Carl woke up feeling stiff and slightly disoriented. It was seeing the dark haired man sitting next to him that reminded him of where he was and why he was there. He stretched to ease the kinks and then settled himself more comfortably in his seat. Inevitably, his eyes were drawn to his traveling companion. In sleep he seemed so peaceful and Carl had an overwhelming desire to touch him, to trace the lines of his face and brush his fingers though the dark strands of hair that were falling about Van Helsing's face.
He thought about what Van Helsing had told him. That he had been born into the life of a Hunter but that he had not been taken in by the Order as he was supposed to have been. He wondered what had gone wrong and what had happened to Van Helsing instead of his rightful destiny. He suspected it was not good and that a lot of Van Helsing's distrust came from that. The man stirred restlessly in his sleep and Carl found himself reaching out to sooth him. He lightly touched the man's shoulder and the muttering ceased and the man settled once more into stillness.
Carl sighed. If only the man was so easy to soothe in waking life. But then again, with the life the man led, its not surprising he was so defensive and that he railed against the world sometimes. He had not been done very well by. The life he should have had – respected, with friends and allies – it dangled always out of reach. Until now thought Carl fiercely. He briefly brushed Van Helsing's hair with gentle fingers, his eyes full of pain for this man who had so quickly become a necessary part of his life.
Carl had always railed against his own life. Had hated the society name he felt shackled him to a life he never wanted. But looking at Van Helsing, he realized how petty his complaints had been. The society parties and obligations his family had pushed on him were nuisances at worst. He could chose to walk away from them and create a life for himself. Van Helsing never had that choice. Fate had branded him from the time he was born. How scary it must it have been to have abilities and differences that you couldn't explain to yourself? And then to find out that you shouldn't have had to go through all that but that some secretive, bureaucratic organization screwed up royally?
He knew what it was like to be on the outside of something and know that you will never fit in. But in his case, he had never wanted to. Van Helsing did want it and moreover, he deserved to have it. He risked his life for people who treated him like was some kind of unfortunate connection that had to be tolerated but was never truly accepted or even really acknowledged. The dirty little family secret. It made Carl burn to think of how this man was treated. Well, when they got to Rome, he would see that all that changed. Even if Van Helsing never accepted Carl as more then a working partner, he would see that Van Helsing finally got the respect he deserved. He could do no less for this man he had come to love.
Almost as if he was sensing the disturbed and angry feelings coming from his travel companion, Van Helsing began to shift restlessly. Carl immediately moved to sooth him again, murmuring soft words of comfort. The Hunter seemed to settle again but not so deeply. The real world was beginning to seep into his consciousness and with it the instinctual need to protect himself.
Carl pulled back into his seat, unwilling to get caught by Van Helsing should he suddenly wake up. He saw the stewardess coming around to tell the passengers that they would be landing soon and Carl decided that to prevent some kind of incident, he would wake up Van Helsing himself. He cautiously reached a hand out to Van Helsing's shoulder and said softly, "Van Helsing. Wake up, we'll be landing soon."
Van Helsing felt the hand on his shoulder and woke up immediately, his senses at full alert, searching for danger. But he relaxed a bit when he realized it was just Carl waking him to tell him that the plane was landing. Still, he should be pulling himself together since they would be facing Jinette soon enough. Giving Carl a small nod, he pulled off the blanket and straightened himself up in his seat. He waited for the stewardess to pass them and then stood in the aisle and stretched the stiffness out of his body.
Carl found himself caught by the picture of Van Helsing stretching. The strong body moved and flexed with a gracefulness of a jungle cat and Carl could only sit and stare helplessly. God, how badly he wanted to reach out and run his hands over the hard muscles and sleek lines of Van Helsing's body. His mouth was practically watering…
Van Helsing finished stretching and turned to sit back down. He could almost swear he saw Carl watching him but when he turned completely to face him Carl seemed engrossed in trying to find something in his carry on bag. Christ Van Helsing, you are clutching at straws now! He settled back down in his seat and buckled up for the landing.
Carl kept his head down and pretending to be looking for something in his bag. That had been damn close! Van Helsing almost caught Carl checking him out. But the again, would that really have been a terrible thing? He was supposed to be planting the seed of a "no strings" relationship between them. Maybe he should have taken advantage of the moment? Damn! Now there wasn't likely to be another opportunity until after they got through with Jinette and by then, he doubted Van Helsing would be in much of a mood for such things. Irritated, Carl stuffed his bag back under the seat and sat back. He had no idea that he was pouting.
