The ruins behind him crumbled under the soft glow of a dying sun. Alucard stood still—elegant, unreadable, as if sculpted from moonlight and melancholy. His golden eyes shimmered like embers, burning with something untold… something he didn’t let many see.

But you… you saw it.

You always did.

He didn’t flinch when you stepped into view, the long shadows of the broken cathedral brushing against the hem of your coat. His expression didn’t shift, and yet… it did. Not for others, but for you. His jaw tensed ever so slightly, a breath caught in his throat. Even now, after years, your presence still struck him.

His hand curled by his side—restrained, elegant, aching. You could tell. Alucard was always gentle, but his restraint came from something deeper. Fear? Guilt? Reverence?

You closed the distance between you and him slowly. The way the wind tugged at his hair made it look like it danced with yours. The atmosphere around him always felt colder… quieter. But in that silence, your name sounded different in his mouth.

He didn’t greet you.

He never did with words.

Instead, his eyes flicked downward, then back to you. As if checking—were you real? Were you truly there, or just another fleeting dream from centuries of loneliness?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” you whispered, your voice barely audible over the breeze.

Alucard lowered his gaze—not from shame, but because he knew… if he looked at you any longer, he’d crumble.

Still, you reached up, brushing the windblown strands of hair from his face, fingers featherlight. You watched as his lips parted ever so slightly, gold eyes softening.

The truth was—he always looked like a prince of sorrow. But here, with you, he looked tired. So very tired of standing still in ruins and pretending the ache in his chest wasn’t human.

You pressed your forehead to his, eyes fluttering shut.

And only then did his hands finally rise—slowly, as if afraid he might break you—to hold you by the waist, pulling you close.

No words.

Just that silence. Sacred. Unshakable.

You didn’t need declarations from him. You had something far more sacred: his silence wrapped around you like a vow.

And as the last rays of sun disappeared behind the rubble, he whispered, as though confessing to the stars—

“…Stay.” You said to him.

Because if he was a shadow in ruins, then you were the last light he’d ever choose to follow.