#i love annoyance to lovers 😍😍 mc is gonna annoy him to love fr

[ready-to-obeyme]

(not) pleased to meet you

lucifer x reader

notes: gender neutral; an alternative first meeting, implied annoyance to lovers; pre-relationship; (feels slightly like crack but that's just lucifer having a hard time lol)

word count: ~1.3k

No matter how Lucifer likes to spin it years down the line, the truth is, it was annoyance at first meeting with you.

For the last few months before the beginning of the exchange program, he's been doubling down on more work (if that is even possible) trying to finalize the details. Picking you for a human representative at random was the last thing he had to do-- and Father forbid Diavolo ask him how he chose you. (He thinks the prince would get a kick out of it if Lucifer told him it was the first paper that landed on his foot after they all fell on the ground.)

Just when he thinks he can finally filch some responsibility to Mammon as your attendant when you're summoned down to the assembly room, Lucifer watches with quickly growing iritation as you insist Diavolo-- crown prince of the Devildom-- make additional accommodations before you spend the next year with the demon brothers.

"I mean," you say with growing distress, "you can't expect my family and friends to just be... okay with my sudden disappearance, right?"

Damn.

It's rather unfortunate you make sense with the points you bring up; Lucifer would have rather preferred to ignore you entirely and get on with everything. The feeling must have shown on his face because when you turn to look at him, you narrow your eyes in a way that almost mirrors his own displeasure.

Truly, Lucifer thinks seethingly with a charming smile now plastered on his face, an annoyance.

You turn from him quickly when Diavolo lets out a thoughtful hum, glancing at Lucifer with an otherwise well-disguised amusement had Lucifer not seen the expression numerous times before. It normally does not bode well for him.

"I must say, you've brought up rather important details to our attention," Diavolo begins. "I must apologize on all our behalf; we utilized the other human representative as the backbone for human accommodation, but perhaps he was not the best candidate for a normal human."

Curse that black-hearted sorcerer, Lucifer thinks instinctively. (In Purgatory Hall, Solomon sneezes twice in the middle of baking fresh cookies for his new angelic roommates.)

"That's alright," you say in relief. "Glad you're so understanding. So you can send me back--"

"And Lucifer will accompany you to the human world to tie those loose ends," Diavolo tells you cheerfully, and Lucifer watches as your expression freezes (in the same manner as his, most likely).

"Uh, what-"

"We discourage hypnosis on humans for the sake of better relations, but I think we can make this the exception." Diavolo nods, counting off his fingers the long list of 'loose ends' you so kindly provided to him not a minute earlier. "Your family, your friends, your work place, and wherever else you believe a long absence will be alarming, please allow Lucifer to help you make it more palatable. I would hate for you to be jobless or homeless when you come back, of course!" He laughs, and you can only smile back weakly, knowing when it's a losing battle, to Lucifer's surprise.

You look to Lucifer again then with a mildly defeated expression, and the smile Lucifer gives you then is just a smidge more genuine as it is wry.

.

.

.

You follow Lucifer quietly through the portal that connects the Devildom to the human realm, only always a few steps behind. You are quick to jump in and lead the way once you are near where you were first summoned, and for the most part, the journey is oddly quiet.

Lucifer rather expected begging, or at least, more insistence on not being a part of the exchange program since you were so adamant a few hours prior. He is allowed into your home and, with reluctance, into your room as you pack some ammenities and extra clothing for your stay in the Devildom. "It's messy; don't look," you tell him, waving your hand in his line of sight. "I haven't had time to clean it and, well, I probably won't have time to now either."

"Diavolo granted us a few days to... settle your matters," Lucifer explains, glancing over at your open closet, to which you stand up and futilely attempt to block his view. "You can afford to take the time to clean up."

It's amusing to see you embarrassed of an unkempt room of all things after standing up for yourself in a room full of demons, but perhaps that was simply another human peculiarity.

"You sound like my mom," you mutter.

Lucifer glares. "What?"

"Nothing!" You sigh, shoving a set of clothes into a suitcase. "By the way, you think you can convince my work place to give me a whole year leave of absence?"

"I don't see why I would be unable to," Lucifer replies, trailing off. He watches as you take a small photo album from your drawer and place it into your suitcase pocket delicately. Your expression is wistful - a far cry from your earlier determination or previous irritation. You obviously have reasons not to leave for the Devildom, which makes him all the more curious as to why you've come willingly to say goodbye. It makes him pause before saying your name.

It's only when you turn to him quickly that he realizes it's the first time he's used it. Lucifer clears his throat before continuing, "You seem... to be reacting well to the exchange program, despite your initial hesitance."

"Oh, well." You look down at your packed suitcase. "I just thought the idea sounded... rather nice," you say, "despite how inconvenient it's been for me." You zip it up swiftly, with a finality. "Peace in all three realms-- I like that... even though the knowledge that heaven and hell actually exists is insane--"

A human believing in the dreams of a demon and giving him the benefit of the doubt. You must either be brave or foolish for going along with it-- or maybe both, Lucifer thinks, watching you clear out your desk. Perhaps he had chosen right with you, even if it was technically at random. Perhaps it was fate to bring a human that would fit right into the Devildom.

You stand up and turn to him with your luggage packed and ready, and Lucifer realizes then how quickly his annoyance turned into genuine interest. It's ridiculous to think about. Him? Invested in the fate of a human? Are all of them like you, he wonders.

"This clean enough?" You say almost teasingly, and Lucifer looks around before giving you a smirk. He's pleased to see you look down, cheeks warm and expression embarrassed because of him, before he can even respond. (Perhaps you are not so infallible...)

"I expect this level of cleanliness when you live in the House of Lamentation," he tells you with amusement. "I'll be checking ever so often, so try to keep the mess to a minimum."

"You really are the eldest brother," you say with a surprising amount of exasperated fondness. Before Lucifer can register how that makes him feel, you walk past him, saying something about having someone take care of your pet, and the moment is gone.

He watches you flit back and forth between rooms, putting your life in a neat box before you return to the Devildom with him, and briefly, he wonders if you could help him keep his brother in check rather than the other way around.

He supposes he will just have to watch over you to see what happens.