[ He has no sympathy for Dracula here. Or maybe too much sympathy, an understanding of how having someone dear stolen away feels, of how dark it leaves ones’ mind. He knows why Dracula is all the crueller now.
He had a choice. Both of them had a choice. Trevor chose to become Alucard’s protector when he could have been a feral, angry, twisted thing. And Dracula chose to become a tyrant when he had the chance to see that Lisa returned to a kinder place. All the anger that Trevor reserves for himself can be turned on Dracula for that. ]
But who gives a shit? Her reacting means she’s home. That’s all that matters.
[It was as close to an actually emotional conversation as he's ever had. That he'll be bringing home a wife who has changed and will hate him in turn. That he's leaving a son to be something he wasn't truly meant to become.
Alucard is quiet for a very long time after that. Water sloshes around a few times, but that's it. All the vampire can think of is what lies ahead, and the awful truth of it all.]
I'm scared, Trevor.
[Not Belmont. Just Trevor. Always Trevor when it's the two of them.]
The vampire has added extra bubbles to the bath, covering almost all of him. His bloodied clothes are hidden away, crown just put off to the side. The blood on him is gone, long since dissolved into the water.]
[ He walks in, averting his eyes despite the bubbles and kneeling by the bath. It’s not the first time that he’s known that Alucard’s been afraid, but it’s the first time in a long time that he’s admitted it. That- shit, that means that things are desperate already. He tucks a lock of wet hair behind Alucard’s ear. ]
I can’t tell you that it’s going to be fine. Probably won’t be. It’s probably all going to go to shit faster than a viking after pig’s blood.
[ He’s not great at being comforting. ]
But I’ll be here when it’s going to shit. And I’ll kick your teeth in if you fuck up and do something she’d hate.
Oh, I know. If he has a problem, I’m pretty sure the castle will take my side. It’s the one that has to deal with the latrines.
[ But he just goes very, suspiciously quiet. He can’t tell Alucard that he did the right thing. It’d be plainly false if he did, he’s made no secret of the fact that Alucard isn’t allowed to approach him after these hunts without bathing even when it was his father doing the killing and him simply observing. ]
She won’t hate you. She never could. She’ll be pissed, and I’ll be pissed that you upset her, but- she won’t learn it until she’s home. Adrian, if she’s pissed, she’ll be here. Even if she never forgave either of you, she’d be not forgiving you here. She could never speak to either of you again but she’d be not speaking to you while being safe and helping people.
He's right. It's horrible logic to consider, but no part of it is wrong either. If she's angry, she's home. In the end, home is really the only part of this that matters.
Alucard's arms reach out and latch onto Trevor. The hug the Belmont is pulled into is an expression of all the remaining fear in Alucard's body, and the way he clings betrays exactly how much he knows he's taking a dive off a terrifying precipice.]
You're right.
[The inappropriateness of the arrangement sails over Alucard's head.]
[ Oh. Oh. This is no more close than they have been before, but Alucard’s always been clothed before. Clothed and also not warm and damp.
Slowly, suddenly very conscious of himself, he brings his own arms around Alucard. Hands in his wet hair, every nerve focused on the feeling of his chest rising and falling against him. The heat of the bath makes him warmer than usual, almost human. ]
She could never hate you. Hate what you did, maybe. But not you. Nobody could.
[Alucard's not considered optics. All he knows is that after his father leaves tomorrow, Trevor will be the only person he can rely on. No vampire can be trusted. Their neighbors, as polite as the mages have been, will wait only a little while before playing with politics. It'll leave Alucard so very alone.
So he clings tighter. Murmurs into Trevor's skin:]
I need you.
[And as for the rest he can only hum in agreement.]
Always will.
[Mortality is a nightmare, after all. Alucard knows his parents have argued that point before. Never has Alucard wondered what might happen if he and Trevor never needed to part until now.]
[ He pulls Alucard closer, just for a moment, and then tugs away. He wants to be here for Alucard, of course he does. But he needs to not be doing this. To be somewhere else, very quickly, before Alucard looks at him too hard. ]
I better make sure I don't die of cold, then. [ With one last stroke of his hair, he lets go entirely. ] Let me change into dry clothes, I'll be back once you're out and dried off.
[Alucard lets go, but it's with deep reluctance. His arms slough off, and then that's that.]
