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Characters: nonbinary!Deceit (referred to as Dee because I started this before the name reveal and I don’t want to change it), Alastor (OC), Carl (OC), Virgil is mentioned but not by name
Pairings: eventual anxceitmus
Warnings: Dee gets a snake, food mention, toxic relationship
A/n: I still do not know how to do a read more on mobile, so if anyone does please tell me. Please let me know if I need to tag something or if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist. @iosonnounpanne thanks for reviewing this for me!
Dee loved snakes. They had loved snakes ever since they learned what the little yellow creature on their palm was, and for their whole life, they’d dreamed of having one. They had researched everything that they would need to have and do to take care of a snake, and they’d been planning on getting one soon after starting law school. But then they met Alastor, life got complicated, and two-and-a-half years passed with still no snake.
Hopefully though, that would change soon. Dee had slowly been building up the courage to ask Alastor about getting a snake. It was a delicate process. If they asked at the wrong time, or caught him off-guard, or gave him any rational reason to say no, he would, and the topic would be closed for discussion forever. Plus, there was a pretty good chance of him yelling in any of those scenarios. So, Dee had been casually mentioning snakes and the idea of getting a pet, and Alastor seemed fine with both. But they had yet to actually ask him.
Today, Dee thought, their heart pounding. Today is the day I’m going to ask.
Alastor hadn’t slammed the door when he got home from work, he didn’t yell at Dee for forgetting to do the laundry, and he even hummed while Dee made dinner, which he only did when he was in a good mood. Dee had been waiting a long time for such a perfect opportunity, and they were not going to waste it. Not again.
Dee cleared their throat and looked meaningfully at Alastor, who was sitting at the opposite side of the dinner table. He swallowed the bite of food he’d taken and looked up at Dee.
“Do you need something?” he asked.
“I wanted to ask you about something,” Dee said, ignoring every instinct that screamed at them to be quiet. “I was thinking about getting a snake. I’ve been interested in getting one for a long time, and I know that—well, you’ve mentioned before that you like snakes, too. Besides, our soulmark is a snake, and I think it would be… fitting.” They held up their right hand and let out a tiny, nervous laugh.
Alastor went quiet for a moment, and Dee added quickly, “I’ve done a lot of research. I know exactly what I need, and I’ve saved up enough money for all the supplies. You wouldn’t have to pay for or do anything.”
After a nerve-racking pause, Alastor finally answered. “Fine. As long as you take care of it.”
Dee felt weak with relief. They thanked him, promising that they would work everything out. Then they asked Alastor how his day was, and listened to him rant about an annoying coworker until long after the neighbors had fallen asleep.
The harsh fluorescent lighting in the pet store hurt Dee’s eyes, but they couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful brown snakes in a tank on the wall.
“Ball pythons,” said an employee, walking up to Dee.
“I know,” Dee said, not looking away.
The employee stood there awkwardly, waiting to see if Dee would say anything more. They didn’t.
“Can I help you?” the employee finally asked.
Dee sighed to themself, reluctant to tear their eyes away from the gorgeous little snakes, and looked over at the employee, who wore a name tag that read: Carl (he/him).
“I’m not the usual reptile guy,” the employee, Carl, added quickly. “He’s out today, so I’m filling in.”
“I’m looking for a snake.”
Carl smiled. “Well, you came to the right place.” He opened up the tank with several baby ball pythons in it. “Is there a specific one you want?”
Dee looked over the small snakes curled up in various places and positions around the tank. It was hard to pick one; they all looked so perfect. Then, their eyes locked on a smallish-looking half-albino in the back. “That one,” said Dee, pointing. “In the corner.”
Carl grabbed a tiny cardboard box with small holes punched into it and carefully swept up the snake, placing it gently in the container.
Dee picked out the rest of the supplies they needed, signed a few forms, and went home. When they were sure that everything had been set up properly, they—very slowly and delicately—placed their new reptilian companion in the tank that stretched across a cleared-off spot on their dresser. The snake stayed still for a moment, then began slithering tentatively around the tank. Dee crouched down to watch the snake at eye level.
“I think I’ll call you Dante,” they said. “You look like a Dante.”
Dante flicked out their tongue.
Dee couldn’t help but giggle at that. “You’re a good listener aren’t you?”
Dante didn’t say anything (obviously).
Dee stood up. “I’m probably freaking you out now. I’m going to go for a run. You stay out of trouble, okay?”
Dante slithered under a rock.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
After checking one more time to make sure that everything in the tank was in order, Dee grabbed their jacket and went outside. The air was crisp and cool—perfect for an afternoon jog. The sky was gray and full of clouds. There were a few people walking around, mostly in pairs (presumably soulmates). They seemed to be taking advantage of the calm spring weather, just like Dee was.
Dee put in their earbuds and sighed, relaxing and letting the rhythm of their music envelop them. The whole world seemed to slow and shift so that all the fears and worries surrounding them went just out of focus. Dee loved it. It was like being underwater, except they could breathe fine. It let them clear their mind and gave them the space to think, whereas every other part of their life seemed crowded and smothered by people or expectations or some looming threat that wasn’t quite clear to them yet.
(Jogging was actually a suggestion from Dee’s therapist. Dee had decided to go to therapy about a year ago and admittedly, it had been helping. Although, Dee still couldn’t quite figure out how to tell Alastor that they were going to therapy. They just called it their “Monday night yoga class” and he didn’t question it, thankfully.)
Dee let themself slip into a trance of being relaxed yet alert, and jogged around the city, casually noting the things they saw. There was the pawn shop, and the large, grungy Going out of business! sign adorning its front window. There was the bookstore, and the pet store, and the tattoo parlor. Eventually, Dee reaches the park (where someone was walking a very large dog), and next to it, the cemetery.
Going by the cemetery always made Dee a bit nervous. They wouldn’t say that they were superstitious, but hey, you could never be too careful, right? Most days, the cemetery was empty; but today, there was one person there, standing near a tall, solitary oak tree. They were wearing a black hoodie and seemed to have purple hair (although, at this distance, Dee couldn’t be sure). It almost looked like they were talking.
Dee shook their head and refocused on their course. Whoever was at the cemetery, whatever their purpose was for being there, it didn’t matter, at least not to Dee.
Finally, after hints of indigo had begun to creep into the sky, Dee arrived at home. They took off their jacket and removed their earbuds, panting softly. They walked into their bedroom and checked on Dante, who was now curled up in the back corner of the tank. Dee set a hand on the dresser, careful not to shake the tank and startle Dante.
“How’s it going, buddy? You seem to be getting settled in nicely,” Dee said. “Just wait till my soulmate gets here. You’ll love him. I do.” Dee smiled. “I do,” they repeated to no one.
If anyone had asked, Dee would have happily shared that the reason they chose Dante was because of the pattern of scales on their head. The half-albino effect made their head entirely white—except for a large patch of brown on the left side of their snout. It was beautiful, like it had been painted on by an expert artist. It reminded Dee of the birthmark on their own face.
It looks beautiful on Dante. Maybe it looks beautiful on me, too. Dee gently traced the curves of the serpent on their palm, still watching Dante.
Slam! Dee flinched at the sudden, sharp noise of the front door shutting.
“Look who’s home,” Dee said softly.
He slammed the door harder than he needed to, Dee noted. He must’ve had a bad day. Again.
Dee slipped out of the room and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner, bracing themself for another long tirade from Alastor. He did not disappoint.
(Taglist: @sociallyanxious-1 @someone-idk-is-here @the-melody-of-eliza @froggols @deadeyedustin @sympathetic-deceit-trash @surleytemple @entitydark @sadgayisme )
