, chuckling as he walks toward the door. Before he leaves, he looks over his shoulder, "But really, thank you."

The demon continues to smile, "You're welcome."

Koi closes the door behind him.

Chapter Text

Koi blinks slowly, squinting at the large screen at the end of the lecture room. 

Fuck, how the hell did you become a professor with handwriting like that, he groaned internally. Honestly, he spent half the class trying to decipher what the hell this guy scribbles on the whiteboard. Maybe if he asks for a seat closer to the front, it'll be easier to see.

It was the beginning of his second week in the Devildom and Koi still felt as misplaced as he did before. Not much has helped Koi gain his bearings; very few of his classmates were decent enough to help him if he had trouble in class, and most teachers were indifferent to his struggles. Always saying 'he shouldn't get special treatment because he was human', and stupid bullshit of the like.

I'm not asking for special treatment, you assholes! Koi frowned, chewing on the end of his pen. I'm asking for help. The bare minimum a teacher should be providing!

The professor slams his claws down on the podium, startling Koi from his negative thoughts, "Class dismissed." It called, straightening its tie, "If you have any questions, you know my office hours." The lecture hall was then filled with murmurs and shuffling as the students began to pack their things and head to wherever they needed to be next. Koi sat there, stumped, probably frozen with a dumb look on his face.

"Fuckin' hell, are you serious?" he asked no one but himself.

"Right?" Koi jumped, hand twitching and grabbing the sharpest object near him. Turning in his seat he found a rather normal-looking blonde scribbling into a notebook. He hadn't even bothered to face Koi.

Pale green eyes followed the hand clutching Koi's pen before putting a fist to his lips to hide an amused smirk.

"Oh," Koi mumbled, squinting at the demon, "-it's you. Uh...Samson or something."

The demon smiled politely, "Satan, actually."

Oh, that definitely offended him. Koi gulped, "Right, I...knew that. Just pulling your leg."

Satan ignored him as he began to gather his things. Koi fumbled to follow.

"Have you managed to decipher the professor's handwriting?" the demon asked.

"Unfortunately, no."

Satan hummed, "I figured. It'd help if you didn't space out all the time."

Koi frowned, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The man tucked two of his textbooks under his arm, looking at him unamused, "I've been sitting next to you for a week, and across from you at breakfast. You've only now noticed."

Instinctually, the human opens his mouth to defend himself, but only finds words that would incriminate himself further. He decides it's smarter to shut up.

Satan stood up, ready to leave, but just as he turned to exit he looked over his shoulder, "Since I'm feeling nice, I'll let you know we were assigned a group project today. Breaking the ice and all that."

Koi grimaced. Fuck.

"Wait, but who is my partner?"

Satan shrugged, "Ask Levi, he'll help you."

Koi bit his lip to stop himself from calling out to him, to stop him and ask for help, but he didn't know enough about Satan to risk it. 

By now the lecture hall was mostly empty save for some students still packing their things. Koi slumped back into his seat, defeated.

He knew he had another class to attend soon but for now, he let his body slump with defeat and sigh with all the weight in the world.

I graduated for a whole bunch of fuckin' nothing.

He could feel Mammon's stare burning a hole in the side of his head after he'd collapsed into the seat next to him. He'd spent the previous few days trying to put space between him and the demon during class but the man proved his stubbornness and just gave up trying to sit anywhere else but beside him.

"You look like shit-"

"I do not want to hear it." Koi groaned, rubbing a hand down his face.

Mammon raised his hands, "Damn, okay. Pardon me for pointing out the obvious."

"And you can point out these hands because you are this close to catching them."

The demon frowned at him before shrugging, zipping his lips, and throwing away the metaphorical key. Koi thanked the stars whenever Mammon had his rare moments of short-lived obedience. Most of the class went by uneventfully and Koi was almost proud Mammon had actually minded his own business. Maybe he should praise him. No. That would make him even more annoying. 

Eventually, the class was dismissed and the human groaned, starved, and sleepy. From the corner of his eye, he could see the demon fidgeting, his left leg bouncing up and down, fidgeting with holding back the weight of his questions.

Koi inhaled slowly before sighing heavily. Fine. He's been good.

"...Ask away."

"So, what crawled up your ass today?"

The human grimaced, "Are you always this vulgar?"

Mammon levels him with a look, "Right. Because yer so prim and proper and ya've never called anyone a mother fucker in ya life."

"Okay, okay," Koi surrendered, "-fair point. Sorry, I'm just feeling prickly today."

"When are you not?"

The human glared, "On second thought maybe I should stick my middle finger up your ass."

"Damn it, stop bitchin' and tell me already!"

Koi packed his things with a groan, "Got assigned to a group project by professor dickwad with the horrific handwriting. Only god knows who my partner is. And Satan, apparently, but his time is too fuckin' precious, and telling me would take up more of it."

Mammon followed him out of the room with a displeased expression, "I know who yer talkin' about. I mean, not even my handwriting is that bad. And my handwriting is bad." 

The man snorted, "I'm glad you're self-aware."

Mammon merely shrugged as he escorted Koi to the cafeteria, "Don't mind Satan. He's always been an odd guy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but ya can never tell what he's thinkin'. Gives me the creeps sometimes."

"Eh, I don't know. He didn't really seem that bad. I think I just offended him. But he didn't jump in threatening to serve me at the nearest diner, unlike the rest of you lot."

"Beel hasn't."

Koi paused before snorting, "No, he has not. But I like that you defend your brother before yourself."

Mammon frowned. Koi's begun to pick up on his body language more frequently, and he can tell the man's feeling a bit bashful, "No use in defending myself. Not when I'd serve ya up on a plater at Hell's Kitchen for a bit of mula."

He's also beginning to learn when Mammon is trying to make himself look tough. All bark and no bite, he remembers Simeon saying as he talked about Mammon. Koi's beginning to see it the more Mammon hangs around him. The human merely laughs it off, allowing the demon to save his dignity as they reach the cafeteria. Across the room, in a solemn corner, he spots Beel eating meekly by himself. As he begins to walk toward him, he looks over his shoulder to find Mammon standing there.

"You coming?" he asks.

"Nah, I've got somethin' to do. I was just escortin' ya." 

"Oh," Koi said. He blinked once, a little stumped as the demon lingered there before a grin broke out on his face. Koi takes a few steps forward until he's in front of the demon before reaching up to pat him on his head. Mammon's hair is unfairly soft as he smooths his palm over the top, "You did a good job bringing me here but you're free to go."

Mammon tensed, face progressively getting darker the longer Koi caressed his head, "Go on then, be a good boy and go. Or do you want a treat?"

The demon swats Koi's hand away, backing up and nearly tripping over himself in a panic, "The fuck!" Mammon shouted, bright red. "Fuck you! See if I ever escort ya again ya rat bastard!! I hope you get eaten going to yer next class!!!" Then the man turned tail and fled, sprinting down the hall with several demons looking his way.

Koi couldn't help but laugh, chuckling even as he got his food. God. He's so cute. How is he so cute? Mammon has to know his reactions just make Koi want to tease him more.

Waddling his way over to Beelzebub he hesitantly sat down beside him, "Hey, big guy. Mind if I keep you company?" he greeted, smiling up at the giant.

The man glanced at him, cheeks full as he took the time to chew and swallow what was in his mouth. Koi's convinced that jaw of his would let the demon bite off a chunk of obsidian, though it wouldn't taste good. Eventually, Beelzebub shakes his head with a meek no.

"Are your brothers busy?" Koi asked, mainly an off-hand comment as he scanned the cafeteria, "I know Mammon scurried off to create some chaos, but I'm surprised how little I actually see of the rest of them."

Beel shakes his head, "They wouldn't sit with me anyway. Well, except for Belphie."

"Belphie..?"

The demon frowns, body halting as he sulks before his food. Koi sucked in his lips and turned his attention to his own food. He can tell when a conversation isn't welcome. But it seems Beelzebub himself wasn't aware of the face he was making. "He's my twin brother," he mumbled.

Koi didn't need to look at the man to see the sadness in his eyes, "Oh, I see. I've seen him in the family portraits but I figured it'd be best if I didn't ask. Sorry."

Beel begins to eat his food again, albeit slowly, as he speaks between chews, "It's alright. A little curiosity is a good thing." He gulped, swallowing the large mouthful of food he had. Koi picked at his fruit cup he was barely certain wouldn't eat his insides after digested, "Although, if you're curious about something, you'd be better off asking me or Mammon."

The demon paused, making sure Koi turned to look at him and understand how serious he was, "Don't ever mention Belphie to Lucifer." Koi clenched his fists and made sure to keep his face in check. Otherwise, he's certain he would've reacted to the miserable face Beel was pulling, "...he doesn't like it."

God, I'm not staying in his room, am I? 

"Sure," Koi said, a stiff smile on his face, "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Beelzebub."

The demon makes a face, like a child that took a bite of a lemon, "I don't like my full name. It makes me feel like I'm in trouble."

"Oh, what would you prefer then?"

Beel shrugged as he turned back to his food. Koi's certain there was a mountain on the man's tray when he'd sat down but now he was almost done, "Whatever you want, it doesn't really matter to me."

The human took his (demonic) fruit cup off his tray before sliding it before the man as he offered a smile, "Before you run out."

Beel's eyes light up, lips twitching into a small smile as he speedily accepted the food, "Thanks."

"It's for keeping me company and not, you know, actively trying to be an asshole to me. And not eating me. That was nice of you as well."

The demon huffs a laugh, eyes crinkling in amusement. Mentally, Koi breathed a sigh of relief, thankful his sarcasm was not only detected but accepted.

"Then I look forward to any future offerings for not eating you," Beel replied.

Koi's 99% sure he's joking. Although, the occasional peace offering doesn't seem like a bad idea. Maybe he should try branching off to the other brothers as well?

"Hey, can I ask you a couple questions?"

Beel shrugged, chowing down on his newly replenished meal.

"Do you know what Mammon likes? For like, gifts?"

"Hmmm," Beel swallowed, "-money?"

Koi sighed, "Well, I'm currently jobless, so that's no good. Anything else?"

"Why? Did you do something wrong? If you're worried about that, don't be. Mammon's attention span is too short to hold any grudges. He'll forget by next week."

The human snorted, "No, it's nothing like that. I'm just trying to get on his good side, I guess."

Beel seemed to take a moment to ruminate, before shaking his head again, "I don't think you need to worry about that either. Mammon likes you, I know it. He may have a nasty mouth but he rarely dislikes people without a good reason. Trust me, I'd know if he didn't like you."

"I guess...just keep treating him how you are now. And maybe keep him company when you can. Mammon actually gets lonely pretty easily, but he doesn't like admitting it. It's kind of a family secret. I think if you just hang around him even if he doesn't ask you to, he'll appreciate it more than you think."

"Just keep him company, huh?" Koi mumbled with an amused smile, "Thanks, Beel. I'll keep that in mind."

"Can I ask you some questions too?" The demon asked, almost shyly. 

"Sure!" the human grinned, happily letting Beel take the conversation from here.

"To be honest, I think you're kind of weird."

Koi's smile twitched.

Damn, right off the bat huh?

"Not in a bad way," Beel added quickly, a little embarrassed by his quick tongue, "-it's just- wouldn't...don't you miss the human realm? You got so used to everything here so fast. If I was the one chosen for the program I'd be homesick every day."

"Oh," Koi blinked, "Well, it's a bit of a stretch to say I'm used to this place. I guess I'm just good at adapting? Besides, not much I can do about my situation anyway. Lucifer made it clear I won't be going back for a while."

"Don't you miss home? You didn't seem ready to come down here. Did you get to say goodbye?"

Koi's smile turned stiff as he gazed at the fruit cup in front of him, "There's no one to say goodbye to. Even if I somehow manage to survive down here for a year, no one's gonna be up there to welcome me back."

"Oh..." Beel mumbled.

"You said you're a twin, right? Are you asking because Belphie got chosen for the exchange program?" 

"Yeah," he nodded, "Belphie was against the exchange program. He um...doesn't really like humans that much. He fought with Lucifer about it and- well, Lucifer sent him to the human realm as punishment."

"That's a little harsh," Koi mumbled, "I'm sure your brother had his reasons. He's right to not like humans."

"They're pretty fucking disgusting after all."

Beel blinked, looking down at the human in surprise. Koi didn't return his gaze, he barely seemed engaged in the conversation anymore, staring ahead of him but not really registering what he was looking at. The demon frowned, had he said something wrong? Or maybe his question was too personal? He opened his mouth to ask if Koi was upset but the bell rang and the human stood before he had the chance.

"Well, thanks for keeping me company! You can have my fruit cup," he smiled, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes, "-I've got to get going. Mammon's not here to escort me so it's better if I walk around when most students are out."

Koi grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, "I'll see you later, Bub."

"Ah, yeah...see you," he replied, waving a little before the human melded into the sea of students.

Beel pursed his lips, frowning down at the food that was left before him.

I wonder, Beel quickly consumed the rest of his food so he wouldn't be late either, does that mean he doesn't have a family to greet him when he comes back?

That's...a bit sad.

...Maybe I should get him food from the human realm. That would make him feel better.

. . .

Leviathan chewed on the nail of his thumb, squinting at his 2nd monitor in disdain. A group project? Seriously?

He's always hated his devildom history professor but man, he really hates the guy. I mean, he wasn't alone, half the study body hates him and the only reason he's still a professor is because of his connections to some fancy bureaucrats. Leviathan scrolled through his email with his eyes closed, only opening them after breathing through his building dread.

...oh.

His partners are Satan and Koi.

Leviathan breathed a heavy sigh of relief, "Thank god."

Although the idea of working on a group project was gross enough on its own, working it with Koi (a normie mind you, ugh) still had him frowning. 

I guess it could be worse, he thought. I mean, at least he had Satan. The guy was a devildom history wizard.

His phone buzzed beside his keyboard, a notification lighting up his screen that the daily login for one of his games was updated for the start of the semester. The rewards were pretty eh, but he'll take any extra items given to him. With a glance at the time, he's got another five minutes before his lunch break ends.

Picking up his phone, Leviathan thumbed his password in and booted up his game.

His nerves were still alight with anxiety but the familiar music of the start-up screen soothed his tense shoulders. Maybe he could bribe Satan into leaving him out of any group discussions involved with Koi. It's not that he hates him per se, but he was just...

"-weird," he muttered, bringing his feet onto his gaming chair and resting his chin on his knees.

Koi was nice to him. Too nice.

It was weird.

Well, Leviathan sighed, pressing the start-up screen, I just have to avoid him. 

"What do you mean he's avoiding me?"

"What's confusing about it?" Satan asked, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading as he flipped to the next page, "I mean that he's avoiding you. Simple as that."

Koi stood before him; placing himself between the couch Satan was sprawled on and the fireplace behind him. After they'd all gone back to the House of Lamentation after another tiring day at RAD, after Leviathan failed to read any of Koi's texts or answer when he knocked on his door, he'd sought out Satan as a last resort.

The human balked, jaw dropped and brows furrowed in pure confusion, "What-? But, why ? I thought we were cool!"

Satan slammed the book shut, irritation finally creeping up on him as he breathed calmly, "I don't know, how about you ask him yourself?"

"You think I didn't try that?" Koi scoffed, equally irritated (and enough so to forget his manners and the being he was talking to) as he opened his message logs and showed them to the demon, "He's left me on read eight times already. I'd be less confused if he told me to fuck off and die then block me! Hell, I've even emailed him and attempted morse code through his bedroom door."

Satan breathed through his nose as his brow twitched. He carefully pulled out his own phone to call his brother. After Leviathan picked up after the seventh ring, Satan spoke in a very strained tone, "Leviathan."

"Eek-!"

"You aren't planning on flaking for our group project, right?"

"What?!" Leviathan squeaked on the other line. Koi frowned at the sound of his voice, "Of course not!" 

"Then why aren't you cooperating? Koi's a part of the project too, you know."

"I-I know that."

Satan pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and counted to three, "If you know that then why are you ghosting our member?"

There's a sharp intake of breath by his ear before his brother begins spewing his excuses, "Okay, alright, listen. I- I know that he's our partner and- um, all that..BUT! I was wondering if you could just...you know, bemyvoiceforthemeetings?" 

He's so shocked he nearly scoffs, "Excuse me?"

"Satan, please!! I swear I'll do my work- no, I'll do twice the amount of work!! You won't have to lift a finger! I just can't be in the same room as him!"

The demon pulls his phone away from his ear and covers the microphone with his hand, "Go get a spare laptop from Beel while I handle this. I'll text you for when we decide on how we split the work."

Koi's shoulders sag with relief as he smiles tiredly at him, "Thank you, I'll do just that."

As Satan watches the human leaves the common room he resumes his conversation with his brother, "You have fifteen seconds to come up with a good excuse or so help me I'm breaking down your bedroom door and locking you in a room with him."

Leviathan breathes out a nervous, "Please don't." 

"Then talk, damn it."

"Look, I just-!! He's-!" Levi groans on the other side of the call, chair squeaking as he tosses and turns, "Koi's a normie! And weird! What if I get normie germs from him?!" 

"You spent half of last week cooped up in your room plotting against Mammon and you haven't been 'contaminated'. Now spill because you're really starting to piss me off."

"Ah- okay! Okay!! I'm sorry! He's just really..." there's a pause and Satan drags a hand down his face. He really deserves a medal for his self-restraint, "Koi's just...I don't know how to deal with him! He's really nice- like, super duper almost creepy kind of nice!! Like, I'm talking Henry kind of nice!!! He keeps trying to say good morning and stuff to me and he's still being really weird and really kind even though he doesn't have to anymore since I got what I wanted from him and honestly he should be doing the opposite because now he's in a pact with that scumbag but instead he's just- just-!!"

"...he's just really nice. I...I don't know how to talk to him, Satan. It freaks me out. I'm scared."

Satan opens his mouth, then closes it to take a moment, then opens it again, "So what you're saying is that you are avoiding him because he's...nice?"

"Yes! Exactly! See, you get it." 

"Leviathan," he can hear the man flinch all the way from upstairs, "-you can like guys all you want and you can suck all the dick in the fucking world, but I swear to fucking god if my grades suffer because YOU are having a gay crisis about a hot guy saying good morning to you I will open your rib-cage and EAT you for FUCKING BREAKFAST!"

And with that, he hangs up.

Satan slumps back into the couch and lets the tension leave his body. With an arm over his eyes and a book on his chest, he heaves out a sigh. He lets the anger in him dissipate as he unlocks his phone again to create a group chat with his stupid as fuck brother and their new housemate.

DH 101 project

Satan

State your roles or forever hold your peace.

Koi

i'm still getting used to using ur search engine so as long as i'm not in charge of too much research I'll be okay ᕕ༼⌐■-■༽ᕗ

Leviathan

Satan ur so mean

Satan

come down here and say that to my face

Leviathan

i'll draft the slide show (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

Satan

In that case, I'll do the research. Koi, I'll be sending you articles and websites so I want you to organize our topics and sub-topics.

Satan

The professor is going to assign every group their time period later tonight, we can reconvene and talk more efficiently in the morning.

Koi

yes sir satan sir!!!

Leviathan

_(´ཀ`」 ∠)_

Koi blinked at his phone.

Leviathan(private): I'm sincerely sorry for my actions today and upon reflecting I want you to know that I am sorry for avoiding you so please tell everyone I will be absent from dinner to wallow in my self-pity.

Mammon gives him a weird look from the other end of his bed when he snorts. 

Jeez. What kind of magic did Satan pull?

Chapter Text

Koi is well aware that when it comes to social cues, he's what you would call...an idiot. If we're being polite about it.

But this is something he knows and he's learned to deal with it. Koi's unsure how to categorize himself and has learned what his personality is through other people.

The words he hears the most are blunt, socially inept, rude, and-

clueless.

While he knows better than to trust the words of other people, he finds himself agreeing with them on that last word recently. For the last three days, to be precise.

At first, he thought he was just imagining it.

He'd leave his room for breakfast, double-checking he has everything he needs, and often bumps into Levi who leaves his room at the same time. Koi prefers to be a little early to things, which include breakfast, so he tends to be out of his room five minutes before Beelzebub (so, roughly around 7 AM). He's now learning that Levi leaves his safe room for breakfast around this time too.

It was logical, after all, considering joining breakfast after Beelzebub gives you a 50/50 chance to completely miss out on first pickings.

Their rooms are across from each other, so sometimes he'll stumble out of his room and Levi will already be in the hall, sometimes he'll open his door to find that Levi had opened it at the same time. Regardless, they often cross paths first thing in the morning.

Koi liked Levi, for the most part. He had a cute face, an entertaining personality, and kept to himself. He had no reason to dislike him. So he would often greet him.

He would smile amicably and say, "Good morning!"

Not too happily since he's unsure whether or not Levi was a morning person or not, and for the past week-ish, he was used to a curt nod of acknowledgment. Which he was fine with.

Sometimes Levi already had his headphones on and wouldn't hear him, which was fine too, and he would silently follow him downstairs.

And sometimes, when Levi's in a particularly good mood, he may even squeak out a shy good morning (those mornings would tend to leave Koi with higher hopes for a good day).

But recently...

"Oh, good morning-"

SLAM!

And a door would get shut in his face. The first time Koi just brushed it off with a scratch to his scalp, assuming that Levi was in a bad mood. Maybe he lost a 50/50 in one of his Gacha games. Happens, you know? 

But the next morning, "Levi, good mo-"

This time he would catch the shocked face on the man, like a spooked cat. Before he could finish his greeting, Levi's door nearly flew off his hinges as he hurried to slam it in his face. He didn't come down for breakfast after that either. It was too bad. He doesn't get to see a lot of Levi lately. He rarely eats dinner with everyone, Koi's certain the only times the demon had been at the dinner table was the first night he arrived in the Devildom and when Satan cooks dinner.

Since Levi doesn't bother him now that he's squeezed his rightfully earned money out of Mammon, he really only gets to see him in the mornings. Sometimes he'll see him in passing, but those events are few and far between, and the demon tends to have his nose stuck in his phone or a gaming device to notice him waving.

The first time he could brush it off as a coincidence, but a second time on the next day...

He just wanted to make sure he hadn't done anything wrong.

So on the third day, he woke up especially early (half an hour before he usually does, if you really want to know) and silently left his room to stand beside Levi's door. He waited and waited, checked his phone to find Mammon asking where he was, waited some more, resigned himself to missing out on his human-safe blueberry waffles that Beel added to the grocery list for him, and finally, Levi opened his door.

He did it slowly- like he was trying to be sneaky. Koi nearly blew his cover to laugh at how cute he was being when Levi looked to his left, then to his right (missing him behind his door), and let out an audible sigh.

Koi waited until the man softly closed his bedroom door before stepping forward and grinning at him, "Good morning!"

The shriek that Levi let out was...less than manly- but cute! The demon fumbled with the doorknob to his room before Koi snatched his wrist in a panic, "Wait! I- I just wanna talk to you. It won't be long."

"Ah- ah uh-" he'd stuttered, red in the face as he stared at Koi stupidly.

"Are you avoiding me?" he asked softly, trying not to sound as upset as he was. He's not entirely sure what it is about Levi that makes Koi treat him like he does to his cats, but he can't help but feel opposed to spooking him. Well, more than he already does.

"Umm-" Scared eyes peer at the hand clutching his wrist, preventing him from escaping, "please let go."

Koi blinks at him before frowning, "If I do will you run away?"

"N-No..."

He blinks at Levi, unamused. At least the man has enough shame to look away after blatantly lying.

"Look, just-" Koi lets out a soft sigh and tries not to feel offended when Levi flinches. With some hard contemplation, he ends up letting go, "-if I did something wrong, just tell me. I'm not good at picking up social cues and if I offended you- I promise I wasn't trying to rub it in or anything- I just...I don't know what I did."

Levi's grasp on his doorknob is tightening by the second, and Koi is beginning to worry he's going to shatter it soon, "I can't fix what I did wrong if I don't know, so I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me."

"No."

Koi blinks.

"No?"

"Oh, uh-" The demon turns the doorknob and pulls his bedroom door open, "-no, it's not you. Not everything is about you. I'm just.. upset. So leave me alone. And since you can't take a hint, if I'm avoiding you then don't- you know- wait around outside my room like a creep."

Levi's already stabbed him with a metaphorical knife but each sentence just drives it deeper and deeper as Koi tries desperately to maintain a rigid smile.

In just his first week here, Koi realized that Levi was petty. So he knew that a final blow was coming, "Also, stop greeting me. Seeing your stupid normie face first thing in the morning puts me in a bad mood." but it still hurt.

With that, the slam of an all-too-familiar door echoed throughout the hallway, and Koi stood there, stupidly, for the next five minutes.

Eventually, there's a shout from the bottom of the stairwell, "OI! DID YA DIE UP THERE?!"

God I wish, Koi grimaced as he stomps his way down the stairs as his mind decides if he should be pissed off or upset.

Safe to say, it decided on being both.

"Haa.."

Mammon scrolled through his Devilgram feed, liking a few posts here and there and grimacing at one of Asmo's more obnoxious photos.

"Huu..."

His eye twitched from behind his shades as he tried to ignore the human sulking a few feet away.

