bakerstreet | Took You In

Took You In

The ＴＯＯＫＹＯＵＩＮ Shipping Meme

They were on your front door, in your yard, or on the street, confused and clearly in no position to fend for themselves; in a worst case scenario, they were bruised and battered, possibly close to death. Bleeding heart or not, you can't just be so cruel as to let them suffer. They need a place to stay, and you'll open your home to them...long enough to get back on their feet, anyway.

Speaking of feet, the shoe could be on the other one. You're worse for the wear - in a new place, possibly injured, certainly not in the best state of mind. You could not even remember how you got here or who you are to get here, for that matter. You may not want to remember. Whether willing or not so willing, you're in no position to turn down help, especially if said helper won't take no for an answer. No matter how dedicated you are to looking after yourself, there's only so much you can do in your position.

The two of you are staying together, at any rate. Only for a while, the plan is. But after said while, even though strength and confidence is returning to the injured, there's something a little different between you two. It could be the close quarters, the kindness shown, or a number of things, but quietly, softly, feelings have grown. Could more confusion and hurt spring from this? What about when it's time to go? Can the temporary resident leave as easily as they intended? You're so close now, perhaps a little while longer can't do any harm...

...until whatever it was that put them in such a perilous position in the first place comes back, and there could be "justice" for anyone who's dared to help.

ＲＵＬＥＳ

Comment with your character and preferences. Say if you'd rather play the taken in or the person taking them in.
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ＰＲＯＭＰＴＳ

ғɪɴᴅɪɴɢ — Who's that? They're no ordinary passersby! Were they in an accident? Are they foreign? ...should you approach them?

ʀᴀɪɴ, ʀᴀɪɴ, ɢᴏ ᴀᴡᴀʏ — The elements make this night no time to sleep out of doors.

ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀʟᴛʜ — Cuts, broken bones, injuries all of sorts...you have to stitch them back up, then make sure they don't get any

ɢᴏᴏᴅ ɢᴜᴇsᴛ — It's all you can do to show gratitude to the person who took you in. Fix them a meal, care for their house, whatever you can do once you're able.

ʙᴀᴅ ɢᴜᴇsᴛ — FUCK THIS PERSON AND FUCK THEIR COUCH. You didn't ask to be brought here. Let them clean up after you, you don't even care.

ᴡʜᴏ ᴀᴍ ɪ? — How you got into this situation is a mystery. Even more of a mystery is your identity, and why the person you were would be so displaced.

sᴇʟғʟᴇssɴᴇss —

ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ — If you've been injured badly enough or can't remember all too well, you might have to relearn a good deal. Luckily, you have a helping hand.

sᴄᴀʀs — Scars from the encounter that lead you here or scars from prior, you don't want them to see either. You still have your secrets to keep.

sᴛᴜʙʙᴏʀɴ — Ugh, your house guest is so stubborn! They always get up when they should be resting, have the worst habits, and completely disrespect your home! You'll get to them, one way or another. Or you'll throw them out. You don't want to, but you will.

ᴄᴏᴍғᴏʀᴛ — Bad memories or nightmares wreck you; your host and nurse comes to your side unexpectedly.

ᴄᴜʟᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴄʟᴀsʜ — The person who's taken you in is from a different culture or lifestyle than you, and adapting is harder than you thought.

ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ғᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ — Think learning about a new culture is hard? Try being a different species. Can you keep your little eccentricities at bay for the good of your station?

ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜsʏ — Now that your emotions towards your caretaker/host/jailer are softening, you're finding yourself unusually jealous of those in their life who were close to them before.

ɴᴇᴡ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛɪᴇs — You never thought you'd have fun after all that's happened, yet such simple gestures as a picnic or a movie make all the difference.

ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ — You love them, this person who's taken you in or this person you've found. It's not a pity or a thankfulness, it's love, and you know that now. What you choose to do with this information is

ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ — Suddenly, the person who's been so nice to you finds out that the two of you have a history. You killed their loved ones or caused something terrible. How can they forgive you?

ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ — So much has been done for you. The least you can do in return for the one who helped you at your lowest is make sure they never have such a low point.

ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴇs ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋɪɴɢ — Anyone in the way of getting to you will be destroyed, and that includes the person you're staying with.

ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇᴍ — You've been given a home, maybe which you've never had before. You don't want to leave.

ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ — Not only are you living with them, but you're starting a proper life with them.

ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟ — All secrets are laid out on the table. You've decided to tell about your past and what lead you here.

ʀᴇᴠᴜʟsɪᴏɴ — What you've done and who you are is so heinous, they want nothing more to do. You're to leave their home and leave them alone.

ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ — It doesn't matter what they've done. You've opened your home and your heart to them, and nothing's changed.

ᴘᴀʀᴛɪɴɢ — All things must come to an end. No matter what you feel for each other, it's time to leave. Hopefully, you'll see each other again.

ʜᴀᴘᴘɪʟʏ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ — Come what may, you've decided to stay at your new home with the person you love. Now, it's safe enough to do so.

ᴡɪʟᴅᴄᴀʀᴅ

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Ashley considered the offer, somewhat startled to think that he could have anything he pleased. After a moment's consideration, he found the room service menu, and curled up in a chair--still holding the wet end of his braid--to read it.

He chose a chicken and pasta dish, prepared in a French style, and gave Alucard the menu, waiting with impatient interest for his new companion to order.

His eyes lingered upon Alucard, completely entranced by him.

Since the clothes he had worn were dirty, Ashley was in no hurry to put them on. He left the towel around his waist, lingering in one of the arm chairs and toying idly with the end of his braid. He hadn't gotten his inquiry from earlier answered, which meant he didn't know if Alucard had clothes to spare, which was important and urgent in Ashley's mind. "I haven't anything to wear."

Alucard did his duty and called room service. The exchange was stiff and a little awkward as he was so unaccustomed to using phones but his message was received and that was all he needed to do for now. The receptionist had insisted that the room was vacant but Alucard convinced him that the room was occupied and paid for as how could there be someone ordering room service from it if that wasn't the case. He was told to come down as soon as possible with his credit card details to rebook and he politely agreed without any real intention of paying for the room.

It was only when Ashley spoke that he returned to reality and it dawned on him that the redhead's original question about his possessions had probably been a lot more innocent then he had first realised. Always the doubting Thomas, it seemed, Alucard felt a pang of guilt for not having just answered the boy honestly but he reasoned with himself: what could he say, certainly not the truth.

The ghost of a sigh passed Alucard's lips, one filled with remorse, not frustration. He took a step closer to the boy trying to focus on his face and not his bare, pink and clean neck. "I'll find something for you," he said, feeling uncharacteristically protective of this boy "I can't give you anything as I have nothing to give you. I travel--" he searched for the word "--light."

Without thinking he reached out towards the boy and with the backs of his fingers he brushed a few, stray strands of red hair to the side of Ashley's countenance, the gestures was so gentle it was a feather-like touch. "Forgive me, I can't explain why this is. Not yet. Can you trust me for a time and not ask why?"

Ashley's eyes lingered upon him as he listened to the phone conversation, brows tugged slightly with confused interest. His mind was shattered, but there was still plenty of intelligence tucked in there, beneath the madness, the laziness, the depression and grief.

A problem with the room. Some confusion in the records. Something missing.

Twirling the problem around his fingertip with the curl of wet red hair, his eyes only ever left Alucard in order to blink.

"Yes," he said, and it was no difficulty, to make such a promise to the sunlight. He basked in the touch, turning his head into it and catching Alucard's fingertip briefly for a kiss. Eyes low-lidded as he turned his head, he lifted his lashes as he looked up, full of sensuality and promise, a young man who knew exactly how he looked and what people wanted from him.

Alucard offered safety, comfort, protection. A mystery, and a secret kept. Ashley had some idea--or thought he did--as to why.

Alucard made the assumption, foolish as it was, that Ashley hadn't been eavesdropping that telephone conversation. In fact, he was so engaged in speaking with the plastic handle that any thought of someone else being able to hear him had temporarily left his mind. Had he realised that Ashley had been listening in he would've gone to another part of the hotel room to continue the conversation, but that was in the past now.

That incredible openness to his request took the dhampire by surprise and to compound that shock came that incredibly loving gesture. Alucard's expression softened and, without even realising it, as his lips parted a very soft oh fell. He wondered if Ashley knew how very erotic that gesture had been and, for a split second, Alucard considered if he needed to find his new companion any clothes.

Then his senses returned to him; how could he have thought something so lewd. Surely Ashley was just being affectionate, grateful and not trying to hint at anything sexual. Yet, when he looked at those round, dark eyes he doubted himself and thought that maybe there was more to it than an innocent thank you kiss.

