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Alucard runs a hand through his hair with a sigh, watching the crowd full of masked people dance their cares away underneath the light of twinkling chandeliers. Under normal circumstances, he would have been enchanted by the scene in front of him, but an hour into the masquerade ball and he’s already drained. Socializing with a bunch of aristocrats will do that to you, especially if all they talk about is their rich and glamorous lifestyles.
So he makes the decision to leave the ballroom and enter one of the castle’s dimly lit hallways. On either side of him, paintings of the royal family adorn the walls and Alucard stops to inspect one. Princess Silvanna stares back at him, standing proud with one hand on her lance. He remembers meeting her once to pledge his loyalty to the kingdom as a demon hunter. All in all, he’s glad that he’s working for someone so level-headed and strong.
Alucard turns to inspect the next painting but is stopped by the sound of the violin filling the halls. The haunting melody causes goosebumps to rise in his skin, reminding him of funerals and the lonely hours of early dawn. Curious, he follows the melody to its source and finds a man standing in the center of a moonlit room, swaying slightly as he plays to an imaginary audience.
Woah. Alucard stares, transfixed at the sight before him.
The musician has his back towards him, his delicate fingers moving along the strings of the violin with ease and grace. Like the melody being played, his attire is somber, all black with hints of silver that dance around his coat in intricate patterns. Alucard quietly steps into the room and sits on a nearby stool while the man continues on, apparently too lost in his own music to notice him. It’s strangely endearing and he can’t help but smile.
The elegance of the moment shatters though when the musician makes a mistake, abruptly ending his melody in a screech that resembles nails on chalk.
“Fuck!” He drops his arms with a heavy sigh, shaking his head. “I thought I got it this time.”
He turns around and startles when he sees Alucard, who is equally stunned at the sight of blood red eyes, perfectly framed by a sleek, dark mask that stands out against his pale features.
“Who the fuck are you?” the musician demands, pointing his bow at Alucard threateningly.
Alucard shoots up from his seat. “Woah woah, easy there,” he says, raising his hands up in an effort to calm him down. “I happened to hear you from the hallway and—“
“And what?” he interrupts, scowling. “Thought it would be nice to just sit there and watch me like a creep?”
Alucard wilts against the musician’s intense glare. “I’m sorry, it’s just—” he smiles bashfully, eyes alight with admiration, “you play beautifully, you know.” He lowers his bow in surprise and Alucard quickly takes his chance. “The way you moved and handled the violin was so full of passion that it’s…mesmerizing to watch.” He takes the musician’s hands in his, staring right into his eyes. “I find that very attractive in a person.”
To his delight, the musician flushes and snatches his hands back with a grimace. “Flattery isn’t going to help you.”
He crouches down and starts putting away his violin in a case while Alucard sighs.
“I mean it though,” he says, almost petulantly. “You sound really good.”
The musician ignores him, heading straight towards the door until he’s stopped by Alucard’s grip on his arm.
“What?” he spits out.
“Will I see you in the ballroom?”
“What makes you think I want to be with you?”
Alucard shakes his head as if the musician was acting like a disagreeable child. “Because,” he says, gazing at him hopefully, “I want to get to know you more.”
His face softens slightly at Alucard’s puppy eyes. “I—” he stops, eyes shifting from Alucard to the door before sighing, “perhaps I’ll be there.”
“Great!” Alucard lifts his hand up for a kiss, smiling up at the musician. “I look forward to our dance then.”
Three dance partners later and Alucard has yet to see his red-eyed musician. He’d been biding his time, dancing with other people, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find him.
“What’s wrong?” His current partner, Miya, looks at him with concerned blue eyes. “Do you not want to dance with me?”
“Oh no no,” Alucard says, apologetic, “I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
He sighs. “I was hoping to meet someone here, but I’m afraid I can’t find him.”
“Perhaps I could help,” Miya says, smiling. “What does he look like?”
