Alright I need some audience participation here, this chapter is long as fuck, do y'all want the next one today or tomorrow? If no one answers me it's getting posted tomorrow.
Aria's POV
After the library it was starting to get a bit closer to lunch time.
Currently Alastor and I were just walking side by side in a little park. This one isn't the same one I took him to, it's much smaller, but still pretty.
He had his hands behind his back, and stood with that same perfect posture. Whenever I walk with him I feel like I'm walking next to some sort of royalty.
I glanced over at him, just stealing little glimpses of his appearance.
He's so cute...
Immediately my eyes widened when the thought entered my head. My cheeks heated up and I looked away from him.
Instead I looked around the park. The trees scattered around rustled slightly in the breeze. The breeze itself was actually a tad bit chilly, winter is coming up soon.
We're in Louisiana though, so...it's not too cold.
I shivered just barely, rubbing my arms subconsciously.
Next thing I know there's something placed across my back. The scent immediately told me Alastor had given me his jacket.
I jumped slightly and looked over at him, my lips parted in surprise. He was smiling softly down at me and just resumed his previous stance with his hands behind his back, facing forward.
I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks, and I looked back forward as a small smile rose to my face. My fingers curled around the edges of the jacket and I pulled it tighter around me.
It basically swallowed me, and it smelled just like him...
Subtly I buried my nose into the collar, closing my eyes for just a moment. When I reopened them Alastor was gone.
My eyes widened and I spun around.
"Alastor...?"
My expression fell into one of worry and I looked all around. Where the hell did he go?
"Al?" I called out, hoping there was no one nearby just hearing me talk to seemingly nothing.
I just stood dumbly, staring into the distance trying to see if I could spot him anywhere. I sighed softly.
I turned around, assuming he went back to hell or something, but nearly screamed when he was standing right behind me.
My hand went over my chest and I looked up at him with widened eyes.
He was smiling down at me, eyelids lowered. His sharpened canines were the only reminder of what he truly was...but somehow they made him look hot.
He just looks hot in general—I mean, wait! I'm supposed to be mad at him!
"What gives, Al? Why'd you—" my words cut off and my irritated expression lifted when he pulled something from behind his back, holding it out to me.
I looked down and my my mouth fell open.
Flowers...
Wildflowers...
Any irritation I had previously felt disappeared, a smile replacing the pout. I reached forward and took the flowers slowly.
"For...me?" I asked him as my fingers wrapped around the bundle of stems. My eyes lifted and met his, and his wide smile lessened into a more relaxed grin.
"Of course, who else?" He replied, and my smile stretched further. I held the small bouquet close to my chest, a weird feeling swimming around my stomach.
"Thank you..." I said softly, my grip on the stems tightening.
I never want these to die...
He walked over to a bench, motioning for me to follow him. I walked over and sat next to him, just holding my flowers.
"You seem, surprised, darling...you've never received flowers before?" He asked me, glancing down at me.
I looked at the little flowers, observing each petal. I shook my head, "no...I haven't," I said quietly.
He was silent for a moment, then he just sighed softly. He slid closer to me, reaching over and gently removing the stems from my grasp.
I watched him curiously, and he glanced around.
He looked like he was looking out for something, but seemed satisfied when he saw we were the only people in the park.
Next, he looked to me, "would you like to bring these home?" He asked me. I nodded immediately. He chuckled and I watched his hands as he held the flowers.
I gasped when his claws extended from his fingers and he used one of them to prick his hand. He held his palm over the flowers and blood dripped into the petals.
The petals soaked up the blood and the bouquet began glowing a soft green color. He whispered something in a different language and then the bouquet disappeared.
I looked back up at him, and he had a satisfied smile on his face.
"What'd you do...?" I asked him, and he looked over at me.
"They're back home, I put a spell on them so they won't die any time soon," he said simply and my smile returned.
Just then my stomach growled and I blushed. He looked at me, amused.
"My, is someone hungry?" He teased me and I stuck my tongue out at him.
He chuckled and stood up, holding his hand out for me. I took it, holding his jacket around me with the other one.
