Deep Kiss of Winter.

[Hikari_Mamo]

(( Tru dat *had blood tests today*))

Conrad smiled a tiny bit at her comment. "Until the end of time." He muttered to himself as he got to cleaning up the house then fixing the various problems with the plumbing and the roof and the garden. He needed to keep busy. The busier he was the less chance he was going to think about how Fate had given him a beautiful woman who cleared his mind of voices and madness.

"What are we working on?" Ryan's voice sounded not far behind Conrad.

Conrad jumped and held up the rake he'd been using the clear the leaves up at his brother who held his hands up. "Sorry. . . didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to check up on you. See how you were. I've dealt with our brother." He added on a side note. "Turns out he hadn't found his Bride. Just was enthralled by a Siren. So, how are you both?"

Conrad shrugged. "As good as we can be." He said returning to his work. "She's sleeping right now. If you and your woman want to visit call in tomorrow. She's a bit. . . spooked. But I'll let her know you stopped by." He managed to smile at his brother then kept working blocking out anything the other had to say.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson woke up three hours later after she was finally able to get to sleep. Her body felt heavy, but it wasn't like the heaviness she had felt after regaining a body. It was the fleeting heaviness of sleep. As she sat up, the heaviness seemed to dissipate a bit, and she rubbed her eyes, determined to wake up. She really did feel better now. Though, now she was hungry again. She got up and headed down to the kitchen. She wasn't quite sure what time it was, she hadn't really thought to check for a clock.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad traced into the living room at that time covered in dirt and a little bit of mud and a lot of sweat, mixed with some sawdust and sheet rock. "Ugh." He grumbled and trudged off to the nearest bathroom to shower off. He was going to need blood soon. And he wouldn't drink from Alyson. Not until she said so. Besides he had bagged blood in his fridge that he had bought and labeled so she didn't open it on accident and squeal at the blood. He wasn't sexist. He just assumed every woman was delicate and fainted at the sight of blood.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson headed into the kitchen. In her tired state, she didn't really notice the label on the fridge and, as such, opened up Conrad's fridge. She was startled into wakefulness when she grabbed a bag of blood instead of the milk that was in the other fridge and subsequently let out a small yelp and dropped the bag. She then shook her head and bent down to pick up the bag and put it back. Conrad was a vampire. Vampire's drank blood. There were two fridges, one of which said that it was Conrad's and that she shouldn't open it. It clicked together once her brain actually woke up and got to work. once she had returned the bag to it's proper place, she closed Conrad's fridge and opened her own, this time pulling out the milk. She stared at it for a second before putting it back. Yeah, grabbing a blood bag when she wanted milk had kinda put off her desire for milk at the moment. Oh well, she was still rather hungry, so she got out the ingredients to make a sandwich. Something quick and simple.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad heard the yelp and the sound of a bag hitting the floor and let out a chuckle. She was so cute and slightly predictable. But that was okay. She was beautiful, and kind and had a temper which kept him in line and allowed him enough breathing room to fail at flirting yet still find him adorable. He left the bathroom to dry and dress then he went to the kitchen. "Are you okay? I heard a yelp, was there a mouse or something?"  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson frowned. "You think I'd be scared of a mouse?" she asked, a hand on her hip. "No, I, having just woken up, went to get some milk, and wound up with a bag of blood instead. Not the most pleasant of things to grab from an ice chest, let me tell you. Especially when one isn't expecting it." she said, shaking her head and returning to making her sandwich.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad smiled softly and nodded. "Yes. It isn't." He added. "I'm sorry. I should have had something made already for you." He tried to give her a little grin. "Maybe next time?"  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson sighed. "Conrad, I don't expect you to wait on me hand and foot. Don't apologize. I'd hate to be accused of taking advantage of you . . ." the last sentence was a barely audible mumble, but with how viciously she started cutting the tomato into slices, it was clear that Conrad's brother had gotten to her when he accused her of basically being nothing but a gold digger.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"You're not." Conrad said frowning softly touching her shoulder. "I'm telling the truth here. I want to do this for you. As an apology for everything that has happened since I arrived in your life."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson's knife slipped and sliced her thumb, leaving a rather deep cut in the digit. But Alyson wasn't really thinking about that. She whirled around. "Apology?! What on earth do you need to apologize for?! If it wasn't for you I'd still be a ghost! Unable to be seen or heard by anyone! Unable to communicate or move on! I'd still be trapped in this house until my worst fear came true and my tether was removed! I have a second chance at life and you want to apologize for it?!" she shouted at him, tears welling up in her eyes, both from sheer emotion and from the registering pain in her thumb. She had put the knife down and was now clutching the bleeding digit tightly, her hands shaking. "Yeah, it's different now. I'm not human, but it's a hell of a lot better than being dead! I just . . . Why would you ever apologize for saving someone's life?" she asked, the tears spilling over. "You're telling the truth? Then tell me, am I a burden on you?"  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"No." Conrad said. "I feel like a burden to you though," He admitted. "I can't go out in the day light with you unless the sun is setting. I yearn to be closer to you but as the past has shown me I can't control myself when you bleed." He smelt an increase in her scent, her blood but ignored it. "I don't regret anything but the fact that I've brought about the attention of my enemies to you. You've. . . You're very, very important to me Allyson. You're my Bride. You made my heart beat. There is no way that you could ever burden me. But I'm scared that I burden you."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson sighed and shook her head. "Why would you ever feel that way Conrad? You've been nothing but good to me . . . even when I was a ghost . . . you were always looking out for me." she said softly. "You've fixed up my house, allowed me to stay here though it is no longer in my possession, you've helped me reenter the job market and do what I love, though I still have a ways to go in my recovery before I can actually start to work . . . And you've gone out of your way to protect me." she said, sniffling as she wiped at her eyes. "I still don't know what to make of this Bride stuff, and you've just been . . . so understanding and accepting about all of this!"  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad nodded and pulled her into a hug. "I know. It's hard. I promise it's hard." He said sighing softly. "But. . .Ryan said this would take time cause well. . .It's sudden. But hey, at least you're not trying to kill me." He said. "Ryan's bride tried too when they first met. It was funny. I laughed and now he's laughing. . .At me. . ."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson hugged him back. "You haven't tried to force anything on me . . . You've been nothing but kind to me. You've been a perfect gentleman around me. There's nothing to even complain about, much less try to kill you for." she said, a small giggle escaping her.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad smiled softly. "I'm glad." He replied. "I want to continue to be kind to you and protect you and be a gentleman and be a buffer for my crazy family."