Chapter 12: The Uninvited Guest

Alucard grunted as my fist made contact with his jaw. We stepped back from each other, both dazed and surprised by what I'd just done. I didn't think I'd actually land the blow, but I did, and I could tell he was starting to prepare to strike back.

I swung at Alucard's midsection, hoping to catch him off-guard again, but he side-stepped out of my reach. He used his momentum to propel his body behind me, grabbing me by my wrist as he moved.

"Hey, wait!" I cried, realizing what was about to happen.

He pulled me by my arm, using his full body weight to launch me into the padded wall. I slammed into it, hard, falling face first onto the floor.

Panting, I shakily pulled myself onto my hands and knees, my body aching from the impact.

Brushing my bangs off of my sticky forehead, I saw a hand materializing in my periphery.

I flinched, immediately assuming a defensive position, only to realize that the hand was extended as an offer to help me stand.

I sighed, taking his hand as he yanked me to my feet.

"Here," he said, handing me a small towel off of a shelf.

I took it from him, patting my face and neck with it as I dropped into one of the folding chairs.

I fanned my face with my hand, staring at the ceiling of the practice room. The air was steaming from all of our energy. It was small and unventilated, unlike the shooting range. This room was just off to the side of it, through another door. It was padded with black mats, the walls lined with shelves of various hand held practice weapons and supplies, and sparring dummies shoved into the far corners.

"You're not as bad as I thought you'd be," he said, twisting open a bottle of water. "But you still have a long way to go."

I coughed out a weak laugh, looking at him. "Thanks."

"By the time the paperwork I put in for you goes through, I want you to be able to save your own skin in a fight," Alucard continued, lowering himself into a chair as he tossed a new water bottle at me.

I caught it, relishing in how cold it felt against my sweat slicked palms. "Did you forget how I handled Anderson when he broke in? I had him covered until you pulled me off," I reminded him, taking a swig from the bottle.

"Did you forget how he kicked my ass in there?" He asked, motioning towards the upstairs with his water bottle.

I shook my head, taking another gulp of water.

"If he can kick my ass, and I can kick yours. That means you don't stand a chance against him or anyone else right now." He took a sip of water.

I stared at the water bottle in my hands, focusing my gaze on the cap. "How do you even know Anderson?"

"He's a criminal. It's my job to know who he is," he replied, without hesitation.

I untwisted and re-twisted the cap on the bottle a few times before speaking again. "He asked about your gun, you know."

Alucard, whose fingers were previously fidgeting with his water bottle in the same way I was, froze. It was as if the air had solidified around us, entombing us in an oppressive, smoggy silence.

He got to his feet without warning, draping a towel over his shoulders. He wasn't looking at me anymore. "If you go upstairs, you'll find towels and soap in the closet by the guest room. Go shower, you stink."

The door half-slammed behind him as he left, leaving me in the humid practice room by myself, wondering what had set him off this time.

A week passed, then almost another. Things seemed to have calmed down for the most part. The days passed at a strange pace, sometimes too quickly for me to process what was happening, sometimes so slow that I felt each moment would never pass.

Each day, Alucard would wake me up in the early hours of the morning, and we'd stretch for about half an hour before getting into a sparring session for an hour or two. He'd leave for work, and I'd practice on my own with the dummies. Some days he'd stick in another sparring session or shooting lesson after dinner, but most of the time, after we'd both gotten cleaned up, he'd ask if I wanted to join him in the living room to watch TV.

It took a while, but I could slowly sense that I was allowing myself to trust him again. I think he was doing the same. Occasionally, he'd go silent, becoming a spectre in his own home, set off by something unknown to me. Maybe I was just particularly good at making him uncomfortable, or maybe he was just having difficulty living with another person. Either way, this wasn't easy for either of us, but it was becoming less strenuous as the tension between us dissipated.

Three days into my third week of living with Alucard, I was jolted out of my slumbering state to the sound of a plastic sheet thrashing, followed by what sounded like erratic honking.