Then in just a few minutes.
[They'll have to keep this kind of behavior to themselves after Dracula leaves, even more so than they do now. It's that awful thought that gets the vampire up and out of the bath tub when Trevor's gone. He dries off quickly, the towels all too fluffy. When he emerges from the bathroom, it's in his bathrobe, but nothing underneath save for the towel.
[ He hurries back to his own room. Just- deal with the situation quickly and furtively, get changed, be back before he's missed. Easy enough.
And then partway through this task there's a knock. Well- shit. ]
One- [ fuck. ] -One moment!
[ He's been meaning to change into his night clothes, but instead has to practically dive into his formalwear from the night before, so quickly that he's only just finished lacing the shirt with his teeth when he opens the door. His trousers are on backwards, but that's what we call present Trevor's problem. The neck armour has been left on Alucard's dresser, because he didn't think he'd need it. ]
Sir.
[ On the bright side, that first problem has resolved itself remarkably effectively. ]
[Dracula is as he always has been. Impossibly tall and towering, projecting presence and authority with so much might that the use of compulsion is unnecessary. His eyes move down to Trevor, considering his....
...well.
Measured and considering, he begins:]
I clearly interrupted your evening routine. I'll give you a moment to adjust your trousers.
[ He backs into his room, closes the door, and quickly rights himself. This was already the worst day and is swiftly becoming the very worst day. He's more put together when he opens the door, even though it can't have been more than a minute. ]
[Dracula nods once for Trevor to follow him, then begins to walk. He knows he'll be followed, because Trevor has been a part of this house for long enough. Lisa would consider him an adopted son by any definition after this duration of time, but she's not here. Hasn't been. She'll be satisfied enough by Alucard's protective nature of the Belmont, and that they have looked after each other.
He leads them both to a side room, one with soft furnishings and no fire in the fireplace. Dracula himself stands at the window, not quite brooding but edging close to the definition. When the door is closed, Dracula begins.]
Are you prepared for what will be asked of you in my absence, Belmont?
I am prepared to protect him with my life. To see his enemies dead. To- [ and he only pauses for a moment. ] -see him choose the paths that will see him and your lands safe, even those that he might find... at odds with his mother's wishes.
[ Even those that might be unbelmontlike, he means. He doesn't sit, because he knows better than to believe himself on casual enough terms with Dracula to do so without leave. ]
But I can't say yes to that question. Not without knowing what more you'd ask of me.
[There's a soft noise of acknowledgement when Trevor says at odds with his mother's wishes.]
The topic of the day, it seems.
[And why wouldn't it be? This is all for her sake.]
You will need to be his eyes and ears for the machinations of others, more than you are presently. I do not doubt that those beyond our borders will conspire should my absence drag on for more than a month or so. You already spirited that Speaker in and out with great skill to derive information from her.
[Congratulations Trevor, you're head of the royal intelligence agency.]
[ Well, he knows. Time to employ the strategy of just being mostly honest. ]
I met with her again today while your party were hunting. With your leave, sir, I mean to invite her into the castle. She wishes to document your son's period of interim rule, and has offered her magic and her people's knowledge of the affairs of our neighbours as payment.
[There's no reprisal for letting her in. Just a cold and flat refusal.]
Permitting a speaker into this house will anger too many people, both of this kingdom and our neighbors. That is an unacceptable risk, Belmont. Employ her as a spy if you must, but she cannot be anything but a visitor for several hours at most.
I will know if you let her remain. Her scent is distinct.
[ Well shit. He's going to have to come up with something else. Or just do anyway. ]
I am prepared, then. Only- [ A slight pause. ] -should I have to decide between the keep of your lands and his own wellbeing, I will choose the latter. I hope that is acceptable.
[There's a note of weariness in that. Trevor's getting all the Dracul men vulnerabilities.]
Following my departure the castle will guide you to your intelligence office. There will be a list there of those who you can more likely than not trust and those to put no faith in. There is a list of safe houses should you have to prioritize his well being.
This is a part of your primary work, just in a different manifestation.
I am also aware that he views you as essential to success. Try not to die, Belmont.
