Don't hold your breath but this might have been a weekly update!
-YD-
"We'll discuss this later. He's got no tutoring tonight. Spend the time with him."
Vlad was so grateful he could have cried, knowing Ingrid was, in her own way, trying to make Vlad feel better. To give him something to focus on besides being violated by his wife, drugged and fucked against his will. An excitable boy dashed back toward them, readily in clothes he was allowed to get messy and looking up at Vlad with big blue eyes full of hope.
"Vlad! Are we baking?"
"Absolutely. Just as soon as we clean up from breakfast."
Adam nodded excitably, immediately helping Vlad clear the mess of a mealtime with practiced hands. He wasn't one to shy away from tidying up after himself, no doubt drilled into him by Ingrid from a young age. She abhorred mess unless it was her own. Or during sex. Ingrid definitely enjoyed a sloppy fuck.
Vlad only hoped she wasn't expecting him to be up to it that night. Or morning. His skin still crawled, stomach roiling at the hazy, substance-impaired images of Adze beneath him. Only Adam's temporary body heat as an untransformed vampire stopped Vlad recoiling at the slightest brush of skin.
Ingrid loitered around in the doorway, staying uninvolved until the end product was ready. None of the mess, all of the rewards. Vlad opted not to watch her peeling chocolate decorations from the top of the cake he and Adam had made with their morning, unsure how his sickened mind and primal instincts for Ingrid would collide. Instead he helped Adam clean flour and cocoa from surfaces, then throw together a functional lunch.
"Can we watch one of your DVD things?"
Adam asked out of the blue while chewing on some reheated chipmunk meat - one of Vlad's guilty pleasures and Adam hadn't asked what it was. Ingrid looked as surprised as Vlad felt.
"Uh-"
"Is your homework done?"
Adam nodded quickly, leaving Vlad stunned as Ingrid nodded her consent. Adam had yet to experience any real technology beyond Vlad's old radio that didn't work half the time. The TV and DVD player were uncharted territory. Clearly he could sense today was different somehow, thiugg Vlad wasn't sure what the boy thought was going on.
"Don't get used to it. It's a reward for keeping up with your studies, I'm not having you turned into a breather-lover like him."
She thawed a little all the same when presented with her - their - sons joyous smile. Vlad was unreasonably happy about it too, feeling much like his son as they went to change, then set up in his personal entertainment room with slices of cake and glasses of cold drink. Adam perused the DVD selection with copious amounts of curiosity, not understanding titles or images as they didn't connect to anything.
"Oh, this one is named like one of the books I found in the library!"
He held up How To Train Your Dragon, which Vlad recognised - he had enjoyed the books as a boy, bought the movies when they came out.
"It's a good movie. There's a dragon in it that sorta has bat wings."
"Oh, mum will like that one best then!"
Vlad chuckled as Adam perched on the sofa, eyes riveted to the screen before even the opening credits. Then he remembered all the t-shirts and pyjamas he owned with familiar beasts on. The boy loved dragons. He had been almost stealthy about getting the movie on actually.
Very Dracula.
Ingrid rolled her eyes but settled in for the duration, even laughing here and there when things blew up or someone almost got eaten by a dragon. Adam was utterly smitten with the movie, and not even Ingrid could deny him when Vlad mentioned there was a sequel and he practically burst with excitement.
Vlad would probably pay for tying her hands so, but it was absolutely worth it to see Adam so happy and to spend such casual, gentle time with his son. Not that baking cakes strictly came under vampiric, but Vlad remembered all the times his own father insisted on more vampire friendly pursuits if Vlad tried to spend time with him.
Adam was getting simpler things, like reading while Vlad worked in the library, or learning to cook despite vampire and even breather societal traditions pegging it as women's work. Vlad looked down part way through the second movie to see Adam slumped over asleep, leaning just a little against Vlad's leg from the other side of the sofa.
"It's not even dinner time."
Ingrid had a fondness in her eyes even as she shook her head.
