Hazel!

Fawn's POV

It's been a relatively quiet morning.

I stayed in Alastor's lap while he worked on his reports. He had a bit more to work on today because the reports weren't put together for him like they normally would've been.

His work looked boring today.

Nothing but a few basic stories and then...a murder?

The butcher on South Street?...hm, I wonder why he killed him, he loves that butcher shop...

I put my finger to the text, pointing it out, "why him? I thought you liked that shop?" I questioned, and he hummed.

"I did...quite unfortunate, indeed," he said, but I could tell in his voice he didn't actually feel bad...in fact, he sounded rather pleased.

"You didn't answer me, silly...I asked why," I repeated, and he was quiet for a second before he just shut the file and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close to him.

"Well, my dear...it seems he mistook me for a man who likes to share and...I do not tolerate disrespect."

Disrespect?

Share?

"Did he try to steal from you?" I wondered, and he buried his nose into my neck.

"Somewhat..." he murmured.

I sighed, knowing he doesn't like to share details from his killings with me. Not that I want him to, but he gets very vague about it whenever I get curious, and that can be frustrating.

However, I dropped the subject. If I push too hard, I might just get what I'm asking for and I'm not sure that's really what I want.

We stayed like that for a moment, him hugging me gently and occasionally laying a kiss against my neck.

Until, reluctantly, he sighed and pulled away. I took the hint, sliding off his lap so both of us could stand up.

"It appears it's time for me to go entertain," he said with a roll of him eyes, but a soft smile.

I giggled, "oh, you sound so happy," I retorted while fixing his bow tie.

He bent down and rubbed his nose against mine lovingly, "my dear, I wish I could spend every breathing moment I have to spare with you and you alone...but alas, the bills will not pay themselves, little darling, so to broadcast I must go," he feigned despair, dramatically laying his hand over his face.

I rolled my eyes, but blushed at his words.

"Drama Queen," I mumbled.

He opened his eyes and looked at me, "what was that?" He hummed, lowering his eyelids.

"I said I love you so much, have fun!" I perked up with a cheeky smile, and he chuckled.

"Yea, sure you did. You're lucky you're so cute," he commented, and pinched my cheek before turning on his heel and heading for the door.

I jogged to catch up with him, "wait up!" I called, looping our arms when I finally got to him.

He looked surprised, and opened the door for me, "oh? You haven't sat in for a broadcast in a minute...won't poor Niffty be lonely?" He hummed with a grin.

I shrugged, "I'll see her later...besides, not everyone gets booth privileges, and I haven't been taking advantage of that nearly enough."

He chuckled, "dear, you are the only person I let sit in with me during broadcasts."

My smile widened, and we started walking down the hallway.

"I know."

**

"Alright folks, that's it for the morning segment! Meet me back here in a bit for the afternoon reports, and thank you for tuning in!"

I clapped softly after Al pressed the button to sign off.

He spun in his chair and did a little bow.

Then he stood up, approaching me with an outstretched hand, "Alrighty, my dear, time for a little break," he said as he began to escort me out of the booth.

When we stepped out into the hall, he turned to me and bent down slightly, "I need to run to the restroom, my darling. Go wait for me in the break room, I'll be right there," he said before kissing me on the cheek.

I smiled and nodded, then promptly stole a kiss on the lips.

He blushed and rolled his eyes, but cupped my face gently to brush his thumb over my cheek before he turned and began walking towards the main office.

I watched him for a moment, just until he left my sight, and then I turned to make my way to the break room.

The office has been weirdly quiet today, it's almost eerie...I suppose every workplace has its slow days, though.

When I entered the break room, there was one other person in there. I recognized him immediately, he's one of the new reporters.

He and I are about the same age, I'd say. I might be a year or two older, but I can't really tell by just looking at him.

He spotted me and smiled. I gave him a smile in return, joining him over by the coffee pot.

Immediately, I went to pour myself my usual afternoon cup, but he beat me to it. He grabbed a cup and poured some, handing it to me.

"There you go miss!" He said kindly, and I nodded appreciatively.

"Thanks!" I said, lifting the cup to my lips.

But before I took a drink, I furrowed my brows and looked up at him, "hey, what's your name? I don't think I've had a chance to ask."

He poured a cup of coffee for himself, "Princeton, but my friends call me Prince."

