Red Thread of Hate

I.M.P

“Let’s switch roles.”

Alastor looked at you blankly, as if he was processing exactly what you had said, and you could almost see the gears turning in his mind.  You didn't break eye contact with him, almost defiantly looking him straight in the eyes. Then he laughed softly and then the chuckle turned into a loud laugh and he doubled over and you rolled your eyes. You didn't try to interrupt him, you couldn't get past the sound of his loud voice anyway, so you waited patiently for him to stop and calm down. You crossed your arms and leaned back in your seat expectantly, watching him laugh, obviously convinced you were joking.
Only after a few minutes did he stop and straighten up, wiping black tears from the corners of his eyes. However, you refused to think whether he had black tears or eyeliner. At least for now. Maybe you'll think about it later.

“Are you done?” you asked dryly, still watching him with slight annoyance

“I didn't expect you to be so good at jokes, darling!” he laughed briefly, quieting down when he saw your serious look 

“I wish I was joking right now. But I was not.” you commented “Think about it. It's very simple, you have already demonstrated that you are better at doing what I am ordered to do. I can't do it, but I think I can make money quite well. What I-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” he interrupted you, changing his tone completely from amused to disbelieving, but you sensed anger. “So now you think you can give me fines and orders?”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise, and the atmosphere in the room changed 180°. It seemed that the fact that he brought you dinner, conjured up a table and an armchair, was forgotten in favor of the fact that you provided an idea to solve the problem. Or at least what you called a solution, because he apparently took it as an insult at the very least. At least that's the impression you got from his change in behavior. But you couldn't be sure of anything with Alastor.

“Don't think you can fool me, my dear.” he almost hissed, eyes open almost as wide as his smile “Maybe your hiding it as a solution to the problem made you think you'd win it to your advantage, but I assure you, you're on the losing end.”

“What?” you rose from your chair, standing face to face with him. Or face to chest, considering your short height. “Do you see conspiracy everywhere? I want to fucking live here normally! I have neither the time nor the skills to try to ‘fool you’, as you put it! I just want to eat, have a place to live, and have my own money!” you raised your voice, almost screaming at him

“Are you trying to convince me that you wouldn't try it if you had the chance?” he leaned over you, looking straight into your eyes from above  “We both don't like each other, to put it mildly. And don't think I'll believe you, honey, that you wouldn't take advantage of any opportunity-”

“Do you fucking hear what you're saying?” you interrupted him, disbelief echoing in your voice. You always had some admiration for his ability to figure out his opponents, but at this point it was a joke. How could he possibly think that you would do something like that against someone who was a fucking Overlord, ha, against someone who was at least five times stronger than you? You had no desire to die in pain and suffering! “I'm not stupid and I'm not doing anything against you right now because I want to remind you that we are stuck in this shit together! And I thought that maybe since we theoretically have one enemy and one problem, we could agree on how to deal with it!” you spread your hands because it was obvious to you “But I see that it is simply impossible to work with you!”

You panted after shouting it, feeling your blood boil and your cheeks burn with anger. You didn't understand, you couldn't fathom how he came up with such an idea. And horror of horrors, he literally had your soul, even if you wanted to do something, you practically had no possibility because it could be equal to instantly destroying you from the face of hell. You could make a whole list about why it was obvious you wanted cooperation, not hostility.