I'm in Love with the Man Downstairs, Chapter 4:

Meet the Caretaker

By Darknightdestiny

Kira stared at the man in shock. She'd never seen this one before; was he going to be mad at her for intruding? She was frozen in place, her gaze locked on his eyes. Something in his eyes told her he was not upset. Perhaps he was even…friendly? No man had ever looked at her the way he was looking at her. He had a strange sense of curiosity about him, maybe even amusement. The men she knew were never interested in her presence, even if it was a disdainful interest; they were only sociable, or looked down on her, never with any feeling, good or bad.

She was a bit scared of him. Here she was, with a man she'd never seen before in her entire life, alone in a dark and secluded basement that the others probably didn't even know about. But he wouldn't hurt her, would he? His comment about her scent was bothering her as well, mainly because she didn't know what he meant by it. She decided she would wait and see what he wanted.

The man watched her shaking eyes and hands with interest- yes, there was a type of interest there- while finding amusement in her reaction at his silent appraisal. One corner of his mouth twitched upwards, and his brow rose slightly. Kira took one step backwards, but that was all.

"Miss Kira, I presume?"

She was quiet for a few more seconds, before stammering out, "I…y-yes. H-how do you know my n-name?"

He set the book on the desk before him and lowered his head a bit; he folded his arms and leaned back against the wall of reading materials. He watched shadows as they played across the floor at his feet, cast there by the few large candles that were posted around the room, and he let an amused 'hmmm,' escape through his nose as his smile grew a bit wider. Finally, he raised his gaze to meet hers again.

"Am I correct in assuming you to be the only girl of your age to accompany this entourage?"

She was unsure whether or not she should be answering his questions, though he seemed friendly enough. People with bad intentions could be friendly as well. "…Yes."

Why did she say it? She hadn't meant to; it had just slipped out. She hoped she'd make it back to the surface alive. He hadn't been one to come with them, and so no one else could know about him yet, as far as she knew.

He watched her fidget, and looked as if he may let out a small laugh, but he did not. He only answered her with, "Then would I be correct in making another assumption, that you are in fact Miss Kira, of the Winchester family?"

"…Yes." She wished she would stop throwing out answers.

"Well then…" He took a step towards her and paused, as he saw her staring at his hand in the way that she was; he held it slightly away from his body, and she looked as if she thought he was going to strangle her with it. He tilted his head in question. "…Are you frightened of me?"

Kira thought for a moment. Of course she was frightened of him, if only because she'd never met him. Those eyes though, made her feel like she'd known him from somewhere before. Perhaps that, coupled with the fact that she knew she definitely had not ever seen him before, was what made her so uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to be a child anymore. And she was going to grow up her own way.

"No." She managed to straighten herself as best she could, without letting her spine shutter visibly under the pressure that was building inside of her. "Why should I fear you?" She trembled inside, not wanting to let her newly-found mask down.

"Indeed," he said, stepping forwards again, "why should you?"

Her eyes grew wide, and she was frozen again where she stood, unsure of what was to happen next.

The man stopped in front of her and held out his hand. She did not understand right away; she thought he was asking something of her, or suspected her of having something of his. Her mind hadn't caught his obvious intent, for her mind was much too busy racing with concern. She certainly was not ready to trust this stranger. She stood there, staring blankly for a moment, before she felt her hand creeping up to meet his.

Before she'd known what she was doing, his own hand reached down in one fluid motion and caught hers, bringing it up to his mouth. He kissed the back of her hand, bowing to her, and introduced himself.

"I apologize. I am…the caretaker of this mansion. But you…you can call me Valentine. Vincent Valentine."

She made a quick choking sound, but stifled it as best as she could. Who was this man, who had gone and kissed her hand, and hadn't even made himself present in front of the rest of the family? Was he really who he said he was?

"May I inquire as to what brings you down here?"

Kira was snapped up from her musings at the sound of his questioning. She wasn't quite sure what to say. If she said that she was exploring, he might be mad at her for wandering around the potentially dangerous site. She felt a foreboding all around that place, and it bothered her more than anything else ever had.

