If there was one thing Soma hated about the castle, it was the outdoor areas. The snow wasn't that bad, but the freezing wind made things unbearable. Thankfully, he had found one of the safe rooms from around the area earlier. The monsters didn't enter those, and the area where the room was happened to be nice and warm. Keeping that in mind, he stepped outside of the room he had been checking and into the cold winter air.

He held his spear ready, remembering this area had a couple of the undead warrior things riding around on just about as undead horses. They were fast, but nothing compared to the werewolves and that Final Guard he had taken down in the dead end he had been investigating a moment ago. If he remembered correctly, a couple of slashes would take them down.

"Eh...?" Soma tilted his head and took a couple of steps forward. He had fully expected to meet those things already, but the yard looked completely empty of them. He looked at the other end where the door was and still saw nothing. He lowered his spear and shrugged. It was not like all the monsters around the castle always respawned instantly. He had gone through here about five minutes ago anyway.

He crossed the yard, keeping an eye on things in case there was something nasty hiding around. He saw no monsters, but he was suddenly getting a bad feeling. If the monsters were dead, maybe somebody had passed by the area right before him. He raised the spear again, and that's when his gaze picked up something on the path.

There were fresh droplets of blood on the snowy path.

Curious, he knelt down to examine it. It certainly looked like blood - and that was as far as he got in his investigation when he noticed movement by the other end of the courtyard. He leaped towards the direction of it, thrusting the spear at the possible monster - and then quickly turned his leap into a double jump and pulled his weapon away.

"Put that away," the 'monster' who was leaning against the wall said. "I cannot possibly look like one of those things, at least not that much."

"Ah heh... Sorry about that, Arikado," Soma said, grinning a bit. "You were standing in the shadow and I didn't notice you at all... Eh." He looked at the older man, then glanced around the yard and shrugged. "That explains why the things weren't here, if you just passed through here. But you know, there was blood on the..."

He trailed off, suddenly noticing that Arikado's coat was open, and he was holding his side. "Um, yeah, blood, over there on the snow," Soma continued. "Are you all right?"

The dark-haired man looked at him for a moment, then obviously figured that denying his injury wasn't going to work. "I will be fine in a moment," he said. "I only need a moment of rest." He stepped away from the shade of the building and frowned slightly, unable to completely hide the pain.

"And you figured this was a nice place for taking a break? It's freezing out here!" Soma told him and moved closer. "What happened to you anyway?"

"It is better than the couple of previous rooms, and I do not mind the temperature," Arikado answered. "I'm fine. I just got hit by a Final Guard while I was on the lower-level area. There is a room with two of them there, and the werewolves outside that room had me distracted for a moment too long."

"Final Guard?" Soma stepped to the older man's side and took a hold of him ignoring the fact that Arikado didn't appear to be too comfortable of someone touching him without permission. "Those things are freaking huge! And you got hit by one of them? Damn. Come on, this area sucks for resting - besides, there's one of those safe rooms right in there. I'll take you there."

Arikado was about to say something, but then just nodded and let Soma drag him to the door and into the building. The room they entered was devoid of monsters, and there was a doorway across it. Soma dragged the older man into the room and placed him carefully by the statue.

"There we go," he stated triumphantly. "We're safe here, and while I still haven't figured out how these things really work, the magic in these rooms should heal you after a moment of rest."

The older man nodded, although there was something in his behavior that made Soma somehow suspicious. He stared at Arikado while the man removed his clothes enough to get a better look at the wound he had on his side, and then knelt down.

"That looks kind of bad you know..."

Arikado raised his face and looked at him. "It is not as bad as it appears to be. I'll be fine; as you said, resting in this room will heal me eventually. Go. You need to investigate the rest of this area. I have suffered worse. This is nothing to worry about."

Soma stood and turned, sighing. "Fine then... You sure you don't want a potion or something? I have a couple of extra ones."

"No thank you," the dark-haired man declined, carefully pressing a handkerchief he had against the wound. "Go already."

"Oh fine, going," Soma mumbled and walked to the door. He felt a lot more refreshed himself just from entering the room. "Cold as that damn winter outside, you are, Arikado. I'll just go check that upstairs area now then, although..."

