Good Morning (Pico x Alucard FNV)
Friday night Vampires oneshot! I finally made one. Fic is below the cut
Pico woke up slowly, groggy and sore. This wasn't uncommon for him, being a vampire hunter wasn't exactly a carefree stroll. He rolled onto his side, taking in his surroundings. He recognized almost immediately that he was home. He could see his bookshelf and desk in the corner, with all his notes and small tools. His lantern and the sun shining through the glass window illuminated his cozy wooden home. Pico rose up from his bed and groaned as the wound in his legs announced itself to his nerves. The bruises all over his body didn't help either. Despite this, he got up. Deciding that he'd slept enough.
He somewhat tamed his wild orange hair, and limped out into the living area, his partner Alucard sitting stiffly at their table. He appeared to be deep in thought, his brows knitted together and his shoulders tense. Pico paused for a moment, realizing he had stumbled across a rare sight: Alucard wasn't wearing his darkened glasses. The hybrid man's eyes were fully visible. Alucard seemed to have noticed this too, and quickly put them on before properly greeting Pico. "Morning. You seem well." Pico merely waved before joining him at the table, still tired. "How's your leg?" Alucard asked, tilting his head, Pico shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, it hurts, but it's not like I haven't felt worse. Probably shouldn't walk on it too much." Alucard nodded, but otherwise didn't respond. Pico looked Alucard in the eyes (at least, he's pretty sure he did, with the glasses on, he couldn't really see Al's eyes).
He stared intently for a few moments. "How are you doing, Al?" Pico threw back at Alucard, the half vampire's face not changing expression (at least, from what Pico could tell, his eyes weren't visible). "I'm not the one with the torn up leg. Why are you asking me?" Alucard asked with a bit of sass in his tone. "Because I saw you staring at the table like you wanted to kill it. Figured that means something's wrong." Pico retorted, half joking. "Blunt as always, Pico," Alucard replied before muttering that he didn't want to break the table. "So… are you gonna answer my question?" Pico asked, not falling for Al's attempts to redirect the conversation. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Al retorted, his tone somewhat agitated. "I don't know Al, you tell me," Pico shrugged. His own tone had a mix of humor and sternness.
Alucard said nothing, and turned his head to avoid eye contact with Pico. "Seriously Al," Pico called, his tone softening a bit. "What's wrong?" Alucard remained quiet. Pico's expression softened, and he reached across the table to grasp his friend's hand. "Al…" Pico called gently. After a bit more of silence, Alucard caught Pico off guard when he finally asked: "Do I make things harder for you?"
Pico blinked a few times. Where did that come from? "What?" The redhead asked. "Do I make your job more difficult?" Alucard elaborated, though only slightly. "No? What makes you think that?" Pico's face shifted to an expression of concern. "You were attacked yesterday." Alucard stated, his vagueness making comforting him harder for Pico.
Pico tried to brush off the previous day's encounter, it was nothing new to him. "Yeah, well, that's part of being a vampire hunter. You get into scrapes." Their hands still touching, Alucard's hand finally gripped Pico's back. "But you weren't ambushed by vampires. You were assaulted by humans.. Human's who were after me..." The blue man's voice quieted, a twinge of guilt and some other emotions could be heard. Pico was about to respond, but Alucard continued. "I know your… public image and credibility have been thrown into question ever since we started working together." Pico decided to remain quiet, letting his half vampire friend have his say. "I know how these people here view me. How they've always seen me. As just a watered down vampire." For a moment, Alucard's tone was riddled with apathy. A common aura for him, Pico noticed. "From the start, I assumed people wouldn't approve of our teamwork. I just didn't think…" Alucard's voice wavered, and he chewed his lip, as if biting down his emotions. Pico could see Alucard take a deep, slightly shaky breath, as if he were on the verge of tears. "I didn't think they'd try to kill you because of me." Alucard's hand trembled, Pico gave it a comforting squeeze. Alucard seemed too buried in his own thoughts to continue.
Pico decided to take matters into his own hands. He pulled away from Al, and dragged his chair directly next to his friend. It was a bit more difficult with his wounded leg, but he did his best not to flinch when he put pressure on it. After he concluded the chair was close enough, he sat down again. Pico reached his hand up to caress Alucard's cheek, and turned his slightly taller friend's face toward him to ensure eye contact. Pico still couldn't see his eyes, but he could tell the other was surprised. "First off, Al, I don't need your help ruining my reputation, I did that way before I met you. Secondly, yesterday I fought with a bunch of asshats because they're just that. They were a bunch of bastards who've hardly seen a vampire in their whole lives and don't know what they're doing. I happily kicked their asses yesterday, and I'd do it again anytime.." Alucard pursed his lips, so far this conversation did little to comfort him. Even so, he allowed Pico to continue. "I knew the kind of shit I was in for when I started being an assassin. I can't guarantee you that I won't get hurt again, because I will. Even the best of us get our asses handed to us sometimes." Pico paused for a moment.
He gingerly reached his other hand up to lift Alucard's dark-tinted glasses to his forehead. This wasn't the first time Pico had seen Al's eyes, but it was still rare for him to do so. Alucard intentionally hid his eyes as much as he could. The man's eyes were admittedly beautiful. Pico has seen more vampire eyes than he could count. Vampire eyes were always some shade of red. But with the other man only being half vampire, and half human, Alucard's eyes were different. Pico to this day, has never seen anyone else with irises like Al's. It was like Alucard had two irises: with an outer ring being red and the inner ring blue.
Though, as captivating as his comrade's eyes were, he was brought back to focus when he saw that they were, in fact, welling up a bit.
