"Watch it, vampire." Trevor glared, only just nearly avoiding Alucard's sword that he suddenly unsheathed.
"I'm a dhampir, Belmont." Alucard replied monotonously. "and back up." He put his arm out to keep Trevor back and stabbed at the ground ahead of them causing a net to snap up from the ground into the air; there had been a trap. Alucard looked over his shoulder with a bored expression and Trevor looked away and grumbled something unintelligible before continuing on their path ahead. "Belmont-"
"What now?" Trevor rolled his eyes and turned around, now walking backwards. Then- snap! He reached out and and grabbed onto Alucard as he was whipped up in the air by yet another trap. Trevor had defeated demons, vampires, and beasts from hell- so of course he was taken down by a poacher's trap. He had grabbed onto Alucard just in time... to pull him into the trap as well. It was a singular noose-like rope tied around both of their ankles, hanging them upside down about 10 feet in the air.
"Belmont." Alucard now spoke through gritted teeth.
"Don't get your panties in a twist just pull out that long sword of yours and cut us down." Trevor said dismissively, refusing to accept responsibility for the situation.
"What a clever suggestion, if only I had thought of that. But wait there seems to be a problem with your plan. My sword is on the fucking ground." Alucard's eyes seemed to redden as he spoke and Trevor realized how close together they actually were and how close that vampire- that dhampir's teeth were to his neck. Eaten alive while tied to an angry dhampir was not the way he wanted to go out.
"Hold on I've got my short sword." Trevor tried to maneuver himself to grab his sword. He had to reach in between himself and Alucard to do so.
"Watch it, Belmont." Alucard spoke through a locked jaw once again.
"Piss off." He grunted getting a hold of the hilt of the sword. He pulled it out, making sure not to cut either of them but as he wiggled his way out he jostled around and dropped the sword. "Fuck." He whispered under his breath.
"Did you just drop the sword?" Alucard's eyes were closed but he knew the answer to that question.
"I've got a knife too." Trevor once again ignored the question and began to reach for his knife. Alucard grabbed his hand to stop him.
"I'll get the knife. I don't want you to drop it." Alucard went to reach for Trevor's belt and started patting around blindly for the knife.
"Easy there, try not to damage the merchandise."
"Please, as if I'd ever-" thunk
"Alucard." Trevor was biting his tongue and continued to speak when Alucard didn't reply. "Did you just drop the knife?" When Alucard didn't reply once again Trevor started squirming around.
"Would you hold still?" Alucard complained.
"Why? Do you have a plan? Because I'm pretty sure you just dropped my knife and we have no other way of getting down. Unless of course you plan on biting through the rope with those teeth of yours." Trevor was squirming throughout the entirety of his rant. Alucard narrowed his eyes hissed. Hissing wasn't actually a thing he did out of anger but it always seemed to put Trevor on edge. As Trevor tried to move away they swung a bit.
"Hold on I might have just thought of something." Alucard tried to get a better look at their surroundings. A branch near by caught his eye and he grabbed onto Trevor.
"Woah what are-"
"Shut up and hold onto me." He snapped. Trevor gave him a strange look but wrapped his arms around him nonetheless. "Now lean back and come forward." They started by squirming aimlessly but soon got into a rhythm and they were swinging.
After a few minutes Alucard's fingers just grazed the branch causing them to twist and spun as they swung. They had to work to fix themselves and reach the branch again but now Trevor knew he could wrap at least one arm around it. They were on the backswing and were now heading straight towards it. Trevor wrapped an arm around it and held on tight. They were both able to climb onto the branch and stand up.
"What now?" Trevor wiped his hands on his pants and looked at him.
"We jump, land on the branch that our rope is tied to and set ourselves free." Alucard said confidently. Trevor raised his eyebrows and was wondering if they were looking at the same branch.
"Do you think we can make that?"
"I know I can. I'm much stronger than you so it should be easy. If you don't think you can do it just hold onto me and I'll jump for us both." Alucard said this without much thought but rolled his eyes when he saw Trevor's disgruntled expression. "I'm not insulting you, Belmont. I'm stronger because-"
"Vampire stuff I know." Trevor interrupted him, annoyed. He shifted closer to him and wrapped his arms around him, glaring at Alucard's smug expression. "Just get it over with."
Alucard bent his knees and pushed off the branch hard. He took off like a shit just as expected, what he hadn't expected, however, was the branch to break beneath his feet. They were sent plummeting towards the ground. Their velocity caused the rope to snap and they curled around each other rolling out of the fall. Trevor was on his back, wheezing with the air knocked out of him while Alucard lay on top of him trying to push himself up. Alucard rolled off and sat up grabbing his sword and cutting the remaining rope around their ankles. He stood and offered Trevor a hand.