"Curiosity," she finally answered. "I wanted to see what the mansion was like. After all, I've only just arrived." She attempted to make herself look taller in front of him, in order to ward off any ideas that he might have of her being childish or ignorant, or simply unable to hold her own against him.

His eyebrows shot up at her recovered stance, her soft chin suddenly pointed upwards and out, and a newly dignified look cast upon her visage. He seemed to receive some satisfaction from her new countenance, as if she was betraying her underlying discomfort.

"If you wanted a tour of the mansion, why did you not say so?"

She looked downwards, upset that her only answer would give away the confidence she was trying to build. Yet he would understand, right? It was the way things had always been, ever since she could remember. "…I am…not supposed to be wandering by myself. I'm not allowed."

"And yet, here you are," he said matter-of-factly, as if he had been aware of her situation from the very beginning, and already knew that part of her life. He folded his arms again.

She quickly changed the subject to avoid any kind of berating that she might receive for disobeying her parents' wishes, yet he showed no signs of continuing down that path. "Where are we?"

His smile was teasing. "I should think you know. We are in the mansion basement."

"I know that." She forgot all of her wariness and the fact that she didn't know this man, abandoning it for her curiosity. "I've never seen it before. I have been on a tour of the mansion; they showed us around when we came inside."

"Then why are you so curious?"

 She frowned. "I wanted to see if there was anything else more…interesting."

"And does this interest you?"

"I don't know where it came from. I never noticed that passage before."

"And," he continued, mocking the face of one who finds himself faced with difficulty in solving a problem, "am I to assume once again, that you found this place by accident?"

She sighed. "Yes." She didn't like to admit that the most exciting part of her day so far was a mere accident. It was a bit jostling, to say the least, but it was true; she would much rather be here with this stranger than to be upstairs walking around with weights on her head. She put a hand to the back of her neck, remembering some old cramp she had received during one of her longer lessons.

After watching Kira become lost in her musings for a while, the man spoke up. "Then I suppose I will have to show you around."

Her head shot up at his words. She looked him over again, skeptical at his reliability. She didn't want someone to lead her around while her parents looked on. Or maybe she would rather her parents watched, if only for the sake of her own safety. Either way, she knew what she wanted; she wanted an adventure. "Are there any more secrets to this old house?"

He smiled back at her. She found herself loving his smile, unsure of why she did so, considering that she was still a bit frightened of him. It was a humbling experience, to find out that when she actually did come face to face with a potential danger, she had shrunk back from it instead of meeting it head-on like in her fantasies. She felt strangely welcomed by him, yet knew she should be wary of strangers. But maybe, just maybe, she would find a friend in this new place. What was his name again? Vincent?

Like a moth drawn to the flame.

"There are. But I would not get carried away just yet if I were you. There is still much to be seen." Where another might have continued on through the door, ready to show her the rest of the grounds, or obtained a far-off look, as one who is reliving a memory of the place would have, the handsome stranger kept his eyes focused on her own. His unrelenting focus began to bring her nervousness back to her.

She waited for an explanation. When none came, she asked him, "Are we going to go somewhere?"

He simply replied, "I have much work to do here. I will, however, make my presence known to the rest of your companions at dinner. Then, if you wish, I will take you around the property."

She only nodded, his eyes still burning into her own. She turned to go, and gave one last glance over at him before disappearing down the book-lined hallway.

Red eyes watched her go.

(A/N): A bit shorter than my other chapters. But that was how I wanted to leave this meeting off. This does mean, however, that chapter five should come sooner. Is this confusing? When did his eyes change colors? What, when, who? Why is he so out of character?

Vincent's no dummy. He's playing head games. Why should he be quiet and solemn? He's comfortable in this form. XP

There's been a lot of stuff going on in my life that has prevented me from updating. Projects, moving out of my parents' house, getting a job to pay the bills…I am staying around, though, so keep checking. I didn't die, honestly I didn't!

I love to get reviews, and they keep me wanting to finish this sooner. When I see you guys are interested, I feel like I just HAVE to update, or I've let you down. So uh…if you want me to keep posting quickly, you're going to have to bug me XD

I also stopped sending most people e-mails thanking them for their reviews, because some people don't like that and it creeps them out. Hmmm. Maybe I'll do a few, though.

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