Close Quarters

Ketti:I guess the chapter's a bit shorter than I meant, but it's still over 1.5k words. Yay for progress in writing longer chapters again! This is a bit later than I meant, but it's still an update, JuJu. I have most of the vague plot points figured out, now to type them. X3


Sleeping arrangements were awkward. That's all there was to say about it. They'd spent the rest of the night – which was a little too long for Seras' taste – in her Master's chambers until the warning prickling told of the sun's imminent rise. The look he'd given her had been pure evil as he stood and beckoned her from the smaller chair he'd kindly fetched for her and sat next to his throne, and she grudgingly obeyed.

He'd crooked his finger again and she took a step back instinctively before cringing as the different voices – aspects of herself – began to argue. "Police Girl…"

That was all the warning she needed and she meekly made her way over to the towering red clad menace, looking up at him through her lashes as he placed a hand on the small of her back and pushed her towards the coffin. She balked and dug her feet in, only to be shoved harder, and she nearly fell flat on her face. "Er.. I can go sleep in Walter's room while he does chores!" Seras squeaked, blue eyes wide and anxious as she edged around the coffin, only to back into her Master's chest. His arms wrapped around her in a mockery of a hug, and she squirmed, "Master…"

"What's wrong, fledgling, don't you trust your Master?" He cooed into her ear and she wilted at the trap he laid for her in his words.

"Ladies first." He mocked as the lid lifted of its own accord, and Seras shivered as she inched forward. Looking back at her Master from the corner of her eye, she bit her lip and toed off her loose shoes - the last thing she needed was him complaining she tracked dirt into his bed! - and placed first one foot, then the other in the box. Claustrophobia hit her and she whined low in her throat, wanting to bolt. Her Master grunted and shook his head, turning his back with arms crossed over his chest, humoring the skittish childe.

Feeling marginally better about it, Seras dropped to her knees before laying flat and rolling onto her side, taking up as little room as possible. Once she was situated, the elder vampire turned and gave her a smirk as his coat, hat, glasses, cravat, and presumably his boots, vanished. He made no big show of getting in slowly, though he certainly took his time, and she squirmed as she realized just how big he was and how small the coffin felt. Something nudged her back and she shifted closer to the wall, before squawking as what felt like an elbow dug into her spine and mashed her up painfully close to the wood. Squinting from the discomfort, her shoulders tensed as he finally settled, and quick as a flash he pulled her to his chest with an arm under her shoulders, the other caging her waist as the pair lay on their sides. She froze, then squirmed, trying to get away from him, feeling closed in even with the lid still up.

"Stop your fidgeting, Police Girl." He snorted, breath tickling her ear, "and go to sleep." Absolutely miserable, she closed her eyes and held herself stiffly as far from him as his possessive hold would allow.

'And don't let the bed bugs bite.' He purred into her thoughts, voice fading with an echo of laughter as the feeble light from his dimly lit chambers was blocked out by the coffin's lid sliding down and locking them into darkness. Cramped, uncomfortably close, darkness.


"Victoria! What are you doing under my bed?"

The voice jerked her awake and she shot up, only to slam her face into the underside of Sir Integra's bed. Moaning in pain, she fell back to the carpeted floor, feeling groggy and hungry. "Do I have to get a broom, Victoria?"

The words were sharp, but tinged with amusement, and the Draculina moaned again, flipping on her side to peer sleepily out at the stern face of the elder blonde. Tucking her legs in closer – for her feet were sticking out, she realized, giving her position away – she grinned weakly at the Hellsing Heiress, "Well, Sir, Master snores, you see, and this was the best place I could think of."

It was a lie, of course.

The look on Integra's face said she knew as much, but the twinkle of amusement lingered and she stood, "I suppose that means I'll need to speed up the order of your new coffin, then."

"Thanks," Seras mumbled around a yawn as her eyes closed and she drifted closer to the comforting sleep she'd been so abruptly woken from. "No crosses this time, please? 'm not that re-ahwn-ligous, Sir." Her words were muffled by another jaw cracking yawn, and she was dead to the world the next second.

If she had stayed awake just a moment longer she would have heard the snort of laughter and the considering hum as the commander of Hellsing acceded her request, thinking on what to give the Police Girl instead.


