Alastor X Reader: Blood For Freedom

75. On Fire

***I do recommend putting the song on in the background when you get to it, really helps the atmosphere

*** Your POV ***

Its been a couple of weeks since the battle, and Alastor hasn't gone back to the hotel at all since the day he came back with a bunch of his stuff. Today, as the light of the pentagram dimmed for the evening, he led you outside by your fingertips.

Alastor had lined the walk way of the forest with string lights illuminating the path. It looked beautiful in the dimmed pine forest, like stars showing the way. You walked hand in hand, just taking in the smell and ambiance for a few minutes. You broke the comfortable silence with a quiet question. 

"So, what's next?" Alastor looked at you briefly before figuring out that you meant in general, now that the battle was done and everything was slowing down.

"Well, the original plan," He cocked his head the side, and his eyebrows domed briefly in emphasis, "was to get my soul back, mentor Charlie into a proper ruler of hell and pull the strings from the shadows."

"Ambitious!" You giggled, Alastor gave a small chuckle in response. "And... now?" You prompted tentatively.

"Now... well the thing is, I'm..." There was a long pause like he was mustering courage, taking a big breath and exhaling to push out the next word, "tired."

His shoulders sagged, like all the fatigue from the past century suddenly sat on them all at once. You gave his hand a squeeze in encouragement and he glanced up briefly to look at your face with a melancholic but indisputably loving smile before he continued with a small, exhausted voice, "All the planning, the scheming, the thinking eight steps ahead of everyone else. I'm good at it, but it has taken its toll. I feel like if I keep going like this I'm bound to slip up sooner or later loosing my life in the process. Or worse, loosing you. And I just... I can't. And I feel like a failure for it. Like finally after near a century hell has won, and I can't fight it anymore."

"I'm sorry..." You looked away. "I'm sorry if I made it that way." It felt like he was upset that your presence meant he could no longer be the Radio Demon he has worked towards being for his entire afterlife. And it made you feel guilty, selfish even for imposing yourself on him like you did. But Alastor protested;

"No, no. No." His voice became more stern with each one, "No. Do not apologize for pulling me out of this inevitably crashing hell train. That's not what I am saying at all. It's just in the process my priorities seem to have changed. You are worth to me more than all of hell could ever give me. But as a result I just can't be the same Radio Demon anymore."

"If that's the case then recognizing that your priorities have changed is not failing." As you continued walking you rubbed the back of Alastor's hand with your thumb, "And hell didn't win, you just found a different win condition." You gave him a glance out of the corner of your eye, "Which is quite on brand for the Radio Demon, don't you think?"

"Hah," Alastor scoffed, his smile become more relaxed as he put a hand on his forehead then racked his fingers through his hair, "I guess it is, yes."

You walked up to a small gazebo in the thick of woods, the lights strung up everywhere. Black and red flowers adorned the planters around it, and their petals littered the floor. On a small table, tucked away in the corner there was an old school radio. Alastor led you to the middle of the petals, giving you a kiss on the forehead and looking into your eyes with passion. 

"Honor me with a dance?" He asked, brining your hand to his lips.

"Always." You smiled and gave him a little curtsy.