Disclaimer: Characters belong to their respectful owners
Fandom: Netflix’s Castlevania
Rating: Teen and up
Pairing(s): Alucard/Adrian Fahrenheit Ţepeş x Hector, side Trevor Belmont x Sypha Belnades
Genres: Fanfiction, slash, humor, modern AU (all human, no powers)
Characters: Isaac, Hector, Alucard/Adrian Fahrenheit Ţepeş, Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, mention of Carmilla and Lenore
Warnings: crack, OOC
Preview:
Hector downed the remaining content of his almond milk like the act would fill up his guts for a grim confession. Isaac watched his Adam’s apple bobbing with patience. Putting his mug on the table, he sighed. “Literally I screwed someone I shouldn’t have. I just learned of his identity today. Now I’m definitely screwed.”
An inebriated Hector had a one-night stand with a gorgeous man he met at a bar. That man turned out to be his direct supervisor.
III.
There were a few things Isaac expected — yet did not wish — to see when he got home at seven thirty in the morning after an irregular shift. Things like Cezar’s sick near the entrance (his favorite spot for some reason) because Hector had put too much food in his bowl again; or Hector’s tousled head on the coffee table, a puddle of drool next to his mouth while his body was surrounded by hardcovers, scribbled notes, scraps of paper, a running laptop and unwashed mugs because someone had pulled an all-nighter and just passed out; or a combination of both because Hector tended to be extremely forgetful under stress. On a good day, he came back to a neat, clean and empty apartment because Hector had taken Cezar out for a walk in the park. On a bad day, he was greeted by a flurry of barbs and he stepped in just in time to stop Lenore’s dainty fingers from marking Hector’s cheek. Recalling those mornings had the potential to ruin his entire day so Isaac took a breath to sweep them to a corner in his head and sent some silent gratitude to God that Hector had found the sense to ditch her.
He encountered no dog sick when opening the door into his shared apartment and for that Isaac was grateful. However, his relatively good mood dipped soon as he spotted a pair of shiny dress shoes that were neither his nor Hector’s on the shoe rack, neatly placed next to Hector’s sneakers. Was his roommate having a guest? Isaac wondered, taking off his shoes and socks. Still, what kind of guest would be visiting at seven thirty in the morning, except… He recalled a conversation he’d had with Hector nearly a week ago and couldn’t bring himself to be fond of where this line of thought was going. His suspicion was further proven by the sight of a white shirt and wine-colored tie discarded on the couch. Squinting his eyes, Isaac picked up the two articles and upon closer inspection, he was one-hundred percent sure these didn’t belong to Hector because, one, he was the kind of person who knew how many shirts and ties his roommate owned, and two, Hector’s wardrobe wasn’t exactly huge. There were some whitish stains on the tie and Isaac dropped both items, wrinkling his nose. At this point he’d pretty much made up his mind about what kind of guest was in his apartment and also what sort of ‘activity’ they had engaged in the night before. Isaac cursed under his breath as he felt heat rising in his guts. Damn it, Hector. What hot mess had he gotten himself into again?
Looking on the bright side, he should be glad there was no way the shirt and tie were Lenore’s.
Isaac surprised himself with his own nonchalance when he saw a stranger in the kitchen, using the kitchen as if it was his own. Blond hair tied in a messy bun and pants hanging dangerously low on his pelvis, he was flipping a pancake with the proficiency of a chef, if chefs did make pancakes from store-bought batter because that was all they got in the pantry. A buttery scent wafted before Isaac’s nostrils, causing his stomach to rumble. He cleared his throat to announce his presence to the man, who must have been too caught up in his task at hand to detect his coming footsteps.
The man jumped a little but his grip on the pan handle was steady and so the half-cooked pancake was safe. Isaac loathed to think about the waste and the amount of cleaning if he was startled into dropping the pan. It had happened once in the first month after Hector had moved in and aside from cleaning up the mess, he had also had to drive his roommate to the hospital to treat his burn. The only good thing to come out of that incident was they had learned more about each other during a couple short hours in the ER than an entire month under the same roof.