The same hand turned slightly and those fingers gently rand down the smooth curve of Ashley's cheek. His eyes flickered from the cheek, to his throat, then back again. Finally he spoke: "Would a bathrobe be sufficient?"

Ashley knew this particular kind of power. He'd realized it first when he'd been fourteen, when puberty had turned his childish prettiness into coltish charm, and then further sharpened it into his current heart-rending beauty. Though he'd always been pretty, always been liked by his peers and his servants, when Ashley had gained the power of sexuality, no one could refuse him. Certainly not Arkady.

It was his most powerful coin, and Ashley knew the importance of playing the line between available and rare, which always seemed to come down to coy.

He'd been sixteen when Arkady had left. Eighteen when he'd received the skull. Sometime after that, his mother had died. Sometime after that, now.

So he knew a part of what it meant, how Alucard's gaze wavered from cheek to throat, though he assumed it was nothing more than lust.

"If I must," Ashley said, just a touch of petulance in with the lazy resignation, enough to hint that he would rather lounge about naked, now that he knew that Alucard might be susceptible to such hints. He let go the end of the braid, allowing it to slowly unravel.

He'd seen the hotel bathrobe lying in a tidy bundle to one side of the bathroom. He was perfectly capable of getting up and fetching it himself.

He didn't. Instead, he kept his gaze on Alucard, learning fast how to solidify his influence over his new companion. Learning how to get what he wanted. Just like he'd done to Arkady for their entire lives.

There were times where, out of affection and not arrogance, when Alucard was somewhat condescending. He found it difficult to believe that humans were capable of manipulating him, influencing his feelings or using him to their own ends. Which was not to say that Ashley was doing any of these things, but if he did, it was unlikely that Alucard would suspect him of anything quite so underhanded.

Alucard's jaw tightened, not at Ashley's petulance (if anything he found that somewhat immature response endearing) but at the fact that he chose to continue to expose him to all that bare flesh. "You are tempting fate." The dhampire warned, trying to caution the boy in the most indirect way possible. While he found the young man attractive, that much was obvious, he was beginning to fear the loss of his will power in regards to his more bloody needs.

With that said, the fingers which had so delicately stroked Ashley's cheek, turned and their very tips touched the redhead's lower lip. The attention was, once again, feather-light and with such grace and delicacy that it was hard to believe that such gentle gestures could come from such a tall, broad man as Alucard. But he saw himself, as if through his mind's eye, touching and luring this innocent like the predator that he was. A hint of a frown marred his perfect features and he turned away, shaking his head, dismayed with his own actions. "Forgive me, Ashley, I am too familiar with you."

Ashley felt a thrill of pure pleasure ripple through his body, stronger than anything he had felt since Arkady had gone. Alucard's fascination with him, his need--though Ashley thought it to be nothing more than a transcendent lust--fed a need in Ashley's heart. He needed to be wanted, to be adored, until he became the target of an obsession. Nothing less would do.

"Am I," Ashley asked, filling his voice with innocence, "tempting fate?"

He'd been told the same thing before a dozen times, and he knew exactly what it meant. It meant that this creature, this angel, lusted for him. It meant that Alucard belonged to him, because Alucard wanted him, and Ashley never noticed or cared that he was as entranced by Alucard as Alucard was by him.

His eyes were starless voids in his face, dark and fathomless, and he widened them slightly as he looked up at Alucard. Fascinated. Coy.

"Tell me what you mean," he demanded, the sweet petulance in his voice warmed by a hint of satisfied pleasure, curling the words into a purr.

"You are." Alucard responded, as if chiding the redhead. "And any fate that involves me only results in disaster." Or so Alucard thought: anyone he'd known in the past had usually ended up dead or worse and naturally he blamed himself for those destinies. He could feel Ashley's eyes on him, even as he looked away, those pleading, limpid pools gazing up at him begging for answers he did not feel qualified to give. A small, soft sigh and the dhampire gave in and turned back to look at the boy again, lost in that expression of his. "I brought you here to give you respite, a moment of luxury, not for me to fulfil my own needs. Whatever needs I have--" he paused, a pang of guilt rotting his insides "--should not be things I take from you."

