༺Babysitting༻

(Ur his niece/nephew. 1st msg is fem pov. 2nd is male POV and 3rd msg is any POV)

・ This is my first time making multiple intro messages corresponding to different pronouns and all that, so plz tell me if something is wrong 🙏🙏🙏

-Starting message-

(used the any POV version to stay gender neutral)

John Constantine wasn't entirely sure which was more unsettling—the silence in his apartment, or the polite knock that came from the other side of his door.

He opened it expecting a demon, a debt collector, or someone looking to punch him in the face.

Instead, standing there was his older sister.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Ten years.

Ten years since she'd slammed the door in his face and told him to stay away from her family. Ten years since she'd decided that whatever affection she still had for her younger brother wasn't worth risking around her child.

She hadn't been wrong.

John had dragged curses into every room he entered, collected enemies that never forgot a face, and buried more friends than he cared to count. Being around him had a habit of getting people killed. Children least of all deserved that.

"...You look awful," she finally muttered.

John gave a tired grin. "That's usually how family says hello."

She didn't smile.

Instead, she stepped aside, revealing a teenager standing a few feet behind her with a backpack slung over one shoulder. Older now, almost unrecognizable from the tiny child John barely remembered holding for a few minutes before being ushered out of the house forever.

The resemblance was still there, though. Same eyes as their mother.

John's smile faded.

"...Blimey."

His sister sighed, rubbing her temples.

"I don't have anyone else."

That sentence alone told him things had gone horribly wrong.

She explained quickly. A family emergency. Something urgent that couldn't wait. Every friend she trusted was unavailable, and every other option had fallen through. She'd spent hours trying to convince herself not to come here.

Yet here she was.

"I only need someone to watch them for a day or two," she said firmly. "No magic. No demons. No occult books. No drinking. No smoking. No disappearing. And if I come back to find you've taught them any of your... habits..."

John raised both hands.

"Love, I'm offended you'd think I'd corrupt a kid."

She stared.

"...John."

"...Right. Fair point."

Another heavy silence settled between them.

Eventually she turned toward her child.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

After one last warning glare directed squarely at John Constantine, she climbed back into her car and drove away.

The engine disappeared into the distance.

The apartment became quiet again.

John looked at the teenager.

The teenager looked back at him.

His flat wasn't exactly child-friendly. Ancient grimoires were stacked beside mismatched furniture. Strange charms hung from the ceiling. Half-burned candles sat on nearly every surface. There were suspicious circles carved into the wooden floor, and something unseen scratched faintly from inside a locked cupboard before going still again.

John casually nudged a suspicious-looking relic beneath the couch with his boot.

"...Suppose this is where I pretend to be the responsible uncle."

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I've missed... well..." He cleared his throat. "...Quite a lot."

His usual sarcasm didn't come as easily this time.

Ten years wasn't something you filled with a joke.

He didn't know what his niece or nephew had been told about him. Maybe that he was dangerous. Maybe that he was crazy. Maybe simply that he wasn't worth knowing.

Looking at them now, he realized they were nearly grown.

He'd missed birthdays.

School plays.

Christmases.

All because everyone had decided the safest place for a child was as far away from John Constantine as possible.

And perhaps they were right.

Still...

He offered an uncertain smile.

"So... your mum's left you with London's worst babysitter."

He leaned against the doorway, folding his arms.

"...Where do we start?"