I have very little to say here... but I hate not having authors notes.
Although, there's something between group sex and voyeurism in here... I should think you're all used to the fact this fic is more smut than story by now.
-YD-
"I have to go."
"Then go."
Vlad was trying to leave for Council, but Ingrid had her mouth on his neck and her hand down his jeans. He was already going to have to change, because Ingrid's sweet, tempting scent of arousal was soaked into his clothes and if Ramanga was at Council he could recognise it. It was near pointless hiding it from Lukas, Bertrand or Wolfie - they could tell, but they already knew.
"You aren't helping. I can't leave the room with a hard on."
Ingrid smirked against his neck, teasing his throat with her teeth until Vlad was squirming and pushing involuntarily against her hand.
"Have to make sure it's me" she squeezed at his cock, making him gasp "you're thinking of while you have your little fan club around."
Oh. Ingrid was worried he was going to go back to old habits, forget about her when someone showed him attention. He hated that he had given her a sense of insecurity. Tilting his head to get her attention, Vlad kissed her softly.
"You have nothing to worry about. There is nobody I want more than you, I will be dying to get back to you, to our daughter the whole time."
He found it suddenly difficult to care that he would probably be unofficially late. It didn't matter when Ingrid tugged at his zipper, kissed him hungrily and bodily moved him on top of her. It was quick and heated, a fully dressed fumble where they kissed sloppily and bit at nearby fabric to muffle their sounds as though it could keep it, keep them secret.
"Mmm. Now you can go."
"Now I need a shower, not just fresh clothes."
Ingrid hummed, shrugging to herself as Vlad ran his hand over his neck to check for smeared make-up or noticeable bite marks. Hating his job more than ever, Vlad stumbled upright and searched for a clean shirt and bottoms to wear beneath council robes. The knock at the door made him jump.
"You better be decent in there!"
He checked Ingrid had managed to straighten out the skirt of her dress, then called back to Lukas.
"Questionable, but you can come in."
Lukas opened the door, and Vlad knew it was a test of his ease with Lukas' knowledge of their relationship - the werewolf would absolutely be able to tell what he had been five minutes from walking in on.
"Bertrand is doing his nut, you're a little late but you know him, he wouldn't dare tell his 'boss' himself. And you need to straighten yourself out, your mum and George are still up."
"Five minutes, I'm gonna shower and change then I'll be up."
Lukas nodded, offered Ingrid a smile and then disappeared off presumably to soothe his boyfriend's anxieties. He even closed the door behind him, nice and polite.
"I would come with you, but five minutes... not gonna happen."
Ingrid kissed him deeply, nuzzled at his neck and kissed his old scar then pushed him away to go and get sorted for the VHC. Her affectionate actions only made him want to stay more, to indulge in the tactile tendencies she hadn't had before but came back into his life with. He showered and dressed quickly, returning to take one last longing look at Ingrid.
"Lukas always stays up in the main rooms until we get back. So if you don't wanna sleep you can go talk to him. He's really laid back, if you say you don't wanna talk about something, he won't get mad. He will just move on."
"Your mother and sister are still up. I think I'll wait here."
"They'll be gone in an hour. Mum is head of some midnight art show, George is helping out. Wolfie too. I was invited, but VHC meeting clashed. It'll just be you and Lukas until we get back."
Ingrid nodded, turning her head to kiss him when Vlad embraced her from behind, unable to resist one last touch. Eventually finding the discipline to move away - he would be back in a few hours, it wasn't much in the grand scheme of things - and let Ingrid go make use of his bathroom.
"Go on, get out of here."
There was no severity in her tone, the words almost playful and her smirk wasn't malicious, more mischief. Vlad headed upstairs through sheer force of will, sniffing his top to check it wasn't obvious before he grabbed his Council robes and pulled them on over his clothes.
"I hate my job."
"But you've done such amazing things with it son. Stay safe. Take care of him Bertrand."
"I always do."
Vlad hugged his mum and George goodbye, ruffled Wolfie's hair and received a protesting yip sound, offered Lukas a smile when he was done kissing Bertrand goodbye and they eventually made it to bat form, flying off to Transylvania.
"I need a favour."
"Oh?"
Bertrand raised a querying eyebrow, but followed when Vlad pulled him to some side room in clear view of a couple of VHC staff members. The other vampire was clearly perplexed
"Last I checked, it was your choice we cease our casual encounters."
