Closed RP Spot for loveinsideme/nachtvogel [NSFW WITHIN]

[heyhohey]

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[heyhohey]

For a long moment, Alfred doesn't say anything - he tries to figure out what TO say, how to say it out loud. His eyes remain on the embroidery hoop as he begins to stitch a cluster of little rosettes over the bloodstains.

"...It has," he finally admits, almost more a whimper. "I like women, I do, but...but also...men are...I-I mean, I...think I might...I mean...."

He's very, very red now.

"I think I...react more...to men. You know...ah...physically."

[loveinsideme]

"And that's perfectly fine, my love," he says softly. Reassuringly. "Father leans more towards women, but he still likes men as well. I only like men. Everyone likes something a little different, and that's what makes things more fun."

[heyhohey]

He isn't sure what he was expecting. Maybe to be told that wasn't how it worked, or corrected - but no.

He's...fine.

A little smile crosses his lips, and he nods to himself a little. Maybe he can...cast off just a little of that weight he carries, then.

"You threaded the needle much quicker the second time," he suddenly chirps, eager to move the focus off of himself again. "And near the end of the seam, your stitches were starting to get straighter. You're a quick study."

[loveinsideme]

"I'm trying my best for you," he beams happily and kisses Alfred on the cheek. "What is it you're doing to that shirt?"

[heyhohey]

"I can tell, Herbert! It's really fun for me that you want to learn." The kiss is responded to with a fond smile - and the question with a couple of quick stitches before Alfred holds up the hoop.

"I'm embroidering some flowers over the bloodstain - to cover it up. What do you think? Do you like it?"

[loveinsideme]

"I think it's absolutely wonderful. You have such talent, to create flowers out of a needle and thread." His Alfred is so clever, and Herbert is so pleased to share something he enjoys so much with him.

[heyhohey]

"Oh, it's all practice, really," he grins, though, the praise bringing a little color to his cheeks. "And I'll teach you how, once you've got the basics down. A little bit of embroidery can add something nice to something plain, or - well, like this, it can hide things you don't want seen."

He can't imagine these are the only bloodstained shirts Herbert has shoved in a closet, after all.

[loveinsideme]

"So I'm to have lovely flowers all over my sleeve instead of bloodstains? How marvelous." His stitches this time are a little smaller, a little neater, a little more even. Not perfect by any means, but moving towards improvement.

[heyhohey]

"Exactly. I...I think flowers suit you much better."

A little timid, but sweetly said - he keeps an eye on Herbert's stitching without staring, smiling when he marks the improvement. He's clearly very pleased, his expression bright and warm.

"...This is...really nice."

[loveinsideme]

"It is, isn't it? I like just sitting here with you. Learning new things, and then just -- spending time with you. I could happily spend hours with you just sitting and being quiet. I've never been able to do that with anyone, before."

[heyhohey]

"...Really?"

That sentiment makes Alfred feel warmer than the fire does. Attraction is one thing, but those little comments assuring Alfred that Herbert is enjoying being there with him?

That is worth its weight in gold to him. Especially when it's coming from someone who has been around for as long as Herbert has.

[loveinsideme]

"Truly. Usually I need to be doing something, but... you make me feel calm." He's always had sort of a nervous energy. Always needing to run around. Be out hunting, be moving somehow. But Alfred's presence just... quiets him. Lessens the need to be active somehow.

[heyhohey]

"Oh."

Alfred doesn't really know what to say to that at first - he smiles, quietly, a little tearily.

And then?

"...Well, they do say the sun makes some people sleepy."

A joke.

He's finally comfortable enough to make jokes, to laugh.

Maybe he really is home.

[loveinsideme]

"And the moon makes people go wild. Maybe that's why we suit each other so well," he teases in return, reaching over to touch Alfred's knee lightly.

It's good. It's comfortable. He hasn't felt comfortable in quite some time.

[heyhohey]

This makes Alfred giggle - and just a little bit, he presses his leg into the touch.

