Come Hell or High Water - Striker x Reader (18+)

90. The Party, Pt. 1

---

"Hey, Striker?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you still love me if I was a worm?"

"What the fuck?"

I laughed at his response and said from the bathroom, "It's just a silly thing people would ask their partners back when I was alive."

I heard him groan from the living room. "Humans are so fuckin' weird."

I set my flat iron down on the bathroom counter and poked my head out the door, peering at him on the couch and barking half-jokingly, "Answer the question!"

A bewildered expression painted his features for a moment before he lowered his head and brought a hand to his face, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "For fuck's sake," he grumbled. "Fine. Yes, I would."

I grinned smugly and returned to fixing my hair. "You sure I can't convince you to come with me?"

"I don't think so, darlin'," he replied. "Parties aren't really my thing. 'Sides, things didn't turn out too good the last time I went to the Pentagram."

I cringed at the memory of the night before he left for his last job, and how the friendly staff at my and Alastor's favorite restaurant turned out to not be as friendly as we'd thought. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

After finishing my makeup and hair, I scurried to the bedroom to slip on my outfit for the party: a sleeveless form-fitting black dress and blocky heels gifted to me by Angel Dust when I was still staying at the hotel. After adorning myself with matching jewelry and the rattlesnake necklace Striker had given me, I grabbed the leather jacket I'd picked out and walked into the living room.

Striker glanced at me briefly when I entered the room, then quickly did a double-take, and I felt an admittedly great deal of satisfaction in how he hungrily eyed my body.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath, but collected himself and stood to his feet, circling the couch to approach me. "What do you wanna go to some stupid party for, anyway?" He rested his hands on my ass and pressed our hips together as he purred against my lips, "We can have all kinds o' fun right here, darlin'."

I smirked at him and gently pulled his hands away. "Because I want to support my friends," I said in a lighthearted tone. "And I see you all the time now — I hardly get to see any of them anymore."

He fixed me with a stern gaze when I donned my leather jacket and grabbed my keys. "You do realize that the only reason I'm lettin' you go by yourself — like that — is 'cause you'll be with your friends the whole time, right?"

I giggled. "I figured. But I appreciate you letting me have some of my independence back." I unlocked the front door and turned back to him. "The Extermination isn't until next week — I'll be fine. And if I have too much to drink, Charlie said she'd let me crash at the hotel until I sober up. But I'll let you know if that happens, okay?"

Striker's eyes fell to the rattlesnake necklace around my neck, and he held the copper pendant in his fingers for a moment, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I'll keep you posted," I said as I opened the door. "I love you."

Striker grabbed my wrist before I could take a step out the door and bent down to plant a soft kiss on my lips.

"Be careful," he murmured.

I smiled up at him and nodded. "I will. I'll see you later."

---