"It was... that's a really weird way to put me not wanting to interfere with your relationship. I just don't want everyone else knowing I've stopped, I don't want Ramanga thinking he's bullied me in to fidelity."
"I see. Understandable."
Vlad gave it ten minutes - he didn't often vanish for a very long time, very much a get off and get out deal - before they left. Neither Lukas or Bertrand had ever suggested they stop having sex, but he felt very much a third wheel to their actual relationship and called it off himself before he started convincing himself they only fucked him out of pity or in Bertrand's case, duty, and tanked their friendship. It wasn't worth the risk, not when Ana and Wolfie were both so attached to them.
The meeting dragged out... or maybe that was because Vlad was doubly itching to leave, now Ingrid was back and then they could both be with Ana in the morning. Still, they were discussing the cease fire and blood supply, so he forced himself to pay attention.
"Until next week gentlemen."
Finally free, Vlad barely waited for Bertrand before they set off, itching to return home where now his entire family resided. Vlad could taste the scent on the air instantly, intimately familiar with both as they landed back in the main room. Lukas' bare, tanned back was visible, muscles rolling and catching the firelight where a pale hand didn't cover.
"Ahem."
Bertrand cleared his throat loudly, and Lukas didn't even jump. Just leant back on his knees and smiled cheekily, utterly unashamed to be caught with Ingrid's lipstick a clear stain on his lips. Knowing first hand how spectacular both parties were at kissing, Vlad was almost jealous not to be involved between Lukas and Ingrid.
"See, told you they would be back first."
"It's a good thing too, mum would have been telling us you were cheating on Bertrand."
"Not our fault she only knows about your one night stands."
Lukas jumped up off the sofa, heading over to kiss his boyfriend and Vlad couldn't help chuckling at the lipstick transfer. Ingrid looked a little unsure for a second, but Vlad slotted into the space Lukas had vacated and kissed her. He could taste Lukas on her lips, saw his discarded shirt on the floor next to them and wondered how far it would have gone had they not returned. Ingrid nipped his lower lip, smirking when Vlad whined lightly.
There was something so freeing about not having to hide his relationship with her in front of the other two. About not having to hide anything from the three in the room.
"My mum likes to pretend she knows nothing about my sex life. I'm not about to give her more details."
"Cub said she gave George condoms and the sex talk."
"Bet she loved that."
Bertrand was used to the casual way Vlad and Lukas were in the way they talked and interacted, but Ingrid was clearly still adjusting. Though it hadn't taken long for her and Lukas to acknowledge the simmering attraction that had been left un-acted upon when Ingrid left. It actually cheered him to see Ingrid hadn't let her insecurity completely drown her, remembering her tremors the first few times he saw her naked again.
"So, how was your meeting?"
"Dull. Aside from the sideways looks Bertrand got for being caught getting dragged into a side room with me."
Lukas furrowed his brow, then sniffed at his boyfriend. Ingrid was watching Vlad closely, he knew - after his promise earlier that he wasn't going to do anything other than get through the meeting and come back to her.
"No way you two did anything."
"No, we didn't. But nobody else knows that."
"Ah. Maintaining your reputation."
He nodded, unsure whether or not Ingrid wanted to be left to resume whatever was happening with Lukas or not now. Lukas, with his inability to be serious about ninety nine percent of the time, didn't leave him wondering and grinned.
"So are you two done interrupting, or staying to watch?"
Bertrand rolled his eyes, and Vlad looked down where Ingrid was hidden from their view by the sofa back. She looked nervous, and he immediately knew why. Leaning back down, he pressed their foreheads together lightly and ran a thumb over her temple. She took the invitation, letting him 'talk' to her through telepathy as she tipped her head slightly to capture his lips.
"They aren't going to notice, and even if they did I can guarantee they aren't going to care."
"You swear?"
If they made Ingrid feel insecure, even for a minute, about her body, Vlad knew she would never trust his word fully again. She was trusting him to know Lukas and Bertrand, to know she was safe from judgement and ridicule for a vulnerability she had yet to show anyone else.
"I swear."
She held his gaze for a minute as they carefully reconstructed their telepathy blocks, then nodded. The reality of the situation beginning to sink in, Vlad felt anticipation build as he resurfaced where Lukas and Bertrand could see them.
"Not out here, that's an explanation even you don't want to make."
The werewolf smirked, turning to Bertrand expectantly. Vlad had wanted to see Ingrid and Lukas together for years, but Bertrand was an unknown quality when it came to voyeurism. Hell, when it came to women, Vlad wasn't even sure where he fell on the sexuality scale.