I held my hand out for him, smiling brightly, "Fawn. It's nice to meet you," I responded.

He looked at my hand, and took it without hesitation. After giving my hand a gentle squeeze, he bowed slightly and brought my knuckles to his lips.

Oh? Ok.

"It's a pleasure, miss...I've seen you around, but you're normally with the boss, so I've been a little nervous to try and approach you," he said before releasing me and picking his coffee back up.

At the mention of Alastor, I glanced to the door.

Thank god he's not here yet...he has a tendency to get a little jealous.

Nothing this boy has done has struck me as something to be jealous over, but Alastor has his ways.

"Ah, yea," I waved my hand, "he's not so bad...I could introduce you two when he gets here, he's in the bathroom right now," I offered, and Prince's smile widened.

"Sure! Really, I'm just a big fan of his work...it's been a dream of mine to broadcast one day," he said, then took a long sip of his coffee.

I giggled, "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear that."

He and I chatted for a minute, and he was actually really sweet. A bit bashful, and very respectful.

Until...I noticed his skin had flushed, and he was sweating slightly.

"Uh...hey, are you alright?" I asked, my brows furrowing with a bit of worry.

He chuckled and nodded, waving it off, "a-ah...yes...just a bit, uh...I just feel a bit..." his eyes were full of confusion, and he tried to put his coffee on the counter, but missed.

It clattered to the floor, causing me to gasp, clutching my own cup that I'd yet to drink from.

I jumped back slightly as a reflex to avoid the liquid, and Prince was clutching his throat, choking on nothing.

"P-Prince! Whats wrong, are you ok?!" I asked him worriedly.

His eyes were now bloodshot, and he was beginning to foam at the mouth. The sight was disturbing, and my heart was beating fast in my chest.

I quickly set my cup to the side, reaching out for him as he stumbled forward and fell into me.

Both of us went to the floor, and he landed on his back, still gasping for air. His skin was paper white now, and I was frantically trying to figure out what to do.

My brain was blanking, and I probably should've called for help, but that was an afterthought as I stared down at this horrifying scene.

He began to cough up foaming vomit, clutching onto me tightly.

My hand went over my mouth and I turned to the door.

Where the fuck is Alastor?!

"Help!" I called out, finally finding my voice, "help! Someone! Alastor!"

I turned back to Prince, grabbing his hand that he was using to clutch my blouse. His eyes were focused on me and I smiled at him.

"Help is coming..." I tried to reassure him, but my voice was shaking.

He choked again and gagged, then he coughed up blood.

My eyes widened, and just then the door slammed open.

Several footsteps approached, gathering around me.

I stayed focused on Prince, watching as his eyes glazed over and his hand went limp in my grip.

My ears were ringing, I couldn't move.

Until everything came crashing back down when I felt hands on my shoulders.

"Fawn! What happened!"

My body was pulled up from the floor and away from the scene. His hand slid out of mine and hit the ground.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the corpse that had just a moment ago been a bright, bubbly young man.

Then, I was spun around to face whoever pulled me up, and met eyes with Alastor.

"Fawn! Baby, look at me, not that, look here...hey, can you hear me, sweetheart? You're alright...breathe, you're alright," he cooed, and ran his hands down my face, caressing my burning flesh.

I hiccuped softly and shook my head, "I-I don't know...what...I don't know what ha-happened...w-we were just talking..."

Alastor shushed me softly, bringing me into his chest, "it's ok...you're ok...don't get upset, sweetie, you're alright..." he murmured as he brushed through my hair with his fingers.

"He's dead." I heard Thomas's distant voice confirm what I'd watched happen.

"Shit..." Alastor hissed, "what the fuck happened?" He growled, still holding me against his chest.

He was rocking me gently back and forth.

"I wish I could tell you...it looks like he had some sort of episode or something...a seizure maybe?" Tom responded, and I clutched onto Alastor, just trying to block everything out.

However, something Tom said didn't sound right.

"I-it wasn't a seizure..." I whimpered.

Alastor paused, then gently pulled me away from him so he could look down at me.

He cupped my face and brushed away the tears I didn't even realize I'd been crying.

"My darling...can you tell us what happened?" He asked softly, and I sniffled.

"We were just...talking. H-he...he just started choking...and then he...he fell down and I-I couldn't..." I squeezed my eyes shut, and Al sighed.

