Safe (Brothers & Reader)

Safe

The silence is perhaps the most terrifying part.

None of them speak, none of them move, and it feels like none of them even dare to breathe after the words have left your mouth, every single person in the room frozen in place by the weight of your confession.

"I'm not a girl."

Four simple words, and yet they have such mesmerizing power: able to corner the seven lords of hell into a stupor of blankness.

You keep your gaze fixated on the ground, eyes never leaving the wooden floors that suddenly feel so cold as you stand atop them. You start to wish the ground would open, would swallow you up into its depths and pull you from this unbearably tense situation.

"I—I'm sorry," You mutter, not even knowing why you're apologizing. You close your eyes and try to force back the hot tears blurring your vision, already motioning to leave the room. "F-forget it. I'll just go."

Why did you ever think the demon brothers would understand? Why did you ever assume that they, creatures born to the very image of perfection, were going to be helpful? What did you even expect them to do? These boys are demons. It was noble enough that you trusted them to reveal your soul to them, but this silence has made it clear that they aren't going to be any comfort to you.

Your hands clench into fists at your side, and you keep your head lowered as you begin to walk out of the common room—out and away from these demons who clearly aren't going to support you the way you thought they would.

But the second you've taken two steps, you're engulfed in a hug from behind.

"Lu..." Your voice trails off in surprise when you realize who it is that's embracing you so openly, and you have to look up to confirm that it's actually him. "Lucifer?"

Your eyes widen. Only rarely does the prideful demon lower himself to offering comfort to a mere mortal; and on the few occasions where he does, it's always in privacy, beyond the eyes of anyone who might stare. But there's no denying it: even with all his brothers around you and watching, the Avatar of Pride is holding you close, eyes shut, as he traps you in a hug so warm and tender that you have no choice but to relax in his grip, his name falling from your lips in a confused daze once more as you look up at him.

"We always..." Lucifer trails off, his voice thick with emotion. He clears his throat and releases you, turning your body around in his arms so that you can look him straight in the eye.

But the next person to speak isn't Lucifer. Or even you.

It's Asmo.

He bounces off the couch and wraps you in a hug from the side, pulling you close even as Lucifer's arms remain on your shoulder.

"We always knew," The fifth-born murmurs into your ear, pressing his cheek close to yours as he clings to your figure.

And the moment your eyes widen, the moment you process Asmo's words, the moment you try to understand how they possibly could have known such a thing, the remainder of the brothers are shaken from their stupor, and the spell of silence that settled over the room is broken, every single demon darting off the couch in a wild competition to tackle you in a fierce hug.

"About damn time!" Mammon shouts as he buries his face in the crook of your neck, tackling you to the ground. It was in a valiant attempt, of course, given that he just had to hug you before any of his brothers could (and so he decided to go flying in the air to achieve this goal), but the moment your back hits the hardwood floor, the remainder of his siblings are on the ground next to you, cushioning your fall. Even the ever-stoic Lucifer crouches low next to you, a heartwarming smile on his face.