Exhaustion. Alucard could honestly say he had forgotten the feeling over the centuries due to his acquired vampiric traits. Sleep stopped being a necessity and more of a pleasure after two centuries, but it wasn't enjoyable in the least with the haunting memories resting just beneath his eyelids. The memories only grew in number, so pushing them away became more troublesome than what it was worth. He use to take up his time by reading books and walking around during the night. Before Hellsing, his nights consisted mostly of just sitting on the balcony and losing himself inside his thoughts; well, that freedom wasn't quite an option anymore considering his Master didn't trust him to not slaughter and cause needless chaos.
He pulled the duvet higher up over his lover's back, seeing the small chills prick her skin. After a long unnecessary talk with everyone in Integra's office, he was finally allowed to take his wife away from any prying eyes- something he had been longing to do for over eight hours now. He had sat in his throne for half an hour answering any questions his wife had before she had started to yawn.
Despite the several decades of 'sleep', Alucard didn't considered it actual rest since it was a chakra-induced 'coma' that she had placed upon herself; something Alucard had been quite against at the time. It wasn't natural and if something was to go wrong, no one would be able to help; not even the King of vampires himself. Sakura had assured him multiple times, with an added eye roll at his persistence; but he still had his doubts. When she had placed the sleep-induced spell, or whatever it had been, on herself, Alucard had stood directly at her bedside, monitoring her heartbeat and breathing. It wasn't until two days later he had been able to lay within his coffin to rest, still doubtful of the seemingly 'harmless' state his wife had placed herself in.
The whole reason it had even happened was because she insisted he needed to sleep more than what he had been; if only to allow his mind a moment's rest to reduce the stress he placed upon it. He had called her inane more than once on the subject; but after so long of her constant worrying of his mental health from lack of rest, he gave into an agreement of what some vampires called 'hibernating', like a bear.
Hibernating was typically used by vampires that wanted to skip ahead a few years by shutting down their minds and not feeding to make the process easier. The dangerous side to this, few vampires could handle not feeding and many were killed by hunters due to massacred towns and villages alike. Not that it affected Alucard, bloodlust wasn't something he had experienced in many years.. Hunger wise, that is. It did help that there was talk of a war in the U.S. at the time and he didn't want to risk being drafted away from her when there was a possibility she would be called out by society and used for the troops as a healer on the frontlines since she was only visiting England and lived in the U.S. at the time. Sakura hadn't seen an issue with being called to battle, but Alucard vehemently refused to allow the petite woman to witness the horrors of war... even if she had been through one already as a frontline fighter and medic.
He glanced down as a low hum escaped parted lips as his wife stretched her arms out in her sleep before wrapping her hands around the back of his neck, her face buried into his sternum. Her fingers stroke at the hairs on the back of his neck where his hairline ended in small circles, the action slow and soothing. He felt his eyelids weigh themselves down as he wrapped his arms around the middle of her back (the lowest he could go with how she was laying over his body). Pyjamas wasn't something he owned for obvious reasons, so he had none to offer her; the gown she had on previously being too dirty to change into once more. He didn't bat an eyelash when she merely stripped her borrowed pants off, leaving his white shirt on to cover her underwear. The shirt was only a inch or two shorter than the gown, coming to just above her mid-thigh. Alucard had done the exact opposite of what she did, by removing his vest and shirt, knowing how she didn't like lying on the fabric. He cleared the inside of his coffin out from the few pieces of spare clothing. Walter wouldn't have a room prepared for the next two days, but Alucard found he could wait patiently as he could share his coffin- Sakura wouldn't voluntarily sleep alone.
"...Sasuke.." Alucard tensed, his eyes immediately shooting down towards her face. He felt his chest rumble deeply in a growl as he replayed that vile name repeatedly within his mind. Did he know the man? Hell yes! Hate the man with every fiber of his being? Fuck yeah! Ever meet the man personally? No. Sakura hadn't held back any information of her life before she had met him in Bristol all those years ago, something he had been exceedingly delighted at considering, at the time, he had only known her for a few months; granted, she had already been aware of his vampiric state and had claimed that it would be quite spiteful of her to not give some information for the King to hang over her head if need be, as she had his 'valuable' information; That way of thinking, confounded the King completely.
