A/N: Hello, everyone! Long time no see! Welcome to my new story, Dragons! This first chapter is a direct sequel to Dubious, chapter 7 from Fondness, so if you haven't read that, go do it!

I don't really want to spoil what this fic will be about, but it'll probably be kind of obvious once you read through this chapter, hehe. If not, well, you're in for a surprise when the next is uploaded.

I realize this chapter's parts are sort of disconnected: that is because I had no idea how to write this, so I grabbed a bunch of independent texts and tried putting them together. Oops?

Anyway, enjoy yourselves, and I'll see you later! :)

How Peculiar...

"Shit!"

With a loud gasp, the director jumped to her feet and scurried towards the stairs, nearly knocking the vampire off the couch in her haste. She went up in a hurry, climbing two steps at a time.

Alucard sat up with a jolt and turned his head around in pursuit of her rapid movements.

"Master, please!"

The precise moment she disappeared through the hallway in the second floor, Walter and Seras entered the mansion. The older gentleman held the door open and followed the draculina in, who continued a previously unheard conversation.

"Still, he should've been a little more cooperative, don't you think?"

Walter closed the door behind him. "That's the way things work, my dear. Regardless, you did very well."

Seras smiled at the butler and casually made her way to the living room. She halted as she noticed the vampire sitting on the couch and grabbing at the furniture with vigor. She moved her head towards the direction his gaze was pointing at, the top of the stairs, but didn't see anything wrong there. Turning back to him, the officer furrowed her brows at his silence and jaw slightly open.

"Uhm… master? Are you alright?"

No answer came from him. He kept staring, aghast, at the darkness some feet above. Their supernatural connection let her know he wasn't injured, but his paralyzed stance confused her. She considered approaching the count to shake him, in the hopes he was merely daydreaming; if he was focusing on something, however, touching him would be a terrible idea.

Lowering her gaze she also noticed a suspicious protuberance coming from his pants between his legs and averted her eyes in an instant.

"Lord Alucard?" Walter appeared behind her, causing Seras to slightly jump and then sigh in relief; she almost thought she was alone with her master. "Is there anything wrong?"

More seconds of silence followed his question. Seras bit her lower lip and turned to the butler, who hadn't taken his eyes off the vampire. The hunter held his hands behind his back, shuffling his fingers.

She tilted her head to the side when the Nosferatu slowly began closing his eyes. His lips closed and his expression relaxed. The sudden shift made the police girl fidget, and one of Walter's eyebrow rose in slight confusion at the vampire's change of mood.

The vampire then turned his head towards the newcomers and smiled softly. "Not at all, my friend."

With that, Alucard allowed himself to be engulfed by his own shadows and faded through the floor. Seras kept staring at the now empty couch, and Walter turned on his heels with a sigh, shaking his hands and ridding himself of the thin fabric around his fingers.

The draculina shook her head and asked out loud. "Mister Walter? What just-"

"Tea first, little lady," his voice emanated from the kitchen. Seras rubbed her sides and went after the butler. Whatever had happened to her master, she didn't want to know from him.

Above them, Integra was sitting on the edge of her bed with her arms crossed when the walls around her were covered in darkness. It lingered for a while, waiting for permission.

"Come in," she commanded with a sigh.

The shadows melted from the surface and twisted in front of her to create the shape of her slave. She raised her eyes to stare at him, and he answered with a silent, soft smile.

She turned her gaze away and furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry. I panicked."

Alucard took a few steps forward and lowered himself to kneel before her, inches away from her body. "I noticed."

Integra turned towards him again and snickered at her own behavior. She had worried her vampire would be upset by her reaction, but he appeared to still be in a good mood.

She moved a hand to grab at his hair, pulling his head closer to her crotch. "I would like to resume our conversation."

The count's smile expanded to show his pointy teeth. "I noticed that too, a little while ago."

Her chest inflated as she felt her body heating up. She let go of that deep breath and closed her eyes, stroking her vampire's head.