"TV can make your eyes tired and he's never seen one before. Should I wake him?"
"Yeah. He's never been a big napper, won't sleep well come dawn if he does it now."
Vlad nodded and reached to nudge Adam, who bolted upright in surprise with wide eyes.
"I wasn't sleeping!"
"Of course not. Just missing the film with your eyes closed."
Adam pouted at his mother, then jumped as a loud noise came from the TV and turned his attentions back to the movie while pretending nothing had happened. Vlad chuckled to himself, then watched as the main character smiled as his parents reunited. It was a bittersweet reunion he knew, as the father was soon killed off.
Biting his lip, Adam looked at his mother for a minute but said nothing. Vlad almost scanned the boys mind for certainty, but given the momentary worry in Ingrid's face, she had expected the same thing Vlad did. Adam didn't say it, but they were certain he wanted to ask of his own father in that moment.
"Ugh, Drago is such a buttface. Hey! Drago Buttface instead of Bludvist!"
Despite the sombre mood of the film, Adam had reduced himself to hysterical laughter. He barely composed himself for the funeral pyre, but occasional snickers escaped him until the dramatic end scenes caught his attention again.
"So he forgave his mom for just flapping off for twenty years?"
"She saved dragons and thought he was gonna be like his dad. She had her reasons."
They weren't just talking of the film; one day Adam was going to have questions about where he came from and Vlad would have to explain his absence from the boys early life and the lie they had built. Even then, Vlad was going to have to answer for impregnating his sister their son, diabolical even by vampire standards.
"I thought it was sweet how his mom decided to stay for him. I mean, she's all wild and stuff and would want to be off out with the dragons but instead she knew her son needed her."
"Sentimental."
Adam didn't find that an insult from his mother, and that made Vlad's dead heart warm.
"I'm hungry."
"It is almost dinnertime. Want to make pizzas?"
Ingrid looked like she might argue, but then either decided Adam's happiness or her attempt to keep Vlad from feeling the effects of what Adze had done to him was more important than overindulging her son for one day.
"Yeah!"
They had practice now, could make their personal pizzas without completely destroying the kitchen. Ingrid directed them in making hers, but she sat and ate it with them all the same. Vlad almost felt ok for a little while.
The castle seemed to suddenly drop ten degrees; Adam shivered slightly. Vlad and Ingrid had both heard the front door slam closed, knew it could only mean one thing.
Adze was home.
His stomach almost revolted, barely keeping the pizza in it to be dissolved by vampiric stomach acids. They could only digest blood correctly as adults; everything else stopped at the stomach.
Ingrid threw him an unreadable look, then glanced down at the kitchen.
"You two can clean up, right?"
"Of course mum. Hey, how come we say mum but the movie says mom?"
Ingrid left Vlad to answer that, heading off out of the room to Lucifer knew where.
"It's sort of cultural? Like, different countries and places use it. Some places will use mama or ma, or mother. Where we grew up in Transylvania it was mum, but when we lived in the UK for a bit, a lot of people used mom. In Wales I think it was 'mam', but that might have been the accent. Cousin Olga in America used mom."
Adam listened avidly as though it was fascinating rather than Vlad's babbling as he wondered where Ingrid was, or if Adze was going to come near him. He didn't want Adam to see him crippled by shame and self-loathing. Logically he knew Adze was at fault for what had happened - he had been drugged, but Vlad felt at fault for letting her. For not being strong enough to fight the mind-altering substance.
Ingrid returned before Vlad could totally panic, but his state must have been clear to her as her eyes lingered on his clammy-feeling skin.
"Since you fell asleep earlier, it's an early night for you little bat."
Adam feigned a sulk, cheering when Ingrid let him have another slice of cake before bed. Luckily, vampire children weren't terribly prone to sugar highs.
"Brush your teeth!"
"Yes mom! Nope, feels weird. Yes mum!"
He trotted off to his room obediently, plate of cake and one of the How To Train Your Dragon books in hand to enjoy before bed. Ingrid loitered at her bedroom door, looking oddly at Vlad.