[ Okay so maybe attempting one (1) joke at Dracula isn't the best way to not die. But he's been overly formal for so long now and he has- whatever situation he has to return to with Alucard. He needs just one moment of not being entirely serious. ]
You have. [He's not dismissed though.] The circumstances will be more intense from here on out, Trevor Belmont. Do as you have, and know that up until now, I have never had quarrel with how you have carried out your duties.
[It's as close to a good job, Trevor that Dracula has ever uttered to him.]
Go and do as you see fit to ensure my son survives in tact. Yourself as well. We will not speak alone again until I return.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Alucard hugs his knees close to his chest, water sloshing around as he does so.]
He knows that it's too much and that she'll be furious.
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[ He has no sympathy for Dracula here. Or maybe too much sympathy, an understanding of how having someone dear stolen away feels, of how dark it leaves ones’ mind. He knows why Dracula is all the crueller now.
He had a choice. Both of them had a choice. Trevor chose to become Alucard’s protector when he could have been a feral, angry, twisted thing. And Dracula chose to become a tyrant when he had the chance to see that Lisa returned to a kinder place. All the anger that Trevor reserves for himself can be turned on Dracula for that. ]
But who gives a shit? Her reacting means she’s home. That’s all that matters.
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[It was as close to an actually emotional conversation as he's ever had. That he'll be bringing home a wife who has changed and will hate him in turn. That he's leaving a son to be something he wasn't truly meant to become.
Alucard is quiet for a very long time after that. Water sloshes around a few times, but that's it. All the vampire can think of is what lies ahead, and the awful truth of it all.]
I'm scared, Trevor.
[Not Belmont. Just Trevor. Always Trevor when it's the two of them.]
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Let me in? You must be clean enough by now. I’ll help with your hair.
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[Alucard waves a hand and the lock clicks open.
The vampire has added extra bubbles to the bath, covering almost all of him. His bloodied clothes are hidden away, crown just put off to the side. The blood on him is gone, long since dissolved into the water.]
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I can’t tell you that it’s going to be fine. Probably won’t be. It’s probably all going to go to shit faster than a viking after pig’s blood.
[ He’s not great at being comforting. ]
But I’ll be here when it’s going to shit. And I’ll kick your teeth in if you fuck up and do something she’d hate.
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[Look. Just. Don't bring up Godbrand ever why is that so hard?
Alucard shakes his head. Trevor's close enough that he can just angle his head over the tub and have it rest against Trevor's shoulder.]
Too late. Taking a life qualifies.
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[ But he just goes very, suspiciously quiet. He can’t tell Alucard that he did the right thing. It’d be plainly false if he did, he’s made no secret of the fact that Alucard isn’t allowed to approach him after these hunts without bathing even when it was his father doing the killing and him simply observing. ]
She won’t hate you. She never could. She’ll be pissed, and I’ll be pissed that you upset her, but- she won’t learn it until she’s home. Adrian, if she’s pissed, she’ll be here. Even if she never forgave either of you, she’d be not forgiving you here. She could never speak to either of you again but she’d be not speaking to you while being safe and helping people.
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He's right. It's horrible logic to consider, but no part of it is wrong either. If she's angry, she's home. In the end, home is really the only part of this that matters.
Alucard's arms reach out and latch onto Trevor. The hug the Belmont is pulled into is an expression of all the remaining fear in Alucard's body, and the way he clings betrays exactly how much he knows he's taking a dive off a terrifying precipice.]
You're right.
[The inappropriateness of the arrangement sails over Alucard's head.]
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[ Oh. Oh. This is no more close than they have been before, but Alucard’s always been clothed before. Clothed and also not warm and damp.
Slowly, suddenly very conscious of himself, he brings his own arms around Alucard. Hands in his wet hair, every nerve focused on the feeling of his chest rising and falling against him. The heat of the bath makes him warmer than usual, almost human. ]
She could never hate you. Hate what you did, maybe. But not you. Nobody could.
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So he clings tighter. Murmurs into Trevor's skin:]
I need you.
[And as for the rest he can only hum in agreement.]
Always will.
[Mortality is a nightmare, after all. Alucard knows his parents have argued that point before. Never has Alucard wondered what might happen if he and Trevor never needed to part until now.]
