Chapter Text
The day of their wedding dawned clear and bright, without a cloud in the sky. It was surprisingly hot too, though a slight breeze helped to cool things down. Their wedding would be on the last day of August, in the church in the small town near their cabin. Enough of their close friends had been able to attend and were staying in the town’s inn.
Vanessa found herself surprisingly calm that morning as she got ready, wearing a deep blue dress that she had asked Sir Malcolm to bring from London. She had rarely worn the outfit, but it was nice enough to be wed in, and it was most importantly not black. Ethan was getting ready downstairs, and then he would be on his way to the church first.
There was a knock on the door, and a moment later Sir Malcolm’s voice followed, “Vanessa?”
“Come in,” she told him, and he did so.
“You look beautiful,” he breathed after a moment of taking in the sight of her.
Vanessa flushed a little, “Thank you.”
“I came to tell you that Ethan is on his way to the church now,” he informed her, “If you do not wish to be confined in here any longer.”
She smiled at him a little, “Since we still have some time before we are expected to leave, would you like to take a walk outside?”
“That would be lovely,” Sir Malcolm agreed.
They walked slowly, cautious not to upset Vanessa’s outfit in any way. They were waiting for the coach that had taken Ethan to return for them, and found themselves by the shores of the lake. They stood their together for a while, arm in arm, watching the slight waves on the water, careful not to get too close lest they accidentally ruin Vanessa’s dress.
“Do you remember when we were children, and we would come in soaking wet after a swim? We always thought we were so quiet, but we were always caught. We hated when it was you that caught us the most,” Vanessa broke the silence.
Sir Malcolm chuckled a little, “I do, as a matter of fact.”
“Mrs. Murray was distraught when it was she who found us out,” Vanessa continued, “The servants, they were irritated, because it meant more work for them. But you, you would stand there, stern and silently disappointed in us for our tomfoolery. Peter would break first and confess, and then Mina would try to stand by me, but you’d threaten us with some punishment I cannot even remember, and then she’d break, and I’d break too, lest you think it was me who was the instigator.”
“I always knew,” he huffed out, “Peter was too afraid for those sort of antics, unless he thought the two of you might be in some danger. Mina might have liked to act innocent, but she would have followed you gladly to the pits of hell had you asked her to.”
“I would never have,” Vanessa assured.
“I know,” he replied, and they were silent once more, thinking about Mina and Peter.
Vanessa wished Mina could have been here for her wedding, more than she wished for her mother or father. She hoped that she was at peace in heaven, for that was surely where she was now. Vanessa refused to consider otherwise. She had enough guilt without adding that to the list as well, after all.
After a while they both decided to head back inside to wait for the carriage. It was not a long wait.
Sir Malcolm turned to her and asked, “Shall we, then?”
“Yes,” Vanessa nodded, and they left.
-o-o-o-
Ethan was glad that Victor had come with him to the church. He did not like churches, though the priest in this one was kind. The good doctor did not like them as well, and so they found something else they had in common, though of course they did not discuss it.
“They will be here soon,” Victor assured him.
“I know,” he replied.
“It’s funny,” Victor mused, “I never thought of the two of you as the marrying kind.”
Ethan chuckled a little, “Neither did we.”
“Then what changed?” the other man asked, less curious and more bored.
“We met each other,” Ethan replied simply, “And we realized that while neither of us needed to be wed, we both wanted to. So we decided to get married.”
Victor snorted, “Quite a reason to get married.”
“Well, maybe it will never be for you,” Ethan quipped, “But maybe it will be. You never know.”
“Right,” Victor replied, in a tone that told Ethan he wanted to drop the conversation.
They were mostly silent after that. Ethan decided to pray, and Victor sighed derisively and fidgeted in the pew where he sat, uncomfortable with the prayers and the church itself.
The church doors opened soon after, but it was not Sir Malcolm and Vanessa; it was Mr. Lyle, who looked as if he had ran there from the inn. The two men inside the church shot him a bemused look, but he was not late, and so they did not comment as he came and joined them, sitting beside Victor. It had been somewhat of a surprise that he had been able to return to England for their wedding, but when he had shown up he had informed them that it was Sir Malcolm’s idea. Vanessa had been quite happy to see him, as had Ethan.
Only two more guests had yet to arrive; Kaetenay and Miss Hartdegen, who showed up soon after Mr. Lyle. Dr. Seward had been unable to attend, but had sent them a letter wishing them well, and promising to meet with Vanessa the next time they were in London. As it stood now, Ethan and Vanessa were not sure if they would return when the year was up, or try to renew the lease.
It was not long after that that Sir Malcolm walked in. Ethan and the priest took their places at the altar, as did Victor, who was standing with Ethan. Sir Malcolm would walk down the aisle with Vanessa and then stand with her.
Vanessa was radiant. The deep blue of her dress called attention to the blue of her eyes, eyes which were shining as she got closer to the altar. She was smiling and Ethan could not help but match her joyful expression with one of his own. It felt unreal, to be about to marry her.