Van Helsing turned to talk to Carl about their strategy for the upcoming meeting and saw the pout. While he wasn't sure what it was that had caused it, he knew exactly what it caused in him. He licked his lips and wished that they were not on a plane and that things between them were better. Because right now he wanted to do nothing more then nibble on that pouting lower lip until Carl moaned. God, when had he lost control of his libido? He had never been so easily turned on by such small things. But then again, no one had ever been able to get through his guard the way Carl did.
The plane began its descent and he tried to clear his mind. Once on the ground, he would have to be prepared as there would be members of the Order waiting for them at the gate. They would need to present a strong and united front before they even got in front of Jinette and the others. He practiced the deep breathing techniques he had learned and tried to find the still place in his mind.
Carl had been lost in his rather petulant thoughts when the shift in Van Helsing's breathing caused him to snap back to the present. Looking over at the man, he could see him trying to relax and realized that he was clearly worried about their upcoming meeting with the Order. Reaching a hand out, he placed it on Van Helsing's. "It's going to be alright, you know. Just stick with me and we'll be fine." He decided to get a little daring and added a very slight caress with his thumb. It felt good but it would have felt even better if he could actual hold Van Helsing's hand…
He had been going steadily deeper, when the touch to his hand snapped him back. He didn't open his eyes as Carl tried to reassure him. Instead his focus was on the touch of Carl's hand on his own. When Carl began to rub his thumb across his hand, it was all he could do to keep his eyes closed. More then anything, he wanted to bring Carl's hand to his lips and plant a kiss on it. Maybe do a bit more to it…
The whine of the plane's engines as it continued its decent snapped Van Helsing's mind out of its train of thought. This was NOT the time to get distracted, however enjoyable that distraction would prove. When they had dealt with Jinette, maybe then he could see about a repeat of last night's activities. Just the thought of it caused a stirring in Van Helsing's cock and he had to think of the least arousing images he could come up with to calm it. Later
Carl saw the fact that Van Helsing didn't pull away at his touch a positive sign. It gave him hope that maybe it wouldn't be too tough a sell to get Van Helsing to take him up on an offer of a physical relationship. And once Carl got him to agree that level… well, then it would just be a matter of wearing down his defenses around his heart. Carl had to fight back a smile. It was the first time he felt really hopeful of success. He couldn't wait to get this meeting over with Jinette so he could put his plans into action. Humm, maybe he should talk Van Helsing into a "victory celebration". A little Italian vino, a little flirting…
The rest of the landing was taken up by very pleasant daydreams of Van Helsing tossing him over his shoulder and carting him off to bed where they made love for hours. He didn't even notice they had taxied to a stop until Van Helsing called his name sharply. Dazed, he gave Van Helsing a confused look and said, "Excuse me?"
Van Helsing had been caught up in his own thoughts during the final approach and so did not turn to look at Carl until the announcement had been made that they were free to leave the plane. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to give Carl some final advice about dealing with Jinette when he saw Carl's face.
Carl's eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted. His breathing was coming in slight pants and when a pink tongue came out and wet those inviting lips, it was all Van Helsing could do not to groan. He was definitely going to have to do something about this as soon as they were done with Jinette. Otherwise he was going to go stark raving mad!
Speaking more sharply then he intended to, he called Carl's name, trying to get his attention. When Carl gave him a muddled look of incomprehension, he closed his eyes for a moment and counted to ten to calm himself. It wasn't really Carl's fault that Van Helsing's libido had gotten completely out of hand.
Trying to control his voice he said carefully. "We're here. Now don't forget, there will be Order members waiting for us at the gate. So once we clear the plane, we need to be watching what we say and what we do. No point in giving them any kind of ammunition. " He stood and began to pull their bags from the overhead compartment. Handing Carl's to him, he made his way up the aisle first, his body language showing that he had moved into "Hunter" mode. Eyes taking in everything around them, sizing it up for potential danger.
When Carl had first seen him, that night in the alley, he had seemed lethal, dangerous. Now that he had come to know more about him, he found it reassuring, safe. And kinda sexy came a sly voice in his head. Carl could only nod to himself. It was sexy the way he seemed to prowl like a jungle cat. Made Carl want to be pounced on. A wash of heat flooded over him and he pulled himself away from that dangerous train of thought. Not now. Right now you have to concentrate on the Order and Jinette. Later you can be kitty bait. He giggled but quickly bit it back when Van Helsing looked over his shoulder and gave him an odd look. Pinning on what he hoped was a serious expression he followed Van Helsing out into the terminal.
