Fic : Hush Whispers (Edited version)
Pairing: Alucard x Richter, hints of Richter x Maria (one-sided)
Rating: NC-17
Warning: angst, heavy M/M scenes, voyeurism, yaoi.
Beta: x_venal_x
Disclaimers: All characters belong to Konami. Writing is purely fictional and no profit is intended nor obtained for this fanfiction piece.
Summary:
On a stormy night in an old cottage, one love is lost while another is finally realized.
Updated Author's Note:
I'm so grateful for x_venal's help in editing and refining this story. It's now more coherent compared to the original. If not for x_venal's kind efforts this fic itself will never be up in the first place.
Thanks so much for the help dear. I dedicated this posting to you. ^_^
Fic : Hush Whispers
The storm heavily pelted the humble and quaint cottage that sheltered Maria and her two companions, Richter and Alucard. It had belonged to Alucard's late mother, Lisa, and, just before the storm had come, Alucard had offered the small sanctity of his mother's home, far away from the prying eyes and ears of the villages.
Maria sighed, hardly able to sleep; not only did she hate rain and thunderstorms, but ironically the weather seemed to mirror the turmoil that she and Richter were facing.
"I wish the rain would stop," Maria muttered to herself, unable to help feeling depressed lately. She got off the bed and stood beside the glass window adjacent to her bed. Her reflection looked back at her sadly.
"Oh Richter, I wish I could make everything better, just like it was before," she whispered, greatly affected by the events that had transpired after Richter's rescue from Castlevania.
***
Annette had divorced Richter and gone to live with her childhood sweetheart, William. She told Richter that she was tired of waiting and worrying for him all the time – she wanted a peaceful family life. With the kind of life Richter had, she knew the cycle would be repeated; she longed to have children, but with Richter and his ancestors' vampire hunting legacy, she feared greatly for their safety.
It was a devastating blow to Richter, Annette's tirade. He stormed out of the house, never to go back. Maria followed and found him broken by the lake on the town's outskirts, bent down on his knees and crying heavily.
She immediately tried to pacify and comfort him, but he was shaken by grief and self-pity and hardly felt her soothing touch and words. He told Maria that he'd lost everything he held dear and that life was not worth living. He'd failed his duty, not only as a husband, but as a Belmont. He'd let himself be kidnapped and corrupted by his enemies – a sad price for his weaknesses. He told Maria he had to leave the town and never return.
"But where will you go? I can't let you do that, Richter. You're a Belmont; you still have strength and virtue in your soul. You can survive this and become the man you were once again," She said, trying to reason with him.
But Richter gazed at her sadly and said, "No, Maria. I feel that my time is up and I need to pass on the Belmont legacy to others who are strong to resist the evil they are fighting against. I have shamed my family and my ancestors enough with my weakness."
Maria felt her heart stop as she looked upon Richter's beautiful face, the sight of his crying blue eyes pained her so much. She loved Richter secretly; she would not be able to bear him going away, never to be seen again.
iNo you can't do this… I love you Richter, I love you so much that it hurts… Don't go away, stay with me, we can make a life together. You can start all over again… Oh, Richter. bI love you!/b/i
Maria shook herself from her thoughts and reached to cup Richter's face between her hands, forcing the brunette to face her. She was just about to declare her love and devotion to him, when Alucard suddenly appeared at their side, surprising them both.
"...Alucard, what are you doing here?" Richter said, unable to believe that it was indeed the dhampire who'd appeared alongside them. He had thought that Alucard had already left and was gone for good.
Maria glanced up at Alucard's expressionless face and saw the sadness in his eyes; he was looking at Richter with a somewhat familiar intensity, but didn't respond to the vampire hunter's inquiry.
"Alucard, what's wrong?" Maria asked anxiously.
With that Alucard seemed to be shaken out of his reverie; he turned his gaze from Richter's face and fixed his eyes on Maria.
"My Lady, forgive me but I fear a strong storm is coming as I speak. It would be wise if you and Richter took shelter immediately."
Just after this statement, a loud crackle of thunder echoed in the distance, then a few drops began to patter the ground beneath the trio.
"Oh… he's right, Richter. Come, we have to go home now. You can stay at our house."
Richter shook his head, "No, Maria, I can't go with you. You need to go home now."
"But, you can't just leave like that… Richter, please come with me – it's getting late and we can decide on what to do next once we're home."
"I'm sorry Maria, please do not concern yourself with my welfare… You need to go home now."
"Don't be stubborn, Richter! A storm is coming and where will you go? Your relatives are so far that it will take you three months at least to reach them! It's already late and you can't just travel around the woods!" Maria shouted, frustrated, startling Richter. It was one of his traits that really annoyed her – when Richter made up his mind on something, he didn't care about second opinions.
Alucard calmly interjected before Richter could reply. "I believe Maria is right, Richter. It's not safe for you to travel in this situation."
Richter sighed heavily and Maria gave Alucard a grateful look. Then, the rain started to pour heavily…
***
That was how they had ended up in the cottage that Alucard had offered. They'd arrived soaking wet and Alucard had thoughtfully lit the fireplace to dry their clothes, but, since it had been already past evening, Maria had opted to retire early. She'd felt so tired and frustrated. Closing the door to her room, she had left Richter sulking in front the fireplace, Alucard beside him.
