Good Evening,

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

Oxford Not Brogues

Chapter Five

Two Months Later

Before Seras had met Alucard and Sebastian, time had moved at a snail's pace. Every day was the exact same and most of the time those days would blur together for her. Before she had met them, she would get up, depending if it was a work day or not, at five and be out the door by six. On days off, she normally rolled out of bed around eight. Work could be just as slow and dull some days and rowdy the next. It was either filled with paperwork, civilians yelling at her for a particular thing, patrolling, and/or dealing with the occasional robberies, home invasions, domestic violence, and many other things. By four, if she was lucky enough to get off that early, she would come home completely exhausted. She would take a long hot shower, cook up something, and eat dinner while reading the newspaper or her mail. Afterwards, if she wasn't tired, she would watch a little telly before heading to bed around eight or nine. On days off, she would normally spend the day cleaning her flat, working out, and doing some errands. Days before she had met them had been tragically boring.

But now in her life, for the first time, it had color. They had brightened her world so much, pulling her from a pit of depression. She hadn't been aware in the slightest the state her mentality had been in before she had met them. But now, it was so clear. She felt…happy, and she was smiling far more than she ever had in the past. Her schedule still ran the same course, but yet, it was drastically different than it was before. On work days, she got up at her usual time and since it was so dark in the morning she would accidentally run into Alucard's coffin that was placed several feet from her bed. While she did occasionally stub her toe against it, she was never truly mad about where it was placed. The reason is because she liked having Alucard near. Some days he slept beside her bed in his coffin while she slept at night. And other days he would wait for her to go to work before he retired to his coffin.

After stumbling over his coffin and attending to her necessities in the bathroom, she would leave her bedroom only to be greeted by Alucard and Sebastian. The demon would always, every morning, reach for her hand to interlace their fingers, giving them that spark of excitement from the physical contact. A lot of the mornings, Sebastian would teach her something new to make. The first thing he ever taught her how to make was pancakes. And while it had been a disaster, it had been a fun disaster that left them laughing and covered in pancake batter. Seras really enjoyed the mornings she had with them before she had to go to work. They would spend the first fifteen minutes talking and laughing while the demon showed her a new, quick and easy recipe for breakfast. She would then have her breakfast at the table with them. Instead of eating in silence like she used to, she would normally ask them so many different questions that Alucard and Sebastian never had enough time to answer all of them. Most questions were about their pasts and others were about their interests and stories they had.

The girl would then have to go off to work, which was a drag because that part of her life hadn't changed much at all. Though, she had noticed that she was chipper at work than she ever was before her life had changed. And it always made her look forward to the end of her shift when she could go home. Most times after her shift, Seras would stop by at the video store on her way home. She would rent at least three different movies and then return home. When she arrived home, Sebastian always seemed to amaze her by having some fancy dinner waiting for her at the table. And each dish was always so spectacular and beyond delicious. That man knew how to cook. When dinner was over, Seras would go in and take her shower and get on fresh pajamas. Then, for the remainder of the night, she would spend time with Alucard and Sebastian either watching a movie or just talking until she went to bed at ten.

Seras was happy. And Alucard and Sebastian seemed quite happy as well. But she was unsure of what these men meant to her. She had grown quite fond of the both of them, but where was this life of theirs leading to? The subject of mates never really came back up, so she was unsure if she was still their mate or not. She didn't really see them as her boyfriends and they weren't lovers. They had never had sex and she hasn't even kissed either of them before. The most they did was hold each other's hands. That was the extent of their intimacy. Seras didn't know if Alucard and Sebastian were waiting for her to make the first move, or if they just weren't interested in her. What if they didn't find her sexually attractive? It was only recently that these thoughts had started to bother Seras. More and more, she found herself wondering what sex with them would be like. What would it be like to kiss them? What would it be like to just curl up in bed with them? Had she even hugged them before? What were Alucard and Sebastian to her? Were they just her roommates or did she want more?

