Crossover: Yami no Matsuei/Trinity Blood, Count of Candles/Abel Nightroad, gentling to touch
When he had first met Father Abel Nightroad, the Count had been curious about the apparently gentle soul that had been partnered with his favorite shinigami. It had actually been in Tsuziki’s presence that he met the tall, willowy man, Tsuzuki having come to beg another favor from the Count, either information or the extension of another life for just a bit longer, but the Count’s invisible eyes had been drawn towards Abel. He hadn’t flirted and teased as usual with Tsuzuki, unable to put his full attention into the violet eyed shinigai, instead sneaking glances at the silver haired partner Tsuzuki now had.
It had taken longer to realize that Tsuzuki’s partner had been connected to one of his more... interesting candles. Four candles the color of freshly spilt blood that never seemed to extinguish or vanish once the flame goes out. Ordinary candles, even the ones connected to vampires, would eventually fade once it had been extinguished, indicating that the soul had been reborn or had gone on to whatever final reward it deserved. But the one candle, the one for the Fourth, had never faded, and it had been the only one to be extinguished. The one for the First, had dimmed, nearly guttering out, but had built up strength again over the years until it was burning just as brightly as before. That had made the Count wonder if it was possible for these candles to be extinguished by another other than a truly violent death as the Fourth had been.
The he had met Abel Nightroad and had been drawn to the suffering he could see in that gentle soul. He wanted to soothe the pain away, kiss tears off of pale cheeks, and see blue eyes shining with hope and laughter instead of the guilt and sorrow he found there. Not even Tsuzuki had made him feel this way towards anyone. He had found the connection to the Second’s candle one evening, when the department had been invited over for one of the Count’s parties. Abel had turn a wrong corner and had gotten lost. While the others had been searching frantically for him, having remembered what happened when Tsuzuki had gotten lost in the Mansion, the Count had followed the faint trickle of other through the Mansion to find Abel standing before the four candles, staring at them with a strange look on his face. Behind him, stood a shadow of a woman with dark skin and fire red hair who looked on with a look that could almost be described as possessive sorrow. He had started to put a hand on Abel’s arm to draw him out of his thoughts, when Abel flinched at the touch, his eyes wide and vulnerable for a moment as he stared at the Count. Then, he had blinked and the friendly, smiling mask had slammed down.
From that point on, the Count had started courting Abel in a slow and gentle way. He would touch an arm or a hand over tea, brush hair away from that beautiful face, small things to get Abel use to his touch so he would stop that painful flinching whenever anyone touched him. And with each touch, the Count found himself falling more and more for Abel. He knew it would be worth the wait, the patient touches, when Abel came to him, and he hoped by that time, he would be able to banish the spirit that lingered behind him like a vengeful wraith, because to see what those black robes hid, to worship Abel as he deserved to be, and warming Abel’s life even as his own was warmed and filled would be the ultimate prize.
Because then, he would have Abel’s heart as Abel had his.