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Abolish rested his forehead against the glass for just a moment before pulling back from the cold. He already felt cold enough from being a vampire, he didn't need to get any colder. With a sigh, he stepped back from the window and turned to Legundo, who was standing nead the couch.
"Well, it looks like the storm isn't going to let up anytime soon." In fact, the wind and snow were beating against its window quite loudly. A branch was smacking against the window on the other side of the room, reminding Abolish that it had forgotten to trim the tree back days ago like it'd said it would.
"Ah," was all the doctor said, the two staring at each other for a few long moments. It was clear they were both feeling… awkward about this, to say the least.
Abolish wasn't sure what exactly to do, if he was being honest. He hadn't expected the storm to get this bad so quickly. Legundo was supposed to have just stopped by for maybe half an hour, but now it was looking like he'd have to stay the night at the very least. Abolish sure hoped the storm wouldn't last beyond the next morning; it had work tomorrow, after all.
Finally, it cleared its throat, giving one last glance outside as if the storm would've let up in the few seconds it'd looked away. "Can I get you something to drink now? I know you declined earlier, but seeing as you're staying longer…"
It trailed off, dark brown eyes meeting Legundo's emerald green ones. There wasn't a hint of red in either, given that the two of them rarely drank blood, only consuming it when it was necessary. They didn't want to seem suspicious, after all, nor did they want their emotions and instincts to get too intense.
Abolish had learned over the years that they were alike in many ways. Spending the last fifty or so years working for the organization together had given them a lot of time to get closer - time that it was obvious they were both hesitant about using, for reasons entirely unknown to Abolish.
"Alright," Legundo murmured, and Abolish gestured for him to sit down on the couch.
"Take a seat," he hummed, walking over to the kitchen. It was small, but it wasn't like Abolish was ever making food anyways. "I need to get myself a drink as well. I haven't eaten in…" He trailed off as he opened a cabinet, hand hovering in front of a container of blood. When was the last time he'd drunk any blood?
"It's been only a few days for me." Abolish could hear the suspicion in the man's voice before he'd even asked the question. "Are you doing alright? I know you rarely drink blood, but you can't be starving yourself."
"Yeah," Abolish sighed, finally grabbing the blood and two cups, setting them on the counter. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've been busy."
"I hope you've been remembering to take off your binder when you're alone as well." He paused as he'd just unscrewed the lid on the container of blood. "Even if I can tell you're wearing it now and I can only assume it's been a while since you've taken it off."
Abolish shrugged halfheartedly and poured blood into one of the glass cups. "Maybe. Look, I'm a vampire now, so I don't need to take it off as often."
"And as your doctor I call bullshit on that."
"Okay, okay." He poured the blood into the other cup. Legundo didn't sound particularly upset, although Abolish knew he must be at least a little annoyed by now. They'd had this conversation at least once every few months ever since Oakhurst.
"Go take it off, Abolish, before you break your ribs."
"I know, I'm going." It capped the blood and shut the cabinet door, swiping up the two cups of blood and carrying them to the living room. It handed the doctor one of the cups and took a sip of its own before setting its drink down on the small table in front of the couch. It hurried to the bathroom when Legundo raised an eyebrow at it.
Tugging off the shirt he was wearing, he was beyond grateful he couldn't see himself in the mirror. It made it much easier than it used to be, not having to risk seeing himself every time he looked up, being able to take off his binder, pull on a bra, and put his shirt back on without even looking down. He was glad all the shirts he owned were loose and hid his chest well anytime Legs forced him to unbind.
"That's better, now you won't injure yourself." Abolish glanced over as Legs as he sat down on the couch next to him. He gave a small roll of his eyes and picked up his own glass of blood, sipping it again.
He'd never liked the blood that the organization provided. It was all plain and sterile and bitter, nothing like blood straight from the source. He didn't get to drink from people often, though, so it wasn't like he had much ground to stand on; the last time he'd drunk from a person directly had been maybe ten years ago.
For a few seconds, the two sat there in silence. It was… awkward, to say the least. Abolish still had no idea how to talk to Legundo, even after knowing him for decades now. Every time it looked at the doctor it felt butterflies in his chest that it'd never been successful in killing off. The feeling was annoying, to say the least, although it didn't blame Legundo. The doctor didn't even know.
