I don't own Hellsing. I STILL don't know who does.

Reliance.

It was late at night when Integra was startled awake by a sound she didn't particularly welcome- the sound of Alucard phasing through the walls or the floor. She sat up, still drowsy and seeing blurry.

Her white nightgown gave her an almost innocent appearance, and she crawled to the edge of the bed to fetch her glasses from the night table.

The world fell into focus.

Outside the almost magical protection of her canopy, she could see Alucard standing still in the middle of the room. Creases started to form on her forehead, not as much because he was there, but because his breathing was irregular...

And Alucard didn't need to breathe.

Sitting up straight and proper on her comfortable, infinite-feeling bedsheets, she commanded in a whisper, "What are you doing here?"

Hat and glasses and trenchcoat gone, the vampire that looked like a man raised his head to meet her fierce eyes. The expression conveyed in them made Integra's roughness falter- he dedicated her a slow, sad smile.

"Healing, master," he told her telepathically. Because it was creepy or because he didn't feel like talking, but either way it meant the tone of the conversation was a bit more intimate. Nevertheless, Integra's frown wasn't yet conviced to leave.

"Healing?" she repeated, tucking her long legs back below the comfort of the sheets, "Why would you need to?"

Alucard was always a defender of the old saying, actions speak louder than words. Taking a couple of slightly unstable strides towards the Hellsing lady, the all but pet monster took off his black blazer leaving only the white shirt below. Integra noticed with a preoccupied couple of thoughts that didn't reach her face, that the footsteps he'd taken towards her were stitched to the ground with blood.

The blood that ebbed from a hole in his chest that didn't want to close- his blood.

"Duty requires sacrifice," he stated with a mordant, strained smirk.

She could only answer with a similar, knowing smirk. She was familiar with the terms of duty, especially when it came to a duty she herself dictated, endured, inforced, and lived for. The vampire knew exacly where her thoughts had taken her, but being the intruder in her night and born a gentleman, some moral codes were basics and not to break, and in those was included, 'no teasing of the person on whose floor I'm bleeding.'

Integra noticed the air of reluctance around the vampire, knowing all to well that though he didn't mind showing her his weakness, it wasn't one of the things that caused him a great pleasure.

"No more sarcasm than what you allow me to muster," he reassured, playing for a moment he'd forgotten she couldn't read his mind.

Smirking more to herself than for him, she placed her hand on the soft besheets next to her. He understood- she didn't need words.

The clash of him -all black, save his shirt- against her pure, white self, white canopy, white bed, was agressive. But only the moonlight that snook in from the half-closed lids betrayed that contrast, and the dim dark just turned it all shades of a faded petroleum color.

The monster sitting next to the swordsmaiden just gave the moment a touch of mystical surrealism... the kind of surrealism that makes an art of war.

Going a step further, Alucard placed his head on her lap, and closed his eyes. Ironically enough, the one thing that kept intimacy at bay were his still immaculate gloves. Integra's mind thought on its own -she would have never permitted it- that she didn't precisely recall ever seeing him without them.

"Why'd you choose to bleed in my room, Alucard?" she inquired, never raising her tone of voice above that of a whisper.

A smile that was only reserved for the moments when he was tired, resigned, or just honest, drew in his lips.

"Because if I am to bleed, I'd rather bleed on you, my master."

So? How was that? I loved writing it, though it just... popped out of nowhere. I hope I kept them IC.

In case you're bored, here's a little tale of what happened to me yersternight:

Yesternight I had a weird dream.

For starters I was wearing a fluffy white Victorian dress... with a hat, white too, and I was in a car with my mum, my little sis, and Alucard.

YES, Alucard. o.O

So, I was afraid ALucard would suck me dry, so I jumped off the car and started to run in the opposite direction. Then I realized the big bad vamp. was prolly going to feast on my lil sis' blood so I ran after the car, but couldn't reach it. Frustrated, I started walking again in the opposite direction and mysteriously ended at home.

And, sitting calmly on a table sipping tea from a cute cup each were my sis and Alucard...

I sat down and looked at them like, "wtf?! Lissie get away from him he's gonna eat you!!!"

And Alucard smirked a little and said, "Do I look like I'm gonna do that?" He wasn't wearing his hat or the glasses.

I shook my head, still not believing my eyes.

And then my mother came with a silver tray with two more cups and more tea!!!! And she said, "Hey that's not a way to treat guests..."

-Owari!

(Psst! R&R!!!)