The hand that had been wiping the tear away gently wraps under his chin, lifting it so Alfred can look him in the eye. Still smiling. Still reassuring.
"Don't be sorry. I'm...glad I saw it. I'm glad. Up until that moment, I was still so afraid of you. I still believed what the Professor was saying, and - and he was trying to get me to work up the nerve to...to do something...terrible." Momentarily, his eyes lower in shame. The meaning is clear enough.
"But when I saw you like that, I...felt like I was seeing you for the first time. The real you. Not the Thing the Professor insisted you were.
That was the first time I saw YOU."
He looks back up.
"And that's also why the stakes and crucifixes were missing from the bag when we got to the ball. Because I...threw them off the castle."
"You're far too good to have killed me in the crypt," he agrees, reaching out to cup his hand over Alfred's cheek.
When he hears about the stakes and crucifixes being thrown away, he can't help but smile a little. Such a good boy, his Alfred. So sweet, and kind, and understanding. Willing to see him at his worst and think of him at his best.
"How can I thank you? For being willing to love this -- this animal. For being willing to see me as more than some horrid creature who has done nothing but tear apart what he loves most?"
"I couldn't have done it. I just couldn't have. You were just...you were sleeping. It would have been so cruel. I...I still have nightmares about it, sometimes. About what would have happened." He shivers, leaning into Georg's hand.
"You don't have to thank me, Georg. Love is - confusing, and it's strange, and it's unexpected but...it just is. And there aren't conditions for it.
If you have to thank me somehow...you can do that by just...LETTING me love you."
"But you didn't. And now, here we are. Taking care of my hair." He strokes his thumb over Alfred's cheek, looking at him with the most deeply fond expression.
He sighs and leans in to brush his lips against against Alfred's forehead. "I want to let you love me. It's... difficult for me, at times. To open myself up to that."
Alfred smiles at the gentle motion, leaning into it a little - the fondness in Georg's face echoed right back. The little kiss has him sighing, and his hands snake back and over the older vampire's shoulders.
"I am a patient man, Georg. I know it will take time. It's...okay. It means the world to me, that you would try."
He's growing more used to this. These little touches. This soft gifts of affection that Alfred bestows upon him. And so he relaxes into the touches, resting a hand at the small of his back.
"I am a difficult man to love. Because of this... ink I cover myself in. Because of the walls I build around myself. Loving me can be tricky work."
Looking closely into Georg's face, another of the boy's crooked little grins cracks his own. He really does look handsome, with a bit of care put in. It's a tiny step, the lightest tug out of the shadows.
"Well then, it is a good thing I know how to get ink stains out, isn't it?"
A little wry, but - resolute. He's not about to give up any time soon.
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The hand that had been wiping the tear away gently wraps under his chin, lifting it so Alfred can look him in the eye. Still smiling. Still reassuring.
"Don't be sorry. I'm...glad I saw it. I'm glad. Up until that moment, I was still so afraid of you. I still believed what the Professor was saying, and - and he was trying to get me to work up the nerve to...to do something...terrible." Momentarily, his eyes lower in shame. The meaning is clear enough.
"But when I saw you like that, I...felt like I was seeing you for the first time. The real you. Not the Thing the Professor insisted you were.
That was the first time I saw YOU."
He looks back up.
"And that's also why the stakes and crucifixes were missing from the bag when we got to the ball. Because I...threw them off the castle."
no subject
When he hears about the stakes and crucifixes being thrown away, he can't help but smile a little. Such a good boy, his Alfred. So sweet, and kind, and understanding. Willing to see him at his worst and think of him at his best.
"How can I thank you? For being willing to love this -- this animal. For being willing to see me as more than some horrid creature who has done nothing but tear apart what he loves most?"
no subject
"You don't have to thank me, Georg. Love is - confusing, and it's strange, and it's unexpected but...it just is. And there aren't conditions for it.
If you have to thank me somehow...you can do that by just...LETTING me love you."
no subject
He sighs and leans in to brush his lips against against Alfred's forehead. "I want to let you love me. It's... difficult for me, at times. To open myself up to that."
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"I am a patient man, Georg. I know it will take time. It's...okay. It means the world to me, that you would try."
no subject
"I am a difficult man to love. Because of this... ink I cover myself in. Because of the walls I build around myself. Loving me can be tricky work."
no subject
"Well then, it is a good thing I know how to get ink stains out, isn't it?"
A little wry, but - resolute. He's not about to give up any time soon.
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But because it's Alfred, he believes him. Because it's Alfred, he wants to try.