Seras was sitting in her chair across from Alucard and Sebastian who were sitting on the couch. The vampire was reading from a book while the demon was looking over that day's newspaper. The small blonde had been reading through a magazine, perfectly happily, until she came across a sexy article about how to get your man hot under the collar. The article had made the girl blush hardcore, but had been the cause for her to suddenly wonder about her and the men before her. Were Alucard and Sebastian hers? Were they her boyfriends or partners? At some point, Seras had lowered her magazine and she had started staring at Alucard and Sebastian while these thoughts occurred. Did she want a relationship with them? So far all was going very well among them. They haven't fought and she hadn't been scared in them in almost three months. They lived together and they made her happy. Did Seras want something more? Did she want to start something?

"Seras?" Someone spoke. The little human broke from her daze and she blinked several times. She focused her gaze on Alucard and Sebastian. The demon's brows were furrowed with concern while Alucard was simply grinning at how easy it was for humans to get lost in their thoughts.

"What?" Seras spoke.

"Are you alright?" Sebastian repeated for the second time.

"Yes," The small blonde muttered as she glanced back down at her magazine. She saw that sexy article again and her cheeks reddened with another blush. Abruptly, she snapped her magazine shut, alerting both males.

"Is there something wrong?" The demon asked with an arched brow. He was quick to observe her behavior and the sudden change in her skin tone. He glanced at the magazine curiously, wondering what had caused such a reaction from her.

"No, there's nothing wrong!" The small blonde chuckled nervously as she threw the magazine onto the coffee table. She then got up from her chair. "You know! I think I'm just going to go for a walk. Maybe stop by that bakery that I like." It was evident that she wanted out of the house as quickly as possible, but Alucard and Sebastian just didn't understand why. She hasn't acted like this…ever. Yes, there was a time when she was scared of them, but even that was different from this. It was like she was extremely embarrassed or nervous. The way she was acting was adorable and more than amusing to the males, even if they were confused about her behavior.

"I'll come with you." Sebastian purred as he folded the newspaper and placed it on the coffee table. Alucard carelessly tossed his book onto the coffee table before flashing a toothy grin at his mate.

"I'll come as well." He spoke.

"Okay," Seras whispered while giving them a warm, shy smile. "I'll just go grab my coat and purse then." Before she could even take a step forward her phone started to ring. The poor blonde jumped from the sound, giving the males a good laugh. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell. Flipping it open, she brought it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, you free tonight?" Elena asked immediately.

"I don't know," The small blonde murmured. She lowered the phone a little and looked back at Alucard and Sebastian. "Do we have anything planned for tonight?" She asked without thinking. The demon opened his mouth to answer, but never got the chance.

"Oh my God!" They heard Elena squeal over the phone. "That is so cute!" Seras furrowed her brows and she brought the phone back up to her ear.

"What is?" She asked.

"You're asking them if you guys have anything planned for tonight. That is adorable!" Elena said through giggles. "I'm so happy how far you've come with Alucard and Sebastian." The blush on Seras' cheeks darkened.

"Shut up!" The embarrassed blonde exclaimed, but the brunette only laughed.

"I will not! It's cute what you have going with them." Elena proceeded. "But tonight, I'm going to have to steal you from them."

"What?" Seras questioned. "How come?" Subconsciously, she frowned as soon as she heard that. Her eyes flickered back to stare at Alucard and Sebastian, wondering if they'll be just as disappointed. She was kind of hoping to just sit back and watch one of the movies they had planned. Over a month ago, Seras had started making out a list of movies they needed to watch. Slowly, they were crossing a movie out one by one.

"The girls and I have been dying to go out, maybe get a little drunk, and go dancing." Elena answered. "Simon will be joining us, of course, but that's a given."

"Tonight?" Seras asked.

"Yeah, you don't have work tomorrow, do you?" The brunette asked.

"No," The little human answered with a light shake of her head.

"Good! Finally all of our schedules are in sync! Everybody has tomorrow off so they can actually go out and deal with a hangover tomorrow without having to go into work." Elena chuckled. "I'll probably come around your flat by seven. We'll head over to Rachel's and pile into her car. Alright?"

"Sure," Seras murmured when a question begun to plague her mind. "Hey, Elena, is anyone else in our group a vampire? I just think…I should know about it if they are. I wouldn't like any more surprises."