"Ha-"

"If ya sigh one more time I swear to the all father I'll kick ya out of yer own room!" Mammon hissed shutting his phone off in his annoyance as he pointed at the sad puddle made up of a miserable human.

Koi groaned loudly, ruffling his hair in his stress before letting gravity take the wheel and allowing his head to fall onto his desk with a loud thud. He kicks his feet in annoyance with a bit more huffing and puffing before he descends into a long whine and falls limp.

Mammon makes a face at the sorry sight, nose scrunched up in distaste, "Go have a tantrum in the livin' room, yer killin' my vibes."

"Then fuck off to your own room," Koi huffed, picking his head up to stare tearfully at the screen of his laptop. 

The demon just rolled his eyes, tossing his phone over his shoulder and standing from his claim on Koi's bed. He grabs the human by the hair and pulls until he's writhing in pain with his bangs out of the way. He squints in annoyance at the red mark that's already formed on Koi's forehead.

He pours more salt into his wounds and flicks the spot that will probably be bruised by tomorrow morning, "Humans are real fragile, ya know. Stop tryna splatter yer brain matter everywhere while I'm in the room."

"Fragile, he says, while he pulls out strands of my hair."

Mammon's frown grows when Koi returns to sulking, "What's got yer panties in a twist?"

The human leans back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, "I'm 90% percent sure your brother hates me and he's just pretending not to."

The demon hums, leaning against the desk, "If yer talkin' 'bout Lucifer, yer probably right. If it's Satan then ya could probably bump those chances down to...a healthy 50%."

"I'd care less if it was either of them. Lucifer's face annoys me, that and the stick up his ass, and at least Satan seems to keep his temper in check better than the rest of you."

"Huh? If it's not them then..?"

Koi lets out another heavy sigh, probably the seventh one in the past fifteen minutes, "Leviathan."

Mammon blinks, "Levi?" He closes his eyes as he takes a moment to ruminate, then shakes his head.

"I don't think so. I mean, I doubt he's chummy with ya, and he'd probably keel over before callin' ya his friend, but I'm sure he tolerates ya enough."

He drags his eyes to look at Mammon, both devastated and unimaginably pissed, "I helped him, I made a pact with you cause of him- so I assume, hey! We're cool! So I bid him good morning and what does he do? Avoid me. And what does he do when I ask him if I did something wrong? He tells me that I'm self-centered!! Me ! I am the farthest thing from self-centered- you could count my confidence on one fucking hand! Then he calls me a creep! A stupid normie! And says that he hates the sight of me!!!"

Koi curls into himself again, groaning into his hands, "I mean, usually I'd be fine. I wouldn't care! I've been called worse! But he used to give me a nod or give me a cute lil good morning back- fuck, anything! And all of a sudden I'm the weird one for getting worried when he gives me the cold shoulder! He won't even answer my texts unless it's about our stupid group project!!"

"God damn it, he was so cute too. I mean, I'm in hell, fuck whatever Lucifer says, I'm in the fiery depths of hell, can't I at least have some eye candy around here?! It was bad enough that I rarely see him, so it's more like he was eye candy behind a display case at midnight and I had to squint to see it, but now he hates me and my eyes are gonna have to see Lucifer's stupid face!! And like- that pompous bastard from the Newspaper club!" Mammon lets the man rant, observing him closely, and eventually, Koi runs out of steam and sighs again, resting his head on his arms, "At least I have you."

Mammon swears up and down his heart didn't attempt to escape from his mouth. Koi leans forward to sit properly, swelling forehead against the desk again and closing his eyes, shy fingers reaching out to hold the edge of Mammon's sleeve, "You're nice to look at. Fuck Levi. This stupid normie is gonna stare at his beautiful brother instead. Dick."

As the responsible older brother he is, he should probably inform Koi that there was likely some kind of misunderstanding and that he's certain Levi doesn't actually hate him. His younger brother was dramatic, after all. By next week he'll be back to normal stealing glances at Koi from across the breakfast table.

But he doesn't.

Maybe it's because he's the avatar of greed. Maybe Koi's bout of praise since he arrived here has broken down his walls and has begun to affect him.

Whatever it is, it stops him from defending Leviathan's honor.

Yeah, he thinks, using his other hand to touch Koi's hair, smoothing over the parts that had been disturbed from stress, you've got me.

They find themselves in comfortable silence. Koi's probably tired himself out now that he's gotten to say all that's been bothering him the whole day, and Mammon found himself immersed in running his fingers through Koi's hair. It's soft, nice to look at and nice to touch, sometimes his fingers will get caught in a couple of knots and he'll spend his time working through them gently.

He peers down at Koi after he's satisfied with the man's hair and finds that he's fallen asleep.

Mammon's first instinct is to just leave. It's what he wants to do and what he should do, but a softer part of him, one reserved only for his brothers and the occasional stray, tells him to do more, that his human has had a hard day.

He bites his lip, contemplating between leaving and lingering before he eventually gives in and checks Koi's laptop. After saving anything that could've been lost, he puts the computer to sleep and shuts it. He still feels a little bad as he pulls away, watching as Koi's hand falls limp. He almost wants to stay there, take a photo of the adorable little hold he'd had on Mammon's sleeve, and use it as blackmail, but he doesn't. Instead, he grabs a folded blanket from the foot of Koi's bed and haphazardly tosses it onto him.

With a huff, Mammon's satisfied. He'll pretend this never happened and if Koi asks he'll tell him he's insane and needs to get a psychiatric evaluation.

He turns the light off before leaving and closes the door more gently than he usually does.

Belphegor blinks as he wanders the fuzzy realm of Koi's daydreams. The scenery is blurry. Foggy like a watercolor painting. The human wasn't completely asleep yet, barely half awake, but it's enough to give Belphegor access into his mind. 

Mammon is here too. At least, Koi's dream-version of him.

Belphegor frowns, crossing his arms over his chest and glares at the bug that's taken his rightful place by his brother's side.

They aren't doing anything which isn't unexpected for a half baked dream like this. Mammon is scrolling through his phone - Koi's subconscious is innovative enough to give detail to the littler things, and when Belphie pears over his brother's shoulder - he finds him browsing Akuzon. Two weeks is all someone needs to understand Mammon, he supposes. He's always been easy to read- not to mention simple-minded.

Koi is sitting on the other end of the bed. They've given him the guest room.

The two of them don't speak to each other. They're just...there. Existing in the same space. Belatedly, Belphie realizes that Mammon must be there with him, in the living, waking world. That they must've done this enough for it to feel natural to Koi, for him to have such a content dream about, one not even important enough to remember when he eventually wakes.

Koi was frowning before, not that Belphegor bothered to care, but now he's begun to sulk like a child.

"How can I get Levi to be my friend?" the human asks aloud, perplexed. Even if it was just a half-dream at best, humans have always had strong emotions, and the demon licks his lips as the dream turns sour. It hadn't tasted like anything when he'd arrived but now there was a hint of bitterness. Almost disappointed and a little sad.

That's what you choose to worry about? Belphegor thinks, aghast. 

For a human that's fallen ass first into the Devildom and soon-to-be and untimely demise, he sure has bad priorities.

"No one wants to be your friend," Mammon says without bothering to look up from his phone. Belphie gives an approving nod from where he stands. A monumental occasion to agree with this particular brother of his but even a broken clock is right two times a day. Though, this isn't the real Mammon, just a dream-counterpart, so Belphie decides it doesn't count.

Koi throws a book he grabbed from thin air and is visibly pleased by the sound of the spine smacking into Mammon's nose. They begin to bicker and fight and the dream starts to fade. It's likely that the annoyance this dream is causes will wake the human, and he'll likely awake in a bad mood without knowing why. The thought comforts him.

Belphegor sits on the edges of Koi's consciousness as it continues to fade. Koi doesn't dream as much as a human should, and any dreams he does have are either nightmares of the same thunderstorm and half baked daydreams that are probably created in class for the sake of slacking off. He'd hoped to keep an eye on his brothers through this human but Koi is proving useless. He's not too surprised though. Humans tend to be useless, so it's to be expected. But it's still an inconvenience.

Belphie thinks of his family and who would be the most beneficial to have their dream broken into. He lets out a sigh and falls back into nothing, resting the back of his head on his forearms.

He hums.

The nerd is probably his safest bet.

It takes two nights but eventually Belphie is able to weasel his way into Leviathan's dream. 

To have his freedom taken away meant that he had all the time in the world to do what he did best. Which was sleeping, obviously. Thanks to that, he was given ample opportunity to keep an eye out for whenever Levi stepped into the dream realm. The few times he has broken into Levi's dreams they always seemed to be chaotic, more so than the rest of the dreams his siblings have, and Belphie doesn't really understand most of what's going on. It's just anime mumbo-jumbo he can't be bothered to learn. Although, Levi's dreams always did have an aftertaste of anxiety, no matter how happy the dream seemed to appear.

Presently, Belphie eats away at the edge of Levi's mind now that the otaku has finally fallen asleep. He licks his teeth as he tears a gateway open for himself, swallowing what he'd torn off. It tastes negative. Belphie frowns. Levi's always been a debby-downer, but the taste of his mind is in a state of scalding despair. His tongue feels like it's vibrating. Or melting.

The regular fuzz of the dream realm enters Belphie's limbs and he begins to relax. Still, he treads carefully through the halls of RAD, unwilling to disturb any important parts of Levi's consciousness. 

He pauses as the deplorable scent of human fills his nose and he makes a face as Koi passes him by, surprisingly with Beelzebub and Mammon by his sides. He glares at the humans back from over his shoulder, scoffing as he continued to walk. He finds Levi easily, he's across from RAD, sitting in his bathtub and sulking with his favorite body pillow. 

Belphie hops over the gap between the dream-sequence and Levi's safe space, expecting the demon to startle. Instead, he's quiet, staring intensely ahead of him. 

Belphie blinks at him, crouching down beside the tub and turning to stare at whatever has enraptured his favorite nerd.

The scenes changed; RAD has turned into the dining room. Everyone (which includes the human, as deplorable as he is to look at) is eating dinner, exchanging small talk and insults across the dining table.

Belphie follows Levi’s intense glare. Revoltingly, he finds himself staring at the human. He’s talking animatedly with Satan, smile wide and clearly enthusiastic. Beel is eating off of his plate (that makes him snort, god, he misses him) and Mammon is across from the human, demanding his attention.

The dream turns sour and Belphie can smell the poisonous waves of envy pouring out of Leviathan. He takes a moment to stare at him. Out of everyone, Levi’s the easiest to forget when it comes to their sins. There’s little to be jealous about when he’s with everyone else since they’re so-called declared ‘normies’, so when Levi’s sin does get the best of him, he usually isn’t around for others to see it.

It’s a bit of a wonder, since it’s just as easy to forget that Levi’s the third most powerful out of the seven of them.

His gaze is tipped with venom in a way Belphie has rarely ever seen that he’s almost reluctant to interrupt.

Almost.

He rests his chin on the bathtub, “Who are you jealous of?”

“Mammon.” Levi spits, too caught up in his emotions to really process who asked. It was a dream after all, it tended to take a while before they regain enough self awareness to realize it’s him. “It’s not fair. I gave him that place. I shouldn’t have. It should be me. He should be nice to just me .”

“Why?” Belphie grimaces, genuinely baffled, “I thought you don’t like normies, let alone humans.”

“I don’t know!” Levi explodes. His dream trembles and Belphie can taste the conflict swarming in the air, “I don’t know why he’s different but he is! He isn’t a normie- isn’t normal - he’s too weird!!”

“Aren’t all humans?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “I’ve met humans. They’re not that nice. They don’t smile at me like he does.”

The demon shrivels up, burying his head into his body pillow, “I don’t get it. I’m so confused.”

Belphie frowns. This dream was tiptoeing into nightmare territory with how distressed Levi was making himself. He hates seeing him like this, so desperately conflicted and endlessly lost.

He climbs into the tub from behind before resting against Levi’s back. He takes control of the dream just enough to calm him down.

Belphie gives him time to regain himself. He blinks sleepily, leaning his head between Levi’s shoulder blades and hums. It’s an opening to an anime they watched together a couple decades ago. A slice-of-life shoujo, Levi always dragged him and Beel to watch it every week it aired but the opening was so sweet sounding he’d fall asleep before the episode could start. It made for good memories though.

“Belphie?”

He yawns, “You feeling better?”

His older brother shifts, embarrassed with himself, “How long have you been here?”

“From the beginning. Been waiting for you to get a good nights sleep for the past three days.”

“Huh?” Levi turns around in the tub, shuffling awkwardly in the tiny space to face him, “why me?”

“‘m not supposed to be dream surfing during the exchange program. Something about distracting you guys from your studies or whatever, I fell asleep before Lucifer finished.”

Levi blinks, “That…doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Lucifer is out of the question automatically, Mammon’s dreams are annoying, Asmo’s are gross, Satan gets embarrassed because he’s always dreaming about cats, and Beel would tell on himself without meaning to.” Belphie stretches, trying to will the sleepiness away even though he was already asleep, “Out of everyone, you were my best option. You can keep a secret.”

“Oh, really? Thanks.”

Levi hands Belphie his body pillow. He slumps against it, pleased.

“So, is the human really all that?”

The demon blushes quite unflatteringly before grumbling, “I’d hoped you would’ve forgotten about that.”

“Stop avoiding the question. Tell me about the guy living with my family and I’ll pretend you didn’t throw a tantrum over him.”

Levi groans into his hands, willing another body pillow to poof into his arms. After whining into it for a good minute he reluctantly replies, “He’s…not bad. Weird, probably the weirdest human I’ve met, but he hasn’t made fun of me- or anyone really. He greets everyone goodmorning and bids everyone goodnight, and he lets Beel finish whatever is left on his plate. Mammon really likes him. They’ve already made a pact together.”

Belphie’s eyes fly open, “What?”

Levi’s lip jutts out, he’s pouting again, “Yeah, they’re real chummy. Attached to the hip now that they’ve got a pact. Pretty sure Mammon spends more time in Koi’s room than in his own.”

Koi.

“His name is Koi,” he states. His name leaves an unsavory taste on his tongue.

“Yeah. I actually think you’d like him.”

Belphie shoots him a glare.

“I-I mean if he wasn’t a human- and all..” Levi only pauses momentarily, “By the way, how’s that going? You know, being up in the human world.”

“The worst,” he spits. He hugs the body pillow tighter.

Levi hums, eyes wandering. Koi’s manifested somewhere since they’re talking about him, and he’s probably trying to catch a glimpse of him.

“Beel misses you.”

His heart tightens, “Yeah, I know.”

They talk for a while longer, sharing how Levi played a part in Mammon’s first pact, how Koi gets along with everyone else, about who the other exchange students are- but eventually, Belphie begins to feel the tell tale signs of awakening.

“You’re waking up,” he mumbles, a little dejected. To talk to Levi like this makes him miss his family more, and in turn, hate Lucifer and humans more too.

“Oh,” Levi mumbles, “Damn, I don’t want to go to school.”

Belphie snorts, “You don’t, though?”

“You know what I mean!”

There’s a bout of silence as they wait for Levi to wake up. Belphie finds himself looking for any last words to say, because who knows when he’ll be able to talk to any of his brothers like this again.

Just before Levi opens his eyes, he can see a mischievous grin behind his eyelids.

“By the way, that human dreamed about you.”

Leviathan wakes up with a jolt like cold water had been dumped on him. His heart thumps wildly as he closes and opens his eyes in despair.

What??

WHAT’S HE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION???

“Belphegor, you little brat ,” he sneers, hoping his little brother can hear him from a realm away.

Levi burries his head in his hands, blushing all the way down to his neck.

Fuck.

He wants to see Koi so bad.

“I have to be losing my mind.”

. . .

Mammon was going to lose his mind.

“So, lemme get this straight,” he sighs, squeezing his eyes shut in his annoyance, “so, you- “ Mammon points at Leviathan, “-want me  to get Koi alone so you can…what? Stare at him? See if you can explode him with yer mind?”

“No!” Levi flounders, then shushes himself to keep the hallway quiet, “To talk. Just… talk.”

Mammon hums, “Talk.”

“Yeah. Talk.”

“Dude, when was the last time ya’ve ever held a conversation with a human? Or anyone for that matter.” Mammon turns on his heel, ready to head downstairs and tattle to Koi but Levi grabs his wrist before he can leave.

“Please!! I- I need to talk to him. I’ve been a douche and I need to apologize or I’ll never be able to look any shounen protagonists in the eye again. My life as an otaku is at stake!”

Mammon raises a brow, “The hell’s that gotta do with me? Text ‘em or somethin’. It’s not like you need to see him.”

Levi blushes and Mammon gives him a mildly disgusted look, “You don’t need to see him , right..?”

“God- can’t you just do this for me for once! Stop hogging him!!”

“Wha-“ Mammon bristles, ripping his arm from Levi’s grasp, “‘m not hoggin’ shit!”

They glare at each other for a moment, standing off with one another silently in the hallway. Someone knocks on the wall not too far from them.

Satan stands at the end of the corridor, unamused, “What the hell are you two doing? You look like two stray cats fighting.”

“None of yer business,” Mammon huffs.

“Right…well, Koi already left with Beel. Told me to tell you to check your phone.”

The oldest curses, pawing at all of his pockets until he pulls out his phone, then cursed again.

“I’ll leave it to you then,” Satan says, uninterested, as he disappears from view. His footsteps echo through the corridor.

“Is that all? I gotta run or else Beel is gonna drink my latte,” Mammon says hurriedly, shoving his phone back into its previous pocket as he trips over his feet to rush down the hall.

“Wait-! I’ll-“ Levi gulps, clenching his fists, “I’ll pay you!!!”

Mammon pauses at the end of the hall, but only momentarily. He peeks over his shoulder with a grin that can only belong to a demon.

“Nah, don’t feel like it. Yer on yer own.” Mammon salutes him as he turns the corner, “G’luck!”

….seriously?

Since when does Mammon not take money- like, ever? Was keeping Koi from him that important? Or does making Levi’s life miserable feel that enjoyable?

“Bastard,” he spits, “No good greedy fucking full-time bastard.”

He can feel his sin oozing out of every pore in his body. He clenches his teeth and has to will away the urge to summon Lotan in hopes that Mammon will drown.

Levi bites his lip as he retreats into his room.

Whatever. He didn’t need Mammon anyway. Turning to him for anything was a mistake, he should’ve known better. It’s fine. He can do this on his own.

How hard is a single apology?

Hard.

Aparently.

Very fucking hard.

Levi groans into his hands, kicking his little feet in agony as his heart beats wildly in his ears. God, what was he, some anime school girl? It was apologizing, not rocket science!

“I can’t do this. I’m too socially awkward for this. What was I thinking ..!” He grabs his phone in a panic, opening up his chat log with Koi.

“Hey…so..my..last.. message was..an..acci- shit, typo- accident , so..just-“

His phone buzzes.

13:30PM

Leviathan

hey can we meet at RAD after ur classes r done? i wanna talk

14:45PM

Koi

sure ٩( ᐛ )و

Koi

Make it quick tho I don’t wanna

get eaten while I’m waiting lol

Levi drops his phone in his shock.

“Shit-!”

He barely catches it in time. Panicked, Levi kind of just stupidly stared at the screen unsure of what to do.

What if I just don’t show up?

“Okay, no, bad idea,” he rationalizes. He had to show up. His pride was at stake now. If he flaked he’d be loser of the century.

Levi breathes, trying to will the stress away.

Standing up from his chair he grabs his headphones and rushes out the door.

“Yer kidding, right?” Mammon growls, arms crossed as he glares at the human.

The student body pours out of the front doors in waves. Koi gives them a passing glance before sighing, “Please? It shouldn’t take long. We can all walk home together.”

Mammon scoffs before grabbing Koi’s wrist, dragging him inside and fighting against the current of students on their way home, “Let’s talk inside.”

Koi’s small protests are drowned out by the echoes of the mass and after attempting to free his wrist he remembers that Mammon likely triples his strength, and he falls limp in his hold, following quietly until he’s led into a secluded classroom.

His wrist is freed. He rubs at where he was held, “What was that for?”

“Too noisy out there. Now explain to me again, why in all the realms are ya waiting for Levi ?”

Koi just shrugs, “He said he wanted to talk.”

Mammon’s frown deepens, his chest tightening in his annoyance, “Ya wanna talk to him when ya were cursin’ him to hell just the other day? He’s probably gonna stand ya up, so let’s just go.”

“I’ll be here for a year,” Koi says as he leans his back against the door, “I don’t want to be on bad terms with any of you. It’d just make the living situation miserable for everyone.”

“He’ll make ya miserable either way.”

“I need to make as many friends as I can. The more friends I have the higher my chances are of surviving until the last semester.”

Mammon grits his teeth, clenching his fists at his side as his stomach shifts uncomfortably, “Ya’ve got me! Yer chances of survival are 100% cuz ya got me! Ya don’t need anyone else.”

Koi softens his voice as he tries to deescalate, “Mammon, you won’t be by my side all the time. Who knows what can happen in that timeframe.”

Then I won’t leave your side.

He thinks it, but doesn’t say it. Mammon’s face heats up and he’s unsure if it was due to embarrassment or anger. It’s stupid, he thinks. The whole thing was stupid. Koi was stupid, Levi was stupid, he was stupid, and the uncomfortable breathlessness was stupid .

He wants to put up more of a fight. His innate nature begs him to. But he puts his pride first and scoffs, grabbing his things, “Fine, have it yer way.”

Mammon moves for the door but Koi stands in front of the handle, looking at him in a way that makes the demon want to jump out of the nearest window, “You’re leaving?”

He forcefully moves Koi out of the way, looking anywhere other than the pouting human, “Course I am. When Levi doesn’t show remember that I told ya so.”

Mammon practically runs out of the room, not even giving Koi enough time to call out for him. The human huffs, frown deepening as he pulls out his phone. What’s up his ass?

He shoots Levi a message telling him where he was before pocketing his phone and taking a seat in a nearby chair. Now all he has to do is wait.

15 minutes pass with relative ease and by now the distinct chatter of the student body has disappeared almost completely, save for a couple of footsteps he can only assume belong to the staff.

RAD wasn’t too far from where they all lived, but Koi takes into account that Levi doesn’t seem to get much physical activity and concludes that it’ll likely take him longer than it would Mammon.

He spends the next ten minutes scrolling through Devilgram mindlessly. Social media seemed like the best way to grasp the basics of people’s personalities, so he’s gone out of his way to stalk everyone he knows.

Lucifer barely had any photos. Most were of his brothers and rarely included himself. Some were of his achievements, a wall of plaques and degrees for who knows what.

Mammon’s was about as predictable as you’d expect. Half of the posts were of his latest most expensive article piece while the others were (admittedly, very beautiful) selfies. Though he does find a recently uploaded photo of Mammon flipping Koi off behind his back.

“Little bastard,” Koi huffed as he swore vengeance in his head.

Levi’s profile was consistent. Always his newest collector’s edition figurine or a newly preordered manga, sometimes even promoting a new anime that’s begun to air. It’s a shame that Levi himself never seems to be in the photos.

Koi’s scrolled a good ten posts into Satan’s profile (largely cat content with the occasional blurry photo of a pissed off Lucifer) when he hears the door open behind him. He glances at the time, proud of himself that Levi had arrived at the exact time he predicted, and he began to unzip his bag to put his phone away.

The door closes and Koi jolts as the demon speaks, “Oh? What do we have here?”

He shoots up and out of his chair, hand reaching for the straps of his bag but the demon is faster than him, and in the blink of an eye, he’s behind Koi, keeping him in the chair. Sharp talons wrap around his neck as another grabs the wrist that had been moving.

Fuck , Koi thinks as he suppresses a full body shudder when the fucker leans in and smells him.

“I heard they’d brought in a human other than that sorcerer, but I’d thought it was just a rumor.”

The demon noses down the back of his neck as he breathes in Koi’s scent. He feels sick.

“I’m here for the exchange program,” he replied as he tried to calm his heartbeat. He wills the fear away, unwilling to submit to this demon’s predatory presence.

“Well they chose nicely. You smell divine .”

Koi bites his lip as his free hand moves to rest on his lap, fingers edging on the ends of his pockets, “Asmodeus lent me some cologne.”

The demon laughs as the pressure on his neck lifts a bit, “I didn’t know food could have a sense of humor!”

“I’m not your food,”the human said firmly, clenching his fists, “-I’m a student under the protection of Lord Diavolo.”

In an instant the pressure returns ten fold and Koi is lifted into the air by his neck.

He can hear the demon lick his lips, “I don’t see him.”

Koi struggles to control his breathing as one of his hands fly to the demon’s hold on him, desperate for any kind of relief, “Y-You’ll be punished..if you kill me.”

“Nah, they’ll just replace you.” The demon throws him to the ground and he lands halfway across the room. The impact has him sliding into a desk and knocking the air out of his lungs.

“That sorcerer? Oh, I’d be in big trouble for eating him. But you? You’re not important. They probably won’t even notice you’re gone.” As Koi struggles to get up he’s grabbed by the hair and forced to sit on his knees.

He gets a good look at the demon trying to kill him for the first time. It has a second set of eyes beneath the original, and a smile that nearly splits his face in half. His skin looks leathery and wrong, and all four eyes are looking at Koi like he’s prey.