"No exactly," Trevor grunted as he sat up. "How I expected to get down." He took Alucard's hand and stood up.
"Sypha was right." Alucard sighed. "We should've just walked around."
"We're already more than halfway through and I can see the other side so there's no use turning around now." Trevor shrugged putting his short sword and knife back in his belt.
"Well we better hurry then, if we want to make into town by sundown that is." Alucard replied starting to walk forward again. Trevor was still standing in the same spot, looking up at the tree they had just fallen from. Alucard stopped and looked over at his shoulder. "Well come on." He called out causing Trevor to begin to follow him again. They finished their walk through the forest, narrowly avoiding traps the rest of the way to meet up with Sypha who has gotten there at least 20 minutes earlier despite taking the long way, walking around the forest.
"What took you tow so long, I thought I was going to have to come in after you." She approached with her arms out.
"We-" Alucard paused and looked to Trevor who was making a face that explicitly said 'do not tell her we fell into a trap'. "We were just taking a leisurely stroll."
"Just spending some time..." Trevor looked over at Alucard and threw an arm around his shoulder. "Bonding." Sypha smiled at this even though she was incredibly suspicious.
"Well come on, let's head to the inn." Sypha waved for them to follow her. "See if they have any rooms left." She grumbled the last bit to herself. As they entered they realized how full the inn was, people sitting by the fire. walking through the halls, kids running up and down the stairs. "Do you have three rooms available?" Sypha asked politely.
"Sorry Peach, only got two left." The owner frowned.
"Well that's alright we'll take them, thank you." She shrugged, the boys would just have to make do. She placed money on the counter and the innkeeper handed her two keys as Sypha thsnked her once again. "Alright." Sypha sighed as she went to approach them. "She's said there are only two rooms left, so you two are just going to have to share."
"I'm a grown man I don't want to share a room." Trevor said indignantly.
"Well you two should have thought about that before your leisurely stroll." Sypha shrugged tossing them a key. Trevor fumbled it around before catching it and glaring at her as she made her way up the stairs. He looked at the room number on the key and followed her up the stairs, Alucard following him. Their room was just down the hall from Sypha's so when Trevor opened the door and started yelling she was quick to rush over.
"No way! No fucking way!" He shouted.
"What?!" Sypha's hands had glowing blue mist around them as she ran into the room. Once she entered she saw what the fuss was about and she put her hands down, laughing. "You honestly made me think you were in danger, you fool." She shoved Trevor but continued laughing. "What's the problem? That bed has enough room for both of you." She laughed.
"I am not sharing a bed with another man, and certainly not him." Trevor crossed his arms. Alucard scoffed.
"Is your masculinity truly so fragile that you can't bring yourself to share a bed with another man?" He rolled his eyes.
"My masculinity is just fine, vampire." He glared. "I just don't want those teeth anywhere near me when I'm sleeping."
"I thought you two said you had bonded." Sypha brought a hand up to her forehead.
"I think you should know by now that I'm not going to eat you." Alucard sighed.
"That bed is huge." Sypha pointed out. "you two wont even have to touch." She shrugged. "Now if you two wouldn't mind." She began walking out the door. "I am very tired and I'd like to be able to get a full nights rest." After Sypha left Alucard and Trevor just stood, staring at each other for a bit.
Trevor wanted to stay standing the entire night but was soon hit by the fatigue of travelling the entire day. He made his way towards the bed and took off his boots, keeping an eye on Alucard the entire time. Both of them began to take off their coats and weapons wearing only the essential clothes as to not be uncomfortable near one another. Alucard was shirtless in boxers while Trevor kept an undershirt on, glaring as Alucard tied his hair up and approached the bed. Trevor got under the blankets and stared as Alucard got in next to him.
"Just don't touch me." Trevor squinted.
"Trust me, that wont be a problem." Alucard narrowed his eyes as well. He turned off the gas lamp on the bedside table and once again got under the blankets. They both rolled around so they were back to back, not touching.
The night proved colder than either of them had expected and Alucard found himself subconsciously moving backwards towards Trevor's warmth. When their backs touched he froze hoping Trevor wouldn't start yelling and berating him but the telltale sound of snoring and continued slow heart rate assured him that wouldn't be a problem. As the night wore on he felt Trevor roll over throwing an arm over his side. He was about to throw Trevor's arms back over but then he realized if Trevor woke up right now he'd realize that Alucard was 100% on his side of the bed and that there was another side that was completely empty and if Alucard had just stayed over there, there would be no reason for him to freak out about being touched. Feeling Trevor's strong warm arm wrap around his waist wasn't unpleasant. He felt safe and cozy and it was nice. He curled up around the arm that held him and closed his eyes. Deeper into the night Alucard had somehow managed to roll over, his hand in Trevor's undershirt, head curled into his chest and their legs tangled together under the blankets with Trevor holding him close. They both slept wonderfully, warm and cozy without any sudden wake ups throughout the night. When Alucard woke up it was due to a small sliver of sun flickering through the window, he just closed his eyes and nuzzled his nose deeper into to warmth in front of him, falling back to sleep. Trevor was woken up by a sound from the hall but when he opened his eyes to be blinded by the sun he quickly pulled his arm up to cover his eyes. Pulled his arm up? From what? He then looked down to see Alucard curled up into him and he'd just had his arm around him. His face turned bright red and apparently the position he'd shifted into was the perfect position for sun to hit Alucard's eyes again. Alucard blinked his eyes open and they soon met Trevor's, both of them very quickly turning bright red. They both stumbled out of bed going to their respective sides to start getting dressed.