Did he want to learn more about this strange visitor via a similar circumstance? Absolutely not.
“Who are you?”
They said in unison. Same volume, same pitch, same even tone.
This was awkward. Almost as awkward as the first time Isaac had come home to find Lenore lounging in the kitchen wearing nothing but Hector’s old tee. But at least then he’d been informed beforehand that Hector’s girlfriend would come to their place. This dude, who looked like he’d stepped straight out of an adult magazine cover, Isaac had no idea who he was. And where the heck was Hector?
As if to answer his internal monologue Hector’s voice was heard from the bathroom. “You sure you don’t want to take a shower, Adrian?”
Hector appeared in front of the bathroom, barefooted and naked save a towel around his waist. Drops of water from his wet tendrils pooled on the floor and he toed the bath mat to soak them up. “… hi Isaac,” he greeted in tiny voice.
Isaac suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu.
“I’m good, Hector,” Adrian said, his gaze discreetly sweeping over Hector’s torso before returning to Isaac, who did certainty not miss that. “Can you introduce us?”
“Oh sure, sure. Adrian, this is Isaac. Isaac, Adrian.”
“Maybe you should put on some pants first before we sit down and talk,” Isaac said, arching his eyebrows suggestively.
“R-Right,” Hector stuttered, a blush creeping up his neck. “Gimme a minute. Be right back.”
Isaac had never seen him dematerialize that quickly.
“He’s usually more eloquent with his clothes on,” Isaac commented.
“He is.”
“I’m his roommate.”
The man took his outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake. His palm was dry and uncalloused, matching his princely look. Isaac imagined he had to come from a wealthy background. “I’m Adrian, Hector’s supervisor at V&L.”
“Ah, Feathery Lashes.”
On closer look, the guy did have long eyelashes that cast faint shadows on his high cheekbones. In the morning light, his eyes appeared to be the same color as his hair, which framed his chiseled face like a halo. Hector had been fairly accurate in spite of his tipsiness.
“Excuse me?” Adrian said, narrowing his eyes. His slightly offended look transformed into a bashful smile as realization dawned in. “Oh,” he muttered, carefully flipping the pancake onto a plate. “He must have told you.” He set the plate on the countertop and greased the pan with a small chunk of butter before pouring in the rest of the batter.
Isaac nodded, silently admiring his ability to cook and carry a conversation at the same time.
“Normally I’d say Pleased to meet you but this is quite awkward so…”
“Agreed.”
Silence was brewing between them for a whole thirty second before Adrian broke it. “Do you like pancake? I intended to make omelet but there were no eggs in the fridge and pancake seemed the only option left.”
“Pancake is fine.”
Silence again.
Hector entered the kitchen at the same time Adrian placed the plates on the dining table.
“You’re not joining us for breakfast?” he asked, glancing at the pancakes.
Adrian smiled and undid his bun, letting his hair cascade over his shoulders. “Sorry, I’d love to but I should go home and grab some documents for the morning briefing.”
“Oh,” Hector let out a disappointed sound.
Isaac certainly did not share his roommate’s sentiment.
“Guess I’ll see you at the office.”
“Yes,” Adrian said, turning to Isaac. “Have a nice day.”
“Thank you for the pancakes,” Isaac said with a nod. “Have a nice day.”
He watched Adrian exit the kitchen, Hector following him. They stopped at the living room and Adrian put on his wrinkled shirt, untucked, and stuffed his tie in his pants pocket. He gave Hector a peck on the lips before disappearing from Isaac’s sight.
A few moments later, Hector sat down at the table.
“That was to avoid an awkward breakfast scene, wasn’t it?” Isaac asked, watching Hector rolling up the sleeves of his loose-fitting sweater.