"You coming?"
"Honestly, not feeling up to-"
"Idiot. I know that. I assumed you wouldn't want to sleep alone."
Vlad barely managed not to gape in surprise. Ingrid only sometimes allowed him to sleep next to her, and even then it was after they were utterly spent. He nodded dumbly, thankful she wasn't expecting anything from him. It was one of those things where Ingrid showed she wasn't the ice block she purported to be, understanding and even supportive when he needed it most.
He jumped when she tried to take off his shirt, rolling her eyes but dropping her hands immediately.
"I'm not after your virtue but your buttons dig in. You should know by now my skin is sensitive."
Vlad removed his clothing himself, keeping his boxers on and feeling stupidly self-conscious. Ingrid had seen him naked hundreds of times. She slipped out of her own clothes and beckoned him to the coffin, even baring her throat willingly when Vlad was drawn to her pulse point. Even when they 'died' from vampirism, it remained the most potent spot to taste a vampires scent. Ingrid smelled safe, right. He inhaled deeply until his muscles softened somewhat.
She too was in underwear, soft lacey cotton on her hips and chest but otherwise Vlad could feel skin, see the porcelain that made her so different to Adze. She had kept her clothes on, meaning Ingrid's bare skin was another difference to soothe him. He placed a hand on her waist, his head beneath her neck. She was being remarkably tolerant of his comfort seeking, tactile without being sexual. It was uncharted territory for them.
"Alright?"
"Mhmm. Where'd you go earlier?"
"To talk to the bitch. Find out what she gave you."
"She told you?"
Ingrid nodded, nails tickling his spine as she absent-mindedly stroked his back. It was comforting.
"I lied. Said certain substances could affect fertility. Given her panic reaction and what she said, you were right about pregnancy. What are you going to do?"
"What did she give me?"
He was stalling, they both knew it.
"Du Trappe. Basically the vampire equivalent of that perfume dad made to seduce breathers. However, as you discovered, it makes for a short but potent lust inducer when ingested. You can take fire lily extract before parties in future, it'll stop anyone else spiking you."
Vlad burrowed closer involuntarily at the reminder. Ingrid let him.
"When did you get so good at Alchemy?"
"Reading while Adam slept."
Vlad didn't answer, letting her scent fill his lungs on every unnecessary breath.
"What will you do if she is?"
"I don't know. Find a way to last nine months without killing her to feel safe again. Do whatever it takes to save the kid from her. And I won't let her chase you out of here, but I suspect you knew that."
Ingrid's hand stilled for a brief second, then continued to lightly caress him.
"Damn straight."
Vlad smiled to himself, soothed by her familiar touch and scent and voice. When he looked up at her hopefully, Ingrid indulged him wordlessly with a kiss. Adze hadn't bothered with such frivolous actions, leaving this particular action untainted by what she had done. Ingrid was noticeably holding back; kissing was almost exclusively foreplay to them. Vlad could feel the want, but it was tempered by disgust still and he knew if he tried he might not be able to go through with it.
Ingrid pressed a surprisingly gentle hand into his hair, soothing across his scalp while his fingers flexed against the dip at the bottom of her back. Their mouths met with surety and experience, knowing how and when to apply pressure until both were a little light headed despite lacking the need for oxygen.
"She didn't kiss you."
It wasn't a question. Vlad answered it anyway, chocolate still lingering on her breath from earlier.
"Nope. All you. Well. You and Erin."
He chose not to remember kissing Adze on their bloodbinding night. He chose not to remember that night at all really, except that it had likely been Adam's conception.
"Breathers don't count."
Vlad didn't have a chance to argue before Ingrid was kissing him again, slow and gentle but insistent and a little possessive all the same. Her skin was cool and surprisingly yielding against his own, his lacking the usual response of an erection not seeming to upset Ingrid in the slightest. He couldn't remember the last time they kissed like that; there was often too much moaning and filthy words coming from their mouths for such prolonged lip-locks.
