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Febuary 12th, just a precious two days before the worst day of the year, in Alastor's opinion
Was it ironic that he hated his own holiday? Yes, but did he care? Not at all
After all, Alastor certainly hadn't chosen this position, it had been thrust upon him completely against his will and now he was forced to preside over the damn day
As soon as his mandatory service period was over, he would be retiring with extreme prejudice
But that wouldn't be for another decade or so...
Trying to shake the difficult, headache inducing thoughts out of his head, he took a deep breath and shifted his position against the fountain, peering over the railing onto the ground floor of the mall, trying to focus on just getting his job done for the day
Squinting slightly, his lips ticked up as the brunette he had been waiting for came into veiw, pulling an arrow from his quiver and lining it up with care, expertly pulling the string back and closing one eye
"Oh Mr. Hale, you've had such a difficult time with love, haven't you?" he hummed to himself
"Don't worry, I'm about to fix that little problem for you..."
He released the arrow, watching in satisfaction as it flew into the back of the man's neck, a small smirk touching his lips as he watched the arrow dissolve into a small puff of pink and red glitter, his target reaching back to rub at the back of his neck, likely thinking a bug had bitten him or a nerve had gotten pinched
Now for his partner....
Drawing another arrow, Alastor peered over the railing again, grinning with excitement that he definitely wouldn't admit to having as he lined the arrow up with the man in the red hoodie just a few precious feet from his first target
"And you, Mr. Stilinski, are about to find yourself considerably less straight than you first thought..."
Firing the arrow with satisfaction, Alastor's expression quickly turned from one of pride to one of absolute horror as the idiot in the hoodie tripped over his own damn feet and effectively dodged the arrow
Said arrow, naturally, found it's self a new target, and sank into a pretty platinum blonde right behind the accident on legs
"SHIT!"
Alastor rarely cursed, but he felt it was pretty called for in this moment
Jumping to his feet, Alastor hurried to jump over the edge of the railing, his eyes pinned to the blonde the entire time as the nameless, faceless creature turned around and met eyes with his accidental mate
"Shit shit shit shit..." Alastor hissed, his beautifull white wings beating faster as he hurried towards the scene of what was sure to be a horrendous meet-up......
Only for the blonde to quickly jerk backwards, turn, and start walking away, as though he'd been burned or caught a bad smell
....
What the hell?
Deciding to figure out that little oddity later, Alastor finally landed, exhaling as he started jogging towards the blonde and reached out, catching him by the shoulder
The stranger yelped, falling backwards as Alastor tugged him into a dark corner away from the crowds
He hated having to do this, but he planned these matches meticulously and he wasn't about to let this one get fucked up- especially given the delicate people involved....
"Apologies in advance darling,"
The expression on the stranger was one of utter terror as Alastor reached into his pocket, not giving the Cupid any time to actually perform the action needed before quickly punching him square in the face and swinging his nee up between Alastor's legs, elbowing him in the throat a second later
Alastor.... was in shock
He had never been met with a response like that before, usually people were too stunned and taken aback to react so quickly, but now...
Hunched over and gasping for air, Alastor crumpled to the ground as the blonde took off, sprinting across the mall as fast as he could
"Oh for heaven's sake..." Alastor weezed, a chill on his skin as he watched a pearly white shadow appear from behind him
He gave the shadow a nod as he collected himself, watching as it slithered down the hall, managing to catch up with the blonde easily and wrap around him, tugging him behind another corner
Huffing a few times, Alastor rose to his feet, brushed himself off, and took a breath, before blowing a kiss towards the ceiling, a cascade of hearts falling around him, sweeping him up in a storm of glitter and feathers as he easily teleported to the location of his shadow, appearing in front of the terrified looking blonde and sighing quietly
"Well aren't you a feisty little thing?"
The blonde gritted his teeth, hissing at Alastor like an angry cat as he fought against the shadow, making several little huffing, hissing sounds, but.... not screaming or calling for help for some reason....
How odd....
"I'm not going to hurt you, stop your fighting," Alastor huffed, only earning another hiss in reply
Rolling his eyes, Alastor reached into his pocket once more, pulling out a little scalpel and moving closer as the creature before him fought his shadow harder and harder, squeaking with desperation, but not saying a word or even screaming
Still so strange...