"No," Elena laughed. "Everyone else is human. But don't tell anyone that I'm a vampire. They don't know like you, okay?"

"Of course!" The small blonde exclaimed.

"Alright, see you at seven, bye." The two girls then hung up the phone.

"I'm assuming that was Elena." Sebastian spoke when the small blonde finally got off the phone.

"Yeah," Seras answered as she slid her phone back into her back pocket. "She wants to have a girls' night out tonight."

"Oh," The demon murmured with a look of surprise. "And what does girls' night entail?"

"Uh…" The small blonde drawled as she tried recalling past girls night. "Normally, we just go to a club, have a few drinks and gossip, and maybe dance. And then we head back to one of our places, drink some more, and play board games."

"There's a lot of drinking." Alucard noted.

"I don't really drink. I might have a glass or two." Seras responded with a shrug.

"It's not a problem if you do drink, just be careful." Sebastian told her. "I don't want men to try and take advantage of you just because they see you're tipsy."

"It's alright," The small blonde giggled. "Four girls will be with me and a guy, so no one will bother us. Trust me, if anyone bothered us, my friends and I usually tear him a new one."

"A man will be with you?" The demon asked and the smile slipped from his face.

"I thought you said it was girls' night." Alucard reminded her.

"Yes, Simon is gay." Seras giggled. "You guys don't have to worry." But the males continued to frown in disappointment.

"Are you positive he's a homosexual?" Sebastian asked her softly.

"Pretty sure," The small blonde answered with a nod. "He was almost aggressively making out with a guy at Christmas. If he's not gay, then he's really good at pretending he's gay." Seras said sarcastically, earning a snicker from Alucard.

"Aggressively?" The demon repeated with a bewildered look in his eyes. "How can someone kiss aggressively?"

"He was pulling the guy's hair while kissing him hard on the mouth. I think I even saw some tongue. The poor guy was practically choking on nothing but tongue. But he seemed to like it." Seras giggled.

"Usually a kiss like that would be considered steamy or hot." Sebastian responded.

"Not this kiss." She corrected him. "It was like they were mad at each other, but instead of throwing fists they kissed the hell out of one another." She then shrugged her shoulders. "But, that's Simon for you. Almost every time we have a girls' night he's always ends up hooking up with some guy."

"And none of the girls in your group meet up with men?" Alucard asked with an arched brow.

"No," Seras answered with a light shake of her head. "Elena has Mark, Rachel is married to Thomas, Brianna is a lesbian but she's in a steady relationship with Marta, and Vixen is with Gabriel. But…now thinking about it, there's a good chance Vixen will be flirting with other men tonight."

"And what makes you say that?" Alucard asked.

"Vixen and Gabriel have this open-relationship thing going on." The girl explained.

"How do you know she's not just cheating on Gabriel?" Sebastian questioned.

"Because Gabriel and Vixen had invited me to…You know," Seras trailed off while her face turned a dark shade of red.

"Oh," The demon exclaimed softly as his eyes widened. Alucard ended up cackling pretty hard though.

"Yeah," The girl drawled and she dropped her gaze. "Of course, I said no."

"When was this?" The vampire asked.

"A few weeks after I met Gabriel; probably a year or two ago." Seras answered. Sebastian didn't look happy in the slightest. When she looked back to meet his gaze, she saw the frown and that almost deadly look in his eyes.

"That's still very recent." The demon muttered to himself. "He's not going to be any trouble, is he? Do Alucard and I have a reason to worry about Gabriel, Seras?" The small blonde shook her head.

"I don't see him a lot, and when I do he doesn't bother me. He might just say hello politely, make a little small talk, and then say his goodbyes. That's about it. But I'm still good friends with Vixen." Seras assured them. The demon sighed through his nose but decided to drop the matter…for now. He swore though that if Gabriel gave Seras any more indications that he wanted to screw her, then Sebastian was going to tear through him.

"So what about Marta?" Sebastian asked a few seconds later. He brought his attention back on his mate.

"What about her?" Seras asked with furrowed brows.