The dhampire went on to explain himself: "My familiarity; I touched you as if I knew you when I can't say that I do." The dhampire's jaw tightened slightly, trying to keep himself calm. At this point Alucard had been speaking with Ashley quite a bit and relatively close to him, careful as the dhampire was there was a slight possibility that he may have exposed his fangs once or twice in conversation. "I don't understand why I did either," for someone of his years Alucard had not had many relationships, no intimacies, no great loves, he had lived alone for hundreds of years and while he hadn't been happy he hadn't longed for the physical touch of others until tonight. "Ashley, you do not have to be kind to me because I brought you here. I don't expect that sort of gratitude," his eyes lowered, almost sad "you should save such affection for those you care for."

Ashley laughed.

A sweet, innocent sound, sparkling like sunlight on water. There was no cruelty or mockery in it: Ashley's only cruelties were born from being too self-involved to notice the pain or pride of others.

Alucard's obvious guilt charmed and amused him, along with this apparent assumption that Alucard had transgressed somehow.

Rising elegantly to his feet, close within Alucard's personal space, Ashley pressed a very sweet kiss to his cheek, lingering for a moment and then turning away in a swirl of wet red hair. "I need clothing," he declared, leaving Alucard to process that kiss as he went to fetch the bathrobe. "I'd like wine, too. Or liquor. Sweet."

He left the door half-open as he dropped the towel and bent over to put on the bathrobe, emerging a moment later with the robe belted around his waist. "Please?" he said, softening his demands with a coy flutter of lashes, just subtle enough to seem innocent.

While he had been completely enamoured by that laugh, unable to recall a time that he had ever heard something so sweet and joyful, it was the kiss that had really caught him off guard. Ashley had been so frivolous and light-hearted that it all happened in a matter of seconds for him but for Alucard the moment felt as if it had passed in slow motion. Nobody had really ever had the courage (or perhaps desire) to be so openly affectionate with him. People had desired him as someone might lust over a celebrity or model, it was very superficial and had never been sweet pecks on the cheek or nights spent talking, only the need to sate their appetite for sex. Those individuals always left disappointed.

The warmth of the boy's lips lingered on his cheek and Alucard committed how they felt to memory. He responded, late, and clearly a little distracted. "I suppose I should go out and get some things for you then." And, curiously, a strange sense of fear came over him. He was frightened that if he left, he'd come back to an empty room and that Ashley would be gone. The thought was so alien to him that he didn't know what to make of it, had he already become attached to this child.

Memories of his father came back to him, solemn words repeated to him again and again, warning him against the temptations of taking on a human partner. He recalled how he had brought up his mother again and again, and how investing time and love in mankind was a wasted pursuit. Yet, here he was, spending time and his affection growing for this poor, damaged boy.

Ashley knew better than to overplay his hand. Though he would gladly have tumbled into bed with Alucard in that moment, securing Alucard's fascination and obsession was far more important, and Ashley was thoroughly enjoying the game.

"See if you can't sort out the confusion with the room, too," Ashley advised. He came over, standing close to Alucard and watching him with a sweet little smile. Brushing aside a strand of Alucard's blond hair without a hint of fear of him, Ashley curled his fingers around that lock of hair, considering for only half a second before he started braiding it. His fingers were deft, and this required him being very close to Alucard, which allowed him to pay close attention to all of Alucard's reactions as Ashley wove a slender braid into Alucard's silvery hair.

He left it unsecured, like his own, although the slim size of it and the length of Alucard's hair should give it at least an hour or two before it fully unraveled. Ashley gave him a sharp little smile as he released it. If his influence over Alucard was what he thought it was, his new companion would make it back before the braid finished unraveling. "Hurry back," he said, kissing Alucard's other cheek, beside the braid.

And then he swanned off to lounge on the couch, picking up the remote and flipping through channels. His legs splayed out from under the hem of the white bathrobe, almost as pale as the cloth, and smooth: he had shaved them.

To say that Ashley would be able to see Alucard falter was an understatement. The kiss had been one thing, but to have the redhead play with his hair was another thing entirely. Alucard had very much enjoyed his mother brushing and tending to his hair when he was a boy, it was half of the reason why he had let it grow as long as it was, but there was something much more intimate about Ashley toying with it. While the dhampire didn't stop him, or even flinch, he averted his eyes as if shy to all this attention. For someone who hadn't even shared a proper conversation with someone in years, going from nothing to this was an extreme shift.

"Ah," he voiced "you overheard the telephone call." A rhetorical question: of course Ashley had heard it, that was why he mentioned it. Still avoiding his new companion's eyes he looked down at his hands as he laced his fingers together. "Yes, I'll see to that as well." Clothes and wine he had a genuine intention of seeing to, paying for a room he could charm to be his was not on his agenda.

