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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I hope not, Sypha's been threatening anyone who tries to start- trouble [ Shit, he means. He has to not swear. This is hard. ] -with her disapproval.

[ In truth, he finds he doesn't really mind it being posturing so much. It isn't just that it works, but in a place like this, it being read as possessive means safety. And perhaps it should chafe at his pride, the fact that in the eyes of everyone here he and his family name are nothing more than very impressive possessions, but with Alucard it doesn't. It can't. Not when he knows how much Alucard hates all of this.

So it's just safety, without any of the baggage that comes with it. And he's only realizing since coming here just how much safety means to him. It means a lot, and he leans into Alucard, just a little. ]

I think I can manage that much longer.

As eager as I am to see how she'd translate that, and I really mean those words, I'm happier to go without.

[There won't be any major parties for a while. The smaller covens of witches in the area will have Beltane in May, but from January until May, major events are few and far between. This event will be the last one anyone remarks upon, and whatever happens, it will stick. So better for nothing at all to happen and leave no sourness about the surname of Belmont now being a part of the city's landscape.

Being leaned into feels like permission to just press another kiss to the same spot as before. Which Alucard does without any hesitation.]

Mmm.

[Alucard feels Damien's eyes on them. Which means he shifts, whispering into Trevor's ear.]

Behaving counts as following my lead, yes?

[ There are stares, just a few. Less than there had been at midnight. The Belmont (a Belmont, technically, for news has not yet spread that he is not one of many, and that message is going to be both powerful and dangerous) is in the possession of the city's new ruler, and that it worth staring at. He doesn't care. He doesn't care that that's going to be the opinion of the entire city, because if anything it's the best of both worlds. All the safety that comes from being too dangerous to touch. All the authority that being an extension of Alucard's will lends him. And none of the indignity, because Alucard and Sypha are the only ones in this room whose opinions he gives a shit about anyway and they know the truth.

Damien is watching. Trevor only sees him out of the corner of his eye, not willing to give him the satisfaction of proof that he's still wary. ]

-follow you anywhere. Behaving or not.

[ His response is half mumbled. Tired sounding, but all the more sincere for it. ]

Good, because I really, really want to be a petulent ass at the moment to one person in particular.

[Alucard's free hand moves up, running slowly and carefully under Trevor's jaw for just a moment before tilting it back to just the right angle. Optics are important, and a gloved hand over bare skin is just one aspect of it. The hand on Trevor's waist tightens, tugging at the fabric of suit jacket and trousers. (Alucard didn't try buying him any new clothes for the night. No one around would know what Trevor's church clothes look like, and if there's a faint smell of incense, let that be a reminder too.)

He's slow as he leans in to kiss Trevor properly. Making goddamn sure Damien's watching, and then turning all his attention to Trevor and Trevor alone. There's zero chasteness involved like Alucard might otherwise insist on for public events. He's found a way to be slow and aggressive as he puts his lips to Trevor's. Holds still for a reaction, as to not threaten any fangs into the equation.]

[ And smell of incense they do. Though it slowed somewhat after boxing day, the holiday season has meant a lot of time in various services at the church, from mass to carol services to helping with children's performances, and no amount of washing can leave the smell of it undetectable to vampire senses. Nobody needs to know that the scent of the inside of a church comes not from some holy power but from evenings spent helping Agatha wrangle a group of six year olds in angel costumes though dress rehearsals of off-key attempts at carols.

He was expecting dramatic-but-chaste. This is only one of those things. He can't see Damien's expression right now - even if he were close enough, Alucard's hair is between them - but he hopes that it's either dumbfounded or furious. And that's the last that he thinks of that asshole, instead focusing entirely on Alucard. He leans back, not to be away from Alucard but to be below in in a way that feels right, to let Alucard lean over him so there's less of him exposed to the world of things-that-are-not-his-vampire, trusting him to take his weight. And he kisses back. It's not a match for Alucard's intensity, softer even than usual. It's soft, delicate, almost as if he's murmuring prayers against his mouth. ]

[Alucard and Sypha had only gotten the full sense of holiday season intensity after dinner on the 25th. (The vampire insisted Trevor dictate the menu, he was only here to cook it.) A full two hours of explaining what, exactly, had been going on since advent started, and then honestly it had ended in horrified and delighted laughing. Because this? This was Trevor's lot for all the years to come now.

And they were never going to help, because Alucard couldn't, and Sypha would be too beside herself with laughter to be effective in any way, shape or form.

Dramatics are the word of the night, aren't they? Alucard's own type tend to be confined to the house because they undermine any sense of dignity he has. Except for this, and even then it feels like half dramatics because Alucard's wanted to do this all night instead of keep up the usual facade.