He sat through her stories of her homeland, unable to stomp down the urge to want to fight some of the.. Shinobi she talked about as she told him of various missions with her teammates. And while the Madara Uchiha character was enough to get his blood pumping and his bloodlust at an all time high, his fangs truly wanted to rip into the younger Uchiha on his beloved's team. Atticus had claimed his lord 'jealous' once he learned that the pinkette had been very fanatical of the boy in her younger years. He had been quite confused on why, when asked what the man was like, that Sakura had laughed and said the oddest thing: "He's the one and only Emo Duck-ass".
She had explained what had transpired with his clan and his insatiable need for power to kill his older brother, the murder. From the words of Sakura's mouth, it painted a disgusting picture of the young Uchiha in his eyes. Alucard honestly believed that someone should have taken the intuitive of putting down the deranged teen, not allow him free to join enemy sides. He had said as much to Sakura when she had spoke of Sasuke, and she had given a small smile in return as she had agreed; something that had caused a spark of something warm in his stomach that wrapped around his insides snuggly.
The question that was running rampant through his mind now: why in the seven-fucking-hells was his wife dreaming of another man?! He felt her shift uncomfortably on his torso, her nose scrunched up slightly, eyebrows furrowed. It took a few moments for her to slowly settle back down, but the moment of peace was quickly hammered down.
The warmth that usually was so calm and gentle, her 'Chakra' if he had remembered correctly, flared out rather violently, knocking him from his brooding. While the feeling of it was enough to make his body relax from it's tense nature, his arms drew her as close as possible, which wasn't by much. "...Basutādo dakkasu~..." He felt her grip on the back of his neck tighten until it caused even his bones to creak in protest, a small crack echoing in his ears. There was no doubt within his mind that, had he been human, his neck would have crumbled beneath her fingertips and would've died; her strength was something he marveled at constantly, especially since she was human and not of the supernatural world. Alucard tried to fight the grin off his face, failing horribly, as he replayed her outburst multiple times within his mind: bastard duckass. Maybe it wasn't so bad if the Uchiha was in her dreams that way, as long as it stayed that way. He felt his anger dwindle down slowly as he registered that her grip had yet to loosen, and if anything, had only gotten tighter. He brushed her hair away from her face, feeling a jolt of annoyance at his gloves; while they were removable, he didn't want to risk losing them when they held back so much of his power.
"Watashi no Vlad-..." Sakura scowled making him raise an eyebrow. The temptation to view what was going on in his beloved little head was overbearing. He felt her chakra flare out again making him groan as it continued to linger over his skin and travel through his muscles and bones like nothing he had ever felt before. It held such a gentleness that the only other word he could think of to describe it was soft, like silk.
The morning couldn't possibly come fast enough in the Vampires mind. While holding his wife was marvelous, and simply her presence put him at ease, he wanted to converse with her, see her emerald eyes light up from the strangest of topics... not that he was ever going to tell her that. She already went diving through his memories more than once (although it was mostly to see what events she had missed.) He was certain that he didn't have to get all sappy to prove anything. Surely, she knew of what he felt for her... right? Because he wasn't one to keep anyone this close to his person, ever. Even when he was human, which was so long ago that his memory was starting to fade, he wasn't attached to anybody. Of course, he had been married to a woman centuries before Sakura; however, he didn't feel anything for her romantically (he did sleep in separate chambers than her). The child that she had given him, Alucard really didn't get the chance to get attached; the duration of the pregnancy as well as the first few months of his kids life, he had been out in the battlefield. When he had returned back home after the one of many battles, his wife, his child, and all of his servants had been slaughtered. Perhaps, he only mourned what bonds could have been forged had his child lived; since there was so little, next to nothing, there to begin with.
He blinked as fingertips lightly traced the edge of his jaw before ghosting across his cheek. "You didn't sleep..."
"No loss to weep over." And it truly wasn't. That didn't mean that he wouldn't have prefered to sleep, it was always appreciated as long as his memories stayed out of his dreams.
"Ally..." He knew that tone well. The tone that spoke of warning, typically in regard to his 'health'. It made him wonder sometimes if his wife remembered that he was dead; he didn't require the basic necessities that human needed. He did enjoy how she tried to take care of him with the little things. It made his chest fill up with something heavy that more than once nearly drowned him in overwhelming waves that had him fighting to take a instinctive breath. She was killing him, something many of his enemies never managed to accomplish; not with the way she had hack him. Was it bad that he found himself wanting to feel those suppressing waves? That nearly made his chest hurt? Instinct commanded that he still had to take that useless breath of oxygen in every time it happened or else he was going to stay submerged forever. Maybe he was a bit of a masochist, but he couldn't really find a fault with that idea.