“Fuck you,” Koi spits now that he knows that negotiating isn’t possible. The demon just smiles more wildly.

“I can if you want? Humans taste sweeter when they’re dipped in sin.”

Koi’s stomach flips in disgust. Having heard enough he flips open the knife that had fallen out of his pocket in the crash and stabs it right into one of the demon’s eyes.

A deafening screech sounds through the empty classroom as the demon staggers back, releasing Koi’s hair in favor of holding his bleeding eye. With no time to lose, the human scrambles to his feet and crosses the classroom. He’s farther from the exit now and he knows he stands no chance in a battle of speed, so all Koi can do is bide his time until Diavolo gets here.

“You bitch , I’ll kill you!” The demon lunges forward, clearing all the desks and chairs in the way. Koi barely dodges in time as he feels the demon’s talons graze his back, cutting his uniform open to make way for his blood.

He moves to the demons left, trying to stay in its blind spot as much as possible.

Bloodlust fills the air and nearly freezes Koi in place. Killing intent swarms the demon and reaches across the room to choke Koi.

He’s not going to survive long enough for someone to save him.

He knows it.

As the demon staggers back to his feet from where he’d crashed into more desks, Koi glances at his only other escape option. The door was too far and the demon would get to him before he could open it, and even if he did get away, he was bleeding and any demon still on school grounds would smell him.

He just needed more time.

RAD’s front doors lead to a set of stairs that’ll put you back on the ground floor and into the city. So the school’s first floors stand at the height of a second floor.

It’s going to hurt, but he doesn’t have any other choice.

Koi bites his lip as he readies himself for a world of hurt. The demon is getting ready to pounce on him out of the corner of his eye.

With no other choice, Koi runs to the nearest wall and throws himself out of the window.

Chapter Text

Mammon felt it before anything else.

He was already at home brooding in his room when he realized Levi’s shoes weren’t by the front door and that he actually had gone to meet Koi.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. It’s just Levi. It’s just Koi . And for your information, Mammon does not care about Koi! He couldn’t care less how chummy he gets with Levi or with Beel or Satan or whatever!! He doesn’t.

It’s his sin that cares. If Mammon wasn’t the avatar of greed, he wouldn’t be feeling this way. This dejected . This angry. This anything!

He wouldn’t. It’s his sin that’s to blame. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here, in his sick ass car/bed, arms crossed and upset like he was in time out.

Does Koi not think Mammon’s enough to protect him? Mammon is absolutely enough! He’s enough and more, damn it!!

With a groan, he closes his eyes and hopes he can sleep away whatever emotions that were attempting to drown him.

It’d only been a minute of silence before something else curls in his chest. Mammon gasps and sits up as his ribs constrict around his lungs, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. He brings a hand to his chest and grabs a fistful of his shirt.

What the hell?

He starts to breathe in gasps and his brows knit together as an emotion long lost on him fills him from head to toe. Full body and all consuming, terror filled his every cell, a stilling fear he won’t forget for years to come.

Mammon stumbles out of bed, falling ungracefully on the floor now that he feels wildly unsafe in his own body.

What was going on? What was this? What was happening to him?

“Lucifer..” he called out instinctively as his fingers begin to tremble. It felt like he was going to die. Like he was back on the battlefield all those centuries ago with war raging around him and fear consuming his heart.

He breathed through whatever this was. He doesn’t understand what’s going on.

What’s there to be scared about? It’s just him. He’s alone in his room, his brothers are all home by now except for one, and Koi was at RAD.

Everyone’s safe; nothing can happen to any of them. His brothers are strong and he can count on one hand the things that can defeat them (which includes a few of them themselves) and Koi should be with Levi.

Right?

The fear gets worse and his throat tightens drastically, he coughs.

No, Levi was a slow walker and out of shape. He met him at the gates of the house on his way in. Was he not at RAD yet?

Was Koi alone?

Did he leave Koi on his own?

The air is punched out of his lungs and all the pieces clicked. It must’ve been the pact. Something was happening. Something was wrong.

Was it his fault?

He knew he didn’t have time for a question like that, and he already knew the answer, so he rises to his feet and rushes to his bedroom window. Throwing it open he jumps out just as his wings tear through his shirt and he can feel the distinct cooling as his demonic marks materialize on his skin.

Mammon was fast. He was the fastest in all of the Devildom, second only to Lucifer who had a second set of wings. His balance has been impeccable ever since his early creation, he was a reliable soldier that depended on speed to aid his comrades. He could get to RAD in under a minute.

But how would he find Koi? Was he still in the classroom he left him in? What if he was too late?

It felt like a string was wrapped around his neck and with each ache of pain Koi experienced and each tremble of fear, he tugged on that string. He pulled Mammon toward him by the neck, drowning the demon in a fear that wasn’t his.

He arrived on the school grades in half a minute, heaving with adrenaline and fear. He could smell blood. Human blood.

Koi’s blood.

He followed the scent as fast as he could until he found Koi; crumpled on the concrete just short of the grassy plain surrounding the school, shards of glass scattered around him and embedded into his skin, his arm twisted in a way that couldn’t be right and he laid in a small pool of his own blood.

A demon, ravenous, murderous, and hungry was on top of him. On top of Koi. It unhinged its jaw and opened its mouth with the intention of tearing the human’s esophagus out.

Mammon was an older brother, the second oldest out of seven. He raised Satan while Lucifer grieved and he ran in circles helping his little brothers adjust to new life. Regardless of how reckless and impulsive he is, he’s also mature and levelheaded when he needs to be.

But here, his world falls silent, and everything that makes Mammon himself fades away until all that’s left is a demon.

Instinct carries him to the offender, crashing into him from above and sending them tumbling across the pavement. Mammon brings a clawed hand down and grabs, pulling a fistful out of wherever he’d placed it. The demon screams and tries to fight back but compared to Mammon, he’s as weak as could be, and he can’t even manage to land a scratch as Mammon disembowels him before the demons own eyes.

The way he brutalizes this demon, this stranger, it’s unforgiving. It’s demonic, cruel, and purely instinctual of a predator eviscerating its prey.

A weak cough snaps all of his senses back into place and only now does he feel the blood covering his front half. Mammon stands- stumbling to Koi’s side. He still feels loopy, not quite himself, and can’t think past anything but the damage that’s been done to his master.

The pact mark on his neck flares, burns with the intent to hurt, and he drops to his knees to pull Koi into his arms. His human winces in pain and all Mammon can do is hover a hand and cast a basic healing spell. He doesn’t know anything more advanced than easing the pain.

“Mammon?” it’s faint and wheezed and a little bit of a whimper. It makes Mammon clench his teeth and rest his forehead against the back of Koi’s uninjured shoulder.

A large presence rounds the corner not far from them and Mammon’s hackles raise. He holds Koi tighter, probably too tight, and he bares his teeth at the newcomers.

“Young lord,” Barbatos says, putting a gentle hand before Diavolo to stop him from coming closer.

The prince eyes the mangled corpse a few feet away from where Mammon is holding Koi. He wears a tight but mostly unreadable expression.

“Mammon, thank you for protecting Koi but we need to treat him.”

His wings spread behind him in an expression of his defiance.

Diavolo’s frown deepens, “Mammon.”

“It’s the pact,” Barbatos says, “-he’ll be agressive to any demon that comes close until Koi can calm him down. I’ll go seal this area off. Please contact Solomon or Lucifer in the meantime.”

The prince nods before Barbatos turns to depart, leaving Diavolo with a messed up pact holder and the feral demon bonded to him.

When Leviathan arrives at RAD he becomes acutely aware of the strong stench of blood. His stomach twists and his body tells him that something has gone terribly wrong.

He pushes past the crowd, more anxious about smelling human blood than upsetting any fellow Denizens, until he eventually stumbles to the front and locks eyes with Barbatos.

The butler’s eyes widen momentarily, after all it’s not often the shut-in is seen outside, “Leviathan.”

“Wha-“ he breathes, the scent clogging his throat and he feels vaguely nauseous by how strong the smell was, “What happened? Is- he’s not- is Koi-?”

”Alive, if not a bit battered.”

Leviathan saggs with relief, horrified by the thought that if he had died- would it have been his fault?

”I-I was supposed to meet him,” he mumbled, still a little rattled, “-could I…?”

Barbatos creates a small opening in the barrier that’s keeping the demons at bay, “With the current situation, we need all the help we can get.”

As Leviathan steps through he grimaces instantly. The smell was far more potent inside.

”Situation?” he asked.

Barbatos frowns, visibly displeased, “You’ll see. Now run along and go help Lucifer pacify your older brother.”

That didn’t sound good.

Obediently, Leviathan fast walked to the side of the main building, trusting his sense of smell to lead him to Koi. 

He can hear arguing and the strained voice of Lucifer trying his damned best not to lose his shit. Apprehensively, he turned the corner. He’s not sure what he expected but it surely wasn’t this.

Mammon is wrapped around Koi’s mangled body like a snake, teeth bared and wings spread as he snaps at anyone that gets too close. The whites of his eyes have turned black and the pact mark on his adam’s apple glows against his tan skin.

“Levi,” Lucifer breathes, relieved at the sight of a potential solution to this problem before the confusion sets in, “What are you doing here?”

Leviathan glances past him. Diavolo is speaking to Solomon as Asmodeus is trying to approach Mammon as non-threatening as possible.

”I was supposed to meet Koi after classes ended,” he paused, “-for our group project.”

He bit his lip. He’s not sure why he lied but it felt like the right move.

Lucifer, under the stress of the situation, accepts it as the truth, “Well, regardless, I need you to take Koi home.”

”Yeah, yeah- sure. I can do that. It’s just..” his eyes wander back to the rest, flinching slightly when Diavolo pulls Asmo back just in time for Mammon’s claw to miss him, “…what’s going on?”

Lucifer grimaces, “That damn pact,” he sighs, “It’s making Mammon act irrationally. Koi desperately needs healing and Simeon should be waiting back at the house, but Mammon’s refusing to let anyone near him.”

”He’s not listening to reason.”

Levi blinked, a little shell-shocked. Pacts can do that? “So is that why Asmo’s here? To like- charm him or something?”

Lucifer nods, “Only the pact holder can soothe their rabid demon, but as you can tell…”

”Yeah,” he whispers. Koi is in bad shape and ultimately unconscious. Even if he was lucid, Levi doubts he’d be able to say anything with the near chokehold Mammon has him in.

”Wait- but how am I supposed to get Koi home with Mammon like…that?”

”Since it seems Asmo can’t get close enough I’m going to temporarily induce a coma. With Mammon asleep I want you to take that human and watch him after Simeon heals him,” Lucifer explains.

”You can play games, watch anime, whatever you wish- just stay by his side until I come home. You’re the only one here aware of the situation and god forbid I leave Asmo with that man alone.”

”Okay,” he replies a little too fast. He hadn’t actually registered most of it.

”Good,” the older huffs, relieved by Leviathan’s lack of disapproval, albeit a little suspicious. But nows not the time to act on those suspicions, not with Diavolo getting more and more stressed with each passing minute.

As Lucifer moves to join the others, Levi hesitantly follows behind him, using his older brother as a shield from Mammon's rage. The second born must sense the finality of Lucifer's movements and is becoming more hostile with each step closer the elder takes. Once Lucifer is within five feet of the demon, Mammon pushes onto his feet and swings a sharp claw at the other while still keeping Koi secured to his chest with his free arm. The movement is too fast for Levi to register, only able to comprehend the after image of Lucifer side-stepping the attack and grabbing Mammon by the nape.

Before the demon can counter attack—Lucifer's hand glows a faint red alongside his eyes—and Mammon's roll into the back of his head. His knees give out and he stumbles back into Lucifer who catches both his brother and the human with ease. 

The once stagnant air begins to clear as everyone takes a small breath of relief.

"Levi," Lucifer calls.

The third born jolts, blinking away his surprise and scrambling to join him. He kneels before the three of them, a mess of tangled limbs and bloodied faces.

"W-What should I do?"

"Take Koi. Quickly."

Leviathan gulps but ultimately nods, shaking away the hesitation he reaches out and pulls Koi towards him. Even in his sleep Mammon tries to reach for the human but his hand is weak and his grip falls loose. Koi ragdolls into him and he tries not to pass out himself now that the human is breathing down his neck, however labored the breathing may be. Leviathan hauls him into his arms, awkwardly trying to find the most convenient way to hold someone, and with anime as a reference he chooses the princess carry.

His arms tremble and he prays that the all father will spare him from the soreness that will undoubtedly total his body tomorrow. He's not a demon known for his strength.

There's a distinct sound of space time ripping and he finds Diavolo behind them with an open portal to the House of Lamentation. He can vaguely make out Simeon on the other side.

Levi takes one last glance at his older brothers and finds Lucifer also has Mammon in his arms, an expression of muted worry and anger. The eldest must sense his gaze and picks his head up to stare back.

"Go," he orders, "I won't be long."

Feeling reassured and vaguely invigorated, Leviathan jerkily nods before stepping through the gateway and into his house. Simeon frowns at the state Koi is in before he helps the two climb the stairs and enter Koi's room.

They place him on his bed and Leviathan grimaces as blood soaks the sheets. His arm is mangled by his side, bent unnaturally and he's forced to look away when he sees a lump in his skin that's undoubtedly Koi's bone. Levi turns to distract himself, preferring to avert his gaze and look elsewhere as Simeon works his magic. He hasn't actually been in this room before, even prior to Koi's arrival in the Devildom, despite the fact it's right across from his own room. Observing Koi's desk it appeared relatively tidy and organized, not that there was much to organize, and also finds a sheet of paper taped to the wall. He squints; it's a contract written by Koi to define his pact with Mammon, signed by both on the bottom.

No wonder Mammon's been so obsessed with him lately, Levi thought grimly. Koi's probably the only person that's treated his brother like, well, a person with boundaries and feelings in...gods- centuries, most likely. Levi can't find it in himself to feel sorry for his brother though. Maybe if he was in a better mood.

Mammon's not the most like-able person in the world. If anything, Levi's certain all of his brothers would vouch that Mammon wasn't like-able at all. The only people that did tolerate him were scam artists that knew he was dumb, weirdos like those witches that see him as a new chew toy, and the occasional succubi desperate to stick it in him.

Levi's stomach churned. Fuck. He's really regretting getting him that pact. The bastard doesn't deserve it. Doesn't deserve Koi.

Feeling the tendrils of envy grip his heart, Leviathan has to physically swallow down the urge to tear apart the paper.

"Levi," Simeon calls, causing him to flinch out of surprise. He'd already forgotten he was there.

Turning around, he stares at them questioningly.

"I need your help taking off Koi's clothes."

"Oh, sure." Levi responds as he takes a step to join him at the human's bedside just before his brain catches up, "W-Wait, what ??"

Simeon just blinks at him, waiting, "Could you grab something comfortable we can change him into?"

Leviathan feels the embarrassment flood his whole body, "W-W-What for?"

"...for changing. For Koi. To change into."

"But why?!"

Simeon sighs as he turns to properly face the demon now that Koi is considered stable, "I can't see the proper extent of his injuries like this and I doubt he would enjoy waking up a bloodied shredded mess. Just a shirt, please."

"Um- I-I'm good, actually. You've got this." Then he pauses, seeing the mental image of Simeon undressing Koi in his mind, and suppresses a gag, "Actually, never mind."

Moving stiffly to the closet and hesitantly opening it, Levi finds that there's not much inside. Just the same three black shirts, a spare RAD uniform no doubt procured by Lucifer, a few sweatpants of varying grays, and a single black shirt with the white text 'I miss my foreskin'. When did he even have the time to find that...? Picking it up, he wrinkles it in his clenched fist when he gets a whiff of Mammon's insufferable cologne. Yuck. So it wasn't Koi's.

But it still begs the question, why was it here ?

Levi stares at it for a moment. It takes only a second to decide to burn it, eviscerating it with a simple spell. He stomps out the ashes before grabbing a suitable shirt for Koi and passing it to Simeon. 

With the angel stripping Koi, Levi can't help but look away, staring very intensely at Koi's hand. It's a nice hand. Though his nails are getting a little long- he'd make a great piano player with fingers as long as his. Should Leviathan lend him a nail clipper? There's shuffling as Simeon unbuttons the blazer, then his dress shirt. He pulls Koi until he's sitting upright before he looks at Levi for assistance.

Gulping, the demon tries not to stare at the human's bare chest as he moves to peel the uniform off of his body. Or what's left of it. One of the sleeves slips off, pooling around Koi's wrist. Most of the uniform was torn, including the sleeve, which had been severed completely from the rest of the blazer. He helps pull the sleeve off and folds what he can neatly, placing them awkwardly on the desk.

Upon turning back around he finds Simeon frowning as he stares at Koi. Not only does he look worried but he's vaguely...disturbed.

"What?" Levi asks, now also worried as he patters to Simeon's side, "What's wrong? Is it bad?"

"Well...it's not something that needs immediate medical attention."

The demon makes a funny face, confused, before turning to look for himself. After getting over the initial embarrassment he finds his gaze drawn to a lighter patch of skin on Koi's left shoulder. 

His shoulder is a grotesque mess of scar tissue hugged by similar but lighter swathes of scars. Levi squirms, suddenly nauseous. It looked like Cerberus had ripped a chunk out of him. He's not even sure what can cause an injury like that. It looked so severe and...messy.

"What is that?" he asks stupidly. Because that's what he was. Stupid.

Simeon walked around the bed to examine Koi closer, brushing his fingers over the raised skin, tracing the patches and paths of old wounds, "I'm...not actually sure."

That doesn't bode well.

"Have you seen anything like it before? You know, up in the celestial realm?"

The angel took a moment to really think but shook his head regardless, stepping back a respectable distance from the slumbering Koi, "Not in humans- or, not in alive ones. I've seen similar scars on some of the more battered souls but..." he sighs, "I honestly don't want to know. I'm sure whatever happened, it couldn't have been pleasant."

Leviathan waits off to the side, doing his own thing while Simeon took off Koi's pants and properly dressed him. Honestly, he was too distracted to realize when Simeon eventually left. His mind is lagging behind him, still fifteen minutes in the past.

He wants to know what happened to Koi.

Not just about his shoulder, but today in general. He saw the mutilated body not far from Mammon and Koi when he first arrived on the scene. He can put the pieces together himself, but things still didn't seem right. Why would Mammon leave him alone like that? Long enough to come back to Koi and have to peel another demon off of him?

If it was him he never would've left him alone.

Leviathan hangs his head and sighs, "The worst thing he can say is no, my ass."

His heart feels heavy as he stares at the sleeping human, breathing steadily in his sleep albeit with pinched brows and a tense expression. 

...Maybe today was his fault?

Was he deflecting? Maybe it's less Mammon's fault and more his?

Was Koi attacked while he waited for Leviathan?

The demon bit his lip, fangs digging into flesh as he tastes the bitterness of his own blood. Who was he kidding? Of course it was his fault. It's always his fault. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Koi shifted in his sleep with a mumbled groan, pulling the man out of his self-deprecating stupor. Levi blinks, watching from the desk as the human clutches the sheets in tight fists. He's broken into a cold sweat. Was he having a nightmare?

Levi approaches tentatively, creeping up slowly and observing the human, scared to wake him. Koi whines as his face pinches in pain. The man kneels by his bedside, hands hovering in confusion. He wants to help but he already feels like he's done something wrong. What should he do? What can he do? Was there anything he could even do for Koi? At the end of the day, he was just a useless otaku.

But the pained moans were striking at Levi's already weak heart, grabbing it in his little human hands and wringing it like a wet towel. He feels obligated to do something. He can't just leave him here. He wants to repay even an inch of the kindness Koi has shown him.

He hovers his hand over Koi's, fearful of doing something wrong.

Eventually, he bites the bullet and sets his hand gently—as gently as possible—over Koi's hand. It takes a minute but Leviathan watches with rapt attention as the distress fades bit by bit and Koi's fists unclench slowly- laying limp beneath the demon's own, slightly trembling hand.

His heart is pounding so loudly in his ears that Levi has to put his spare hand over his mouth, afraid his heart might leap right out.

"Mammon..."

Heart stopping altogether, Levi's eye twitches before it resumes beating with a fierce and angry vigor. He pushes his head into the mattress, hair tickling Koi's forearm, and prays for the floor to swallow him whole.

Levi breathes through the anger, allowing it to pass through his body in waves, worried that if he lets the feeling stay for even a moment he may just smother Koi with a pillow and take his last breath. At least that would be solely Leviathan's. His last breath, a last plea, a strangled whisper as his claws tighten around the humans throat. Swallowing, he takes to staring at Koi's face. Imagining it just makes the urge worse. He can't close his eyes.

He then registers the rhythmic thumping of his tail, also sharing his irritation. Christ, he hadn't even noticed he'd changed forms.

Letting out a sigh, hoping to breathe out all the envy with it, he holds the human a little tighter.

"I can protect you too," Leviathan whispers now that his anger is thinning the longer he looks at Koi's face. He really is handsome. Not everyone can pull off facial piercings like he does.

"I'm better than Mammon. I'd treat you nicer."

Daringly, he intertwines their fingers, squeezing gently, "Look at me too." He pleads.

. . .

Koi had a basic understanding of Mammon and Leviathan.

They both seemed reluctant to be in the same room with him—not that he could blame them. He too would be wary and standoffish to a new creature living in his home, intentions and ambitions unknown. He also understood that both the demons were on the emotional side; they were temper-mental, annoyed easily, and flustered easily. Physical contact seemed out of the question. Any brush of skin, accident or not, would have Mammon quickly distancing himself as if he'd gotten burned. Oh, and Levi? He was never within arms length of Koi, not even once.

Understandably, he understood Mammon more given the time he's spent with him over these past few weeks, and even if his time with Levi wasn't entirely amicable, he figured he had some level of understanding.

But as it turns out, Koi was undoubtedly, veritably wrong.

He watches with innate fascination at the blue haired demon curled up by his bedside, cheek resting on Koi's palm as he snoozes lightly. He doesn't have a clue what's going on and how on earth he ended up here with a demon more skittish than a stray cat, sleeping peacefully atop his hand. There's a headache pounding wildly inside his skull, contributing to the lack of thoughts that should be making their way into his mind.

It takes him five more minutes after waking up to even manage a thought.

His eyelashes are so long, Koi thinks, shamelessly admiring Leviathan. He doubts he'll ever get the chance to see him this close again. He's really cute, attractive in a way separate from Mammon. Mammon who was all sharp, model-like features, long and dainty eyelashes, unblemished skin as smooth as velvet. While Mammon was gorgeous, Koi can only think of one word to describe Levi.

Adorable.

Completely and utterly adorable.

He's got a boyish face and slightly sunken in eyes (no doubt from the amount of all nighters he's pulling) but it highlights his light lashes more. He has a dorky hair cut that he barely manages to pull off and unimaginably pink lips. They look soft. It makes him want to touch.

Koi moves the hand resting under Levi so that he can brush a thumb over his skin. It's soft too, clear as day. It must be a demon thing.

"Hmmm.."

The demon grumbles pitifully in his sleep, nuzzling into the warmth of Koi's hand like a cold kitten.

He's hit so suddenly then with the unadulterated need to utterly smother this man.

To pamper, to love, to soothe. 

...Odd. Koi chalks it up to missing his cats. Levi was undoubtedly acting like them. He also chalks up the warming feeling in his chest to missing them too.

He smoothes the pad of his finger over Leviathan's eyebrow, reaching over with his other hand to pet his head.

Oh, he's so much like a cat. He's painfully aware of how defenseless the demon's forehead is and how tempted he is to plant a kiss on it. Will he wake with a shock, throwing a hissy fit, ready to swat him into the afterlife? Or will he stay this pliant under his touch, purring at the attention.

He unfortunately doesn't get to act on these thoughts (or fortunately for the demon) as Leviathan shifts again and his eyes flutter open. Koi watches with rapt attention as Levi's eyes adjust to the light coming in through the window that's been highlighting his face in an angelic light, observing the way his pupils sharpen in the Devildom's artificial glow.

He continues to watch, even more intensely, when Levi's eyes find his and those pupils expand, blown wide at the sight of him.

It lasts only for a moment before the demon is launching himself backwards with frightening speed, and had Koi's body been in a better condition, he would've winced by the loud thump that followed.

"K-Koi!"

The human peers over the bed, disturbingly satisfied by the bright red flush that overtakes Levi's whole face. He smiles. Levi flushes more. He'd make for handy Christmas lights.

The demon scrambles to his feet, embarrassed and shocked, "You're awake!"

Koi hums, "Yea-" his attempt to converse is cut short by a violent cough ripping out of his throat. It descends into a fit of hacking and by the end of it, he tastes blood.

Levi looks rightfully worried, fumbling as he skitters out of the room like an awkward bug, "I-I'll go get you some water!! Don't move!"

He watches the door swing softly to close, the demon forgetting to close it behind him in his rush, and Koi relaxes back into the bed, pulling the sheets over his shoulders and burying his nose underneath. He stares at the door, waiting for Leviathan to come back.

So cute, he thinks.

Chapter Text

Koi nearly coughed out his water.