Oh Richter, where is he? Is he sleeping? I have to go and check on him. Maria thought to herself, slipping on her dry clothes and discarding her robe. Ignoring the insistent battering of the storm around the cottage, she opened the door and begun to look for Richter.
As she headed downstairs, Maria caught some odd sounds emanating from the room adjacent to one she had occupied.
...What's that?
Her protective instincts kicked in; silently, she walked towards the room from which the sounds were coming. She strained to hear better, but the constant hammering of the storm made that particularly difficult.
When she reached the door, she paused in front of it and cautiously grasped the handle, surprised to find it locked. As she withdrew her hand, she heard the sounds again. It almost sounded like someone was muffling their voice.
What the…?
Then something caught Maria's attention – just next to the door frame a slight gap could be seen, about a size of a man's thumb, from which light spilled out.
Curiously and cautiously, Maria carefully checked the gap to see what was inside the room. While she could see that the room was a bit larger than the one she was occupying, it was difficult to focus at first. Then, the windblown trees shifted direction, illuminating the room and its occupants. Maria gasped in shock.
No, it can't be…
She cupped her hand to her lips to muffle her shock and repulsion. Unknown to her, tears begun to pour from her shocked eyes as she stared at the gap in front of her.
No. Richter…
She felt cold all of a sudden. Her hope that her love for the vampire hunter would be noticed and Richter would learn to love her in return, now came crashing down in front of her.
She realized that she had lost him forever.
Oh, Richter… Why?
Then she heard it again – a muffled moan filtered under the door. Maria stared at the door in front of her; she wanted to run away from the cottage, away from Richter, away from the object of her affection. But some compelling force made her peer through the gap again, and so, the painful reality of her defeat was revealed to her. She would never have Richter's love.
With her hand on her mouth, Maria witnessed the coupling of the dhampire and the vampire hunter. The bed they shared was positioned near the window, facing the door and she could make out their forms in the rather dimly-lit room. Alucard's mane of silvery hair coated his damp body as he hastily thrust inside Richter. He had Richter's long, well-formed legs circling his waist.
His hands gripped Richter's waist like steel; Maria could clearly see their muscles bulging from the exertion of their lovemaking. Richter arched his body as he tried to meet Alucard's thrusts, his arms wrapped frantically around his lover's neck as he and Alucard neared their climax.
They exchanged hungry kisses, one after another, seemingly unable to quench the unbearable thirst brought on by their coupling. Maria saw the tension in Richter's muscled form. His moans became louder as Alucard sucked on his chest, around his pink nipples, his neck…
"A-Ad... Adrian… I'm…" Richter moaned as Alucard started to withdraw from him.
"Shhh, I'm coming Richter… Shhh…" Alucard whispered into Richter's left ear, biting the rose-hued earlobe and smiling when Richter gasped.
Richter sucked in a breath. When Alucard had nearly withdrawn from him, he reached out and tenderly brushed a tendril of silver hair from Alucard's face. The look he gave Alucard during that moment made Maria wanted to cry. It was the look she had always wished that Richter would bestow on her.
Alucard smiled and took Richter's hint, pulling Richter's hips towards him and pressing deeper inside. Richter's body shook from the intensity of the pleasure he felt and, before he could cry out, Alucard's lips covered his, muffling his scream. He seemed to drink on Richter and the two of them came together. Maria watched as Richter's body arched, the two of them almost floating until they collapsed together on the bed, breathing heavily.
It was painful enough for Maria to witness this, but it became even more so when she heard Alucard say to Richter in a sultry, lustful voice, "I love you too, Richter."
Shaking, Maria fled quietly towards the comfort of her room. Each step she took as she walked away was painful. She had lost the only thing mattered to her heart; Richter, whom she loved since she'd first seen him four years ago. But she was strong and, despite the hurt she felt, she took comfort in knowing that Richter had finally moved on with his life.
***
Finally, the storm had stopped. The air was cool against Alucard's skin, the night sky had begun to clear and the moon seemed to peek from behind the remaining clouds.
Beside him, Richter was snuggling deep in sleep. His arms were around Alucard's pale, finely muscled-torso, his shiny brown hair all over the pillow, framing his beautiful face. Alucard noted the peacefulness of Richter's expression, a far cry from the broken and weeping vampire hunter he had seen at the lake.
Tenderly, he kissed the eyelids of the sleeping Belmont, wrapping the comforter around the two of them. Like Maria, he loved Richter; he knew she had been there as he and Richter neared their breaking point and felt sorry for her. Of all Richter's friends and family, she was the one who had sought to rescue him. He regretted that Maria would never know how truly beautiful Richter was, inside and outside, how Richter's eyes turned a violet-hue when reaching climax and how Richter strained and trembled when he made love…
All was not lost though – he promised to take care of Richter and to love him forever, for as long his immortal heart beat. Richter would never be hurt nor rejected again. Although Dracula's soul would curse Alucard for eternity, the fact that he loved and cherished the vampire hunter in his arms would never change.
He would promise Maria that, as soon the sun was up. But, for now, he would rest. Alucard shifted Richter in his arms, protectively wrapping the vampire hunter in his embrace as he finally gave in to slumber.
Owari.