It was the morning of my day off, the one day a week where Alucard let the both of us rest in between all of the training. I groaned, annoyed to be woken up at all on the only day I was allowed to sleep in past five in the morning.

I pushed myself up off of my stomach. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I realized that I'd fallen asleep on the sofa. I must have passed out while watching TV and Alucard hadn't bothered to wake me.

I suddenly became aware of just how loud the noise I was hearing was.

Rubbing my head, I peered beside me, towards the window that Alucard had neglected to get replaced, and screamed.

Alucard

The police girl's scream tore him from his sleep in an instant. He was out of his bed in a heartbeat, running down the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Seras!" He called, his heart thundering as loudly as his footfalls.

It better fucking not be Anderson, he thought to himself, adrenaline spiking his blood at the very idea. His gun was downstairs, so he could only hope he'd get there fast enough to grab it.

At the bottom of the stairs, Alucard slowed down as he noticed Seras creeping into the hallway, motioning for him to stop. She was holding a broom out in front of her like a weapon. Panting as he tried to calm himself down from the commotion, he followed the length of the broomstick with his eyes, trying to see what she was pointing it at.

And then, he saw it.

There, in the hallway by the stairs, was a Canadian goose.

"What the fuck is that shit doing in my house?" Alucard hollered.

I shushed him furiously, swatting in his general direction with the broom. He was going to get us both killed. "Shut up! You'll scare it!" I whisper yelled, turning my attention back to the devil by the door. "Just… Can you get by it and try to open the front door? I can shove it out," I explained, waving the broom.

I heard him exhale loudly, groaning like I had when I'd woken up. He rubbed his forehead with both of his hands, pulling his hair back from his face.

"It's too fucking early for this," he grumbled.

He looked at the goose as it contentedly patted his floor with its feet webbed. It was tapping its beak against the ground like it was looking for food, or passage back to its homeland of Hell. He looked at me, partly hidden behind the wall leading to the living room, the broom extended in front of me.

"Okay, you know what?" He began, hopping off the bottom step and marching towards the demon, "Fuck this."

"Alucard, wait…" I tried, but it was too late.

Alucard, standing behind the oblivious goose, looked at me, then back the goose, like he was attempting to comprehend what was happening. I mean, I couldn't blame him. He'd woken up to the spawn of Satan in his home. Anyone would be reacting like he was.

Before I could do anything to stop him, Alucard bent down, grabbing at the goose barehanded.

Naturally, the beast began to honk and screech, flapping its wings in an attempt to free itself. I let out a startled cry, backing away with my broom outstretched, ready to defend myself if it came near me.

Alucard yelped, dropping the bird and backing away, but the goose wasn't done with him yet.

The goose's honking picked up in volume and urgency. It flapped its wings angrily as it faced Alucard, who was now backed up against the wall opposite the goose.

The goose suddenly let out a series of enraged sounding cries before it launched itself at Alucard, flying into his face.

He was screaming as he tried to pull it off of him, I was screaming as I swatted at the beast with the broom, and the goose was screaming as it attempted to end Alucard's life.

In a burst of strength, Alucard wrenched the angry animal off of him, throwing it past me, into the living room. I shouted in shock, running to stand against the wall as he pulled the double doors leading to the living room shut.

Both of us stood still, breathing heavily, staring into the room through the glass doors.

We watched, our bodies tense, as the goose took flight, exiting through the window it entered from.

Neither of us moved for what felt like hours, trying to process what just happened. I could see that Alucard was still on edge, his shoulders still taut like he was expecting it to come back.

Eventually, he relaxed, and so did I. I leaned the broom against the wall beside me as Alucard turned around. I saw small, red scratches on Alucard's forearms and cheeks, standing out against his skin.

"For what evolutionary purpose does that shit have teeth on its tongue…" He wheezed, reaching past me for the broom.

I felt something in me, bubbling up towards my lips, something I hadn't felt in a long time.

Laughter.

It erupted from my mouth, and I couldn't help myself from letting it out. I half fell against the wall, trying to cover my mouth, but the laughter just kept coming. My stomach was hurting and there were tears in my eyes.