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[ He pulls Alucard closer, just for a moment, and then tugs away. He wants to be here for Alucard, of course he does. But he needs to not be doing this. To be somewhere else, very quickly, before Alucard looks at him too hard. ]
I better make sure I don't die of cold, then. [ With one last stroke of his hair, he lets go entirely. ] Let me change into dry clothes, I'll be back once you're out and dried off.
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Then in just a few minutes.
[They'll have to keep this kind of behavior to themselves after Dracula leaves, even more so than they do now. It's that awful thought that gets the vampire up and out of the bath tub when Trevor's gone. He dries off quickly, the towels all too fluffy. When he emerges from the bathroom, it's in his bathrobe, but nothing underneath save for the towel.
But there's a knock, along with Dracula's voice.]
Belmont. I would have words.
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And then partway through this task there's a knock. Well- shit. ]
One- [ fuck. ] -One moment!
[ He's been meaning to change into his night clothes, but instead has to practically dive into his formalwear from the night before, so quickly that he's only just finished lacing the shirt with his teeth when he opens the door. His trousers are on backwards, but that's what we call present Trevor's problem. The neck armour has been left on Alucard's dresser, because he didn't think he'd need it. ]
Sir.
[ On the bright side, that first problem has resolved itself remarkably effectively. ]
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...well.
Measured and considering, he begins:]
I clearly interrupted your evening routine. I'll give you a moment to adjust your trousers.
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[ He backs into his room, closes the door, and quickly rights himself. This was already the worst day and is swiftly becoming the very worst day. He's more put together when he opens the door, even though it can't have been more than a minute. ]
You wanted to speak, sir?
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[Dracula nods once for Trevor to follow him, then begins to walk. He knows he'll be followed, because Trevor has been a part of this house for long enough. Lisa would consider him an adopted son by any definition after this duration of time, but she's not here. Hasn't been. She'll be satisfied enough by Alucard's protective nature of the Belmont, and that they have looked after each other.
He leads them both to a side room, one with soft furnishings and no fire in the fireplace. Dracula himself stands at the window, not quite brooding but edging close to the definition. When the door is closed, Dracula begins.]
Are you prepared for what will be asked of you in my absence, Belmont?
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[ Even those that might be unbelmontlike, he means. He doesn't sit, because he knows better than to believe himself on casual enough terms with Dracula to do so without leave. ]
But I can't say yes to that question. Not without knowing what more you'd ask of me.
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The topic of the day, it seems.
[And why wouldn't it be? This is all for her sake.]
You will need to be his eyes and ears for the machinations of others, more than you are presently. I do not doubt that those beyond our borders will conspire should my absence drag on for more than a month or so. You already spirited that Speaker in and out with great skill to derive information from her.
[Congratulations Trevor, you're head of the royal intelligence agency.]
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[ Well, he knows. Time to employ the strategy of just being mostly honest. ]
I met with her again today while your party were hunting. With your leave, sir, I mean to invite her into the castle. She wishes to document your son's period of interim rule, and has offered her magic and her people's knowledge of the affairs of our neighbours as payment.
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[There's no reprisal for letting her in. Just a cold and flat refusal.]
Permitting a speaker into this house will anger too many people, both of this kingdom and our neighbors. That is an unacceptable risk, Belmont. Employ her as a spy if you must, but she cannot be anything but a visitor for several hours at most.
I will know if you let her remain. Her scent is distinct.
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[ Well shit. He's going to have to come up with something else. Or just do anyway. ]
I am prepared, then. Only- [ A slight pause. ] -should I have to decide between the keep of your lands and his own wellbeing, I will choose the latter. I hope that is acceptable.
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[There's a note of weariness in that. Trevor's getting all the Dracul men vulnerabilities.]
Following my departure the castle will guide you to your intelligence office. There will be a list there of those who you can more likely than not trust and those to put no faith in. There is a list of safe houses should you have to prioritize his well being.
This is a part of your primary work, just in a different manifestation.
I am also aware that he views you as essential to success. Try not to die, Belmont.
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[ Okay so maybe attempting one (1) joke at Dracula isn't the best way to not die. But he's been overly formal for so long now and he has- whatever situation he has to return to with Alucard. He needs just one moment of not being entirely serious. ]
Am I dismissed, sir?
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[It's as close to a good job, Trevor that Dracula has ever uttered to him.]
Go and do as you see fit to ensure my son survives in tact. Yourself as well. We will not speak alone again until I return.
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