Chapter 6: Progression

Alucard turned around to face me, his posture identical to one my dad often wore when he was about to brief our squad for a task. He looked stern, like a leader, but the curves of his shoulders, the rounded slouch of his upper back made him seem fatherly and simply scolding.

"Are you ready to move on now?" he asked, his face placid.

I let my hands curl into fists against my sides. I didn't say anything in response. I simply nodded.

Alucard dipped his head down a fraction, regarding my answer. He then jabbed a thumb pointedly towards one of the booths on his right.

I didn't protest this time. I felt my legs carry me forward into the booth.

Surrounded by plastic and glass, I was immediately reminded of my desk back at the police station. I blinked as I inhaled, the memory dissipating with the movement of my lungs.

Alucard came up behind me carrying a heavy headpiece similar to a pair of headphones made to dull the shots of the gun, along with the gun itself. It wasn't the same one that he'd had earlier, not the sleek silver device that had killed my father. It was an ordinary handgun, and that I could deal with.

I took the items from Alucard, donning what I needed to, and holding what I didn't. I turned my back to him, working my fingers around the chill, metal handle of the gun, trying to get a feel for something that should've already felt familiar to me. Facing the target at the end of the booth, I raised the gun, aiming the barrel carefully at the chest of the wooden cut-out.

I inhaled, then exhaled deeply, and pulled the trigger.

Three consecutive shots rang out, the sound muted by the headpiece I wore. I had unconsciously shut my eyes when firing the gun, and I hesitantly forced my eyelids apart, wary of seeing where the bullets had landed.

There were three new holes, all just slightly off-centre of the chest on the target. My eyebrows rose in a satisfactory disbelief, and I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. I started, lowering the gun as I turned to Alucard.

His face was blank, save for the slight elevation of his eyebrows that told me that he'd been pleasantly surprised. I felt like I should have smiled at him, but the expression didn't come as easily to me as it did earlier.

His began to move his lips, as if speaking, but I was unable to hear the sound. My eyes widened in incredulity, thinking I'd gone deaf, but the moment passed instantly as I remembered the noise-cancelling headpiece I had on. I tugged it off quickly, refocusing my attention on Alucard.

"I think I missed everything you just said," I told him meekly, forcing myself not to break away from his solid gaze.

Alucard's features fell in mild annoyance. "I said," he began, his voice flat, "that you do know how to use that thing, and that we're done here. I also asked what you wanted for dinner."

I blinked, caught off guard by the almost surreal normalcy of Alucard asking what I wanted for dinner. It was so regular and simple that it was foreign. After days of death and grief, sitting down to have a meal with someone was a dream-like and unreal concept.

"Uh… I don't know," I said honestly. Heat flooded my cheeks in embarrassment, and if Alucard noticed, he didn't make it seem like he had.

Alucard exhaled in a slightly aggravated manner. "Fine, I'll pick then," he said, his tone just as empty as it had been before.

He reached out fluidly, grabbing the gun and the headpiece from me. He crossed the room in lazy, long strides, tossing the items into a seemingly random bin before motioning for me to follow him again.

Eyes wide, I trailed along behind him.

Alucard's kitchen was so similar to my own that it made me ache to be in the room. It was quaint and painted an off-white cream color, with a small wooden table and even smaller jars lined neatly along the countertop. There was a window above the sink on the left wall, the evening light pouring in like the water of a summer creek. The back door was shut and stained with ancient fingerprints. The cream colored, plastic blinds were drawn but not pulled shut. It was clean and homey, and it made me miss my father. I didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, before Alucard nudged me into one of the four chairs at the table, tossing a laminated Chinese take-out pamphlet in front of me while he picked up an old-looking cordless phone and began to dial a number.

I leafed through the options on the pamphlet, not quite understanding what I was reading. I was still dazed from the sudden switch between pain and pleasantries. I assumed that this was Alucard's strange way of telling me that it was really time to move on. What had happened had happened, and there was no point in crying over it anymore. He'd let me grieve, but he'd had enough, and he thought that I felt the same. I did, I did want to move forward, but it wasn't as easy as I'd previously made it out to be.