After the awkward gurgling, drowned zombie noise, the human turned to Levi with concern, "Mammon's sick ?"

"Apparently," the demon shrugged, handing Koi a napkin with an anime girl printed on.

"Thank you," he paused, "-wait, I can use this to wipe my mouth..right? You won't have a meltdown?"

Levi's face scrunches up slightly, "You know Hana Ruri is my bias, not her. I entered a raffle hoping for Ruri's 20XX limited edition 315/350 figurine. Those napkins are proof of my failure and my shit RNG."

"Right." Koi wipes his mouth, "So that means Mammon is home too?"

While RAD did take a small break and cancelled a few classes to clean up the demon Mammon smeared across the pavement (and the classroom Koi and that demon likely trashed), the academy was huge and had many entrances and buildings aside from where the fight took place. Only Levi stayed home with Koi (whom was granted temporary medical leave by Diavolo for a week), well, Mammon too, apparently.

Levi is still technically attending school since he took most of his classes online, however he seems to be using Koi as an excuse to dismiss his studies entirely. Funny how he gets this sudden urge to check up on him when a professor emails him about the progress on his upcoming report.

It's been two days since he first woke up and that time was used slipping from dream to dream as Simeon's magic took its toll on his body. But after sleeping most of those couple days away, Koi found himself restless, and pleaded to keep Levi company in his room. It didn't take much convincing since the demon seemed to feel guilty over the situation, for whatever reason.

Koi had expected severe awkwardness but Levi, the adorable thing, seems to have gotten even cuter after the human was attacked. He avoids Koi's gaze (which was fine and actually quite welcome, given that Koi himself found eye contact a hassle) but seems to shoot glances at him when he thinks the human isn't paying attention. If he gets caught he just flushes and turns away, making up an excuse about an imaginary speck of dust.

Levi was easy to converse with. Koi can pick a random light novel or manga on his many shelves, ask about it, and Levi would fire up a very enthusiastic (one-sided) conversation for the next hour. Koi's always been a listener, and he's finding that he and the third born could get along a lot easier than he previously thought, seeing that the man has dropped the viciousness he held in the past.

Whether he's seeing Leviathan in this new light due to how he's been nursing Koi back to his feet and this newly growing fondness has formed from gratitude, or Koi hit his head after throwing himself out of a two-story window and has brain-damage as a result, he welcomes this turn of events.

Koi tucks his knees under his chin as he faces the demon.

"Does that mean I can see him?"

He owes Mammon his gratitude, after all. That, and his life.

The demon bristles, pausing his mobile game, "W-Why do you want to see him?"

"He helped me, I need to thank him. Also, shouldn't someone be taking care of him? He's sick, isn't he?"

Levi purses his lips as he turns away, crossing his arms, "It's just a fever. He'll be fine."

Is he...pouting ?

Koi grins mischievously, "What's wrong? Gonna miss me?"

The man jolts as he whips around, eyes wide, shock apparent on his face like a cat getting caught doing something bad. Then he flushes, likely embarrassed by how much his actions give him away as he nervously fumbles his sentences, "N-No! Of course not!! Why would I- f-for you- I mean, I would never miss a human !"

"Right," Koi smiles, heady with mirth, "-then I'll be back later, okay?"

He can see the metaphorical ears on the demon flatten as the man seems to wilt, "Oh, um- t-take your time...I guess."

The smile on the human's face is starting to hurt, he can't seem to smile any wider than this. Gods, he's so fun to mess with. Koi wants to grab him by the shoulders and rattle him like a maraca.

He feels a sharp tinge of dangerous delirium weigh heavy in his gut and decides it's time to step away before he does something he can't take back. Standing from the make-shift pillow fort he made beside the bathtub, Koi stretches his legs and shakes away the static under his skin from sitting for too long. Levi still seems to be sulking and the human likes the idea of letting him stew so he makes his way toward the door.

"Oh, you should call Barbatos before you go. Said he had something important to tell you about Mammon."

With the door half open he looks over his shoulder to see the utterly pitiful expression on the demons face, not even trying to hide his disappointment, even though just before he acted as if letting Koi hang out with him would cause a cataclysm that would destroy all three realms.

Koi grips the doorframe, fingernails chipping the paint.

Fine, he thinks as he quickly makes his way over to the sad little puddle sitting at his desk, you win this time. 

The human grabs the man's face before either can really comprehend what was going on. Koi pulls him into his chest and rests his elbows on the demon's shoulders, arms holding him in place as he sets his chin in aqua-tinted hair.

Fighting the urge to squeeze him till he pops, Koi pulls away before he can drag this out for too long and relishes at the dumbfounded expression on Levi's face. He ruffles the otaku's hair as he attempts to fight off the smile creeping up on him, which he undoubtedly loses to.

"Thanks. I'll be back later, okay?" unable to resist, he pinches the bridge of the demon's nose, "-and do your homework!"

Levi blinks, "Huh? Um, okay. Sure."

Koi ruffles the man's hair one last time before making a swift exit.

The door swings shut and roughly five minutes later, Levi's mind catches up to him. Putting both hands over his face he takes a deep breath in, and out, before screaming so loudly in his own head he has no doubt Belphie could hear all the way from the human realm. Fingers pressed tightly against his skin he wallows in shame at the way they tremble from...something. Whatever this giddy, youthful joy is that's threatening to pull him under the waves and drown him.

When Leviathan assess the danger and concludes he will not be dying of a heart attack, he lowers his hands and slumps back into his desk, gazing blankly at the jellyfish hanging from his ceiling. In the reflection of the water he sees himself flushed bright red, all the way down to his shoulders, and a look on his face that fills him with unimaginable mortification.

"Father help me," he prays aloud as he lets his head hang with the weight of his shame and embarrassment. His face pinches as he sighs.

What is wrong with me? And what was that FACE?? Please tell me I didn't look at Koi like that, like I was 'begging to be dommed out of my mind'??????

Levi continues to breathe as his mind races, desperately wishing the All Father to smite him where he sat.

He's unsure of how to deal with...this. The way his heart has been acting up recently, threatening to escape his bowels at the sight of that devilishly handsome human, and now with the way his gut was pulsing in time with his rapid heart rate. Fuck. Why was Koi so hot?? It's not fair!! His heart reacts dangerously enough, he did NOT need to add his dick into the equation. This was just a very poorly timed, very spontaneous boner.

"That's it," having had enough, Leviathan sat up straight and clicked onto his personal calendar. He highlights the same day next month and adds a new event titled 'SUICIDE! FCKING KYS!!!!!!' in bold red. 

Satisfied, he leans back and crosses his arms over his chest, smiling triumphantly. Hah, he may have lost the battle but in the end he'll win the war. These weird feelings can't get to him if he's dead!

He squints at another event highlighted half a week after that and he hesitantly clicks on it.

HANA RURI LIVE CONCERT!!

"Fuck."

On second thought, he'll have to postpone that suicide.

Koi waits patiently as he listens to his phone ring. The call gets picked up on the fourth.

"Hello?" he called.

Barbatos answered, ever polite, "Koi, good evening."

His eyebrow twitches in surprise. He's never actually spoken with Barbatos before but he finds his voice incredibly soothing. It's nice to listen to, even through a phone call.

"Hey, Levi said you had something to tell me about Mammon?"

There's faint rustling on the other line, "Ah, yes. There's very important things you must understand about your pact before you go tend to Mammon. Is now a good time?"

"Of course! I don't have much else to do while I'm recovering."

"Perfect," there's a shift, "-I apologize for any background noise, I'm sorting out some documents for the young master."

Koi reassures him that it's no problem so Barbatos clears his throat and begins explaining.

"How much do you know about pacts?" the demon starts.

"Just the pure bare bones. Pacts are between a human and a demon where, if the pact is invoked, the human's word becomes law, and the demon has to obey. That and forming one hurts like a bitch."

"Oh dear," the butler sighs quietly. Did he think Koi couldn't hear him or did he just not care?

"Well, then. I'll brief you on what's most important because I am unfortunately on a time crunch, but rest assured that I will recommend a good, informational book on pacts."

"To start, Mammon is currently sick. Demons don't have the same anatomy as humans and illnesses that demons are susceptible to are either mistaken for curses or are few and far between. Right now, Mammon should be coming down with a high fever. It's not life-threatening like it would be for a human and it'll clear up within a couple of days, but know that this spontaneous sickness is a result of your pact."

Koi frowned, feeling a tinge of guilt, "How so?"

"Do you know how Mammon was able to find you so fast when you were attacked?"

Thinking about it now, no, he didn't. Actually, he hadn't thought about it at all. Koi had thought a simple coincidence saved his life, that Mammon saw or heard his tumble out of the window while leaving RAD.

He tells Barbatos this and the butler replies with a hum, "Truthfully, Mammon was already at the House of Lamentation while you were being assaulted. Pacts are more than just verbal bonds between a human and a demon, to form a pact with a demon is to bind a part of your soul to the other for the rest of your life. Mammon now holds a part of your soul just as you hold a part of his. Since this is both your first pact and you are a novice at magic, the bond between the two of you is...inconvenient, to say the least. Your bond is generally weak, likely faint enough that Mammon hasn't even noticed your souls are bonded, and definitely weak enough that you can't pick up on it at all."

"Since you, the master, have no magical prowess or pact experience to properly maintain what passes through the thread that connects your souls it means that very little, if anything at all, will get relayed to Mammon. However, and most importantly, what does get transferred to Mammon is received extremely aggressively. My guess? Your feelings of fear were so strong that they'd broken into your previously untouched bond with Mammon, and had completely overridden all of his base instincts. Typically this isn't a problem and wouldn't happen if, say, you were in a pact with Asmodeus. He would feel your fear but would maintain complete control of his body and soul. But Mammon is just like you, a first time pact holder. So what was strong enough to break into your bonded souls was received just as strongly. If you were so fearful it filled your entire soul and more, it would mean you also filled Mammon's entire soul with fear. What happened after was just him responding to said fear."

Koi leaned against the nearest wall as he digests all of this, "Basically, even without verbally ordering him, I still forced Mammon to save me because I was scared shitless." 

"Although more crass for my tastes, yes, you're correct." 

Biting his lip the human rubbed his temple, willing away a headache, "Okay, so why is he sick?"

"As a first time pact holder, Mammon had lost complete control of himself. In that moment, he was more demonic than he was Mammon, which speaks volumes for an ex-angel. To have your soul overridden like that is both extremely taxing and dangerous, him being bedridden is just a result of what happened."

So he's sick because of me, Koi realized with a grimace.

"While it is important to know why this happened, it's not the reason I requested to converse with you," Barbatos explained before pausing, presumably taking a sip of tea, "My main reason for calling is to inform you of Mammon's current state. You intended to check on him, didn't you?"

"Yeah." But now I feel like I shouldn't.

"As it stands, Mammon is...indisposed, and not himself. So please be aware that he will be prone to behavioral complications and will likely attempt to smother you, among other things. Now that I've explained please understand that in the case he does injure you, I am not liable, and any and all compensations and complaints should be directed towards Mammon and Lucifer only."

"Woah, okay- slow down. You're making it sound like he's gonna rip me from taint to tit if I go in there. Should I just...not? Like, wait it out until the fever passes?"

"Actually it's the opposite. Due to the nature of his illness you are the key factor to getting him back on his feet. While he can overcome this illness without your help it will be a longer and more enduring process opposed to being his bedside nurse for a night. He won't hurt you, not on purpose. There's just a possibility of him smothering you like a dog that doesn't know how big he is." Oddly enough, Koi can hear the polite smile on the other end of the phone, "So, we leave Mammon in your care. Thank you in advance, Koi."

He opens his mouth to respond but hearing a click, his jaw hangs open instead. Did he really hang up on me?

Koi idled in the hallway for another five minutes simply trying to process all the information that was just given to him. In hindsight, he really feels like he shouldn't be alone with Mammon in the case he supposedly injures Koi. But on the other hand, he's a firm believer of quid pro quo and knows that he owes Mammon his life.

A sigh pulls from his mouth as he resigns himself to a potential death, trudging to Mammon's room.

"Mammon?" he called, knocking on the door lightly.

Silence.

"Mammon ? Are you alive?"

Silence.

Koi's face pinches for a moment before he begrudgingly opens the door. 

Stepping in, he flicks on the lights and is astonished by the sheer size of Mammon's room. I mean, it makes sense, considering the demon was practically a mag pie and needed a lot of space to guard his treasures. He has a couch, an (expensive looking) TV and a companion soundboard and surround sound. It is a little cluttered and messy but not nearly as bad as he was expecting. Christ, he has a second floor in his room and- is...is that a car ?

There's rustling to his left and he finally finds Mammon; or, more accurately, a Mammon sized cocoon. He's wrapped himself up like the fish of a sushi roll.

"Mammon?" he calls more loudly as he approaches cautiously. 

The bundle of blankets shifts and a tuft of white hair pops out of the top, blue eyes peering at him like a wild cat. His eyes sharpen with each step closer Koi takes but once he's within arms reach, his eyes visibly dilate upon recognizing him. Wiggling out of his endless blankets until his whole head was out he speaks in surprise.

"Koi?" 

His voice is hoarse and all of Koi's previous apprehension vanishes in a moments notice, instead replaced with the overwhelming need to protect and care. Huh. Must be a pact thing.

"Hey," he smiles, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting a hand over the blankets, "How are you feeling? Want me to get you anything?"

Mammon blinks at him, vision as muddy as his mind. The lights start hurting his eyes so he opts to close them, instead using his sense of smell to reassure him that his human was there and safe. He eventually shakes his head once he realizes he needs to respond.

"You sure? Barbatos told me you're sick," Koi reaches over to push the hair out of his face, resting a cool palm over his forehead. He slumps against it willingly.

The human jolts, "Christ, Mammon! You're burning up!" He launches from his seating position, suddenly on a hunt for a spare washcloth he can use.

Mammon's heart leaps in his chest as his body follows, claw catching Koi's wrist.

"No!" he shouts, distressed.

The human stills, the grip loosens, "No? Mon, you feel as hot as the god damn sun right now. Someone may as well have dipped you in a volcano head first."

"I'm fine," he reiterates, pulling Koi back to bed, " 'sides, none of yer human stuff would help me anyway. These blankets are cooler; regulate my body temperature 'n stuff. So stay. Don't make me get out of it again."

Koi blinks but follows obediently, sitting in silence as Mammon readjusts himself in his coffin of cold blankets. He sweating, face red and eyes sewn shut, brows pulled down and lips in a little pout. He looks miserable, but death seems far, and that's all the reassurance Koi needs.

"You sure there's nothing I can do to help? I mean, Barbatos said I should be nursing you back to health so there must be something I can do."

Mammon's eyes open a centimeter, staring with unnervingly large pupils. He looks Koi over, almost like he's sizing him up, before he starts rising from his burial ground. The human observes nervously as the demon closes in on him, head ghosting against his shoulder. He leans down and inhales ( is he smelling me? ) before a sharp claw is over his shoulder, holding him tight enough to keep him still but not to hurt.

"What time is it?" Mammon grumbles, sounding distinctly displeased.

"Still light hours, your brothers are at RAD."

The second born lifts his head, staring into Koi's eyes. The human shifts uncomfortably while holding the weight of his gaze, inching back to create more space. That seems to be the wrong move as he winces, the tip of Mammon's claws starting to pierce his shirt and digging into his skin, "Then why do you smell like Levi?"

Koi frowns, annoyed that he's being accused of something- he doesn't know what, but he knows it's something he didn't do, "Because I was just with him in his room? I'm still recovering too, you know. Someone has to make sure I don't keel over at random."

Mammon loosens his grip and huffs disapprovingly, the little bastard, and ends up breaking eye contact first, "If ya wanna help me then stay away from that bastard."

"What? Why? Levi hasn't done anything wrong."

Something else wraps around Koi's stomach. It's too small and thin to be a limb but it tightens around him like a snake. He hunches immediately, hissing at the pain of his tender injuries being pressed on. Mammon grabs his face with both claws, forcing him into another staring contest.

"I said stay away. Yer mine, not his! I'm yer first man! Stay with me!" 

Koi blinks, shocked at the blatant aggression but more so by the spiral horns that have appeared atop Mammon's head. His claws have whitened completely at the tip of his nails, maintaining a solid white before fading into his normal tan color past his wrist. 

Koi wants to snap back at him but swallows the feeling down, face pinching in pain from whatever is wrapped around his stomach. Right, Koi remembered, I shouldn't get mad. He's not himself right now. Barbatos said something about...behavioral changes? 

Though he hadn't expected bodily changes as well.

"Okay," he complies, wheezing the words out, "I'll stay here with you until you feel better. Now let go because this is starting to hurt."

The demon jolts as if he got hurt and the pressure disappears immediately. Koi sags with relief, massaging his stomach with a sigh.

"Yer still hurt?" Mammon asks, tone much softer now. He seems to have wilted a little, either guilt or fatigue weighing down his face until he looked like a kicked dog.

"A little. Simeon left the smaller stuff to heal naturally, something about not wanting to upset the balance of my soul or something."

The demon, lacking all grace and manners, grabs the end of Koi's shirt and lifts it up past his collar, effectively blinding him.

"Dude!" he yells, grabbing the man's wrist in his surprise. He finds that fighting the demon is useless, even if one of them was significantly worse off than the other, and begrudgingly and embarrassingly lets Mammon pull the shirt over and off. He squints, examining Koi closely.

Koi sets a hand over Mammon's claws, "Careful," he warns.

The demon glances back at him and upon reflection, retracts the claws. He can do that? Then why the hell did he have them out in the first place? He could've spared Koi's shoulder at least, god knows that part of his body is beat up enough as is.

His hands are still a pure white but the hold a gentle softness as he traces around the minute injuries. Scrapes and bruises, some small cuts, some slightly larger that have been stitched. Mammon observes him with a curious fascination, determined to check all of his injuries over. 

Koi, desperate to take the attention of this odd situation, lets his eyes wander. Beneath Mammon's thin, slightly battered band shirt he finds smooth white marks that hadn't been on his body before. They start from his Adam's apple and somewhere near his shoulders before dipping and disappearing beneath the low hanging collar of the cloth. As his gaze travels downward he immediately zeroes in on the culprit from before.

Without thinking, Koi unabashedly grabs Mammon's tail.

The demon flinches like a bolt of lightning shot right through him, startling him straight out of his concentration, "What the hell?!"

Koi grins at him, "Hey, you're feeling me up, it's only fair I get to do it too. Besides, this incredibly rude thing of yours strangled me."

Mammon's face pinches, like he'd taken a bite out of a lemon, "I didn't strangle ya. Quit bein' a drama Queen."

Koi just rolls his eyes and continues to observe. It's an...odd texture. Definitely not what he thought a demon's tail would feel like. From all the costumes he's seen and worn (yes, he's gone in a sexy demon costume for a halloween party, he's only human) he thought it'd be more rubbery, or plastic feeling. But instead it feels like skin despite being a different color than Mammon's actual skin. It was smooth, almost velvet like, but still retained enough roughness to feel like human skin. It wasn't leathery either. I guess it'd be akin to someone's bald head?

The tail twitches in his hand, wrapping around his arm lazily and far less constrictive than earlier. It sways in interest.

"...who did this?"

Koi blinks before following Mammon's gaze. His whitened hand rested lightly on his battered shoulder. Koi mentally winces.

"Not a demon. Or- well, I think he's a demon, but that'd be an insult to demons. Sorry, anyway it happened a long time ago. Don't worry about it."

Judging from the second born's face he was, in fact, worrying about it. Glowering too. 

He's mindful enough to keep the hold on Koi's shoulder easy and relaxed but his other hand has gripped the bed sheets in a fist, claws digging into and ripping the sheets. His tail sways at the end violently, angrily.

Mammon's eyes sharpen, staring so intensely at his shoulder Koi's half concerned he's about to rip it right off. His lips twitch, fighting back a snarl. His eyes swirl, light blue deepening into something darker.

"I'll kill them."

How dare they touch my human? How dare they hurt my master? Who in the three realms has the gall to mark Koi's body? 

The demon blinks when a finger is pushed between his eyebrows.

"Down, boy," Koi says, amused, "There's no one to kill, he's long gone. I don't worry about it so neither should you."

Mammon very much wants to worry about it. It is his business. That is his human. But unfortunately, Koi's words are like law to his body, and he calms immediately. To his surprise, Koi rewards him for letting it go.

"You're so protective, you know? Is it a pact thing or a Mammon thing?" Koi grins, reaching up and ruffling Mammon's hair. His chest feels light and the molten heat flowing through his body settles beneath Koi's hand. He nudges his palm. More. He wants more. "You're so sweet, even if you act all big and tough."

Impulsively, surely driven by how taken Koi was when Mammon reacted like that, holds Mammon's head in place with his hands and plants a chaste kiss on his forehead, over his bangs.

"But thank you. For wanting to protect me, even if it's just because of the pact. You saved my life Mammon. Thank you."

Scratch that. The molten heat returns ten fold and eviscerates him, leaving a pitiful puddle of Mammon in its wake. The demon can't even muster a response, head too heavy and heart too loud, so he just collapses into his human instead. Koi's giggle is euphonious to him as he curls around the man, head resting in his lap and knees behind his back, tail wrapped loosely around Koi's waist.

Koi continues to pet him. Honestly, he should be offended. A human petting The Great Mammon? Unheard of! Blasphemous, even!!

...but it feels nice. So The Great Mammon allows it to continue. He curls in further, resting his forehead against the man's hip in search of his warmth.

"Stay," he mutters.

"Okay," Koi replies with ease, running his fingers through Mammon's hair, "I'll stay."

After informing Leviathan that Koi had been willfully kidnapped and would likely spend the night in Mammon's room, true to his word, he had stayed by Mammon's side well into the next morning. 

Initially, Koi had been apprehensive. Especially considering the events that took place in the span of ten minutes of first entering the room. But like a baby, Mammon calmed drastically after a nap, and was far more docile and easier to tend to. Koi has had partners in the past, and a few exes, but he never allowed anyone in his life long enough to tend to them when they came down with a fever, let alone care they were sick at all. It was a foreign experience, something Koi hadn't done since he was a young boy.

However, it wasn't as unpleasant experience.

Mammon shifted indiscriminately between his more human form, and his more demonic one. As a human, he'd demand one of Koi's hands and would hold it tightly in his sleep, rising like a cranky baby if Koi had the gall to pry his hand free. As a demon, his tail wrapped securely around his wrist, making sure he wouldn't go back on his word and that he stayed by Mammon's side. Koi preferred the tail.

Both Leviathan and Beelzebub, the sweet boys, made valiant attempts to rescue him. Levi made a beeline for Koi the moment he was aware of the situation and kicked up a fuss large enough it awoke his very cranky, very unstable older brother. Mammon had practically dragged Levi by the hair and tossed him out, all while snarling and growling incomprehensibly. After about four more failed attempts of Levi sneaking in to monitor the situation (as unquietly as possible, good lord does that man complain) and Mammon rising from his sleep and throwing a tantrum, Koi had forced them to compromise by drawing a metaphorical line in Mammon's room.

Levi was banished to the couch and only allowed to stay if he promised to keep quiet. Mammon had spent the first fifteen minutes wrapped possessively around Koi, hissing at his own brother like a feral cat. After another fifteen minutes passed of the brothers bickering, Koi forced Mammon to lay down and tied the blankets to keep him from getting out on his own, before also digging into Leviathan about how childish the both of them were being.

Like children in time-out, the both pouted in their reserved places in the room. 

Beelzebub was far less intrusive and only came a few times that day to deliver food to the three of them. He'd check up on both Koi and Mammon, leaving once he's made sure they're both okay. Beel didn't insight Mammon's rage nearly as much as the third-born did.

Koi was only allowed a break around midnight, the fever taking its toll the strongest during the height of nightfall, leaving Mammon practically unable to wake up.

Collapsing onto the other side of the couch, Koi blinked tiredly as he groaned, "I'm exhausted. I am not equipped to play nurse."

"Well, Mammon's not dead," Levi pointed out, helpfully, "-I'd say that's good enough."

"Thanks," Koi responded, not the least bit assured. Exhaustion weighed him down and his eyes fluttered closed.

"...Hey, human," the demon called. Koi ignored him.

Leviathan, lacking all manners, taps him with the butt of his console controller, "Helloooo? You asleep already?"

Koi picks up his head, grumbling, "What is it?" He's learning that whatever rose-tinted glasses he's been wearing recently seem to fade with nightfall. These demons are far less cute when he's tired and in desperate need of a nap.

"Um, Barbatos must've told you that Mammon wouldn't die even if he was sick, right? So...why did you still choose to take care of him?" Levi asked, returning to his previous activities having hijacked Mammon's tv, "You didn't exactly look like you were having fun."

He thinks on it for a moment before slumping back into the couch. Koi rolls onto his side so he can simultaneously entertain this (hopefully) short conversation while still laying down.

"I don't actually know. Ever since I was a kid I've resolved to never take care of someone again, let alone a demonic man child."

Maybe it's how tired he is, maybe because it was late, maybe Levi's question really did make him wonder what the answer was; regardless, Koi tried to answer seriously. Had he been anymore lucid and of sound mind, he would've changed the topic and avoided the question. Perhaps he'll regret it later, but right now, he doesn't mind answering.