From the stares in Damien's direction, Alucard is certain the reaction is furious. Which, good. Damien could have had a brain and waited for his father to return, but he didn't. So now he has to watch this instead, knowing he gave Alucard not just the greatest way to keep the city in line, but apparently someone to love.

Trevor's weight is nothing in this moment. It's comfortable and warm and Alucard's just going to keep kissing him like this until he remembers air is important. When he does, when he pulls away, it's only be a few inches. The softness was a surprise. A welcome one.]

[ What a wonderful tribute he made.

He wants to joke about that, but he doesn't. He doesn't do much of anything, really, other than kiss back until the kiss is broken, other than tightening his hands around the fabric of Alucard's suit, other than forgetting that the rest of the hall exists. He can't make a joke at Damien's expense, because the vampire may as well not be here. He isn't Alucard or Sypha, and so he probably doesn't exist right now.

He doesn't need to care about him. He doesn't need to keep one eye on him the whole night, knowing that he will be displeased and that that's going to show itself somehow and the last thing he wants to become is a weakness that someone can strike at Alucard through. It doesn't matter, because he's safe.

He doesn't speak for a moment after the kiss breaks, letting himself just be a warm weight in Alucard's arms. When he does talk, it's breathless and quiet and accompanied by a small, genuine smile. ]

A whole half hour?

[That joke would have gotten a terrible sour face from Alucard beside.]

Changed my mind. We're leaving now.

[Half an hour won't make much of a difference anyway. There have been more people leaving early tonight than normal, and Alucard is keenly aware that he has absolutely played himself in how much longer he's willing to charade about.

That smile's too much anyway. Alucard wants to lean down and kiss Trevor again, but that means wiping that look off Trevor's face and that, in this moment, feels like a sin of sorts. All Alucard can do is smile back and nudge Trevor just a little. This embrace has to break so they can get going.]

[ He lets Alucard guide his weight back up so that he's standing normally, and he likes to think he's being very restrained when he only leans forward to kiss him once in the process. Even in the dull light of the party it's clear that he's flushed and his breathing is soft and steady and so even that it has to be being forced to be that way.

(It's something about being safe. Something about being wanted enough to be worth being possessive about. It's probably about ten kinds of messed up, but he can't being himself to care that much.) ]

She'll be dancing still, I think. And she has someone else's shoes, somehow.

[ She borrowed shoes from someone who came wearing flatter footwear so that she could dance in them, but then the shoe-donor seemed to be too drunk to remember that they were still shoeless and left. So now Sypha has two pairs of shoes, holding her own heels in her hands while dancing in someone else's flat shoes. ]

[It's incredible restraint on both their ends. That kiss only gets one returned in kind, and even then that's far more tempered than Alucard feels it ought to be. He's smiling even as he has to pull away, no longer blocking Trevor's face.

Maybe they should just let Sypha drive.

(Alucard won't, they came in his car tonight.)]

Let's go and fetch her then.

[He sure as hell isn't letting go of Trevor after that. His arm remains around Trevor, hand still on his waist. That's for no other reason than wanting to reminder Trevor that he's there and that it'll be just the three of them soon enough.]

[ Sypha is radiant as usual, making the most of her break from Trevor-watching by making the best attempt she can at dancing all the way through her borrowed shoes. She's absorbed in the task, enough that it takes her a few minutes to realize that she's being stared at.

Because of course he's staring at her, because what else can he do? She's beautiful like this, all pink from exertion with carefully styled hair all mussed up and flyaway, a small bruise or two where she's accidentally hit herself with her own shoes from dancing too enthusiastically, eyes the exact kind of bright and sharp that comes from being awake so long that the tiredness becomes manic energy (they absolutely should not let her drive).

She looks back at them when she does notice, at the way that Alucard's arm is still on Trevor's waist, at the way Trevor is practically wilting against him. There's concern on her face for just a moment, and then she actually looks at Trevor's expression and it melts away. He's not afraid and he's not in pain, the expression is just absolute, stupid longing. She kisses both of them when she walks up, her own hand on Trevor's other side before long, knuckles of it brushing against Alucard's jacket when they move. It's not quite correct - they arrived each on one of Alucard's arms like a sword and shield and they probably ought to leave that way - but for now it's good. Perfect.

Home?, she asks.]

Home.

[It's ridiculous, how she can get both of them to stop and stare for what feels like an eternity. A wonderful, glorious eternity that's focused on her and the energy that she creates. Sypha can control ice just as much as she can control fire, she's a contradiction like that, but it is always warmth that she radiates. It is irresponsible for Alucard to put her on so high a pedestal, but there are moments he cannot help but see her as the flame in the castle's hearth.

(There are other reasons he tends not to dwell on that thought for very long, and that is not something he's focusing on now.)