"Walter said it would be two days before a room upstairs could be fixed. While we wait on that, you need a new wardrobe. Police girl can show you round shops in town, you can have Walter draw up some outfits similar to the ones you wore, or you can do both; whatever you prefer, mi amor." He pressed his lips on top of her mess of curls. Maybe if he as still enough, she would wait a few hours before getting up.
She shifted to prop herself up on his chest, a small frown on her lips. "Another room? Is there something wrong with this one?"
He raised his eyebrows at the question. "This is a basement, love. The temperatures down here can get below freezing, there isn't a bathroom, nor a bed. It's not suitable for my queen." She carded her fingers through his hair, the inky strands slightly course. It wouldn't be long until she was forced to cut his hair; the strands already reached passed his shoulders. She felt a slight form of amusement at the disbelief in his voice.
"Ally, you have stayed down here for nearly a century, and prefered it, if your memories have anything to say; its served as your bedroom and escape for privacy and peace. It stopped being just the basement then. You can't move out from here, both you and I know that. And I am not moving into a room thats going to separate us. When I said yes to marrying you, I'm sorry but you cursed yourself to being stuck with me."
He sighed, feeling urged to roll his eyes. "Be that as it may, you are entirely human unlike me, my dear. I do not sleep, I cannot feel the cold, and I have no need for a bathroom; it is not the same. My necessities does not align with yours, love." As an after thought, he added, "And I wouldn't see being stuck with you as my curse."
"There is a unused bathroom directly beside the doorway down here. We are sleeping within your bed-"
"This is a coffin not meant-"
"Fine, I'm sure a mattress can easily be acquired. My chakra cirulates to keep my body at a reasonable temperature, and if I don't rely on my chakra, I can always use this old-fashioned thing called a blanket. Really, Ally, you stress too much over the littlest of things."
"Your well-being will never be classified as 'the littlest of things'. I only want whats best for my queen; this basement will never be one of those things." He slipped his fingers beneath the fabric of her shirt, the baggy material more than willing as it bunched up her back. He could feel the vague sense of warmth against his palms, a shadow of a feeling that wasn't enough to inform him of her temperature. He hoped she was warm enough. Integra and Seras commented often enough on how unnaturally cold it was in the basement when they made sparse trips to inform him on missions. He never missed the chills that came across their arms, how they shifted on their feet constantly, or their pinked cheeks and noses. He glanced down at his queen subconsciously, the only pink he could see was her hair.
"I don't want to argue, Ally. We have each other, that's all that matters. How have you not given yourself wrinkles by now?"
He didn't want to argue either, but there was always going to be the fact that his queen was human; something that stayed permeantly in his mind at every turn as a hard reminder. While she possessed unnatural abilities, she was just as susceptible to all the illnesses as every other human and just a small incident could kill her. He had seen several deaths happen over a simple cold, even in the modern times he lived in now. She had cursed herself when she had accepted his marriage proposal. She could fight with him all she wanted, but he will never give an inch; she was his to protect, that included any sickness that might try to plague her.
"An ability I will never possess." Some part of his mind must have been focused on her words, because the words slipped out before he could catch them. Wrinkles seemed to repulse any other being, but Alucard would welcome them with open arms simply for the fact that they would prove his humanity that was only a distant memory.
He blinked as he felt hands slip to hold either side of his face and suddenly all he could see was pastel pink hair and bright green eyes merely an inch from his own.
"My offer always stands, Ally. All you have to do is say yes." He stared blankly for all of three seconds as his mind wrapped around what she was talking about. His jaw locked on its own accord as he tightened his grip around her waist. No, that would never be a option.
"And my answer will never change." Her eyes flickered across his face as if searching for some kind of sign. "This will not be brought up again." To ensure that, he would have to be careful with how he spoke around her. He couldn't allow his subconscious to speak aloud, not without filters. She pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss, rubbing the pads of her fingers against his cheekbones in a pattern that was entirely too distracting. He tried not to focus on how she was pressed against him but it was hard to with her soft skin teasing against his own where her shirt had rode up on her stomach. Sexual desires never went as far as intercourse, because the fear of her humanity; wasn't to say that they hadn't found other ways to satisfy each other. Leaving her a virgin guaranteed that he would be able to ensure he always had the option open if anything did ever happen. Vampirism wasn't something he desired for her to possess, but he wouldn't hesitate to turn her if he saw her life being threatened; she knew this much. He could feel her chakra brush against his being in a sinfully enticing way, just before she pulled back slightly. "I love you, Vlad. I only want you to be happy."
