Hope you like this one guys!
Daniel entered his brother's office, only to find Johnny stuffing his few belongings in a reinforced cardboard box. These few personal effects included a desk clock and an M9 sidearm encased in a glass box. It was something that threw him severely out of balance.
"What the… what are you doing?"
"I'm… leaving. I'm taking a trip"
"Vacations? But you don't have to pack up for that, I'll just lock down your office and…"
"No, bro. I'm not going on vacations. I'm going to look for her."
Daniel got stiff. He knew who he was talking about when he said 'her'. Dracula's daughter. Shit, shit, shit!
"Your imaginary dream-girl?" he asked, raising his voice and wearing his best poker face. He couldn't afford to let his brother know that he was aware of the existence of the vampire girl, "Are you kidding me?! She probably doesn't even exist! Are you really leaving us, in this very precise moment, Johnny?!"
"I'm sorry bro, but I KNOW she exists, and I'm going to find her, I don't care what it takes."
The office fell silent, with Daniel fuming and Johnny resuming his packing. He was done in little to no time. He didn't really have much in the way of personal belongings.
"Exactly why did you come here, sorry?" Johnny asked, bringing the conversation back on tracks. His overall demeanor wasn't very somber, but the happy-go-lucky boy that he once was had died away many years and firefights ago. Today, he was a well-oiled former fighting machine with a mildly-stern permanent face, which looked uninviting for anybody who didn't know him really well. Daniel knew it wasn't a façade, he knew his brother had seen and done a lot, things that he would rather not ask about, but the change was still something that severely threw him off-balance.
"I…I came to tell you our logistics company is trying to terminate their contracts with us. I'm heading down to Ireland to sort this out. I wanted you to come with me as my business partner, but now with this…" Daniel sighed and paced around. It looked like he was disappointed with his brother for trying to leave, but in fact he was very worried about Johnathan's decision to go look for a dream-girl that Daniel knew was real. What the hell am I going to do now?
"You really want me to go with you, I'll go. But I part ways after it is done"
"Wake up, sleeping beauty" Mavis heard someone whisper in her ear, and a smile came to her lips as she recognized the voice.
"Are we there yet?" she sleepily asked, not opening her eyes and instead cuddling closer to him. She felt an arm embrace her and a kiss to her forehead.
"Almost, pilot just said that we get ready for the ride. He said something about now understanding why they advise not to drink alcohol before flying" an older woman shot O'Donnell a serious look, to which he just shrugged and smiled at her. Mavis had already had her eyes open enough to watch the exchange, giggling softly at the event.
"Yeah, right. I'll settle for not crashing and burning."
"Yeah, no shit!"
"I gotta say, I missed this weather, Mavy"
"I like it too. I like Ireland a lot in fact, but it never seems to be stable enough, Paddy."
"Yeah, I know. It's really sad, sometimes it's so bad that people are afraid of going out of their homes, lest they find themselves being caught in a car bombing or something. But it's been peaceful enough for quite some time, maybe the fighting sides are really considering a lasting ceasefire, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that."
"Enough of that, Paddy, we are here on vacations, remember?" the vampiress said, quickly changing topics and letting her husband take her suitcase from the rented car's trunk.
"As you wish, my lady" he mockingly vowed before tossing the keys to the valet and going inside their hotel. The luxurious hotel left the young vampire awed. Sure, Hotel Transylvania was a very classy and formal place, but The Merrion Hotel? It was something entirely different to her. The place looked like something straight out of the royalty, with fancy furniture and tapestry. This antique-looking style blended with modern-looking marble-tiles hallways and meeting rooms. The lobby was incredibly ornate, giving it a lot of grandeur, and the gardens… Dad would love it here… or have a fit in the spot. I only need a fancy Victorian dress and I'll be at home.
O'Donnell quickly confirmed their reservations at the desk and the staff quickly and efficiently took care of their luggage. Their efficiency and politeness was also stellar, and left Mavis wondering how they would stack up against the witch maids. After a couple of minutes they were on their room, looking at the city by the balcony. The couple stood in silence, taking in the view and enjoying the intimate moment, Mavis resting against O'Donnell and his arms embracing her slender figure.
"Come on, honey, we've got somewhere to be" he suddenly said, kissing her neck and walking back into the room to open his luggage.
"Somewhere to be? But we just arrived! How can we need to be somewhere if our plane just landed a couple of hours ago?" Mavis said, incredulous. She loved her husband deeply, but the man had a way of being very secretive and plan some big surprises. It was a nice quality, but it sometimes really ticked her off.