"I have the feeling that even if I were to absent myself, you would only tell me every detail regardless."
"You realise you're surrounded by supernatural creatures who know you're turned on? Come on, my room."
It made sense - Lukas knew Vlad's room was off limits, and Bertrand had no bed in his. He wondered how much use that coffin actually saw. Bertrand let himself be led, and Ingrid laced her fingers through his as she and Vlad followed. He stopped her before they stepped through the door, whispering against her mouth.
"Are you sure about this? They won't be offended if you changed your mind."
Her eyes glittered, hand reaching down to squeeze at Vlad's erection.
"Told you before, torturing you is my job."
Lukas didn't initiate, let Ingrid join him on his bed and kiss him first but he responded eagerly, fingers seating themselves on her waist. He still had no shirt on, Ingrid's pale hands stark against his tanned chest as she braced her weight straddling his hips. Vlad wasn't totally sure of the etiquette, but couldn't take his eyes away from the scene before him.
When he had caught Ingrid with Will, he had been devastated. Watching her with Lukas... that was the last thing on his mind. It wasn't the same when she was with him, he could tell - Ingrid was in control, wasn't making those soft whimpers she did when Vlad kissed her or biting him possessively. That innate openness she showed to Vlad was absent, but Vlad didn't doubt for a second she wanted to be there all the same.
He spared a look at Bertrand, seeing him struggle to maintain his usual composure but he didn't look upset, distressed. When he looked back to the bed, Ingrid was just looking at Lukas. Searching for something in his face, apparently finding it when she guided his hand to the button fastening at the top of her high collared dress. Lukas hesitated, asking quietly.
"Is this ok?"
"You think I would be here if it wasn't?"
"Fair point."
His hands were fluid and confident as they loosened the buttons, then the zip beneath them to reveal bare skin. Ingrid's sudden nerves showed as they reached her waist, her usual waist-high tights absent so nothing covered her. Lukas didn't miss a beat, stopping and returning his hands to her still clothed hips until she relaxed.
"I have to say... my imagination never did you justice."
"How could it? Ingrid's always exceeded expectations."
Both Lukas and Ingrid's eyes turned to Vlad, and he saw the question in the wolf - was Ingrid alright? Vlad was more focused on Ingrid, clearly seeking Vlad's reassurance as best she knew how. He simply nodded at them both, any other response a risk of confirming Ingrid's insecurity to the others, which she wouldn't appreciate in the slightest.
He could see her shoulders straighten, posture changing as she found the Dracula nerves and her own powerful confidence again. She finished unfastening the rest of her dress, stopping only for a second to smirk at a breathless, waiting Lukas before she let it fall away to reveal the soft blue of her silk underwear, all that covered her otherwise bare porcelain skin. She leant back down, clutching at his hair as she kissed him roughly. Lukas responded instantly, making a low, needy sound when Ingrid rocked her hips into the erection assuring her Lukas found her body appealing.
"Would you mind terribly if I took my pants- sorry, jeans" he glared quickly at Vlad for the snicker he let out over the American word "off?"
"I'll mind more if you don't."
She slid neatly from his hips, elegantly resting herself up against the head of the bed and looking painfully perfect surrounded by the deep crimson bedcovers. Lukas sighed in relief as he loosened his jeans, shameless as he got down to just tightly stretched underwear and winked over at Vlad and Bertrand before he rolled back over, crawling up to kiss Ingrid again. Vlad could watch them kiss forever, both like archetypes of perfection for their gender.
Lukas' body heat was new, novel to Ingrid and it showed in the way she touched him, the way she pulled him tighter against her and moaned softly as heat soaked into her own cool marble. Lukas placed a hand on her hip, testing her reaction. Ingrid was sensitive there, at least when Vlad touched her. Lukas won a lesser reaction, but he moaned in response to Ingrid's soft sigh of pleasure.
With both Vlad and Bertrand being male, Vlad had no real idea when the last time Lukas had been with a woman was, but Ingrid didn't seem to have any complaints as his hands slid over her thighs, one brushing over the apex and she moaned again. Her pheromones already saturated the air, though Vlad wasn't sure how potent they were to the others but he was already feeling the allure - he wanted to touch her, kiss her. But Ingrid had said she was going to torture him... that was clearly true.