He sighed, then stopped and turned around, appearing worried. He folded his arms and looked at Arikado. "Okay, what is it? Why are you lying to me? These rooms... That magic stuff should've healed you already. Why are you still sitting there and suffering? I mean, it's not like the magic here only worked on me or anything. I think Julius uses these rooms too, and..."

Arikado pressed his head against the plinth, his face blank. "It is because this is a type of holy magic," he said in a low voice.

"Huh?" the younger man commented. "Yeah, I've figured as much; it was like that in the other castle too and this one seems similar enough but why wouldn't it-"

"It does not work on vampires so well," Arikado added. "I need more time. Or some blood."

Soma grinned. "Okay, that would explain- wait a freaking minute," he interrupted himself. "What did you just- I mean, did you... Vampire? You're a-? Oh hell, I should've known better, with you being too inhumanly pretty to exist and all and Mina always said you don't get older but you never said anything about..."

"Does it really come as a surprise?" The older man asked, a hint of a smile touching his lips. "I presumed you knew, after the incident last year. It would explain my powers and my knowledge of Dracula, would it not?"

"Eh..." Soma lowered his face and stepped closer. "I... Sorry. I think I knew. You just never said anything so I never drew any conclusions. Explains also how you know Julius and Yoko so well, with them having the hunter background..."

Arikado nodded. "You are correct. So, will you now stop worrying about me and continue? This is not even near what it takes to kill me. I will be fine after resting for a moment."

The younger man shrugged. "Nah, I could use a break. Besides, I have some food items here too if you want a snack... Oh, uh, wait," he paused. "What did you say it takes to heal you again?"

The dark-haired man looked at him, appearing a little thoughtful. "Proper rest or blood. I also have a couple of spells I can use to drain the monsters' energy, but I would rather not use those powers more than necessary. Besides, there is nothing I could drain from in here. Resting will work, though."

Soma smiled victoriously. "But we don't have to wait for that long! I mean, there is something you can drain in here..."

"No, Soma," Arikado quickly replied. "You need your energy and you need to go on. My condition is not that bad."

"Come on, dammit, Arikado," the boy insisted. "You'd take it if it was Julius or Yoko, wouldn't you? I bet they give you blood if you ever need any, anyway, since they're your allies and all. What, Belmont blood is that much better than mine?"

Arikado smiled now, amused. "You are correct. As for that..." He shifted his position a little and removed the handkerchief, satisfied to notice that the wound had stopped bleeding. "Belmont bloodline is old and a vampire hunter's blood is most... delightful. Although, you are the reincarnation of Dracula. That would make your blood... No, forget about it. I could not take yours."

"I don't see Julius around," Soma said. "I have food items and potions; I'm not going to drop dead if I give you a bit of blood." He drew a dagger and raised it to his neck. "And hey, this is a healing room. The wound will heal soon after anyway. Just take it!"

"I cannot-" Arikado started, but he shut his mouth a second later as Soma threw his coat to the floor next to him, knelt on it, and cut his own neck with the knife. The scent of blood made his instinct awaken for a second, but he then blinked and shook his head. "Soma, no."

"Ow," the younger man said. "Didn't actually stop to think that it would, uh, hurt that much. Doesn't matter, I've gotten worse injuries when fighting around here. Well? Drink. I'm kind of bleeding here you know..."

The dark-haired man studied him for a moment, then closed his eyes. He considered refusing, but he had to admit it would work. He reached to the younger man and raised his hand to take a hold behind the boy's neck, then pressed his lips onto Soma's neck and drank.

Soma strained under the touch, then relaxed and let Arikado hold him. "Since you want me to continue and all, I guess I can trust you to not drain me completely or anything."

"No need to worry," Arikado mumbled while licking the blood off of the wound. "I would never do that."

"Heh," the younger man continued while wrapping his arms around Arikado's neck. "I, um, just wondering. If you're a vampire, then... I made you, right? Or, not me, but... him..."

Arikado had to pause drinking for a moment as he had to concentrate to not laugh or just look plain dumbfounded. He couldn't really figure out how he should have reacted. "Ah... You could say that," he replied. "I mean, yes, he did," he added, not too comfortable with the idea of telling Soma the whole story. It wasn't like his father and Soma were the same person, but it still bothered him sometimes.

Soma laughed a little. "Well, heh, guess you get to take your revenge then. Don't worry, I'm young and all that. I mean, I could just as well go donate blood. Kind of the same thing except they take it from your arm and not your neck. Although this is a hell of a lot more fun..." He trailed off and blinked, suddenly realizing what he had just said.