I thought we were going to head back into town to eat, but he just lead me further into the park. I glanced up at him skeptically.
He hummed softly, and finally we came to a small clearing. He lead me towards a soft patch of grass and then snapped.
I stared in awe as a blanket appeared, a small basket placed in the center.
He gently nudged me forward when I didn't move, his hand pressing into my lower back sending butterflies through my stomach.
I sat down, smiling at the thoughtfulness of all of this. He snapped again and various foods appeared before he opened the basket and pulled out plates and silverware.
"I've never been on a picnic before," I mused softly, running my fingers over the blanket, observing all the details.
When I looked back up at him he was giving me that soft look again.
I blushed and looked away, but he reached forward and lifted my chin.
"You have pretty eyes...you should let me see them more often," he said softly. The blush on my cheeks deepened.
Is he flirting with me...?
No...
"T-thank you..." I stuttered and his soft smile turned into a smirk. He brushed his thumb over my cheek before pulling his hand away from my face.
We went through our lunch, just chatting quietly. He told me about his time in this town, what attractions they had.
I don't even know how long we talked, just eating and laughing.
Eventually, the food was gone and Alastor cleared the blanket. Now we were laying on our backs, side by side, staring at the sky.
I lifted my arm, pointing at a cloud as it passed by leisurely.
"That one looks like a kitty," I said, and he hummed. I looked over at him, watching as he lifted his arm and pointed, keeping his eyes on the sky.
"That one looks like a circle," he said casually. I looked up and sure enough, he was pointing at a circular cloud.
I snorted and put my hand over my eyes, a short laugh leaving my throat.
"You're bad at this," I chuckled and he began laughing as well.
I opened my eyes and turned my head to the side. He did as well and we were just looking at each other, chuckling.
His eyes squinted slightly, and the deep chuckle he was producing sounded so genuine.
After we finished laughing, we just looked at each other. His soft smile slowly relaxed into a grin that was just barely there.
I blinked slowly, taking in his features.
It's not like he's much different as a human, he has the same exact face. The same unmatched bone structure.
His jaw is perfectly sculpted, framing his face nicely. He has high cheekbones and a cute little nose.
He has gorgeous eyes...they're upturned just slightly, giving him a catty look. They're also almond shaped, making him look a bit mischievous naturally.
His eyelashes are long, curled just enough. I'm actually a bit jealous.
I glanced down at his lips, my eyelids dropping just a bit. His lips look soft...
They're even, not too full, but not thin either...
I thought about how they may feel against mine. How would they fit with mine...how would—
"Darling," he said, making me look back to his eyes.
"What's on your mind?" He asked me, and I blushed at the thoughts I'd been having. I shook my head.
"Nothing, Nothing...just...Nothing," I said, not very convincingly. He made a soft 'hm' noise, then looked back towards the sky.
I curled my arm beneath my head, using it as a pillow. I kept my eyes on him, he's hard to look away from.
His hair looks so soft, and yea, I've touched it before but that was when he had ears and antlers and blood in the way.
I reached over slowly, watching as he glanced over at me. I paused, giving him a chance to pull away. My fingers were only a couple inches away from him.
When he just looked back to the sky, not moving away from me, I continued.
My fingers disappeared into his hair, and my mouth formed a small O shape at how soft it felt. I brushed through it, running my nails over his scalp.
He sighed softly through his nose, and his eyes shut. He turned his head toward me just barely, keeping his eyes shut.
I continued running my fingers through his hair, a smile raising to my face. I chuckled softly and he opened his eyes.
"What...?" He said. His voice was deeper than usual, sounding a bit tired. His eyes were also just barely open.
"You look really sweet right now..." I said, and I was expecting him to get offended or defend himself, but all he did was trade his grin for a larger smile.
His eyes closed again, and I stopped petting him, going to pull my hand back to my side of the blanket.
He opened his eyes, wider this time, and furrowed his eyebrows as he gave me a look.
"Come back," he said pitifully, and I was caught off guard.
