cryptsleeper | 20s AU Post

20s AU Post

Current Carmilla plot outline
--Post-fire, Carmilla and Mr. Peanut team up mostly to use each other. Carmilla's spent the past several months (since November, it is now February 1925) networking, and it's clear to her that Alucard's not suited for the position and that the other two are the obvious weakness. Mr Peanut needs something back, so this is perfect on her end. Mr Peanut can only imagine the joys of vampire blood in his work, and he'd like an army of vampires for his own ends.
--Shit stirring from Mr Peanut (all of March?)
--Mr Peanut also begins to sell mis Miracle Serum, which has vampire blood in it.
--Gang is very much trying to murder Mr Peanut during this.
--Start of April, vampire gets a call from one of the blood bank contacts that 3 patients have come in and are displaying some bizarre signs. Investigation yields the fact that they're in process of turning, and they've all taken the same serum.
--Additional investigation reveals O FUCK IT MR PEANUT
--Meanwhile Carmilla's been made aware of a familiar she didn't sire, so she knows something's up. Big fight with Mr. Peanut and thus Mr. Peanut is left depowered
--Gang commits a murder
--Carmilla's well sured up on her contacts now, and it's time for open rebellion (mid-April)
--In a more subtle attempt to let Alucard just step aside, she cuts the breaks on demon car and shows up to gloat/suggest he not pull a dad and go to deal with his grief quietly while she runs the city. The how he wants to do it is up to him (black widow joke goes here.) Treffy and Sypha walk in.
--1 week of straight up rebellion; feedings, no help from allies, need to do damage control instead of fight carmilla, every dracula rule is
--MEANWHILE IN GRAVITY FALLS, triangle shows Vlad what's up to try and psyche him out, somehow this finalyl snaps Vlad out of his depression and he heads home
--Just in time for Alucard and Carmilla to be tearing each other to bits in one of the bayous, it's not going well
--Vlad coming in means the king of vampires is accosted by a belmont with a pair of blessed knitting needles and a speaker with a fucking gun and he's just like what the shit happened to the world while i was gone
--Wards around the fight means that only demon car can break the wards, everyone has to pile in.
--Carmilla gets her ass kicked AND SENT TO THE JUSTICE DIMENSION

THEN THERE WERE FAERIES.
--Prior to all of this the vampire and Sypha have done a shit ton of research on how to get their Belmont back
--Sypha has also been practicing debating with dad, which leaves everyone Very Tired.
--When Trevor is actually snatched up (1 year after marriage, it takes fae effort. Taking Arn's shape fails, so it's a lot more kidnapping by force), Sypha and Alucard go into Faerie
--But they're playing this as politics, not as heroes rescuing their damsel, so that means the faeries are just "wait what now excuse u?"
--There are 3 gates and 3 trials (the particulars we're still bullshitting.) Each is asked to sacrifice 3 things. (Alucard: voice, his titles as bestowed upon by his father and his people, i forget the third; Sypha: her human form (she's a birb), fuck what were the other two)
--They enter the court at the end of the third trial. After LITERALLY ALL THE TITLES Sypha declares she Speaks for Trevor Belmont
--Claim debate over Trevor, turns out that the rules are in Sypha's favor.
--But that means debating to leave Fae without giving up what they've chosen.
--Sypha lawyers it all out, Alucard is a safety deposit and hangs out with Fae!Trevor
--In the end, safe passage out of Faerie consists of Sypha giving up her memory of the necromancer (billed as a great mage she studied under), the vampire gives up his immortality, and Trevor is replaced with Carmilla (dad was aware of this option and OK with it), but Trevor has his ability to swear taken. He now soundslike a rubber ducky when he tries
--Everyone gets home okay, except for the AU of this AU where the gang fails, but Trevor's on their doorstep like a bat out of Hell because time doesn't work right and he's been in Hell for a WHILE.

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Promise not to stake him.

[ He pulls away from Alucard, just a little, enough to look him in the eyes properly. ]

We won't let him hurt you. You know that, don't you?

The past year and a half has demonstrated exactly why we cannot do that under any circumstances, and she's smart enough to know that.

[Don't make him take this fucking job back.

The vampire nods when Trevor looks him in the eye. Trevor's talking about a new job, but he'll always be needed here. Next to Alucard.]

I know. [He squeezes Trevor's waist gently. Alucard's not too solid at grabbing yet.] Shield.

Always.

[ His hand moves from Alucard's hair to his cheek, stroking softly. He's alive. He's going to need more time to recover, but he's alive. This is over. They're all of them safe- or as safe as a Belmont can be in the presence of Dracula. ]

What are you going to do? Other than take awfully long naps.