They eased the intensity down slowly, a last few brief brushes of their mouths before Ingrid murmured "sleep" against his lips, twisting around so Vlad could spoon up against her back. Somehow she knew he couldn't handle a weight on top of him to sleep right now. He glanced to check her door was locked, though Adze would have to be suicidal to enter Ingrid's bedroom whether she suspected her husband was in there or not.
Ingrid woke him a little before nightfall, not even seeming to notice his waking erection though it must have dug into her back when she woke.
"You need to go before Adam finds you in here."
It was always the same reason she ejected him; that and his need to shower her scent off him. She was gentler about it this time, kissing him again before nudging him out of her coffin to dress and slip away before their son found him there and had questions Ingrid wouldn't and Vlad couldn't answer.
Vlad didn't shower; sleeping together didn't coat him in her pheromones the way sex would and her scent near him was perfectly understandable when they inhabited the same castle. Plus his clothes would dull it to others while Vlad got to feel swaddled in the memory of her helping him. Holding him. Not treating him like the disgusting creature he felt he was, Adze's touch a stain on his skin only he could see, but Ingrid's soft brushes had seemed to wash them away temporarily.
Adze was nowhere to be seen; Vlad suspected she would be scarce until the pregnancy was confirmed or denied. Not when she knew Ingrid knew what she had done. He wouldn't ever accept a drink from Adze again, fire lily extract or not.
Adam had tutoring that night, so Vlad couldn't ignore the hazy yet somehow haunting memories of Adze on him, under him. Ingrid wouldn't offer the comfort she had outside of her coffin, but Vlad was touched to feel her fingers slide through his, squeezing to jolt him back to reality when she noticed him somewhat spaced out in the kitchen after lunch.
"If you want, he's doing homework in the library. Go do Council work in there with him."
Letting him spend time with their son and actively encouraging it were two very different things, especially when it came to Ingrid, who at times seemed to actively resent that he was the boys father. Vlad wasn't going to waste the opportunity offered, taking his neglected paperwork to the library and getting a smile from Adam.
"Are you working too?"
"If you don't mind."
Adam shook his head.
"It's your castle!"
"You live here too and if you're in the zone I won't disturb you."
He was waved over anyway, perching on the opposite side of the table so his scrolls didn't end up on Adam's book pile. They worked quietly but in companiable silence until a hungry little boy started to notice it was dinner time, and Vlad found Adam had the same calming effect as Ingrid in that he felt better not being alone.
"Vlad?"
"Yeah?"
"Is Adze gonna have a baby?"
Vlad had to fight not to freeze.
"What makes you say that?"
"Just curious. You don't have babies yet but its been brought up a couple of times since me and mum moved here, so I thought maybe meeting me had made you want to be a dad. Or made you and Adze want to be parents."
Vlad almost blurted out the truth there and then. He was a father. He ached to be Adam's parent. But it wasn't the right time, even Vlad's desperate self knew that.
"I'm not sure Adam. No matter what happens with me and Adze this is your home ok?"
He nodded, smiling as he folded up his worksheets and tidied his book pile. They went to have dinner, chatting amicably about the part of the dragon book Adam had gotten to over perfectly ordinary spaghetti.
That morning, Ingrid let Vlad curl up against her again. And again the next night. And the night after that. Never once complaining he couldn't go beyond kissing. Vlad was baffled but so powerfully grateful he dare not question it.
A week and a half after the... incident - Vlad was probably reaching a stage of denial by then - Adze swanned into the castle, invading the living room where he and Adam were playing chess and almost making Vlad throw up on her. She tossed a rolled up parchment with the VHC logo scrawled on the top. He unrolled it, seeing the dreaded result of... the incident.
Well. Assuming it was actually Vlad's.
Adze was having a baby.
-YD-
I think it was in fact a weekly update! I'm boggled. And grateful to all who stick by me as I tumble through my hiatus with questionable mental faculties.