"I know, love." And he was content right now. Missions satisfied whatever bloodlust he felt, a form of entertainment came from the recruits and watching the merc fawn over his fledgling, and now his wife could fill in the hollowness that had taken over his life at the manor. He flipped himself over, successfully trapping the pinkette beneath his larger frame. Her small intake of breath caused a shark-toothed grin to spread across his face as he threaded his fingers through the light tresses, "Now, I do believe I have left dragostea mea improperly attended to, hmm?" He pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth teasingly. Her emerald eyes widened and Alucard watched possessively as a lovely shade of pink graced her cheeks before spreading along her skin soft, darkening into a gorgeous crimson. He could feel her heartbeat against his own chest, fast like hummingbird's. "How very impudent of me, for shame." And such a shame it was, that he had to wait nearly a century to do this again. To feel her against himself, to hear her. It was frighteningly unfair to have been forced away from this, from her. He didn't waste his time. Immediately kissing her thoroughly, his main goal to entice more of the soft mews that vibrated against his own mouth; it truly was too satisfying. He liked the feeling of it against his fangs, entirely too sensitive than the rest of his teeth. He shifted, not breaking away from her lips, realizing that he was probably crushing her with all his weight bearing down on her entirely; the new position breaking the contact between their bodies completely by resting his weight on his elbows. He blinked at the flash of pain against his tongue and lip before legs were sliding around his waist and pulling him with strength entirely to strong to belong to such a petite lady. His hips were trapped between her muscled legs, the position forcing him back down until nearly all his weight was on her again.
"You're not running away from me now, are you, my King?" Her lips stretched with a hint of a smile as they ghosted over his with the words, her eyes looking inhumane with the unearthly glow they gained. "Cause that would be a true shame."
"And leave my Queen? How disparagingly you think of me." He could see her eyes flash with something and he was quick to silence whatever was about to escape her lips because he was certain she was going to bring up something along the lines of how he had already left her, in the coffin... for nearly a century. He would rather continue his self-appointed task of bringing more of those soft sounds from her; it was much more enjoyable than arguing.
Pip tried not to stare. If he was being honest, it would have been easier to tear his gaze away if Seras had bothered to change from the 'training' session with the rest of the soldiers. While her uniform did a magnificent job of covering her more... feminine areas and was very respectable looking if anyone outside of Hellsing was looking, it was far from ideal when it came to combat. It had became evident when he watched the blonde wipe the floor (quite literally, unfortunately for his comrades pride) with the men. But the rips and tears in the fabric did very little in concealing much of anything.
"Pip, are you even listening?" The startled look on his face must have spoken for him. Because she was rolling her pale blue eyes in an almost fond way, her lips twitching the slightest.
"Integra said she wanted you to wake Master."
If those words wasn't sobering, he didn't know what was. Him? Wake Alucard? Surely, this had to be a joke; a not very funny one at that. His eyebrows shot up as he looked over at the door he had been standing guard at for most of the night, only leaving the handful of minutes to watch Seras with his men.
"W-why me?" Realizing how weak that had came out, he quickly added. "I mean, you are his-.. you're closer to him."
Seras seemed to not quite understand the dilemma as she simply shrugged, turning to walk back towards her room. "I have to change and meet Walter in the dining room."
He wanted to argue with her, but she had managed to already reach the end of the hallway. What the hell? He swallowed feeling chills go down his spine as he looked back at the door next to him. Waking the undead King? Pip would swear his left arm and leg that the vampire wasn't even asleep in the first place. Awake him? He would be slaughtered before he got halfway down the bloody stairs! In all his time in acting as a 'guard' for the vampire, he never had to enter the man's chambers. It wasn't on his bucket-list to even peek inside the door. The basement was Alucard's personal domain, you just don't enter it... ever. That was common knowledge, something even the lowest ranking of his men knew without even having to be told because Alucard was positively terrifying.
Maybe he could make it to the end of the stairs... and just kinda- call out to the man. Or call from the top of the stairs. He was a vampire, wasn't their hearing suppose to be incredible?