"So, Good Morning." Trevor muttered out after both of them had gotten dressed.
"Good Morning." Alucard nodded not looking at him.
"I'll go check on Sypha." Trevor scratched the back of his neck, going for the door.
"I'll go see if they're serving breakfast." Alucard said walking to the door as well, ready to sprint in the opposite direction of him once it opened. But once the door opened they were met by Sypha who was about to knock. Both of them tripped over one another barely missing her. "Sypha!" Alucard shouted in shock.
"Fuck!" Trevor yelled falling with Alucard.
"Are you alright?" Sypha immediately began helping both of them to their feet. "Why are you two so jumpy this morning?" She asked laughing.
"Nothing!" Trevor immediately yelled.
"No reason in particular." Alucard smiled nervously.
"Right." She squinted at them.
"We're just very hungry." Alucard said after a moment of thinking. "And we were wondering if they were serving breakfast yet." He smiled resting and arm uncomfortably on Trevor's shoulder now.
"Yes, that's right." Trevor agreed. "So let's go check..." He trailed off pulling Alucard with him. They hurried down the stairs and Trevor quickly pulled him into a broom closet, closing the door behind them so only a sliver of light was visible as he began to whisper. "Listen," He put his hand to his forehead and sighed. "We can't, Sypha cant know about this- not that's there's a this it's just... Sypha can't know about what happened last night-not that I mean not that anything happened last night I, we'll never hear the end of it." He tried to wave it off like it was nothing but Alucard could tell it was obviously a big deal to him.
"There's nothing to tell her." Alucard responded coolly.
"Right." Trevor nodded, patting his shoulder. "You're right." He nodded again going to open the door the same time as Alucard. When their hands touched Trevor pulled away as if he'd just touched blazing metal and Alucard did the same as if he had just touched a cross. Both of them looked embarrassed, their expressions clear even in the dark.
Trevor cleared his throat and reached for the door knob again opening up the door. They approached the dining area and were first met by the delicious smell before large plates of eggs, bacon and a few loaves of freshly baked bread came into view. Trevor and Alucard stacked their plates high with food before making their way to Sypha, who was waving at them from a table by the fire. They sat next to each other and quietly began eating their food.
"So..." Sypha tried to start a conversation. "You two are quite hungry. Did I miss something yesterday?" She asked before eating a forkful of eggs. Trevor choked on his food and Alucard gave him a hard pat on the back, dislodging the food in his throat.
"Yesterday's walk was quite tiring, more physically demanding than either of us had anticipated." Alucard looked over at Trevor who was drinking his water like he hadn't seen any in days.
"Yeah." Trevor's voice was husky due to his choking only moments ago combined with the usual gravelly type deepness. He just looked back down at his plate and continued to shovel food into his mouth. Sypha just shook her head and went back to eating.
"So from what I've heard." She leaned in after a bit. "Some strange animals have been heard in the woods the past few nights and they seem to be getting closer."
"Sounds right up our alley." Trevor said with a mouthful of food. "So what do you suppose we do?" He asked, still chewing.
"Well we should try to get an idea of how many there are and what they are." Sypha replied.
"We should determine whether or not they pose a legitimate threat." Alucard added.
"And if they do we can act as look-outs and defense. Maybe we should camp out tonight- hide in the trees." She suggested looking between both Alucard and Trevor to gauge their reactions.
"Sounds good to me, s'long as I get my own tree." Trevor joked.
~~~
"You kidding me?"
"I did not plant this forest and it is not in my control the amount of trees stable enough to hold people in a close enough radius to guarantee our collective safety." Sypha glared as she tried to get herself comfortable on a thick tree branch.
"Guess we're roommates again." Trevor sighed, looking at Alucard. "So how do you suppose we do this?" He asked looking up at the tree.
"Grab on." Alucard sighed and just wrapped an arm around his waist before jumping them up into the tree. He then began to break twigs off of the branches to create a sort of bedding with the leaves and Trevor dropped his bag where he'd use it as a pillow. Trevor plopped down and Alucard lay next to him then he took a ratty blanket out of his bag and wrapped it around them both. Alucard shied away at first but Trevor pulled him close a bit roughly, not looking at him, before tightening the blanket around them.