"I guess it's because of the pact. Had I not formed a pact with Mammon I definitely would not nurse him back to health, even if there was a chance he would die. I owe Mammon my life since he saved me, and this is my way of paying him back. But if we didn't have a pact, he ultimately never would have found me when he did."

Leviathan's silent for a moment before he speaks up again, "...so it's because you have a pact with him?"

"Probably."

"Then would you make a pact with me?"

Koi blinks slowly, watching whatever game Levi was playing on the tv, "Probably, yeah."

The character on the screen stops. Koi blinks again, even slower. His eyes would've stayed closed this time if the demon by his side hadn't dragged him to sit up straight.

Fatigued, Koi stares at him languidly, bordering on a dream.

"Really?" the demon asks, bewildered. The shock is apparent on his face but so is his happiness. Leviathan seemed thoroughly, but pleasantly surprised. The human just hums at him, too tired to properly sit up, but the demon holds his weight with ease, his hands keeping him in place.

"Levi, I'm sleepy," Koi mumbles, practically asleep already.

"I know," he replies softly, "i-i'll be quick. Promise."

A hand is placed at the back of his neck and Koi is pulled forward until a forehead rests against his. Levi's eyes are beautiful up close, and the orange swirls with the violet. It's too pretty that Koi has to close his eyes otherwise he'd get lost in them. He leans against Levi, tired and ready to sleep.

As he drifts, he hears whispers farther away.

"I will serve."

"I will be of service."

Koi awakes the next morning to the sound of chaos and the faint tingle of a new pact mark seared into the back of his neck.

Chapter Text

Lucifer loathes most of his day, but he tends to view mornings with less hatred than most think (at least the morning after his coffee).

His little brothers are chaotic little gremlins that are dead set on making his life more miserable, but despite their life long goal to suck all the serenity out of his daily life, it seems they are all susceptible to mornings. Satan and Mammon, the worst of them all, take the longest to wake up unprompted. Even prompted, Mammon will sleep in.

So when he wakes up to Asmo flying into his room screeching about how the second and third oldest were trying to rip each others throats out, he resigned himself to an utterly miserable day.

He speed walks to Mammon's room, entering ungracefully and extremely upset through the busted door, and scowls at the scene in front of him.

Beel has picked Levi off the floor, holding him in the air like a feral cat, all while the grown ass demon is taunting his older brother; screaming and shouting derogatory remarks with his tail flicking about behind him, smacking Beel in the face multiple times.

Koi, despite being in the prime of his recovery, is holding back an extremely aggressive Mammon, arms hooked around the demon's shoulders. Mammon, despite throwing a tantrum and having more than enough power to free himself, allows Koi to keep him in place.

The two brothers are screeching at each other; one unintelligible garble from still being feverish (Mammon is growling much like a feral alleyway dog) while the other is spitting demeaning remarks that have so many anime references it somehow becomes even more unintelligible than the former. Koi and Beel, to their credit, are trying their best to calm the brothers down while Satan stands around like the rat bastard he is, enjoying his morning with the side of a fight.

Lucifer can see the scales on Levi's neck beginning to multiply and the texture of Mammon's arms distorting, ready to flower full of feathers. 

Having seen enough, Lucifer bellows, "What in the world has gotten into you two?!" 

Everyone besides Satan (and judging from the sound of a camera shutter behind him, Asmo) flinches, and at least Leviathan has enough shame to look guilty. Mammon scoffs at him, probably still high on his own emotions and illness, but it doesn't quell the urge to stick his fist down his little brother's throat.

"Boo! It was just about to get fun," Satan groans, crossing his arms. Lucifer shoots him a sharp glare but his counterpart just rolls his eyes at him. Brat.

Lucifer turns his attention back to the scene of the crime, "So is someone going to tell me what possessed you all to blast the door off of a sick Mammon's room before I've had my coffee ?" 

Koi gives him an exacerbated look, "That's the part you're worried about?"

"Shut up." Lucifer spits.

The human, smartly, decides to shut up. Although Mammon growls in protest in front of him, seemingly offended on his master's behalf. Gods, when his fever is over Lucifer is going to hang him for a whole week.

"Leviathan," the named demon bristles, "I'm asking you." 

"W-Well, it's not my fault! I didn't do anything wrong!! Mammon's the one making such a big deal out of it!!"

"Mammon isn't currently right in the head," Lucifer sighs, feeling a migraine creeping into the back of his skull, "-and what, pray tell, is 'it'?" 

The sick demon himself speaks (a comprehensible sentence) for the first time since Lucifer has entered, "Bastard tried to steal what's mine." Which, what? That raises Lucifer's alarm bells because without the money Mammon had owed, there wasn't anything else Leviathan would dare steal from his older brother. He was one, too much of a coward to steal at all and two, despite having negative respect for him he's well aware of the power imbalance between the two. Especially after Levi had attempted to sneak into Mammon's room once to take a figurine he lacked but desperately wanted, and was promptly put into a pile driver and wrestled to the floor, all while the attacker was both naked and asleep.

Despite this, Leviathan who is generally a very non-combative demon and prefers to wallow in his own self pity, gladly rises to the challenge and hisses viciously at his brother, "Koi is not yours!!"

This sparks another round of snarling and yowling as Lucifer, exhausted out of his mind before his day has even started, turns his gaze to the most likely cause of this situation. Koi stares back at him with an equally, if not more (which really speaks to Lucifer), exhausted expression as he lets go of Mammon in favor of holding him by his tail. Which is received very offensively. 

Now that Mammon isn't engulfing most of Koi's frame, Lucifer can see a new mark peaking out from behind the humans' longer bits of hair. 

Oh.

Lucifer looks at Leviathan and sees a fresh set of ancient, lost demonic language, encased by his own symbol of envy branded black on the back of his neck.

Oh.

"You made a pact with him, didn't you?"

Everyone in the room freezes.

Levi fidgets nervously, "...maybe."

Satan and Asmo burst out laughing and the acknowledgment spurs Mammon into his third tantrum as Koi holds him back by his tail from crossing the room. A massive migraine hits Lucifer full force, nearly knocking him off of his feet. He decides that it is far too early for any of this. This isn't his problem, those are not his brothers, this is not how he is starting his morning.

Five minutes after Lucifer has finally ingested his morning coffee, he's relieved that the morning has resolved itself without him. That is, judging from the guttural, utterly pissed scream that Koi lets out and the resounding, deafening silence it leaves the house in. While Lucifer was initially put off by the idea that another one of his brothers has bonded with a random human in just over a mere month, if said human can effectively shut them up, consider him pleased.

. . .

"Get out!" 

Levi flinches, shooting him a panicked look as he points towards the missing door of Mammon's room.

Satan, Lucifer, and Asmo have long since vacated the area and have resolved that this was not their problem. Koi was exhausted, his wounds are aching, he is so fucking hungry, and with all of his patience gone, all he's left with is pure, unbridled rage.

"What?" Levi asks in tandem with Beel.

"I mean you Leviathan, out!"

"But why me?!" the demon whines. "Why just me?? That's not fair, kick Mammon out too!"

"This is his room, now go!"

"But-"

The back of his neck burns with his emotions as he gestures aggressively to the doorframe that lacks a door, "I SAID GET OUT!!" 

Levi receives his command with a full body flinch. Beel sets him down on the ground and the moment his feet settle, he flees with only a hurt glance in his direction. Koi really wishes the fight hadn't blown Mammon's door off the hinges because Koi's anger always dissipates with the slam of a door, but now, it all stews inside of him. He's clenching his fists and he momentarily forgets he has a demons tail in one of them before Mammon gives him a quick hiss.

"Shit- sorry," he says, dropping the man's tail as he massages his temple. Light hours have barely started and Koi is ready for a self-induced coma. "Thanks for the help, Beel. I appreciate it."

"Huh?" the demon, somehow surprised to hear his name, startles, "Oh, it's no problem. They're my brothers after all, you shouldn't have to pick up their mess."

Koi wants to cry. He nearly does. He crosses the room and stumbles into Beel's massive chest, hugging him in his languid delirium, "You're the youngest and yet somehow you remain the most mature."

"Hey! No touchin'!!" Mammon stalks up behind him, ready to intervene, but Koi shoots him a glare.

"Mammon go lay down right now or so help me god I don't know what I'm going to do."

The demon frowns at him, very clearly wanting to object, but seeing Levi being banished to time out has him reluctant to push his masters buttons. He obediently retreats to his fortress of blankets. Koi lets go of Beel with one final squeeze, feeling rejuvenated. 

"Will you stay home today?" Beel asks as he takes a step back, fiddling with his fingers and seeming a bit bashful.

"Yeah, still hurts if I move too much so I'm out until next week. Sorry I can't give you my lunch."

Beel shakes his head, not concerned over the food, "That's alright. Will you be okay?"

Right. It was Tuesday and the rest of the house still has classes until Thursday, which will leave Koi with Mammon and Levi until the former properly recovers. At least for today, he'll have to play middle man again.

Koi lets out a heavy sigh, "I'll figure something out. Just uh, save me a plate at breakfast?"

"Okay," he smiles, "Oh, and.. about Levi. I think you should apologize to him. Not that you did anything wrong- but, that's kind of how he is. He takes things too seriously and literally, and ends up hurting himself with overthinking. It's also his first pact too so he's probably feeling more insecure than usual. Just...be nice to him, please?"

Oh, Beel, you sweet angel boy. I want to stuff you in my pocket and keep you there forever, Koi smiles at him. Hopefully demons can't read minds.

"You're right, and I will. I was too harsh on him earlier anyway," Koi huffs, "I never wanted to use the pact like that with either of them. I just- they've been bickering since yesterday and I woke up to it and I'm just so tired that I... you know. It's not an excuse so I'll go apologize once I put toddler number one to bed."

Beel looks over him to see that he's pointing at Mammon. Not that he needed the gesture, everyone could guess who he was referring to. The demon smiles at him, feeling relieved.

"I'm glad that you're the one they made a pact with."

Koi blinks. That was not something he was expecting, "Really?"

"Yeah. You're nice and you respect them. My brothers are a lot for most people but you get along with them, you look like you like them which is rare. Compared to the rest of us, Mammon and Levi don't exactly...have friends." Beel then grimaces, "Besides, between you and Solomon ? I'd certainly pick you over him. His cooking alone can cause species to go extinct."

The human snorts before patting the large demon on the shoulder, "Thanks, Bub. I'll keep that in mind."

He smiles sheepishly, gives a polite nod, then with one last check on Mammon Beelzebub excuses himself with a growl from his stomach Koi could hear from the end of the hall. He really needs to make sure he keeps that sweetheart fed. While Beel is very kind to him, Koi has yet to see what the demon was like when hungry. He'd like to not find out.

With a sigh, Koi does his best to release what tension was left in his body. There's a huff across the room, followed by a quiet but displeased growl. Right, he still has another grumpy boy to take care of before he leaves to find Leviathan.

"I'm here," Koi says fondly as he approaches the glaring figure curled up beneath the sheets, "No need to get feisty with me."

The soft grumbles continue until Koi sneaks a hand beneath the comforter. He's thankful that Mammon doesn't bite his hand off and he's rewarded with the privilege of petting his hair.

"Your hair is really soft," he mumbles, dragging his fingers through the silkiness, lightly scratching the demon's scalp with each pull.

"Mmmm," the demon's grumbles have turned softer, less in his throat and more from his chest, "O' course. I'm a model, ya know. Gotta take care of my appearance or else Majolish will sack me."

"A model?" Koi asks, "...Actually, that's not that surprising now that I think about it. It suits you."

Mammon smiles lazily, gravitating towards Koi's warmth, "Hehe, yeah. 'm super cool. Super cool n' super handsome."

The human laughs, light and airy. As angry as he was and how tired Mammon has made him this past day, he's quite cute if given enough attention.

He hums as he settles on the side of the bed, sitting beside the lump of sheets, "Yes, yes. What a super guy you are. Will you show me what you've modeled for when you're better?"

Amiable and obediently, likely caused the by pact-induced fever, Mammon hums in agreement, taking a hand to hold the wrist servicing him and making sure Koi doesn't stop stroking his head, "Maybe I'll bring ya...next time I get a gig. Ya could pose with me. Yer handsome...m' manager'll have a field day with ya."

Mammon closes his eyes and listens intently to Koi's chuckles, pleased by the sound.

"Sure, we can do that. But only after we get better, okay?" 

"Okay..."

Mammon's grip on the human loosens as he burrows further into the bed, comfort making way for fatigue as his body steadily loses strength. 

"Good," Koi mumbles. The praise fills the demons heart.

"You're still sick so you should rest. Sleep, and we can eat when you wake up."

Compelled to listen, Mammon keeps his eyes closed. Within five minutes his breathing has slowed to small and deep huffs, body falling limp and unresponsive. Koi double checks before slowly rising from the bed and making a quiet exit.

Alright. Now to find Leviathan.

. . .

Koi ends up stopping at the kitchen first. 

Upon finding a plate of (a devildom equivalent) peanut butter and jelly sandwich paired with suscpicious-looking but fresh fruit, Koi smiles when he sees his name written on a sticky note with Beel's messy and large handwriting. He sends a quick message to thank him as he eats the food quickly before making his way to Leviathan's room. Standing before the familiar door Koi frowns at the sign Levi had put up before Koi had gotten injured. A very clear 'No humans allowed!' written in sharpie hung crudely by some string. He'd taken it down the other day when he allowed Koi to keep him company but it seems he really had struck a nerve.

With guilt, Koi knocks on the door.

No answer.

"Levi?" he calls.

No answer.

Koi sighs, resting his palm against the wood. How was he supposed to apologize if Levi refused to talk to him?

"Levi, I just want to talk. Can I come in please?"

The silence persists. 

Forlorn, the human withdraws. He's certain Levi was inside but he doesn't want to push the issue and make the demon even more upset. Maybe he should go take a nap in Mammon's room? Or find a way to fix his door...

Just as he was about to turn around and find something to do elsewhere, a muffled voice calls out to him from inside, "...you can come in."

Blinking, Koi pauses, staring at the door in surprise. Then he smiles. So he was in there.

He takes hold of the doorknob and shoots an apologetic look at the sign for violating it, then pushes inside to enter. As he peers inside he notices the lights have been dimmed but thankfully the jellyfish floating around the room serve as an acceptable light source. His eyes search the premise but with his initial first sweep, he can't seem to locate the demon.

"Levi?" he calls into the silence.

"S-Stay over there!" the third born shrieks, "Don't- y-you can't come any closer!"

Koi freezes where he stands, turning his head in the direction of the voice.

Ah.

His heart can't help but swell as he stares at a suspicious shaped lump underneath a thick, colorful, anime-girl-printed comforter. A thin tail pokes out from under the blankets and disappears beneath the bathtub about a foot away. Yep. It's confirmed. Those two are absolutely brothers.

"Okay," Koi says softly, complying with ease in hopes of not angering the demon further, "I'll stay right here."

Maybe it was because Levi was more emotionally charged than Mammon (which is impressive enough, considering how easily Mammon's mood can change), but despite the fact that their pact is newly formed and created mere hours ago, Koi can feel hints of Levi's emotions. They leak steadily into the pact, bleeding onto the invisible string that bonds them together and burning into the pact mark on the back of both of their necks.

He's so anxious, Koi thinks guilty. He feels the massive storm of nerves thunder in his chest as if the emotions were his own.

"I'm sorry," he decides to start with. His lip twitches when the blanket flinches in surprise. No. Stop it, Koi. Don't think he's cute. He's not going to take you seriously if you apologize while wearing that stupid ass grin of yours. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I definitely shouldn't have used the pact like that. I know you didn't have any ill intentions but I just...maybe all the stress from coming here came to a boiling point and I just- snapped. But I still shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry, Leviathan."

Koi's unsure if the anxiety he's feeling is his own, but it settles regardless. His chest feels less burdened and his shoulders slump like a weight was taken off of them.

There's a beat of silence. The blankets shift uncomfortably.

The human sighs, "I didn't come here to make you uncomfortable and I don't expect you to forgive me just because I apologized. I mean, I know I'd be pissed if you—or anyone, for that matter—yelled at me like that."

...

"...If you'd like- I can leave? We don't have to talk right now," he offers.

The comforter parts and Levi's head pops out as he shouts, "No!!"

Without even registering the shout, Koi just stares. Unabashedly and- quite rudely, to be honest.

Levi's eyes have always been a deep violet but here, standing before him, bright orange overwhelms all that he is. It swirls in his irises, restless and unrelenting. If he's not careful, Koi feels like the orange will swallow him whole. The skin of the demon's neck is cracked, dark colored scales emerging to overtake the parted skin and creep to the front of his neck. His pupils slit, sharp like a snake. His head is adorned with black horns that curl outwards, swirled yet antler-like in its quantity.

His horns are beautiful.

He's beautiful.

As if hearing the human's thoughts, Leviathan flushes a deep red, covering his himself with the blankets as he averts his eyes, "I-I mean.. d-don't leave. Or- uh, you...don't have to."

I don't want you to leave.

Levi doesn't say it but Koi hears him either way.

Koi’s heart skips a beat as the demon hugs the blankets around himself. Fuck. Fuck! He is so fucking fucked.

"Okay," he nearly wheezes the word out, breath stolen from his lungs, "Why are you hiding from me? Let me see you."

Levi chances a glance but startles when he meets Koi's eyes. He may have looked away after but the student doesn't miss the way his pupils grew upon seeing him.

"Um...now's not..the best. I'm uh- well, I was really upset. N-Not at you! Or- not really, but I was just so...and now I'm.." he gestures vaguely to himself.

Beautiful? Gorgeous? Inconceivably hot?

Koi clears his throat, begging his mind to have some semblance of control, "Still, you don't have to hide."

Realistically, Koi does realize how naturally nervous the demon was, and how he should avoid pushing or forcing anything with him lest the man retreats into himself and runs away like he did before.

But he can't help it. He wants to see so bad. Wants to see all of it.

Am I a monster fucker?

He doesn't think so...at least he didn't react this way with Mammon. Although, Mammon hadn't experienced many changes. Just the additional tail and horns with the occasional white marks on his body.

Koi forces that entire train of thought into the nearest mental folder before slamming and locking it inside a filing cabinet in the deepest parts of his mental palace. He'll shelve that for a later, less serious time. Or never. Preferably.

The demon continues to fuss in his own insecurity, "No! Y-You don't want to see. Trust me, it's...not pretty."

Oh, but it is. You are.

"I've seen Mammon's, I'll be fine with yours too."

Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say. Levi frowns disapprovingly, or maybe pouts is the right word. His brows dip and he turns his head away. Ah, now he's sulking.

Koi imagines punching himself in the face.

"I- shit, sorry, that did not come out right. I don't mean I'm like- settling for you or- or you're like...sloppy seconds-" Good lord someone put me down what am I SAYING, "-I JUST MEAN that I'd really like it- or- I'd be okay if you did show me."

"It won't bother me, I promise." Koi's voice cracks. He prays someone carries out a hit on him right this second.

Levi shifts, looking less upset, "Really? Are you sure..?"

Koi nods, maybe a little too enthusiastically, "Absolutely."

The third born shoots him multiple apprehensive glances before his shoulders slump with relief, looking far less restless, "Huh, you really aren't lying."

Koi gulps, uh oh.

"I don't like lying so I choose not to. But, how can you tell? Demons can't...read minds, can they?"

Levi, to Koi's relief, shakes his head, "No. I mean, some higher ranking, more powerful demons can. Like Diavolo and...well, I forgot his name but I think he guards the gates of hell? ...or was it the second ring? Whatever- it doesn't matter! Demons at the same power level as us, the seven princes of hell, can read human souls more easily. Helps if they're wrapped in our sins. Lucifer's always been a natural but as expected I'm horrible at it. Damn him...why can't I be that good?"

"If you can't then...how can you tell?"

The demon stares at him, pupils growing larger as his blush deepens. He looks away again.

"Um...the pact, I think? I couldn't tell before but I can now so it must be a pact thing. I.. I don't know how I know you aren't lying, I just do." Leviathan pauses as the words settle in, having not even registered the meaning himself until five seconds later, "W-WHICH I don't know why you'd want to see me like this. It's gross and hideous. I mean, who likes reptiles?"

Koi, without missing a beat, immediately retorts, "I do."

The human mentally cringes. Yikes. Probably should've lead more into that one. At this point Levi was going to eviscerate himself to escape the situation.

The mentioned demon reacts like he'd been shot in the chest before taking a moment to recover, then proceeding to dramatically cover himself like a fair maiden. It only serves Koi's sudden desire to eat the man alive. The tail that had been lying dormant behind the demon is now thumping against the floor happily. Koi fights back a snort. What is he, a dog? His tail wags when he's happy? God. Soon enough Koi is going to have to smash his head against the nearest wall if he wants to prevent himself from devouring this demon from head to toe.

"Okay.. i-if you're sure I guess I can show you..."

Ah, now he's acting like it's no big deal. What a cutie. Mentally, Koi shatters a brick against his skull.

Levi pulls the blanket apart. A very innocent, not lewd act that still manages to grab the human by the neck and throttle him aggressively. After Koi is done staring his neurons just barely manage to activate enough to belatedly realize that their clothes change when shifting forms. He can't remember Mammon doing that. Is it exclusive to Levi? Or maybe something was different because Mammon was sick?

Regardless, the outfit is skin tight, because of course it is. The whole world was out to send Koi to an early grave, Levi included. A baggy, black cropped sweater sits atop a tight mesh fabric undershirt. The pants were also just as tight, pretty much skinny jeans.

And because he just has to ask, "How is your tail out if you're wearing pants?"

Leviathan stammers a bit before deciding it'd be easier to just show Koi. He drops the blanket completely and shifts his weight forward onto his hands, then twists to the right.

Lord help him.

There's a massive slit in the mesh fabric that disappears beneath his pants. His tail sits at the base of his lower back, scales more apparent to where his tail connects to his body, smoothing out more towards the end. 

O' Father who art in heaven, please pray for this depraved soul because my ass is not going to heaven.

Unsure what to say that wouldn't end with him getting expelled from the program for sexual harassment, he just mumbles stupidly, "That's...sick. Man. Or- bro?" Fuck. Someone kill him. He never should've survived that fucking attack at RAD. Someone send Mammon back in time and sleep through the whole thing.

Despite how utterly uncool of a response that was, Levi's face still lights up, "Really?"

Oh, he's so happy. His tail flicks around behind him, making Koi want to sigh from giddy awe just as much as he wants to beat the shit out of himself for being a sick pervert. This boy is so so cute and here he is, stripping him with his eyes. At least now Koi knew his place was undoubtedly here in the depths of hell. Maybe he should talk to Diavolo to revoke his one year stay and just let him burn here for eternity. 

"Of course," Koi smiles. "I told you I don't like lying."

"Then.. do you like snakes? Maybe?"

"I love them! One of my friends from college helped me work part-time at an animal shelter. Had all kinds of little guys but the only one that seemed to like me was a snake named Lady. I think she was.. a ball python?"

"Wow! Really?!" Levi exclaims, clearly happy by this newfound information. His pupils widen in his mirth and Koi finds himself enraptured. Do snakes do the eye thing too? Koi doesn't know enough about animals despite working with them to know whether it was a reptile thing or a demon thing. Or maybe it was even a Levi thing? 

Regardless, if Levi was pleased, then so was Koi. He nods, feeling endeared. 

"I take it you aren't too mad at me?" he asks hesitantly, eyes downcast and looking at the demon through his lashes with a concerned pout. It gives him the reaction he was hoping as Levi visibly stiffens. He may have even stopped breathing.

"I-I'M NOT M-M-MAD AT YOU AT ALL." Leviathan replies robotically, eyes panicked and shifting like an animatronic.

Incredibly relieved and pleased to hear, Koi relaxes, "I'm glad."

The demon fidgets, grabbing at his tail and anxiously massaging it, "Then...will you go back to Mammon? Because I'm not mad?"

Koi's heart squeezes. The boy looks at him so sadly, pulling at his master's heart strings violently as he begs to be pitied. Koi rests a gentle hand on Levi's tail. Oh, it's so smooth...

"You know I have to, Levi. He's still sick. Someone needs to take care of him."

"He'll be fine," the man stubbornly persists, "-besides, this should be treated as a miracle. Idiots aren't supposed to get sick, after all."

Koi sighs, "He may be an idiot but he's also your idiot, is he not? You're family. Besides, the longer I spend taking care of him the faster he'll recover. Don't you want him to get better?"

"I do," Levi pouts, his tail curls gently around Koi's wrist like a precaution in case he attempts to escape, "-but not because I feel bad for him or because he's my brother. He's a moronic piece of scum. So what if he gets sick? That's not my problem. It's not like he'd take care of me if I got sick! He'd just use it as an opportunity to break into my room and sell all of my previous figurines!! And it'll take years to get them all back at an affordable price by ethical means!!!"

This sounds like its already happened, Koi notes, disappointed in the second born. Seems Mammon is a kleptomaniac on top of being greedy. What a dangerous combination.

Regardless, it still leaves a bad taste in his mouth to hear Mammon being genuinely insulted, not to mention by his own family.

"Levi," it comes out a little too sternly. The demon flinches, tail tightening in its grip, "Don't talk about him like that."