"I made some calls beforehand, darling. And I think you really want to go where I am planning to take you" he said, pulling out a clean shirt and changing into it. The young woman stood motionless as he did so, taking into the sight of her shirtless husband. The man was attractive. Not Mr. Universe attractive, but he made women on the street turn and look at him. This bothered his wife at first, but when it became obvious the man only had eyes for her, well… she actually began to enjoy the other women's jealousy. Adding to that, she was still very young and naïve, having discovered the… physical pleasures very recently (relatively speaking at least), and thus she was easily distracted by him being even partially unclothed. That didn't mean she didn't take flak from Paddy from time to time. Like now.
"See something you like, my lady?"
"Uh… no" she answered, blushing like mad and looking down.
"No? Am I that bad?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.
"No, no! I mean…"
"I'm just kidding, honey! Calm down!"
"Padraigh O'Donnell! You are a mean person!"
"Yeah, but you love me, right?" he said between laughs.
"I'm forced to. So where are we going?"
"Nuh uh, it's a surprise, you'll see when we get there"
They walked the streets, arms linked and making small talk. They arrived to a modest but formal restaurant. The place was in full swing, with a band playing a cover of Junco Partner. Some people even took to dancing on the very small space! There's some really crazy folk in the world.
They entered the place, choosing an empty table on a corner, somewhat near to the playing band. A waitress arrived and left them the menu, later returning with a bottle of wine that O'Donnell selected. When she was gone again Mavis got closer to O'Donnell and whispered.
"Is it my imagination or did she recognize you?"
"She did recognized me, sweetheart. That's part of the reason I brought you here…"
"Well, look who just decided to pop around after 10 years!" a booming voice with a thick accent exclaimed, his owner soon on their table and extending his arms. O'Donnell stood up and hugged the man, scarcely a few years younger than him. Come to think of it, they have a certain familiarity… wait a sec… no way…
"And who's the pretty bird, Paddy boy?"
"She's not a bird, you wanker, she's my wife. Sean, Mavis. Mavis, this is Sean. My brother."
Brother?!
"Pleased to meet you. Wife?! I never thought you had it in you, old timer"
"Piss off!" both men laughed at it and the three sat down at the table.
"Brother? Paddy never talked about a brother" she said, inserting herself into the conversation to avoid being left out. She also had some questions that needed some serious answering.
"Not surprised. This guy would love it if we really weren't related at all. Isn't that right lad?"
"Come on, I don't hate you that much"
"Whatever you say, grandpa. Nah, it's not that bad. It's just that… we didn't grow up in a tight and loving family, you know?" Sean began explaining, a little more serious now, "Our Dad was one of those "black magic" types, a powerful guy. He meets Mommy O'Donnell one day and he quits the black arts, to try and live a "normal" life. They had five kids, including grandpa here and me. One night the village downhill caught wind of his past, and a mob stormed the hut we all lived in while we were sleeping. We escaped, taking our brothers and sister with us. Mom and Dad never made it out. The villagers killed them and… hung them in the public plaza. We couldn't get the kids to stop crying that night. Paddy boy here had to take care of us all on his own, be Mom, Dad and brother all at the same time. When we were grown up we all went our own ways, and only Paddy and I kept some semblance of contact after that. I don't know where Anna or Aiden are, it's been too long since they left, and Patrick… we went to his funeral after one of the factions detonated a car bomb in front of the building he worked in. So it's practically just Paddy here and me. Isn't that right, grandpa?"
Padraigh nodded somberly, remembering the anger and sadness he felt when he had seen the bodies of his parents, murdered by intolerant people who felt righteous about leaving five kids without parents just because they weren't like them. Mavis wanted to cry. Not only because of the terribly sad story she had just been told, but because now she realized why O'Donnell was the way he was, and, more importantly, why he was so protective of her and little Nate's. He didn't want to lose them like he had lost his parents and brothers. The tears welled in her eyes and blurred her vision. A commotion on the small bar of the restaurant caught Sean's attention and he excused himself momentarily. Mavis took the opportunity to take O'Donnell's hand into hers.
"Is… is it true?" she asked, with a broken voice. She could barely believe the story. O'Donnell simply nodded again, looking down at his hands, remembering something.
"He was my first kill. The guy that…. organized the mob and personally hung them." He could remember, beating the guy to death with a tire iron. Revenge had tasted so sweet then. Now? He didn't even want to remember. What am I gonna tell little Nate when he grows up? 'Daddy was a murderer and an assassin, aren't you proud of him?'