Silky dark hair, beautiful red eyes, intimidatingly hot, he thinks, but what comes out instead is, “Pretty.”
Miya chuckles as Alucard bows his head in embarrassment. “Of course, but tell me something identifying. What color is his mask? His hair? His eyes?”
“Well,” he starts, “he has red eyes and black hair with a white streak in the middle.” He pauses. “Oh and his mask is black and red too. He has this whole theme going on.”
Miya opens her mouth in surprise. “Oh my.”
“It’s not that strange, is it?” he says, feeling weirdly defensive. “Black and red look good together.”
“No no.” She giggles at Alucard’s frown. “That’s not what I was surprised about, just—” she pulls away from and starts walking away, “I’ll be right back, so stay right there.”
“Okay…” he says, watching her disappear into the crowd. Strange, what’s gotten into her?
Alucard shakes his head in bemusement and moves to the side, away from the people still dancing. He sweeps his gaze over the crowd again in an attempt to find the musician, but to no avail. Did he imagine their whole encounter?
Just as he was about to leave, someone is suddenly shoved into his arms, causing him to step back and grab their waist to steady himself.
“Woah. Careful there, buddy,” Alucard says. “You should probably sit down if you’re this drunk.”
The figure lifts their head up, revealing two familiar red eyes. Alucard freezes.
“I’m not drunk,” the musician grumbles, hesitantly placing a hand on Alucard’s shoulder while lifting up the one on his waist. “Though I wish I was. It’d make this night more bearable.”
“You’re here,” Alucard says in disbelief as the musician guides them to the dance floor. “Where were you?”
“Around,” he replies cryptically. “I don’t exactly like crowds, nor do I like elves meddling in my business.”
He looks to the side and Alucard follows his gaze to see Miya waving back at them, dancing away with another woman. Alucard waves back, mouthing a ‘thank you’ before turning back to the musician in front of him.
“Well, I’m glad she meddled,” he says, smiling down at him. “She gave me a chance to have someone as beautiful as you in my arms.”
“Oh my god,” the musician drops his head onto his shoulder and sighs, ears turning red. “You’re unbelievable.”
Alucard laughs, feeling lighter than he’s ever been in months. “Get used to it, my dear musician. I’ll be complimenting you every chance I get until I see you smile.”
“Yeah right,” he mutters, but Alucard can tell he’s amused by the small quirk of his lips. “And my name’s Granger, by the way.”
“Granger?” he pauses, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Why does that sound familiar?”
Granger purses his lips, visibly withdrawing from the conversation. “It could be a common name.”
“Right…” Alucard says, unconvinced. Though he lets it slide in favor of dropping Granger into a dip, grinning at the wide-eyed look he gets. “And my name is Alucard,” he winks, “pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Granger says dryly. “Actually, your name sounds familiar too.”
“Maybe we’re soulmates,” he says, pulling him back up, “destined to meet on this one fateful night.”
Granger scoffs. “I don’t believe in destiny.”
“Well, destiny or not, can’t you feel this connection we have?”
Alucard pulls them along the dance floor, watching Granger’s expression shift to something gentler as he considers his statement. From the moment they met, he was instantly drawn to the musician, curious about the mysteries that lay hidden behind those bewitching eyes. He could only hope that Granger feels the same way.
Granger loosens his grip on Alucard. “Let’s get out of here. I’m tired of dancing.”
Alucard pauses, but then smiles as he takes Granger’s hand again and drags him out of the dance floor. “How about the gardens then? We can talk more there.”
Granger isn’t sure why Alucard insists on being with him the whole night, but he’d be lying if he said he hated it. He’s like a breath of fresh air in his dreary life, bringing lightness back in his chest and peace in his mind.
They’re currently sitting down on one of the stone benches in the garden, surrounded by several types of delicate flowers that make the scene more intimate. Alucard fills the silence with small talk and for once, Granger is grateful for the noise. It helps distract him from the tingling feeling rising within him, something that he thought he’d tamped down ever since he lost everyone he loved.
