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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[Usually the records are Trevor's domain. There's something profane in that, probably, that it's a Belmont who manages the records instead of Dracula's own son, but it is the right kind of profane. Alucard does not know the system well enough yet, and it takes him some time to find the right books to start with.

He spends the next few hours on the floor, surrounded by books, reading everything carefully and taking notes of his own. There is a vague awareness in him that he ought to shower (there is still blood on him), but he's too focused, he's finding things and...

...and at some point the floor is just a bed, the ledger he has open is a pillow, and Trevor walks in to find this absolute vampire disaster slumped over on the floor, asleep with his head in a book.]

[ Oh.

Well.

The blood. The blood needs to be washed off before he can take him to lie down next to Sypha. He picks Alucard up carefully, running a hot bath with salt and rose oil to neutralize the vampire blood.

And so Alucard likely wakes up to either being undressed or being lowered carefully into the bath. ]

[He stirs slightly at the cooler morning air against his skin, but Alucard doesn't wake up until there's water up to his knees. Then there's a sudden start, eyes snapping open, because God forbid vampires wake up like normal people.

(He fully admits that it's one of the weirdest and worst parts of sharing a bed with him. Alucard just kind of snaps awake and that's that. Absolutely like a corpse coming to life.)

Alucard's long since figured out whose hands are whose at any given time. So just relaxes in Trevor's arms instead.]

Sorry. I should have walked myself to somewhere that wasn't the floor.

It's a perfectly good floor. Record room is for work, though.

[ He's used to it by now. It's just kind of funny, when he's awake enough to know that nothing is actually wrong.

He lowers Alucard the rest of the way into the bath, reaching for a washcloth they're not too attached to. It'll be fine, but- it won't feel like it. Even if it makes no sense, it won't end up being used again for anything but this sort of thing. And softly, he begins washing Alucard down. ]

You can do this yourself, if you'd prefer.

Should've taken you up on the coffee.

[It wouldn't have changed much. All it would have changed would have been what time Alucard conked out.

He's careful not to move and displace the water too much. Splashing Trevor with contaminated water is strictly not allowed, and even that washcloth has Alucard worried. There's a hand on top of Trevor's, stilling the motion.]

I can do this much. It's...a little spoiled, otherwise, I think.

[ He hands over the cloth. ]

Clean yourself off. And- Can we trust you to wake up in a few hours if we go join Sypha? We don't have time for you to sleep all week, but-

[ -but he probably needs to sleep at all. He'll be no use if he keeps drifting off. Trevor fills the washbasin with hot water, adding a few drops of the rose oil and a spoonful of the salt to it to wash his hands and arms from carrying Alucard. It's probably not needed, since the bathwater will have done the work already. But it'll help him relax easier. ]

Best set an alarm then.

[There's a moment where the cloth is folded over the side of the tub and Alucard just slides all the way under the water. His hair needs as much attention as the rest of him. Then it's back sitting up, and scrubbing carefully.

For this there is a cold methodology with it. Hands and arms first. Then his face, and downwards from there.]

I can't make promises otherwise.

[Alucard's hands are safe now. His eyes go over to Trevor every so often, if only to make sure he's still in the room.]

If you're willing to be woken, I'm sure we'll find a way.

[ Kissing. He means kissing.

He does leave, briefly, but only to bring fresh nightclothes for the two of them. His own work clothes go into a pile with Alucard's - largely clean, but close enough to contamination that it'll be best to wash them anyway for the sake of Alucard's peace of mind. It does mean more laundry that only Alucard can take care of, but- not really his problem right now. ]

[Oh no. The worst way to wake up. The absolute worst.]

I'll still set the alarm too.

[By the time Trevor's back, Alucard's scrubbing at his torso. Getting there, and the promise of laundry is in fact a relief. It's mindless, he'll need mindless if this situation promises to be half as stressful as he expects it to be.]

Thank you.

He shifts slightly in the tub, then looks over to clarify.]

For taking care of me.

You're ours. Why would we do anything else?

[ He moves in closer, bringing a bottle of shampoo over and kneeling by the top of the bathtub, pouring a little into his hands. ]

Hold still.

It bears saying all the same.

[Trevor hadn't been around when it happened, but Sypha had long since called Alucard on the fact he dealt terribly with articulating his feelings. He is still not the best at it, but the little words of gratitude, they're his attempts to try.

There's such a soft look to Alucard when Trevor walks over. This is as close to shedding the horrible fucking stance he adopts when in public, and for some time now, that will be all Alucard can present. Tenderness is out the window for the foreseeable future, he knows that. So these last few minutes are so very precious.

He does as he's asked.]

[ He laces his fingers into Alucard's hair, slowly working the shampoo into it, massaging his scalp and avoiding the neck as entirely as he can for once.

Once they both wake up next to Sypha (she can be between them, to make up for leaving her to sleep alone - it might be happening a lot in the upcoming weeks) this will be over. He'll be The Belmont and Alucard will be Alucard and Sypha will still be herself, but with all of the determination first and all of the joy left to wait. ]

Ours. Our beautiful, perfect Adrian. That won't change, when this is done.

[ So maybe he's laying it on a little thick, just from knowing that this can't happen again for a while. ]

[He keeps holding still. He can't latch onto Trevor until every last inch of Alucard is confirmed free of Damien's blood, but Alucard can let this much be done. Trevor's hands are rough, they've always been rough, and they're the most comfortable and reliable thing in this moment.