"It's gonna get cold tonight." He grumbled, still looking away.
"Right." Alucard replied with a nod. They shifted closer to each other while continuing to avoid each other's eyes.
"Look." Trevor said finally. "We're both grown men. We're adults and this shouldn't be... Shouldn't be so..." He struggled to find the right word. He met Alucard's eyes and found him smiling smugly. "Fuck you." He spat and rolled over, facing away from Alucard.
"No, please continue, we shouldn't be so what?" Alucard laughed as he asked.
"Fuck off, you're such a child." Trevor said over his shoulder.
"Come on, Belmont." Alucard rolled him back over. "I'm listening this time I swear."
"Fine. I was just saying this shouldn't be so awkward. We aren't teenagers and we should be able to share the same sleeping space without acting like we're- I don't know just not like we were earlier."
"I agree." Alucard said simply.
"Good."
"Good."
"Goodnight then."
"Goodnight, Belmont." They flipped back to back and closed their eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest to lull them to sleep.
Alucard woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a twig snapping and the lack of a body beside him under the blanket. Trevor appeared to be trying to sneak back beside him without waking him up. When Alucard turned and met his eyes he smiled.
"Missing me already?" He asked climbing under the blanket. "Did I wake you?"
"No." Alucard lied. "I was just cold." Trevor nodded and looked ready to drift off to sleep again. "Where did you go?"
"Had to take a leak so I thought I'd check the woods around us, wanted to make sure you- Uh both of you, you and Sypha, were safe." He stumbled over his words. He then cleared his throat. "Didn't find anything." He added, shifting around a bit. "You're cold?" He asked going back to what Alucard had said originally. Before he could respond Trevor was already taking off his cape and laying it over him. He tightened the thick fur lined top around his neck and draped the rest across his legs. "Better?" He asked absentmindedly tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear.
"Yes." Alucard was holding the cape tightly around himself. "Yes, thank you." He took a deep breath and had to stop himself from sighing and snuggling further into the cape, trying to keep from nuzzling his nose into it.
Though he made fun of Trevor occasionally... alright constantly, about his intelligence, hygiene, morals and such, he was actually very fond of him and respected him greatly; and more pressingly he found his scent incredibly welcoming and warm and well- he smelled like home. He was brought out of his thoughts by shifting beside him, trying to find warmth. Without thinking he pulling him close so they could share the warmth of the cape and the blanket. He couldn't tell if he was being thoughtful or greedy, whether he was actually trying to keep Trevor warm or just selfishly finding an excuse to hold him close and be surrounded by the scent of home.
"Alucard." Trevor spoke so softly it could barely be heard. They met each other's eyes and found themselves inches apart. "Goodnight." He said before closing his eyes and ducking his head into Alucard's chest. Alucard then tucked his head into Trevor's neck practically whispering his own goodnight into his ear. He took another deep breath and this time allowed himself to sigh in contentment, this was nice. After adjusting a bit he found himself in a position where one arm was holding Trevor close around his waist and the other was cradling his head to his chest. The sound of a branch cracking of the forest floor mad Trevor snap his head up. "Did you hear that?" They were nose to nose and Alucard's eyes were piercing into his own.
"It was just a rabbit." Alucard's gaze flicked from Trevor's eyes to his lips. Trevor swallowed and licked his lips.
"Right." He breathed out, his eyes meeting Alucard's again and before looking to his lips as well. They found themselves moving closer by the second; inch by inch, millimeter by millimeter, then Trevor was tilting his head and his eyes were falling closed. Alucard's own eyes fluttered shut as Trevor became the only thing in his field of vision. Their lips only just barely touched, so softly they were barely sure it had actually happened but barely sure was enough for them. "Alucard." Trevor whispered as he pulled away slightly. Their eyes met, half-lidded and full of intent and Trevor suddenly pushed forward, tilting his head further and bringing them into a kiss once again. They started to push themselves up so they were sitting and Alucard lifted Trevor by his thighs so he was in his lap. Trevor smiled down at him from his place up in his lap and he captured his lips between small bursts of laughter.
"What's so funny, Belmont?" Alucard suddenly pulled back.
"What isn't funny about this?" Trevor laughed, kissing him again. "I'm Trevor fucking Belmont and I'm making out with the bloody son of Dracula." A smile grew on Alucard's face as he tilted his head upwards. "This is ridiculous." He mumbled against Alucard's lips and Alucard pulled away again.
"Do you ever shut up?" Alucard had a hand gripping Trevor's jaw as he rolled his eyes. Trevor just began grinning again as he leaned in and once again brought their lips together.