Not naturally patient, it didn't take much longer for Ingrid to demand Lukas get a move on, urging him to divest them both of underwear. He needed no prompting to roll on the condom, made no protest when Ingrid lifted her hips to urge him on. Vlad remembered when he and Ingrid used to talk about this, how badly he had wanted to see the two together. Fantasies hadn't even come close, could not compare to watching them actually fuck in front of him.
Vlad knew how that heat inside him, all around him felt, knew Ingrid must be close to overwhelmed but there was no sign of it as she rolled her hips to test the feeling, kissing Lukas again as he shook and swore under his breath. Ingrid often had that effect. His cock urged him to do something, to join in or touch himself but this was Ingrids game, her terms, her rules and he knew to wait for her to decide something.
At least she could no longer argue that her faintly marked stomach was obvious or unattractive. Lukas could barely hold himself back, but no way was he about to push Ingrid down and take her energetically, as he had Vlad many times. He didn't think Ingrid would mind terribly, but the polite, the gentle care was there even amidst the feral heat building between the two as they thrust and groped and made erotic little noises to each others ministrations.
Lukas had a particular little huff he only made when close to coming, pressing his face against Ingrid's neck and her eyes met his. He felt his mouth curve up into a smirk, watching the tanned muscles tighten as Lukas came and Ingrid followed - whether tipped over the edge by Lukas or him, Vlad didn't care as she arched and trembled, making those beautiful sounds as she climaxed.
"Dracula's man. You guys are something else."
That sentence would probably have been fine - except Bertrand suddenly recoiled, hurt. Lukas realised his mistake, but Bertrand ran. Vlad went after him, knowing that look, that pain. He found him in the art room, looking at the family portrait painting on the wall - Ingrid wasn't even in that one, but he and Lukas were.
"I know why you ran, and I know why it hurts. But it's different, you have to know that."
"To be unfavourably compared? How is that different?"
"He wasn't comparing you. Sex and love... they are different. Lukas loves you, what you saw was seven years of unresolved sexual tension. Trust me... I've been where you are. The difference is that in your heart, you know Lukas would choose you."
"And you don't?"
Vlad shook his head, forcing himself not to look away and hide how small and pathetic he felt as he admitted Ingrid's hold on him. Bertrand needed to know power didn't matter - heart did. Vlad had all the power and control any vampire could want - but he didn't have Ingrid's heart. Bertrand was going to answer, but before he was done opening his mouth Lukas and Ingrid found them, both fully dressed.
"Oh good, you didn't leave."
"I'm not that dramatic."
Knowing they needed to talk, Vlad tipped his head to Ingrid to leave them to it. She followed, obviously wanting an explanation herself. He had to be careful to only talk about Bertrand, not his own self-deprecating.
"It took a long time for Bertrand to be comfortable expressing any feelings. The way you see him now is nothing like the vampire I met when I was seventeen. Those two antagonised each other constantly... until it became more. But he still feels like emotions are weaknesses sometimes, and when he thought Lukas was saying he preferred Dracula's to him, it stung. I think I got through to him, Lukas can finish the job."
"What did you say to him?"
"That Lukas loves him, and that sex and love are seperate things. Just reminding him of what he already knows."
Ingrid didn't answer, picking up Vlad's mobile phone where it rested on the side and checking the time on it. Vlad looked down at his watch, thinking he might be able to get some work done. Anything to distract from how all he could think was how badly he wished Ingrid loved him.
"You better shower. Don't want Wolfie asking questions."
"You coming?"
Vlad closed his eyes, searching for some desperate willpower. When it came to Ingrid, he had none. Only other people intervening prevented Vlad from taking whatever Ingrid was willing to give, never quite getting what he wanted.
Except... he did. Ana had her mother, Ingrid was back in his life and his whole family was in one place. He needed to stop moping for something he knew Ingrid was unlikely to ever offer him. Ingrid may never love him that way, but she loved their daughter.
"Yeah."
Ingrid was relaxed, open with him in that way that had been conspicuously absent with Lukas, even when she was at the height of orgasm. When Vlad's hands touched her stomach as they bathed, she no longer made any reaction. Just stayed relaxed, sighed softly when he kissed her shoulder and inhaled her scent. He had her trust, if not her heart.
When she whimpered and moaned with Vlad inside her, looked up at him with that stare that had always sent chills down his spine and clutched at his hair, his back to keep him close... it was hard not to confuse the two. When Ingrid bit him, bruising his shoulder and undoubtedly marking him, Vlad felt like the lines blurred more. Though really, Ingrid knew he was hers. Knew Vlad loved her, had seen the depth of his feelings and fear. The lines couldn't blur much more.