"Fun?" The older man mumbled against his neck, licking Soma's neck cautiously. He felt better already. The wound on his side was vanishing as he unconsciously healed it with the energy that the blood gave him. It was part of his powers, and he never had to pay much attention to it.

"Yeah," Soma mumbled, practically clinging to Arikado now. He buried his fingers into the man's long hair and closed his eyes. The older man's touch on his neck made him shiver; he couldn't exactly deny the fact that he found Arikado very attractive. The dark-haired man was just usually very distant, but his touch certainly didn't feel distant now.

Arikado stopped for a moment again, raising his eyebrows. He could pretty much guess what Soma meant, but he figured he should ask anyway. "In what sense?"

"Don't stop," Soma mumbled, caressing the older man's neck with his right hand while his left hand wandered down on the man's back. "Gods that feels good..."

The dark-haired man sighed then resumed what he had been doing. He could pretend he didn't know about Soma's interests, but it was rather pointless. He had observed the younger man long enough to know he was bisexual. Arikado considered the wrongfulness of the whole act for a moment but then reminded himself that Soma was not Dracula, not like that; it was just the soul that was the same.

The wound was gone by now and he could feel his power restored, which meant he had drunk enough, but he continued for a short moment anyway, then, to prove something to himself, slipped his hand down on the younger man's body and grabbed his crotch.

"Figured as much," he said quietly.

Soma let out small surprised cry, then pulled away and looked away from Arikado, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Um, eh, I... It's, you know... You're a vampire and never figured the whole biting thing is kind of...? Hey, don't the legends say vampires seduce their prey and then...?"

Arikado laughed softly. "'Tis fine. I understand, although I do not really know what you are talking about. Besides, I do not prey or bite anyone."

"Oh, if you say so," Soma muttered. He then grinned, looking at the other man. "This is all your fault though, for being so goddamn pretty. Don't you have any idea how hot you are? I'd screw your brains out if I had the chance... Er, I mean, you're very attractive," he corrected himself, even more embarrassed now that he had gone and told Arikado something like that. "I mean, I like guys too you see and you're..."

The dark-haired man merely nodded slightly. "I was aware of your interests," he said, the gaze of his gray eyes studying the younger man. He knew well what Soma thought of him; after all, it wasn't that hard to notice. "My fault you say," he continued, pondering on what to do about the situation. It kept bothering him, but he told himself yet again - it was Soma, and not his father. He would have to get over it sometime.

"But," he added, "Should you not do something about the problem? You cannot go and fight like that; it might distract you. I'm all right now; I can leave you alone."

Soma shook his head. "I've got a better idea. You caused it, you take care of it. You're the one who's always telling me to go on and all, and I don't know how long it'd take me to calm down..."

He placed his hand on Arikado's shoulder and pulled him closer. He grinned nervously then settled to sitting on his coat, leaning his back on the base of the statue. The dark-haired man tried to move away, but Soma grabbed him by the arm.

"Please, Arikado?" Soma said, looking at the older man desperately. "I can't be that repulsive, can I? And you're too pretty, you got to have some interests."

"Ah..." Arikado lowered his face, then sighed. Soma certainly was attractive, it was his personal problems that kept him from touching the boy. The younger man was also quite good at guessing; while Arikado didn't do anything that much, he did have his interests. "...All right," he said finally. It was certainly a good opportunity to remind himself that this was really just Soma, and nothing else. He placed his hand on the boy's lower body and pushed his legs apart a little, then paused to think.

"Let me..." Soma mumbled, fumbling to get rid of his belts and to open his pants. He managed to do that after a short moment, and he then pulled them down to his knees. "Better?" He asked, with a silly smirk on his face.

Arikado studied the younger man's body for a second then shifted his position a little. He drew Soma to lean against his shoulder before stopping for a moment to take a deep breath. Soma felt warm; certainly a sign that he needed to get over the bothersome details about the teen. Soma was Soma. He closed his eyes and drew his fingers over the younger man's abdomen, then placed his hand over his companion's crotch and caressed him tentatively.

Soma squirmed a little when touched, then pressed himself against the taller man. "I was right," he murmured. "You've done this before... Mmmh, nice."