"You said four young ladies will be joining you tonight. There's Elena, Rachel, Vixen, and Brianna. If Marta is Brianna's partner, why hasn't she been invited?" The demon asked. "Isn't that rather rude to plan a girls' night and not invite Brianna's partner?"

"Oh!" The small blonde exclaimed. "Marta is probably going to hang out with her own friends tonight. Don't worry; if she wanted to come she knows that she's more than welcomed. I'm just guessing she had other plans tonight."

"Shouldn't you verify that with her before just assuming she does have plans? Perhaps she's looking for an invitation?" Sebastian proceeded.

"Sebastian, don't worry. Brianna would have told Marta that she's more than welcomed to come along." Seras told him while waving her hand. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll text Brianna later today to see if Marta has plans or not. Alright? Now, can we please go to the bakery? I'm really looking forward to some hot chocolate and a muffin." The demon gave her a soft smile.

"Very well," He purred softly. "Grab your coat and your purse and we'll go."

The day Seras had spent with Alucard and Sebastian was rather pleasant. They took a nice long walk down to the bakery where the small blonde purchased her blueberry muffin with a cup of hot cocoa. They sat in the small bakery talking for at least an hour and a half before they headed back to the flat. Alucard finished reading his book while Sebastian and Seras played a couple rounds of Scrabble. Needless to say, the demon kicked her ass multiple times. By six o'clock, the girl decided to get ready for her girls night out. She threw on tight black jeans and a black off the shoulder top, long sleeved blouse. With it she wore simple black flats. She put on dark pink lipstick, some eyeliner, and mascara. By the time six-forty-five rolled around, she was ready for her night out with her friends. Seras emerged from her bedroom with her purse slung over her shoulder and her phone open. She was texting Elena, Brianna, and Rachel; just chatting and seeing if everyone would be ready by seven or if someone needed more time to get ready.

"You'll be leaving the flat like that?" Sebastian questioned. Seras' eyes flickered over her phone to give the demon a strange look. He was staring at her, but it was very hard to decipher what he was thinking about her outfit. Alucard, on the other hand, was very clear about his feelings. He gazed at her from the couch with a large grin on his face and a look of hunger in his eyes. After processing his words, she glanced down at herself in concern.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Seras asked. She had really liked the outfit she had put together.

"Do you plan on wearing a coat?" The demon asked with a frown.

"No?" Seras answered and she glanced back up at him. "I don't need a coat. It wasn't that cold earlier." The girl frowned at him while she wondered if he was annoyed she was dressed like this. Was he afraid that she will be flirting with guys or if guys will flirt with her because she was dressed like this? "What's wrong with it, Sebastian?" She asked as she shut her phone and slipped it into her back pocket.

"Nothing," Sebastian sighed while his eyes continued to flicker about her person.

"If girls can't show a little bit of shoulder and neck, then there's something wrong with the male population." Seras just about growled. "I'm not wearing a mini skirt and a tube top. And even if I was, men should mind their own business." The demon's eyes flickered to lock gazes with her.

"I agree," He answered. "I, personally, have no problem with your outfit, Seras. But some men make me worry. I don't want them bothering you because of the way you're dressed."

"Sebastian," The girl scoffed. "I'm not going to change."

"Then should we come with you?" Sebastian questioned with an arched brow. "We can make sure no men will bother you."

"That's nice, but I can take care of myself. I am a cop, after all, and I'll be with my friends. We can handle it. Thanks though," Seras responded. The demon lightly nodded his head before his gaze fell back to stare at her outfit. It then occurred to Seras that the demon wasn't judging her outfit, but admiring it much like the vampire was. Did Sebastian like seeing her in this? A blush tainted the small blonde's cheeks.

"Don't take any drinks from men." Alucard advised her, as if she didn't already know this. Seras nodded her head in agreement.

"Of course," She answered.

"I think it would be best if you stayed with your group at all times. Don't go to the bathroom alone either." Sebastian added. Seras couldn't help but laugh and lightly shake her head at them. She had been out with her friends millions of times and knew all of this, but…she liked how protective Alucard and Sebastian were. "If you need us at all, Seras, just call your house phone. We can be there in seconds if you really need us."