Feelings were terrible. The one thing Abolish hated about being a vampire was that everything was so much more, emotions bubbling up inside it at every little thing; it felt like it was constantly having to beat them back so it could keep its calm, collected persona. There was no way he was going to show anything, but it sure as hell was difficult when every time he looked at Legs he felt like he was being punched in the face. At least he couldn't blush without enough blood.
"Abolish?" Startled out of his thoughts, Abolish quickly looked up at Legs. He straightened up and sat back, leaning against the couch, doing his best to look casual again. "I've been meaning to ask, what do you want for Christmas?"
He really shouldn't have felt surprised at that. Legs asked this every year, when they were in the same place for the holidays at least. Still, he found himself stumbling over his words a bit as he mumbled, "Ah, uh… You don't need to get me anything."
"I'm aware I don't need to." Legs tilted his head slightly, and Abolish couldn't help but feel as if the doctor could see right through him. "What do you want, though?"
"I don't know," it sighed, taking another sip of its drink. The blood made it feel a little warmer. Maybe it should start up the fireplace, it did have a few spare logs left. Or excuse himself and go curl up in bed alone so he wouldn't risk opening up any more than he already had.
Before he could decide on anything, one of Legundo's arms was wrapping around his shoulders, pulling him close. His stomach did a flip as his head fell against the taller man's chest. He hardly heard Legundo as he spoke.
"You never know what you want," the doctor said with a slight shake of his head, gently moving his hand up and down Abolish's arm, which was oddly comfortable. It warmed him up, at least, for a variety of reasons.
Allowing itself to relax just slightly, it murmured, "Well, you're the only one besides my father who ever asks…"
Legundo didn't respond with anything besides a hum, and Abolish shifted a bit to set its mostly empty cup on the table. It tucked himself against Legs, burying its face in the man's chest with an almost inaudible mmph.
He could feel the doctor staring at him again, but the man remained quiet. Both of them knew Abolish wouldn't be getting nearly this close to anyone else. He'd rather die than seem remotely vulnerable, in fact. But Legs had seen it at its worst already and it knew better than to completely hide itself for the next eternity. Not from someone who had revealed far more to it, at least.
Its eyes fluttered closed as it heard Legs set down his own cup, before both of the man's arms were wrapped around it, holding it close. Despite having plenty of training, Abolish had never been the most physically large. He was nowhere near as visibly strong as Legundo. It worked out best for him with the work he did, given that it let him look far less suspicious if he was skinny and looked weak.
It also made him feel tiny wrapped up in Legundo's arms. That was certainly an odd feeling, given that not only was he not used to being hugged, he wasn't used to the way Legundo held him there; the doctor rested his chin on top of Abolish's head, one arm around his waist and the other over his chest. Surprisingly, it wasn't uncomfortable, although he was sure that if it were anyone else it would be. This was simply… nice. Peaceful.
He almost didn't want to interrupt the quiet. The storm was still going outside, wind howling just beyond his window. The room was still too cold for his liking. Strangely, despite how cold Legs was physically, he felt warm in his arms. It was odd how love worked, if this was what that was.
After a couple minutes, though, he murmured, "All I really want is to be able to relax. With you here, preferably."
He felt Legundo tense for a split second, before relaxing and pulling him closer. "Is that so?"
"Mhm."
It was a sort of testing of the waters, in a sense. Extending a hand, metaphorically, to see if the other man would take it. He doubted Legs would. It knew that the wounds from Oakhurst were still fresh, even after all this time. It'd seen the pain in the man's eyes anytime their shared past was brought up, especially when there were mentions of whatever relationships he'd had back then. It had a feeling this was still too soon, even after fifty years.
Which was why he was shocked into silence when Legundo murmured, "I'll do my best, then. Anything you want."
He scolded himself internally for being so vague about his feelings, until he forced open his eyes and craned his neck to look up at Legs. The man's emerald eyes were warm, a softness in them that Abolish didn't see often. He wanted to ask something, anything to clarify, get confirmation that the other man did feel something for him, but the words died in his throat and he simply laid his head down and closed his eyes again.
"Thank you." I love you. But he didn't say anything more.