The ceremony was a traditional Catholic one, as Vanessa had insisted upon. Ethan had had no qualms about giving her that, if it was what she wanted. He found himself unfocused for most of it, too busy staring at his soon to be wife and marveling about how they’d gotten here. Though the ceremony was long, it felt too soon that it was over. And though it wasn’t proper, when the priest declared them man and wife, Ethan could not stop himself from kissing Vanessa-nor could she help responding to said kiss.
They left together hand in hand. They would celebrate at the inn in town, which was much larger than their cabin and therefore better suited to a wedding party. Sir Malcolm had promised to throw them a ball in their honor upon their next trip or return to London too, and Ethan found himself immensely grateful and pleased to have such good friends.
They danced at the inn, as well as eating and drinking. Locals who had wandered into the inn for a drink and found their celebration had wished the new couple congratulations. At one point Ethan sat talking with the other men while Vanessa and Miss Hartdegen danced, Vanessa trying to teach the younger woman. There was much laughter coming from their corner of the room.
It was one of the happiest days of Ethan’s life, and he was certain that it was the same for Vanessa.
-o-o-o-
They returned to their cabin late, so late that the drinks they’d had had mostly worn off. They were relaxed, and happy. Ethan insisted on carrying Vanessa over the threshold, much to her amusement. They first shared a cigarette downstairs, and then a bath after. The night air was cool and filled with anticipation.
When they finally made their way upstairs, it did not take long for the atmosphere to become one of intense desire. Their mouths found each other’s, and they shed what little they were wearing quickly. Ethan lifted Vanessa and carried her to the bed, depositing her on it and covering her body with his own.
“I love you,” he whispered, looking down on her. He couldn’t stop himself from brushing some hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears.
Then he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her all over her face, starting with the tip of her nose, to her forehead, her cheeks, her chin, both eyelids after they’d closed, and finally her mouth again. The kiss was gentle, exploratory. It was unhurried, both of them basking in the luxury of having time.
“I love you too,” she whispered back after they broke the kiss, “So much. You make me so happy, Ethan. Thank you.”
It almost broke his heart, what she’d said. But one look at her face-calm and filled with so much love and peace-told him that she was simply stating how she felt, rather than focusing on any dark thoughts. The joy in her matched the joy in him as they kissed again.
“I must be the luckiest man alive to have you as my wife,” he told her after.
“We complete each other,” Vanessa concluded. Ethan nodded his agreement.
After that, there was no more talking for a long while. Ethan kissed his way along Vanessa’s jaw, down her long neck, to the sharp juts of her collarbones. He bit her where one collarbone met breast, reveling in the keening noise she made as he marked her, the way her fingers tangled tightly in his short hair in response to hold him there. She was his, but likewise he was hers. As she had said, they completed each other.
Ethan took his time with her breasts, using mouth and hands to tease her until she was a gasping, squirming mess beneath him. Then he moved south, kissing her belly, the flares of her hips, her thighs. Finally he kissed the dark hair between her legs and rested there for a moment, breathing her in. He intended to worship his wife.
“Ethan, please,” Vanessa whined eventually, when he made no further move.
He was more than happy to oblige, settling in to devour her. As she got closer and closer to her peak from the ministrations of his tongue, he pushed two of his fingers inside her. The curling motions he made found the place inside of her that gave her the most pleasure, and it was not long before she came. She cried out his name as she did so. Ethan was relentless, quickly coaxing her to a second, smaller orgasm before pulling off of her. He could not help himself, and left a mark on the inside of her thigh as well. Vanessa growled at it, and when he came up to kiss her she used it as an opportunity to flip them over so he was the one on his back.
It was Vanessa’s turn to explore Ethan’s body with her mouth and hands now. She bit him on his collarbone, in the same place he had marked her. It was quite clear what she was doing; she was letting him know that they were evenly matched. Ethan had loved people before, but he had never loved anyone the way he loved Vanessa. The intensity of their connection was bone deep, primal. He would not have been surprised to find they’d shared many lifetimes, so entwined he felt their souls were. He did not share these thoughts with Vanessa then, too overwhelmed was he; but he meant to, one day.
Ethan was snapped out of his reverie by Vanessa’s hand on his cock. She smirked against the skin of his neck and the choked noise he let out as she stroked him, and pulled back to watch his face as she did so. She let go of him, and moved so she could take him into her mouth. Vanessa sucked and licked at Ethan slowly, wanting him to exist only in that moment. It worked.
She let go of him once she sensed he was close, and gave him a break by kissing him. They exchanged words of love into each other’s mouth between desperate kisses. When Vanessa’s impatience grew, she moved again, settling herself above Ethan’s cock. She took it in hand and sank down onto him. There was a moment then, where they just breathed, and both knew that this particular encounter was not one they would ever forget. It was, after all, the first time they were joined so intimately as man and wife.
Once Vanessa began to move, all coherent thought left them both, as their worlds narrowed down to where they were joined and the movement of the other’s body. No man had ever felt so good inside of her, Vanessa was sure, and likewise Ethan was sure that no other person he had slept with had ever come close to making him feel as euphoric as he did with his wife.