"Hi, yeah, I would like to order take-out," Alucard said, facing one of the kitchen's walls. He was working the fingers of his right hand through his hair, slowly, as if the motion was meant to subside the pain of a headache as opposed to untangling the knots in his hair. I watched, dazed for a reason I wasn't aware of, while Alucard's hard exterior seemed to melt away.

I was torn from my hazy daydream as Alucard began to rapidly flail is hand in an over-dramatic wave, attempting to get my attention. I sat bolt upright, my spine pulling taut against my skin, my eyes blinking in apology and embarrassment. I tilted my head to one side in question, unsure of what it was he wanted.

Alucard placed his hand over the lower half of the receiver, dipping his head a little ways back to shake his hair out of his face. The black locks tumbled over his shoulder like a river of shadows over smooth boulders.

"Did you pick something yet?" he asked expectantly.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. I grabbed the pamphlet again and skimmed the text again, eventually settling on an order of honey glazed chicken with noodles and mixed veggies. Alucard repeated the order to the person on the other end of the line, and hung up seconds later.

He hung the receiver back in its cradle, approached the table, and pulled out the chair across from my own, almost hesitantly lowering himself into it.

We sat in silence for a few moments. It wasn't an awkward or thick silence, though. It was light and patiently waited for somebody to break it, like the wrapping paper of a gift. It was a silence meant to bring people together rather than split them farther away from each other. It was a bridge as opposed to a barrier.

It worried me, the companionable quality of the silence. I'd only just met this man, I knew next to nothing about him, about his business, about anything, and here I was, sitting across from him at his kitchen table as if I'd known him for years.

I wanted to shake the fact that the reason I was at his home in the first place was because from the moment he'd introduced himself into my life, I'd lost everyone I'd ever cared about. But I couldn't think about that, not any more. I'd had enough time to sulk, to blame him for something that was out of his control. He acted indifferent to the incidents, but he was a human being, and he must, he had to, have felt some kind of guilt or pain as well. How could I expect him to move on if I myself wasn't able to?

"Kid," Alucard said suddenly.

I started again. I wasn't sure why I was so jumpy, but every time he addressed me, I was strangely surprised.

I didn't notice until then that Alucard had a few pieces of paper in front of him and was jotting things down on them in pen. They were official looking documents with an intricate crest printed at the top right corner of each page.

I met his semi-annoyed gaze with my own slightly flustered one. He was leaning over the papers, staring intently at me in scrutiny. He must have been as thrown off by my zoning out as I was, but wouldn't show it any more than he already had.

"I need to fill out these forms to get you a position at Hellsing," he said, his tone making it obvious that he'd already said those exact words once before, and I hadn't heard him again. "I asked for your birthdate and full name."

I gulped down my mistake, giving Alucard an apologetic look that I hope appeared as genuine as I felt. I internally slapped myself for being so docile. Couldn't he tell I was experiencing inner unrest and I was having trouble adjusting to normal life once again? Another part of me groaned in response the moment that thought crossed my mind. I was acting spoiled and bratty. I reached my arms under the table, out of Alucard's view, and pinched my wrist hopefully hard enough to keep me focused for as long as I needed to.

I gave Alucard the information he asked for, repeating the words methodically as if I were reading off of a script he couldn't see. It took less than ten minutes for Alucard to fill everything out, since he was the one who had to fill out most of the forms, and he didn't ask me very many questions.

After finishing up with the papers, Alucard and I lapsed back into quietude. It was growing dark outside, with the light streaming through the blinds burning a heavy red. It made the interior of the kitchen appear to be set aflame by the unwavering hues of gold and scarlet. I couldn't hear anything, save for my own breathing, and the faint rustling of fabric against paper as Alucard shifted in his seat, idly twirling a pen around his fingers.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Alucard asked abruptly.

