Fic thing - WIP - slash-y beginnings

[i_vanquish_evil]

Van Helsing / Carl - doesn't have a specific place in the timeline yet... just something that jumped into my head and demanded to be put down 'on paper', so to speak...

Carl sat on his bed thinking about what he had just done; wondering just how long it would be before an angry monster hunter pounded down his door and slapped him silly. He thought about getting up to lock the door, but thought that would have as much effect as putting a bale of hay in the way of a charging elephant. A pissed off charging elephant. With teeth. And claws.

He made a soft, little whimpering noise and curled his legs up on the bed, tucking his knees beneath his chin. "Oh, that wasn't a good idea, now that I think about it," he told himself. A tiny smile crept over his face. "But, it was good - nice. Almost exactly as I imagined it would be - lips chapped by wind and sun; face bristly with unshaven stubble; strong jaw; and just the barest hint of feedback. He started... started to kiss back; that's when I had to move away, leave. If he'd woken and found I was the one kissing him - oh, that would not have been good. May still not be good. Oh, God. What have I done?" Another whimper.

His head jerked up at the heavy knock on his door. "Oh dear. Oh dear." He tried to look normal, not tense, sitting on the bed, reading as he said, "Come in."

The door swung open and six feet worth of annoyed-looking monster hunter loomed in the opening. "Good morning, Carl," he said, voice seeming to boom in the small room.

Carl tried to hide the gulp he made before he squeaked out a 'good morning' of his own. "Um, is there something I can help you with?" he asked, still holding his book.

Van Helsing stepped into the room and pushed the door closed. "Maybe." He leaned against the door and Carl thought the larger man looked comfortable almost. "I've had a dream..."

"A dream, Van Helsing? Is it a portent? Is something coming we should prepare for? What do you need me to research." This was good - if there was something coming, Carl could focus on that and not worry so much that the man was going to throttle him for sneaking a kiss and he could move on like nothing had happened.

Van Helsing frowned. "I don't think so. No. This dream had to do with being kissed."

Carl's hopes fell, but he tried to keep his face even. "Oh. So, about Anna, then? When she kissed you in the castle. Van Helsing, I'm sorry." Try for sympathy; Anna wasn't too terrible a person.

"Um, no, Carl. Not Anna." The sound of Van Helsing's boots on the floor rattled Carl's ears as the man stepped closer to the bed. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He was in for it now. Van Helsing knew it was him and was going to smush him like a bug for daring to attempt something so bold without his permission. "Someone else."

Yep, he was done. Stuttering, he tried to move farther away, but there was only wall behind him. "I'm sorry, Van Helsing. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Well, I did, but you weren't supposed to know. I just wanted... oh I just wanted to know." Dammit. He had broken without the monster hunter even having to try.

Van Helsing's head tilted to one side. "So it was you."

Huh? So, he hadn't known and Carl had just spilled everything. Good move, Carl, he chided himself. "Um... um, well, yes. Yes, it was me." Might as well go ahead and own up, since the cat was already out of the bag.

"And you just wanted to know?" Van Helsing was so calm it was eerie.

Another gulp. "Yes," he squeaked.

"Why?"

Okay, now he's just being stupid. Is he insane? Blind? Carl looked up at Van Helsing defiantly, sitting up straight in the bed. "Have you looked in a mirror, you big oaf? And not just at the rugged features of your face. I mean, really looked? At your hands," he watched the larger man actually glance down at his own hands, "your chest," his eyes went there too and Carl could tell Van Helsing was trying to make it look like he wasn't doing any of those things, "your legs... a-all of you. You really are quite a specimen, Van Helsing." At the grunted reply he realized 'specimen' was a poorly chosen word. "Sorry. Man. Better?"

"No," Van Helsing growled with a frown. "Why are you looking at me anyway?" He took a step away. "You - you like women. A-and, so... so do I." His voice was strong, but Carl could tell that maybe, somewhere in his monster hunting brain, Van Helsing was, at the very least, considering the idea.

"Yes, I do like women. Most women. But, I like other people too. Now, granted, I wouldn't be hauling a werewolf or a vampire into my bed, but I'm not opposed to my bed partner being a man. You should pay more attention, Van Helsing." A friar and an inventor he was, surely, but he would not be spoken to like a small child or as though the things he enjoyed were bad, despite the church's views on most of them.

The look on Van Helsing's face told him more than enough. He could see the man was less than thrilled with the idea of laying, comfortably, next to another naked man. He shrugged to himself, his loss. Carl was more than comfortable and would resign himself to mild fantasies if necessary, though he'd much prefer to act them out with the object of his desire. "Suit yourself, Van Helsing, but how do you know if you like something unless you try it?" He threw his hands up in defense, warding off any approaching commentary. "I'm not trying to push or even offer something to you. I kissed you because I wanted to know how it would feel, granted, it would be better if it was fully voluntary and for that, I do apologize. I will not, without your permission, kiss you."

Now it was Van Helsing's turn to look stunned. "Um, thank you."

He hadn't seen the man look that out of place before; it was a little unnerving. "So, um, did you have something else on your mind? Or just the dream?" And he couldn't help the little ball of warmth in the pit of his stomach at just the thought of kissing him.

"I... I um, think that was it." He nodded and turned for the door. "Good day, Carl." He pulled the door open and stepped into the corridor.

Carl collapsed on his bed, nearly panting, but relishing that tiny little piece - that kiss - he had loved it and really wanted to do it again, but he would keep his word and wouldn't kiss Van Helsing again without his permission.

****

The confused monster hunter made his way down the corridor toward the alcove near the lab where his weapons were stored. So lost in his own thoughts, he walked past the thing three times before he remembered he was going to grab a crossbow for target practice.

In the weapons yard, Van Helsing threw the wooden crossbow to the ground after missing the sixth shot in a row - not just missing the center of the target, missing the target entirely - and had to dodge splinters and springs. He glared at anyone who dared to notice his display and stalked off the yard, leaving the battered weapon on the ground.

Why is this bothering me so much? He said he wouldn't... he winced kiss me again... without permission. What the hell does that mean? Is he expecting me to offer permission? Another wince. "Never."

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Van Helsing?" a passing monk had obviously overheard him and stopped to see if there was something wrong.

He waved the monk away and continued his stalking pace down the pebbled path. Making a sudden direction change, he made his way toward the stables. Perhaps going for a ride would clear his head.

The stablehand tacked his usual mount while he waited impatiently at the door. The stablehand didn’t seem to notice. He mounted the horse and tapped the beast into a solid run, his duster billowing in the wind as he pointed the horse toward the woods at the far end of the paddock. The wind in his hair, on his face was doing little more than it’s normal whipping and stinging. It sure as hell wasn’t helping him any.

He slowed the mount to a walk and looked around him at the canopy of trees overhead, at the leaves and branches under the horses hooves, at the sunlight falling in narrow bars to the forest floor. Mostly, it just reminded him of Carl.