The Gamble (Alastor x Reader)

Chapter 37

Alastor POV

The last thing I had remembered before the world went black was watching my beautiful Y/N sob. Her speech was broken, my ears had only grasped bits of what she was saying to me. The look on her face was one I would remember forever.

She looked heart broken. The smile I loved to see on her face wiped clean off, appearing almost as if it would never come back. I wanted to hold her more than anything, tell her that it was all okay, I wanted to see her smile for me again. But the world went fuzzy, then faded into black.

Before my eyes was a beautiful scene. Gorgeous woods with a dark blue sky, lit up by the moon's light and the stars around it. I couldn't help but walk through them, as I walked deeper I saw a clearing. In it, I found a large willow tree, a figure sat beside it. So naturally, I went to introduce myself. To my surprise, it was Y/N. I tried to say hello, but when I did so she didn't answer me. When I tried to get her attention, she made no movement.

I've watched the sun come up and the moon come out many times now. I could hear her speaking, crying, saying my name. But when I tried to respond, I went unnoticed. My love would never be so cruel as to ignore me. So, I finally came to the conclusion that I was simply unable to be seen or heard. My hand was always in hers, and she was always with be by the willow tree. If she was ever gone, it was only for a few minutes before she would return and take my hand in hers. I would listen to her cry, watch her as she slept periodically, listen to her hum or try to sing for me. Yet her voice was something I hadn't heard much, and I yearned to have her speak to me. To hear her words filter through my ears and make my heart flutter from her voice alone.

As the days went on, she looked more and more tired. It pained me to see my flower wilt and be unable to do anything about it. The others would come by the willow tree, but they never stayed long. They would always ask if she was alright then see if I had "made any progress" which confused me.

Just like always, my darling was by my side, hand in mine. She was humming a sorrowful tune, when her father stepped in and placed a hand on her shoulder. They talked for a moment, him convincing her to take care of herself. It hurt to know she wasn't doing so, but I smiled softly when she agreed and placed a kiss on my forehead, disappearing from the tree.

I didn't know of my condition outside of my head, but everyone seemed awfully worried. "She's real worried about you, boss.." my attention turned to Husker, I had never heard him speak so quietly before.

Tears bubbled in in his eyes, threatening to fall. "I won't lie to you, at first I hated your guts. But over the years I've been indebted to you, never once have you treated my daughter wrong. Even if she didn't like you at first, you guys have come really far together. Now listen, you may be a jackass eight times outta ten," I rolled my eyes at his unnecessary insult at the end, "but you're real important to my little ace. And, you're a pretty decent guy when it comes to treating her right. I didn't approve of you at first cause I was scared of you hurting her, but..."

I watched him put a hand in the pocket of his trousers, "we were lookin' through the rubble of the hotel, tryin' to find anything of value to us before they cleared it." I narrowed my eyes in confusion, then widened when I realized. 'Oh shit... no no no that means-,' before I was able to finish my thought he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. A silent sigh of relief left my mouth, "I uh... found this, while we were lookin around." Husk smiled down at the velvet box, thinking of what to say next. "figured it was Charlie's or maybe Vaggie's or somethin' like that... but then I looked inside." He opened the small box, showing off the black band forest themed band accessorized with small rubies and a large oval cut ruby in the center. "Don't think that's this is somethin' either of them would wear."

He smiled down at the ring, a soft look on his face. Then, his ears twitched, something I noticed Y/N does when she hears something off in the distance. Husk closed the box and set it back in his pocket, wiping away his previous tears. Just as he fixed himself up, Y/N appeared behind her father, "has he moved at all?" Her hair was wet and the blood and dirt that had been on her previously was gone. I hadn't heard her speak much these past few days, and the sound of her voice, though it wasn't filled with her usual attitude and excitement, it made my heart flutter in my chest.

My eyes scanned her body, seeing her in a pair of silk pajamas I had given her to match my own after she kept stealing mine. The memory made me smile, she and I had ran all around the house after I caught her stealing one of my shirts again. As I looked her over, I noticed a long scar on her upper arm, though it was fully healed, it still looked new. I assumed it was from our fight... had it been that long her injury had time to heal?

He shook his head softly, "afraid not sweetheart. I'll keep an eye on him, go get yourself something to eat." I watched as she gave him a nod and turned to look at me. After, she hesitantly left, disappearing from the forest yet again. As much as I wanted her to stay with me, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders that I hadn't even known was there. Just knowing that she was doing things to care for herself. "I want you to know, if you wake up.." he pat my hand firmly while he looked down, "I will happily allow you to marry my little girl."

I had gotten his blessing without even getting the chance to ask for it. But even then, I was thrilled to have gotten it. I needed to "wake up" ask Husker had put it. The condition that my physical body was in wouldn't keep me from the future I wanted to have with Y/N. I hadn't noticed a tear fall from my eyes in pure and utter happiness, He looked back up at me, quickly wiping away his own tears as if to not let me see him cry. His arm fell from his face and his eyes fell on me, a shocked expression casted his face, rendering me confused as I watched the forest around us fade away into the darkness of the shadows yet again.