Trevor's weight is warm and wonderful and if anyone has opinions on why the Belmont looks this way, then they can make some stupid conclusion on their own. Sypha's on the other, and fuck, they're leaving like this because Alucard says so.

When they get to the car, Alucard insists they both stay in the back. He's the only one fit to drive (only had champagne at midnight and it's long past that), and once they're on the road home, he fixes the rearview mirror to keep an eye on them both. Mostly just to watch, but also to account for the possibility that he may have to carry them both into the house.]

[ He's had nothing to drink, but he's probably worse for driving than he might be if he had. The night's been overwhelming in every possible way. He doesn't fall asleep the second he's out in the cool-ish air (does this city have seasons that aren't warm? he's yet to experience one), but he settles against Sypha in the car. She's too warm to the touch, warmer than usual from all of the dancing, and the crook of her neck is kind of an uncomfortable place to rest one's head for the heat and sweat of it. Too warm and sticky, like trying to lean on one of this city's summers. But then, it's probably not particularly comfortable having stubble brush against you (he always tries to remember to shave before these events, as would be appropriate and the other two always stop him). So fair is fair.

He's touchier than usual, but in small ways. Little things that aren't overwhelming. Slowly untangling Sypha's hair from an ill-fated decorative hairpin that got lost in it once she started dancing, turning one of the bracelets around on her wrist. More would be- difficult. More than he can bring himself to initiate right now. ]

[The view from the driver's seat is something else. Alucard's watching the road because of course he is, but he's also watching them. The way Trevor settles on Sypha, the way she's still coming down from what probably feels like endless hours of dancing. How Trevor's touches are some of the most tender gestures Alucard's seen from the man in...since he first got here.

There's too much self control involved in not pulling over, climbing into the back, and just holding them both for a long, long while. They're so precious in this moment, and here he is, being denied it because one of them has to drive.

So when they do get home, when he opens the back door of the car for them both (the door from garage into the house just opens automatically), they're kissed in turn. Long and slow and lingering because that's what he's been thinking about since they first got on the road.]

[ Sypha is closest to the door, and she gets out first, taking Alucard's hand to let him help her get out and holding her shoes in the other, still wearing the borrowed ones that are now apparently stolen ones. And they kiss and- Trevor just turns the hairpin he liberated over in his hand, because it's kind of like touching her and it's just so overwhelming that he's forgotten how to undo his seatbelt.

He manages eventually, though it takes him long enough for Sypha to finally break the kiss and look back at him staring at them and start laughing. It's only when she threatens to take Alucard into the house and leave him out here that he actually moves, remembering himself and scrambling out of the car and into both of their arms and then Alucard is kissing him and Sypha is still laughing and he's not entirely sure if he wants to cry or be dragged into bed but it's definitely one of those two things. He half-falls into Alucard's chest when the kiss ends, and he can feel Sypha's hand on his back. She sounds amused still, asking Alucard what on earth he did and accusing him of bringing the wrong person home. ]

[Alucard's seen Trevor drunk. This isn't drunk, this isn't anywhere near how he is when the Belmont's drunk. This is something else entirely, and he's not sure what to make of it quite yet. It looks like sensory overload from the outside, and he's a little afraid he's done something to actually damage Trevor.

That thought's gone when they kiss again. When Trevor's in his arms. He's just...God, he's happy, isn't he? Overwhelmed for it, perhaps, but that's fine. Trevor should be like this more often, and at the moment, more often is now. The only question is how to keep the momentum going.

He kisses the top of Trevor's head, and it's the easiest thing to start guiding him inside.]

No, it's him. The stubble's impossible to replicate.

[Inside the house. Over to the stairs, and Alucard nudges Trevor gently.]

Do you need to lean on me for this?

[Because Trevor is about two seconds away from getting scooped up in full.]

[ They're in the castle. They're home. He's safe and he's practically stupid with joy at it. They're both of them leading in, and he doesn't need it, not really, he could walk on his own if he wanted. But they're not doing it because he needs it. They're not doing it out of obligation. They're doing it because they love him and he's safe because they love him and-

-it's a lot. ]

Until we get around to the part where you fuck me until I can't walk, I can climb stairs.

[ Look who gets to swear again now he's home. He can still talk, at least, even if the tone is far, far too soft for what he's saying. And even if he does, in fact, continue leaning on Alucard as they go up the stairs. ]

So it's 'want to'. Not need to.

[What Belmont was ever happy to be in these walls? Felt safe in them instead of a terrible sense of duty and perhaps fear of what might happen if death was not given to them within the castle? If they became food or turned or some other fate?

Leave it to Trevor to use terrible language and have it wrapped up in so much warmth. Alucard keeps shouldering Trevor's weight, and Sypha's on the other side of Trevor, just in case he decides to switch who to lean against once they get up the stairs properly.]