Slowly I returned, continuing to run my fingers through his hair. Eventually I started purposefully running my nails across his scalp.
"I will give you all of my territory in hell if you don't ever stop doing this..." he mumbled, a relaxed expression on his handsome face.
I blushed, shamelessly looking at his features more since his eyes were closed.
"Oh wow, all of it?" I entertained his little offer.
"Mhm..." he nodded barely as the noise left his throat, making me blush harder.
Ugh...Why does he have to look like that? Aren't demons supposed to be disgusting...
And mean...
Not...handsome and charming.
He's being so vulnerable right now...completely relaxed...I could just...
My soft smile turned wicked as I removed my hand from his hair. He had his arm above his head, exposing his side to me. His other hand rested over his stomach.
He opened his eyes slightly, "what're you do—"
I cut him off by attacking his side, tickling him like the gremlin I am. I was laughing evilly, and he jolted away from me, a short, surprised laugh forcing through his throat.
He twisted away from me and I chased him, giggling like a witch as I relentlessly kept tickling him. We got to a point where I crawled overtop of him, and I was getting both his sides now.
He was laughing like crazy, his eyes shut tightly.
So, he's ticklish.
Who'd have thought?
I moved under his arms, and he could only take that for a second before his eyes shot open and he finally managed to seize my wrists.
He had to calm down for a second, I didn't even realize the position we were in. My legs were on either side of him, straddling him.
A few more laughs bubbled up his throat before he spoke, "do you want to die?" He asked me through a chuckle.
He was smiling up at me, holding my wrists firmly.
I mocked thinking for a second, then smiled again, pulling one of my wrists free. His eyes widened but before he could seize me again I started tickling him again.
"Stop it!" He laughed, "this is not fair!"
I giggled evilly, but before I even knew what happened I was below him, and he had my wrists above my head.
Uh oh...
I had a nervous smile on my face, and I just looked up at him. His eyes slowly faded from brown to red, and his teeth sharpened.
"You're brave..." he said, a slight growl beneath his tone. Somehow I knew he wasn't mad...nothing about what he was doing seemed threatening to me.
His hold on my wrists was loose, and the growl in his chest sounded more like a purr.
Suddenly he moved both my wrists to one hand, freeing his other hand. He tilted his head.
"Payback time, peu d'amour," he purred and my eyes widened.
"No—!" I couldn't even get that out before he started attacking me. I writhed beneath him, squealing and then cracking up into a fit of giggles.
He got my sides and my stomach and eventually he started laughing as well. Now our roles were reversed and he was straddling me.
However, he has an unfair advantage considering he's two times my size.
"This is so not fair!" I let out between giggles, and he only chuckled.
I finally submitted, stopping my attempts to free myself and just relaxing beneath him and laughing as he pinched my poor sides.
He noticed this and stopped his attack, just resting his hand against my waist. He smiled down at me, smugly.
"Have we learned our lesson?" He asked, and I nodded, trying to catch my breath. My chest rose and fell heavily, and we just stared at each other.
I didn't even realize how close he was to me, but we were only inches apart. Suddenly, everything felt still.
I looked up at the red eyes that used to terrify me. They looked back at me, but then he glanced at my lips. He leaned closer.
He glanced back to my eyes for a moment, his eyelids dropping slightly as he looked back to my lips. He hesitated a moment, and I held my breath.
Then before I could even register the situation his mouth was on mine.
My eyes closed and I kissed back immediately.
He let go of my wrists, and I put both of my hands on either side of his face, pulling him closer to me.
He kept his hand on my waist, the other arm helping him hold himself up.
He kissed me slowly, and I was right.
His lips are soft.
We moved perfectly with each other, and too soon he broke it, pulling away. His eyes opened and he looked down at me again.
Now we were both breathing heavily.
He almost looked scared, but I shook my head, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
"Don't stop..." I breathed out, before pulling him back down and connecting our lips again.
A surprised noise left his throat and I swallowed it. Whatever this is... this feeling...I feel so perfect right now. Like this feels...right.
I don't care what he is...
Because from now on, it doesn't matter...
He's all mine.