The demon's emotions flare up as his tone becomes spiteful, "Why not?! Like you said, he's my brother! Who are you to defend him? Do you like that moron that much?!"

Koi clenches his jaw but remains calm otherwise, setting his other hand on top of the tail wrapped around him, "Of course I like him. He's my friend and I've seen him as such since I formed a pact with him. I wouldn't have formed it otherwise. I'm not the type of person that takes pleasure in having a slave."

Levi zeroes in on him, no longer shy about distance as he gets up in Koi's face directly. He's visibly fighting back a snarl.

"Well your friend is a shit demon, for one, is a man child, can't stop being a scummy idiot scraped from the bottom of the barrel for a single second, and is a no good WASTE of SPACE !!!"

Considering Koi just called Mammon his friend he should probably get angry on his behalf and it'd be entirely justified. A good friend would defend their honor. But Koi doesn't. He just feels...

Maybe it's because Levi's envy is getting out of hand and it's affecting Koi through the pact, maybe it's his own envy that's emboldening Levi, or maybe he's just a selfish person that does nothing but wish for more and more. Either way, Levi stutters to a stop, high emotions beginning to simmer, taking a backseat in favor of his own surprise.

The demon clearly feels something through the pact since he asks, confused, "What do you have to be envious about..?"

Koi grits his teeth as he tries to push down the vile words of envy making their way up his throat. He fails.

"So what if your brother is scum?" his hand tightens around the demon's tail as he spits his own spite, "At least you still have yours."

Levi reels back in surprise, tail loosening and dropping to the floor.

Ah shit.

Koi curses faintly as he turns his head. Stepping back to distance himself he bites his lip in shame. He's more mature than this.

"Sorry," he sighs.

The demon bristles, "Ah, n-no, I..."

Silence hangs heavy in the air as Levi struggles to find what it is he wants to say. Koi shifts uncomfortably. He doesn't like talking about his family, let alone to demons that could potentially use it against him. Not that he thinks Levi would, but it's better to be safe than sorry. It's how he's survived so far.

Besides, no one needs to know what happened back then. He bares those memories alone. The past is the past and nothing can change that.

Still, Koi grits his teeth.

"I was jealous."

The human blinks and raises his head. The third born looks at him weakly, all previous frustration and fight absent.

"I...I want Mammon to get better not because I'm a good person or because I care about him but-" a sharp fang catches his lip, Levi chews, "...I want to spend time with you too. It's not fair that he gets you all to himself just because he has the sniffles. I thought that- that if I formed a pact with you t-then maybe you'd..." look at me too.

Koi's heart lifts a little, no longer as heavy. Right. These are demons. Avatars of the seven sins, the seven princes of hell. He keeps forgetting that envy comes as naturally as breathing to an entity like Levi.

"I'm not...a good person." Leviathan admits, hanging his head in shame and refusing eye contact, "I'm cruel and bitter. I'm self-loathing and worthless and all I do is complain and take up space in the house. All of my brothers are remarkable at something...Belphie's really smart and has good grades even though he sleeps through most of his classes, Beel is the chieftain of hell's army and even in the celestial realm he was a guardian of the gates, Asmo's beautiful and everyone loves him just for breathing, Satan is knowledgeable in just about everything and puts 100% of effort into everything he does, and even Mammon.. all he does is steal and gamble and yet somehow he's Lucifer's favorite. Always has been and always will be. My brothers are all so.. great- and I'm, well, me."

"I-I'm not cool like Lucifer, I'm super lame and cringe and can't make a conversation to save my life. I'm not attractive like Mammon or Asmo, compared to them I look like a cockroach. I'm not athletic or smart, my grades are mediocre at best, I'm a coward that gets scared easily and my best meal is instant ramen. I'm the third oldest and third powerful but- but all I can do is summon Lotan! I'm not powerful, Lotan is!! I don't have any good qualities but I..." Levi's voice cracks and the man seems to shatter before him, "-I still want you to like me. I want to be your friend too. I want to have a pact with you and spend time with you and have you smile at me and take care of me when I get sick just like Mammon- I want all of it too!! I just- just...like something about me. Anything."

The demon slouches forward as tears begin to fall, "Don't regret forming a pact with me. Please. I.. I'll find a way to be useful..."

Koi's heart breaks and he leaps forward to hold Levi's face in his hands. He thumbs away the cascading tears as he attempts to soothe him, "No, no, sweetheart- don't say that. I don't regret anything."

The demon melts from his warmth, leaning fully into the human's hands in a desperate search for comfort. Koi was not, and is not, qualified to soothe a demon- or anyone for that matter. He was bad with words and can be rudely blunt, if anything he typically does more damage to whoever he's trying to help repair. Even knowing that, he can't just leave Leviathan like this.

The demon nuzzles into his palm and Koi decides, fuck it, and bites the bullet. Quick hands let go of Levi's face and instead wrap around him, pulling the man forward into his lap. Koi sets his chin on top of the demon's hair and pats his back albeit a bit awkwardly. They were sitting on the floor and being from a different race, Levi was naturally taller than him, so it made the positions they were in a little uncomfortable. A sniffle follows into silence and Koi worries he's crossed a line. Or obliterated it.

Thankfully, instead of being executed for his piss-poor attempt at comfort, Levi just babbles garbled nonsense and koala-hugs Koi. He's gone the full ten yards, even making sure to wrap his tail around the two of them as he continues to sob into Koi's shoulder. 

Crying has always made Koi uncomfortable until over the years he just found it plain annoying. But here, he doesn't feel any of that. Well, he's still a bit apprehensive to have a demonic crybaby wrapped completely around him, but he found it mostly endearing. 

The third born has a meltdown for the next ten minutes and Koi lets him, patting him languidly until the waterworks runs out of steam. Eventually, Leviathan is reduced from a sobbing mess and into a very remorseful and very embarrassed ball python, curling himself into a ball in his lap and hiding his face in Koi's neck—likely wishing he could disappear.

"I don't regret anything I've done with you, Levi," Koi says, breaking the peaceful silence. He smiles at the rhythmic taps of Levi's tail. "I didn't make a pact with you because of your power, or your status here in the Devildom. I don't have any ulterior motives, I just want to be your friend."

It takes a while for the words to register but with retracted claws, Levi holds fist fulls of the back of the student's shirt, pushing his face into his collarbone like he was trying to dig out a space inside of Koi just for him to hide in.

"Really?" it comes out raspy and cracked from the crying, but the third born does manage to respond.

"Really."

There's another beat of silence before Levi speaks up again, seeming unsure of himself and the situation.

"T-Then, if you really mean it- then you have to watch TSL with me!! All of it! We'll have a TSL marathon and if you refuse then.. t-then we can't be friends!! Got it?! I'll- I'll be quizzing you too!!"

As much as Koi wants to believe Levi just wants to share his interests with him, he's sad to realize that Levi was trying to give him an out. That after saying all of this, he still doesn't believe in himself or Koi enough to believe him. That Koi couldn't possibly want to be friends with Leviathan, resident loser of hell and otaku nothing burger. 

Regardless, Koi places a hand on the back of Levi's head so he can't see the mischievous grin on the human's face.

"Sure, we can do that. But only after you finish your part of the group project, okay?"

He can feel the frown pressed against his shirt as the demon pouts, "..Fine."

Oh, Levi, Koi thinks as he basks in the moment as the two of them lean on each other in comfortable silence. You leave me no choice. I'll just have to make you believe me.

…

Diavolo stares.

Koi stares back.

”That’s…not what I was expecting,” the demon prince admits readily, slightly more bewildered than the steward at his left. 

“Mammon I predicted,” Barbatos says before hesitantly shifting his gaze to Leviathan, “-but I’m surprised to hear you make a pact, Leviathan.”

Come nightfall, which was late afternoon for the Devildom, Mammon’s fever had greatly receded and he was currently relishing being in control of himself again. Though far less combative, the third and second born continue to bicker the moment Koi’s attention turns elsewhere.

”Dia-“ Lucifer’s glare shoots Koi in the head with the force of a 20 gauge, he clears his throat awkwardly, “-Lord. I mean Lord Diavolo. What brings you here?”

”I came to check on you of course!” the prince grins before wilting slightly in his embarrassment, “I’m sorry it took this long. I swear I wanted to come sooner but to leave RAD in the state it was…”

”It’s alright, I understand. I’m just grateful you visited at all.”

“Nah, I say he shoulda came sooner,” Mammon huffs, arms crossed from where he’s sat beside Koi in the common room. Leviathan doesn’t answer but he gives the human a knowing, disapproving look that shows he agrees, before returning his attention to his phone. Lucifer gives Mammon his own look that successfully has the demon shrinking into himself.

”I agree,” the prince apologizes again but Koi just shakes his head with a tight smile. This is starting to get exhausting. He was never one for pleasantries. He’d like to tell Diavolo to just spit it out but he’d prefer to keep his head on his shoulders, thank you.

Perhaps sensing Koi’s fatigue, Diavolo clears his throat, “While I came to check on your well being first and foremost, I also wanted to see if you’d like to seek compensation. Of course this doesn’t change what has happened to you but please believe me when I say I’ve put more countermeasures in place to ensure your safety on school grounds.”

Koi blinks. Only on school grounds, huh? Seems he won’t be safe here until he learns how to efficiently protect himself from the denizens.

”Name your price,” Barbatos says, stiff yet polite, “Whatever it is I will procure it for you.”

”That’s alright,” Koi says, shaking his head, “Money won’t do me any use down here. Worse comes to worst I’ve got the wallets of these two.”

He turns his thumbs outwards and gestures to the third and second born.

”Uh turn that thumb o’ yers around. Come hell er high water no one’ll get a single grimm outta me!” Mammon exclaims. Koi just gives him an exhausted look and decides to just point at Leviathan instead of responding.

”That’s fine. As long as you’re not trying to rent out a building.” The snake responds without having to look up.

“Don’t be foolish,” Lucifer scolds, “We aren’t humans, our compensation extends far from just monetary value. Think carefully before you answer again.”

Huh. Koi hadn’t thought of that. Guess he’s still applying his human standards to the Devildom. 

He listens to the head of the household and takes about a minute debating what would be best to ask for. It should be something harder to obtain, right? Since Diavolo is royalty and is willing to offer his resources than shouldn’t he go the full ten yards?

Though he says that, nothing extravagant comes to mind. Koi just isn’t used to people owing him favors so he’s finding himself in a more awkward position than he initially thought.

After thinking longer, he finally settles on what he’ll ask for.

”…I want you to make room in my curriculum for a Magics and Sorcery class.”

”WHAT?!” Mammon yells, blowing off his right eardrum.

“What?” Levi asks from his other side, aghast, “The acting demon prince offers you anything you could want and instead of asking for immortality or immunity from all anime subscriptions sites you ask for more homework ? Seriously??”

”While I won’t interfere with your decision…is that really all you want? Remember I’m compensating you for almost losing your life on my school grounds. Surely you must’ve thought of something more useful.” Diavolo responds, looking almost concerned on his behalf. Maybe Koi hit his head too hard jumping out of that window?

”I did think about it and that’s what I want. I want you to cut down my current schedule- half it if possible. But leave history since I’m in an active group project. Use all that extra room for magic classes.”

Lucifer balks at him. Koi closes his eyes to stop himself from laughing.

”Why?” Barbatos asks.

”Yeah, why?!” Mammon squawks.

“I need to learn how to protect myself,” Koi responds. The room falls quiet and a solemn understanding washes over the prince.

”What happened at RAD won’t happen again, I assure you.”

“Yeah! Trust Lord Diavolo! ‘Sides ya’ve got me!! I protected ya fine didn’t I??” Mammon protests, grabbing at Koi’s arm. Levi tracks the movement with jealousy before latching onto the humans other arm.

”Y-Yeah! I may not be good at much or- anything actually, but I’m strong! Lotan can protect you!!”

Koi smiles at his boys, huffing a laugh, “It’s not that I don’t trust you guys, I do. But it’s because I have you two that I want to become stronger.”

Now this captures Barbatos’ attention, as the demon smiles at him knowingly, finally understanding his motives.

”I see. You wish to strengthen your pacts?”

”Yeah,” Koi says. The boys wrapped around him just tighten their grip at the acknowledgement. “I trust in Mammon and Leviathan’s abilities, and of course yours too, Lord Diavolo. But ever since I made a pact with Levi I’ve been able to feel some of his emotions. I want to make sure nothing I do hurts them through the pact, like what happened with Mammon. Barbatos, you said it’s because I don’t have a lot of magical prowess, right? But if I practice, will I have better control of it? So that an accident won’t happen again?”

”Of course,” the butler responds, “if you can manage your pacts efficiently not only will you be able to protect the demons you’re bonded to, but you may also protect yourself. If you excel, you may even be able to tap into their powers.”

Lucifer hisses a stern warning, “Barbatos.”

”It’s alright,” the butler responds, flashing that killer smile at the other old man, “you’d have to be an extremely talented sorcery to manage that. Especially so if he’s bonded with two of hell’s princes. But it’s good to have a goal, right, Koi? If we agree to your terms, will you swear to work hard and devote yourself to your studies?”

”Of course!” the human exclaims, fists clenched with determination, “I won’t let you down!!”

Diavolo bellows a laugh loud enough to echo throughout the grandiose manor, “Lucifer was right to choose you! You’ve been a deligent student since day one!” The prince wipes away a tear from his amusement, “Alright. I agree to your terms. Though I still feel like this is an unfair compensation so should you wish for anything else, please contact me. And don’t worry, asking for any favors won’t change what you’ve asked for.”

The large demon approached amiably but Koi is still stiff when he stands to greet him. The man places a large hand on his shoulder, nearly engulfing the entire thing. Christ, and he thought Beelzebub was huge…

The prince flashes another of his friendly, almost childishly excited smiles, “I greatly look forward to what you will accomplish here. Please continue to surprise me.”

Now with a set goal, Koi is more confident than ever that he will survive down here. He’s always been a good learner with good grades. He loves to learn and if it’s in his interests he can be a very deligent student that can suck up knowledge like a sponge. He has good memory and learns best through repetition and hard work.

”One more thing,” Koi says. The demon blinks down at him, “Please contact Solomon and tell him I want him to be my mentor.”

…

The room falls silent again until Diavolo doubles over in laughter. Barbatos who seemed almost proud of the humans offer now seems to look at him with pity.

Now Koi’s not sure if Solomon is the Solomon, he was never a religious person, but regardless the student body seems to respect him as a sorcerer.

Koi’s going to survive down here, no matter what it takes. He’s gone through too much and lost just about everything to wither away without so much as a protest. He’s going to make an effort. He had the opportunity and the resources to fight for survival once more and this time, he’ll do it with his own strength and power. He’ll be the one to protect those he cares about, not the other way around.

Fuck. If he dies down here he’s not going down without a fight damn it.

”Here,” Barbatos says, grabbing his attention as he ushers the prince towards Lucifer to compose himself.

Koi takes what is offered and blinks when he suddenly has to two-hand it. He looks down and is met with a large, heavy book.

Everything You Need to Know About Pacts, said the title. The text is a little faded but flipping through a few pages the book seems to be in a good enough condition to read.

”I told you I’d recommend a good book, didn’t I? It’s nice things turned out like this, you can read up on this while we reschedule your curriculum. I’ll make sure to have everything set by the time your medical leave is over.” 

Barbatos is no longer as stiff and his politeness seems less for formalities and more out of respect. Koi nods, heart thumping in determination. He always did love to learn.

”Then I’ll finish it by then.”

Barbatos seems to have expected that response but he still laughs, “It’s over 800 pages and far thicker than the textbooks you currently have.”

”I know.” Koi responds with a nod, confident in his abilities, “I’ll return it to you first thing Monday.”

”If you truly do, then I’ll reward you with a special tea blend that helps sorcerers regulate their mana easier.”

Even more excited, a smile breaks out on his own face, “I will! You can even quiz me!!”

The butler just laughs again, seemingly refreshed by his enthusiasm, “Then I look forward to it.”

”Young master,” the steward calls, “I’m afraid we have to leave now. If we wish to make it on time to your meeting with the House of Lords we should leave now.”

The prince, who was having so much fun a moment ago unnecessarily retelling everything to an exhausted Lucifer, slumps with a pout. Truly unbecoming of the soon-to-be king of hell.

”Alright…” the big man sighs, “It was fun seeing you, Koi. If you ever wish to talk please do come bother me, I implore you.”

Lucifer stares at the demon prince before turning his sharp gaze to Koi, “Don’t.”

Diavolo blocks his view and winks over his shoulder at the human, cupping one hand over the corner of his lips so Lucifer can’t read them.

‘Do.’ he mouths.

Koi snorts, giving him a polite nod and waving him off. The two demons behind him, still likely shocked by this turn of events give their goodbyes belatedly.

”I’ll see you out,” Lucifer says as he follows them out of the common room.

”By all means,” the prince grins, just happy to spend more time with his friend.

The devildom air is crisp and the wind has a small chill to it. Farther down the hill leading to the house the three can see Satan and Beel making their way up as they stand at the gate entrance. It’s going to take them a few minutes to reach them.

”Diavolo,” Lucifer calls, “What do you think about the exchange student?”

The prince smiles genuinely as he looks up at the Devildoms artificial night sky, “I think of him highly. He has yet to shirk on any of his duties as a student and even went out of his way to find the library and rent out some books during his first week here. I taught him how to use that knife only once but he took that advice to heart and listened to it all. Though it was a bit hard to tell from the autopsy of that demon since Mammon really made mincemeat of the man…he’s young but mature in his decisions and has yet to do anything too reckless. My goal is to unite hell with the other realms and seeing Koi bond so readily with those two makes me certain he was the right pick for the program.”

Lucifer nods, taking it all in before turning to the butler, “And you, Barbatos?”

“I only conversed with him briefly yesterday and he gave me the impression that he was quite…normal, far within my expectations if not more crude than I was expecting. But meeting him in person I realize I was far too quick and abrupt in my judgement of him. He may come off reckless or even arrogant but seeing his eyes he truly is determined to learn. He admits his faults and exposes his own weakness in order to strengthen himself. That’s something even you struggle to do, Lucifer.”

The demon frowns but politely waits for him to finish.

“He was in deaths grasp and was saved only by luck and your brothers speed. Most humans would be cowering in fear and I fully expected him to beg to be brought back to the surface. Not only does he not seem put off by that near death experience, he saw it as an opportunity to strengthen his resolve and overcome his shortcomings. If anything, his will is commendable, and his soul is incredibly durable. I also think we lucked out having him as a student. If things continue like this, I think I’ll find myself impressed by him.”

”Wow, that’s some high praise coming from you, Barbatos!” Diavolo whistles.

Lucifer nods, “It is.”

”And you, Lucifer? What do you think of him?” the butler asks, smiling cunningly.

”Me?” the man pauses before frowning, “I think he’s conceited. I’ll admit he’s a deligent student, smart enough to know when to hold his tongue and who he can snark without losing his head, he’s resilient and if I’m not careful even I find myself drooling over his soul. However, even if I was the one to choose him, should he ever do anything to my brothers…”

”Oh, Lucifer. You’re so protective! Koi wouldn’t do anything to them even if he could, he’s taking classes to protect those two!” Diavolo sighs.

“I agree.” Barbatos nods, “Contrary to when you all arrived here, your brothers aren’t children anymore. Despite how they act they are capable of protecting themselves. If anything, I’m far more worried that if your brothers aren’t careful, they might just fall for Koi. Leviathan looks at him like the man hung the stars.”

Lucifer’s entire face recoils in disgust. Preposterous. Mammon may be stupid but he’s smart enough to know not to fall for a short life species, let alone a human that’s prone to randomly exploding at any given moment.

”Mammon I’m not convinced, I think he’s just trying to hoard his first master. Especially since it’s his first pact, the instincts must be strong. But Leviathan…”

If Koi were to make an effort to gain Leviathan’s trust, it may take some time, but with enough tender loving care Leviathan would undoubtedly fold like a piece of paper. He’s far more susceptible to compliments and gifts than most demons.

Lucifer hated to admit it but Barbatos may be right. He sighs heavily, “…I’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

”Aw, but Leviathan had been alone for so long. Don’t you think it’s great he’s found a friend? This may be the only time you’ll get to marry him off to someone, you know~!”

He grimaces, “Please don’t talk about marrying off my brothers, Diavolo.”

”We really must go now, young lord. I’ll have to make an emergency summon.”

”Sorry for taking up your time,” Lucifer murmurs, a little remorseful that he’d forgotten about Diavolo’s prior engagement.

”It’s alright. I’ll contact you when it’s done and we can go for a drink?” The prince smiles at him brightly.

His steward looks at him, distraught, “…Please don’t, my lord.”

Lucifer just huffs a laugh as Barbatos rips through the realms and creates a portal near their meeting place, “I’ll think about it.”

Waving his two friends off Lucifer loosens his tie and leans against the stone walls around the manor, waiting to greet his other two brothers who are only a hundred feet from the gate now.

He sighs. He has a feeling that things are going to become troublesome now.

Chapter Text

Koi's read the same page five times now.

He places a bookmark between the pages and snaps the book shut with a heavy sigh, looking around his bedroom. It's vacant and empty, save for himself, for probably the first time since his first week here in the Devildom. It's concerning how much an empty room was affecting him.

I can't do this, I need a break.

Leaping to his feet Koi tucks the book beneath his arm and flees from his own bedroom, desperate to escape the suffocating loneliness.

After Diavolo's impromptu visit, Leviathan and Mammon had both excused themselves after the three big shots left the house. Mammon bullshitted his way out with a mountain of lies as if he was suddenly the busiest man in the world while Leviathan mumbled about how he needed some time alone to think about things. Thus, the two boys that'd been glued to his side for the past two days now were no where to be seen, and Koi will pretend it's not pissing him off nearly as much as it actually is.

Of course, he'll let the boys have some space if they want it. Koi wanted to focus on his studies more than ever now, and he'd work best without those two trying to distract him.

Somehow, not having them around is making it even harder to focus.

It's fine. He just needed a break. Some fresh air. Something to take his mind off things. Maybe a new room he can read inside; in peace, away from everyone, even himself. Koi has been curious about the House of Lamentation but never had the time or guts to properly explore the place. 

No time like the present, he thought as he walked down the stairs to the main hall. He needed a clear starting point, somewhere familiar to come back to. What better place than the entrance hall that branched off into the rest of the house? There were plenty of doors that could lead him back there. Well, as long as there weren't any weird doors that would teleport him to random places. That would be a problem.

Walking to the two large front doors he stops and pivots, giving himself a wide view of all the openings the entrance hall led to. There were a lot of options, where should he start?

Koi crossed off the opening to his right since that led to the kitchen and the door past the stairwell led to the dining hall, leaving the door to his left. The door was fancy like all the others in this place, a pristine handle, dark yet strong wood surely cut from a Devildom tree with the equivalent of mahogany. Beside it sat a dollhouse of the building he was currently in, sadly with a lack of tiny demon figurines. Koi stopped in front of it, eyeing it curiously. With its open floor plan it was a great guide to all the rooms in the house, even if some had been greatly changed to make way for the brothers' bedrooms. Koi took a photo with his phone before pushing inside.

Oh, a storage closet. Disappointing.

He closed it respectfully before continuing his tour.

While the house was interesting he began to get bored after finishing the second floor. It was nice to know there was a larger, nicer bathroom at the end of his hall with Levi since the bathroom in his bedroom only had a shower and not a tub. A soak in the bath every so often sounded great for his sanity. The libraries in the common room and music room, while not nearly as grandiose as the one at RAD, it wasn't any less impressive and he was glad to have an abundance of new knowledge right in his own home. The piano was tuned, free of any dust or scratches—and given how organized the music room was, Koi was certain Lucifer was the only frequent visitor. 

After all, the other brothers didn't really seem like the instrumental type. Koi can't imagine Mammon having the patience to learn music with his kind of attention span, and while it was possible with Levi, Koi's doubtful he'd play frequently. The schedule of an otaku was packed, after all. Not to mention being a gamer on top of that. And Beelzebub seemed a bit too...big, and hungry, to ever sit still long enough to play a piano.

Now Asmodeus, Satan, and Belphegor he didn't know enough about to form a proper opinion of, instrumental talents aside.

Koi frowned. Belphegor...

He's never met the man, of course. Belphegor was supposedly sent to Koi's side of the fence for the program so the switch must've happened around the same time he had appeared here in the Devildom. He's also seen what the demon looks like and he's certain he'd remember someone with eyes so piercingly purple. Seriously. Why couldn't humans have cool eye colors like that? With everyone he knows they could all come together to form the entire rainbow, even throwing in a few different shades of the same color.

Though, Koi still can't shake the feeling that he's seen Belphegor before. Just passing by his paintings at RAD and at home sent shivers down his spine, as if the demon was keeping an eye on him through them. Creepy feelings aside, he can't help but wonder the story behind him and Beelzebub. Behind all the brothers, really, but the twins in particular.

Koi was a twin once. Perhaps that's why he feels so much for Beelzebub, having lost his own brother. It's a shame. Beel was such a sweetheart, Koi would've really liked to have met his twin.

"Help..."