I'll keep to normal hours.

[That's a promise, if only because it is cruel to let the two of them keep dealing with Dracula alone. There's another happier noise, and as dearly as the vampire wants to bury his face into Trevor's chest, it's more important that Trevor be able to see his very much alive face.

A very much alive face that has a thin and tired and satisfied smile on it.]

Wedding planning, I suppose.

Oh, shit, right.

[ He reaches back for a moment, to the collection the ribbons and buttons and googly eyes on the bedside table, the ones he's been using to decorate the various potatoes. His hand returns with a short length of ribbon, and he gently pulls Alucard's hand away from his chest so that he can tie it around his ring finger. ]

I'll ask properly once you're both here, and I have something better. [ There's a reason he needs to find work, okay? ] For now, I just want to spite your father in the meantime.

[ HA HA, VLAD. YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS REALITY WHERE YOUR SON IS MARRYING A BELMONT. ]

Hm?

[Alucard's careful enough to lighten his grip on Trevor's shirt so that the Belmont can reach back for whatever it is he's looking for. As Trevor moves, Alucard tilts his head, and...

...oh.

He's never going to get a better wake up from a depression nap ever again.

Alucard's laugh is a little hoarse, but it is so very, very warm. He looks down at the ribbon, and there's a bigger, stupider grin on his face.]

I'm all for spite.

[That's a Good Proposal in and of itself, frankly. He can't stop looking. Because the vampire's an idiot and wooed by smaller moments of affection.]

I'd be happy with just the ribbon.

[More than that, the vampire hasn't offered to pay himself. Or mention people who might have work that needs working.]

[ He laughs awkwardly at that, rubbing the back of his head, because no. He has to Do This Right. He is a Good Catholic Boy and he has to marry his Heretic Girlfriend and his Vampire Boyfriend properly, dammit. ]

I can do better than repurposing the trim of a potato's dress, you know.

[ He brings his hand up to Alucard's, not taking it but leaving it near for him to grab onto. ]

This is just so I didn't break my end of the bargain. You came back to us, you get a ring.

[TREVOR YOU'RE EASTERN ORTHODOX.]

I know. It's a place holder. But the potatoes are important too.

[The vampire is saving this ribbon, because he's still a sentimental fuck.

And to hell with it. Trevor's right. He's back, he's here, he's in one of the two sets of arms that matters most. So he leans up so he can kiss the Belmont.

Depression nap breath is, unsurprisingly, gross as hell. So Alucard doesn't linger.]

[ THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT LESS IMPORTANT TO DO THIS RIGHT

DO YOU THINK HIS GRANDMAS WOULD LET HIM LIVE IF HE FUCKED THIS UP?????

It kind of is gross as hell. He wants to act like it isn't, but it really kind of is. They had to wash him and change his clothes to keep the cuts clean, but that doesn't make a bit of difference for the breath. ]

Every time, I forget to bring mints for you.

[ He kisses back anyway, then breaks it to kiss his forehead instead. ]

[THEY WOULDN'T.

The vampire is so aware it's gross. But some things just need to be done properly, gross or not. They're also worth it because they make him laugh.]

Maybe I should get to the bathroom and take care of that.

[Wait.]

Am I allowed out of bed?

Not yet.

[ He is. As far as Trevor's concerned, anyway. If he can stand, it's probably best that he be up and about after sleeping for so long. The movement's probably better for him than lying in bed, even if it's just walking from here to the living room or their own room.

But- ]

Not done hugging you. You're allowed out once Sypha's show is done. We'll go surprise her at the end of this.

She can't knock me over though. It's been known to happen.

[Alucard's question is less about that and more about not aggravating the one deeper cut he knows is there on his thigh. He has a free hand, so he runs his finger down to try and gauge how it's healing.

Just bandages there. So he has to clarify.]

Is anything going to open if I walk?

Can't say for sure. We've been able to move you in and out of the bath without problems.

[ Not the one in the bathroom. It's a metal tub, and Sypha's been in charge of filling and heating it. ]

Walking might be different. Just- take it easy. I'll find you a curtain pole.

[ That would be what is known as a joke. Not so much because he admits the curtain pole made a crappy crutch, more because the idea of Alucard needing a crutch is laughable when he's just going to be leaning against Trevor until he recovers. It'll annoy Dracula more that way. ]

Mm. If anything starts to bleed, then we stop.

