1. Chapter 1 (1/1)

i'm back! and more awesome than ever. anyway, here's an old one about one of the very few ways i can see this pairing actually coming about.

disclaimer: yd is still not mine, despite my best efforts.

"you betrayed me, bertrand. you kidnapped my girlfriend and stole my book." vlad was angry, it was obvious. he had every right to be. bertrand, for once in his life, was going to grovel."i'm sorry. i shouldn't have done it. i'll do anything i can to make it up to you." the chosen one considered that for a moment, a thoughtful expression forming on his face.

"you're on your last warning," he said at last. "and if you really want to help me, you'll help ingrid. i know she's felt isolated in the past but we should all be on the same side now. i need someone to look after her." bertrand nodded, rising from his kneeling position on the floor. "and bertrand, if you betray her, you will have both of us to answer to." it was unlikely that he would survive such a reckoning.

ingrid, of course, was no fool. "we're on buddy duty, then, are we? traitors together?"bertrand shrugged. "vlad seemed to think you might be lonely." he realised he'd misphrased it as soon as her eyes narrowed."and he's trying to set us up, is that what this is?" she paused for a moment. "well, let him try.""i don't think that's what he meant-""he told me you needed loosening up and that he thought we'd make a great team." she raised an eye

ow. "care to reassess?"

bertrand swallowed hard. vlad wanted to set him up with ingrid. he was with erin, and he wanted the rest of his household to pair off just as nicely. moreover, he wanted bertrand to be what ingrid needed; he'd said as much to bertrand just minutes before. what did ingrid need?"if he really thought we'd make a great team, surely he'd try to keep us apart in case we mutinied?"ingrid smiled

ightly. "now you're thinking. there's that

ain he keeps you around for."

he sighed. "what do you think, ingrid? do i need loosening up?"she met his gaze without so much as a flicker of hesitation. "almost certainly. and i could do with a little stress relief. what do you say?"vlad's orders ringing in his ears, he bowed his head slightly, forcing the corners of his mouth upwards."as you wish."