Pico made sure his expression was serious, not breaking eye contact with his friend. "You don't make my job- or my life- more difficult. What I do, what we do, is dangerous. If anything, you make life easier." Pico kept his tone full of conviction. Not leaving any room for doubt. "You're strong and dependable. You're quick-thinking and strategic. You look out for me, and keep me in check when I deserve it," Alucard dryly chuckled, and ever so subtly, leaned into his touch. Pico, in turn, smiled. "Just being around you, I…" Pico paused briefly. Finding the right words. "I'm reminded that peace is possible. That I'm not alone out here."
Alucard's eyes widened a bit, and his usually blue cheeks turned purple. "I uh… heh, wow." Alucard stammered, the flattery making him a bit flustered. Pico smirked a bit. "So? How'd I do? Good pep talk?" Pico joked. Alucard audibly laughed. Just enough that his semi-prominent canines were visible for a moment. "Haha, yeah. That was pretty good. Been practicing?" He joked back, "A bit." The shorter man quickly replied.
A quiet lull took over. It was at that moment Pico realized that his hand was still cupping Alucard's cheek. The other man seemed to have realized as well. Neither of them pulled away. It strangely didn't feel awkward. Just calm. Alucard put his hand over the freckled one on his face. Pico noticed how different their skin felt. His own hands were scarred and calloused, his face was scratchy and rough along his jaw, a result of him not shaving in a while. Alucard's, on the other hand, was soft. Smooth and clear with the exception of a few faded, barely noticeable scars.
Alucard eventually broke the silence. "Thanks, by the way. For saying all that earlier. It really helped." He sounded earnest, his tone sweet and quiet. "No problem, Al. Just for future reference, if you ever feel or think that way again, talk to me. Okay? I can give you a pep talk any time." Though Pico ended his response with humor, Alucard could tell he was honest. "I'll… keep that in mind."
"Good."
Pico finally pulled away from Al to stretch his arms. Al could hear his freckled companion's shoulder pop. "Whelp," Pico started, letting out a relieved puff of air. "It's still morning, and I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about we head to the kitchen and eat something?" Alucard nodded, returning his glasses in front of his eyes.
Pico began to stand, but was pulled down into his chair by an invisible force. It was as if gravity had increased for a moment. He was stunned for a second, but realization dawned on him quickly. He shot Alucard a thoroughly unimpressed look. "...Really?" The freckled man asked. Alucard gave a blunt answer. "Your leg is injured. You're not supposed to walk on it." Pico rolled his eyes. Now Al was being dramatic. "C'mon, it's like 10 steps, I'll be fine. You don't have to magically pin me to my chair." Pico made a second attempt to stand, only to be met with the same result as before. Pico playfully glared at Alucard, who had a small smirk on his face.
"You're really not gonna let me walk, are you?"
"No."
Pico huffed in begrudging defeat. "Fine. I'll stay put." Alucard gave him a satisfied nod, and stood up. "I'll be back with breakfast in a minute." Alucard walked around the table, just before he left the room, he heard Pico. "You're still being paranoid." Alucard turned his head to face Pico, "I'm just 'keeping you in check' is all." Alucard quipped, and disappeared into the doorway. Pico snorted, go figure, Al would use his own words against him.
After some time, Alucard returned with pancakes. Pico took a bite and was immediately impressed. "Damn, Al. Where'd you learn to cook like this? These are great." Alucard waved his hand in an 'oh stop', clearly flattered. "Seriously, how'd you do it?" Alucard held a finger up to his own lips in a 'hush' manner, but his smile made it obvious that he was playing around. "Heheh, that's a secret." He said, still smiling. "You are devious sometimes, you know that?" Pico teased. "You make it fun." Both men chuckled, and continued with their breakfast. They made small talk, teased each other, and overall and just enjoyed the levity in the morning. Once breakfast was done, Pico had something he wanted to say.
"Hey Al?" Pico called, earning a hum from said man.
"Hm?"
"Thanks, for all of this. Making breakfast and looking out for me. Sorry I always push back on these sorts of things." Pico scratched the back of his neck, feeling slightly awkward for reasons he honestly couldn't place. "It's alright, I know how stubborn you can be." Alucard said half jokingly. Pico rolled his eyes playfully. Alucard gingerly put his hand on Pico's shoulder. "Would you like me to move you to the couch? It's probably more comfortable than the wooden chair." Pico shrugged but agreed "Eh, sure. Not like I'm going back to bed." Alucard nodded.
Pico expected him to use his telekinesis, like he usually would. So he was surprised when Alucard carried him by hand, bridal style, to the sofa. Al set him down gently and sat next to him. Pico didn't ask about it out loud, but it was definitely going to stick with him all day. Al might be pretty lean, but damn if that beanpole didn't have some impressive strength. "Do you need anything?" Alucard offered, Pico shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. Wanna keep talking? It's not like we're doing much else on our day off." Alucard gave him a thumbs up, taking a seat next to Pico. The two spent the rest of the day lounging around, enjoying their leisurely time together.
When the sun had set, Pico could feel sleep gripping him, and he leaned on Alucard, his eyelids fluttered shut. Alucard did nothing to retaliate, instead moving Pico's head onto his lap. Pico, though not awake, seemed more comfortable. Alucard gently ran his fingers through Pico's orange hair, resisting the urge to kiss Pico on the forehead.
Alucard spoke quietly, barely even a mumble. "I love you."
One day, he was going to actually tell Pico he loved him, but that probably wasn't going to be for a while.
