***** Just a note before we begin, I do accept bribes. Story chapter for story chapter. :D This one's for maroongrad. You totally made my day.
"It has been three days since I sent the letter. Do you think she received it?" August de Sade asked his brother.
"I am most sure that she did. I took it to the house myself. Gave it straight to the butler." Dorian said. He was lounging on the red velvet Victorian thing that August called a couch. August sighed.
"Perhaps she has just been busy..." He mused. The metal bar with the wax seal etched with the mirror image of the stamp on the back of Integra's letter seemed to absorb his entire attention. He couldn't stop thinking about her. His paperwork lay in a heap to the side of his desk, a book of John Donne's poetry taking its usual place. There was a black velvet bookmark in the center of the book, marking a poem he wanted to share with her. She seemed the kind to need someone to introduce her to the frivolity of poetry, and who better than himself to do so? He fidgeted with the end of the bookmark as his brother looked on.
"Send another note. Maybe her pet vampire chewed it up."
"Don't be so-..." August trailed off as he picked up the pen and another sheet of paper.
"Sir Integra? You have another note." Walter said, bringing the twin to the envelope shoved under her keyboard. She could see the inky smear of the wax stamp and her visage brightened. Walter hid another fond smile as he passed it to her and promptly left the room. Integra thanked him offhandedly as she went to break the seal.
He couldn't help but smile as he stood in the doorway. The way her face lit up and animated her features made her seem younger, to look her own age for once. She was smitten, of this he was certain. And another thing that he was sure of, if that young man for any reason whatsoever hurt her, they would be finding bits of his body over all of Europe for years to come.
The phone rang. August jumped for the receiver only to have it snatched from his grip by his brother.
"De Sade Management Headquarters. Dorian speaking." He smirked at his brother. August glared.
"Of course, Madam. If you will please hold, I will patch you through to him." Dorian grinned and pushed the hold button, passing him the phone, "It's the Hellsing woman. She has a lovely voice." He said.
August simply waved him off and pressed the button again.
"Hello, Sir Hellsing." He said, velvet voice clashing with the death glare aimed at his infuriating brother.
"Hello, Mr. de Sade." Integra's voice didn't betray the smile of childish glee that danced on her face.
"Please, call me August."
"August." She smiled around the syllables of his name, causing them to fall even sweeter on his ear.
"And to put us on equal terms, forgive me if I am bold, may I call you by your first name?"
"Integra." she said. The shadow that is Alucard frowned. No one called her by her first name anymore... This couldn't end well...
"Integra." De Sade sighed her name, making something within her thrill. She liked him. She honestly liked him. He couldn't believe it.
The rest of the conversation passed surprisingly smoothly. He charmed her and she charmed right back with a finesse that no one at Hellsing would have ever guessed that she possessed. Dorian smirked smugly as he watched his brother talk to the woman. The way his eyes lit up and glimmered made him happy. He hadn't seen his brother enjoy another's company in years. This was truly a great woman.
On the other end of the line, a very disgruntled vampire lurked in the shadows beneath Integra's desk. The shadows swirled and congealed and writhed like boiling water as her conversation drew on. When she agreed to meet with the man the following day, that was when he had enough. He materialized when the phone was set in the cradle without hardly a sound. This was the gentlest treatment the poor phone had ever received at her hands.
"You're going out with him."
"Thursday, yes."
"Alone?"
"Of course."
"That's stupid."
"We have no pressing news of attacks and I will do as I please in my spare time."
"You don't know anything about him."
"I don't need to. I know that I trust him enough to go out in broad daylight to a cafe with him."
"That's stupid."
"So you have told me. Now, leave me be." She turned back to her paperwork, cigar untouched in the ashtray beside her.
And so it remained, the lone cylinder of tobacco wrapped in fine black paper, still uncut and unlit in the empty ashtray until the following morning at ten.
Integra strode into her office simply to retrieve the lone cigar, cutting and lighting it absently as she ran through her wardrobe in her mind. As she paced back into her bedroom, puffs of smoke rising from her lips, she realized that maybe she wasn't so unlike other women after all...
She had nothing to wear.
She briefly debated asking Seras for her opinion since she was the only other member of the fairer sex in the household, but quickly decided against it. The girl wore miniskirts and low cut blouses that made her uniform look downright conservative when she had free time. Integra had no intention of leaving the house looking like a well-paid stripper.
When she stepped out of her wardrobe fifteen minutes later, she was wearing a pair of pressed khaki pants that fell to her ankles and actually conformed to her figure while being loose enough for her to run if she needed, and a white button down shirt that wasn't three sizes too large. She tucked the shirt into the pants and added a slim black belt with a simple silver buckle as she slipped on her shoes. They were simple black loafers that looked surprisingly classy. After double checking to make sure that her holster was invisible through the shirt, she grabbed a khaki jacket and tucked her wallet into her pants pocket.
"Leaving so soon?" a velvet voice cooed from the corner. Alucard stepped from the wall and looked her over.
"The meeting is at eleven thirty, and it will take at least fifteen minutes to find the cafe."
"Then you'd better get going. You have only an hour." Alucard chuckled again and faded through the wall, making Integra glare at the space where he vanished from.
***** I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated... I got swamped with my cousin's birthday and school came to attack my schedule. But I made it a little longer to hopefully appease you guys. :) Tell me what you think about it so far!
Shout out time!
JC: I'm glad you're enjoying this. As you can tell, I'm a BIG AxI supporter. :D
FilledeMarius: In reference to the tension, I've written a few rp's with a friend and I always get annoyed when they get along too well. The tension is what makes their relationship so wonderful.
BeautifullyBroken86: We'll have to wait it out and see just how intimate this relationship gets, won't we? I'm sorry the update took forever. I'm working on getting better about when I post things.
Maroongrad: Wow... You updated and I didn't. I feel like I dropped the ball there... Still love your work, and one of these days, I'll get better about reviewing. It's one of the many things I need to improve on.
Zorin-Demontie: *loves*