"Where do I sign?"
The unease in Alastor's eyes wavers at the question, as if he'd not quite been sure that he'd heard her correctly. One by one his ears flick forward, that brilliant smile of his growing ever brighter as it cracks his concern and crinkles his eyes at the corners; It's quickly crushed against her lips as Alastor leans forward to capture her in a kiss, warm hands holding her face between them as if she were something precious. His infectious smile catches, turning their kiss into a mess of teeth and breathless giggles that Clover attempts to run from, but Alastor chases after her.
"I promise that you won't regret this," Alastor mumbles against her cheek, his nose bumping against her temple to coax her from her hiding spot against his shoulder. "I will do anything to make sure of that."
"You don't need to, but I know you will."
Clover turns her head to look at him, her nose bumping against his before he attempts to back away; Now it's her turn to chase, her fingers slipping into the short crop of hair at the nape of his neck and pulling him back to her so she can properly nuzzle her nose into his. Alastor breathes a laugh at her affections, winding his arms around her waist and leaning into her until the chair rocks back beneath his added weight with a creak. Feet flail in their attempt to find the floor as she wraps an arm around his shoulders, Clover's squeal silenced by the soft press of his lips against hers as they take to kissing all over again. Alastor's radio fizzles and pops alongside the sounds of the fireplace, its crackling reminding her of its attendance as she tunes into its frantically shifting stations and finds a nervous noise lingering in the frequency.
"There is not a doubt in my mind that this- That you- are what I want," Clover pulled back to press her forehead to his and catch his eye, waiting until his static settled before she sent it spiraling again with the words she whispers against his lips. "Now are you going to keep me trapped in this chair all night, or would you like to do this, so we can properly celebrate?"
Alastor blinks at the implications, his eyes flickering to the tiny twitch of her lips upward at one corner-
"Ah, yes!" He says as he eases himself back from her, ears pressed flat against his head and his hands pulling hers from where they'd tucked under his lapels with a nervous chuckle that crackles with radio interference. "There is just one more thing-"
A sharp "ahem" as someone cleared their throat snapped Clover's head towards the fireplace, finding its light blocked by the hunched form of a familiar face.
"Husker, my good man! Thank you for joining us!"
"Don't mention it-" Husk replies, shoving his hands into his pockets as the final flicker of green fades from the flames. "And I mean that, don't fuckin' mention it."
Despite the embarrassment of being caught in a nearly indecent situation burning hot beneath her skin, Clover's curiosity gets the better of her; She turns to Alastor with a question on her lips, finding him offering her his hand to help her up alongside his answers.
"A contract such as this deserves a witness, and while I'm sure many of your other acquaintances would have been thrilled to help stand guard, our friend here seemed like the obvious choice- Don't you agree?'
"I-" Clover stalls, her voice caught among the constriction of her throat as she was crushed by the sentimental symbolism of Husk's presence. Her vision wavered, blurred at the corners by welling warmth as she turned to look at the man awkwardly shuffling against the carpet on the other side of the room. Words fail her now, even the simplest of agreements unable to be muttered through the muddled mass of melancholy that weighs down her chest, mortal memories of what could have been but never were echoed in the eyes of the cat across from her; The syllable she utters is not an answer, but it is enough.
"...Hi."
Husk's somber expression softens at the tightness of her voice, his eyes flicking to where Alastor hovers beside her and down to their hands tangled between them before he looks to Clover with a tender tilt of his head.
"You okay, kid?"
"Never better."
Alastor's fingers tighten around hers at her answer, and Clover smiles, giving them a reassuring squeeze before nodding to the contract still sitting on the desk in front of them.
"You've read this?"
"Every word- Twice," Husk huffed as he joined them at the desk, his hip knocking against the wood as he leaned against it. "If you're askin' for my opinion, the fact that I'm allowin' him to wrangle me into this should tell ya' enough."