Wolfie could tell something had happened while they were out, judging by his glancing at everyone in turn to look for who was setting off his sort-of empathy. He was sensitive to strong emotions, which had been happening last night for sure. But he was tired, having had to spend all night both awake and making sure the moonlight never got him. So he waved at them and headed toward his room, George and Sally following to catch up on their sleep. Though Wolfie only had a couple hours, then work.
"I must apologise for my behaviour last night. I realise I had not addressed old insecurities, and it was unfair to place them on you."
"So... you won't flip out next time?"
Ingrid was like Lukas - little phased her. Bertrand looked surprised, Lukas less so.
"I rather thought I had killed the mood, but..."
"The first time i slept with Lukas, I cried. If that can't kill the mood, I doubt you can."
Both Bertrand and Ingrid turned to Vlad in surprise - that had always been kept secret, Lukas had never betrayed his confidence even now.
"Was he that bad?"
"No! I was just a total wreck when I was seventeen."
Their conversation was interrupted by Vlad's watch beeping, reminding them Ana would be up soon and so they shouldn't be talking about what really amounted to a bunch of sexually deviant behaviours. They shouldn't really have been talking about it in the main room anyway, lest they be overheard by humans but they spoke softly, certain in the other three's supernatural hearing.
Ana went off to school with her usual offerings of cuddles to everyone, Bertrand placing her on Wolfie's back that morning as she demanded to be carried. She was absolutely the most spoilt little girl, but it didn't really go to her head.
Ingrid followed him when they seperated from Lukas and Bertrand for sleep, somewhat pensive as she watched Vlad strip down to his boxers for bed.
"Why did you cry? With Lukas, I mean."
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Vlad sighed quietly and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to have to admit to it, but he didn't want to lie to her more.
"Because I had been hiding from just how broken you left me. I fucked to ignore it before Ana came along, and then I spent every waking minute with her when she did. When she was about six months old I knew it was better for her to start learning to sleep in her own room, so that bubble I stayed in with her started to wear thin. Sex had become this meaningless thing I did, so with Lukas, with someone I knew and cared about... it was the tipping point."
"You didn't stop."
"No. He" Vlad pointed to his head, referring to his reflections inside his head "would mock me, make me feel weak for still wanting you. Made me feel like I had to prove that I could. By the time I learnt to control him better, it was just... something I did to feel because when I wasn't here with family, I just felt numb. I hated myself every single time, I probably couldn't pick them out of a line up. It's part of the reason I stopped with Lukas and Bertrand... they were better than that."
It was cathartic in a way, to admit it all. But it was also yet another layer of himself he stripped bare and revealed to Ingrid, like exposing raw nerves with a mix of trust and fear about whether she would hurt him more. He couldn't quite bring himself to look at her though, Ingrid being utterly silent until she undressed and joined him on the bed, kissing him until he couldn't think straight.
"You're such an idiot."
"I'm sure you're right, but why?"
Despite the fact it was seen as a weakness and mistake, that he had hated it with a passion during training, Vlad found the feeling of telepathy with Ingrid utterly addictive. He was already vulnerable to her, it didn't really matter now that she could see it. The fact she let him in was the hit, the thrill of being able to see her in a way likely nobody else ever would. When he realised what she was showing him, what was held at the forefront, he almost recoiled.
He didn't want to remember her leaving.
Ingrid showed him anyway.
Pushing a thought to someone else gave only images, allowed a skilled vampire to use telepathy without making themselves vulnerable. Allowing them into thoughts and memories inside their own head carried the feelings, and Vlad was almost overwhelmed.
It hurt but she wanted it... the first time they had sex. There was a consistent undercurrent of safe, of secure with him, that let Ingrid open up just a little bit when they were intimate. There was her confusion - why did she feel that way about Vlad? Why did she want her little brother, with his unvampiric ways? Then the irritation of him always being more important than her because he was male, a quiet appreciation of Vlad never pushing that when it was just them.
He felt the way she was lashing out at her own feelings, wanting to prove Vlad wasn't special, that he was just convenient. Will's touch made her skin crawl, but she kept trying in determination. He felt that she was hurt by Vlad going to Jared, not out of jealousy but because she hadn't thought him capable of turning on her that way. There was genuine concern somewhere in her watching Vlad sleep next to the burning body of the breather, even as she was confused by his attachment, the way he felt about what should have amounted to food.
