Fear and Delight (Alastor x Reader)

Chapter 23

He refused to let go of you when you had put your head down. Some part of you was always in his grasp and he made sure not to let you slip away from him. A proud smile was on his face the whole night and it made you toss and turn so much that you finally sat up in the middle of the night. His head tilted as he looked at you, his voice quiet, "Darling, aren't you going to sleep?"

"Why'd you do it," you asked. He stared for a moment, his hand reaching over and his knuckles rubbing your cheek gently.

"I love you squirming in fear, my dear. But this was getting far more invasive than it needed to be," Alastor sighed softly and leaned forward. You blinked as his forehead rested on yours. His eyes were closed and the grin on his face was gentle, holding an air of a loving nature. Your face darkened when his eyes opened and he snickered. "Darling, is anything the matter?"

"I-I don't get it," you mumbled. He hummed and shifted closer to you, taking your hands and kissing your knuckles.

"What is there to get, darling? I simply hold affections for you I haven't held in so many, many years. Forgive me the motive for that display," he snickered. He rubbed his nose to yours, the affection alien from him. His nose was cold and you found yourself wanting to kiss it to warm it up. You stared at him and rubbed your head, slowly laying back down while holding one of his hands.

"So," you shifted a bit and played with his fingers, your voice getting quiet, "This isn't-isn't one-sided?" He blinked and stared, leaning down to look closer at your face. His smile grew wider and he placed a small kiss on your forehead.

"Ah, I thought you revered me as something other than a candidate for your heart," he snickered. "I asked earlier out of curiosity."

"Who did you think I was talking about? You're the only man that isn't preoccupied with something else," you covered your face quickly, your ears back.

"Well, Husk could have gotten his fingers in there somewhere. Angel is undeniably a homosexual," Alastor sighed and sat back, looking you over. "You could have been speaking of James but the little encounter today proved otherwise. It was quite a show, wasn't it? Does Charlie know what he's done?"

You slowly nodded, moving your hands and looking into the glowing red eyes, "She was the first to know outside of you. That's why we talk." He nodded and pulled his coat off, laying it neatly across the chair. He grazed his claws on your cheek and laid down next to you, staring. His lips were closed in their smirk and his fingers played with your hair.

"Rest up, darling. You're never going to get better if you don't," he chuckled.

You turned over, staring at the wall and groaning at the soreness in your body. It felt like every muscle had been torn apart and stitched back together. You moved onto your back, staring at the ceiling and blinking as a grinning shadow with an eery resemblance to Alastor looked down on you. You had seen it before but here it was, in full view and staying still long enough for you to take it in completely. You waved sheepishly, your cheeks growing hot. It waved back at you, it's smile growing as it slid off of the ceiling and into a dark corner.

You took a deep breath and pulled yourself out of the bed, taking in the familiar fog that surrounded your ankles. The crickets were chirping, trying to lull you back into your sleep even as you stood up. To the bathroom first, and then to change; you had to mentally go through the routine for your body to move. It was slow and by the time you were making your way down the stair in a new dress with your clipboard an hour and a half had flown by. You sighed as you stood in the elevator, the shadow still next to you.

You looked at it again, blinking as it didn't take its eyes off of you, "Hello?" It shrunk a bit to try and get away, stopping and seemingly giving up on the notion as it grew back to its full size. You smiled a bit at it and walked out when the doors opened, blinking and stopping. Angel was sitting at the bar with Husk and Charlie, whispers coming from the small circle. You couldn't help but frown before you turned to walk towards an empty hall. You still had to plan the drinking event or at least gather together everything you needed for it.

You went about the day slowly like that, unsure if anyone but Alastor and his shadow helper knew you were up. Niffty was soon to zap into the room when you finished setting up the spots for the drinks, her single eye widened and a small shout of surprise escaping her little mouth.

"You're awake," she cried. You nodded and smiled softly at her, finishing up one of the long table's centerpiece.

"Hello," you hummed. She jumped up and down and hugged your leg, giggling.

"You were asleep so long I didn't know if you had died a second time or not," she cried. You blinked and patted her head as she smiled up at you. "And Alastor has been working hard too! Charlie was about to make him wake you up and Angel was getting antsy! Husk even started looking like he was going to go get you!"

You laughed a bit, shaking your head, "Well, I'm awake now." She cheered and bounced around, giggling as she bolted from the room. It wasn't long before Angel slammed the door open, staring at you and looking you over.

"Sugar Lips! You devious cunt," he cried. He was on you in moments, lifting you and hugging you tightly. Charlie followed and squealed, hugging you when you were put down just as tightly if not tighter. You laughed awkwardly, your ears flicking.

"What happened? How long was I asleep," you watched as the shadow hid in a dark corner, it's eyes still watching.

"A few days. Are you sure you're okay to be walking around? We weren't sure when you'd get up I mean, you transformed twice without any sleep," Charlie held your hands and got close to your face. You smiled a bit and nodded, pulling your hands away as they started to shake. The nagging in your throat made itself known and you shifted awkwardly.

"I'm-I'm okay. Just sore," you laughed nervously before straightening up and motioning around the room. "Everything's ready for the next even. The date hasn't passed by for it has it?"

"Nope! That's why we were going to go get you," Angel snickered. "You weren't in your room and Alastor said you weren't in his so we started looking for you."

"Well, here I am," you dug your claws into the clipboard as your eyes started focusing on their chests. This would turn south quickly if you didn't get out. You were starving. Your tails were moved into your hands and your ears clung to the sides of your head. The doors opened again and Alastor walked in slowly, his hands behind his back. Relief filled you but not enough to push aside the uneasy feeling in your chest.

"Darling! It's so nice to see you finally well," he sang out loudly. You nodded a bit, looking down at the ground. "You should go and eat, darling. I'm sure you went straight into work when you woke up." 

"I made some lasagna," Angel piped up. YOu stared at him, smiling softly as the whole thing went over his head. "My mom's recipe."

"It's not that hunger I'm trying to feed," Alastor snickered. Your face turned dark as Angel blinked and a sudden smirk covered his face. He took it the wrong way for sure or was just taking advantage of the wording.

"You sly dog," Angel laughed. Vaggie, in her silence, had somehow slipped in and elbowed the spider in the chest.

"Please don't refer to me as such," Alastor laughed. "We'll be back shortly, my friends." Al's hand closed around yours and you were pulled from the group quickly. The door shut behind you and soft lips were placed on your forehead. You looked up at the large smirk on his face and he twirled you around before you could focus on his eyes. "Shall we go for a stroll? I'm sure some fresh air will be good for you.

You nodded a bit as he kept walking, "Yeah. I need something fresh."

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Hey, so there will be a lemon. I know I've built parts up to one but never fell through and that's because I want to stick as close to canonical character as possible. There will be one but I don't know when due to this. I just thought I would put this out there since I know that I like lemons just like the next person. Thank you.