"Maybe. At least, it might be a factor."

It IS comfortable, and that surprises the boy. Being UNcomfortable is something of a default state....

And yet, here he is.

Reaching out on impulse, he hooks his hand under Herbert's calf, pulling gently - lifting up his work to hint that the vampire can swing his legs across Alfred's lap, if he likes.

Inviting him closer, bit by bit.

Showing he is comfortable, instead of just saying so.

[loveinsideme]

"Well, if you insist." He sets his sewing aside and stretches out with his legs in Alfred's lap, lounging back against the arm of the sofa.

"I can't wait to see the shirt when it's done. It looks lovely so far. I like that thread you're using."

[heyhohey]

Alfred makes a pleased little noise when Herbert cozies up, resting his arms and his work in the other man's lap and smiling fondly.

This really is nice.

"I'm glad - that you like it, I mean. I thought this color red would help fill in over the stains...and then I can go with with some greens for leaves. Make it really vibrant."

[loveinsideme]

Herbert rests his chin on his hand while he watches Alfred work so swiftly and deftly. "I love the way you think about colour. About what will look good together, what will go together. It's fantastic."

[heyhohey]

"I've just always...really liked color, I suppose," he chuckles, tying off a rosette and starting another.

"Father was always about utility. Mother liked color in her clothes, but...well, she was...quiet. Like me, sometimes. So growing up, I had to sort of...find ways to make my life more colorful."

[loveinsideme]

"I love colour." He's always wearing silvers and blues and purples. Brighter colours than his father's burgundys and blacks. "Father used to as well, before he was turned. A lot of jewel tones. And then once he was turned, he only wanted to wear dark colours. To embrace the night, he said."

Herbert sets his fangs against his lower lip and rolls his eyes, clearly thinking that's the silliest thing he's heard.

[heyhohey]

"I can tell - you may be the brightest thing in the castle," Alfred muses fondly, looking to Herbert with a smile. He tries to picture the Count wearing anything brightly colored, but....

"I can't imagine him in jewel tones," he finally admits - and then Herbert pulls that face, and... it's cute, and it's funny, and it makes the young man giggle, dead heart almost fluttering.

[loveinsideme]

He loves being able to make Alfred laugh like that, and he keeps the face for a moment, batting his eyes at Alfred. "I swear it. Cross my heart. Sapphire and emerald."

And the compliment earns Alfred a soft kiss, "You help me be as bright as I am. You've brought so much light into my life, my sweet sun."

[heyhohey]

He giggles a bit more, both at Herbert being goofy for him, and at the mental image of Georg in colors. It's... bittersweet, actually. But he thinks he understands.

Alfred smiles into the kiss, but shakes his head, just a little.

"...Thank you, but...Herbert, the first time I saw you at the door, it was like...." He falters a little, reddening. "Well, your father is so... he's magnetic, but so...dark. When you walked out, it was like...being in a dark room, and then opening the door to a garden. You...you shine."

[loveinsideme]

Oh. Well. He clearly deserves another kiss for that. Soft and slow, his hand coming up to stroke Alfred's cheek.

"I love shining for you. You make me beam." It's almost shy. Half a whisper and he rests their foreheads together for a moment. "You have so much light in you, and you don't even realize it."

[heyhohey]

Herbert is so doting with him - has been, since the beginning - that when his soft, shy, lonely little moods show through, it makes Alfred feel...seen. Confided in.

And he's getting used to the kisses, especially when they are as tender as this one.

His bright blue eyes are thoughtful as he regards what Herbert is saying...something sad milling around within him.

"It's hard, I think," he finally ventures, so softly, so quietly, "To see your own light. I think you need someone else to reflect it back to you. Because I...I think you don't realize how brilliant you are, either. Not really." He rests a hand on Herbert's knee, callused and worn from working to the bone.

"... We're a lot more alike than I thought we were when we met, I think."