"Relax dearie, you're not going to feel a thing,"
Stepping behind the human, he carefully grazed the blade along the nape of his neck where the arrow had disintegrated, a little pulsing pink heart falling into his palm
With ease, he pocketed the heart and the scalpel, not a single mark on his companion's flawless pale skin
"See? No harm, no foul, now, do me a favor and stay put for a moment,"
With step one of the problem solved, Alastor had to move on to step two- trying again to infect that KLUTZ
Ofcourse, finding the moron in the hoodie was alot easier said than done, it took a full fifteen minutes for him to track the man down, and when he finally did, he found himself sighing in releif, finding that his target was sitting down eating ice cream
Much harder to screw this up....
Pulling the heart from his pocket, he quickly drew another arrow from his quiver, biting the tip off and impaling the little heart onto the jagged end of the arrow before setting it in his bow
"Sorry about this pal,"
Shooting the arrow, he watched in satisfaction as it hit it's mark, the stranger yelping and jumping to his feet as he rubbed at his newly sore neck
Without the natural anesthetic in the arrow tip, that would hurt a fair bit....
But Alastor watched in releif and satisfaction as the scene seemed to draw the attention of the first target, brows raising as he moved towards the klutz
"You ok?"
"I have no idea, I feel like a snake just bit the back of my neck..."
"Let me see if you have a mark, maybe it was a mosquito?"
"One huge ass mosquito, what was it? Mothra!?"
Smirking to himself, considering his work done with these two- atleast for the moment- Alastor quickly blew another kiss, once more teleporting himself back to his shadow....
And staring in horror at the shadow's anxious energy and total lack of blonde problem
"You let him go?!"
The shadow put it's hands up, shaking it's head quickly
"What do you MEAN he escaped?! He's human isn't he!? How can a HUMAN escape a SHADOW!?"
The shadow only seemed to tremble, hanging it's head in shame as Alastor slapped his palm against his forehead
"For the love of Christ..."
Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Alastor reached into his other pocket, pulling out a little chocolate heart and snapping it in half, a map appearing before him of the mall, covered in the names of those currently inhabiting it
But he wasn't looking for just any names
Anyone he had made personal contact with- be it through an arrow or through physically touching them- was highlighted in pink, he already knew who he had shot earlier that day, so all he needed to find was the one name he didn't recognize
And thankfully, given he had only intentionally shot six people that day, finding the mysterious seventh pink name was quick and easy
Angel Salvatore was lit up in pink, and given he didn't recognize that name, he took it that that would be his little problem on legs
Angel Salvatore was also making his way towards the parkinglot- damn
Quickly, Alastor took to the air again, putting as much speed into his wings as he could and following the path the map was leading him down, his shadow folding back into himself as he soared through the air, dodging people and kiosks and loathing his circumstances more and more by the second
Finally though, a familiar patch of blonde hair caught his attention, and a smirk decorated his face, coming to a sudden stop in front of Angel and successfully causing him to fall backwards in alarm, being caught by Alastor's shadow just a few inches from the doors
Pressing a finger to his lips, Alastor shushed the human and took his arm, the shadow wrapped firmly around the rest of Angel's body as they both dragged him into an empty family bathroom, locking the door behind them before finally letting him go
"What the fuck do you want with me!?"
Alastor prepared to answer him, but stopped suddenly as a realization dawned on him
Angel hadn't said those words
He had signed them
That was why he hadn't been screaming or calling for help earlier
A small flicker of guilt and sympathy burnt through Alastor's chest, even though that was a useless thing to feel, it wasn't like Alastor had been hurting him or anything....
"Are you deaf, or only mute?" he signed back, clearly taking Angel by surprise
For a long moment, he was completely still, before slowly signing back- "Mute"
"I'm sorry for frightening you," Alastor said carefully, taking a step closer
"I'm not trying to hurt you,"
"What the fuck are you? What do you want with me?" Angel signed back with apprehension
"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you,"
Angel's expression flattened, and he gestured to Alastor's back, reminding the Cupid of his wings, before snapping his fingers to get Alastor's attention back and signing again- "Try me,"
"....Alright," he shrugged after a beat
"I'm Cupid,"
Angel made a face, half-way between shocked and disbelieving, but he signed nothing
"I accidentally shot you earlier with one of my arrows, it was meant for someone else, I had to retreive it and reuse it, but making matters worse, when I retreived it, I touched you, enabling you to see me- you see I'm invisible to others at the current moment, but you've seen too much, your memory needs to be altered,"
"Why?" Angel signed
"Do you really think I'd tell anyone I met fucking Cupid? People already think I'm nuts, I'm not trying to get myself put in the crazy farm,"
"Well... I suppose that's true but-"
"I don't care though," Angel signed, interrupting the other
"Fuck, take my memory, why should I care? Just... don't restrain me to do it,"
Alastor should have done as he said, should have just altered Angel's memory and left him there, moved on with his day, but....