“Hey.” Granger tilts his head up. Alucard smiles at him, though it's lukewarm compared to his previous ones. “You know, when I was watching you play, I thought of something.” He hums to show his interest and Alucard continues in a low voice. “Your song...it reminded me of death and grief,” he says, and Granger feels a strange apprehension curl up inside him. “The way you were playing made it seem like you were mourning something.”
Granger’s lips thin into a straight line. He could feel Alucard’s gaze on him and fidgets with the edges of his sleeves, unsure of how to respond. In truth, he was only practicing that song because it reminded him of the peaceful nights of his childhood, a time before he was thrust all alone into an unforgiving world. Perhaps he is still mourning, considering how fixated he is with such somber music.
“Honestly, I think I was more focused on you than the song,” Alucard says, chuckling. “You looked so elegant and serene, but at the same time sorrowful.”
He gently lifts Granger’s hand to his lips, smiling. “If you’ll let me, I’d like to stay by your side and keep you from being that sad again.”
Granger is silent for a moment, staring at his hand then looking back up at him warily.
“Are you sure you want to be associated with me?” Granger says, red eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Flashes of blood and gunshots echo inside his head and the urge to run intensifies. “They say death follows me wherever I go.”
“Funny,” Alucard replies, leaning in closer until their lips are merely a breath apart, “they say that about me too.”
Granger’s mind short-circuits at their proximity. He knows that he should ask for clarification on what Alucard just said, but his thoughts are interrupted by him cupping his face in one hand, thumb stroking the skin beneath his mask.
“Can I kiss you?” he whispers.
Granger answers him by yanking his collar and sealing their lips together, eyes squeezed shut. Alucard tenses, likely not expecting that, but quickly reciprocates, hand lowering to hold his neck and deepen the kiss. He smiles and playfully licks his lips, causing Granger to pull away with a scowl.
“I can feel you smiling,” he says. “Find something funny?”
“No no,” Alucard says, expression dripping with fondness, “you just look really cute with your eyes closed like that.”
He cradles Granger’s face in both hands with a smile. Granger feels his heart flutter and leans into his touch shyly, looking away in embarrassment when Alucard’s gaze turns even more besotted.
“I—” Granger is interrupted by the chime of the clock as midnight strikes, breaking the spell that was cast on them previously. He watches Alucard’s face fall and feels his own disappointment wash over him.
“The masquerade’s ending,” he says, not knowing what else to do. He stands up and stares at the moon, heart heavy. In the back of his mind, he remembers a piece of poetry regarding ships in the night, meeting for one intense moment before parting, never to see each other again. Would their meeting end that way as well? “Guess this is goodbye.”
It’d be for the best, he thinks, turning to leave before he changes his mind. Once again, he is stopped by Alucard, who looks at him with wide eyes.
“Wait, I—” he moves to hold both of his hands in his, “will I see you again?”
“My line of work isn’t well suited for relationships.”
Granger expects fervent denial, but Alucard only lets out a small huff of amusement. “I knew that,” he says, “the Death Chanter is known to work alone, doesn’t he?”
“How did you—” Alucard cuts him off with another kiss, much to Granger’s frustration, but he doesn’t hesitate in kissing him back, his traitorous heart slowly swelling up with hope.
“This doesn’t have to be goodbye,” Alucard says once they pull away, gazing at him intently. “Let’s meet again some other time.”
Many thoughts rush through Granger’s head, the clearer ones being that Alucard is likely also a hunter, and the other being that he really really wants to see him again. It boggles his mind how quickly he’s become attached to Alucard, but at that moment, he knew he couldn’t resist any longer.
“Alright then,” he says, a smile creeping up his lips. He chuckles at Alucard’s surprised expression and softly pecks his cheek. “I look forward to our next meeting.”