The dark side of the pentagram OC x Alastor (English ver.)

Trust

TW: Injuries

I dragged Alastor into my room behind me and closed the door. Only then did I turn to him and let go of his arm. I bit my lip when I noticed his slightly strained smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." I sighed, annoyed with myself, then pointed to my bed.

"Sit down, I'll get a first aid kit." Surprisingly, he obeyed without another word and even let me take his hand and pull up his sleeve.

I inhaled sharply, it looked even worse up close. The bruises were so dark that they appeared almost black, and I also noticed horrible-looking scars of all sorts stretching palely across his ashen skin.

I ran my fingers lightly over the injuries, searching his face for any sign of discomfort. At first glance, everything seemed as usual, but then I noticed that his eyes seemed to be looking through me, his pupils were slightly dilated.

I waited a moment, worried, but he didn't flinch, so I decided to tend to his wounds first. None of us said a word as I, as carefully as I could, smeared the bruises with heparin-based ointment, wrapped them in bandages, and secured them with tape. He didn't even blink.

When I was finished, I pulled his sleeves back down and gently placed his arms in his lap. Then I cleared my throat: "Al?", no response. I placed a light hand on his knee: "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

A barely noticeable shiver ran through his body. "No," he said quietly. He slowly raised his eyes and the vulnerability I could see in them made me realize what an idiot I had been.

I had been so anxious to get answers that I hadn't considered how much trust his actions demonstrated in me. I was allowed to care for his wounds, touch him and be with him in vulnerable moments.

He showed immense trust in me with all these little things, so I decided to trust him too. If it was something serious, he would talk to me.

Damn, I had become quite possessive in such a short time. He was an adult, much more powerful than me and possessed much more knowledge about hell and its laws. Plus, we barely knew each other!

Heavens, and I was already acting like he was accountable to me. I stood up and held out a hand. Hesitantly and with a strange look in his eyes, he took it and pulled himself up.

"You... Aren't you going to make me tell you where I've been?" he asked, as if he expected me to use our deal to force him. My stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought, but I didn't show it and smiled at him.

"Nope. You'll tell me if it's something serious, I trust you." He stared at me speechless, his jaw dropped slightly. I gently squeezed his jaw and grinned.

"Close your mouth, it's pulling!" A short, awkward moment of silence followed. Then Alastor started laughing loudly and heartily, his honest, completely static-free voice bouncing off the walls and stirring up a whole swarm of butterflies that then raced excitedly through my body.

His laugh was so contagious that I couldn't help but join in. Finally his laughter turned into an almost feminine giggle, he spun his microphone pole around and patted me on the shoulder.

His broad beam warmed my chest, I had learned that if I wanted to know his true emotions I had to pay attention to his eyes and now the rest of his face matched the smile.

"Oh wonderful, my dear, I haven't laughed so much since the stock market crash of 1929! Now I know who to come to when I need cheering up after a most embarrassing defeat at the hands of this under-resourced piece of new-fangled technology."

He winked at me while two emotions were fighting for the upper hand inside me; Irritation because he apparently found it funny when people were driven to suicide because their livelihoods were destroyed, and incredible relief because his injuries must have come from a fight with Vox.

Now his reticence made sense, he always bragged about being a lot stronger than the TV demon, it would definitely have been uncomfortable for him if anyone had gotten wind of his defeat. Husk and Angel would have teased him about it forever.

Relieved, I offered him my arm: "Charlie wanted to discuss something with us about the fiasco of the extermination meeting, will you come downstairs too?".

His smile narrowed a bit: "Unfortunately I have to pass, it's five o'clock, the perfect time for a nice cup of tea on the veranda. I can count on your company later?"

And then I looked stupid with my arm outstretched. I put my hand in my pocket with a gesture that was a little too bold. Smooth, Chrim. Very smooth. And so elegant.

I told the little voice in my head to shut up and cleared my throat, slightly embarrassed. "Sure! Okay, see you later!"

He dissolved into shadows and I made my way down. I hadn't realized how much I missed the quiet static hum and independently moving shadows in the hallways.

It felt like a missing puzzle piece was finally back in place.

Hey :-)

After a short journey into the abyss of absence, I'm back and brought a new chapter as a souvenir. I really hope you enjoyed it, as always I would be very happy about votes (even more about feedback)!

All the best and stay healthy, your Catnip <3