Is that what you want?

[He's asking genuinely, but it is a forgone conclusion. Otherwise Alucard and Sypha are going to have a very big problem to deal with on their own.]

You know how it goes. Annoying people I don't like gets me hot and bothered.

[ That's his story and he's sticking to it.

There's no reason to explain the full of it, not really. Not when he's not entirely certain himself. He just knows that he feels so safe, so loved right now, and that apparently it's the possessiveness thing that brought that about and-

-yeah, the version of events that he just gave is the one that's easiest to get his head around right now. He sighs contentedly, letting his head loll to one side to rest against Sypha's. ]

More than anything.

Then what else can we do but oblige?

[It's a very good story which will absolutely get tested in the months to come. For now, there's only focusing on this moment, how Trevor is somehow so heavy and yet the lightest weight in the world to be guiding to the top of the stairs. To their bedroom, where the bed hasn't been made at all (sometimes it can go for weeks being made properly, only to then go for months without.)

Alucard pauses at the doorframe just long enough to slide his shoes off. It gives Sypha leave to actually maneuver herself and Trevor over to the bed, and Alucard can't help but linger as the other two kiss again. God. He loves them both. He loves watching them express the sentiment to each other even more.]

[ His own shoes ended up discarded somewhere between the door and bed. His jacket just goes on the floor, though Sypha's hairpin gets put down delicately on the bedside table.

It's Sypha who kisses him - it's Sypha who is doing most of everything, in truth, from leading him onto the bed to undoing his tie to initiating the kiss while he mostly just stares at her uselessly and moves as bidden when she pushes him. It's shorter than the kiss before, mostly because she comes to realize that she can't undo the tie without looking at it.

And it's nice, it's nice but it's not perfect because there are only two of them in the bed and there should be three. Sypha seems to think so too, because she just looks back as she tosses Trevor's tie in the same general direction as his jacket, tilting her head. Trevor is less subtle. ]

Adrian, please-

[ -Please join them. ]

[It's terrible, holding back. Alucard's only doing it because this is too lovely a sight to not take in. But it's clearly too long for the other two. It means that there's an apology murmured as Alucard approaches the bed, and then he's there on the other side of Trevor.

His fingers trace over Trevor's back gently to begin with, an attempt to get Trevor to lie on his side. Slow, patient, lingering, with Alucard's lips pressed To Trevor's shoulder. There's still a shirt in the way, but Sypha's working on that and-- ah. There's no shirt, and Alucar resumes his kisses. They're slow and lingering. Not possessive, not yet.]

I'm here.

[ He was too open before, too open and raw and vulnerable, stinking of blood and surrounded by wolves. It was what he'd known giving his name would be, but it was no better for the knowing. Now, now he's more open, more vulnerable, but it's nice. It's nice not to carry armor for once, to be only what he needs to be and no more.

His hand curls into the blankets at the kisses, and then it's curling into Sypha's own hand and it takes him a moment to realize that she must have held it, and his mind is working just a little slower than everything else, but that's- nice. Usually it has to work faster, and that's exhausting. Everything is a surprise like this, and everything that could possibly happen is delightful. ]

You are.

[ And he sounds awestruck by that. Absolutely awestruck, as if it wasn't something that could have been expected. He has one hand in Sypha's and the other hand is trying to seek out Alucard's. ]

You both are.

[This is absolutely too much. Whatever's going on in Trevor's head, whatever it is that that simple this vampire in particular can go fuck himself kiss did, Alucard doesn't know. What he can say with confidence is that he would do it a thousand times over if it meant Trevor was going to be like this every time. The vulnerability feels like the ultimate display of trust. Something given freely because everything else has been put in place so that it can be given.

Alucard's hand is wrapped around Trevor's middle right now. Holding him close. Tight. Making it clear that Alucard is so very, very there.]

Where else would we ever want to be?

[Alucard's kisses move from Trevor's shoulder to just below Trevor's ear. (Necks are right out. Always.) He catches the movement of Trevor's hand. Shifts so that it's met with Alucard's, then draws it close back against Trevor's body.]

[ This would almost be enough. Just this. Just being here, cut off from the world by a barrier formed of the two people he adores most. This is good, and safe, and he's loved.

Sypha's hand, the one that isn't coiled up in his, is between his shoulderblades, trailing lazily up and down the top of his spine, and his shoulders twitch slightly with it every now and then. It's not an entirely voluntary movement, and that's- that's okay. It adds to the sensation of giving up control, of not needing control right now. He doesn't need to look behind him. He doesn't need to listen for footsteps. He doesn't need to do or say or think about anything. Just the two of them. He only needs to focus on the two of them. ]

If that wasn't rhetorical then I don't know, but you're not allowed to go there right now. Have to stay here.

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