"A couple times," Arikado replied calmly. He wrapped his fingers around the younger man's erection and started stroking him more determinedly. Soma chuckled and grabbed his wrist, then fondled the older man's hand. He nuzzled Arikado's neck and closed his eyes, feeling content.

They sat there in silence for a while, the only sound in the room really being Soma's heavy breathing, until the boy got bored of the silence. "Do you always do it without saying a word?" He asked, squirming a little in the dark-haired man's hold.

"Is conversation necessary, though?" Arikado asked calmly. "I do not see a reason for talking, but if you insist..."

"Nah, it's fine," Soma mumbled, writhing more in an attempt to press his hips against the older man's hand. "It's so... you to be quiet, but I find it kind of boring. Even your voice is damn attractive, you know, and I like to listen to it."

The dark-haired man stayed quiet for a moment, then simply replied, "I see." He wrapped his other hand around the younger man's waist and caressed his skin cautiously. "I apologize. I suppose I make an uninteresting sex partner."

Soma smirked. "Somewhat. But hey..." He raised his free hand and grabbed Arikado's hair. "Doesn't make this that much less enjoyable. Gods you're pretty..." He shifted his position a little, moving as close to the older man as he could. "Mmmh... Your touch feels great... Although, what's bothering you so much about this? You seem a bit... reserved. I though you were okay with touching other guys."

"Ah, nothing," Arikado said quickly. He quickened the pace of his strokes, and Soma rewarded him with a soft cry of pleasure. "It is not about you or anything. Must be the place," he added, cursing in his mind. Despite of everything, he was still letting his feelings get in the way, and he needed to finish this. He told himself again that he really needed to get over it - and he then lifted his hand from the younger man's waist all of a sudden and grabbed him by the hair, drew his head back and kissed him.

The boy froze for a moment, then melted under Arikado's touch and responded to the kiss. The tall man continued his caresses simultaneously, and it took only a moment longer before Soma moaned under the kiss and wetted his hand.

"Better now?" Arikado asked, breaking the kiss. He was about to wipe his hand clean, but Soma grabbed it and licked it clean.

"Yeah, I'm certainly better now," the boy replied. "You, however..." He turned to face the older man and slapped his hand on Arikado's lower body. "...Are not." He grinned and placed a short kiss on Arikado's lips. "Well, I guess I owe you one now, so..."

The tall man shook his head quickly. He hadn't even noticed anything, but he guessed that kissing Soma had caused his body to react in a way he hadn't really expected - or wanted - at the moment. "No, Soma, I'll be fine. This was about you, and I took care of the problem already. You should go now."

His objections went, however, to deaf ears. Soma was already working on opening the older man's pants, grinning at him as he did so. "Come on, I can't exactly leave you like this. I want to do it, okay?"

"Soma, no," Arikado said, grabbing the younger man by the shoulders. Touching the teen had been one thing, but going any further... He closed his eyes for a moment and calmed himself, pushing his bothersome thoughts away once more. "You don't have to."

"Aw," the younger man pouted. "You don't want me to? You really don't like me, huh..."

Arikado swore under his breath. "It's not that. This is just not the time..." He trailed off then, realizing by now he would have to come up with a better excuse, although he couldn't think of anything. He couldn't exactly tell Soma why he didn't want to do it. "It would be wrong. We're on an important mission, and I already kept you occupied for a while. You really should go."

Soma frowned and shook his head. "You suck at that, you know. Excuses. Do you have someone or what, and don't want to do this with me?"

"No, but don't you have Mina?" The dark-haired man replied. "Would it really be all right for you to touch someone else?"

The younger man grinned again. "We kind of have an agreement about things. It's not like we were... um. So if that's what you're worried about, it's fine. And hey, it's not like I was trying to sleep with you here... Just let me do this now, okay? Then you'll feel better and we can both continue with the stopping the cult thing."

"I..." Arikado sighed, trying to come up with something. He was too late, however; Soma was done with his task by now. The younger man's fingers found his erection and fondled him. "I just think we really should not be doing this here," he mumbled, trying his hardest not to think about the reason he was so against doing it.

"It's fine," Soma said cheerfully, then leaned down and took the tip of the older man's sex into his mouth. Arikado gasped and tried to think of something to say to stop his companion, but he couldn't come up with anything. Besides, Soma seemed quite adamant about it. He glanced down at the boy just to remind himself about who he was with, then closed his eyes and grabbed Soma's hair with one hand.