He blinked at her apparent dullness. "We don't have to do this if you're uncertain, dearest master."

Integra felt his hands on her knees and a chill run through her spine. Her heart began to race as she opened her eyes to stare at him firmly.

"I'm certain, servant," she moved both hands to cup his face. "I'm just… well, uhm…" She tried to look for a word, any word, that could replace 'nervous', but found nothing.

Alucard kissed her fingers. "I understand," he began stroking her thighs. "I'm yours to command."

The director blushed at his declaration. She knew he would do as she pleased, and that he would be the best he could for her in such an intimate situation; there was no need for him to reassure her, as that had been their status quo for many years now.

That didn't mean, however, she had a good idea on how to go beyond anything they had done so far.

"I'll have to rely on your expertise, count," she told him, smiling despite herself.

Alucard's eyes widened for a few seconds. Of course she would have to, that much was a given. Still, for her to deposit all her trust on him in a scenario where she could be so vulnerable; to this day, these sorts of gestures touched him, with them being such a drastic contrast to how he had been treated by previous Hellsing administrations.

"We were doing just fine before the interruption. Perhaps we could resume from that, taking advantage of the bed?"

She snickered at his pseudo-question and began lying down, resting on her elbows. "Come on up, then."

The vampire stood slowly and climbed on top of her, coming face-to-face with his master and causing her to rest her head on the mattress. Her reddened cheeks and partially open lips erupted in him a mixed sensation, both wanting to preserve and ravage his mistress. He barely had any time to process those emotions, as Integra had quickly wrapped her arms around his neck for a kiss. He lowered his body so that they now completely touched each other.

"So…" She began, between smacking lips. "Seras and Walter are back… How did it go?"

Alucard moved down to suck on her throat. "Do you wish to stop what we are doing and talk about that instead?"

She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. "Never mind..."

#

Integra pulled up her pants as her vampire sat on the couch. She then bent over swiftly to rescue a number of paper sheets that had been accidentally tossed on the floor.

She complained between breaths. "Do you always have to make a mess?"

Alucard smirked and spread out his legs, looking for a more comfortable position. "My beloved master, as I recall, you were the one who knocked them over."

The director rolled her eyes. "Only because your grabbed my hand."

"Of course I did. It had no business holding your desk," he shifted to the side and lay down with a satisfied sigh.

"Right, it was your crotch that demanded immediate attention," she walked towards her chair to look for her jacket, finding it hidden behind the trash bin. She kneeled down to reach it, groaning at her body still feeling warm and sticky.

Alucard snickered. "And for that, it is eternally grateful."

Integra stood with a huff and finished putting on the rest of her clothes. She turned around to look at her monster and grimaced. "Would you be so kind as to redress, yourself?"

The vampire shrugged and snapped his fingers. A wave of shadows began engulfing his body, starting at his feet, and making their way towards his legs. The darkness progressively converted into his boots and his pants.

"Thank you; and don't forget your shirt."

He put his tongue out at his master, causing her to shake her head. Still reddened and a little sweaty, she adjusted her hair the best she could and made her way to the door. She opened it in a hurry to find Pip readying a knock.

The blush in her cheeks deepened with embarrassment. "Ah, Captain! Good afternoon. May, ah, may I help you?"

The Frenchman lowered his hand and shifted his gaze from Integra's shameful expression to the vampire inside the room, who winked at him with a rather malicious expression. Pip did his best to suppress laughter, and quickly turned his eyes to his boss again.

"You asked me to see you at three, boss, remember?"

She suddenly did. "Ah, yes, you're right."

Something snapped in her mind causing her to also remember the door to her office was still open and Alucard was still in there, probably half-naked too. With a huff, she shut it behind her and moved aside to lead Pip down the hallway.

"Come along, then. Let's discuss the operation downstairs with the rest of the Geese."

Pip nodded, following her. "Whatever you say, boss."