"Thanks," Seras whispered with a bright smile.

"Who will be driving?" Sebastian then asked with furrowed brows.

"Rachel," The small blonde answered.

"Will she be drinking at all tonight?" The demon asked.

"I don't know," Seras answered truthfully.

"I think it would be best if someone remained sober so you had a designated driver." Sebastian advised, earning another nod from Seras.

"Sebastian, it will be alright." The girl laughed at his paranoia.

"You probably don't want to hear this due to me being a male, but I have to say, you look absolutely delectable in that outfit, Seras." Alucard purred. Her eyes flickered back to stare at the hungry looking vampire. His grin was practically going from ear to ear while his red eyes drilled into her. The girl's face reddened. Usually when men complimented her, Seras would end up speechless and feeling quite uncomfortable. But, admittedly, she liked hearing those sorts of things from Alucard and Sebastian. She liked the way they stared at her, as if she was something they wanted.

"Th-thank you," The small blonde muttered awkwardly before she bashfully lowered her gaze.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have said anything, Alucard." Sebastian suggested. "Your comment clearly made her uncomfortable. And she did say that she doesn't want men practically drooling all over because of her choice in clothing."

"It's alright," Seras interrupted. The blush on her cheeks only darkened. The demon glanced back at her in surprise.

"Really?" He asked after a short moment of silence.

"I mean, it's different coming from you and Alucard." The little human proceeded, but she refused to meet their gazes. "I just…don't want to hear…those sorts of things from…other men."

"Men you're not interested in?" Alucard questioned her. They could see the girl's lips tighten as she refused to answer that question. She was so damn bashful; it was so adorable that it brought a smirk to the monsters' faces.

"Are you interested in us, Miss. Victoria?" Sebastian asked her softly while the smirk on his face widened. Seras finally lifted her gaze to look at them. All that bashfulness melted away while her heart rate picked up the pace. Her eyes flickered between Alucard and Sebastian who waited patiently for her to answer. And in that moment, she found the courage to tell them the truth. Just as Seras was opening her mouth to speak, there was a knock on her door. The small blonde jumped from the sound as her eyes flickered to her door. She closed her mouth and sighed through her nose in mild frustration. The courage was still there inside her. She wanted to admit her feelings and tell them that she wanted to take things a step further with them. But perhaps now wasn't the right time. She didn't want to tell them only to end up going out with her friends and have them waiting here for hours for her to get back. She will admit everything to them tonight so they had time to talk and sort things out properly. Seras walked past Sebastian and across the living room.

"Just so you're aware, Seras, Michaelis and I are ready whenever you're ready." Alucard spoke just as she gripped the doorknob. The little human paused to allow his words to sink in.

"No pressure though," Sebastian added. "We just want you to know that when it comes time, you don't have to be afraid to talk to us. Take your time and think it through." Seras said nothing in return. She was utterly speechless after hearing this. And yet, she was comforted knowing that they still wanted her, even after all they've been through; after the way she had acted when she first met them. But it made her wonder something. Did she deserve them? They had been nothing but kind and patient. The little human shook her head before pulling open the door. She was greeted by Elena who was all dolled up and ready to go.

"Hey!" The brunette exclaimed as she stepped into the flat to hug her friend around the neck.

"Hey," Seras murmured as she gently hugged her friend back. Elena then took a step back, but only to beam at her and the two males.

"So," The brunette drawled. "How are things going?"

"Maybe we should just get going." The small blonde responded with a wave of her hand. Elena's smile slipped a little.

"What? Why? It's still early." Her friend reminded her.

"We can hang out at Rachel's house while she gets ready." Seras said frantically while she attempted to push Elena out the door.

"Seras!" The brunette exclaimed before the door shut tightly behind the girls, leaving Alucard and Sebastian alone. The smirks were completely gone from their faces while they stared at that door.

"Did I scare her away?" Sebastian asked a moment later.

"It seems like it," The vampire responded before he picked up a book from the coffee table. "Perhaps it would have been best if we hadn't said anything at all." He added as he flipped open his book.