Alastor had so many questions and for the first time in decades he actually found someone to be interesting....
"Do you like ice cream, Angel?" he smiled softly, clearly taking the blonde by surprise
For a few moments, Angel was still, before slowly nodded his head in confirmation
"Then why don't we have some? I'd very much like to speak with you, and don't worry, I'll make myself visible for the rest of society so you don't look like a crazy person speaking to no one,"
"I don't talk, asshole," Angel corrected, smirking slightly at the way Alastor's face drained of color
"I meant-"
"People who don't sign don't really pay attention to it or notice it half the time, I can sign subtlely, you don't have to go out of your way,"
That.... was interesting.....
"....Well, I'll do it anyway," Alastor shrugged, clearing his throat and snapping his fingers
Angel wouldn't have noticed a difference, ofcourse, except for the noticeable lack of wings, arrows, or bow- other than that Alastor looked the same, the same relaxed hair, dark skin, round glasses, and well placed smile that he'd had before
"Shall we?" he offered, holding his hand out for Angel
Angel hesitated for a long moment, before slowly placing his in Alastor's, his eyes slightly averted as they walked, and Alastor found that, strangely, he didn't quite mind this
Angel's touch was gentle and unsure, and Alastor felt strangely like...... like he wanted to..... comfort that touch.....
Shaking his head, Alastor tried to clear his thoughts, hoping Angel wouldn't notice the way his face was starting to darken...
~+~
"Here you are darling, cookies and cream,"
Angel perked up like an excited puppy, snatching the ice cream and jamming the spoon down into it, before pausing, placing his fingers against his chin and gesturing out towards Alastor a little- "Thank you"
"You're welcome," Alastor hummed, taking the chair across from the blonde and watching with.... admittedly mild concern as Angel dug into the ice cream as though he hadn't eaten anything in years
Alastor felt a strange heaviness start to fall over him, pursing his lips as his own spoon sat still in his cup of rocky road
He could just look Angel up in his files and learn about him that way, but... for some reason, he wanted to just ask Angel instead...
"So were you born mute?"
Angel paused, looking up at Alastor with mild apprehension before slowly pulling back and quirking a brow at him
"Blunt, aren't you?"
"Afraid so," Alastor chuckled, taking a bite of his ice cream
"Aren't I the one who's supposed to be nosy about you instead of the other way around?"
"Sure," Alastor shrugged easily
"How about this then? We can play a game, for every question you answer, you can ask me one as well,"
Angel seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding an agreement, picking at his ice cream and seemingly going over what he wanted to say
"No," he signed after a moment, dragging his spoon through his ice cream
"I wasn't mute until a couple of years ago, and it's...."
Angel paused for a long moment, his hands curling in his lap, eyes on the floor, before slowly raising his hands again
"Selective,"
"Selective?" Alastor echoed
"I was.... in an accident a couple of years ago," Angel began again, his hands moving to his throat, rubbing over a small scar that, until he had pointed it out, Alastor hadn't even noticed, before pulling away, sighing, and starting again
"I couldn't talk for weeks, and when I finally could, physically, speak again..... I don't know.... I just.... I haven't spoken since... the doctors said it was trauma..."
"What kind of trauma?"
Angel huffed, rolling his eyes and taking another bite of ice cream before quickly signing again
"No- you,"
"Alright alright, what would you like to ask?"
Angel played with his spoon for a moment, before glancing up at him
"You..... sign? You sign, why?"
That certainly wasn't the first question he'd been expecting...