The table was silent for a moment, Mavis respecting O'Donnell's grieving. She finally hugged her husband, who slowly returned the gesture.
"It's your past Paddy. It's behind you. You still have your brother, and me. And little Nate. And we all love you." She told him in a soothing voice.
"I know, Mavy, and I love you all too, specially you and Nate. But I am afraid of losing any of you. I don't want to…. to wake up in the evening and find you gone, or worse. I… I can't imagine life without you or Nathan. I've already lost my parents, my brothers and my sister… and I have blood on my hands too. I… I don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve you…"
"Stop! Stop right there! Please." She was on the verge of crying, sobbing slightly against him, "Don't say that, ok? Don't say you don't deserve me because you know that's not true. You are a good person and you know it, you are a loving parent and an even more loving husband. Maybe you made some mistakes in your life, but nobody is perfect alright? What matters is that you are a different person than you were back then. You are better than what you used to be. Keep that in mind"
They embraced in silence, the discussion briefly settled and the mood lightening u a bit when the band resumed playing after Sean resolved the issue at the bar.
"Sorry about that. Anyways, you said you were married? Well, congratulations! I trust you can keep this old timer safe?"
"Yeah, I think I can" Mavis chuckled.
"Good. By the way. Have you heard your husband sings, Mavis?" Sean said, a devilish smile on his face.
"Oh, no!" Padraigh grumbled, bumping the table with his forehead.`
"No, I actually haven't. He any good?"
"Oh, girl, you have no idea! Come on, Paddy, your wife wants to listen to you singing!"
"You are SO dead, Sean!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever grandpa, just get in there"
The band began playing at Sean's signal, and his brother quickly recognized the rhythm.
Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know
She's my baby and she live next door
In the morning when the sun comes up
She brings me coffee in my favourite cup
Yes, I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I love her so
When I'm in trouble and I have no friends
I know she'll stay with me right 'til the end
People ask me just how I know.
I smile at them and say, "She told me so"
Yes, I know, yes I know
Hallelujah, I love her so
When I call her on the telephone
And I tell her, that I'm all alone
All I got to do is count from one to four
I hear her (knock, knock, knock) at my door
In the evening when the sun goes down
And there ain't nobody else around
She kisses me and then she hold me tight
And says, "Daddy, it'll be alright"
Yes I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I love her so
When I call her on the telephone
And I tell her, that I'm all alone"
All I got to do is count from one to four
I hear her (knock, knock, knock) at my door
In the evening when the sun goes down
And there ain't nobody else around
She kisses me and then she holds me tight
And says, "Daddy, it'll be alright"
Yes, I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I love her so
Hallelujah, I love her so
Hallelujah, I love her so
Hallelujah, I love her so
The restaurant erupted in applause, as Padraigh returned to his table and sat down. Mavis embraced and kissed him, and the three of them spent some hours catching up, even well past the place's closing time. In the end Sean told them the dinner was free of charge as a wedding gift (one of the few they got that wasn't something overly… indiscreet. They really ought to have a chat with Eunice and Wanda.
They arrived back in the hotel just before sunrise, positioning themselves by the window to watch the sunrise before going to bed. The natural spectacle was something they enjoyed thoroughly, embraced tightly and in a deep silence that meant a lot to them. When the sun was finally up and they had to completely close the blinds, they both laid on the bed, still dressed in that night's clothes.
"You sing pretty well" Mavis jabbed, causing the Irishman to chuckle.
"All things considered…"
They both laughed softly, then sharing a passionate kiss. It was something they never talked about, but their wedding night (or wedding day?) hadn't gone particularly well, with O'Donnell incapacitated due to his accident. Their actual getaway was serving as a consolation price for the uneventful celebration, and so, it wasn't long until they were slowly peeling their clothes away and getting comfortable in bed. The young vampiress was stronger than the human, but O'Donnell had a touch that made the girl melt, being able to be tender but firm in what he wanted. He had her around his thumb, and she wasn't planning on complaining any time soon. She was, after all, a young vampire in her prime, albeit inexperienced, and it was all so new to her. Being able to express love in a way so… intimate. The closeness said more to them than any word they could ever say.
Because there really was no word that could express what their bodies felt.
"Paddy"
"Yeah, Mavy?"
"You'll never lose me. Never"
Fluffy ending, before the hell begins to rain. Anyways, glad you are liking this story, guys. Remeber to show your support by reviewing and giving feedback on things that could improve. See ya next update!