Alastor X Reader: Blood For Freedom

9. Dream Stalkers

*** Your POV ***

You made your way downstairs, to try to grab a snack or a drink or something really. You had gotten used to the silence of the night over the years, the bat part of you almost never letting you sleep all the way through it. But it still meant there was a lot of time to fill with not much to do during it.

As you walked past Husker's bar you saw a bottle of wine in the corner. So you walked up and leaned over the counter to grab it audibly saying "yoink" as you did so. Making a mental note that you'll have to give Husk the money for it in the morning.

Bottle in hand you made your way to the kitchen then rummaged through the fridge to find some cheeses and meats making yourself a little plate before jumping right up on the counter next to the sink, popping the bottle open. You found yourself a glass in the cabinet above you then poured yourself a hearty serving and dug into your make shift midnight snack. Humming quietly until you heard a slow and heavy set of footsteps, making you pause and look up.

In walked in Alastor, without his usual read suit. Instead he was just wearing a white button down that was a bit disheveled and not tucked in, with a pair of red plaid pajama pants. It looked like he was sleeping shirtless then threw the first thing he could find on to come down. When he made eye contact a brief expression of surprise came over his face.

"Alastor, what are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Part bat." You pointed at your little black ears, "Human part of me doesn't like to sleep during the day but the bat basically keeps me awake half the night. So I'm just forever cursed with a shit sleep schedule. You?"

"That is not for you to know." He replied curtly. Alastor was still smiling though it was a sleepy, forced one. That plus his mildly unfocused gaze and furrowed brow told you all you needed to know.

"Dream stalkers bothering you?" You ate another little piece of cheese, watching him get a water bottle from the fridge out of the corner of your eye.

"Dream what?" he asked unscrewing the top, voice still cold, his static a shrill.

"Dream stalkers, or I guess in this day they are more commonly called nightmares." Alastor was about to take a swig of the water but stopped eyeing you suspiciously. Inadvertently telling you that you were right on the money.

"I've had years of people coming to me with different ailments, not being able to sleep is one of many. I can tell." You explained, sensing that he did not like that you knew and seemed to assume you got your information by some nefarious means - again. Now what he thought that could be you had no idea, but your explanation at least made him breathe out and finally take a drink of his water.

"Yeah." He said after finishing a few gulps with a mild "ahh," at the end. He stopped looking at you as if self conscious his eyes would reveal anything more about him so you looked away yourself, instead staring at the stove. The two of you stayed there in a mildly awkward silence until Alastor made a few steps towards the counter and opened one of the upper cabinets - one that contained sleeping pills for some of the residents.

"I have something better than that to help you sleep." You said making Alastor, again, pause mid motion, his fingers on a little bottle still raised above his stag ears. He turned his head to you slowly as you showed him your wrist, he knew what you were implying immediately.

"You can make someone sleep too?" He asked uncertainly.

"Sure. And it won't make your head foggy in the morniiiing." You added a little singsong to your voice at the end as to make it sound more tempting. Apparently this was definitely an issue he has had before as it made him give a big sigh and place the pills back into the cabinet it then close it.

You took that as a yes and jumped off your perch, swiftly pulling your pocket knife out and flinging it open. It was a routine motion at this point, taking it out and placing it above your wrist to slash down. The pain didn't even make you flinch anymore, especially when compared to many other types of pain you've been put through before. You were about to cut your wrist open for Alastor when you were jolted by his fingers on it as he had grabbed your arm and moved it out of the way. You looked up at him confused, the blade still raised to where your wrist was a second ago.

"What's wrong?" You asked, trying not to focus on how warm and soft his hand was. The man seemed to have a perpetual fever with how hot he ran.

Alastor had a very complicated surge of emotion at the moment that caused him to grab your arm like that. Perhaps it was his half asleep delirium, he didn't really know. He had seen you open your wrist like that a couple of times now, and it made him uncomfortable. The monotone expression, the not even a thought as to cutting at your own flesh, and especially the complete lack of physical reaction to it. It felt uncanny to him.

"Apologies." He finally said, not letting go of your arm. "The way you do that so easily. It... bothers me." In his tired haze he couldn't come up with any real excuse.

You couldn't help but giggle a little with a small smile, you haven't had someone worry about that for as long as you could remember. "You are sweet." When you said that Alastor's insides clenched a little at the words. He was not able to remember the last time someone called him "sweet" either. Catching himself falling into thought, he made a split second decision to play with you a bit.

"Allow me." Alastor pulled your arm towards him, due to you being quite a bit shorter than him it meant you ended up a lot closer even with your arm fully outstretched. The moment your wrist reached his lips he opened his mouth and you could see the large elongated fangs come out briefly before he sank them into your flesh. The sensation caused a brief shudder to go through you, but not due to pain. He drank deeply for a few seconds before pulling away, giving the bite marks an indulgent lick before letting go. His eyes half lidded as he watched your expression. It was your saving grace that neither of you had thought to flip the lightswitch on, so the only source of light was the couple of windows with the red glow of the pentagram coming from them. Otherwise Alastor would have had full view of your flushed red cheeks and flustered expression.

"So it doesn't bother you if you do it?" You asked sheepishly retracting your arm but standing your ground. You knew the game, he was trying to get a rise out of you with his antics. Unfortunately it was working - but you weren't going to give him that so easily.

"No. I am a cannibal, so now its only natural." Alastor shrugged, his previously forced smile turning into a genuine sly grin.

"Uh-huh, sweet and strange. My favorite." You coed in a slightly teasing tone, watching the marks on your arm heal rapidly due to your blood doing its work. Now it was Alastor's turn to thank the dim lighting, because he took a small half step away placing a few fingers over his face, as if he was checking it in shock at the heat that came to it.

"You should get to bed, the stuff acts quick, you'll be out like a light shortly." You decided to let him know - it was true you gave him a mix of sleep agent, anti-anxiety, and even little bit of muscle relaxant. Alastor didn't know it yet but he was about to get some of the best sleep a man could have.

Alastor nodded and made his way out of the kitchen, clearly already feeling a little sluggish, to the point that he thought better of making his way up the stairs and instead just melted into shadows to teleport to his room.

You watched finishing your plate and glass of wine, smiling a little as you watched Alastor get more tired with each step before he melted away. It made you happy to help in general, but it made you especially happy to help Alastor.