“… yeah,” Hector admitted. “Also, there was just enough batter for two pancakes.”
“It seems I was being a third wheel right there.”
“No, no. All those reasons aside, Adrian really had to go home and prepare for the morning briefing. Last night he did tell me but I got a little carried away and forgot.”
“Carried away?” Isaac echoed. He reached for the bottle of maple syrup and poured a moderate amount on his pancake.
Hector lowered his head as he squirted one-third of the bottle content on his own pancake, making Isaac wince. It remained a mystery how he managed to stay in such good shape despite having a huge sweet tooth. “Yeah, uhm, you know…” he trailed off, not making eye contact with Isaac.
“What happened? Last time you said he was acting like nothing had ever happened and now you two are quite chummy with each other.”
“I was surprised too,” he divulged. “For a few days I tried to follow your advice and be professional. We didn’t talk much and when we did, it was strictly work. Then yesterday he asked me to go with him to the bar after work.”
“The Silver Spoon?” Isaac asked, forking a piece of pancake. He put it into his mouth and chewed carefully before swallowing. The taste was pretty agreeable to his palate even though Isaac wasn’t a fan of store-brought batter.
Hector nodded. “He offered to buy me a drink. We talked. I bought him a drink in return. We kept talking well into the night, until neither of us was fitted to drive.”
Isaac glanced at the direction of the living room. “I can see where all that talking led to.”
It looked like all of Hector’s blood had rushed to his face. Averting his eyes, he took his time to chew a mouthful of pancake as an excuse to not reply right away. Meanwhile, Isaac savored his food, giving his roommate time and space to process his thoughts before he resumed the conversation. He expected it wouldn’t take too long.
He was right, although what came out of Hector’s mouth next wasn’t quite what he anticipated.
“Sorry about the couch,” Hector said in low voice, almost like a whisper.
Isaac was torn between laughing out loud — something he hadn’t done for a while — and whacking Hector on the head. “Need I remind you that you have a room and a comfortable bed?”
Face flushed, Hector put down his cutlery to fiddle with his fingers. “We only made it to the couch, to be honest. Apparently whiskey and tequila don’t mix well.”
“I find it shockingly unfair that neither you nor he is having a hangover.”
“I’m having one right now. Adrian too, but he hides it well. He’s used to it, is what he said. He only needs a double expresso to get over it.”
Isaac finished his pancake. “Good for him,” he said flatly. “You need some strong coffee too?”
“Nah, I’m good. Caffeine and my anxiety don’t go well together.”
“Hector, I know it’s not my place to interfere in your personal life but perhaps you should tread carefully with this Adrian dude. Don’t know if you notice this but you’re a magnet for—”
“The hot and psychotic. Yeah, I’ve been told.”
“And Adrian is definitely hot.”
“He doesn’t appear to be the psychotic type… unless you hand him a report full of sloppy grammar.” Hector chuckled to himself. “No, what I mean is he’s very nice.”
“So was Lenore.”
“True,” Hector agreed, though his tone was laced with hesitation. “I won’t repeat the mistake of diving headfirst into a relationship. This time I’m taking things slowly. Talking, getting to know each other, et cetera. We both agreed to that. Don’t want to make it too weird in the workplace.”
A rare comical look found its way to Isaac’s features. “I see. Getting to know each other in more way than one.”
“You did say he was hot,” Hector said, smiling sheepishly while poking his half-eaten pancake with his fork. “But you’re right. I’ll be careful with Adrian. Thank you, Isaac, for being world’s best roommate and friend.”
“You’re welcome,” Isaac replied with a small smile. He stood up, patted Hector on the shoulder and made to deposit his plate and fork in the sink.
“By the way, Hector, one thing before I go catch a wink.”
“Yeah?”
“Burn the couch.”
…
“Over here, Adrian.”