That confusion, both about her feelings and his, returned when Boris was around. Vlad felt nauseous witnessing those events, something he had tried to forget. Even Lukas didn't know about that. She couldn't understand why it made her feel so much better when Vlad recovered, more so than simply because he was back in her bed.
He saw the way Ingrid sought comfort even when she wished not to want it, for the loss of their father, for the isolation their lifestyle had brought. He saw her fight with the Blood Mirror, saw her have to master her own 'weakness' toward Vlad. That she enjoyed feeding on Vlad because he was willing to take her mark, to offer himself so fully and openly with no hesitation.
Vlad saw her terror when she realised she was pregnant, the internal debate about how to broach the topic with the father - him. The momentary elation mixed with fear when the parchment chose her, and the betrayal when Vlad stopped her, announced himself as the Chosen One. The pain she felt was so acute, Vlad felt like it was a physical injury to himself. There was that minute when she wanted to genuinely kill him, for the fact he had made her so vulnerable, made her feel and gotten her pregnant all while hiding, while lying to her.
She fought the tears as she left, found places to sleep during the day and mostly kept moving until her pregnancy progressed too far for long travelling. She hypnotized her way past security of multiple places until she gave birth - alone, scared but Vlad felt that surge of pure love for her little girl. He felt his own tears when Ingrid kissed the little baby girls forehead, whispered that she loved her and apologised for giving her up.
Most of all - he felt her heartbreak, how badly she missed Ana. But also... she missed him. Vlad had spent years mourning how Ingrid had broken his heart. Never had he considered that he could have broken hers.
Ingrid was crying when he withdrew from her mind, shakes and silent tears as Vlad embraced her, cradled her and stopped trying to mask his own tears. What followed were words Vlad never, ever expected to hear.
"I love you, and I've hated that fact for years."
His own response was just as simple.
"I love you, and I've hated myself for years."
It seemed so... impossible, that all the bad, the anger and the emotional wedges between them boiled down to Vlad being upset with her over some breather teenager. His reaction to that had alienated her, and the two had forgotten to fix that, ignored it and let the resentment fester away until the tiny cracks became huge fissures. And then it was too late.
The tears didn't last long, but the raw emotions didn't fade as they stared at each other, communicating something silent and powerful.
"Can we start over? Like grownups, where we actually talk about our problems rather than ignore them and then just fight?"
"I don't know that I can" Ingrid's answer stung, making Vlad want to turn and hide for a second "but I'm willing to try. For Ana, if nothing else. We can't go back to that and be her parents."
Parents.
That simple plural word made his heart turn over - they had both only ever said "her mother" and "her father" about their relationship to Ana. Ingrid was acknowledging them as a unit, a pair. It was perfect. Vlad kissed her, soft and gentle. Ingrid whimpered softly, but when the kiss was over she slotted back into his embrace natural as could be.
The whispers into the darkness of "I love you" from them both were how he wanted to fall asleep every day, Vlad knew. The words sounded strange on Ingrid's tongue, but only because he had never heard her say them before. They were still music to his ears, still wormed their way into his heart and soul to curl tightly and reside permanently.
Ingrid woke him a good hour before they needed to be, intentions clear as she claimed his mouth and pushed his shorts off. Ingrid had always been undeniably intense, both in a natural talent to arouse and bring pleasure, and in Vlad's own powerful attraction to his sister, but this was like their first time all over again. They explored each other with new eyes, new appreciations and a new depth of feeling - they loved each other.
The climax was an act of affirmation, a commitment to each other that was separate to something Vlad had little doubt would happen again if opportunity met with desire. Vlad wasn't sure any amount of time would change his love of tactile contact with Ingrid, stroking her skin gently as they came down from their shared high and basked in afterglow.
"When Ramanga is dealt with, I want to tell Ana."
"Alright."
He had a suspicion Ingrid expected more resistance from him, going by her slight double take before he distracted her with a kiss. Blood, he could kiss Ingrid forever.
"I thought you wanted to be more sure."
"If you tell Ana you're her mother right after you tell her you got rid of Adze, I think she will be thrilled. I think it should be around a school holiday, but that's only because I think we would need more than one day to explain why she can't tell anybody her parents are brother and sister. Just because we don't care doesn't mean her school teachers are going to be fine with it."
"You realise that means telling your mother."
Vlad rubbed a thumb across her cheek, kissing her again.
"I'm not ashamed of you. Either she understands, or she doesn't. I blew this once, I'm not about to do it again when I'm lucky enough to get a second chance."