Vanessa gripped the bars of the headboard for leverage, and the change of angle allowed Ethan to sit slightly and suck one breast into his mouth. He delighted in the shocked gasp Vanessa let out, and let one hand find her clit. He paid close attention to the grunts and moans she let out as she neared climax.
Ethan let go of her breast when he knew she was almost there, both not wanting to overstimulate her and needing to see her face when she came. They locked eyes then. One well timed thrust from them both combined with a slight pinch of her clit was all it took and she came with an unintelligible scream. The sight of her as she came and the feel of her clenching around him were all it took for him and Ethan followed, groaning out her name as he orgasmed.
He fell back almost immediately, and Vanessa was shaking as she let go of the headboard and climbed off his softening cock, reluctant to break their connection, but needing to feel his arms around her. Ethan obliged, and they ended up laying on their sides, facing one another and occasionally exchanging kisses as they held each other.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Vanessa gasped inches from his mouth in a momentary pause between kisses.
“I love you, Mrs. Chandler,” Ethan replied, for they had decided she would take that name. Though he had faced his past head on and made peace with it, Ethan hated his real name too much to want her to take it, and Vanessa had agreed that she would take whatever name he asked her to.
“Say it again,” she whispered, smiling radiantly.
“Mrs. Chandler,” Ethan indulged her, kissing her again.
-o-o-o-
“The devil made me an offer, that night in the witches’ castle,” Vanessa spoke into the darkness, so quietly Ethan might not have heard her if not for the fact that he was lying so close to her.
They had spent the past few hours oscillating between kissing, touching each other, making love, and drifting in and out of a light sleep. Vanessa was on her back now, looking at the ceiling, and Ethan lay facing her but not touching her.
He changed that, moving an arm to wrap it around her and pull her closer to him. She turned her head to smile sweetly at him, a hand coming to his face to pull it down so she could kiss him softly.
“What was the offer?” Ethan asked after they broke the kiss, sensing that she needed to get whatever it was off her chest.
“A normal life, with you,” she told him, searching his face for a reaction, “One where Mina was alive and we were still the best of friends, and our children were the best of friends, too. He tempted me with a vision of this life.”
“Why didn’t you give in?” Ethan asked, sensing he knew the answer but wanting to hear it from Vanessa herself.
“Because it wasn’t real,” she told him simply, “My life has not been easy. It has been painful and difficult and there have been many times where I wished I would just die. I thought that the world would be better without me in it, too many times. But it has been my life, Ethan. And though I did not know that you were similarly afflicted then, I knew in my soul that we were kindred spirits. And beyond the fact that giving in would have meant causing the pain and suffering of countless people was the fact that I’d rather have this life with you than a false one where we had never suffered.”
Ethan was not quite sure what to say, overwhelmed by her answer. So instead he simply held her when she turned to burrow her face in his chest, and let his feelings for her wash over him as he felt her probe his mind, clearly feeling uneasy with his lack of verbal response.
“You were wrong,” he whispered in her ear finally, “Even when you were at your lowest, when you’d given in to Dracula-the world was and always will be better with you in it, Vanessa. We all make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes hurt people. But it does not mean that we can’t or shouldn’t try to right them. And you living, trying to heal-that is the best way to do so. You never needed me to save you; you needed me to show you what you already knew deep down: that God would forgive you, if only you believed in and forgave yourself.”
“The devil will be back for me,” she breathed after a moment, too overwhelmed by what he had said to directly address it, “I spoke his language to save you. I don’t regret it-I would do it over again, a thousand times, to be sure you were safe.”
“We will handle that if it comes to it,” Ethan told her, soothingly.
“I love you, Ethan,” Vanessa whispered, “So much more than I ever thought I could love anyone.”
“I know,” he whispered back, “Me too. I love you so much that it scares me sometimes.”
“Don’t be afraid,” she murmured, and Ethan realized she was drifting off to sleep, “We are together, and that is all that matters.”
“It is,” Ethan agreed.
“We will figure out the rest of it as we go along,” Vanessa yawned, “But not tonight. Tonight, we should try to sleep.”
“Tomorrow will be our first full day as a married couple,” he told her, and felt her smile against his bare skin.
“I cannot wait,” she responded.
For once, she found herself truly meaning it. For all their faults, and their mistakes, they were here, together. Somehow, they’d made it, even after they’d both hit rock bottom. Neither had given up on the other, and they were stronger for it. No matter what came next, they’d face it, together. For once, Vanessa truly had hope for the future; their future.
With that in mind, she fell asleep peacefully, with Ethan’s arms around her; the arms of her husband. The man who showed her that she was still worthy of loving and being loved, no matter what she’d done. Who had convinced her at her lowest point that life was worth living, and that perhaps the world was a better place with her in it after all. The man who had helped to restore her faith in God after she had fallen from it. She knew she’d done the same for him as well.
Together, they could do anything and everything. Of that they were both completely certain.