The silence that had been wrapped around both of us like a downy blanket had been tossed aside faster than I could comprehend. I shivered, rubbing one of my socked feet over the other. I looked at Alucard, whose eyes were cast to the left, staring out the back door of his home. His eyes were a luminescent orange, his face calm like the dead of night. His dark hair pooled around his face like the cloak of a stranger, his high cheekbones glowing with the evening light.

"Yeah, sure," I said, my voice unnaturally hoarse.

Alucard dipped his head in a half nod and got to his feet. I stood up, following him as he led me out of the kitchen.

He led me to the next room over, one that was darkened by the thick, velvety curtains draped across the two, wide windows on the far wall. There was a pair of French doors to enter and exit the room, the glass sparkling in the dim light of the hallway lamps.

Alucard turned the curly, metal handle on one of the doors, ushering me into the room. He flicked on the light, and headed straight for the sofa.

The room was plush with thick rugs, fabric sofas and cushions. The TV was on a stand on the left, and a long couch and an armchair were angled to face it. There were paintings of old European buildings over the green and grey wallpapered walls, and various potted plants, real or not, lay tucked around many of the room's corners.

Though Alucard had turned on the light, the room was still barely lit. Most of the light came in through the glass of the French doors from the hall; the small lamp he'd turned on upon entry did little to brighten the area.

Alucard sat on the right most cushion of the couch, his arm lazily slung across the back of the seat. He held the TV remote in his other hand, flipping through channels with half-lidded eyes.

I tried to approach the sofa without appearing as awkward as I knew I looked. It was difficult, but I managed to cross the room without causing him to glare at me once.

I dropped down into the seat next to him, trying to ignore the fact that his arm was mere inches from resting around my hunched shoulders. There was enough space between us, but I still felt very aware of his presence next to me.

I exhaled slowly, swallowing at a terrifyingly slow pace, trying to slow my heart from its wild gallop through my chest. I folded my hands into a neat clasp in my lap, forcing my eyes to stay trained on the TV.

I blinked and scowled internally, wondering why I was experiencing the strange feelings I felt in that moment. Unable to find an answer for myself, I turned my attention away from my mind and to the television.

Alucard had settled on watching the evening news. The stories weren't very captivating, but it was better than anything at distracting me from myself.

Just a little under half an hour later, the doorbell rang, chiming a sweet, melodic song. Alucard rose out of his seat in a movement so languid it was catlike. He left the room before I could turn my head to look after him.

I got up after he'd already shut the front door and taken the food from the delivery man. I made it into the hallway while Alucard was already thumping around in the kitchen, grabbing plates, glasses, and cutlery.

We dealt out our meals, sitting across from each other at the kitchen table once again. The sun had set and Alucard had drawn the blinds. The room was now lit a pale, otherworldly yellow, the color of sweet honey with the single light in the ceiling above the table. We didn't talk while we ate, choosing to share silence instead of words.

We finished and did the dishes together, as if it were the most natural thing ever. We didn't speak the entire time, but it felt as if we didn't need to. So, by the time we'd done everything we needed to, I realized that I didn't have to ask Alucard where he was going when he left the kitchen.

I fell into step behind him, following him back into the TV room.

He didn't bother turning on the light this time, but it didn't seem to matter. The TV was bright enough anyway, with or without the lamp light from the hall or the room.

Feeling bolder, I sat just a tad closer to Alucard, his arm still draped around the top of the sofa.

Even with the sound of the TV filling the emptiness of the night, I was still very aware of the silence between us. It was easy to miss, but it could be found in the space between our bodies, the gap between his arm and my shoulders, the crevice between my head and his chest. I tried to set it aside and let the voice of the late night news anchor drown away the other pressing silences, but it wasn't to be done.

I felt my body move, tugged by strings I couldn't see, slightly closer to Alucard's side. If I was very still, I could almost make out the delicate crinkle of his shirt with his every breath, the gentle thrumming of his heart, and all of the other things that made him human.

There wasn't very much space between us now, and my own heart was performing a gymnastic routine in my chest. It ached a little, but did not feel bad. The silence between us seemed to wan away, and I felt my body relax, though I didn't remember being very uptight to begin with.

