To my editor TrinityTyphoon, thank you.

When trust is deep, love is natural. When love is natural, devotion becomes inherent. When devotion becomes inherent, sacrifice is simple.

-The Varajan

He kept running through the halls of the manor as hard as his legs could carry him. His heart thundered in his chest and his lungs burned as he exploded with spent breath. His limp leg protested and ached in pangs as his long legs propelled him forward. His arms vaguely snatched forward as if doing so would bring the hall's end before him closer, though at the speed he was going it was understandable. He was trying to escape the nosferatu.

The young man ducked into a room he knew to be the music room of the mansion. It was richly furnished with exquisite curtains in the traditional burgundy of the family he served and on either end of the room were tall bookcases with innumerable old books and enough music instruments to enchant a musician of any caliber. As he opened the door and shot inside he shut it behind him as quietly as he could. It was in vain; he knew it would find him and he would be overpowered. But if he could have a few precious seconds before it caught him, just a few more moments, it would be worth it. He had tried as hard as he could to defend himself against the monster but he failed innumerable times.

The damned creature would simply keep on coming no matter what he did, so now all he could do is run and run he did. He breathed deeply as he tried to calm himself. Seconds ticked by like distant thunder, each one washing over him like a thunderclap. He stared at the door for long seconds as nothing happened. His mind raced, what else could he do to save himself?

Certainly seeking out Sir Integra would be a horrendous idea. He was supposed to be a vampire hunter and yet had been on the run from one in the Hellsing estate for the better part of an hour. As scared as he was he still felt a tinge of shame, he just couldn't bring himself to face the monster.

He leaned back on his heel as he began to turn around but he froze. The young man didn't feel but rather sensed the creature's hands just an inch from his body. A chill crawled up his back as he pictured the monster behind him. Its strong arms and long legs, its big eyes and wide, fanged smile. His hands turned to fists from anxiety, his knees felt like jelly. The monster had finally caught up to him and now he was going to suffer for it. But just how much would he have to endure, before the creature would end its little game, he didn't know.

Hands fastened around his elbows, impeding him from thrashing, and he was pulled to the creature's chest then lifted clear of the floor. His feet kicked as his cry echoed in the night. He felt the creature's breath on his neck, he could almost taste it. The young man fancied he could just feel the edge of the nosferatu's sharp fangs inching to his neck.

The young man continued to struggle and scream as the fangs grazed his neck, slowly nipping against his skin. In a violent twist he arched himself out of the creature's grip, rolling from the ground to his feet in a single movement. He was well aware that this was, in all certainty, because the creature let him go. It wanted to relish this moment of play before it had its satisfaction.

He raced towards the wide windows of the mansion which overlooked the breathtaking hills and moors behind the estate. The sunset warmed them with a rosy glow overlooked by a vanilla and lavender sky, it gave the quiet, forbidding place a bit of life.

The young man wondered if this was to be his last sight before the monster decided to have its way. Sure, if it was to come let it come now. He was done running, and he would not be remembered as a coward!

He turned, raising his fists to fight, only to find himself easily brought to the ground by a tackle from the monster. Thrashing as hard as he could, he struggled against it, but the creature had had enough. It pushed his arms down by the wrists into the soft carpeting even as his legs kicked and wriggled. It appraised the young man with the same wide, predatory smile and it came down on his neck slowly, relishing its squirming prey.

The young man brought his chin to his neck as to protect it, even if it were in vain. The creature with its own chin forced itself through and nipped him in the neck provoking a slight gasping squeak from the vampire hunter. Then, it opened its maw impossibly wide, its curving fangs ready to sink into flesh and drink deeply.

But the bite never came, only laughter from the young man who giggled and thrashed at the little bites. "Seras! Stop it I'm ticklish there!" shouted the young man between bouts of laughter and squirming. The Draculina gazed lightheartedly at her prey and giggled.

"I know love, that's why I'm doing it" she laughed as the hunter struggled to his back and clawed his way out and away from under her. The Draculina immediately dragged him back, flipping him over again. Her supernaturally strong hands seized his wrists as he jerked fruitlessly. The human bit his lip, suppressing a laugh.

Seras gave a predatory smirk as she held his wrists to the carpet. He was completely immobile and her eyes shone, smugly dominant. "I'm stronger than you, so don't even try to struggle," they seemed to say. Her smile returned as he tried, with all his might, to free his arms. As gentle as her hold was, it was absolute. He was not getting free unless she allowed it.

He sat up, trying to pull his arms forward with his torso, and brought himself almost to eye level with her. Yet she pressed him down again with her forehead against his. Eye to eye her smile widened and she bobbed her head mockingly.

"Ha ha!" she said in a sing song voice, relishing her position. Her jagged smile opened as she inched to bite at his neck again but she stopped as she saw the expression on his face. Behind his glasses, his rich opaque eyes softened, something of patient acceptance shone in his gaze and a little innocent smile adorned his lips.