As if on cue, Alastor's radio clicked on with a buzz of static, its stations spitting a garbled mess of sound before it settled on a song; The soulful trumpet was lowered to croon beneath the crackling fire as Alastor slipped his hand from hers.
"Well!" Alastor said with a short clap, his claws wringing together as he looked between them. "If everyone is ready, shall we begin?"
Both men looked to Clover, waiting for approval- She'd barely managed a nod before a pen appeared in the palm of Alastor's hand, its tip dipped in a brilliant scarlet and its iron glinting in the low light of the lamp. Clover watched as Alastor carefully separated the pages of the contract, his eyes growing soft as he skimmed the words before he pressed pen to paper. The ink darkens as it sinks into the parchment, the curling script of Alastor's handwriting turning a deep crimson as he finishes his first signature with a flourish, and moves on to the next; Even with Husk there to watch over their deal, there was something intimate about the way Alastor held his pen- It was much like the way he held her, she supposed, careful and considerate of the marks he left behind but with a confidence that stirred something dangerous in her soul.
A page she'd neglected to read in her overly emotional state is pulled from the bottom of the stack and passed on to Husk alongside the pen, his claws laying heavily against the desk as he takes the time to read over the agreement again. His signature is quick, nearly as practiced as Alastor's but with none of the added flair as he crosses his letters with sharp strokes- He'd done this before, and not just with his own soul on the line. As Husk hands the pen back to Alastor, Clover swears the dark coloring of his fur switches to a salt and pepper gray, fine hairs combed flat down the sides of an age-worn jawline; And then it's gone with a scratch of his claws, and she finds herself looking at the wide blown pupils of the old cat she'd grown close to instead of the steely eyes of a man she didn't know.
"Clover?"
The sound of her name from Alastor's lips is so sweet, spoken without the aid of his radio as the vulnerability of his natural voice wraps her swiftly beating heart with its warmth. Her eyes fall to the paper with its dual signatures of slowly drying ink, its contents unknown, and then to his pen, before holding out her hand- The brush of their fingers as he passes it to her is electric, sending sparks of glimmering green across her vision that continue to flicker as she looks down to spaces waiting to be filled.
Alastor first passes her the page that holds her end of the bargain, and Clover signs over the last remnants of her life before, the ink that spills from his pen seeming to shimmer as she scrawls the familiar letters of her nearly forgotten name. She can feel his eyes on her, watching for any sign of hesitance as she pulls the next paper towards her, and reads his final statements concerning the stakes of her soul.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I.
I, the undersigned sole witness to this signing, on this day personally appeared to ensure the fair, honorable and biding transfer of the aforementioned soul. I confirm that the persons stated above are mentally, emotionally, and physically able to complete this contract as stated. As an interested third party and confidant, I, of sound mind and body, fully approve of this binding, having read over all terms and conditions as listed above, and have verified that each interested party hereby sign without coercion, confusion, or concern.
XI_XXIV_MMXXIII
As long as our love shall last, this document is binding. All clauses shall become void upon any uncertainty the given soul may hold towards any or all of the terms and conditions listed here.
XI_XXIV_MMXXIII
Her second signature is swift, the curving letters carved with more confidence as her messy handwriting finds its place alongside theirs, and the deal is done.
"Huh-" Husk's head straightens from where it had been curiously turned to read her signature, his fangs peeking out from behind his soft smile. "Now you're really one of us."
Despite the slowly drying ink, something still lingers in the air; It simmers in the spaces between them, steadily rising to a rapid boil as Clover looks at Alastor standing beside her and catches the way he rubs his palm across the front of his shirt. The letters had all been crossed, every empty line filled- There can only be one thing left to do.
"Shall we shake on it?" Clover asks as she turns to Alastor, holding out her hand.
