• 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲'𝐬 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 • Alastor x Reader

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞.

Nodding in acknowledgement, a waitress soon passed by and set down two menus along with a copy of the daily paper. If you were being honest, you hadn't read the papers at all since the two weeks you had moved to the city. The most news you got was from Alastor's broadcasts, and even then you missed most of the important parts since you typically slept in; sometimes even missing the whole morning show.

Later in the evening, Alastor only told tall tales and spooky stories, just to give everyone the chills right before bed. And it sure worked, your skin often riddled with gooseflesh by the time the broadcast was over. His way of explaining his stories was just so...detailed. So aberrant. So gruesomely perfect. That's one of the reasons why you always made sure to tune in on his evening broadcasts.

And whenever you went to his house, you would listen very carefully while feeding his strange, mutant, snappy, plant thingy. You never told Alastor, but you had given all nine of them names.

Your hand reached for the paper, but Alastor swiped it away from you before you could even set your fingers on it, your brow lifting. "Uhm, excuse you?" you laughed, watching as the brunette kept the headlines facing away from you so he could read them. Fortunately for you, he could be a bit naive at times. So there you were, reading through the reflection of his glasses.

"Oh my goodness," you whispered, hurriedly snatching the papers away from Alastor so you could make sure your eyes hadn't been fooling you. You really hoped they had been, but you knew that wasn't true as soon as you read the bold text at the top of the paper, making sure to also look down at the black and white image printed onto the pagee.

'ANOTHER FOUND DEAD'
A young man by the name Henry Burrow was discovered gutted in an alley.

Your body wrenched around itself as you felt your forehead begin to burn while reading through the rest of the article, occasionally taking a glance at the image which consisted of a man on a stretcher, his whole body masked by a white tarp. Another found dead? When did this all start? Why hadn't you heard of this before? Who could do such a thing? "Darling?" Alastor jolted you from your world of terror, your hands trembling. You had absolutely no idea that this city was dangerous... Was that why the postman had told you to be careful?

"(Y/n), please calm yourself," Alastor tried again, your eyes raising to meet his amber ones, the smile on his face almost completely gone. "Alastor, what is this?" you just barely managed to whisper in a hoarse voice, your throat feeling too tight around your windpipes. "It's just a small issue the city is having with a murderer running about, it's nothing you should be worrying yourself over." His attempts of reassurance were futile.

"Nothing to worry myself over!? Alastor, a man has died! In a rather brutal way, too! I can't just sit here and act like nothing happened!" you cried out, tears welling in your eyes as you stared at the paper again. The man twirled his wrist as he spoke, "The sleuths are doing everything they can to solve this, my dear. I promise it will be over soon. And in the meanwhile, I'll make sure you won't get hurt."

Teardrops had now stained the newspaper, some of the ink moving out of place from the dampness. "Promise?" you sniffed, rubbing one of your eyes while Alastor removed the paper from beneath you and tucked it into the clothing bag on the floor, his smile warm, almost seeming genuine.

"I promise."

-

The streets were cold, icy even. You had seen a few people slip around on small ice patches that covered the sidewalks, allowing your awareness to raise just that much more as you walked. It was dark and the snow that fell from sky seemed anything but welcoming, strong winds whipping through the air and lashing at your nose. Luckily, the new coat Alastor had generously bought you did a far better job at shielding you from the weather than your old one. What a gentleman.