"I thought things were going so well though." The demon sighed. "She has warmed up so much since we first met her. She was smiling and laughing; she really seemed to enjoy our company." Sebastian raised one of his hands to stare at his palm then. "Seras allows us to touch her. We hold her hand for God's sake. How can we be going too fast for her? It's been two months. Isn't it time to take the next step?"

"Maybe she believes that we think the next step is something entirely different." Alucard commented as he read from his book.

"What?" The demon questioned and he glanced over at the vampire. The No Life King sighed in annoyance before he lowered his book to glance up at the demon.

"She probably thinks we're trying to push her into having sex with us. Or perhaps she believes that we're trying to talk her into becoming a vampire." Alucard elaborated. "Either way, she's not pleased with what the next step is." The demon furrowed his brows and frowned.

"I was not insinuating sex or a transformation." Sebastian corrected him.

"Then what do you think the next step is?" Alucard questioned him as he started reading from his book again.

"I have no idea." The demon admitted, sounding defeated. "Perhaps putting a label on what we are. Are we her lovers…"

"We can't be her lovers, we're not having sex." Alucard interrupted, but Sebastian ignored him.

"Are we her partners or boyfriends or mates? What are we to Seras? And maybe the next step can be sharing a kiss with her. But I was not insinuating sex. Do you really think that's what she thinks I had meant by the next step?"

"Possibly," The vampire muttered.

"What do you think the next step is? What is your idea to take this relationship a step forward?" Sebastian asked him outright. Alucard snapped his book close before his red eyes darted back upwards to stare at the demon.

"Communication," The vampire spoke. "Seras has indeed warmed up to us and we do have occasional pleasant conversations with her. But she has not expressed or told us her true feelings for us, like we have with her. She needs to be open. She needs to tell us that she wants us in her life; that she's happy with the way things are going. Until then, our relationship with Seras is completely frozen in time." Alucard then scoffed softly as he once more opened his book to try and read from it. "Can we even call it a relationship? If so, what is the relation? We're nothing but roommates because she hasn't even acknowledged us as her friends or companions." The demon's frown deepened.

"She had been acting so strangely today. I thought…it was a good sign. I thought she was finally ready to take things further with us. But, perhaps I was wrong." Sebastian muttered.

"I think we should drop the matter altogether." Alucard responded. "When Seras is ready she will come to us. Until then, we should leave her alone and not mention it again."

"Agreed," The demon sighed in disappointment.

Seras and Elena stepped out of the apartment building and into the cool streets of London. Lamps lit their way as people walked up and down the streets, heading to their destination. The two girls started their walk to Rachel's house; it was only a couple of blocks down from where Seras lived.

"You couldn't have pushed me out of that flat fast enough." Elena announced. But she merely got a shrug from the small blonde. The brunette frowned in disappointment and she lightly elbowed her friend's side. "What's going on? Did something happen?" Again, she only got a shrug in response. Seras' eyes were glued to the sidewalk while she crossed her arms over her chest. "What's going on?" Elena asked once more.

"I just…feel a little weird around Sebastian and Alucard at the moment." The small blonde admitted.

"What?" Elena whispered. "Again?! What happened? Why do you feel weird?" For a third time, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Everything is going great." Seras answered with a small smile. "I really like having them around. I like hanging out with them, talking to them, joking with them, and…so on. But today…it's just been a weird day." The smile fell from her face. "I don't know,"

"What?" Elena asked.

"Okay," The small blonde started and she licked over her lips nervously. She glanced at her friend. "I was reading through this magazine today, and then suddenly I come across this really steamy article about how to please your man." Elena snickered in amusement causing Seras to laugh with her. "Don't laugh,"

"What's wrong with that? So, you found an article. Why not benefit from it and use some of that stuff with Alucard and Sebastian?" The brunette suggested with a small smirk. A dark blush decorated Seras' cheeks.

"I can't do that." Seras laughed.

"Why not? What did it say?" Elena asked.

"Basically, where to do it, like be spontaneous and have sex in the middle of the kitchen or some public area. And homemade objects you can use when playing with your partner." The small blonde snickered. "It went on about using ties to wrap your husband's hands with and using whip cream to spray over his body."

"Yum," The brunette laughed.

