Hey all, another new and this time in less than a year haha. At any rate be sure to let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy.
When the pair of hunters returned Sir Integra was waiting for them just outside the main door to the Manor looking a little less than pleased. Granted it had taken them longer than it should have, especially with the brutal efficiency Anderson had displayed on the sparse missions he had taken part in shortly after joining, but despite the slight scowl on their employer's face Seras wouldn't even try to suppress a grin.
"And what, may I ask, kept you two?" Integra said coolly as she took a long drag on her cigar.
"Oh, you know just enjoying a walk, the moonlight on the snow is just so lovely tonight," Seras said in an off handed tone that could have almost been mistaken for Alucard. This, however, only seemed to irritate Integra further.
"Sometimes I think you may actually be turning into him," Integra said with a sigh as she exhaled the smoke she had been holding in her mouth.
"I apologize for the delay, we were simply having a bit of fun with the hunt and the night seems to have gotten away from us," Anderson responded in a kind tone that actually seemed to slightly stun Integra for a moment.
Letting another sigh escaped her lips Integra turned to re enter her home and get away from the cold "So long as the work is done I suppose it doesn't really matter, just make sure the report gets filed eventually...and take care of that bloody tree you had to have!" she shouted back at them causing them both to snicker lightly.
"Well lass do you want put the tree up, or deal with the paperwork?" Anderson asked kindly looking down at Seras.
"I hate paperwork...would you mind?" she responded awkwardly smiling up at him.
"Not at all, I'll be done in a tic and we can get to the more festive activities," he responded giving her a quick pat on the shoulder earning him a rather radiant smile from his younger compatriot.
"Thanks, I'll get everything ready!" she said cheerily as she hefted the tree effortlessly and walked it to the center of the foyer.
With a small chuckle Anderson went off to complete the report on their mission.
An hour or so later Anderson was looking over the drying ink on his mission report. Unlike most he had worked with in the past he found he took a good deal of pleasure in filling out reports. It was almost, for him at least, a therapeutic way to cool off after a mission.
"Well...that seems to be in order," he mumbled to himself as his eyes scanned the last page of the report letting a small smile spread across his face as he recalled how much Heinkel hated doing post mission reports. Scooping up the papers and placing them in a folder before bringing them to Integra's office. He found her office to be empty so he simply left the folder on her desk before making his way to the foyer.
As he grew close he could just start to make out the subtle sounds of a struggle and growls of irritation. Raising an eyebrow in mild confusion as he entered the room he saw a slightly haggard Seras struggling to get the tree to stand upright.
"Come on you son of a...there we go, that should, AHHH!" she shouted as the tree fell on her for what Anderson could only assume wasn't the first time. Throwing the tree off of herself she caught sight of the smirking face of Anderson.
"Not a word, it's not as easy as it looks," she said in a huff before spitting out some pine needles.
"Hehe, of course not, but you have admit it was a tad humorous," Anderson said with a chuckle as he removed his overcoat and crossed the room.
With a practiced ease he trimmed the lower branches of the tree before lifting the tree stand; a massive an old cast iron thing decorated with rather intricate iron and bronze work, and placed it flush with the freshly cut stump of the tree. Once the stand was secure he lifted the massive tree and placed it up right. Holding onto the trunk for a moment to make sure it didn't sway, he slowly released his grip before stepping back to examine his work. The fir stood proud and tall in the center of the foyer. Chancing a glance over at Seras, he noticed the young lady giving him an irritated glare.
"Not,a,word," she reiterated emphasizing each word, to which Anderson simply smiled.
"Come on lass cheer up, let's get to trimming," he told her smoothly as went over and opened the boxes of decorations Seras had managed to dig out of the basement.
Upon opening the container Anderson found himself touched by a twinge of sadness. The antique ornaments were extremely well crafted and quite beautiful, he wonder briefly how they had survived the assault by Millennium though the thought passed quickly. But seeing these ornate decorations made him miss terribly the handmade ones the children at the orphanage used to make.
They may not have been particularly well crafted or neatly made but to Alexander Anderson they were the most beautiful things in the world. He didn't know how long he stood there but he was eventually pulled out of his revery when he felt a small hand place itself gently on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?" Seras asked softly up at him her features laced with concern.
"Oh...aye lass, just thinking about the children back in Rome," he said a little sadly, but there was also a small amount of cheer that crept into his voice at the mention of his former charges.