"Choking?" He murmured, "did he eat something before it happened?"

I shook my head, "no, we were just talking over coffee, and he took a drink before..." my voice trailed off, and my eyes widened.

Quickly I looked up at Al, and his expression had hardened. He was staring straight ahead before he turned toward whoever else was in the room.

"Nobody touch the coffee!" He barked, then looked down at me, his expression filling with worry, "did you drink any? Do you feel ill?" He asked, feeling my face and forehead.

I shook my head, "n-no, I sort of forgot I was holding mine...it's sitting over there," I pointed and he looked to the counter where my untouched coffee cup sat.

He hurried over to it, and I finally got a full view of the room.

Niffty and Thomas stood next to each other, and someone else was over at the wall using the phone to call the police I'm assuming.

Someone had covered Prince's face with a handkerchief.

My eyes went back to Alastor, and I watched him as he picked up my cup, lifting it to his face.

Worry spiked in my chest as he did so, thinking he's about to drink it, but all he did was smell it.

Then his eyes widened and he immediately poured it down the sink. Then he grabbed the coffee pot and poured it out before throwing the entire thing in the trash.

Alastor's POV

After disposing of the contaminated coffee pot, I hurried over to Tom.

Sparing Fawn a glance, I gave her a weak smile then grabbed Tom by the front of his shirt and drug him away from Niffty and to a secluded corner.

"What's wrong?" He asked me in a hushed whisper, straightening his shirt once I'd released him.

"Someone laced the coffee with cyanide," I hissed quietly, "the smell almost knocked me off my feet, whoever did it wasn't just aiming to kill...they wanted absolutely no chance of survival."

Tom was quiet, and then shook his head, "why the fuck would someone do that? That's sick."

I glared over towards the dead body, then around the room, looking for anything to indicate a culprit.

"I don't know..." I mumbled, "but tell everyone not to eat or drink anything in this room."

He nodded and I turned around and went over to Niffty, bending down to whisper to her, "deep clean this entire room. Wear gloves and a mask, and be careful...someone here has poison," I warned her, and she nodded.

"Ok, Al," she said and then rushed off to get her supplies I'm assuming.

Finally I made my way back to Fawn, and she watched me with wary eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked me, and I smiled at her before gently taking her by the shoulders and steering her away from the scene.

"Someone poisoned the coffee, sweetheart..." I said quietly, and she gasped.

"What?!"

Quickly, I shushed her, "don't cause a commotion, honey...everything is fine, we'll take care of it—"

"Everything isn't fine, Alastor, someone is dead!"

I winced and realized I'm not helping her calm down at all.

"You're right, dear, you're right...I'm sorry, look, let's just get you home, ok?"

She took a few deep breaths and stared up at me through wet lashes, her eyes still a bit glossy from earlier. Reluctantly she nodded, and I smiled, taking her hand into mine.

"Good girl...the police will handle it, I don't want you worrying yourself over it..."

My smile slowly slipped as we made our way through the office. The hallway was full of murmuring employees, most of them watching us as we left.

I glared at them, pulling Fawn closer to me.

They averted their stares upon seeing my expression. It's not often they see me without a smile.

All I could think about was what would've happened had Fawn taken a drink of that coffee...

Dozens of people go in and out of that break room a day...there's no way to know who did it.

As we left I saw a familiar face in the crowd of concerned employees. Mindy was standing there, and while everyone else had averted their stares elsewhere, she was looking directly at us.

At me.

Her eyes were dull, and she was the only one in the group who seemed...calm.

My gaze narrowed slightly, and I watched as she followed us with her eyes...then her eyes flicked to Fawn and she scowled before spinning on her heel and disappearing through a doorway.

I stopped at the front door, staring at where she'd just been standing.

All the noise around me faded out, and suspicion planted it self into the back of my brain.

She wouldn't...

"Al?"

Fawn's voice pulled me back to the present and I looked down at her. She was giving me a worried look, glancing over to where I'd been staring.

Quickly I put on a smile, opening the door for her.

I need to get her out of here before the police arrive, all they're going to do is stress her even more...

"Nothing, dear, come on..."

After I said that, she and I finally slipped away from the suffocating environment, heading back to the only place I know I can keep her completely safe.