A Lesson
"Aaaand you still suck!"
Husk curses and pounds his head on the bar with a loud groan. You grin as you collect the bills placed on the counter and place them into your bra. Husk sighs and shakes his head,"How the fuck do you always win?"
You shrug nonchalantly and stand up from the stool with a soft sigh,"Ah you are just terrible at cards. But I think I'm going to head in its quite late." You stand up from the stool, wobbling a bit on your heels. Husk looks to you and can see the exhaustion in your wide red eyes.
Rounding the bar he steps in front of you and rubs the nape of his neck,"Are you okay?...I mean that outburst earlier wasn't...really you." He inquires with a bit of a worried tone. You look up into his eyes and let out a humorless chuckle while nodding.
Truth be told you had changed quite a lot. Both in your life and death. You realized you needed to not be pushed and walked over anymore. If anything you grew stronger. Physically and mentally. But you couldn't contain yourself when your eyes met with the woman who technically caused everything to be taken from you.
"I know. But I just couldn't contain myself...",you run a hand through your white locks. Your gaze falls to the ground before looking up at Husk and wrapping your arms around his waist. Husk stiffens at your touch for a few moments, you lean your head against his chest. You can hear the quickening beat of his heart.
Husk's arms wrap around you and he bends down slightly. For a moment you both bask in the embrace before you pull away and he chuckles,"Is it fucked up for me to say I'm glad you're here?"
You laugh lightly and gently shove his shoulder,"Goodnight Husk." He watches as you walk away and down the hall. He smiles fondly and feels his heart race and cheeks warm.
As you make your way up the steps you push your white locks from your face and feel light. You were in a good mood due to Husk and Angel's company today and to be quite honest the alcohol wasn't bad.
Reaching into your boot you pull out the skeleton key and unlock the door to your room. With a heavy sigh you step in and smile at the sight of your shopping bags just aside the bed. Walking over you sit aside them and begin to unzip your boots.
A warmer smile spreads across your lips at the sticky note with a smiley face on one of the bags. You took a mental note to thank Niffty more thoroughly next time you saw her. You slipped off your boots and set them aside the bed with a gentle smile.
"Hello, my dear."
Your smile fell in just a matter of seconds at the sound of that voice. Inhaling sharply you jump up and look just across the room to see Alastor sitting on the couch, he slowly rises to his feet. His hands clasped behind him.
Your brows pinch together and you swallow hard while meeting his eyes. As he walks towards you, you find yourself glued in place. His eyes hold an array of emotions and his lips aren't up in his usual cheshire grin. Instead they rest in a soft frown.
"Get out.",you manage to choke out as he comes closer. Soon enough he's in front of you and looking at you through his monocle. His glowing red eyes glance down and across your features.
He had your face imprinted in his mind throughout his entire decades here, he needed to remember your new one. You avert your gaze quickly.
You barely realized his hand was shaking when he reached up and curled his fingers beneath your chin. Your heart grew heavy and the anger you felt the first time you saw him had eased. Sadness was now taking over.
"You can't even look at me...?",your eyes widen slightly at the unsteady way Alastors voice comes out. Its strangely soft and pained.
Your bottom lip quivers once more as he turns your chin to face him. Your eyes don't meet his, though. Alastor feels his heart ache and crack.
"(Y/N)...",he says softly and you feel a tear slip down your cheek. Shoving him away roughly he stumbles back and you feel your breathing grow heavier.
"Why?"
Alastor is taken back by the hurt that one word portrayed. Yet he cleared his throat and regained his composure with slight confusion,"Whatever do you—"
You step towards him and shove him once more with more tears falling rapidly,"Why? Why! Why did you do that!?" You cry out while your hands grip at his red pinstriped coat. Your head hangs and Alastors jaw tightens and he swallows hard.
He finds it difficult to stabilize his voice,"I'm—I'm—" He's unable to get out his words as your hands grasp at the fabric tighter. He didn't know why he killed all of them. He knew how much you loved Vox and Angel yet he still killed them alongside Valentino and Velvet.
He couldn't imagine the pain you felt at losing them. He couldn't imagine, nor did he want to imagine, how much you hated him for taking them away from you.
Your hands fall from his shirt and you step back while shaking your head. His face is grave as he sees the tears streaming down your rosy cheeks and the hurt behind them,"Why did you take away everything I love...?"
Alastor looks up at you and shakes his head,"I don't know...I couldn't stand the idea of Vox taking you away and Angel was just...so incessant I-"
"It wasn't just them!"
Alastors eyes widen and he leans back as you shout this at him. He feels confusion riddle his cloudy mind as your chest heaves up and down, his brows pinch together,"What do you mean?"
