When the War's Over

(Warnings: Gore, blood, sex, nsfw, Alucard/OC, oneshot.]

February 11th, 1967

Thoughts were reflected upon in the military transport the Nosferatu occupied in the cabin only he sat in, benches lining both parallel interiors unkind to his person, but he wasn't one those mortal concerned themselves with. He was but a monster under their control, a weapon to be employed, and nothing else. But even in the darkness he was mired within, the mate camouflage that allowed only shivers of luminous orbs to pass through the small portholes, the barest reflection of red the seeped through titian lenses upon cold, metallic surface, he was still one of deep thought. It had only been a month or two since his awakening, but the endless blur of mission after mission hardly allowed him time to reacquaint himself with this time, seeing as he'd been asleep for the whole of twenty years. The world was still entirely of unknown variables, and all he'd seen of it was glimpses through wars. Shaking his head, from within his duster he extracted Casull and Joshua, the sister pistols resting upon his lap as he methodically dismantled them and worked a familiar inspection, it a meditative and calming work upon his mind. "I highly doubt the enemy has changed much all these years," he remarked to himself, eying through the barrel of Joshua and using a cloth to wipe a stain from the muzzle.

It was perhaps a good few hours that they drove, St. Johnstown of Ireland quite a ways away from Hellsing headquarters. In that, he was able to complete a rather through run through of both pistols, to the point that rote memorization made it almost a boring task. But as soon as the distant crackling of flames met his hypersensitive hearing, he knew it would be just moments until they reached ground zero. The encompassing areas had been cleared and evacuated to the best ability of the local authorities, while those present and unable to escape were now under Hellsing's jurisdiction. Their squads would disperse to assist civilians stranded and Alucard would eliminate all targets present. As it had been, and as he'd come to know. Fleeting mortal lives would pass around him like water rushing around stone, transient and fleeting, and that would be that. Alucard faced it as he always did; with cynical aloofness masked by predatory madness as the battle rushed about him and he would be secreted away upon the job finishing, as it always did.

The swinging whine of hinges emitted from both doors as a buffeting wave of heat seared past, it sourcing from a home set ablaze, in the center of the rather rural town, he surmised. There was an oily slickness to the grass, squelching underfoot as the saturated scent of iron and copper beleaguered his senses and immediately roused his hunger. Smiling wolfishly, Alucard crouched and touched a digit to the ground, finding it immediately coated thickly in the warm, viscous substance—the fire no doubt was to attribute to that. "Still so fresh," he murmured to himself upon rising, Hellsing operatives in their mercenary gear staring in transfixed and morbid fascination as Alucard's tongue as it swiped about the blood rather sensually. Alucard took notice and smiled tauntingly, ghoulishly, at them. "Stop staring and get to work." His sudden bark startled them from their reveries and they dispersed, armed to the teeth with AK-47s and whatever soldiers in this age were outfitted with. Scoffing, he did the same and procured Casull and Joshua as always. Neutralize the infestation, return to the launching point, then to the manor and his dungeon until the next mission. After all, none saw fit to walk a dog like he.

It proceeded as it always did. He'd use his superhuman senses to create a perimeter of targets, typically a block in radius, and eliminate them systematically. And since this village was small, there wasn't much to work with and the free air of the lots of property allowed for rather easy extermination. After all, ghouls weren't exactly the brightest of creatures. And after they were eliminated, they would seek the vampire responsible and that vampire would meet the same, carnivorous end: cannibalism of the blood and flesh by the first of all vampires. The first zone had been cordoned and the nuisances dealt with, although something seemed to catch his eye throughout the hail of bullets and the maelstrom of limbs and entrails practically exploding from the bursts of impact made. A hail of wet and weighted substances later, and he finally saw what had caught his eye in mere glimpses.

