This is actually the first YD fic I wrote outside of the 'Du Fortunesa' series - which I will eventually continue, I've just got a slight block on it - so hopefully it's not too terrible. It's only short.
To redrachxo - I don't know if this is authorative enough for you, but if it wasn't for you mentioning it I probably wouldn't be posting it, so thanks. This one's going out to you :P
Disclaimer: Don't own. Anyone who wants to give me the show as a random present is welcome to do so... no? No then.
Vlad stormed into the training room, looking resigned.
"Dad seems to think I need to work on giving orders." He stopped talking as he realised he couldn't see his tutor anywhere. A blur of movement caught his eye from the corner of the room and Bertrand was suddenly standing in front of him, his clothing a little crumpled and his hair dishevelled. Vlad glanced in the direction he seemed to have come from and spotted the edge of a shroud sticking out from behind a piece of furniture. "Sorry, were you- wait, do you sleep in here?"
Bertrand ignored the question, addressing the Chosen One's earlier statement instead.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but he's right. Asking nicely won't get you far with the High Council, however manipulative you can be." Vlad opened his mouth to protest, but Bertrand didn't give him a chance. "You need to learn to put that sense of authority into your voice, even when you can't go all-out with your powers."
He sighed, accepting that this was a lesson he was going to be taught whether he liked it or not.
"Well, you're good at bossing people around, why don't you show me how it's done?" Bertrand blinked at him sleepily, then spoke firmly.
"Kiss me." Vlad didn't hesitate for a moment, reaching up towards Bertrand's lips with his own, surprised when his tutor stepped backwards, out of the way. "You see? You obeyed, even though you never would have done that otherwise. Now you try." Vlad's eyes darkened slightly as he stepped forward, putting himself back in the other man's personal space.
"Kiss me, Bertrand." He didn't sound particularly authoritative, and he certainly hadn't invoked his vampiric powers, but the older vampire was powerless to resist. A cold hand reached out to caress Vlad's equally cold cheek, serious blue eyes boring intensely into his, as if waiting for the order to be retracted. Vlad stood, hardly able to believe his own daring. He had just ordered Bertrand to kiss him, and really, if there was any more underhanded way to get a snog, he had yet to hear of it. Perhaps he should take it back, just as Bertrand had – after all, surely Bertrand couldn't want to – and then it was too late, Bertrand's lips were on his, applying gentle pressure for the briefest of moments before he pulled back and Vlad blinked hard, stunned.
His tutor looked rather alarmed himself, and Vlad hurried to stammer out an apology.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... that wasn't fair, I-" Bertrand cut him off, which was probably for the best as he didn't have the faintest idea how he was going to finish that sentence.
"You need to work on your tone of command." He turned away, his posture tense. Vlad shrugged.
"It worked on you, didn't it?" Bertrand let out a completely unnecessary huff, still not looking at him.
"It shouldn't have. It wouldn't have worked on anyone else." It wouldn't have worked on him if he'd been properly awake.
The Chosen One frowned, mulling that over for a moment.
"When you were demonstrating... why did you choose that example?" Bertrand said nothing, staring at the wall, until Vlad's patience ran out. "Answer me, Bertrand. I want the truth." There it was; that ring of authority, and he could see Bertrand's reluctance to speak even as he turned to respond.
"I wanted you to do it." The tutor stood like a man at a mark, waiting for his punishment. Vlad raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that worked." He got half a smile in return, before Bertrand began moving towards the door, clearly trying to act casual even as he fled.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I chose it too?" Before Bertrand could so much as pause to consider the question, Vlad had flitted in front of him, blocking his path.
"I've wanted that for ages." The older vampire's eyes widened, then his frown deepened as he searched for the trap in Vlad's words. Vlad sighed, and leaned in again to capture his tutor's lips, meeting no resistance as he tangled a hand in his hair. It felt like hours before he finally felt Bertrand respond, wrapping one strong arm around the younger man and trailing a cold hand down from his face to his neck as he returned his protégé's kiss.
Something metallic hit the ground outside the room and they broke apart, hissing in the direction of the door, but it was still shut. The sound of the Count berating Renfield broke the silence and Bertrand closed his eyes for a moment before offering Vlad a polite bow and racing from the room.
Vlad smiled to himself for a moment. He'd certainly learned something.