He was treated to a second kiss and, obvious bashful, he quickly added "I will return shortly." and left the room. Upon closing the door he took a moment to gather himself and he head off down the corridor, noticing room service going in the opposite direction towards the room.

---

Within less than half an hour Alucard returned to that same corridor carrying a bag with two bottles of wine, both dessert wine and a selection of clothes: more than Ashley required for one night. He opened the door, notably without a key.

Ashley startled when the door opened, having only just finished eating. He hadn't expected Alucard back in less than an hour. It was a pleasant surprise though, quickly warming into delight.

Scrambling to his feet, Ashley pecked Alucard's lips in greeting and thanks, taking the bag from him and investigating the contents with obvious pleasure. "This is all perfect," Ashley said, handing one of the bottles over to Alucard. "Open, please," he said, walking past to get a glass. He picked up two, setting them on the table, although he wouldn't be surprised if Alucard didn't drink. He hadn't eaten, after all.

Impatient and excited to try on his presents, Ashley shed his robe, dropping it to the floor as he tried on the clothes from the bag, making sure everything fit him.

Alucard wasn't exactly a fashionable young man, he dressed mainly in monochrome and the fit and style was exceptionally plan. Black trousers, black shoes, a white, long-sleeved shirt and a black, leather jacket. Some of the items he wore looked relatively new, but some (the jacket in particular) could've been over twenty years old. It was at that state that leather reached where it had softened to fit every curve of its owner. The clothes he'd picked out for Ashley were of the same ilk: plain, monochrome and of varying sizes.

These kisses were becoming bolder with increase; Alucard hadn't been kissed affectionately on the lips for years and his bashfulness showed as he looked away again, that braid grazing his cheekbones as he turned. "I wasn't entirely sure what to get you." he confessed, a little apprehensive that Ashley wouldn't like what he'd bought, or worse, humour him and say that he did when in reality he thought it was all ghastly.

He took the bottle when Ashley handed it to him and uncorked it with ease with a corkscrew in one of the bedroom drawers. As the times had changed the contents of inns which eventually evolved into hotels and even motels had gone through so shifts. Alucard rather liked the direction they had gone in; everything was so private and individual. As if this room were a little home all by itself. "Here, it's open." A beat "I see you've eaten, I hope it was satisfactory... Never can tell in a hotel until you try it, or so I've heard."

"Mm," Ashley agreed, going to look in the full-length mirror to see how he looked. The simple monochrome suited him and made his hair seem all the more striking. It was still damp, though his braid had almost entirely unraveled. "I suppose you wouldn't know," Ashley said, smart enough to pick up the 'or so I've heard' and connect it to the lack of eating, the other peculiarities. He didn't have a conclusion yet, but he had connections. There was something odd about Alucard, but that wasn't anything he found alarming. Arkady had been studying magic, and Ashley had been fascinated by the supernatural all his life.

Returning to the table, Ashley took the bottle, pouring a glass. He held it out, not expecting Alucard to take it. His head tilted to one side. The glass tilted the same degree. "So do you ever eat?"

Alucard considered that last question for some time and as the gravity of it settled his expression shifted, from something coy and quite light to the remorse that felt so familiar and comfortable to him. No matter how he tried to escape his nature, whatever lies he spun, relationships with humankind always came back to that single, integral question: what are you really. He had tried, many years ago, to get close to someone but the nature of what he was meant that that union ended in great sadness when he had revealed what he was. He suspected the same might happen with Ashley.

"No." He said simply, knowing what great significance an answer like that would hold he added "Or at least, I very rarely eat." He was half human so he could enjoy food unlike most vampires but he didn't require it. Including the years he'd spent asleep he was over five-hundred years old, whatever was once human had died centuries ago.

"That's a pity," Ashley said, and meant it. He loved luxury, and food was a luxury. As was wine. Curling his arm back in, he took a sip from the wine, smiling with sweet, genuine pleasure at the taste of it. "This is very good."

He was already a different person than the one Alucard had found in the orchard. This one stood taller, his posture more confident. He spoke more, completing sentences, and his eyes were bright with intelligence. Food, comfort, and being removed from the mausoleum had already driven away the worst of Ashley's madness and depression.