Seras gave him a smile as she gently reached into the box and wrapped her hand around the ornament Anderson held in his hand. "I know you miss them, and I know there's nothing I can do to ease that but...you have a new home now and...well...we're happy you're here," she muttered the last part just a little embarrassed at the admission.
The air was still and awkward as Seras refused to meet his gaze. She had begun to think maybe she had said the wrong thing. She was never any great shakes at comforting others, what had possessed her to say anything at all? She should have kept her mouth shut. Seras was about to apologize when she heard the deep, though soft, laughter of Anderson. She looked at the former priest as he smiled down at her.
"Well, that does my heart some good to know there is a place I'm still wanted, even if it is in the home of heathens," he teased with his smile turning into a bit of smirk.
"Knock it off," she responded giving him a playful slap to the arm.
With that the duo set to the task at hand. It went much slower that really ought to have. Both took their time examining the truly exquisite works of art they were hanging on the tree's boughs. Seras would coo and awe at how finely crafted pieces while Anderson would let out an occasional huff that sounded almost like irritation. Upon hearing this sound for the third time Seras finally spoke up.
"Okay mister huffy britches, that's the third time you've done that, what's up?" she said peeking around the tree to look at him.
"It's nothing, I just find some of these decorations to be just tad much. I mean this one is gold, actual gold with rubies and emeralds, that's a bit ostentatious don't you think?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow as he showed her the ornament.
"Maybe, but I don't really see the problem," she said taking it from him gingerly and looking at it closer.
"Not really a problem per say, it's just...well, I just find it a mit, what's the word? Distasteful?" he responded sounding as though he wasn't sure he had conveyed what he what thinking. Clearly he hadn't as Seras let out a rather unladylike guffaw.
"Distasteful?!" she said through a laugh "Some of them may be a bit on the gaudy side but distasteful?" Seras couldn't help saying through a grin.
"I wasn't referring to the craftsmanship , I'm speaking of the sheer opulence of the piece," he said cooly though not unkindly causing Seras to stop her snickering and throw him a curious look.
"I'm not sure I get what you mean?" she said in a slightly confused tone.
He laughed softly at this. "Hehe, just old vows cropping up I suppose, pay no mind to this old man's ramblings," Anderson said warmly before reaching back into the box to continue with his process.
Seras however found her interest had been piqued. Granted it may not seem like a particularly interesting topic. It did, however, seem to be a small window through which she could find out just a bit more about the man in front of her.
"No, it's alright, what exactly did you mean?" Seras spoke in a soft voice as she walked over to the towering giant of a man.
Letting out a sigh, though not from irritation, he turned to face her. "Let me asked you something, how much do you think that particular piece in your hand cost?" he asked her.
Thinking for a moment as she looked over the piece. It was truly a lovely piece of art, at least Seras thought so. It was an intricately designed snowflake with a litany of minute engravings covering every inch of its surface. It was fairly thin but surprisingly heavy for its size, no doubt due to the fact it was made of real gold as Anderson had said. At each of its points was either a small ruby or emerald each one masterfully cut and set perfectly into the body.
"Gee, I don't know...more than either of use makes in a month at least," she said still unsure of his point.
"Exactly, all that money spent on such a frivolous thing that only comes out to viewed a few weeks a year, and for what? To impress family? Impress guests? Think of the good that could be done with that money, given to charity, feeding the poor...I just find it, I don't know…" he trailed off, but Seras understood what he was saying.
She supposed he had a point, it must have been a lot of money to spend on what was, in the end, simply a seasonal decoration. But on the other hand it wasn't like there was anything that could be done about it. These antiques were older than her and likely older than he was, so she didn't really fully get his irritated.
"I guess you have a point, but at least it matches us," she responded jokingly.
Anderson simply looked bewildered at this statement "Matches us? What are you on about?" he asked thoroughly confused.
"It's gold," she pointed at both their hair. "Red," she gestured from the rubies to her eyes "And green," she pointed from the emeralds to his eyes. "We're a regular Christmas duo," she said cheerily.
Anderson looked at her absolutely dumbfounded as she smirked almost foolishly up at him.
"I...I don't know how to respond to that," he mumbled, earning him a boisterous laugh from Seras.
"Well that's a first," she said through a grin before letting out a hearty laugh which he joined in to a moment latter.