[Because right now there's nothing the vampire can think of as worse than pulling stitches and listening to his father lecture him about appropriate convalesnce.]

The pole is in the chest at the foot of our bed, by the way.

[Just in case Trevor's serious. Just in case anyone ever needed to know how bad the vampire is with not being sentimental. He grins, burying his face against Trevor finally.]

I'm looking at my crutch anyway.

You ridiculous vampire. Here I thought you'd snuck it out of the house while I wasn't paying attention.

[ He pulls Alucard close, and- god, it's tempting to bother Sypha in the middle of her show, just to let her know that he's awake. She's going to be so relieved. Just maybe not relieved enough to not be cross that her show was interrupted. ]

Of course you are. I'll stay close for as long as you need.

It's important.

[Important like Sypha's blood stained speaker robes that are also in that chest. Like the one dress of his mother's packed away in there too. A pressed flower from oneof his and Sypha's earliest dates. All the little things that define them. The ribbon will go in there too, after there's a real ring.

The vampire can't demand forever. He knows that, even if he wants to, because he's still a selfish fucking princeling.]

Good. [They're entwined as closely as possible right now. He can't be closer.] No one else we care about is hurt, are they?

[Trevor's grandmothers, mostly. Alucard's assuming that his father has taken care of the rage the city's vampire population and there are bodies now.]

Theodora has a trial before your father, but it's only for appearances. She'll produce evidence of her support for you at the beginning, talk about how Carmilla forced her hand. Nothing will come of it. It's just so that everyone can see how merciful and understanding he is toward those who serve well. Strike a little fear into those who sided with Carmilla, to see even her have to be called to explain herself.

Tanti's taken over Garden District for a while - the hunters there who sided with Carmilla directly are being put on a train elsewhere. The ones who didn't are to work under her supervision until they earn your father's good will again. Bunicuta and the others are fine. They're in talks with Dracula about the whole 'war' business. More formalities. All they want at the end of the day is for your father to enforce his rules and he seems more than happy to do that.

[ It's been too long since he's been able to pull Alucard up against his chest and bury his face in his hair ]

[The weight of Trevor's face feels right. Warm. Perfect. And maybe he squeezes the Belmont just a little bit harder, because there's some guilt in having any of this come to pass in the first place.]

That's stunningly restrained.

[Alucard, in his darkest, would just sort of expect every vampire in the city dead. In his darkest, he's not sure he would care that much either.]

On all their accounts, if I'm being honest.

...yeah.

[ He doesn't want to mention his own suspicions about Dracula's restraint. They sound strange, coming from the mouth of a Belmont. But he has been pouring over Lisa's notes to make the medicine they've given to Alucard. And he has emerged from those notebooks tired but, ultimately, more merciful than they could have expected. ]

Yeah. It is.

[ And then, because this calls for an awkward distraction from having to think about Dracula having emotions, he rubs his face in Alucard's hair. ]

Ours. Not the city's. Ours.

[Alucard doesn't trust it. It could be temporary. It could invite more nonsense. (It's a wild and pointless fear, but it is there.) But thinking like that, hell thinking about the city isn't his job anymore. It isn't going to be ever again.

Dracula having emotions is normal, Trevor. Alucard's just happy to have a distraction from having emotions about Dracula.]

Only yours now. [Thank God. Thank God, thank fuck, thank everything. He is so grateful for it.] The only title I have. Only one that will ever matter.

Only ours.

[ He wanted Alucard to belong to the city, didn't he, so long ago? And now he never will, and yet somehow that feels like a victory. ]

And you'll still want me here, even though this city doesn't need a Belmont anymore?

Fuck the city. [The vampire swears so very rarely.] We need you.

Mm.

[ Alucard can’t see his face, head buried in his chest like this, but he holds him tighter. Temsion leaves his body. He’s needed, even now. ]

You don’t have to fuck the city, if you’d rather not. I could suggest better options.

[ Well. Maybe not for a while. He does need to recover first. ]

I have an idea of those options. Soon. I'd like to at least be in our bed tonight.

[Wait.

Oh God, his father's home.

That's....that's going to be awkward.]

Besides, you're ours. We'll always need you.

Tonight. Bed’s weird with just two.

[ His hands go back to Alucard’s hair, combing through it with his fingers. Theirs. ]

Might want to come back here if you need rest while we’re awake, mind. Your father’s put himself in charge of your care, and so he’ll- probably want to see you.

[ The last week has involved a lot of trying to tell Dracula that he’s banned from entering their room. A room of his own house. It’s been a shitshow. He hopes you appreciate the effort. ]

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