Koi froze just before he descended the stairs to return to the first floor. He waited a few more moments as silence persists. He took the first step to leave when the whispers returned.

"Help me.. please..."

The voice was weak and pained, unable to gather the strength or courage to speak above silent whispers. But it was desperate, pleading. It was calling out to him.

Apprehensive and wary; the human cautiously backtracked until he peered around the end of the hall, eyes locking onto the stairwell leading to the attic. Koi had smartly stayed away from it, just as he did to the stairs that led below ground. He wanted to survive, after all, not get gored by whatever unknown creature that freak Lucifer was keeping for pets.

"Please, help me...you have to- help me..."

"Koi...come find me, come closer...Help. Me."

Oh HELL no.

Like a bat out of hell, Koi sprinted for the stairs and jumped the railing, continuing to run until the whispers faded into the wind. He kept running even after they were gone.

Oh god damn it.

"Where the hell..." Koi muttered to himself as he stared at, what he could only describe as, the inside of a church. It had the wooden benches with fancy etched-in patterns, the stone brick walls, the creepy ass candles, a long, intricate carpet leading to the altar, and a stone statue holding an ominous, visibly not stone, pitch black book far thicker than he's ever seen.

If there was ever a weeping angel, it'd be the one in Lucifer's basement, Koi grimaced to himself. Christ. He'd meant to run away from potential danger, not straight into more!

He did not belong here. This was none of his business and he was never here. What basement? Koi's never been in a basement in his whole life!

Turning swiftly on his heels, ready to flee since he wasn't ready to meet his maker, Koi felt his heart do a flip when he pulled on the doors that he threw open to get here and they didn't move an inch.

"Oh fuck me, come on..!" he shook the handle back and forth, bracing his left foot on the left door and pulling with all his might. All that accomplished was letting go in shock and falling on his ass with an incredibly unmanly yelp when a guttural growl sounded behind him. Neck stiff and heart in his throat, Koi carefully looked over his shoulder and met eyes with what he could only describe as a beast. 

Two extra sets of eyes looked down at him, as two extra sets of heads growled what could only sound like death. The beast was large, paw the size of Koi's whole chest and humbling in height. It's dark, abyssal black fur stood on the back of all three of its necks like a shark fin with messy and matted hair all over its body. It's eyes were a deep red and all six were locked onto him. 

Ah shit.

"Um- you are uh- so handsome! Please...don't.. eat me..." Koi laughed nervously, stumbling to his feet and shrieking when the beast snapped at him. He fell backwards into the door and winced at the unfortunate sound his shoulder made. Fuck. He actually wanted to go back to school, not make his medical leave any longer.

Koi dreaded the sound its claws made as it took a step forward, then another, and it only needed to take four steps to reach him. Koi tried his best to swallow his heart and keep it from escaping his mouth before standing on slightly trembling legs. He tried to trap his fear into a lockbox and close it inside. He didn't want to chance this monster smelling fear on him and mistaking him for prey, if it hadn't already has.

It's middle head leaned forward and Koi closed his eyes, praying to a god he didn't believe in, and breathed even breaths. The creature seemed to pause in its growling, then proceeding with a confused, wolfish grunt. Koi startled but didn't run (as if he could) when the beast leaned in farther and, using its middle head, nose at the front of his neck. Upon half a minute of obnoxiously loud sniffing its massive head moved Koi half a step over to gain access to the back of his neck, and continued whatever mission it had been on.

After what felt like hours of the wolfish demon assessing him, it backed away a respectable distance before...sitting.

"Um...good boy?" 

One out of six ears twitched and the middle set of eyes narrowed at him, before huffing loudly with all three of its snouts and turning to leave. It marched down the aisle before settling in the middle of the room, resting its heads on the ground and closing four of its eyes. It kept the middle set trained on him.

Koi's arms shot up in the air as if he was at gunpoint, "I won't do anything! My ass is staying right here- promise!" 

The large dog, as wide as the thickest tree that he knows, and too large to fit in the common room finally seemed to deem him unworthy of a meal and closed its final set of eyes. 

Feeling frantically behind him, Koi found the handle and pulled, relief flooding him in waves when the door opened and he backed out of the room slowly. The massive wolf peeked an eye open to see him leave but only cared to watch him for a moment, then closed it. Thank the heavens, its actually letting him go.

Closing the doors as gently as possible before him, scared that the slightest noise may invoke the creatures rage, Koi collapsed to his knees now that he was fully out. Heart thundering in his ears he'd mistaken the sound of fast footsteps descending the staircase as his own rapid heart rate and nearly felt himself flatline when Levi's panicked voice startled him from behind.

"Koi!" 

The demon surged forward, tugging the human to his feet and helping him maintain his balance.

"You- You big, massive idiot! You could've died if you went in there!!" Levi scolded, yelling at him in his worried haze.

"I almost did," Koi wheezed out a laugh, somehow amused now that he wasn't directly on death's doorstep.

"You almost went in?!"

"No, I almost died." Koi explained, "I already went in."

...

Koi was mortified.

"So, you were exploring the house on your own and after hearing strange voices coming from the attic, you for some ungodly reason ran to the underground tomb, which lead to your encounter with Cerberus. After miraculously avoiding getting torn to shreds you still managed to trip onto your already injured shoulder, pop it out of place, and now you want me to clean up your mess. Do I have that right?" Lucifer asked, arms crossed and frown deepening by the second.

After finding out Koi had actually gone inside the tomb, Leviathan, rightfully so, tattled on him to Lucifer. Dragging him before his big brother and demanding Lucifer check him for any missing limbs or organs. Of course, Koi knew it came from a place of care and worry, but Koi would've preferred to deal with it himself. So here he was, sitting on the edge of his bed with his head down like a scolded child with Lucifer standing in the middle of his room like a massive pillar of annoyance and great disappointment.

"Yep, that's pretty much it." Though less sarcasm would've been nice.

Lucifer just scowls at him for the next fifteen seconds and Koi can't be bothered to pretend he cares. Lucifer could skewer him on a pole and rotate him over a fire like a slow-roast pig and he couldn't incur more fear in Koi than the beast downstairs did. He's always been more of a cat person. So he just stares back.

With this closer look at the older man, Koi can't help but feel that Lucifer looks more like a vampire than a demon. All that frowning and scowling has given the man wrinkles, though faint. His eyes sink like he hasn't slept in the last half a century and gray hairs are peppered into his black hair. He imagines that Lucifer's nightwear is a long light blue gown ancient grandpa's wear in old Disney films.

Koi blinks and apparently Lucifer takes that as a win and a sign of submission. With a sigh he holds out a gloved hand, waiting expectantly.

The human stares at him.

"Uh, nice glove? Looks expensive. Leather?"

The demon gives him an appalled look before stepping forward and grabbing his arm at the elbow. Koi hisses which causes Leviathan, who'd been a silent bystander until now, to flounder with concern. 

"Clench your jaw," Lucifer demands.

"What?"

Without any explanation, Lucifer tightens his hold and jams his arm into his body, pulling a guttural yelp from Koi's throat like a dog that got its tail stepped on. There's a pop as his shoulder situates itself back in its rightful socket as the human has to remind himself to breathe through the throbbing pain.

Lucifer lets go and brushes himself off, uncaring about the state he left his student in.

Leviathan rushes to him, hovering as he tries to decide where to place his hands to help. Koi glares over his shoulder at the oldest in the room.

Rat bastard. I'm gonna shit in your coffee tomorrow.

Lucifer just smirks at him, amused that the puny human was glaring at him, "Now that you're back in order you're needed in the kitchen. You have fifteen minutes to get down there and help Satan with dinner."

"What?" Koi hisses out. Is he serious right now? "But I don't know a thing about Devildom cuisine."

"Then today is the day you learn. I recall you proudly proclaiming how diligent of a student you were. Don't tell me you were lying?"

Koi wants to punch that smug look off of that man's face. He'll do it. He's not afraid to strike an old man whose an unfathomably amount of years his elder.

He barely manages to mumble the words through his teeth, "No, sir."

Lucifer turns around, seemingly satisfied with the answer and goes to take his leave, "Good."

His bedroom door closes shut and Koi just about burns a hole into the wood with his glare.

Leviathan fidgets beside him nervously as he watches his master mumble a line of curses longer than the human's whole family tree, rolling his shoulder to test its mobility. After the demon is certain Koi won't snap at him for interrupting whatever amateur curse he was testing with Lucifer's name, he speaks up.

"Are you...okay?"

Koi's sharp gaze is turned onto him and the human feels a pang of guilt at the way Levi flinches. He clothes his eyes to breath for a moment and once he's certain he's calm, he opens them with a lazy smile.

"Alive," he replies. "Though not sure about okay. I'm worried I'll give you all food poisoning and be charged with attempted murder."

Levi visibly eases up, giving his own small smile, "You'll be okay. Satan's a good teacher and no matter what slop you give us, just know it is leagues better than Solomon's cooking."

Koi stands up to leave for the kitchen and his smile widens when Levi follows him before he could ask, "You know, I've heard people ragging on his cooking before. Just how bad is it?"

"Bad." Levi cringes, walking beside Koi as they descend the stairs, "Like, insta-kill level bad. A one-tap. Not even a respawn point would save you."

The human just laughs, glad that Levi returned as himself, "Okay, duly noted."

Turning into the kitchen Koi unfortunately couldn't mask his surprise when he sees Satan prepping their ingredients dressed in a very adorable cat apron. The man glances at the two of them upon their arrival and his mood sours when he sees his brother.

"Nope. Out." Satan demands, pointing to the other exit by the fridges. 

Levi frowns, upset, "What? Why?!"

"Because one, your cooking sucks and you'll be of no help to either me or Koi," the demon shrinks, "-and two, I will not have you stand around in my kitchen with that stupid look on your face as you make googly eyes at my assistant. I would rather die."

Koi fights back a laugh as he pats Leviathan on the back, an awkward attempt to console him.

"Why don't you go wait in the common room? I'll call you when dinner's ready."

The promise that Koi will smile at him warmly with a sweet 'Levi, dinner's ready' has the demon folding like a lawn chair. While he mourns the thought that he may miss his master in an apron, he comforts himself with the thought that Koi will continue to make meals in the future.

Maybe he could even buy Koi his own special apron.

Leviathan stalks out of the kitchen with a determined look on his face; prepared to scour the internet for the perfect apron to satisfy his sick, otaku, gap-moe-obsessed needs.

Come morning, Koi is relieved to find all demons in working order and that he hadn't committed manslaughter with his food.

Things finally seemed like there were back on the right track. His shoulder, though sore and aching, could perform a number of stretches without any pain, and whatever miracle Simeon cast on him caused half of his injuries to heal enough to warrant the removal of his stitches.

Leviathan was determined to finish their group project in record time, much to Satan's pleasure, and swore to begin planning their TSL marathon once they had all presented and were graded. 

Even Mammon, who was shifty-eyed during dinner and blew his top when Lucifer mentioned the Cerberus incident, stopped by his room to pout and sulk before being dragged to RAD. While Koi isn't sure why Mammon had suddenly decided to distance himself, whatever conclusion he arrived at had him visibly brighter. Though not without a suspicious, determined glint in his eyes. Koi can only hope that if the demon was planning to get himself into trouble, he'd do it in his line of sight. Partners and crime, and all.

Beelzebub was saddened to learn that Koi wouldn't also be cooking breakfast, and also seemed down that the human still had to stay at home until the end of the week. The demon was a giant, but a sweetheart. He wouldn't mind cooking the occasional meal for him to feel happy. It's reassuring that even if Koi's food was abysmal, Beel also eats suspiciously shaped rocks and gnaws on the concrete if a burger-shaped shadow falls on it.

Even Satan, who he learned was a phenomenal teacher, albeit strict, had bid him farewell at the door. Ever since he'd learned about Koi's odd request about schooling, Satan seemed to be less...superficial around him. His smile was less strained and fake and if anything, he actually seemed to frown more. Koi would've been worried, but it turns out that's just his resting face, and that's fine with him.

By lunchtime, Koi had broken into Leviathan's room and stolen his bathtub. He'd been working all morning organizing the group's topics and subtopics, and struggling with the Devildom's unique search engine all morning. Fed up, he grabbed his Pacts for Beginners book and came here, seeking solace in the comfort of Levi's quiet mumbling as he read and researched aloud and the typing of his fancy keyboard.

It's been two days since he received the book, and he's made a decent dent in it. With a whopping 940 pages, paired with an impressive codex, his bookmark sits at a healthy 465. While some terms were lost on him, the book really was for beginners; the content was generally easy to digest, refers back to previous chapters for more obscure or harder concepts, and each new thing learned was certain to come up frequently in the next topic, helping with forgetfulness.

Before Koi decides to take a lunch break and bring Levi some food before they both forget to feed themselves, he's suddenly glued to one of the pages.

"Hey, Levi?" he called.

The man hums, not breaking away from the screen of his monitor. 

"It says here that if a pact is made with a higher ranking demon it can result in a higher ranking human," Koi reads off, "What does that mean?"

Leviathan pauses, the consistent clacks of his keyboard stopping with him, "Uh... I think it means that the power of the demon is shared with the human? Like, right now, Solomon is...human- I guess. But way, way back before we even came to the Devildom he was just a regular human. Then at some point he made a pact with Barbatos and then after that, he started becoming known as the wise sorcerer. I mean, I don't know how much of that was Barbatos' influence, but he's a super powerful demon. Like, scarily powerful. It'd make sense why Solomon turned out the way he is."

The human frowns, "But I don't feel any different and you two are plenty powerful."

"Are we?" Levi wonders. "I dunno. We're not all that great. Now if you made a pact with someone like Barbatos or, god- Lucifer, you'd probably get twenty-five pounds of knowledge instantly transmitted into your brain."

Koi considers it but shakes his head, "I don't know...maybe it's different for every pact? Like, maybe making a pact with Satan would cause someone to have more control over their rage? Or maybe even insight rage in others easily?"

"Like, it works off a demon's specialties?"

"You don't think so?"

"Not sure," the demon admits. "Asmo is really good at charming people, so you'd think Solomon would become more charismatic after they formed a pact but...yeah, I don't think charisma is really Solomon's strong suit."

Levi looks over his shoulder to look at Koi, a little sullen, "I don't really know. Sorry. I wish I was more helpful."

Koi's heart pulls in his chest before closing his book and putting it aside. He climbs out of the tub and over to the demon, placing a hand on his head and butting his forehead gently against the side of Levi's temple.

"Nah, you were plenty helpful. I wasn't expecting the correct answer, I just wanted someone to bounce ideas off of."

Pulling away, he can't help but grin as the otaku shrinks into himself and flushes red.

"I'm gonna go to the kitchen and get something to eat," he pats the man's head as if he were stroking a cat, "Any special requests?"

"Ah, n-no...I've got my own mini fridge up here and snacks so..."

Koi resists the urge to plant a big kiss on the man's forehead to reward him from being so damn adorable. He has to mentally throttle himself to keep his lips at bay.

"Alright," he says instead of pouncing. "I'll be right back."

With the soft close of the door, Leviathan falls slack as he tries to fuse with his chair. Face hot and pact mark searing into skin. 

However, without even a minute to collect himself, his bedroom door flies open with force powerful enough to have his displayed Hana Ruri and Friends! figurines trembling on his display shelf.

"Hey, easy!" he scolds, spinning around in his chair to find a heaving Koi in the doorway.

The man lifts his head with a spooked expression to match his words as he shakily points in the direction of the hallway.

"G-Ghost," he murmured.

Now, Leviathan may be a demon, but that didn't change the fact that he was a coward first and foremost.

He'd always dreamed of being strong in front of someone he admired, to have the courage to inspire them to no longer be scared. But he knew that was just a pipe dream.

So how he ended up here, with his pipe dream now feeling a little half-assed, stalking towards the attic with a terrified human holding onto the back of his sweater (cute!!!) he's got no clue. I mean, sure, the House of Lamentation was scary and the origin of the house was straight out of a horror movie, and even he had gotten nightmares and had to sleep at the foot of Lucifer's bed for a week when they first moved in—but now he's lived here for what feels like forever, and he knows that the house was just misunderstood.

With it's old wallpaper and creaky floorboards Levi understood that on the surface it was creepy, but this place was now home to him. He had a duty to prove to Koi that it could be his home too.

"You...don't look like the kind of guy that's scared of ghosts," the demon said, stopping a good ten feet from the attic stairwell.

"I'm not," Koi declared, frustrated and stressed, "-but it's entirely different when a ghost knows my name and can- you know- speak ?!" 

"O-Okay! I got it," Levi said, trying to calm the other in a way that Koi had done to him. "So, this is where you heard it? From the attic?" The human nods, staring at the staircase suspiciously.

They waited for about a minute but to no avail, the ghosts were silent.

"Maybe you imagined it?" Levi asked. He's sure that if there was a ghost in this house, he'd know about it. After all, he was the brother that never left home.

"...did I really?" Koi seems to loosen up, though still on edge. "I guess it's possible. Maybe everything's stressing me out and I'm hallucinating?"

Levi hummed but it saddened him to see his master so disheartened. After hyping himself up internally, he grabbed Koi's hand with the best smile he could muster.

"Let's go eat! Maybe you'll feel better with some food in you?"

The human blinks, ponders, then smiles. Levi feels like he'd gotten shot through the heart.

"Yeah, good idea," Koi squeezes his hand and the demon has to fight through the light-headedness before he passes out here in the hallway. He follows his master obediently.

"Koi.."

He turns, "Yeah?"

The two stare at each other for a few moments before Leviathan audibly gulps.

"Uh...t-that wasn't me.."

"Help....me...." the two of them stiffen, straightening out like rules as the weak pleads spill from the attic and wrap tightly around their chests.

"Come here..." it said, pleading, "I'm in the attic....please, come here..."

Just as Levi feels like his heart is about to give out there's a tug at their conjoined hands and suddenly the two of them are hightailing it straight out of the house.

Chapter Text

Mammon was many things.

Mammon was both an older brother and a younger brother, he's a demon and an ex-angel, he's one of the seven rulers of hell and hell's avatar of greed. Mammon was a thief, a gambling addict (or professional, if you asked him), and one of the most important and most busiest men in all three realms.

Despite what his brothers may tell you, Mammon has made a name for himself in all the realms (all for different reasons) and is one of the lucky few beings to ever step foot in all three. He was an archangel, a feat all on its own, but was also the fastest archangel. It was one of the reasons that Michael ended up dumping him onto Lucifer, the fastest of the seraphim and the only angel capable of competing in his realm of speed. Though he was never anyone's guardian angel, he did have an affinity for birds, and had nursed many doves and even a few ravens back to health during his brief missions in the human realm. He was smart when his attention span allowed him to be, courageous if need be, and protective of his flock. He knew that following Lucifer would strip him of his wings yet he still got willingly shot out of the sky, if only to follow the only man to ever believe in him down to the depths of hell.

But even in hell he was able to make a name for himself.

Their bartering system was atrocious and absolutely not Mammon's style so he introduced to them gold, something he created by mistake while fiddling with the elements up in the human world, and became the maintainer of hell's treasury (as short-lived as that was). He played a pivotal role in shaping the Devildom's economy into what it was today. Pair that with dragging his siblings on a wild goose chase to find Cerberus, even if Lucifer was the one to make the beast heel in the end, it was him who got his brothers their rightful titles to become lords, and to increase their influence.

Sure he may have lost his own influence over the years since all the gambling houses he constructed and had ownership over had either been demolished due to bankruptcy or had its rights switched to his older, more business attuned, brother—and yeah, maybe he lost the fourth circle of hell because he was still too much of an angel to look the rotting flesh of human sinners in the face- but Mammon was still proud of himself and who he is!

He had fears too, no matter how hard he tries to deny it. Everyone does. Though he can't imagine what it could be, he's certain Lucifer does too. No matter how hard he tries to be, his older brother isn't perfect. Far from it, if you ask him.

But Koi doesn't know this. Doesn't know most, if not all of this, and the last thing Mammon was going to tell Koi was that he was afraid of ghosts.

So here he is, teeth practically clacking from the shivers of fear wracking his body as Levi and Koi recite their tales from lunch.

"A ghost," he repeats, clenching his fists and willing away the stutter, "Yer sure?"

Leviathan, a massive fan of the horror genre, nods his head with an expression that has Mammon ready to shit his own pants.

"Unfortunately," the snake of a demon replies.

Mammon slowly rises, lips sucked in and soul sucked out, before making his way towards Koi's bedroom door to pack his bags and move into the basement of one of the Devildom's crack houses because he is NOT living with no ghost. He only pauses due to the sound of his master's voice.

"Mammon?" Koi calls, confused.

"He's trying to run with his tail between his legs," Levi says in a tone like he cannot believe Mammon was his brother.

"What? Why?"

"Probably because he's scared of-"

In record time, Mammon picks up the nearest object on Koi's desk and chucks it at full force. Levi, sluggish by nature and a sloth without limbs in comparison to him, eats the full impact of the massive book with his face.

"Wha- hey! Don't just throw my things around!"

"He deserved it," Mammon decides, huffing and puffing as he tries to calm his own nerves. "And for the record, yer on yer own. I don't touch that paranormal shit with a ten-foot pole, ya hear?!"

"What?!" Koi seems properly startled by this, exclaiming as much over the sound of Levi trying to keep himself from crying, "-but you're my partner in crime! We signed a contract!"

"Uh- partner in crime not partner in death, ya moron! I ain't gettin' possessed just so ya can sleep better at night. I'd rather ya just have nightmares!"

"Wow," Koi responds, unimpressed. "Dick."

"Just give up, Koi." Leviathan groans, placing the beginners book on pacts to the side and pinching his nose at the bridge to stop the bleeding, "Mammon's useless. We're better off going to Lucifer."

"Hey!"

"You think?" the human asks, unsure of requesting help from the guy who looks like he would rather be doing literally anything else than breathe the same air as Koi.

"It could end up affecting the entire household so yeah, I'm sure he'll help. But tell him that it's impacting your studies just in case. You know, to really drive it home?"

Koi ruminates over the advice for a minute, organizing his thoughts over the sound of Mammon's complaints. Because even if Mammon was refusing to help, he still got pissy when Koi sought help from someone else. Honestly, sometimes his greed can give birth to a messy amalgamation of envy and red-hot jealousy.

"Yeah," he ultimately agrees, "Better than tackling this alone." 

Lucifer was displeased to see that Koi and Leviathan seemed to become closer with each passing day. It didn't help that they spent almost all of their time together ever since Koi was dismissed for his injuries and had to stay home with their resident shut-in. He's tried separating them when he can; sending Koi to help with dinner when Satan was on duty, knowing that his other half would rather die that have Leviathan in his kitchen, and he's tried sending Levi on errands whenever he could, even offering up his credit-card to sweeten the deal.

So he was immensely disappointed to come home to the two of them cowering in the front lawn, doing god knows what the whole day, and now just plain irritated to see the two of them bashful before him and seeking help. Lucifer's beginning to get annoyed just at the site of their faces. He's not sure if he preferred when Koi was attached to the hip with Mammon, and if this sudden migration toward the third born was a step in the right direction or the wrong one.

"What do you want?" Lucifer groaned, disturbed by the very real chance that these two were about to ruin the rest of his week. He took his reading glasses off with a sigh and glared at them, not missing Mammon who was hovering outside his study thinking he was the sneakiest little rat in the world.

Leviathan flinches beneath his gaze, as he often does, but he's displeased to see that Koi meets his gaze without hesitation. 

They then explain that there was a ghost in the attic, that Leviathan was a witness to someone pleading for Koi to come help them, to come up into the attic, and how they ran with their tails between their legs. While Lucifer prides himself in his magic and knows for a fact that if they had gone up there, they wouldn't have seen anything. Just a regular attic with some old furniture and oil paintings of the previous human householders. So he's slightly relieved to hear that Koi was capable of being a scaredy-cat.

While he knows that no one's going to find what's in the attic, he can't have his youngest causing trouble, even inadvertently. 

"I understand," Lucifer says, shutting his journal and slipping it into one of his desk drawers. He straightens out his clothes before sighing, "I suppose it won't hurt indulging your foolish little whims if it'll keep you focused on your academics."

Koi visibly bites back a groan, looking disgruntled when he should be looking honored. Little brat. It's nearly unnerving how much of Koi reminds him of his younger brothers, certain aspects reminiscent of certain siblings. That stubborn nature of his paired with his ability to keep his complaints to himself makes his heart ache, and his mind catches a glimpse of a resurfaced memory. Of a young, mischievous girl who refused to listen to him and would slip away to the human realm even when explicitly told not to.

That stubbornness of hers got her killed.

Lucifer clenches his teeth, glare sharpening at the human as his mood takes a sudden nose dive.

"Go help with dinner. Asmodeus should be back by now with the groceries. Your phantom apparition will be gone before the meals are served. Now leave."

Levi is quick on the uptake and swivels around, grabbing Koi by the wrist to drag him out of there before they can shoot any more nasty looks at each other. But the human doesn't budge and the third born falters.

Koi stares at Lucifer. The demon frowns in turn.

"What?" he spits. If only Koi was a less stellar student, then maybe he could find a justification for knocking him upside the head just once.

"Um..." the human fidgets, seemingly at a loss and trying to gather his thoughts. His head dips and he adverts his eyes.