It felt good. It felt so good to laugh after forgetting what it felt like.

Alucard was trying to talk to me, but I wasn't listening. I was caught up in the image of him getting owned by a goose.

"Shut up," I heard him say, with what might have been suppressed laughter of his own, but I didn't look at him to check. My eyes were shut with how much I was laughing.

I felt him prodding at my feet with the broom, which only succeeded in making my laugh harder.

"Stop, stop!" I choked out between breaths.

"You stop!" He countered. I could definitely hear a hint of something similar to a chuckle in his voice. "Shut up and help me clean this up. We're going to board up the window, too."

Still giggling, I nodded, opening my eyes.

He was fighting a smile, his face turned mostly away from me as he swept a part of the floor that was completely untouched by our intruder.

I took the broom from him, going into the living room, not even bothering to try and stifle my laughter anymore. He cleared his throat as he left the hallway, I probably heading to the basement to grab supplies to board up the window.

An hour and a half later, the window was boarded up, the house was free of any evidence that any goose had broken in, and I was still giggling.

Alucard wasn't appreciative of how he'd been defeated by a bird, but considering that he was still speaking to me after it happened, I didn't think he cared all that much.

Leaning the broom against the wall, I dropped onto the sofa in front of the TV, still smiling. I heard Alucard walking around the couch, only to feel the sofa cushions sink as he sat next to me.

Neither of us said anything, but for once, the silence between us wasn't tense.

I looked over at Alucard, tucking my hair behind my ear.

He was leaning forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, his hands clasped over his knees. He glanced at me, almost doing a double take.

"Will you let it go already?" He grumbled, releasing his hands as he fell back into the sofa.

I chuckled. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I heard him let out a single bark of laughter. "Uh huh, sure."

We lapsed into silence again, both of us lounging next to each other on the couch.

The room was darker than normal with the window boarded up. Sunlight used to seep in through the tarp Alucard had put up, but the boards kept all of the light out, making the room murky with shadows. The sound of cars passing by and the leaves rustling filtered through the boards, filling our lack of words with a natural symphony.

Eventually, Alucard grabbed the TV remote, switching the device on.

A newscaster took over for the sounds from outside, providing words so that neither of us had to.

A sense of ease settled over me, relaxing my tired arms and aching shoulders. The smile I'd had on since I'd woken up hadn't left, though it was softer now, calmed by the tranquility of the moment.

It was a change of pace, one that I was thankful for after days and days of the same thing over and over again.

Alucard

He yawned, finding the story on hidden coffee shops in Toronto much too boring. He was aware that the television was on, but he wasn't really paying attention. At first, it was all he heard, but it didn't take long before he'd lost interest and had directed his focus elsewhere.

He felt the police girl's shoulder pressed against his arm, a small patch of warmth that seeped through his shirtsleeve. Her breaths were almost inaudible, except when she'd occasionally sniffle, probably from all of the dust that the bird had shaken loose.

It was all he was aware of. Her.

He was hungry, craving a snack. He sort of had to use the bathroom, but he didn't move. He didn't want her to take it the wrong way. He knew she wouldn't, not something as menial as that, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He didn't want to speak since whatever this silence was felt so comfortable, yet so fragile. He couldn't break it. He couldn't, not knowing if doing so would break her.

Would you shut the fuck up and stop being such a pussy? He jeered at himself.

He was being a dumbass and he knew it, but he could do anything.

Do I even really want to do anything?

The police girl snickered in response to something the reporter said.

He decided that, no, he didn't want to do anything.

Dumbass or not, he was good right where he was.

Author's Note: SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. SUMMER CLASSES = A LOT OF WORK WITH LITTLE TIME TO REST. This chapter was actually done a while ago, I just had 0 time to upload it. My bad. Anyway! It's here now! Hopefully the next one will be up soonish, but I dunno. I have a lot of art related commitments I need to focus on too, but this will continue! I really appreciate the patience, so thank you for that. Yeah. Peace out & thanks for reading.

-Shan