There was a fiery mane that seemed to flare passionately in erratic movements, the one responsible a woman. Alucard studied her for a few lingering moments, seeing that she was engaged in helping a family from the ruination of the house that had all but heaved inwards, working frantically. His features seemed utterly impassive and his stance statuesque, their gazes suddenly meeting through all that natural fire. There was an electrified exchange, and the woman felt a long shiver creep inexorably down her spine; fear, and something she couldn't name. Revulsion, or fascination? Jerking her eyes away, the last of the tattered victims were freed, and in a voice strong like a clarion call, informed them of where to go and they took off at a dead run to gallop towards the Hellsing squadrons that took to them to lead them away to safety. The woman darted towards him, and slowly came to a pause. Swallowing thickly, the mortal inclination of fear obviously gripping her, wiped her sweat-stained brow. "You with them? Might want to focus on something else," she murmured, unable to meet his gaze.

"Merely making sure that no ghouls were in the area, my dear," Alucard chuckled with a wolfish grin, the woman seeming to bristle as he addressed her with such an endearment.

Flicking her striking, royal blue hues once at him, her brows furrowed and she retorted mildly, "Don't call me that, please. If you're going to call me anything, it's Mary and nothing else, you hear?" There was clear assertion within her voice, despite the flush and conflicting fear, adrenaline, and heat coursing through her veins—it made her feel sick. The Nosferatu certainly didn't help alleviate any of them.

Chortling richly, he gazed at her over the brim of his sunglasses. There was a smirk clearly present, he replying, "Very well, Mary." However, it was swift to sober as the telltale moaning of impending ghouls met his senses and Alucard's face deadpanned once more, cocking back the hammers of Casull and Joshua in unison. "Your aim is to help in evacuations, correct? You can't turn back, and I have no intention of backtracking. Remain by my side. I'll eliminate, and you evacuate." His orders were clear and compounded, brooking no negotiation. Mary nodded stiffly, her fear rocketing again as more sweat beaded and her matted locks clung wildly about her. He could vividly hear her heart pounding in her throat.

"R-Righ'," she murmured quietly, throat seeming to close as trembling hands balled into determined fists. Good girl.

And so, they set off. The charger and the rescuer. Alucard would find a group of ghouls and unleash a maelstrom of bullets, the woman crouching low and plugging her ears with her fingers, trembling and quaking like a leaf and growing noticeably paler, but she seemed better off than before—at least with some protection, no matter how terrifying he was. After a round of bullets was fired, Alucard entered within a home and scanned the premises; when no ghouls or other monstrosities were confirmed, Mary would dart in and on adrenaline and the instinct of flight find those within and evacuate them, aiding them to safety.

Upon finishing a whole block of homes, Mary collapsed to her knees, shaking and turning over a pebble in her hands, swallowing and with her pupils dilating fully. "How do you do it? Jus' shooting those…well, they're not people, but—they were alive once. Those were real people. With thoughts and feelings and—'m sorry, 'm just rambling," Mary stuttered as she rose to stand, weakness finally upsetting her as her knees buckled. However, her breath hitched in her throat as Alucard captured her by the waist with a steadying arm, the woman blushing wildly. "Sorry, sorry! I'm like a newborn filly…"

"I'll put it simply. Not everyone has the mind to be a soldier. But those are monsters, and they need eliminated or else they'll spread like a plague," Alucard explained as he released her, she seeming to recover well enough.

"But, you're not human. Tha' much is obvious," she commented; not a hostile comment, but merely an observation that was obvious to most. Her eyes found his tentatively, blazing hotly behind lenses subdued by the shadow looming from his wide-brimmed fedora. She felt nauseous, captured by fear, panic, adrenaline that seemed to be the only thing sustaining her, she blinking rapidly upon breaking that gaze and the dryness of the heat palpable within the air.

"No, I'm not. A monster that hunts monsters. Amusing, isn't it?" Alucard chortled, replenishing the magazines of both guns with fresh cartridges with a brazen and smug smirk, it seemed. Which was met with a small frown, but only because Mary didn't feel like this was a jovial mood. She nodded gingerly, almost blankly, before dissolving into a rough fit of dry coughing.

