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it was yet another night as a humble servant of the Hellsing organization. Tonight, however, was a bit different.
you hurried through your daily duties and retired to your room much faster than usual. it was one of those nights, your body rebelling against you in a fit of childish anger. you were ready to spend the rest of the evening in bed, waiting for the pain you felt to subside once more.
You shared what you would consider a good friendship with Hellsing's secret weapon. You were one of the few low-level servants that didn't go out of their way to avoid Alucard when he went wandering the manor in search of entertainment. The two of you enjoyed chatting on particularly slow nights, and sometimes you would even accompany him on a walk around the grounds. So it wasn’t too surprising that your behavior tonight would not go unnoticed.
Every so often, Alucard could tell something was off about the way you carried yourself. Whether it was the way you would subtly favor one part of your body over another when moving, the way you would grow a bit quieter, or even the way your smile would look almost tired. Needless to say, it was peculiar. And peculiarity piqued his curiosity. So when he saw that you had gone to your room early, he decided to pay you a visit.
The first thing he noticed as he phased through the wall into your room was that it was dark. You didn’t usually go to sleep this soon, and you hadn’t seemed particularly ill when he saw you last.
A peculiar noise drew his attention to the bed, his gaze falling on the lump of blankets that seemed to be whining in pain. His brows furrowed slightly in confusion and mild concern. Were you sick after all?
The soft sound of rustling caught your attention. You peeked your head out from under your blankets, eyes widening at the shadowy red-eyed figure standing over your bed.
“Gah! What the heck??” you yelped, scrambling into a sitting position. It took you a moment to process what was happening and who it was that had entered your room so creepily. Once your initial shock passed, you scowled in annoyance at the intruder. “Dude, you can’t just waltz into people’s rooms like that. There's a little something called privacy,” you huffed.
“Hm…Privacy is overrated,” Alucard waved off nonchalantly as he approached, not putting much concern into your complaint.
You rolled your eyes. You really weren’t in the mood to put up with anything tonight. “Yeah well…knock or something next time. Some sort of warning would be nice.”
His lips quirked upwards in mild amusement. It was just like humans to pick the most trivial things to obsess over. “A warning? So you can do what?” he asked teasingly as he welcomed himself to a seat next to you on the bed.
You opened your mouth to retort, but nothing came to mind. It wasn’t like you could do much if he really wanted to come in. You groaned, leaning forward and bringing a hand over your eyes. “I don’t know…I…ugh…I’m sorry Alucard, I’m just not really feeling up to talking to anyone right now…” you admitted, discomfort lacing your voice.
He paused, looking you over for a moment and taking in your body language and strained voice. “...You’re in pain,” he said simply, somewhere between a statement and a question. When you didn’t immediately answer, he continued. “Are you hurt?” he asked, voice tinged with concern as he looked you over more critically…He didn’t see any injuries at least.
You cringed. You didn’t really want him to know about your condition. You hated how hard it could be to function sometimes, and the last thing you wanted was for him to think you were pitiful and weak because of it. “N-no…I’m fine,” you tried to reassure him, although it came out half-hearted and not the most convincing.
You froze when you felt his gloved hand rest on your shoulder. While it did seem like the two of you had become closer as of late, you weren’t expecting him to initiate touch. You looked up in surprise to find him studying you closely.
“Clearly that’s not true. Tell me what’s wrong,” he said in a stern but gentle tone, vaguely reminding you of how a father might speak to a child.
You sighed, knowing there was no easy way out of this conversation. “It’s…it’s not a big deal. It’s just…I deal with some medical stuff,” you said, shifting your position to face Alucard before continuing. Not going too into detail, you explained a few of your medical issues and how your chronic pain affected you.
“A-Anyway…so I’m not injured or anything…that’s just sort of the way my body is…” you finished, rubbing your arm awkwardly to try and chase away the anxiety you felt.
“I see…” He hummed in thought. “And you suffer from this all the time?”
“Well…to some extent I guess,” you shrugged. “Some days are worse or better than others.”
Alucard thought this over. Suddenly some of your previously odd behavior began to make sense. He had noticed that you had a bit of a harder time than others doing certain tasks, but he hadn’t considered that you suffered quite like this. He thought over the best way to help you. It did seem like you were too restless from the discomfort to get any proper rest...maybe that's what you needed right now.
The silence that stretched between the two of you only served to make you more anxious. You liked hanging out with Alucard, and you couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking you were pathetic. “So…um…yeah. Anyways, like I said, I’m fine…so-”
“I can help you sleep if you’d like,” he offered, interrupting your nervous rambling. When you gave him a confused look, he continued. “You’re not able to rest, are you? I can help you relax. It would only take a moment.”
You were caught off guard by the suggestion. You didn't think he cared that much. It did sound nice, but you didn't want him to feel like he needed to do something special for you. “Oh…uh…I appreciate the offer, but you don’t need to bother…” you protested, a nervous smile on your face.
He frowned slightly in response. Why were you trying to reject his help? And why did you seem so worried? Before he could say anything, you continued.
"I know I must look like a mess right now… but...uh… you don't need to… you don't need to do anything…" you sighed, looking away.
Alucard's frown deepened as he realized what you meant. "Y/N. Look at me," he ordered in a low tone.
You shyly complied, looking up into his determined eyes.
"You fear I'll think less of you? You fear I'll be repulsed by the state of your body?" He asked, sounding as if he could barely even stand just the idea of it.
You frowned, looking away as your eyes began to water.
Alucard placed a hand under your chin, lifting your gaze back up to meet his. "You should not. The physical flaws of humans only serve to show one's character. If you were free of both, I would find you lacking," he explained gently.
"You mean...you don't think I'm just being pathetic?" you asked with a small sniffle, not fully believing him.
His expression softened and he gave you a small smile. "Of course not. your body is weak, but your spirit is strong. That's what makes you human."
You smiled a genuine smile at that, blinking away the tears as you leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug. You felt his body tense up in surprise as if the action was almost foreign to him. "Thank you…" you muttered, still holding onto him.
There was a moment of awkward silence before he relaxed, slowly wrapping his arms around you and returning the hug. "You're very welcome, my dear…"
Part of you was shocked that he returned the gesture. This was your first time showing such an intimate type of affection towards the vampire, and he easily could have rejected it. Instead, he snuggled you close, attempting to mirror your affection. The two of you stayed like that for a moment before he spoke again.
"Now, look into my eyes… I'm going to help you sleep, alright?" he offered again.
Figuring it couldn’t hurt, you gave a small nod and looked back up into his eyes. They were a burning red, crackling with oranges and yellows like a flame. His eyes seemed to almost glow as the burning red pierced your mind. A tingling numbness quickly spread throughout your body. It felt…nice.
Alucard smirked as he sank his control into your mind, watching your eyes tint red in response to his influence. "Hmm… red really is a lovely color on you…" he mused as he tenderly brushed a bit of hair from your face. He couldn’t help but find your relaxed and blissful expression a bit cute. With a satisfied grin, he leaned in close to your ear. “Sleep now,” he commanded in a whisper. Your body eagerly obeyed, your heavy eyelids slipping shut and your body slumping against him.
He let out a quiet chuckle as he carefully laid you back down on your bed. “Good night…I’ll see you soon~”
And just as suddenly as he appeared, he slipped back into the shadows and disappeared, leaving you to the sweet relief of sleep.