As she hurried towards their destination, the Frenchman smiled to himself. "Mignonette needs to know about this!"

#

Seras made her way up the stairs slowly, the sluggishness preventing her from taking more efficient steps. Their upcoming mission was keeping her awake with her imagination overflowing with images of the worst possible outcomes. Watching the sky from the balcony of one of the rooms in the second floor helped her get some peace of mind, she found out; she wasn't sure if it was the rising sun that did it, but that moment of solitude always calmed her heart.

She finally got to the room and opened the door to see the windows slightly open. As she moved towards them, her field of vision caught sight of a lone body resting on the previously unused bed. She was surprised to see it was Integra, lying naked amongst ruffled sheets.

"What is she doing here?" The draculina thought to herself and walked towards her master, carefully covering the director with the soft, thin fabric.

Attentive to not disturb her, Seras tiptoed the rest of the way and eventually sat on the ledge of the balcony. She stared at the sky, its colors becoming hotter as the sun would momentarily begin announcing its presence.

She closed her eyes and allowed the silence to bring back some memories. A young blonde girl tripped over a rock and fell on her knee, prompting her mother to hurry towards her and embrace the crying child. A bearded old man sat that same blonde girl on his lap and told her the story of the rabbits and horses. The wind pushed and pulled against the blonde girl's hair, as she moved back and forth with glee on the swings of the neighborhood's park...

"Hmm…" Seras sighed with a small smile, feeling drowsiness take over her like magic. Not wanting to waste any of that sleeping spell, she abandoned the balcony and crossed the room with caution, as silently as she could.

She nearly gasped out loud when she reached the door and stumbled upon her sire, the tall figure wearing nothing but his black pants.

"Oh, master!" She whispered, averting her gaze from his naked torso to meet his glowing red eyes. "Sorry, I came here to relax for a bit; I'm a little nervous about the assignment."

Alucard smiled a toothy grin and asked in a dragged baritone. "Did it work?"

"Oh, yes, it always does!" She nodded at him and took a step to leave the room as he entered it. Realizing the count's unusual behavior, at least that she could recall, she turned towards him to inquire about his presence there. "Are you here to watch the sun rise, master?"

He turned around and stood by the door, moving his hand to grab at the handle. "No. I'm here to sleep."

"Not in his coffin?" She wondered to herself, hoping he wouldn't pick it up; fortunately nothing happened. "Oh." She made to leave, but stopped before taking a proper step to alert him. "Uhm, just so you know, sir Integra is sleeping on that bed."

"I know," he squinted his eyes at the draculina, still grinning. "So am I."

She furrowed her brows as he closed the door. "Sweet dreams, police girl."

Seras stared at the door for a few seconds before gasping and covering her mouth with her hands. "Pip wasn't lying! Maybe mister Walter knows something?"

#

A soft kiss to his bearded face caused him to stir, but it wasn't enough to properly wake him. A delicate, but authoritative hand went down to remove his long, curled hair away from his face. That brief moment of pleasure was accompanied by a low, whispering warning to his ear, prompting him to lightly shake at that familiar voice.

"Don't forget to get back to your coffin. You can't sleep here, servant."

Integra's only response was a lazy, guttural growl. She sighed, standing up and adjusting her suit to leave her bedroom. She stood before the door and turned around for a final look at the hairy, masculine figure sprawled naked on the bed. She checked her wristwatch again: twenty to eight, more than enough for her to get to her meeting with the Convention in time. With that, she left without a second thought.

About an hour and a half later, Hellsing's butler was making his way towards his charge's room. She had forgotten a particular set of documents that were now needed at the gathering. On his small journey, he was confronted by the staff with a minor annoyance; one of the maids had been ill, so Integra's room had not been tidied up yet. That, of course, was of barely any concern; the master of the house was usually an organized person, thus her quarters required minimum maintenance. He was sure he would find the documents very quickly.

He arrived at the door to Integra's bedroom and opened it apathetically. The place looked exactly like it always had before being cleaned, but a different scent immediately assaulted him.