"'m thirsty," she croaked, eyes watering from the intense coughing. Quirking a brow, sometimes he had to remember that humans reached their limits. Spying a fallen combatant of Hellsing's, Alucard knelt down and procured a water skein still fairly full. Bringing it back, he tossed it inches from her feet. She fumbles with it, barely uncorking it before she drank deeply. She coughed, having drunk too quickly, weakly rapping against her sternum with a balled fist, eyes still watering as she gasped for breath. "…Thanks," she murmured, tying the water skein to a loop on the waistband of her tattered jeans. "How much more do we have t' do?"

Alucard ranged the area, seeing that they were more or less done. "No more than two hours' work. It would be less, if you weren't here rescuing civilians," Alucard surmised dryly, Mary merely thinning her lips into a pensive line and glancing away, flushed with embarrassment. He'd agreed to take her with him, though! Hardly her fault. There was a hollow smirk that quirked, and his eyes seemed to soften in their severity. "Perhaps slightly less if we work quickly enough." She was still so young—although, visibly, there appeared to only be a few years between them. She was perhaps in her early twenties? At least she was a bit stronger than most.

And so, they struggled on. There barest tinges of the dawn peaked upon the horizon, and the ghouls had all been eliminated, Mary utterly exhausted while Alucard seemed as inexhaustible as usual. Upon returning to the launching point, they were informed that Hellsing wasn't to depart just yet. They were to remain until the late afternoon? Alucard met the news with a disgusted snort, noting that meant he may as well prove the area for stragglers—despite how much he'd rather resign himself to sleep and dread the impending day. He loathed sunlight. And yet, the local hotel had been converted to a temporary hospice, quarantined to ensure no others had been infected. He may as well take his rest here, knowing that Mary had departed from his side moments after their return. It was likely she'd acquired herself a room was undoubtedly recouping from the ordeal. It was certainly trying in and of itself, that much was certain. And yet, he saw no reason to begin his self-imposed duties just yet. There was time yet, and the sun was barely rising.

The hotel itself, small and old in construction, was a dated yet stately edifice. Climbing moss and vines accented the slate eves, cascading verdant green over faded red brick that was truly homely and comfortable in construction. And yet, within the lobby, there was a chaos of personnel repeating orders into one-way radios, the Nosferatu eliciting a jarred scattering as his overbearing aura overwhelmed them with wide eyes and sudden silence. Nodding towards them seem to usher in a calm, they gradually returning to their dues despite the prickling fear within the atmosphere. Perhaps he may as well acquire a room; perhaps he might be able to hear himself think, he thought scornfully to himself. Moving towards the receptionists, the woman present became ramrod and still, stammering, "Y-Yes, sir?" to him as Alucard loomed over them both—despite being of relatively normal height.

"I was wondering if perhaps," A sudden banking of thought, twitch of brow, "you could tell me if you saw a red-haired woman pass through here. Her name is Mary." Odd. Why did he suddenly care to know where his temporary compatriot was? There was a disgruntled sound in his throat the woman mistook as one of impatience, she scanning the registrar more frantically.

"Yes, we saw her take up residency in room 205, sir, second floor," the woman confirmed with a steadier voice, smile still nervous and placating. Alucard emitted a thoughtful sound, no thanks uttered as he skirted around the counter—much to the relief of the people left in his wake.

The stairwell was gratefully much quieter as Alucard trudged up the stairs, spying the room in question almost instantly. Striding towards it, he took his hand and rapped his knuckles courteously upon the door, hearing the rapid heart palpitations like a frightened rabbit swell within. There was a pregnant silence of uncertainly until shaky hands gripped the door knob with trembling strength, Alucard waiting until it opened, met with an open space. The scents of a recent shower struck his senses along with the pleasing scent of honeysuckle, and he motioned to remove his hat. It paused suddenly just as he was to remove it, small hands clinging to his back as a clearly naked form pressed against him, Alucard straightening as he kept his gaze trained ahead.