Ceasing the struggle, he left his neck vulnerable, neither shielding it nor offering it but simply leaving it be. She stopped pressing down his hands as her pulse quickened. As she raised herself up a bit, his now free hands wandered to her face.

Seras glanced at them as his fingers traced her cheek. It was not that he hadn't touched her like this before, but it was the way he was doing it; the warmth in his eyes and the smile on his face showed a deliberate openness in exposing his neck so submissively. It was him submitting to her as the dominant creature. It was his saying, 'you can feed on me if you want to,' in that body language.

Her insides fluttered anxiously; she knew he felt something. For months he had been so sweet to her, so warm, yet so blunt and callus, so mean and then so understanding. Getting to know the young man had been an adventure. Every day he looked at her as if he hadn't seen her in years, he reserved this special, overjoyed smile only for her.

The red tint in her ocean blue eyes flashed and disappeared. "Hungry?" he whispered.

She blushed, she felt ashamed the thought had just crossed her mind and more so that he could tell so easily. "A little" she responded, shifting to get off of him. A little tug on her wrists halted her movement. Suddenly all her strength and dominance was gone.

"Wait," he said softly. Her blue eyes locked onto his rich brown, which searched hers. Then he arched his head back slightly, offering himself.

"No love, I ca-"

"Seras" he uttered, cutting her words short, "I want it. I want you to drink from me."

"Why?"

"I don't know," he chuckled with an uninhibited smile, "I… I just want to be that close to you. I want you to feed from me, Seras, instead of drinking that cold donated blood. I want to share my blood with you."

"But," he added hesitantly, "only if you are comfortable doing so." His hands slipped off her wrists, trailed up her arms to the back of her head, and toyed with the blonde locks there. His eyes sparked with hope as they held hers.

"I…." murmured Seras, trailing off to glance his neck. His pulse was strong and steady and pumped in its usual excitement when around her.

The young man felt his confidence waning in the face of the young Draculina's hesitance, in his mind he took a step back and decided to withdraw with a measure of dignity. "I just want to have that kind of intimacy with you Seras, that's all," he said softly as he began to sit up, regretting making that push.

He stopped as Seras' hands touched his face, ever-so-slightly pushing down. A wide smile split his face as he saw her meet his eyes and inch down to his neck.

Excitement shot across his body like lightning. His pulse quickened and his heart fluttered in a sharp mixture of fright and desire. His ears buzzed with blood and his guts were riled with what felt like a flutter of storming butterflies. Arousal warmed his blood and began to stiffen his loins and he could hear his heartbeat.

He worried momentarily when she gave him a glance, wondering if she had felt his member hardening. But he forgot his embarrassment when she softly whispered, "I won't hurt you, I promise. I won't lose control."

Seras seemed to be put at ease as she noticed the trust in his eyes. Most humans would be terrified of a vampire feeding on them, but he was not.

He felt it was an intimate act and he wanted to share it with her. A human was actually asking her to feed on him! Seras breathed his scent in deeply. He smelled so good; musky and masculine. It evaded true description, but it was very uniquely him. She felt something stir in his pants but she paid it no mind. It was rather nice to know he found her attractive. And besides he was very handsome; beaming smile, glasses, his eccentricities included.

She smoothed her lips across the soft skin of his neck, then gently pressed her fangs closer. Blue eyes opened and glanced at him once more, wondering if he was regretting this, but Seras was relieved to see he had closed his eyes in relaxation. One of his hands continued to play through her hair and the other danced across her side.

The Draculina drew herself closer, and fangs pierced his skin with one swift bite. A gasp of pain, real pain, halted her in her tracks. The young man's legs tensed against hers, but his hands had not stopped tracing her form. Despite his pain, a smile tugged at his features.

Easing into her meal she sucked gently even as every single instinct told her to bite and tear his throat out. Delicately, she drew blood into her mouth. With a pleasant surprise, she thought "His blood is absolutely amazing!"

It was gently warm, like bathwater. It was thick but not viscous, it was soft in taste but not flavorless. It was not salty or sour but a smooth liquid that warmed her mouth as her tongue flicked at the skin and worried the wound for more.

His blood had an aroma reminiscent of wine, deep and dark and burning sweet. The blood tasted of glory and it warmed her, head-to-toe, as it slid down her throat and rushed through every vein in her body.

But then there was something unexpected; a flashing thought lanced through her mind, opening the floodgates to disordered blips of emotions, memories, thoughts…. All washing around her in an overwhelming torrent that came like an epileptic seizure.

This…

This was him!

And suddenly, so painfully intimately, she knew him…who he was, where he came from, who his parents were, what he wanted, what he was afraid of, and who he loved….

