The Sandman Oneshots & Headcanons

Held By Bloody Hands (The Corinthian x Reader)

It was one of those extremely gray mornings, the ones that people knew would turn into a storm any moment. There were people milling about, of course, but so many of them would be constantly glancing up at the sky. They were obviously in a hurry to get their errands done and get home.

Not the Corinthian, however. He liked days like that, liked the feeling of probably incoming chaos. The energy, the electricity in the air was unlike most other feelings.

He was sitting on a bench, relaxed at watching the people walk by. Possibly scoping out his next victim. However, those possible plans were ruined by the loud sounds of a dog barking.

"Woah, woah." A human was gripping the leash of the dog, obviously having a hard time controlling. "I'm sorry, I'd say she's not normally like this, but she is. She hates me too." Their apologetic tone brought a smile to his face as he stood up. Mainly to avoid getting pounced on by the animal.

"It's all good, I get that a lot. She yours?" His response was friendly, easy. His smile was just the same. Animals didn't quite like Nightmares, barking dogs and hissing cats were fairly normal.

"No, I'm just looking after her for a friend. She's staying with me for the weekend." They was looking at the dog, holding it steady by the collar. "The dog, not the friend."

"I figured that, not much of a day for a walk, though." The Corinthian joked, causing them to finally look up at him with a small grin.

When they did, he immediately knew what they were. Having been in this world for over a century, he knew a witch when he saw one. That magic touched look in their eyes. That power that rose from their bodies like invisible steam.

"Yeah, but she's really intense if she doesn't get a walk." It appeared that while he knew their kind, they didn't recognize was he was. Which was a bit of a relief. Witches were powerful enough to to make him uneasy about getting in their bad sides.

But they just looked up at him. The small smile still on their face and an eyebrow raised "Not much of a day for sunglasses, though." Their comment echoed his earlier words.

"I've got a condition, my eyes react badly to light, any light."

It was his normal excuse, but they looked embarrassed to have made him give it. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have commented. That was rude."

But he brushed their apologies away. Still smiling and still charming. That facade of a good person came naturally at this point. "Nah, say whatever you want. I'm fine with it."

(Y/N) paused, looking up at that man. He seemed really nice, all charm and pretty smiles. He wasn't bad looking either. But looks could be deceiving, and he could be Ted Bundy charming instead of hallmark movie charming.

Still, they knew how to take care of themself. Knew how to get rid of bad things.

So, they smiled back at him, taking the chance. "Alright. You wanna join us on our walk?"

The smile he gave was wide and crooked, almost teasing. Like he knew a secret he wasn't going to share, but he couldn't believe you didn't already know it. "I'd love to."

While they had only meant to take a short walk, they ended up walking until it started raining. Too invested in conversation to stop. Then, the mystery man pulled out an umbrella and they kept walking.

"God, she's so gonna stink up my apartment when I get home." (Y/N) half laughed, half groaned. The dog was soaked.

The Corinthian chuckled. "Sure looks like it. You want me to walk you home?" They were just outside of the park, (Y/N) just about to go home.