"Thanks," he finally says, "I appreciate it. And...I won't let you down. Despite what you seem to think of me, I'm a good student. You'll see."

Lucifer blinks. Leviathan balks.

Well, that wasn't the response he was expecting.

"That's all!" Koi exclaims, turning and practically running out of there. Leviathan is left to buffer for a moment before muttering his own quick thank you, then pursuing his master out the door.

It takes half a minute for Lucifer's world to settle and for the surprise to fade. What was that about? And why did Koi look so embarrassed like he was going to walk over to the nearest bookshelf and slam his head against it to forcefully pass out? The demon wonders and he comes up with a few theories. One, maybe the human had a crush on him? Though, while that's usually the case when he encounters humans, Koi didn't seem to be one of them. Nine times out of ten the man looks like he took a bite out of a lemon whenever they're in each other's presence, and he can't even count this as an exception since he looked like he was going to die while expressing his gratitude. Two, Koi thought he was above everyone and would rather throw himself into a meat grinder than to ask for anyone's help. No, that can't be it either. Koi is plenty capable of groveling and Lucifer highly doubts the human had that much self-confidence. 

Hmmm...perhaps Lucifer reminded Koi of someone else? Just as Koi reminded Lucifer of someone else? He can't deny that Koi's uncanny resemblance to his younger siblings puts him on edge, and therefore subjects him to unfair and biasly unfavorable opinions. Maybe it was the same for his exchange student?

It's...plausible enough. Koi did seem to hate Lucifer right off the bat, which was odd, since Lucifer himself was very likable.

Lucifer thinks of the sight from earlier; of an embarrassed man running for the hills because showing gratitude to Lucifer after visibly trying to blow him up with his mind was mortifying. Leviathan on his tail as the two of them meet Mammon at the door who totally wasn't eavesdropping.

He thinks of another sight, a much older one; one of a young girl fleeing and dragging a sleepy twin behind her, meeting their other half at the gates of heaven. Happy, but embarrassed. Bashful that she had gone in on Lucifer without knowing that he was the one who approved her visit to the human realm.

He smiles before he can think better of it.

But those times are gone, and when that soft feeling fades into that endless pit in his stomach where he knows it'll never resurface again should he have any say in it, Lucifer stands from his chair and adjusts his tie.

He frowns.

Though he dreaded what insults and curses will be spat at him this time, Lucifer makes his way toward the attic.

"So, ya gonna tell us what the hell that was about?" Mammon inquires from where he's stolen Koi's bed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replies nonchalantly, flipping another page of his book.

"Uh, yeah- I wanna know too. It was embarrassing just watching," Levi chips in, upside down in Koi's bean bag chair and fiddling with his phone. Apparently positioning himself in unnatural ways helped with his gacha luck.

It was late, well past dinner and fastly approaching lights out because of course Lucifer acted like the House of Lamentation was a student dorm. Thankfully, Asmo didn't mind Levi and Mammon hovering around Koi while he helped with dinner as long as they didn't try and help themselves. Asmo was...intense. He really only engaged in one conversation with him, lasting about fifteen minutes, and Koi was still exchausted from the exchange even hours later. And to Lucifer's credit, he hadn't heard any ghostly cries on his way to his room so he must have really excercised whatever was up there.

Koi sighed, still trying to avoid the topic, "Shouldn't you guys be going back to your rooms? We still have school tomorrow."

Mammon points an acusing finger at him, "Yer changing the subject again!"

Levi looks up at him from the floor with a solemn yet disturbed expression, "You...you don't like Lucifer, do you? Cause you wouldn't be the first."

"What?!!" Both Koi and Mammon exclaim at the same time.

"No, absolutely not. That's gross. I like cute guys, not old geriatric citizens." Koi said with a grimace before snorting when both the boys let out twin sighs of relief.

"So then why'dya act like ye were askin' to suck his dick?"

Koi then levels that grimace at the second born, "Mammon, you are so disgusting. Like, genuinely."

Rolling his eyes, Koi ignores the sound of Mammon's offended protests.

"Ugh- I don't know. It's just embarrassing. I'm not used to asking help from guys like him. It felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to."

"Guys like him ?" Levi repeats, interested.

"Like- older brother figures, I guess. For lack of a better term. Though he acts more like an overbearing father than anything."

The two demons nod in unison. Well, at least they're all in agreement there.

"It was kinda cute though," Levi interjects, speaking without really thinking. "Like one of those 'watch me, senpai!' moments in sports animes!"

Mammon interupts Koi's stammering, "Yeah. As creepy as it is to admit, Lucifer probably liked it."

"Great," the human said, unenthusiastically. 

"That not what yer goin' for?"

"I wasn't trying to get him to like me! I mean, logically it'd be nice to have a housemate that doesn't hate my guts, but I feel like being percieved as endearing to Lucifer would be a harrowing experience."

Levi makes a face at that, "Yeah...best you hold off on that. Afterall, Lucifer somehow adores Cerberus and he has the guy perpetually chained to the basement and only takes him out for walks on the third circle so he can pick a couple of sinners as a new chew toy to bring back."

Mammon shivers, "Ugh- don't remind me. The clean up is rough. Only Satan and Beel can stomach mopping up the underground tomb after Cerberus has chewed through his new toys."

Koi's stomach flips and he has to cover his mouth so the bile seeping up his throat doesn't come out at the mental image. He can't handle gore as well as he used to, especially around this time of the year.

"You know, I still wonder why Cerberus didn't eat you." Levi says, seemingly having paused his game and letting his phone rest on his chest.

Koi takes a moment to breathe through his nose before sighing, "Honestly, I have no idea. He was definetly thinking about it but he got a good sniff and just...layed back down. I don't even know where the hell he came from."

"Well, he's too big to lay in the middle of tomb comfortably with all the chairs and whatnot. He likes sleeping behind the pillars for the shade. Though I swear that guy can teleport sometimes."

Levi sits up, no longer needing his perposterous sitting position if he wasn't gonna game, "You said he sniffed you? I mean, he has a really strong sense of smell so I would say that he just thought you stink but you smell great."

Mammon stares at his younger brother, apalled. Koi just blinks before grinning wolfishly, "Oh? Do tell."

Sensing his foolish mistake, Levi blushes, putting his arms up to hide his face, "I-I JUST MEAN- y-you know. You smell...okay, I guess."

"Psh, like anyone'll believe ya with that stupid look on yer face."

"Shut up!"

Koi hums, now thinking about it, "Well, he did seem very interested in my neck."

The demons look at him with wonder as they try to make sense of it.

"Oh! I know!" Levi exclaims, suddenly standing. He twists a bit before pointing to the back of his neck. "Was he smelling the pact marks?"

Koi snaps, grinning at him, "That's it! That's totally what it was! But...why?"

"We demons gotta keen sense o' smell," the demon on his bed explains. "Cerberus ain't allowed to hurt us cause he sees us as part of Lucifer's pack, and everyone knows that bastard is the alpha. Everyone's scared of Luci, even the dog. Wouldn't hurt a hair on us cause he wants to be a good boy for his master."

"Yeah," Levi nods, "You probably don't know this since you're a human, but since you made pacts with us, you smell a lot like me and Mammon. He probably caught a whiff and when he confirmed your scent, he backed off."

There's a momentary pause before Koi rushes to open one of his desk drawers, pulling out a small pocket notebook and a pen, "So he thought I was you guys?"

Mammon shoots him a disgusted look, "Are ya seriously writtin' this down? How much of a nerd are you?"

Levi ignores his brother. He was incredibly invested in his hobbies as well, so he understood. He continued to explain for Koi, "No, humans have a distinct smell too. Otherwise Cerberus wouldn't have gotten aggressive from the start. He probably smelled a human, an intruder, got ready to defend our home, and when he got closer he smelled us. I can't say for sure what he thinks you are now, but my guess is that you're a new member of the pack. You smell like all of us, afterall. Mammon and I just have a more distinct scent since we're soul-bound. He might've even caught a whiff of Lord Diavolo and his butler."

"Wow," Koi says, stumped but clearly impressed. The two demons stare at the dumb grin on their master's face as he jots this down in his dumb little notebook, lamenting their dumb hearts that skip several beats.

Mammon clears his throat when the silence because too much for him, "S-So, ya learn anything cool in that new book o' yers? Can ya get Levi to fly er somethin?"

"Oh, I've learned a lot. It's pretty dense but I've gotten a good grasp on the basics now. It helps having Levi around to bounce theories off of and help explain stuff."

Levi flushes. Mammon frowns.

"So ya haven't learned how ta do anything cool yet?"

Koi sets down his pen, seemingly done for now. "I have, but I can't put them into practice before I start training with Solomon. After all, the cool, fun curses are basic, but they involve you two. I refuse to have anything bad happen to you guys just for a test run."

Mammon knows it already, but Koi really does treat them well. It's been almost a month and a half now but Mammon is still trying to get used to Koi's nonchalant kindness. He dishes it out like its nothing, like it doesn't rock Mammon's whole world everytime. He glances to his right. Levi doesn't seem to be fairing any better, head in hands and ears burning red. Gross.

"So when do ya start trainin' with 'im?" 

"Well, I was supposed to start next week since I won't be seeing him until then but one of his morning classes for tomorrow got cancelled so he's stopping by after breakfast."

The words 'Solomon' and 'breakfast' in the same sentence send a shiver down both the demon's spines. 

"Whatever ya do, and whatever that rat bastard has to say, do NOT accept any offers for him to cook for ya. You will die."

Levi bites a trembling lip, "He'll definetly message you about it too. You have to tell him you already ate. He'll try and through a pity party for himself but please don't accept. I don't want you to die before we can have our TSL marathon."

Koi just laughs, shaking his head at how dramatic his boys were, "I hear you, I hear you. I've already been told about how abominable his cooking is and I trust you all aren't lying to me. Besides, I'm a firm believer of the stranger danger rule. I won't be accepting anything but academic lessons from him."

"But is he really a stranger if he's going to be your mentor?"

"He's a stranger until the beginning of our first lesson, and I don't think he'll jumpscare me with food in the middle."

"Hopefully," Mammon mutters, still unconvinced. As a previous victim of Solomon's cooking, he would rather spare Koi the trauma. And his life. Because the reason Solomon hasn't killed them with his cooking was because they weren't human. Mortals won't be so fortunate.

"Don't worry, I'll stay by your side and make sure he doesn't do anything shady!!" Levi exclaims, a determined glint in his eyes. Koi returns his gaze with a smile and only indulges himself a little with the sight of Levi withering beneath his gaze each passing second.

"Speaking of, I've gotta cram in a couple more chapters before bed so I'm prepared for tomorrow." Koi smiles at the both of them this time, eyes gentle and lips upturned, "So, if you would, please get out."

Their master has been more careful with his wording ever since he forced Levi into a command a while back, but it still shocks the two of them to their core.

"What?!" Mammon cries.

"I-I can't leave! I uh...t-the wifi connection is stronger in your room! You don't want me to lose due to lag, right?!"

Koi expected this reaction, and he knows he'll never force his boys to do anything, even if it meant sacrificing his free time and privacy. Though his boys didn't need to know that. They were sweet but at the end of the day they were still demons, god knows they would take advantage of the fact that Koi can't say no to their sweet little faces if they knew. It was inconvenient, but it still made him happy that the two wanted to be around him. Besides, he's always been good at getting what he wants, even if he has to make his own loop holes.

"You can stay," Mammon and Levi instantly perk up, visibly happier before immedietly flinching, "-but, only, and only, on one condition."

"Of course!" Levi exclaims.

"...I guess," Mammon replies with a mumble. Two very different reactions.

Koi puts his finger in the air to catch their attention and make sure that Mammon was listening, "You have to stay quiet. I need to be able to focus so no bickering, no arguing, and no-" this one he looks directly at the blue-eyed demon, "-no whining or complaining."

"What the- who do ya think yer talkin' to?! I ain't no kid-!" Levi punches the back of his head before forcing his older brother to bow.

"Yes, sir! Koi, sir!" the thirdborn salutes him, shouting over Mammon's grumbled complaints.

Koi puts a finger to his own lips, waiting with a patient smile.

Levi blinks, "O-OH! Um... y-yes sir, koi, sir."

Fuck, he's so cute. I just want to eat him up.

Koi beams at him, clearly proud, "Good boy. I know you mumble when you game and that's fine, just try to keep it down and no yelling even if you die, okay?"

Leviathan turns red in an impressively short amount of time, stammering as he talks, "Y-Yeah, I uh- I can...do that. Mhmm." Before scurrying to a secluded corner of the room, dragging the bean bag with him and refusing eye contact with anyone. Cute.

"And you, Mammon? Will you behave?" 

The named demon flinches. He then frowns, snarling (but quietly), "I ain't no dog. Don't talk down ta me like that."

But Koi knows what makes the other tick, so he pulls his lips into a pout and frowns at him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just want to spend time with you, but I still have duties to see to as your master. I don't want you to leave, but I still need it to be relatively quiet. Is that okay?"

Mammon fights back a blush and succeeds, but Koi still sees how his body relaxes. So Mammon really does hate being ordered around like that. He makes a mental note that he can't use the same tone that he knows works for Leviathan on Mammon, and that he'll have to speak to them seperately when he needs them to behave themselves.

The demon then scoffs, huffing to the side as he crosses his arms over his chest, "Psh, fine. But not 'cause ya asked or anythin'!! Just tuckered out s'all. Had a hard day at RAD."

Koi thanks him for being a diligent student and watches with glee at how Mammon preens at his praise, puffing his chest up like the big and smart man he was. 

Eventually, in the calming silence of his room, enraptured with each turn of the page, Koi blinks and finds that two hours have passed and midnight was just around the corner. Placing a bookmark to find his place later, he shuts the book, shuffling it off to the side of his desk before stretching out his legs and straightening his spine. He stands from his desk, rolling his bad shoulder twice to make sure it was healing properly, before surveying his room. 

The artifical moon in the devildom was still as shockingly bright as Koi remembers, flooding his room in gentle yet dim rays of its fake moonlight. He smiles once he finds Mammon sprawled across the top of the comforter, nearly taking up half of the massive queen-sized bed. Koi turns off the reading lamp he'd been using before closing the curtains. Then, he walks over to the short table on the other side of the room, snuffing the three-wicked candle that will resume burning oil once the night cycle renews. 

Soft huffs fill the room and Koi crouches down beside his bean bag. Leviathan sleeps peacefully there, phone on chest and head back, comfortable in whatever dream he was having. Koi brushes those light blue bangs to the side, admiring the demon's soft features for the umpteenth time. His hand falls, fingers lightly tracing along his jawline. There's twin marks on the demon's ears and as a connoisseur of piercings himself, he recognizes them as piercing holes. Probing a little more, he finds them fresh and unscarred. Levi in earrings...what a dangerous thought.

Then the man mumbles something in his sleep, shifting onto his side. It's only then does Koi realize how foolish he was acting.

What the hell am I doing? He cursed in his head. The fatigue must be getting to me.

Koi stands, walks back to his bed, aggresively pulls his comforter up and almost feels sorry when Mammon is sent rolling across his bed and only stopping when he hits the wall. Though he does feel surprised when the man still doesn't wake. Koi glances down at himself and cringes, he's worn the same shirt two days in a row now. He pulls the clothing over his head and tosses it onto the foot of his bed before shedding his socks too. 

Something pulls on his heart, nagging him that he's forgotten something. With a sigh, Koi turns around and stares at his other demon. He weighs the pros and cons and eventually comes to the conclusion that dealing with Mammon's morning tantrum and a shell-shocked Leviathan was better than waking up to Levi trying to tear his brother apart again. After all, it was probably best to appease the demon that would actually be staying home with him the next day. Returning to the bean bag, Koi is startled and slightly concerned by how light Levi actually was when he scooped up the demon in his arms. 

It was a little awkward, considering the demons were all taller than him—damn demonic genetics—but Levi seems to also be as deep of a sleeper as his brother and just sleepily curls in on himself instead of waking. Koi uses his bad arm to support the demon's legs, shifting most of the weight on his more reliable limb, before setting him down in the middle of his bed. While they were tall in length, neither of them were as wide, so there was still enough room for Koi to fit and not have to worry about actively falling off throughout the night.

Too tired to tuck either of them in, Koi slithers beneath the sheets and comforters, curling up on his side and resting his forehead against the outside of Levi's shoulder. He hopes he'll wake up before them. He smiles, wondering what adorable reactions they'll give him this time.

For the first time in a while, Koi feels at peace when the tendrils of sleep tug at his consciousness, and this time, he lets them pull him under without much of a fight. Even though the nightmares have plagued him for more than half his life, somehow, here with these two demons, he feels safer by their side than he ever has beside anyone else.

When morning comes, Koi awakes upside down with a throbbing ache at the top of his head, paired with the sound of incomprehensible babble and muted screeching. 

The headache persists throughout breakfast, which he gets through in a daze, and only really wakes up when Leviathan is before him in near tears apologizing for shoving him out of his own bed. He blinks, staring at the muted lips that must be arguing his case, but Koi just stares.

Then, it clicks, and the world filters in all at once.

"-and y-you were just there and your...your...chest was in my face and I just-" Levi shrieks when Koi claps both hands on the demon's shoulders, showing life for the first time that whole morning. He was certain that Koi was pissed at him. That he now hated him and no longer wanted to be his friend because Leviathan was an ungrateful, selfish wench who kicked out his sleeping master by his side whom he belatedly realized must've carried him to bed while he was asleep. I mean, why else would he have been so silent all morning?! That he didn't tease him once about how flustered he got, or how he hadn't scolded Mammon for yelling first thing in the morning?!

But the look the human has on his face is nothing short of pure, unadalterated bliss. Levi is being stared at like he was the solution to all of Koi's problems and his heart was suddenly in his throat. Was that the sound of his heart beating in his ears or was that boss music?

Eventually, Koi seems to have found the words he was looking for, utterly hopeful as he speaks, "Sleep with me."

"..."

Levi's jaw hangs open for a few crucial moments before his entire body locks up, blood rushing to two entirely different regions on his body. While breakfast was over and his brothers must be halfway to RAD by now, he's sure his screech must've been heard by them regardless of the miles put between them and the house.

"W-W-WHAT????? "

Leviathan surely broke the sound barrier with that one, but it seems he'll never find out, as his eyes roll into the back of his head and he passes out then and there. This time, he's certain that this is the real thing, and that death has finally come for his pathetic soul. As he withers away into the afterlife, mourning his sad excuse of an existance, he shakes his ghostly fist at the sky and curses that he died a virgin.

When Diavolo proposed the idea of creating a school in the Devildom, Solomon had been floored. That happened so long ago but he can still feel how palpable his surprise had been when the future demon king sat him down over tea and expressed how he wanted to eventually unite the three realms. As such, Solomon had become an unofficial founder of the school, and made it a point to visit every century or so. Though he knew it would come someday, he was still surprised when the same man invited him back as a student this time, all these years later.

Not to mention how he felt when he learned he wouldn't be the only human exchange student. He felt both a little sorry for this mystery human but also grateful on their behalf. Solomon was human enough to recognize that this would be a...challenging experience, but also not human enough to think that meeting Diavolo and the brothers was an unparalleled experience that someone had to be grateful for.

Meeting Koi was in part hilarious, but also disappointing. Of course, Solomon was only a founder in theory, he had no actual say on how the school conducted themselves or how the staff managed academic affairs. But still, he clearly misjudged that Diavolo would've been knowledgable enough to take a human from the other school Solomon was a founder of: The Magic Society. He foolishly believed that the demon prince would select a human with some kind of affinity for magic and not just Some Guy from off the street. While Koi was amusing and seemed to be adapting well, it was immediately telling just how lacking the man was in terms of magical capabilities. And to be stuck here in the Devildom for a year with no way to protect himself...well, Solomon felt a little guilty. After all, had he done his due diligence as a spokes-sperson for the human realm, he should've looked into Diavolo's process on how he would choose the other exchange student, Koi would likely not be here, and would be safe in the realm he belonged in.

So when both he and Simeon were summoned for an emergency on school grounds, his heart had fell through the floor, and he knew that something must've happened to Koi. Perhaps he was prone to mistakes, given his actual age, but to realize Solomon had been wrong again—that as impressive it was that Koi was able to form a pact with one of the seven lords this early into the first semester—it wasn't enough to keep him safe. It was both a blow to his pride as the 'Smartest Man Alive' and as a human representative. 

But he wasn't close enough to Koi to act on his guilt, let alone explain it. And what he has learned about the man, Solomon was sure that Koi wouldn't appreciate the sentiment at all, that he didn't recognize Solomon to be at fault in any way, and that apologizing for not being there would only put the man off and possibly even drive a wedge between them. So color him surprised when Barbatos himself asks him to mentor Koi, and that the man had specifically asked to be taught by him. Not Lucifer, not either of the demon's he had a pact with, not Barbatos, not Satan- him. Solomon.

Of course, he agreed.

From the few classes he had with the other human, he'd been taken aback by just how serious Koi was about his studies, and how hungry he was for knowledge. So maybe he should've have been as surprised as he was when he learned Koi had taken his recent assault as an excuse to expand on his magical capabilities. He didn't know much about Koi, and learned most of what he know's through word of mouth, but from what knowledge he did have, he formed a very high opinion of the other exchange student.

So, it was a little jarring to arrive at the House of Lamentation on the day he promised to begin teaching Koi, and to find him with a broken nose and the most delighted expression.

"Hey, Solomon," he greeted.

He blinked, and it seems that he may have misjudged Koi. That the man was much more lame than he was letting on.

Solomon's jaw dropped, "Leviathan punched you?" 

Despite this being confirmed, Koi only seemed to be utterly jubilated as he nodded his head. The sorcerer's gaze drops, falling on Leviathan who was grovelling at Koi's feet, surrounded by a puddle of what could only be tears.

"...Right....and how did that happen?"

"Oh, you see, I suffer from chronic nightmares but last night I had the best sleep of...my life, probably." Koi smiles fondly like he was recounting a treasured memory, "When I realized that the only thing that changed was that I fell asleep beside Levi, I had to find out for myself if he was the cause. But when I asked him to sleep beside me again tonight he took it as me sexually harrassing him, so he passed out, then freaked out when he woke up, and then punched me!"

The named demon lets out a heart-wrenching wail, before continuing to sob what could only be his millionth apology in the last five minutes.

Solomon blinks. It seems that Koi had some screws loose, but that's a good thing. You had to be a little crazy to be a human and survive a year in the Devildom, let alone be bonded to two of its lords.

"I see," he eyes the plaster atop the bridge of Koi's nose, "Did Levi fix you up then?"

"Nope, too busy crying his eyes out," anyone else would've been disturbed by just how smitten Koi seemed to be with a demon that just served him a knuckle sandwhich with extra fries, but as a pact holder of 72 demons, one of which also being a lord and also as lame as the rest of his brother's, Solomon understood, "Besides, I'm pretty decent when it comes to fixing myself up."

Solomon doesn't know how to verbally respond to that, so he just gives the man a look that conveys just how much he understands, and smiles.

Koi, who hasn't stopped smiling since Solomon arrived, returns his look with a nod, before bending down and pulling his demon to his feet.

He watches as the human wipes the demon's tears away, "Come now, Levi. I've gotta get to work. Please don't cry, hmm?"

Leviathan responds by wrapping his master in a hug and continuing to sob, "I-I'm.. I'm so sorry!!! I'm the worst!!! A dead beat!! I should just seppuku myself!!!"

At least Koi seems to be enjoying himself, soothing the demon with kind words and stroking his head.

Solomon clears his throat, feeling a bit awkward, "I'll wait for you in the common room."

Koi nodded thankfully, ushering his demon to the closest tissue box.

When they disapeared from view, the sorcerer still stared at where they'd gone. He'd intended to go easy on the man, to introduce him to magic bit by bit, not much different from how he would desensitize a cat to a newer, younger cat. But while Koi didn't have a strong pact, he had a strong bond with his demons.

Solomon frowned, making his way to the common room. It's unfortunate. Koi would be his first real student in a very long time so he wanted this to be a pleasant experience for both of them. He wanted to be a good teacher that Koi would ultimately continue to seek knowledge from. But he misjudged just how doting Koi was on his demons.

While there isn't anything essentially wrong with that...it would only be harmless if Koi already had a grasp on how to handle his pacts. Solomon was the holder of 72 pacts, one of which with the guardian of time, the other the lord of lust, and the only reason he as a sorcerer hasn't perished beneath the sheer burden such pacts would place upon his soul was A, he had a signet ring blessed by Michael himself and B, he had a nearly infinite sorcer of mana to keep his soul shielded from his pact-sharers. 

Unfortunately, Koi's first introduction to the world of magic was going to be unforgiving, and Solomon was going to have to be strict with him from the get-go. Stricter than Lucifer.

The man sighed.

Not to mention how smitten Levi already is, Solomon thought to himself. Those two have no idea how to control their desires, and the more they bond with Koi, the more at risk he'll be of his soul splitting between the two of them.

Well, hopefully Koi was as eager to learn as Barbatos had told him. Otherwise, he won't survive the training Solomon will have to put him through. 

Though, if he fails the training, he likely won't survive either way.