There is a sigh with ours that sounds like all the air going out of him at once, awash in contentment and reassurance. There's no terrible thing in admitting how much that reassurance is needed right now. Whatever this new thing demands, it will bring him closer to the things that Trevor's family hunted for generations. That's not idle speculation. That's plain fact, fact that terrifies Alucard more than he can say.]

Yours unto the end.

[He whispers it. Fuck it could be a vow, if all things really do go to shit. Terrible fucking vow, but at least it too is a true one.]

The end is for Alucard to deal with.

[ Kind of bold words, for someone who lives his life a year at a time. But then Alucard would say the same for him, wouldn't he? ]

Adrian is ours always.

Yes.

[Yes to both. Yes to ignoring the option that the end might be the only way this entire thing comes to a close, and then they're alone in a city of vampires without the one thing that's held anything back. Or else it's Sypha and Adrian alone again, rudderless in a sea of horrors and no strategist to guide them through it.

Alucard's not sure if Trevor's hands are just in his hair now because they can be or because there's still blood in there. He turns his head just slightly, angling upwards at Trevor. This part's important too.]

[ Carefully, he works the shampoo down to the ends of Alucard's hair, his fingers combing through it softly. The ends of it are where the blood is (the end of this will be where the blood is), and he works the dried blood carefully until it can be washed out. ]

You can rinse it now.

[ He stands to wash his hands in the basin again. After this, he can touch him just for the sake of it. Just for a little while. ]

[There's still blood in the water. It'll drain out, Alucard can scrub the tub to be sure. For now, he sinks back under the water for a few moments to make sure there's no trace of shampoo. No trace of blood.

He's done after that. Gets out of the tub and grabs the nearest dry towel, because it's in the spot always for Blood Towels. (He hates that they need to have this particular divide, but here they are.)

Alucard is as careful in drying himself as he is with washing. Every bit has to be confirmed free of blood, and when he coughs quietly, it's to ask for Trevor to be his second set of eyes.]

[ He doesn't need to take too long to check - it's all gone. But he takes his time anyway. Better to be more thorough than he needs to be, because this ritual is as much about Alucard's comfort as it is about the safety. ]

All clean. You're fine.

[He stays where he is, not moving until the all clear is given. Alucard waits for him to finish, then there's soft hand on Trevor's shoulder. Never mind anything else right now, Alucard needs that touch.]

Good. Come here?

Of course.

[ He draws close, placing his hands on Alucard's sides and kissing his cheek. He smells nice, and it's one of those little comforts that rose oil is one of those vampire-fighting things that doesn't affect Alucard.

Both because being rid of the blood would be much more trouble otherwise and because this is nice. ]

[There's a soft hand on Trevor's cheek, gently directing him to Alucard's lips instead. Once there, there's a kiss that's the opposite of every possessive fuck off kiss that has become a terrible favorite thing of Alucard's to do.

The word yours is laced in every moment of it. There's quiet submission that in the end they're both in charge of the vampire, they're his lifelines, he'd be adrift and probably dead without them. This thing they stand at the edge of, it's all of their wills through the mask of leadership, and there's too many other little scared and terrified emotion in there too.]

[ He is theirs, and they are his. Sypha his sword and Trevor his shield. All of her kindness and determination to act in the world, and all of his paranoia and preparation to protect himself from it. ]

I won't let anything happen to you, and you won't let anything happen to me, and neither of us will let anything happen to her. As long as all of those things are true, there's only ever going to be one way this can end.

[ He doesn't like saying that things will be fine, because in his experience they never fucking are. But- he can allow himself it once, and hope that it holds all the more weight for its rarity. ]

[Nothing will be fine, exactly. It is survived with healable wounds then that is the best they can hope for in all of this.

Alucard's thumb traces a soft trail along Trevor's jaw, so that all of those words are felt just as much as they are heard. He needs, fuck it, he wants both experiences in this rare moment. As close to a statement that this will end well as Trevor would ever utter.]

Are those exact words?

[Some days that question is a joke. Today he means it with seriousness, because such things can be seen as intent. They'll need that soon, need to weaponize it. They should start now, in their home, in the safest place they can have. Build all the additional defenses from the inside out, powered by sheer will.]

They are.

[ He steps back a moment. If he was going to go all-out with the theatrics of this he would kneel, but that would maybe be a little improper with Alucard's current state of undress taken into consideration. So instead he just takes Alucard's hand in his own, brushing his lips against the knuckles. ]

I, Trevor Christopher Rafael Corneliu Belmont, son of the House of Belmont and fey protector of this house, give you my solemn word that this will end with your kingdom safe, and that each one of us will leave this alive.

[ It's soft. Genuine. ]

[There's a breathless utterance from Alucard, because how else is anyone supposed to respond to words like that?]

Thank you.

[Sypha would have the right words for this. Say everything perfectly. Alucard never will, he wasn't raised with stories in his blood. He was raised by two nerds who practically lived on top of each other if they were seated, where everything was built on gesture and quieter moments where words weren't required.

The hand that isn't in Trevor's doesn't know where else to go, so it holds onto Trevor's wrist instead. Feels that warm and wonderful pulse there, squeezes for just a moment, then slides away.]

I love you. I love you both beyond words or actions.

20s AU Post

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