As expected, there were two men from the Order waiting for them. Van Helsing indicated who they were by a curt head gesture but said nothing. He continued walking and let them come to him. Carl watched this with a certain grim amusement. Let the power games begin…
When the two intercepted their path, there was no pretense of camaraderie. The older of the two merely gave a sharp nod and barked "Van Helsing" in a slightly accented voice. His cold, sharp eyes raked over Carl, sizing him up and Carl found himself straightening up and glaring back.
Van Helsing moved to place himself slightly in front of Carl. "Let's get this show on the road Torez. " His body language was screaming warning signs and Torez was smart enough to realize his intention to intimidate Carl would likely end with Van Helsing losing his legendary temper. And since discretion was the name of the game, he merely gestured to his companion and began to lead them out of the terminal.
Carl looked at Van Helsing's set face and vowed that when the dust settled, things would be very different between Van Helsing and the Order. He hated the way they so casually mistreated him. It was no wonder Van Helsing had so much trouble accepting Carl's offers of friendship and respect. How could he when the people who were suppose to appreciate him for what he was clearly had no use for him? Well, let's see how they like being on the receiving end for a change!
Van Helsing was extremely tense as they made their way through the crowds. He didn't like bringing Carl into striking distance of the Order, regardless of how confident Carl was of his social status providing him protection. Jinette didn't like people who didn't follow his rules and he especially hated being challenged and they were about to do both. When the reached the car, he made a point of insisting that Carl and he rode together in the back seat. He knew what they were up to in trying to split them up and he wasn't about to allow them to use the "divide and conquer" routine against them.
Carl hadn't planned to make a fuss at this point, being content to wait until he was in front of Jinette to really shake things up but since it seemed so important to Van Helsing, he went along with it. The Hunter was already on edge and he didn't want to add to his burdens. He watched carefully and when Torez, who was in the passenger seat, was speaking with the driver, he touched Van Helsing's thigh and gave him a quick smile. He knew that it wouldn't do much to calm the man but he at least wanted to let Van Helsing know that he was holding up just fine under the Order's rather obvious intimidation tactics. He quickly moved away again to keep Torez from seeing anything.
Turning to look out the window, he couldn't help but smile to himself. They really were underestimating him if they thought that sending a couple of big guys would be enough to intimidate him. High society was some of the most brutal, cut throat arenas you could walk in. It would take a hell of a lot more then this to make him start to sweat. Deciding it was time to take a few pot shots of his own, he began to lightly hum, his expression mildly amused. He knew it would annoy the hell out of their "escorts" and show that he wasn't exactly cracking under their pressure.
Van Helsing had been running plans in his head when he heard Carl begin humming. Glancing over at him, he saw Carl casually staring out the window, looking amused. Flicking a glance to the front seat, he could see Torez looking particularly peeved and realized exactly what Carl was doing. Biting back a smile, he turned and looked back out his own window. Score one for Carl
By the time they had reached Order Headquarters, Torez looked ready to climb the walls and Van Helsing was feeling a lot better about all of this. Having Carl with him shifted the dynamics of things and for the first time he could really believe that they could actually pull this off. While he was too cagey to let it show, internally he was feeling a lot less wound up. He was even able to ignore the curious looks of people who were coming out to see the infamous Van Helsing.
Carl, meanwhile was looking around him and observing everything. After all, how often did you get to visit a super-secret organization's headquarters? But after a few minutes, he had to admit he was rather disappointed. It pretty much reminded him of Carmico's main office. But then again, in some ways, they really weren't all that different. Middle management is middle management whether you are in the corporate world or the world of monster hunting. Sighing to himself, he turned his attention back to Van Helsing and their escort.
They were finally ushered into a small meeting room where they were told to wait. Carl smiled sweetly and said, "I'd love a cup of coffee. Cream, two sugars." He then turned his back on the man and settled into a chair as if he had no doubts whatsoever that his request would be taken care of. Torez's face nearly turned purple before he turned and stalked out of the room.
Van Helsing chuckled and said "Well, you didn't make a friend in Torez. Not that it's any loss. Guy is a prick. But I wish I had a camera when you told him to run along and fetch you some coffee." Van Helsing was grinning and his body was relaxed as he lounged with his feet up on the table.
Carl grinned himself. He loved to see Van Helsing so at ease – especially here. It made him more determined then ever to ensure that all future visits to headquarters would be just as easy. Also that they would always involve Carl. No way he was letting him go anywhere without him. Leaning back in his own chair he said, "Well, I'd estimate we've got about 10 minutes to kill before Jinette and friends make their appearance. Care for a game of cards?"
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