He had a sense of something between resignation and acceptance when it came to what the humans would think. Nothing was going to change that Ingrid was Ana's mother, so they were either going to hate him, or get past it. At this point, more time wasn't going to make much difference.
"No more one night stands... unless I say so."
Chuckling, Vlad nodded.
"Fine by me. Lucky Bertrand always goes to VHC meetings with me, because while nobody else knows about this I'm going to need a cover."
"Him I don't mind."
Her mouth quirked up at the side, her half-smirk serving to have Vlad hard again.
"I knew he was your type. Ow!"
Ingrid pinched his nipple, sending a jolt of pleasure-pain through him as she leant in and kissed him roughly. Fangs scraped over his lip, nails clutched at his skin and Ingrid growled when he pulled away panting.
"Sorry, but we have to get up now to be ready for Ana coming back. Price of being parents."
He loved saying it as much as hearing it, Vlad realised. Ingrid's eyes lit up at the mention of Ana, biting at his mouth again before she blurred from horizontal to vertical and stood over the bed expectantly. Vlad followed with a smile, Ingrid managing to tempt him into a hot, hasty fuck against the tiled wall of the shower before they finally got dressed.
"Five minutes to drink some soya and be waiting for the little devil."
"And there was you worried we wouldn't have time."
"Because you're enormously distracting."
Ingrid winked, posture straightening out as she held a hand towards Vlad and waited for him to take it. It was a little awkward when they got up to the main room, having forgotten that Sally and George would already be there. Thinking quick as he made himself let go, Vlad turned to Ingrid.
"Told you I was faster."
Ingrid didn't miss a beat.
"Blah blah. I'm hungry."
Vlad and Ingrid turned off to go toward the Blood Cellar, leaving Sally and George drinking tea and doing work based on the late night exhibition they had been at. The second the door was closed behind them, Vlad embraced her.
"It won't be secret for long now. How do you want to play this with Ramanga?"
He wished he had known Ingrid loved him before. Then he could have been with her, and Adze would never have gotten a look in. Even so, they would fix it somehow.
"Sooner or later he's going to ask me to bind to him, since that's his MO according to Bertrand. All I have to do is tell him I refuse to be your mother in law, and make him break your betrothal without ever agreeing to something myself."
"Ingrid, you are brilliant."
"I know."
She smiled, sliding her arms around his neck to kiss him and leaving Vlad feeling a little dazed. This amazing, beautiful vampiress who gave him an amazing, perfect daughter loved him. Vlad felt like he must have done something good in a past life to be so lucky.
"Come on, get a drink so we can go be with our daughter."
Ingrid stared pointedly at his mouth, reminding Vlad to wipe away smudges of deep red lipstick before grabbing a bottle of fresh (ish) soya to take up to the main room. He had just swallowed a goblet down when he heard excited little footsteps on the driveway.
"Daddy! I did a picture today!"
"You did?"
Ana nodded, diving in to hug Vlad again before twisting around to point where Wolfie appeared holding Ana's bag.
"It's in there! Uncle Wolfieeeeee!"
The halfling was clearly shattered after only a couple hours sleep since yesterday, plus his manual job, but he smiled at Ana and held out her bag.
"Thank you uncle Wolfie."
"You are most welcome little princess."
She dug through the little backpack, producing a rolled up sheet of paper amongst about twelve different kinds of glitter, spare hair ties and her empty water bottle. Ana wriggled to get free, then pottered over to Ingrid and held out the picture.
"You can look first cus you're in it too!"
Ingrid unrolled the paper and smiled to herself, then winked at the little girl.
"That's pretty good."
Ana clapped to herself, jumping up on to Ingrid's lap and pointing at things on the paper Vlad couldn't see from the angle he was at.
"That's gramma Sally, aunt George and uncle Wolfie. And daddy and you, uncle Luke and uncle Bertrand."
Ingrid had successfully infiltrated Ana's family scribbles, which even Sally and George seemed to notice as they watched Ana and Ingrid. Bats they looked so alike, though with Ana's beaming grin being all Vlad it may dilute it for everyone else.
"Do we get to see it Ana banana?"
"Not if you're mean to me aunt George."
The little girl pouted, then held out the picture to Vlad without making any move from Ingrid's lap. Vlad took it, knowing Ana was not a master artist but familiar with her 'unique style' by now. He had expected Ingrid to be a noticeable black figure, but Ana had drawn her from their art day together - purple jeans included.
"You dress better than daddy, will you come help me pick?"