"You are a rather daft one at times aren't ya?" Anderson chuckled out as he set back to work.
"I may have been told that a time or two," she snickered back before setting back to the task at hand herself.
The silence between them now was not quite so awkward now and Seras noticed that her older companion would occasionally glance over at her and chuckle as he shook his head which, in turn, caused her to snicker and giggle in response.
Time seemed pass by much faster as they emptied box after box of the antique ornaments. As the odd pair was about half done with their task Seras found herself humming a familiar Christmas tune she was fond of. As she hummed aloud she was quite surprised to hear the deep melodic brogue sing out to pick up where her tune had paused.
"They've got cars big as bars, they've got rivers of gold, but the wind blows right through you it's no place for the old," Anderson sang in what Seras thought was a rather nice voice, much better than how he had sung while on they're hunt at any rate.
"You know Fairytale of New York?" Seras asked, a little surprised and frankly a little entertained . She found a fair bit of humor in the former priest knowing the lyrics to such a song.
"Oh...Of course, it's a modern classic lass," he responded with a small smile, though Seras could tell he was the smallest bit embarrassed at the prospect of singing such a song as she could just make out the tiniest tint of a flush on his cheeks and ears. He had clearly been unaware he had been singing.
"Well, I thought it was lovely, you should really sing more," she told him kindly, and she meant it.
"Ahmm well...thank you," he said through a cough his cheeks turning a brighter shade as he turned to grab some of the last few decorations.
If she was honest with herself, Seras was feeling a little giddy at this reaction. To see the fierce and terrible paladin Anderson sing and then get embarrassed by the fact was borderline insanity, and this caused Seras to have to fight back a chortle of laughter.
"Oh come off it Alex," his name still sounded strange on her lips "It's no reason to get embarrassed," she teased as she followed him as he disappeared around the side of the tree.
"I'm not embarrassed," he shot back clearly trying to get her to back off, but to no avail. His normal intimidating presence has all but evaporated to Seras, who simple grinned up at him.
He let out a small sigh of defeat before he set back to work. They were nearly done and he was in a bit of a huff, but unlike before when things may have become strained between them Seras now found it almost amusing. Deciding it was best to stop teasing him; at least for the moment, she tactfully decided to change the subject.
"So...what was it you said you used to do back with children after trimming the tree?" she asked as she picked one of the final pieces to hang on the tree.
Anderson was silent for a moment before he responded " Oh, well, after the tree I set all the children down and we'd all watch A Christmas Carol, if there was a production on I'd take them to a play,"
"Do you...do you want to do that, I mean I know it's not quite the same but it might he nice," she offered a little awkwardly.
He gave her a look for a moment and Seras was worried she had crossed some invisible line, and was on the verge of apologizing when a small smile spread across his face.
"Aye,I think I'd like that very much miss Victoria, of course I'll have to wash up first. Ghoul blood and pine sap don't make for a fine night hehe," he finished with a small chuckle.
"Right," Seras responded with a quick snap of her fingers, the humor evident in her voice as she gave him a playful wink, causing him to chuckle.
"Sounds like a fine plan, but let's finish up here first shall we?" he offered with a smile.
Seras smiled back and nodded and the pair set back to putting the as few of the decorations on the tree. It wasn't long before their task had been finished and they stepped back to admire their work.
"Well...ya didn't do too bad...for a little heathen," he teased giving her a small jab in the ribs with his elbow.
"Go and wash off you dirty old man," she said back through a laugh as she slapped his shoulder lightly.
He chuckled as he walked off and gave her a small dismissive wave. Seras beamed after him, it was nice; it really was, to see him with some life back in his eyes and some cheer in his voice. She wouldn't pretend for a moment that it wasn't mind bendingly strange, it was odd beyond anything she had thought she would experience, and that was saying quite a lot, and yet here she was. With a smile on her face she went off to change and get everything set for the evening.
It was about an hour later when Anderson re-appeared dressed in his evening wear holding a pair of mugs. Seras had already changed into her pajamas, for no real reason other than personal comfort as she wasn't going to sleeping anytime soon.
"Ah, there you are, I've got everything all set up. The movie is all set ready to go, I don't think you'll have seen this version before. It's stars Sir Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge," she told him cheerily.
"Michael Caine? From Zulu? No, ah don't think I've seen that one before," he responded in a intrigued tone as he sat down on the sofa next to her and handed her one of the mugs. She gave the mug a questioning look before Anderson spoke again. "A small gift, for your kindness lass," he told her softly.