"The danger's gone, for now," he broke the silence suddenly, receiving only a wild shake of head, a forehead pressed against the nape of his neck and the flipped collar that prevented true contact. She was scared; absolutely terrified. Mary had held on for as long as she had and she was breaking. My, how dark it still was outside. The clouds seemed to obfuscate thickly, clamoring together and promising for a dark and dismal day. Alucard sighed quietly, hooking his fedora upon a peg on the nearby wall and doing the same with his sunglasses. Suddenly, he slipped from his dusters and it collapsed in Mary's vice, the woman gasping in shock. Like a child she cowered into it, still naked and hair slightly damp. She smelled of honeysuckle and spring, the duster being the only thing preserving her modesty. Only her eyes were visible as they watered and glimmered with hot tears, slowly crumpling to her knees.

"P-please, d-don't leave me," she whimpered, shoulders shaking with sobs. Alucard's visage remained impassive, then walking towards her and offering but a hand. She glanced meekly up at him, a hand relinquishing its hold upon the duster and taking his, trembling. He hauled her upwards, figuring she was weak and needed the extra inertia to stand. She gasped as she was, finding herself pressed close to him, the duster crumpled between them and her breath hitching in her throat from the shock.

Passion was a strange creature. It found the unexpected and delivered to them a strange bliss. It brought souls together and ignited flames in strange places, between stranger hearts. This he meditated upon as they slowly withdrew, the duster falling from her grip as their gazes met in that passionate silence. Then, royal blue met ignited red and locked. Slowly, deliberately, closure came between them. Lips tentatively touched, soundlessly at first, then they came back again and again. His diverted to her neck, where he suckled deeply. Mary moaned softly, uncertainly, but the terror within seemed to abate slightly. Gradually reducing to the flame burning between them both.

Alucard then embraced her tightly, her arms flying around his neck in unison and legs hitching his waist, the Nosferatu grunting as a hand went to support and grope at her bottom, eyes becoming bleary with arousal. Oh, this felt so wrong! Mary's mind rebelled and her eyes squeezed shut as they met to kiss again, hands gripping at Alucard's suit coat in trepidation, though it relaxed. She wanted to forget. She wanted to forgot those horrors, and fearing for her life. There was a tremulous sigh as they parted, Alucard searching her eyes, having noticed. He was no beast. He wouldn't force himself further if she didn't want to continue. Worrying her lower lip, her brow pushed upwards, mouthing, 'Please,' to him as tears threatened the corners of her eyes. There was a soft kiss planted on her forehead, and she shivered in relief. Nodding, she returned one in kind to the corner of his mouth, a sweet and sad smile upon her lips.

Eyes closed again as Alucard gently deposited her upon the bed, her legs relaxing as the arched beneath his, he hovering on all fours before her. They came together for kisses, her fingers gently prying the buttons from the suit coat that he shrugged off, dumping it to the ground beside the bed. Her eyes, when he glimpsed them, were far more beautiful up close. They reminded him of Elizabeta's—that dark blue mixed with barest gray that contained traces of a sadness. But that was because of the situation, surely, but they were enrapturing nonetheless. "You're beautiful," he murmured into her ear as he pressed a kiss into the shell, inhaling the scent of honeysuckle from her vivid ginger locks.

"Don't know what t' call you, really," she returned uncertainly, smile faltering some. "Too handsome, maybe." Alucard chortled softly, a hand gliding down her abdomen that tensed, rigid to his touch, but she sighed upon relaxing to it. Then, it trailed to her pelvis, she hurrying her movements to work next upon the dress shirt, Alucard's teeth and lips teasing the soft flesh of her ample breasts, Mary biting her lips as she held back a mewl, brows twisting in consternation as she worked off the dress shirt that Alucard allowed to fall to the side. "Not fair…"

"I never said I was, my dear," Alucard purred throatily as the gloves came next, eying her from above as he descended closer to her womanhood. Her legs became situated upon his shoulders, and face disappeared behind a curtain of black. Mary threw back her head and gasped hotly, mouth wide and eyes opened wide in surprise. Her teeth grit as she felt that hot, moist tongue slide inside her. Her mouth clamped shut and her hands groped through thick, raven locks, gasping hotly.