His radio ripples with static, crackling against the tension in the air like oncoming rain and sending sparks dancing across her skin. The electricity between them surges as Alastor takes her hand, filling the room with an array of radiant colors that crushed the darkest of shadows sheltering in the corners of his study. An echoing, animalistic bellow shakes the room, its resonance settling deep into her bones before it shifts into a stereo squeal- Beneath it all she can hear the steady click of rolling film, flickering faster with every passing second, and the gruff, sputtering curse as Husk finds himself caught in the eye of the storm.
The floor cracks beneath their feet, allowing that ghastly green of Alastor's magic to branch like vines across the carpet as he steps closer, and Clover catches a glimpse of her reflection in the wireframes resting against his warm skin. Her hair whips against her cheeks, the wind lifting her loose curls to float among the watercolor chaos their colliding magic creates and washing over the achromatic canvas of her skin. The soft pink of her eyes glows like floodlights, tinting the room rose as they turn to regard the contract caught in their cyclone of color, its pages rustling like autumn leaves and its ink shifting shades with every ripple.
Warmth suddenly spreads across her skin, pulling her attention down to Alastor's hand in hers to find them bound by threads of glimmering gold; It twists between their fingers as she turns her palm to lay flat against his, seeming almost alive as it dances around dark claws and leaving being a trail of tingles at it wraps around her wrist.
That thread of winding light grows heavy, stable as it links them together in true form; A length of chains that Alastor carefully gathers the bulk of and the cuff it's attached to. Clover wonders how many souls would be filled with dread at the sight, yet here she was, basking in its gilded glory as he winds the tether to her soul around his wrist with practiced ease. The weight of it is not a burden, but instead a reminder of him, a tip in the balance to counteract the lightness of her heart. Gone is the heaviness in her chest that she often found herself crushed beneath, the emptiness she suspected it might leave behind quickly filled by the overflowing adoration in his eyes, sweet like honey on strawberries when lit from below by the soft glow of their bond.
Those eyes watch with rapt attention, Alastor not daring to breathe as he awaits the inevitable; For the moment her mind will change, when the tide will turn, for something to signify that the material manifestation of their union would be too much for her- And then mischief ticks up each corner of her mouth, and Clover's fingers take hold of their tether so she can tug him towards her.
"So-" She says, her voice dropping to a soft, almost nasal drawl. "It's a deal, then?"
Alastor's grin grows wider at her mock transatlantic tease, the chains he'd wound around his wrist falling to swing between them as he lets out the slack; Clover squeaks when it lands heavily against the curve of her waist, Alastor looping their link around her to pull her against him with a sharp tug. Trapped against his chest and unable to escape his wicked smile, Clover takes refuge in the ruffled front of his shirt and buries her face to hide from their unwilling audience before they put on a show better fit for private affairs.
"I'll see myself out," Husk grumbles, his voice farther away than before and interrupted by the hollow click of metal tumblers turning. "See ya' later, kid- Boss."
She can feel Alastor's sharp nod of recognition above her, his chin bumping into the top of her head as she turns to watch Husk leave and the sudden sharpness to his posture bending to her embrace as the door swings shut; As soon as it's closed he's gripping into that chain again, playfully pulling on it to draw her flush against him as his nose buries itself between her ears with a soft, satisfied hum, before releasing them in favor of freeing his hands. With little coaxing from his fingers Clover's chin tips back to rest against his chest, and Alastor carefully brushes back the curls that cling to her cheeks, stuck to trails of tears she hadn't cared to wipe away and what little waxy residue is left of her lipstick.
"A deal indeed," Alastor muses, the words so soft she almost misses them. The kiss he presses to the corner of her mouth is whisper soft, slipping away before they ever truly meet as he makes space between them, and she swears she can feel those sparks dancing across her lips, painting their skin in a shimmer of green and rose gold.
As the ink of their contract dried, sealing the two demons together for the foreseeable expanse of their eternal suffering, there were no more worries or wondering of if or when to plague Clover's mind, just the bubbling expectation of what was yet to come as he raises a hand between them, and extends his little finger to her with a smile.
"And, a promise."