"It was all very sexual, and…I don't know." Seras continued with a light shake of her head. "It…got me thinking." Elena's smirk faltered some and her eyes widened.

"Yeah?" She asked. "About what?"

"About me…Alucard and Sebastian." The small blonde answered. She smiled bashfully when her friend squealed in excitement.

"Oh my God! Really?!" Elena exclaimed. "What are you thinking?! Tell me! Are you planning to screw their brains out?! When?!"

"I…don't really know what I'm doing, Elena." Seras admitted. "This was just a thought that occurred after reading such an explicit article. I don't really know if I'm ready. It just got me thinking was all."

"That's good enough for me! I'm just so happy that your relationship is growing with them! God! It feels like it was just yesterday you were calling me up and demanding me to get them out of your flat! Now look at you guys!" Elena said excitedly.

"I…want to tell them…that…I'm ready to take things further between us, but I don't really know what that entails." Seras responded with a slight frown. "What am I ready for? What is the next step for us? Do we start kissing? Do we start cuddling? Do we have sex? Are we even in a relationship right now? It's just very, very confusing."

"What are you doing right now with them?" The brunette asked with an arched brow.

"Nothing much, almost nothing at all." Seras answered. "We do activities together like watch movies or TV or play games; we talk and read. And we hold hands. But that's it. So…what would the next step be?"

"I don't know," Elena muttered with a shrug.

"What about you and Mark? What did you guys do to show that you were ready for the next step when you both started dating?" The small blonde asked.

"Nothing," The brunette answered. "I met Mark at one of his games. We locked eyes, met up in the locker room, and fucked each other's brains out. After that, he just moved in and we've been fucking each other's brains out since then." Seras gave her a strange look.

"Don't you…love him?" The small blonde asked.

"Eh," Elena replied. "I like him. He's fun to hang out with and the sex is amazing. But…I wouldn't call it love. I'm just…comfortable with him." The brunette glanced down at her friend. "You have to remember, Seras. Mark isn't my mate. I can't get emotionally attached to him like you can with Alucard and Sebastian. I have no idea what the next step should be for you and those two. I could suggest that you jump their bones, but I doubt you would take that advice." Elena snickered. "Do you love Alucard and Sebastian?" Seras lightly shook her head.

"No," She whispered, feeling guilty for not developing those feelings for them. "But I really, really like them."

"That's a start," The brunette responded with a nod. "I think you should just tell them that you like them, Seras. That's a very good start to this next step."

"But," Seras muttered and she dropped her gaze. "I…don't really know…if…" She trailed off.

"If what?" Elena asked.

"If I deserve them," She whispered.

"What?!" The brunette exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"Because of the way I treated them." Seras sighed.

"You were scared," Elena interrupted before her friend continued. "Alucard and Sebastian understand completely that you were terrified."

"That shouldn't excuse my behavior. They shouldn't just forgive me automatically for the way I acted." The girl groaned.

"Why not?" The brunette asked with a confused look on her face. "You'd rather they hated you? Do you want them to just leave your flat without a word? I thought you wanted to take a step further with Alucard and Sebastian. Why are you trying to ruin it?"

"Ruin it?" Seras repeated with a surprised look on her face. "I'm not trying to ruin anything."

"You are," Elena scoffed. "Things are going so well for you guys. Why are you focusing on the past? Why are you so worried about how you acted when all is forgiven? Why can't you just look forward to the future?" The small blonde lowered her head while a deep frown formed on her lips. "Just because something happened in the past, doesn't mean you don't deserve them. Trust me; those two have gotten into all sorts of trouble throughout their years. If anything, they don't deserve you. You're too…innocent and have such a good heart. It's honestly amazing you're even destined to be their mate. However, I'm really happy that they found you. And I'm really happy that you want to progress further in your relationship with them." She whispered with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eyes. "Don't keep yourself miserable by thinking you don't deserve them because it isn't true. You're the best thing that's ever happened to them. You mean so much to them." Elena watched as the corner of Seras' lips pulled into a small smile.

"I think that they mean a lot to me too." She whispered.

End of Chapter Five

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Oxford Not Brogues