It's a long moment before he responds - staring straight at the much older vampire, near unblinking, still holding his hand in place.
"...Well, then...maybe good and bad don't matter so much, anyway."
And then all at once, he seems to realize what he's doing - and he goes very red, finally breaking the eye contact and gently releasing the pressure on Georg's hand.
Alfred flushes deeper as his eyes wander back up to the older vampire, shuddering lightly under the caress. He sucks in a breath he doesn't need, letting it out in a small, shuddering sigh.
There is a rising terror in the back of his head at what he is feeling - something he feels that he should, perhaps, NOT be feeling right now about his boyfriend's father. In spite of himself, he swallows hard, mouth dry.
'Collect yourself, Alfred....'
"I think...I like that about you, though. I don't...feel that I have to be...good enough for you. To talk to you."
"But you are, Alfred. Good enough. Not just to talk to me, but you are good enough for anything you wish. Anything you desire." He reaches out to take Alfred's hand, stroking his thumb over his knuckles.
"I know Herbert has spoken to you about this. How you never see yourself as enough but you are. Trust me, you are."
Alfred's eyeline dips down to where his hand is being held, stroked...and when it raises again, his gaze is full of tears.
He's good enough.
"Thank you," he mumbles, hoarse. He very much wants to climb into the Count's arms, be held there until everything he's feeling makes some kind of sense...but he has a lap full of books.
So all Georg gets for now is the sense of longing, a want for closeness that is (at least mostly) sweet, innocent.
"...It's...hard to get used to, thinking of myself that way."
Georg remembers the first time he and Alfred had a real talk. How Alfred had pulled him close and held him tight, and how that action felt like it melted away, at least temporarily, all his woes.
And so he takes the stack of books from Alfred's lap to set aside and pulls him close, to rest in his lap, held against his chest while Georg gently strokes his back.
"It will take some time, I'm sure. But Herbert and I will be here to remind you, every day."
It's a surprise, being pulled onto Georg's lap, being wrapped in his arms this way...but a welcome one. He rests his cheek against the older vampire's chest, purring softly in the back of his throat as his back is stroked.
Gently, he snakes his arms around the Count's torso, softly holding him back.
"...That means...more than I can say."
A little sniffle, a beat of hesitation, and then:
"I - I have come to love the both of you, you know. Very much."
The gesture, the confession touches Georg's cold, dead heart in a way he hadn't expected. He and Sarah desire each other, certainly. And perhaps will one day grow to love each other. But what he feels for Alfred is so different from what he feels for Sarah, and it startles and confuses him.
Softly, gently, he presses a kiss to Alfred's hair. "And I you, my dear boy."
Alfred makes a soft little purring sound at the kiss - perhaps just as confused as Georg about the turn this has taken. He meant what he said, about loving them both.
But he's..a little confused about it, too. His love for Herbert is something impossibly deep, something that echoes back through his whole soul. But what he feels for Georg is...not entirely platonic, either, is it?
And yet, here he is, whatever kind of love it is reciprocated.
Part of him wants to ask, but...the other part just wants to sit with it for a while.
"Yes of course," he murmurs against Alfred's hair, nuzzling there gently. Enjoying the simple feeling of Alfred's body against his. It feels comfortable, and comfort is something he sorely lacks in.
George chuckles softly and noses at Alfred's temple. "I am, yes. And before you worry too much, both Herbert and Sarah know about my feelings towards you. Herbert suspected already." Sarah didn't quite understand, but she made it clear that so long as Georg kept coming back to her, she didn't much care.
"I saw you in the window of the inn the night you arrived, lit by candlelight. I found you strikingly beautiful."
That is...more of an answer than he even expected. He reddens yet again, jaw dropping for a moment as he lifts his head enough to look at Georg, to read his expression.
He's being sincere. Alfred's chest feels warm and a shiver runs down his spine at the same time.
"...You...think I...am beautiful?" He's gotten used to hearing that from Herbert, but - Georg?
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"...Well, then...maybe good and bad don't matter so much, anyway."
And then all at once, he seems to realize what he's doing - and he goes very red, finally breaking the eye contact and gently releasing the pressure on Georg's hand.
"I - s-sorry, that was...ah..."
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"As for good and bad, I think I blurred that line a long time ago. I'm neither and both at the same time. Somewhere in between."
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Alfred flushes deeper as his eyes wander back up to the older vampire, shuddering lightly under the caress. He sucks in a breath he doesn't need, letting it out in a small, shuddering sigh.
There is a rising terror in the back of his head at what he is feeling - something he feels that he should, perhaps, NOT be feeling right now about his boyfriend's father. In spite of himself, he swallows hard, mouth dry.
'Collect yourself, Alfred....'
"I think...I like that about you, though. I don't...feel that I have to be...good enough for you. To talk to you."
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"I know Herbert has spoken to you about this. How you never see yourself as enough but you are. Trust me, you are."
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Alfred's eyeline dips down to where his hand is being held, stroked...and when it raises again, his gaze is full of tears.
He's good enough.
"Thank you," he mumbles, hoarse. He very much wants to climb into the Count's arms, be held there until everything he's feeling makes some kind of sense...but he has a lap full of books.
So all Georg gets for now is the sense of longing, a want for closeness that is (at least mostly) sweet, innocent.
"...It's...hard to get used to, thinking of myself that way."
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And so he takes the stack of books from Alfred's lap to set aside and pulls him close, to rest in his lap, held against his chest while Georg gently strokes his back.
"It will take some time, I'm sure. But Herbert and I will be here to remind you, every day."
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Gently, he snakes his arms around the Count's torso, softly holding him back.
"...That means...more than I can say."
A little sniffle, a beat of hesitation, and then:
"I - I have come to love the both of you, you know. Very much."
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Softly, gently, he presses a kiss to Alfred's hair. "And I you, my dear boy."
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But he's..a little confused about it, too. His love for Herbert is something impossibly deep, something that echoes back through his whole soul. But what he feels for Georg is...not entirely platonic, either, is it?
And yet, here he is, whatever kind of love it is reciprocated.
Part of him wants to ask, but...the other part just wants to sit with it for a while.
But...there is...something nagging at him.
"I...I do have...a little...question."
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"You may ask me anything you like. Always."
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Wait, hold on, ask the question! He swallows hard. Just ask. Just say the words.
"...Are you...ah...attracted...to me?"
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"I saw you in the window of the inn the night you arrived, lit by candlelight. I found you strikingly beautiful."
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He's being sincere. Alfred's chest feels warm and a shiver runs down his spine at the same time.
"...You...think I...am beautiful?" He's gotten used to hearing that from Herbert, but - Georg?
His brows knit together in clear confusion.
"...Wait, they both...know?"