I felt Alucard's body heat radiating onto me, feeling as if layer upon layer of warm blankets were being laid down over me. My eyelids grew heavy with the comforting feeling of having somebody close by. Deep breath after deep breath, I felt myself being swept away from the lucid shores of consciousness, into the calm, inviting seas of sleep.

Alucard

The sound of birds singing outside made him swing his head to the right, tossing away his slumber like a fickle piece of paper caught in the wind.

Crisp, shimmering sunlight seeped through the small parted spaces between the heavy curtains, turning their dark, navy fabric a deep violet shade. It was still very early in the morning, just after six a.m. by latest.

Alucard moved to get up, but forced himself to freeze instead. He looked over to his left, feeling any and all tension he'd had drip away like the thawing of a winter frost.

The girl was asleep, breathing dainty little sighs as she slept, her cheeks flushed faintly, her lips parted slightly. Her head of short, blond hair was resting on his chest, his arm around her shoulders, though he couldn't remember putting it there. One of her hands lay resting on his stomach, and he became startlingly aware of how close she was to him.

Alucard blinked, unsure of how to proceed. He was not expecting her to just be there, asleep against him. Though, he hadn't exactly given her much attention since she'd arrived, other than dinner and demanding that she get over her pain and move on with her life. He felt a jolt of uncalled for regret, and scowled at himself. Seeing as he couldn't move without waking her, and she did need rest, he eased himself back into the plush sofa, trying not to disturb the police girl with his movement.

He glanced over at her again, feeling her breath through the black material of his shirt, warm against his chest. She smelled like the sky after a rainfall, like the sweet sap of a budding cherry blossom. Her golden hair shone like the sun itself, her skin appearing like white silk against his shadowy shirt.

He felt himself turn away, finding it unreasonable for him to stare at her any longer. But, he still felt her small body against his, and realized that whatever he'd been planning to do wouldn't happen for at least another couple hours.

Mildly annoyed, though internally greatly satisfied, Alucard relaxed himself. He shut his own eyes, ignoring the torrential hammering of his heart, the chill that was working its way through his body, coming from the place where her head lay. He let his muscles loosen, feeling his head loll to one side.

He felt the soft brush of her hair against his cheek, feeling more like a featherlike kiss than simply her hair. He fought himself, reminding himself how stupid it would be if he were to overstep himself. He exhaled slowly, monitoring the rise and fall of his chest so that it wouldn't bother the police girl.

Sure, he'd hugged her only a few days prior, but that had been different. He understood that she was utterly alone in the world, and he understood that she probably wouldn't be as sane as she was now if he hadn't shown up when he had and comforted her.

When the hell did I get so goddamn soft? he thought, his brows crinkling as he scowled.

He opened his eyes, his gaze met by the glow of pure sunlight against her bright hair. He didn't know if he even cared about her at all. He admitted that it would be quite terrible should she die, but only a week ago, he'd been perfectly fine on his own. He assumed he didn't realize how much solitude could get to a person until he'd lost the solitude. He scoffed silently, shutting his eyes again.

Fuck it, he reasoned, maybe Integra will get off my case if I keep her around for a little while.

Intoxicated by the sweet scent of the small girl beside him, Alucard allowed his own waves of tiredness to drift him out into a deep, dreary, much needed slumber.

Author's Note: And well there! Lots of cuteness and cuddles for you all! But keep in mind that this is a horror fic... But yeah! I apologize for taking so damn long with this chapter! School's being a prick, which is interesting, and then there's life, and university stress, and more life, and fangirling, and did I ever mention hoW MUCH I LOVE TOKYO GHOUL? GOSH. AMON AND JUUZOU THOUGH.

Well I've got more for this fic ready, plenty more actually, so keep on reading and reviewing! Also, thank you for all the support you've been showing me for this fic and my other big one The Gathering. That's my most popular story! I'm surprised by the amount of views I get on it, so thank you! Anyway, I'll get going now, so thanks again, please review because it makes me want to write more :'D and as always,

Thanks for reading.

-Shan