Seras gave the steaming drink a small sniff and was immediately greeted by the the familiar scent of blood. But it was not pure blood, there was a hint of something sweet, something that usually would make her stomach turn nowadays. But now it made her mouth water.
"Mmmm, hot chocolate, it's been so long," she said longingly as she took another whiff of the concoction.
"There are paths that can bypass the certain aspects of the vampiric curse...only in small ways of course," he told her rather matter of factly, and she had known that of course.
Alucard had been known to occasionally partake in wine and other spirits but Seras had never quite gotten around to trying to figure out the proper mixture. She had made a few attempts here and there over the years but her concoctions never seemed to come out right. They either came out as what amounted to diluted blood or simply turned to ash in her mouth. Giving her drink another small sniff she could tell this particular mixture was spot on, which she honestly thought was the tiniest bit unfair.
"How is it that I've tried to do this about a dozen times and never get close and you're just able to slap it together first try not a problem in the world?" Seras said with a tiny huff.
"You give me too much credit lass," he said with a chuckle before taking a sip of his own drink. "This is far from the first time I've mixed something like this up," at this Seras gave him a slightly bewildered look.
"You've done this before?" she asked profoundly confused.
"Aye," he said simply, but seeing the look on her face he decided to elaborate. "It was an old favorite interrogation technique we used on captured vampires in Iscariot. Starve them for a few months, then offer them something that they might miss from when they were human. Wine, ale, stew, whatever it may be. The combination of blood and missed humanity usually produced rather good results," he told her in an almost merry tone.
That, Seras thought, was equal parts disturbing and brilliant and if she was honest with herself it did unnerve a fair bit, but only for a moment. She reminded herself that every single vampire she had encountered, her master included, had done some rather horrible and terrible things, and suddenly starving vampires for information didn't seem quite so awful.
"How's that work exactly? The mixture I mean," she asked.
"Through some trial and error we found a mixture of at least 65% but no more than 66% of human blood was the the perfect blend. Virgin blood was more forgiving but significantly harder to obtain. It only works with liquid although a case could be made for blood sausage hehe," he finished with a chuckle.
"Wow, not a big margin for error huh?"
"None at all, but I'm tired of talking of my old job, didn't ye want to watch a movie?" he teased with a smirk as he raised his mug to lips again.
"Oh! Right!" she said with a start as he fumbled with the remote her cheeks lightly flushed with embarrassment. "You'll like this, it's one of my favorites," she told him in a chipper tone as she pressed play.
The movie began to role and the merry music began to play. Seras smiled as the few happy memories she held from before she was a vampire. When the main title of the movie appeared on screen she couldn't help the broad smile spread across her face, that is until she heard her companion let out a small scoff.
"Muppets?!" he almost cries in disbelief. "Those daft felt monstrosities that Americans love?" he finished with a tone of near horror.
"Hey! Don't judge it based on that, it's actually really good!" Seras defended her cheeks puffing out in irritation.
"They're puppets lass," Anderson almost laughed.
"Just give it a chance,please, it was my favorite from when I was at the orphanage," she almost pleaded with and, although she had kept her tone playful, she noticed his mood change in an instant.
"Alright...alright, I'll give it a chance," he said in a tone that infinitely softer and more gentle than anything she heard from him in her recent memory. It was nearly reminiscent of his final words to her master all those years ago.
"Thanks…" she responded almost meekly but she sent him a smile anyway, which he returned.
With that they fell into a comfortable silence. Everyone once and a while Seras would chance a glance over at Anderson and would see, much to her delight, he would be smiling or even letting a small chuckle pass his lips as he watched her childhood favorite.
Knowing she had "won" this small battle she allowed herself to finally, completely relax. It may seemed foolish, but she had found herself worried that he wouldn't like her selection of movie. It was childish, and she knew it, but the relationship she had forged with a man who was, ultimately, a sort of former boogie man to her was still very new and she didn't want to do anything to damage it.
The last thing she wanted was for him to fall back into the depressing state he had been in for the past fifteen years. But when she she hears him let out a reluctant snort of laughter at one of Gonzo's antics this trepidation left her. Finding herself scooting a little closer to her companion the pair fell into a comfortable silence as Seras enjoyed her first truly peaceful and happy evening in fifteen years.