Work Text:
The sun was setting when a little letter had slipped from underneath the heavy doors of the castle. Unusual. Even for the Count himself, so he did the most sane thing to do. Ignored it. He had a guess as to whom it might be that sent the letter, but he wanted to be wrong about that guess. Oh, how he wished to be wrong about that guess. He left the letter unattended, unwanted, until he no longer could ignore it. He was standing right in front of it. Looking down at it in disdain. It wasn't addressed to Count, Dracula, Vladimir Tepes. No, it was way worse. It was addressed to Mathias Cronqvist. He knew that handwriting and that coat of arms the letter was sealed with. Leon had separated from the crusades while they were passing through Romania to chase after him to fulfil his words. What surprised him was that this was an old letter. A very old one at that. A wedding invitation calling him and his wife to attend it as two important and honourable roles.
Dear Mathias,
Hope this letter finds you and Lady Elisabetha well. I have been meaning to let you know about this for a while, but I never seemed to find the time to talk to you. As you know, Sara and I are soon to be married, and we thought that having you as my best man and Elisabetha as the maid of honour would be an honour to us all. I felt as though sending a normal invitation would be slightly insulting. Thus, I am writing this letter to make sure you both know this before everyone else.
Yours truly, Leon.
The paper showed its age, a decade or so old. Clearly written before the tragedy struck. He flipped the letter around to find a note written in newer ink. Asking to meet outside a nearby church around sundown.
“You really won't give up the hunt, huh?” He muttered to himself before sighing and shutting his eyes for a bit. “Or maybe you came to accept my offer.” A slight frown crept onto his face. It had been around two weeks since he had gotten the letter. What if the other had given up?
“I'll see you there, I will see you there.”
And there he was. He didn't even have to second guess himself on Leon's determination to meet with him. The man was standing by the entrance of the church, wearing an almost identical attire to the day the two had fought. The only difference was that this one was plain white minus for the small different shades of blue that adorned the coat. He looked almost like a bride. The church and the surroundings of it were decorated like a traditional wedding as well, but it felt off. The air did not have that exciting and cheery feeling. It felt more so of doom and unresolved hatred.
When he finally made it inside, he spotted a bunch of mannequins dressed in nice clothing of all sorts. Leon was standing at the altar, looking directly at him, with a small, sweet smile on his face.
“It has been a while. Hasn't it?” A pause followed it. Now looking at the ‘officiant’. “I changed my mind on a few… things after the crusade. After all, I had the time to think things over.”
He silently nodded slightly sceptically. “Answer me this, Leon. What is the meaning of calling me to a wedding?” He had started scanning his face to find a meaning to this, yet the only thing he could see was that disgustingly sweet smile.
“Just missed an old friend, Count Tepes.”
He reached a hand out towards him. “I have been thinking about what you said that night. ‘Come with me, I will give you eternity too.’ I fear I feel like a fool for turning such an offer away. Does that heart of yours still hold an empty slot for me?”
He lowly chuckled, caught off guard by what he was hearing as he got a hold of the hand. “Are you sure that you're the Leon I left that night?”
He nodded while pulling Mathias up to the altar. “Mhm! And as to why I wanted to make it like a wedding… I feel like it is a big commitment to be, you know, immortal. I thought a festive would be appropriate for the occasion.”
Another soft laugh left his mouth surprised, really. “You are the same man who said; ‘Eternity would be nothing but emptiness without her?’ I doubt that.” Silence was the answer he got. Leon had walked off to a nearby table with beer and wine sitting on it. Preparing drinks.
“The usual, I suppose. Unless your taste changed over the decade, too.”
He brought a tray with some cheese and a goblet of red wine alongside a mug of beer. He didn't comment on anything. He just took the goblet and a bite of the cheese.
“You are still angry at me.”
“I, certainly, am not. What are you talking about?”
“You declared you, and the Belmont clan would hunt me and the night. There is certainly no way all that anger melted away to this.”
“Well,” he started. Mathias, no Dracula, was right. He was still angry. Hatred still deep within his heart, but he had to mask it. “It has, actually. I am no longer angry with you for it.”
Silence fell between the two as they continued their little ‘feast’.
Leon was the first to stand up. The fake small smile turning into a somewhat legit one. “A dance before the kiss, perhaps?” A slight raised brow was all he got before a soft scoff. “As long as I am capable of stepping on my feet when we stop.”
The two stood in the middle of the church now. The idol of Mother Mary's gaze looming over the two of them.
“I forgot how disturbing statues look sometimes.”
“It's probably because we are doing something the church is against.”
“God has abandoned this church years ago. It's nothing but an empty house, Mathias. Minus for her, I think.”
“How do you know?” He was trying to ignore how Leon still called him by his old name. Though he didn't mind it… coming from him.
“Saw the priest and the nuns fleeing while the crusade army was closing in. I'm not sure as to why they did that, but it's abandoned now.”
He snapped his fingers, and as soon as Leon started humming a tune, a bunch of instruments started playing by themselves. He winked at the other in a mischievous way. “Might have learned a spell or two.”
“A branle? Really?”
“What else if not the branle?” He replied, giggling. The music was fun. It sounded like the festivals the two used to attend back when they were both on duty. It brought back some good memories. Where everything was just… perfect.
The hall was filled with the sound of a joy that had been long forgotten between the two. Leon clumsily stepped on his foot every once in a few minutes. It didn't matter now. Not at this very moment. A celebration for both. Mathias smiled. He wasn't going to be alone through his eternity anymore. Song lyrics were getting mixed up or sung with the wrong tune, stopping every once in a while to grab a drink and a quick bite before going back to dancing. This moment had brought the two of them together. Maybe the dreading feeling Dracula had was just his judgemental side talking. It had been a while. A few hours maybe, when the music stopped and Leon stood there trying to catch his breath while leaning against a table.
“Have not done this in quite a bit. Thank you for accepting the offer.”
“Always.” He said while filling up his wine glass for who knows how many times that night. Leon giggled at his face.
“Weren't you light weight? How many cups did you drink?”
“You were the lightweight one. Not me. I should be the one asking that. Not you.”
He shrugged while eating a bit of steak. Though the meat was cooked it was still bloody. He saw him staring. “What? Are you imagining the steak was my neck?”
Dracula choked on his drink, completely caught off guard by what he heard.
“What!?”
“I didn't say anything?”
Both were slightly flushed. Leon kept giggling. Trying to make it less awkward, but it didn't help at all. He walked closer to Leon, technically trapping him between the table and himself.
“About the kiss we have been avoiding, Leon. Is it time for it yet?”
“I was about to get to it, right about now actually.”
The two remained quiet. Not really sure on how to go about it. Leon had closed his eyes. He was waiting. Suddenly he started looking fragile. Slightly reminding him of his Elisabetha. His sweet Elisabetha that had been cruelly taken from him by none other than the merciful God. Dracula hugged him for a while before slowly moving his face to the other's neck. His teeth grazed the other and right as he was about to sink in his teeth he felt a sharp pain in his chest. A wooden stake in Leon's hands. Pushed right through his heart. In shock he fell to his knees. Leon's smile had faded away. Replaced by a frown. His consciousness faded just as quickly as the smile that adorned Leon's face seconds ago. He tried to grasp onto Leon's hand one last time feeling himself turning to dust.
Silence. Leon stared down at the pile of dust and ash in front of him. He wanted to kick it away. Rid of it. His eyes threatened to well up with his tears. He stood still before grabbing an unused cup picking up some of the ash.
“I won't forget you… and I hope you'll do the same for when we see each other in hell, Mathias.”