Shaw’s on a Friday night was teeming with people and Adrian had to go on tip-toe to look over a few colorful heads. He saw the top of Sypha’s strawberry blonde head and her arm waving at him at a table in the corner. He threaded his way through a group of boisterous youths, getting a few — unintentional or otherwise — bumps before reaching his friends’ table.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Adrian sat down, loosening his tie and popping two of his top buttons open. “Got to finish up a few things at the office and the traffic was insane.”
“It’s a Friday night,” Sypha said. “We barely warmed the seats when you came.”
“And yet somehow Trevor has managed to procure himself a beer.”
“Gotta try Shaw’s famous home brew everyone can’t stop raving about.”
“How do you find it?”
“Better than sex I hope.”
Trevor’s expression immediately morphed into a grimace and his glass stopped millimeters from his lips. “Oh come on, Sypha. It’s been a week. You can’t possibly still be jealous of a friggin’ beer.”
“Technically I can.”
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Trevor. You should have learned that already,” Adrian said, laughing. “Alright, drinks are on me.”
“Someone’s in celebratory mood,” Sypha squealed. “In that case I’ll have a margarita on the rocks.”
“You, Trevor? Another pint of this excellent homebrew?”
“A cosmo for me,” Trevor said, then looked up to two pairs of raising eyebrows. “What? A man can’t enjoy a pink cocktail?”
“Sure he can,” Adrian replied, directing a smirk toward Trevor that he knew would rub his friend up the wrong way. “Bold choice though. Alright, guys, I’ll be back with the drinks.”
He returned about ten minutes later, with a margarita for Sypha, a cosmo for Trevor and a Bloody Mary for himself.
“So, what are we celebrating?” Sypha asked, taking her margarita from the tray. “Let me guess. Something about the intern? Ooh, did he say yes? Are you two now a thing?”
“That fast?”
Sypha gave her boyfriend a playful elbow. “Oh Trevor, where there’s love there’s a way.”
“I thought it was where there’s a will there’s a way.”
The elbow was no longer playful.
Adrian chuckled. “Hate to prove you wrong but I was rejected.”
It amazed him how Sypha could go from a shocked “What?” to a whiny “Why?” and finally, a sympathetic, possibly teary “I’m so, so sorry, Adrian” in a matter of seconds.
“What a bummer,” Trevor commented. “My sincerest condolences—dude, why’re you grinning? You were dumped.”
“Technically you can’t be dumped if you’re not yet in a relationship.”
“Tomayto, tomahto, Sypha.”
“I was rejected, not dumped, there’s a difference.”
“I don’t know why you’re smiling, Adrian. This is depressing. Are you in denial?”
“I’m not,” Adrian replied, sipping his drink. “And you guys are hilarious.”
“You talked to him?” Trevor asked.
“Yes, I asked him out after work. Same bar where we’d met. We talked for hours and came to an agreement.”
“You made it sound a lot like business.”
“Let him finish, Trevor.”
Adrian smiled. “It was a bit business-like, yes. And while he didn’t want to be in a relationship at the moment, which was understandable given that he’d just broken up with his girlfriend, he was open to the idea. For now we’re taking things slowly, maybe going to lunch or hanging out after work, getting to know each other, you know, like friends.”
“With or without benefits?” Trevor wiggled his eyebrows as he sipped his cosmo like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. None of his friends had ever doubted his credit as a true fan.
“That’s open to interpretation.”
“So you’re basically dating?” Sypha asked. “Oh my God, you’re dating!”
“I’m not sure about that, Sypha. I mean, the whole concept of relationship is still pretty new to me but I respect his decision so I just go with the flow and see if things work out.”
“See if you’re vibing, huh?”
“Yes. One thing I’m sure is I won’t refer to him as my boyfriend yet and vice versa. At work we’re strictly a supervisor and an intern.”
“How long is his internship?” Sypha asked, taking a small sip from her glass, which she had neglected so far.
“Three months,” Adrian replied. “At the end, all interns will take a company-administered exam to see if they’re qualified to be working here in the future.”