Your eyes narrow and your brows pinch together,"You killed yourself. You took away the only two people I had left in the world...and then you left me. I-I don't know whats wrong with me but...I could have forgiven you had you stayed..." Your gaze falls to the ground and tears fall onto the red carpet.
Alastor gets a sudden realization as he steps forward with parted lips and wide eyes.
//You aren't resentful of me because I killed them...you're resentful because I left with them...//
"(Y/N). I had—" You step back from his hand as it reaches out and you sniffle as you turn your back to him.
"But you didn't. You left me alone! How could you do that to me! You were more selfish to me than I had ever been to you!",you whip back around and poke at his chest while hot tears fall down your rosy cheeks. He looks down at you and is quick to grab your wrist before you can slap him once more. He grabs ahold of your other wrist when you try once more.
Swallowing hard you shook your head while looking into his eyes.
You spent decades bottling up all you felt. Not hopeful you'd ever see any of your loved ones again. Never feeling what you felt with Alastor again. Never letting yourself. You wanted to hate him so badly, to never see him or speak with him.
But as he held your wrists and allowed you to sob against his chest you wanted nothing more than for him to embrace you as he did so many times before. Your voice is cracked and shaky,"You left me when I needed you..."
Alastors arms fall to wrap around your waist. He pulls you close and for a moment you resist but he's persistent and stronger. You give in and lean against his touch, basking in the embrace you had forgotten the feeling of.
"I thought I was doing what was best by ridding myself...",he said and you felt your heart weaving together.
Then Alastor said something he never said before. Something he truly meant and something he could not ever say enough.
"I'm sorry, (Y/N). I love you.",he utters in your ear while holding you close. Your heart shakes and pounds as he says this. Before he can stop you you pull away from his embrace. You blink out the rest of your hot tears.
You hug yourself, wrapping your arms around your waist. Your bitterness was still present yet...
//I still love him...//
Of course you would not let it be known. With rapid blinks and wiping away your tears from your hot cheeks you sigh heavily,"Please leave....for now." You finished off while looking away from him. Alastor felt his jaw tighten and he nodded slowly, although the last part of that statement made his hope rise.
He knew you loved him. But maybe he needed to try a different way to assure you don't leave him. Maybe...he needed to be rational and calm for once.
"As you wish my dear."
With that you found yourself alone in the room. You inhaled shakily and felt your brows pinch together. Wiping your tears you looked around the empty room.
//Fuck this.//
Overwhelmed and emotional you needed a distraction. And that distraction could possibly be downstairs still.
Husk looks up up from the ice chest upon hearing the sound of footsteps and his eyes fall to you. Your nose is redder than usual and cheeks as much,"Hey are you—Woah!" He exclaims as you grab his tie and drag him away from the bar. He furrows his brows as you drag him down the hall and he stops you by grabbing your wrist.
"Fuckin' eh, (Y/N). What are you doin'?",he asks and you frown slightly while turning to him. Your heart flutters in a strange way as your eyes flicker from his golden ones to his lips. You flick your wrist so your now holding the back of his hand.
"Come to my room?",you inquire in a soft voice and Husk is confused for a moment until you take his hand and press it against your cheek. "What do you—mean..."
His eyes widen as you let his thumb press against your bottom lip. He nearly passed out when your tongue runs up the pad of his thumb. Your voice is soft once more, as you release his hand and grab his tie. Pulling him down close your lips brush against his ear,"Do you want to have another kind of rematch?"
You didn't need to ask him again.
Alastor sat in his study and leaned his head back. Snapping his fingers a glass of alcohol appeared in his hand. Suddenly he felt a stinging to his heart. With a sharp inhale through clenched teeth he leaned forward. The glass disappeared and he gripped his chest.
He felt a bad feeling in his stomach and he manifested his cane. Tapping it against the ground shadows oozed down from the walls.
Their eyes glowed different neon shades as they cocked their heads and looked to Alastor. He pinched the bridge of his nose,”Tell me what’s causing this.” The shadows immediately ooze into the ground and slip past the walls.
Not even a few minutes later they return looking frightened. Alastors eyes narrow and he taps his cane against the floor once more. Coming from the eye in the middle of the mic a black and white projection.
//“Are you sure about this?...”//
Alastors eyes widen.
//“Yeah...”//
Alastor looks away from the wall and cover his mouth. Standing up static surrounds him and his fingers seem to crack as they grow. His black pupils shift to a different shape and his cheshire grin spreads across his lips. Snapping his fingers he looks to his shadows.
Murderous didn’t even begin to describe what he felt. He chuckled darkly and his dark antlers grew.
//To hell with rationality and calmness.//
“Teach him a lesson.”