"Shit!" she grit out, back arching harshly and body squirming as waves of pleasure beleaguered her. She mewled openly this time, that tongue worming deeply inside of her wetness—as if she weren't already enough. But, ugh—it felt so good. Her back collapsed back upon the mattress as it squeaked, Alucard withdrawing after she'd been made sufficiently hot and bothered, face flaring up like a tomato. She blushed and avoided his smug expression as his tongue licked around his lips, laving the rest of her essence from it. Smirking, he returned higher, grinding his groin against hers, the woman furrowing her brow begrudgingly up at him. Her bosom heaved a breath, heart pumping erratically throughout her chest. "Smug bastard…"

Her hips bucked against his as the vampire gyrated against her, he grunting in a satisfied manner as he kissed her soundly. "Now, now, my dear, no need to use such language," he chided whilst undoing the fly of his trousers, having been thoroughly aroused by all of this. Alucard pressed two fingers against her lips, she instead biting hard upon them and drawing…blood? She unconsciously swallowed, shivering in revulsion at the taste. And yet, Alucard didn't seem to notice, his pain threshold impossibly high and regenerative abilities intangibly fast. Sighing, she glowered at him and twined her arms around his neck, closing the distance between them as those eyes of his hooded seductively. She stuck her tongue out at him after thoroughly coating those fingers in saliva, Alucard planting a kiss of reward upon her temple. "That's my girl.~"

She features loosened and she became lost in arousal once more as his fingers made way into her heat, mewling and moaning softly, he then scissoring inside her. Her fingers clenched into claws, nails biting crescents into his skin. She scratching rows and he purred in satisfaction, a throaty chortle as his nose glided past her cheek before kissing there deeply. Pouting, she bit his lip, theirs crashing together once more upon such beckoning. Alucard removed his hand, supporting it like a pillar into the sheets as talons tore rents within the fabric. They parted, and the sweetness from before seemed to return. Slowly, he guided his manhood into her, legs hitching tightly about his abdomen.

It wasn't long until the passion returned and he thrusted roughly inside of her, she moaning commands through unsealed lips, her arms clinging around his neck as the mattress squealed with the force of every thrust inside of her. Mary became disconcerted by the thrusting, dizzy from the arousal and heat, and in these few precious moments she forgot her terror and fear from before. Her breathing became labored and ragged, matching the tempo of Alucard's that quickened. Blearily, she could swear she felt the hammering of a heart inside his chest. …He had a heartbeat? However, she had no chance to dwell on it further as she was lost to their combined pleasure, heat building within them both.

"I think…'m gonna—ah!" came her delightful whimper as she paused, stock still as she threw her head back and her body shivered thickly, Alucard panting in unison as his face pressed into her bosom, stifling his moan of pleasure into those supple mounds of flesh. Their coitus came as they finished together, still and shivering, Alucard's breathing quietly as pleasure coursed thickly within his veins. He lifted his head blearily, Mary's jaw finally clamping shut as she glanced around until she finally focused upon the vampire still panting hotly. Sighing, after he pulled himself from her, her arms flew around his ribcage and she buried her face against his chest, feeling so sheltered. Like a child clinging to their parent after a dreadful thunderstorm, she nuzzled against him.

Carefully they parted from their previous position, Mary upon his lap as she remained as she was, feeling so utterly safe in the sanctuary of his consuming embrace. "Don't leave me, please," she murmured against the thrumming of his heart, a hand sifting into ginger locks. He stroked her, pressing a remarkably tender kiss into livid red crown. Yet, he sighed, gaze distant. He had to leave. Within a few hours, he would have to. Still, while he was here, he would allow her to feel safe.

