The long, stone corridor seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of Kit who by this time was dragging her feet. It was on nights like these that she found herself wishing her room was not so far away from everything else. After spending half the day in her workshop and the other half supervising weapon testing in the field, she longed to take a long, hot shower and climb straight into bed.
Finally reaching her room, she shut the door behind her and began removing her dark green jacket emblazoned with the red and black Hellsing symbol. She kicked off her black boots and unbuttoned her pants while walking over to the en suite bathroom. She was fortunate to have a room with its own bathroom; the other employees – who were comprised almost entirely of men – shared bathrooms, which would not have worked well for her.
Kit turned on the shower and removed her pants, leaving her with only her navy blue tank top and black boyshorts. Humming softly, she walked back into the room to retrieve her pajamas, but stopped short when she spotted a dark figure sitting in the chair by her desk.
Alucard sat with his legs crossed and his gloved hands folded. That ever-present grin of his was firmly in place, showing off his sharp fangs. His face was shadowed, but his red eyes blazed as brightly as ever.
"Ah geez, how many times have I told you not to just barge into my room like this?" Kit asked, placing her hands firmly on her hips. Alucard's eyes swept over her body once before settling on her face.
"I didn't barge in, I sauntered. Nice outfit by the way."
Feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment, Kit searched the room for something to wrap around herself, but after a moment realized it would be pointless. The best thing to do was to hear what he wanted and ask him to leave.
"What do you want, Alucard?"
Reaching into his coat, Alucard withdrew what appeared to be the remains of his gun – the Jackal.
"I got a bit carried away on last night's mission and it broke. Fix it," he ordered. Kit walked over to where he was seated and took the shattered firearm from him. While she examined the extent of the damage, she could feel his eyes boring into her. The thought of him looking at her caused her heart to start pounding, and her blood pumped faster through her veins, warming her skin.
Alucard began to squirm in the chair, acutely aware of the rush of blood flowing so close beneath the surface of her pale skin. Having lived close to Integra for so many years, he was familiar with the smell of virgin blood, yet with Katherine it seemed different somehow. Perhaps it was because he had watched Integra grow up, and still saw her as a little girl, or perhaps it was because with Integra, the only factor that appealed to him was her blood. In Katherine's case, it was so much more than the scent of her blood that appealed to him. That first day he had met her had been the only time he'd seen her wear a skirt and high heels. Ever since then, she practically lived in jeans and T-shirts that served to hide what lay beneath. Also, she never wore her hair loose – it was always tied back in a messy ponytail. He knew what she was trying to accomplish with this; she was trying to downplay her beauty – probably because she did not want it interfering with her work.
Humans are so shallow. They judged based on appearance alone, and if someone had to judge Katherine based on her appearance, they would greatly underestimate her worth, pegging her as nothing more than another pretty face, when clearly she was so much more than that.
Alucard had taken to showing up unexpectedly in her room at night, hoping to catch glimpses of the real her, as he did now. There was only one thing bothering him.
Kit placed the firearm down and turned towards Alucard, finding him standing right beside her, closer than she had expected. Slowly he raised one hand, reaching behind her head. She held her breath, and a moment later felt a gentle tug on her hair before it all came tumbling down around her face.
"That's better," Alucard said, dropping the elastic band, which had been holding her hair back, on the table.
"Why didn't you bring this to me earlier when I was still in the workshop?" she asked, abruptly averting the subject.
"I was sleeping. You should know that after two months of working here."
"You could have called Walter down."
"What if I say I wanted to see you myself?"
"Then I'll say don't tease me like that."
Alucard opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by an annoying ringing sound. Kit stepped away and reached for her cell phone lying on the bedside table.
"Hello?"
"Kit? Hi, it's me."
"Nathan?" Kit asked in surprise, her eyes darting over to Alucard briefly.
"Yeah. Sorry I'm calling so late, but you've been unavailable during the day."
"Oh yes, sorry about that. Work's been kinda hectic."
"Speaking of, how's it going there? You managing alright?"
"Yeah everything is great."
"Boyfriend?" Alucard asked, moving closer to her.
"Who is that in the background?" Nathan asked.
"Uh. . .no one, just a work colleague," Kit explained, waving her hands impatiently at Alucard, trying to chase him away.
But the vampire seemed to find the situation amusing and was determined to stick around.
"Oh, is he. . .you know, special?" Nathan asked, his voice giving away his uncertainty. Kit's heart skipped a beat, and her only thoughts were that Nathan had somehow found out about Alucard being a vampire.
"What do you mean by special?" she asked slowly.
"I mean is he. . .are you seeing him, or something?"
"Alucard? No, really he was just dropping off something work related. He's leaving now," she said, glaring at Alucard and pointing at the door. Alucard on the other hand would have none of it, laughing as he avoided the slap she directed at him.
"Oh, right. Uhm, listen Kit, I was wondering, if you're free sometime maybe we could play a round of squash or something?"
"Sure that sounds great. Listen Nathan, I'll call you back as soon as I have an open night, alright?"
"Ok, and Kit?"
"Yes?"
"I really miss you, y'know."
Kit hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yeah me too. Bye." And with that she hung up.
"So, who is this Nathan fellow?" Alucard asked.
"My old lab partner, back when I worked for the Crime Lab."
"Is that all he was?"
"We'd play squash together sometimes," Kit replied with a shrug.
"Hm. Sounds to me like he sees you as more than just an old lab partner or squash buddy."
"You shouldn't have even been listening to that. You should leave, now."
Alucard walked over to the door, but stopped to glance back at her.
"Goodnight, Katherine."
"Goodnight, Alucard."
As the ancient vampire wandered down the corridor, he replayed Katherine's telephone conversation in his head. He had heard clearly every word spoken by this Nathan fellow, even noting the obvious emotions behind each sentence. He had really been worried that Katherine was seeing someone. Obviously the man had something of an inferiority complex. He was the type who would sit back and allow the woman he loved to walk away and be with someone else without putting up a fight.
Coward.
He should stand up for what he wanted and fight for her. But no, Mr. Old Lab Partner would sit around feeling sorry for himself instead of confessing.
Not that Alucard minded of course; he did not like the sound of this other man. His type would never make her happy. He did not deserve a gift like Katherine.
Glancing back, Alucard could hear her humming in the shower and felt his grin return. Soon she would be asleep, and then he would return to examine her in his own time. Humans were in their truest form when they slept – one could see them for who they truly were. It was only when they were asleep that the masks they wore slipped away, revealing the face beneath.
It was also then that a woman like Katherine was at her most beautiful – and Alucard would be the only one to enjoy the view.