Alucard expected the hint might take some time to get in. He had hoped that the good bye was a sign of closure, blunt and awful as it was to hear. But in the split second of a hand on his shoulder to embrace, he felt every part of himself tear in every direction at once.

He wasn't in the courtyard. He was in his bed. He was still trying to be diplomatic, reassuring, and yet the sword was there, he was defending himself he was--

--shaking and managing a single, whispered request. "Please let go."

Even Trevor's light grip was too much.