A hand grabbed her ankle and dragged her out from under the bed in one swift motion, and she lashed out blindly, instinctively bringing her other leg up and around to slam her bare foot into her Master's jaw. He laughed, and she cringed at the sight of the dislocated half of his face before he clicked it back into place, "Feeling feisty, Police Girl?" He cooed, pulling her up into the air by the ankle, forcing her to brace herself on the floor with her hands, and looking awkwardly over her boobs – trying to smother her, no less – up at the mocking grin gracing the red clad menace's face.

Her cheeks flushed, and not just with the blood rushing to her face as she recalled exactly what sent her fleeing to hide under this particular bed in the first place. Hands… wandering hands drove her out of her fitful day sleep, and despite her batting of the limbs, they just groped tighter. Moaning in discomfort, the Draculina drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes to tighten the focus on her powers. Normally, she'd never be able to get free when her Master had hold of her, but… Wriggling, she felt the tell tale prickle of her body turning insubstantial, and she crawled out of the coffin, through the wood, before standing and swaying dizzily on her feet. She could feel the tendrils of his power questing for her, seeking to draw her back into the close space with him, and she fled. Leaping through the walls, practically swimming through them, she sought safety in the one place she was at least partially sure would offer her some security.

The look he gave her clearly said he was in her mind, reliving the event with her, and he pulled her higher still so that her breasts were resting on the underside of her jaw. Grimacing, she reached a hand out towards his pant leg, and pulled. Grunting from the effort, she crawled her way up his body so that she was curled up, left foot tucked under her sire's armpit, torso meeting her bent knee, most of her weight supported by his hold on her leg,

"I could use you like a yo-yo." He chuckled, and the look she gave him clearly said she would not approve. "But my Master calls, Police Girl. You have a mission."

Only you, not we? Feeling a tad uneasy, she squeaked as he turned around, continuing to dangle her in mid air as he walked through the open door and down the hall to the austere woman's study.

"Master!" Seras whined, clutching at her own leg to keep her tucked position as she swayed with each step he took. It was a good thing the blood rushing to her head couldn't make her dizzy, she found this out one time when she fell off a roof and only her foot getting caught in the rain gutter saved her from a painful fall. Of course, it meant a painful dislocated ankle, and many hours of laughter from her Sire until daylight threatened and he finally retrieved her. The entire time she'd been swearing at the Wild Geese for not helping, and trying to get a peep show.

Sir's muffled snort of laughter alerted the introverted fledgling that they had arrived, and she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts as she stared at her Master's Master upsidedown. 'My, what big eyes you have Grandmother.'

"Look, my Master, I've taught my fledgling a new trick." His words were all the warning she needed as he jerked her down towards the floor and she uncoiled to brace her hands on the checkerboard tiles before pushing off again and tucking herself in to grab her Master's wrist. A yo-yo, indeed. His laughter filled her ears and vibrated in her bones as she used the slight leverage to concentrate on swinging her leg free after a small flare of her growing powers made the flesh incorporeal and it slid through the elder vampire's hands like smoke, allowing her to land on both feet and hop back a step in self defense.

She watched with some concern as the symbols on his gloves sputtered to brief life before fading back to their normal, non luminescent, red.

"I concede your point, Alucard. Agent Victoria!" Sir barked, and Seras stiffened, heels sliding together automatically as she raised her hand in a brief salute, "Sir!"

There was a flash of something akin to satisfaction in the heiress' eyes at her newest vampire's quick obedience, but it was hidden just as quickly as it appeared as she drew a small stack of papers towards her from the pile on her desk. "You are to go on a search and destroy mission, Agent Victoria. The Wild Geese shall accompany you as backup if needed, the FREAKS are crouching in an abandoned warehouse along the Thames. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes Sir." Seras replied, before flicking her gaze to her sire, "But… Sir, if I can ask… Why isn't Master coming? He loves these missions."

The grin Alucard gave her was positively dripping with bloodlust, but the Hellsing ignored him as she leveled her glacial gaze upon the Draculina consideringly. "You saw what reaction your powers caused in his gloves just now, and the fall out of backlash waves personally. Imagine that in the heart of a city, right in the middle of a battle."

Seras shuddered and rubbed the backs of her arms. She could, and she didn't like it.

"Precisely. So you shall be taking over as our trump card against the creatures of the night until we find a solution to our current problem."

Seras flicked her gaze back to her Master once, before saluting and melting into the floor. She had men to brief.