"How peculiar…" He stepped inside and looked around the dimly-lit room. He didn't need to observe for too long to find the cause of the anomaly.

He blinked his eyes a few times as he stared at Integra's bed. On it, poorly wrapped in a layer of covers, laid the nude albeit oppressive figure of legendary Romanian prince Vlad Tepes.

Walter stared at him for a while. The former ruler of Wallachia was in a deep sleep; in fact, he looked peaceful and content, something the butler didn't recall happening to his old friend. Alucard's torpors were frequently filled with nightmares that made him contort his face or twitch his body, expressing nothing but pain or stress.

Not this time, though. This time he was appeased and relaxed, so serene his jaw was hanging slightly open. Interestingly, also very comfortable with lying naked on his master's bed; such a breach of conduct and boundaries couldn't mean many things besides...

The Angel of Death smiled to himself and turned to see the documents on a nearby chair. He picked them up and made his way out of the bedroom, unconcerned with how much noise he was making. He was certain Alucard wouldn't be waking up for a while.

"They didn't believe me when I said I was suspicious… Looks like this old man is more perceptive than everyone else in this mansion combined…"

On his way back to the room where the meeting was being held, he stopped a replace maid on her tracks and assigned her a different chore.

#

Integra woke up feeling nauseated. Last night she had gathered with sir Irons and sir Penwood for a small celebratory reunion, commemorating their success in approving a maneuver that many believed was too risky and certainly impassable. She put a hand on her stomach, promising next time she wouldn't drink as much as she had.

That cloudy Sunday went by not very differently from how the previous days had passed. For a while now she had been feeling ill and uncomfortable and overall indisposed to do anything. History was repeating itself; it was usually this time of the year she came down with something, whether it was the flu or a stomach bug or consecutive jubilant occasions. Walter had pleaded with her to go see a doctor to get it over with quickly, but, like always, she dismissed his concerns, arguing she was used to the season and that this was simply a minor inconvenience.

More so to prove her point and less so to get out of the manor for a while, the director had disappeared for a few hours, along with her monster. On the way back home, however, they stopped at a cute house they hadn't noticed before.

"Hmm… I'm having two of these. Thank you."

Alucard frowned as his master unwrapped the purportedly homemade brownies from the local shop. He hadn't quite appreciated their stroll to begin with, given his master's condition, and grimaced when Integra stopped at the place and insisted on trying the sweets. The vampire took one look at the food, another at his sick master, and sighed loudly.

"Master, you've not been feeling very well recently-"

"I always get like this when the weather changes," she shrugged, sitting on a bench.

The monster groaned. "Yes, and you've rejected Walter's constant advice to go see a white-coat."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Like I said, this isn't unusual; it'll pass like always."

"Do you wish me to go with you? These visits can be scary." He insisted.

She rested the brownies on her lap, getting annoyed. "You hate doctors, and I don't need to see one. This is normal for me, you know that."

He took an unnecessary breath. "Still, would you think it a good idea to eat that?"

Integra turned around to stare at him. He kept frowning, condemning the sweets and, worse, indirectly scolding her, as if she had no idea what she was doing. She furrowed her brows and answered with a low, menacing tone.

"Yes, I would. My days have been a shithole. I love brownies, and I'm going to eat these."

Alucard bit his lower lip and sat beside her. He couldn't avoid feeling his blood boil at Integra's stubbornness. He nearly growled when he saw how delighted she looked as she ate those chocolate cakes, and almost bore his teeth when she edged closer just to munch right next to his face.

Well into the night, nearing dawn, the director was hunched over the toilet, emptying her stomach without difficulty, its contents pouring out of her mouth like a toxic, pathetic fountain. Alucard manifested beside her to hold her forehead and get her hair away from her face, scrunching his own. When she stopped to cough, he whispered to her ear, livid as all hell:

"Will you please go see a white-coat, now?"