"Thanks Ana."
Ana jumped down, looking back up at Ingrid expectantly while Vlad pretended to look hurt for the sake of their audience. Truth be told, he was practically glowing inside at Ana finding common ground with Ingrid, voluntarily asking her for things like dresses - she rarely asked George for things like that. Ingrid looked to Vlad for a second, waiting for his nod.
"Ingrid can help you pick, but I think since neither of you are going to tidy up I better come keep an eye on you."
Ana giggled, then turned and dashed off toward her room. Vlad flashed Ingrid a grin as they followed her, unsure how he could possibly contain all the love he felt for those two girls in him as he watched Ana rifle through the only dress collection that could rival Ingrid's. Eventually settling on a silver detailed black dress, Ana looked like such a miniature of Ingrid it almost hurt.
"We match! Daddy can you take a picture?"
"Sure, one second."
Vlad flitted out and back for the camera, watching Ana hold her arms up to Ingrid to be lifted before turning her brilliant smile to him for the picture. Bats, Ingrid looked like she might cry. Vlad resolved not to let anybody else see the picture, not until the secret was out because there was no mistaking the look she gave Ana, frozen forever in photo form.
"All done. Slippers on little monster."
He gave Ingrid a look that said she could see the picture later, tucking the camera into his jacket pocket and folding Ana's hastily discarded uniform so it wasn't a creased mess in the morning.
"What are those?"
Ingrid had spotted the lines on the doorframe, and Ana bounced excitedly as she headed over to them.
"It's how big I'm getting! Then up there" she pointed upwards to where Lukas had drawn the height line for Vlad "is how big daddy is. Do Ingrid daddy!"
Vlad was glad he couldn't blush anymore, the double meaning of his daughters words an utterly inappropriate thought as Ingrid raised one eyebrow at him.
"Stand there Ingrid. Wait! No cheating. Shoes off."
Ana put her little hands on her little hips and watched as Ingrid slid her heels off obligingly, leaning against the doorframe and looking up at Vlad as he held the ruler and pencil. This close to her and so full of feelings, it cost every bit of self control he had not to just kiss her. He wrote 'Ingrid' next to the line, mentally promising himself he would write "mommy" there when Ana knew.
"Yeah! Come on, I wanna see uncle Luke and uncle Bertrand. They better not be sleeping!"
She took off again, leaving an undeniable light and joy in both her parents as Ingrid sat down to put her shoes back on. He gave her a couple of minutes looking away pointedly, whispered a promise to print the photo out for her later when she sought a comforting embrace from him and kissed her forehead as he pointed to the line.
"I'll change it when she knows. Promise."
Ana was already up in Bertrand's hold when they got back down, leaning to see where Lukas was looking at her latest masterpiece.
"Work of art from the most adorable princess in all the land."
"Thanks uncle Luke! Do you like it uncle Bertrand?"
"It is very inclusive and contains attention to detail."
She wrinkled her nose, then turned to Lukas for the translation.
"Yes Ana, he likes it."
"Yay!"
The artwork took pride of place in the kitchen, making Vlad smile every time he saw it. He was blissfully (mostly) ignorant of how strange it might look for Vlad to be so relaxed about a new person around his daughter... at least until his mother took him to one side that evening after Ana was in bed and Ingrid went off to see the training room with Bertrand and Lukas - he had been slacking, wasn't getting out of it tonight.
"Don't you think Ana is getting a little too attached too fast?"
"No. Because I don't think Ingrid's going to leave. It was different when she was two and I wasn't sure you were going to be able to handle vampires. I gave you a second chance mum, Ingrid deserves that too. I know you don't know her, but at least trust me to be looking out for Ana?"
Vlad made sure he was careful with his words, wanting to declare she was Ana's mother and that the attachment was the desirable outcome but knowing it was too soon. Even with the sudden paradigm shift that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours.
"Alright, that's fair. If you're sure."
"I'm sure. If you needed more reassurance, Ingrid was always Wolfie's favourite as a kid. And besides, do you really think I can tell Ana who to like?"
His mother chuckled, smiling fondly to herself.
"True, she's a spirited little girl. Well, you had better get on with your training."
"Yay."
Vlad's deadpan answer made her laugh again, and he felt the first nibbles of guilt that could soon become a sore bite on his conscience. He hated lying to his mother.
But it was worth it for Ingrid.
-YD-
I think this is a day late, but in my defence it's a damn long chapter and I only started it Thursday.