She was stung by loneliness, fear, and rage… buoyed up with hope and overwhelming love. Before her she saw a young boy, not unlike the man she was drinking from. Other children yelled at him, and Seras was washed in his resounding distrust. She felt agony as she saw a woman who didn't look unlike the young boy cut and bleed him. The child shrieked in pain. She saw the same boy holding a baby and his face lighting up with awe.

She saw the boy writing stories and thoughts in a black book in the years that came as he grew.

"To put a gun in one's mouth
is to place one's hand upon the prison's gate.
To pull the trigger is to be set free."

And under it he wrote to someone who didn't exist:

"I will never hurt you.
I love you. With all my might, I love you; passionately, gently, with reason and with trust. I love you in the absolute."

She saw the adolescent walking home dreading what waited for him. His mother threw a bottle at him, she reeked of alcohol as she shrieked at him and tried to hit him with whatever she could reach in a rage of frustration. She saw the boy crying alone in his hate for the woman. He had tried as hard as he could to kindle a relationship with her. Why didn't she love him?

She saw him weeping as if to die, as an older woman, his dear caretaker, lay in a casket. She felt his heart snap and shred itself. Seras felt his desire to die and his hope for life. His hatred of people yet his faith and magnanimity towards them. His desperation and yearning to love and be loved.

The images and feelings raced through her until they reached the image of a woman, it was an image of herself. The image of the woman glowed like the sun and Seras' heart raced as she knew he adored her. Her closed eyes ran with tears.

She drew back from the young man's neck, but not before she licked the wound instinctively one more time to aid healing. Seras sat up as she gazed out to the moors as her eyes wept but her heart settled.

The young man smiled contently, all his arousal gone, all replaced by the elation in his heart. He had not, in recent memory, felt so happy. He opened his eyes, his heart sinking as he saw Seras weeping silently. Before he could say a word, she gazed into his eyes and her voice broke. She spoke nothing at all, but the mourning in her eyes said everything.

He now understood that by sharing his blood, she had seen into his memories and his very spirit. His nerves were alight with the thought of her so suddenly, intimately knowing him, and he was terrified with the thought of rejection.

"I am so sorry…" wept Seras

The young man wiped at her tears, he understood immediately; his mother's treatment of him, the death of his grandmother who had raised him, the abuses he suffered and the isolation he weathered. But he could sense through the tangle of feelings that she hadn't seen too deeply into his memories.

Good

"It's alright mein Schatz, I am alright now," he whispered, wondering if she felt differently about him now. If perhaps now she saw him as damaged goods and no longer just himself.

"I love you!" she choked.

His eyes widened in incredulity, she was openly weeping! Surely, she meant it as friends. Yet it was sweet to allow himself to believe, if only for a moment, that she meant it romantically.

"I love you too," he replied calmly.

Her moist eyes pinched at the corners with a gleeful grin.

"You are daft you crazy German! I mean I am in love you with you!" she choked between tears.

His eyes were suddenly stinging too, as he began to weep with joy and disbelief.

"You-you love me?!"

"YES!!! I love you I love you I love you!!!" she cried joyously. Sitting up in one swift motion, he embraced her and she him. They two were filled to overflowing with joy, tears running from their smiling eyes.

His hands held her face as he took a long hard look at her, taking in every detail of her visage. Every beauty mark, every little everything. "Can I kiss you?" he asked with what felt like laughter building in his throat.

"No of course you can't, I just told you I loved you to see how you would react!" She snarked, all sarcasm, "come here" she said to him in a voice like honey and her incredibly strong arms pulled the young man to her chest. Their lips met and they forgot about the world around them.

Seras knew he loved her beyond words and reason after all the battles they'd fought together, the things they had shared and the joys they had had. But she knew now that she wanted this man for herself, knew she was in love with him. And all it took was a good look at what was inside him.

Lips and tongues shyly met, played, and then battled as they pressed to one another. The young man could taste his own blood on Seras' tongue, but was not frightened in the slightest by it. He merely pressed closer, enchanted by her taste and her scent. By the feel of this woman who so intimately knew him, who saw his soul bared, if only for a moment. Now he felt whole. Now he was truly happy.

The Draculina tasted him and her heart thundered like a tumult of drums. She wanted this man for herself, and she did not want to share. Seras couldn't put words to what she was feeling, it was so wondrous and deep! Relishing the feeling, her only wonder was the silent little thought that nagged at her consciousness; was this what her mother felt when father kissed her, held her?

Perhaps, would she still be alive she would ask. But it didn't matter, she knew the young man now better than he perhaps knew himself. She knew his nature and he was perfect for her. And now she wanted nothing more than to be perfect for him too. Her mind raced with possibilities as his lips left hers and he pressed the side of his face against hers.

Seras knew now he was still a virgin.

She wanted to relish the moment and the weeks to come. But she was most certainly going to figure out from Master how to turn her young man into a vampire. Only if he was willing, of course, she would never force that on him. Yet she knew she would not need to, that for her… he would become a nosferatu in a heartbeat.