Gentle

Chapter 9

Prompt: person A trying to keep person B still for a picture

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"Please tell me we're almost done."

Drac did his best to hold off the chuckle in his throat, but ultimately couldn't, the snicker making his shoulders shake slightly before he returned to his rigid pose. Elegantly seated with his hands on his lap, his head held high and a charming smile on his lips, it was a pose that Dracula had maintained for the past couple of hours. So still he sat, that anyone passing by would have likely thought that he was a lifelike wax statue of Count Dracula and not the vampire himself.

But Ericka was a much different story. A more comical one.

Not used to staying still for such a long stretch of time, the woman had fidgeted in her seat, resisting the urge to tap her foot or drum her fingers. Ericka was a woman of action. To stay still was something that was very much foreign to her, and it was making her restless. But, one spare glance to her side at the man she called her zing would warm her heart and remind her just why she'd agreed in the first place. A downside to being a vampire meant that she and Drac could never take a picture together without it looking like she was the only one in it. She was dying to have any kind of depiction of the two of them together for keepsake, and a portrait painting in the style of the 1800s was the perfect choice.

Or, was it?

Ericka wasn't so sure anymore with her cheeks aching from the smile she'd plastered on, the stiffness of her limbs begging her to stretch, and a pestering itch grabbing hold of her nose that just wouldn't go away. She groaned as the painter, a squat goblin creature with a red beret, looked away from the canvas to squint at them some more, seeming to mentally debate something before he grabbed his brush and made a few more strokes.

"Draaac..."

Drac chuckled again, and slightly shifted his hand so he could pat hers. "Easy, honeybat. He's just about wrapping up."

"Are you sure?"

Drac gave a slight nod.

Ericka breathed a sigh of relief. But then, she began to wiggle her nose.

"Sweetheart, hold still," he gently reprimanded, his tone light as he found her antics amusing.

"I can't," she whispered. "It's itching... a LOT."

He narrowed his eyes at her. Even Johnny had done a better job at holding still for his portrait with Mavis than Ericka. But the smile on the Count's face only grew wider. In no way could he be annoyed with his zing. She was only human, after all, and the way she wiggled her nose was beyond adorable, making him just want to reach out and squish her full cheeks. But, he chose to try and help her instead.

"Here," he said, flicking his wrist and conjuring some of his magic. Using the misty purple cloud, he tried to maneuver it so that it gently rubbed against her nose, in hopes to alleviate the itch. However, that wasn't the case.

"Drac!" Ericka whispered harshly to him. "Stop! It's making it worse!" Tugging her head slightly away from the cloud of purple, she began to inhale, the signs of a sneeze about to break free scrunching on her features when, in a flash, Drac's hand had zipped out right underneath her nose, stopping it right in its tracks...

... Only for Drac to actually be the one to release a sudden sneeze, startling the vampire so much it made him fall right back from his seat! He sat up, eyes wide as he looked at his wife, and then rubbed his head. "Ouchy..."

Taking it as her cue to move, Ericka couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up her throat, a hand covering her mouth as she tried her best to stifle it, the other reaching out grab her husband's arm and help him back up.

Too involved with the chaos that had unfolded, neither one noticed the painter, arms crossed, until the he cleared his throat.

Drac cast an apologetic look the goblin's way. "So sorry, Gary. That came super unexpected. Do you think we could both take five?"

The painter shook his head. Taking the canvas in his clawed green hands, he flipped it over, showing it off to them. The portrait was done!

It was wonderfully made, the talented artist capturing the likeness to the pair so perfectly that it made Ericka forget all of her prior discomfort. She gasped delightedly and clasped her hands together, a beam of happiness on her face as she turned to look at Drac. "It's gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

Drac took it in, agreeing for the most part with Ericka, but shooting her a glance that dared further argue the point.

"Absolutely," he finally said, nodding towards Gary in gratitude. "But not as gorgeous as you, my finicky little tarantula."

Ericka rolled her eyes as he nudged her, and faced him to grab his pale cheeks and lock her lips with his. He hardly deserved the kiss, given that he hadn't exactly helped her with the situation, but like her husband, there was no way that she could be annoyed with her zing.