"Well.... I'm Cupid," Alastor answered, confused
"I'm a spirit that must be able to communicate with everyone- I speak every language, communicate in every form possible, outside of the electronics that is, I still haven't figured out things like 'text messaging',"
Angel snorted, laughing a little, his voice barely there, it sounded more like breathy chokes of air, but there was just a little wisp of his voice present in it
"You sign but can't hack texting? That's fucking hilarious man,"
"Well I'm delighted to have amused you,"
"You should be! That's an honor for you, people don't make me laugh much these days,"
Yes.... Alastor could imagine that...
"So what was it? Your trauma?"
Angel's expression fell instantly, taking a big, deep breath
"Jesus, like a dog with a bone aren't you? What, is my trauma attractive to you?"
"I'm just curious," Alastor shrugged
"I want to know so I can help you with your match someday,"
Angel shook his head instantly, curling in on himself and waving his hands in front of himself insistingly
"No, no matches, no, I don't want a match,"
"You.... don't want to fall in love...?"
Angel shook his head again, signing "No" atleast three or four times
"But.... why?"
Sure, Alastor knew why he didn't want to fall in love, but outside of aromantic people, that was awfully odd for the human population, and Alastor was capable of seeing every human's romantic and sexual preferences- Angel wasn't aromantic
Angel made a sound, something like a sarcastic huff, jerking his head up and sneering at Alastor as he started signing again in rapid succession
"Really?! Who the fuck would love me!? How would that work!? I can't speak! I'm broken! I'm traumatized! Who would ever want to be with someone who can't even talk to them?! Some mute fucked up hooker! You want to know what traumatized me!? I've been raped, I've been abused, my accident was my pimp tossing me out of a moving car because I didn't want to give him road head! Fuck, even if someone could want me, I'm stuck with Valentino, I can't put anyone else into that mess!"
That was..... alot
That was so much to take in all at once, that Alastor could barely keep up with the quick, oftentimes unsteady motions of Angel's hands, having to decipher for himself here and there what certain things meant
For a few moments, everything was silent and still, and Angel sighed heavily as he returned to his ice cream, scooping a cookie peice onto his spoon and taking his time eating it
Alastor, honestly kind of surprising himself, reached out and very gently set his hand on Angel's, wincing a little as Angel jolted, seemingly on instinct, glancing up and moving just a little bit closer
"I'm.... sorry," Alastor said softly, carefully
He wasn't used to this
He wasn't used to people
He wasn't used to talking to people anymore, communicating with them, yes he communicated plenty with the cherubs in Valentine Town and even with other holiday spirits, but humans....
He hadn't actually talked to a human- certainly not in depth- for a long time...
"I didn't mean to cause you distress, you don't have to fall in love if you don't want to, and if you don't want me to find you a match, I won't,"
Angel nodded a little, chewing his lip and quickly signing "Thanks"
"However, I do want to correct a little something- there are plenty of people out there who would love you, Angel, I know you don't feel that's true but it is, I have made matches who are in far worse situations than your's, and being able to speak or not, having trauma, being trapped in a seemingly inescapable situation... those things don't diminish your ability to find love, they don't ruin your chances at finding a partner who will love you unconditionally and to the ends of the earth, I'm Cupid- and I have no reason to lie to you, so please, trust that much, if nothing else,"
Angel took in a deep breath, then exhaled, looking down, his hand now limp in Alastor's own as Alastor very carefully shifted his position so that he could hold Angel's hand rather than merely rest his atop it
"But as I said, I won't try to force love onto you, that isn't how my powers work in any case, I only make gentle suggestions and encouragements, I don't force anyone to feel anything,"
Angel glanced up slowly, one brow raising, but he didn't sign anything
"You.... are very special Angel, and I wonder... if you aren't interested in finding love, could I tempt you with a job opportunity instead?"
Angel tilted his head, silently encouraging Alastor to continue
"How would you like to help others find love?"
Angel huffed a little, pulling back to sign again
"Did you really just ask me that? I don't exactly believe in love you know,"
"I'm not exactly a lover myself... but how about this then? How would you like to leave this pimp of your's, this difficult life, the need for financial stability... all of that behind? How would you like true stability for the rest of your existence, and to never have to feel hunted or trapped or abused ever again?"
Angel's expression flashed through several beats- confusion, surprise, skepticism, hope and then solid determination
"I'll do anything,"
Smiling warmly, Alastor offered his hand, head tilting, his expression warm and sweet
"Then take my hand, darling, and allow me to take you away from this hell on earth,"
It wasn't a decision needing to be made- Angel took his hand in a heartbeat