"I ought to have asked you for books," Ashley said, pecking Alucard's cheek again as he walked past him. This one was almost to the edge of Alucard's lips. Sprawling onto the couch, Ashley turned off the television with an irritated noise. "I hate television."

No follow up questions? No doubt? Alucard didn't know what to make of such an accepting response. By this time he had realised that Ashley was a bright individual, so why wasn't he asking the same questions everyone else had in the past when he'd revealed something unusual about himself. Surely the redhead wasn't accepting everything by default, was he.

This shock was compounded by another kiss, although he was certainly getting more used to the showering of attention, and he rather liked it. He was amazed at the transformation that the boy had undertaken in a few hours and, for the first time in a very long time, he felt proud of his actions. Even if all it had taken was some money and time Alucard felt that he'd made a positive influence on someone. He couldn't recall a time before now when he had done the same.

"You don't like the television?" Alucard asked, unknowingly opening up as he revealed more about himself. Bit by bit he was sharing his personality with Ashley. "I was so fascinated when I first watched one," subconsciously hinting at his age, as most people in this generation couldn't recall the first time they'd seen a TV as they'd been too young on first watching one. "moving images and sound all encapsulated in that little box. Of course, I enjoy reading as much as the next person but there is a sedentary kind of entertainment in watch the television." He stopped himself when he realised how long he'd been talking.

Ashley smiled, listening to every word with genuine interest. He rested his head on the back of the couch, lazy and comfortable as he watched Alucard. "Come and tell me stories," he insisted, the same thing he'd always asked of Arkady. He was intelligent enough to thirst for knowledge, and Alucard was obviously a repository of it.

Tucking his feet under himself, Ashley turned his body toward the empty space on the couch, head angled toward Alucard to invite him to fill it. "Please?" he said, smile turning coy with invitation.

Even if he'd wanted to refuse, Ashley's smile and inviting words were impossible to resist. Alucard moved to sit next to the boy, his spine flush with the back of the sofa, legs loosely crossed at the ankles and his arms resting along the neck of the couch, stretching out either side of him. It was a very relaxed position and subconsciously showed a feeling of openness to Ashley.

"Stories?" He echoed rhetorically, trying to think of something fitting for the tone of their conversation. Alucard had many dark tales he could rely to the boy but considering what had happened to him, the loss of his brother and living in squalor, he wanted to keep their conversation relatively light. It took the dhampire some time to recall something positive to tell the boy. "Hm, very well. Let me tell you about my homeland, perhaps it's not a story but maybe you're interested." He paused before he began "There's a lot of folklore about Romania but it's hardly the den of the occult people expect," he knew what people thought of his homeland and the cartoonish stereotypes people gave it, while they didn't offend him he wished people could be a little more open-minded. "we're right in the middle of the world, equidistance between the poles so the weather is very fair." not that he'd been out much in the daytime, but that's what he'd heard "We're blessed with great mountain ranges and valleys and the countryside is very green." Concerned he was boring Ashley he added "And we have a lot of national products you'd enjoy. Hm, I couldn't find it nearby but I'm certain you'd enjoy Palincă: it's a type of fruit brandy that's often made with apricots... Do you like apricots?" His brow raised in genuine interest. What a transformation Ashley had brought out in him, no more the sullen, depressive dhampire but he resembled a normal man, but for his appearance.

Ashley was delighted at how open Alucard's posture was, since the invitation had, after all, been a trap for cuddling. He immediately shifted close, head resting on Alucard's shoulder. Nestling up against Alucard's side, he relaxed, very content and warm. This was what he wanted, more than anything. Contact. Comfort. Safety.

"Yes," he murmured, smiling with pleasure as Alucard spoke to him. His eyes grew low-lidded, breaths slow and even, and sooner or later, as Alucard continued speaking, Ashley would doze off against his shoulder.

Ashley felt pleasantly warm against his shoulder and he found the contact incredibly soothing. Alucard, almost absent-mindedly, continued to speak about his homeland with a small glisten of pride when he mentioned all of his nation's local produce, folklore and mythologies. It wasn't too long, somewhere between Romanian food and the legend of the werewolf, that he noticed Ashley's breathing had slowed considerably.

"Ashley?" He whispered but saw that his new companion was asleep. A soft, quiet chuckle, he'd pacified the young man to sleep. Maybe that was a good thing.

[ ooc: I really enjoyed that! Let me know if you'd like to thread again somewhere. ]

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Took You In

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