"...Alright," he said quietly, finally giving in. "Finish it."

Soma snickered silently. "That's better," he murmured, then continued licking on the dark-haired man's erection. Arikado pondered about saying something but decided against it. He felt no need to make conversation, and besides, at least this time Soma wouldn't be talking much. He relaxed a little and pressed his head against the base of the statue, hoping he could stop thinking and just enjoy it.

The younger man wasn't all that skillful but certainly knew what he was doing. Arikado looked at him again just to concentrate on something instead of letting his thoughts wander. He had to admit it was certainly something the man whose soul Soma had would never have done, not that the idea made the whole thing any less wrong.

"Well aren't we cold," Soma mumbled, drawing his tongue along the length. "Come on, Arikado. Don't you like this?"

"I do like it," the dark-haired man replied. "What should I do to convince you about that? Unless you have never noticed, I'm always like this."

Soma glanced up and grinned. "Cold as winter, yes, I've noticed. Your usual bed partners must complain about the same thing." He returned to what he had been doing, finally rewarded for his efforts by a silent moan escaping from the older man's lips.

"There are not many," Arikado said. "Although," he added quietly, "He does complain sometimes."

The younger man sucked on the tip of the sex slowly, teasing his partner. "Hmm?" He then mumbled before taking a bit more of the organ into his mouth again.

"Never mind," Arikado answered quickly. "Get... over with that already." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes again. He didn't need to see his companion to remember who it was anymore; everything just felt like Soma. He smiled just a little, the thought satisfying him. Maybe he had succeeded somewhat in his attempt to forget about certain details.

Soma's mouth was warm, and what he was doing felt most pleasant. The older man felt his partner shift a little before continuing, trying to take as much of Arikado's sex into his mouth as possible. The dark-haired man shook his head slightly, almost amused. It felt good, nonetheless, and he tugged the boy's hair gently.

"Ah..." He looked down again, then ran his fingers down on the younger man's neck, caressing him softly. "...Wait, are you touching yourself?"

"Yeah," Soma mumbled while stopping to catch his breath. "Why?"

Arikado tilted his head slightly. "Ah, nothing," he said quietly. He frowned slightly, finding himself having to concentrate on breathing calmly if he wanted to keep his cool appearance. He spread his legs a little, hoping to give the younger man a better access, and relaxed against the plinth. Calm appearance or not, he was quite enjoying this.

The caresses were enough for him after a while. Soma was getting better the more he got to practice with it, and the bliss just overtook Arikado for a moment. He raised his free hand to his mouth just in time to keep himself from crying out though, and released into the younger man's mouth. He then took a few deep breaths and looked at the boy.

"Satisfied now?"

"Heh, sure," Soma said while sitting up. He shifted his position and leaned against Arikado's shoulder, then continued touching himself for another short moment. The older man looked at him somewhat curiously, then shrugged.

"Young men," he remarked with a hint of a smile on his face.

Soma moaned silently as he came, then just rested his head on the older man. "What would you know about that anyway? You stalk me or something?"

"It's not that," Arikado replied, attempting to adjust his clothes. "Julius was the same when he was young. Well, get your clothes on. We have other things to do."

"Bah, let me rest for a moment, I need some rest..." Soma said, then sighed disappointedly when the tall man moved away and stood, stopped to pick up his coat and put it on. "Wait, did you just say Julius? Are you two...?"

Arikado shook his head. "Ah, it's not what you think," he replied. He wasn't sure why exactly Soma would be interested in the matter, but as long as it served as an excuse to dodge around the real details why he was somewhat wary about the younger man. "I did, however, keep an eye on him for all those years when he... All right, we did. Sometimes. I really don't do this that much."

"Awesome," Soma said, getting up as well. He started fixing his clothes and got his coat back on, then grabbed the polearm he had placed against the wall. He then looked at Arikado who stared at him questioningly. "Oh, I didn't know he's into guys. That means you can talk him into a threesome once we get out of there! Well, you seem better now, so let's go kick some cultist ass!"

Arikado could only stare after the younger man as he exited the safe room.

Author's notes:

Another challenge ('Winter'), another lame excuse to write pr0n! I BLAME MARSDRAGON FOR THIS. Damn you, woman, and your interest for seeing more pseudo-incest.

- Lady Harken (November, 2005)