"…I'll stay." —For the night, he added internally, knowing they would have to part. Sighing, he settled atop the sheets, she still upon him as she tucked ginger crown beneath his chin and self so completely, and utterly safe. "You should rest," he added as an afterthought, knowing she was far calmer than before. Mary stubbornly shook her head in refusal, fingers playing with the fringes of long, raven locks despite blinking drowsily. She was so exhausted. After all that, after this—she could sleep better than before, she supposed. There was a guilty pang within her heart—her fiance! Guilt weighed upon in a heavy dread like cold and clammy water sluicing down her throat, and she swallowed. Still…why was it, in the embrace of a monster, she felt more cared for and cherished than she ever had with O'Ryan? Nuzzling against his chest, clinging close, she supposed she may as well glean whatever she could from this. Through this ordeal, she'd forgotten all about him. Breathing another sigh through her nostrils, she snuggled close against Alucard—her dark, fallen angel. She smiled secretively at the thought. If this made her a sinner, then she would revel in the sin. While it lasted, at least.

It wasn't long until she fell into a deep and nearly comatose sleep, unable to perceive anything but his warmth and the fortitude of his form she huddled against. For a few hours, Alucard remained with his lover, stroking digits with absent-mindedness through ginger tresses. He kissed her forehead one last time until he extricated himself from her embrace, a slow untangled that didn't disturb her sleep in the least. With supernatural ability, his raiment manifested upon his form, fingers absently touching the cravat bound where it always was. Undoing it, he returned to the side of the bed and sank upon it, tenderly stroking her hair and gazing upon her with a sad distance, obscured by his lenses. That hand remained upon her head until it withdrew and placed the cravat against her cheek, Mary's nose wrinkling reflexively, but not stirring otherwise. Her own fingers unconsciously curled around the cloth and she smiled softly within her sleep, making a soft noise of contentment. Alucard's brows furrowed tensely, gritting his fangs tightly. He kissed her lips one last time, lingering for a long while—her forehead, cheek.

"Good-bye, Ingera mea. Perhaps I shall see you again, soon," he whispered thickly in farewell, despite his voice hardly betraying any sentiment. A curious thing attachment was. His hand clasped hers before being removed as he rose, the mattress creaking slightly from the removal of his weight. Striding towards the door, clearly without his cravat, he slipped quietly down the hall, steeling his composure and schooling his features into their usual deadpan most were acquainted with seeing. And right upon time, it seemed, for they were leaving now. Finding the transport he'd arrived in, Alucard entered it, the doors slamming shut on part of the soldiers present. The engine reved, Alucard sliding down the bench with the final sight of the red-brick hotel. Lurching forward, the caravan of vehicles drove off, Alucard's gaze never leaving the hotel's until a turn around a street corner removed it from view entirely. Leaning against the cool steel, Alucard sighed to himself. "A foolish thing, sentiment. Hmph, may as well try and sleep."

His heart had stirred for her that night…

If only he'd known.

That the only remembrance of the night would come over thirty years later.

That that would be the last time they would see each other ever again.

Last Thoughts: Hey friends! Just in case you're wondering what's up, this was originally a gift drabble to my rp partner and friend, Didi, aka nolifeprincess over on tumblr. In case you're wondering what's what, this is the background story of a sort of 'How I met your mother' kind of deal. Now, before you fly off the bat about OC offspring of Alu, what basically happened here was that I ascribe by a series of headcanon to explain for it. Basically, Mary was already pregnant. Alu, however, is utterly sterile. In the first trimester, his blood is what does it-destroying the original father's DNA and replacing it with own. To also explain for how she wasn't vampirized, I believe in the classic method: in order for someone to be turned into a vampire, they need to be drained of a certain amount of blood and administered an amount of the sire's upon that happening for a turning to be successful. And since none of that happened, no vampirization! Just a dhampir baby girl.

Mary McHare, Blake O'Ryan (c) nolifeprincess tumblr.

~Peace, G.