A small crease appeared between her pretty eyebrows. “Will that pose a problem between you and him? I know you’re not one to allow personal relations to meddle with your work but sometimes it’s difficult to separate them.”
“Especially when you’re responsible for evaluating him,” Trevor chimed in.
“Actually I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“I’m taking supervisor role during his internship but his performance in the test will be judged by a board of senior employees, which I’m not a member of. They will decide whether he’s in or out.”
“Do you think he’ll pass?” Sypha asked.
“It’s too early to tell,” Adrian said, leaning back against his seat. “But I think he’ll do fine. He is hardworking and he possesses excellent oral skills.”
When he was fully clothed. A small smile crept up his lips as Adrian recalled the morning scene at Hector’s apartment.
“Dang, that escalates quickly,” Trevor quipped. He threw his head back and burst into laughter, triggering a fit of giggles from Sypha. The rickety table shook.
Adrian looked at his friends with exasperated fondness as he tried to prevent their drinks from spilling.
“I mean presentation skills. Pull your head out of the gutter,” he chided, punching Trevor’s upper arm.
Still guffawing, Trevor rubbed the punched spot. “I bet oral skills aren’t the only things he’s good at.”
“He’s also good with animals. You remember Princess, Old Carl’s Rottweiler living in the basement of the building?”
“That beast is a hell hound, I told you,” Trevor grumbled. “Your boy tamed her or what?”
“He’s not my boy.”
“Come to think of it, we haven’t learned his name,” Sypha chimed in.
“His name’s Hector. He always comes early to give her treats and spend some time petting her. Princess is just a giant puppy around him.”
“So, he loves dogs,” Sypha said, counting her fingers. “He’s hard-working. He’s hot and he has excellent oral skills.”
“Sypha…” Adrian groaned.
“Seems like a very nice guy. Alright, let’s drink to Hector.”
The other two obliged her and raised their glasses.
“Is it OK if we meet him sometime? I promise we won’t say or anything weird, just getting to know each other and expanding our friend circle.”
“It’s still a bit early for that but I’ll ask him.”
“Do you have any photos of him? I’m just curious about how he looks like.”
Trevor cleared his throat loudly.
“I’m a simple girl with simple pleasures,” Sypha chirped. “And little Treffy remains my biggest pleasure.”
Trevor choked on his drink. Under the bar’s dim light, he looked almost as pink as his cocktail.
“Guys,” Adrian said, stifling his laugh. He reached into his pocket for his phone and scrolled down his album. “I have just one photo, which I had to bribe Hector to get.”
“I’m afraid to ask what you bribed him to get it.”
Adrian gave Trevor a dirty look as he held up his screen to show a photo of Hector hugging Cezar to his chest while early sunlight from a nearby window made his silver hair shimmer.
“Wow,” Sypha exclaimed, “it’s beautiful. He’s beautiful. Is this his real hair color?”
Adrian nodded, feeling pride swelling in his chest. Simple as it looked, the photo hid one little secret that he intended to keep for himself: Hector was wearing his shirt when Adrian snapped the photo with his phone.
“Wait a sec,” Trevor said, squinting his eyes. “I know this guy. He’s a student at my college.”
“What?” Adrian and Sypha asked in unison.
“Dude got a girlfriend who came to the campus and raised a ruckus a week ago. Pretty girl, ugly temper. After that he was made to come to my office to have a long chat. Poor dude was shaken real bad.”
“That was the ex-girlfriend, no doubt,” Adrian said as realization dawned on him. At the same time, anger flared in his guts and he finished his drink in one gulp. In a few seconds he’d come up with at least a dozen ways to make her life a lot harder if she ever crossed paths with him.
His inner Ţepeş was emerging and that was no good. Gotta rein it in.
“Oh dear,” Sypha said, sighing. “That’s gonna be pretty awkward for future double-dates.”
End
Adrian is hot and he does have a psychotic streak in him.
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