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m0thisonfire · 3 months ago

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Gently, Now. Gently...

Oc x canon

Caramele x Vedan

Caramele is very insecure about the condition of his hands. Fortunately, Vedan is there to reassure him in his own bats-dardly way...

Warnings: Implied post-smut, mention of past abuse, hurt/comfort, angst, discussions of trauma and injury, Vedan is a brat

A/N: I'm still reteaching myself how to write, I haven't written in over three months. This is pure self indulgence because these two will not leave me alone, and if I didn't post this my brain would have exploded from all their antics. Enjoy.

"... So how are you feeling?" Vedan finally asked in a soft whisper, his eyes fixed on where he was gently fidgeting with his partner's soot-colored fingers, "No aches? No noticable tears or possible rips?"

Caramele didn't respond right away, humming sated as he basked in his afterglow. Vedan was once again struck by how small this man looked, relaxed among the thick covers and his plush pillows... The barrow wraith only cracked open a glowing blue-green to give Vedan an almost amused look, "Mh, not that fragile, Ve. It'll take a little more than one of your romps to actually damage me."

The count made a humph in his throat, pouting as he interlaced their fingers together, grumbling, "Well, forgive me for worrying. Even the most durable Graveborn are prone to injury during strenuous activities..."

The smaller Graveborn huffed, now sounding more light-hearted. He groaned, covering his face with his free arm and letting Vedan play with his hand. The vampire glanced down, seeing the blackened digits twitch and flick against his, as if Caramele was trying to grasp his hand. Vedan frowned, his brows furrowing as he examined the ringmaster's hand more carefully.

... In all honesty, he didn't know the full story behind the injuries that left the nerves in Caramele's hands scorched and irreparable. Nor why Caramele felt the need to hide it from everyone else in the different factions. From what he managed to gather from the reserved Graveborn, it wasn't a forging accident. And it was before he joined his circus. So that meant before he became a ringmaster and died, but after his time as a smith. A true puzzle. One Vedan was determined to eventually solve.

Eventually.

Sighing, Vedan squeezed Caramele's hand, watching intently as the burned digits eventually did weakly interlock with his own. It was a clear effort on Caramele's part, a small frown visible from under his arm from where Vedan was laying.

Vedan pulled Caramele's hand closer, turning it so he could press a lingering kiss to the back of the black-grey skin. He pressed another to it when it made Caramele lift his arm slightly, a dimly glowing eye watching the vampire carefully, curiously.

"... What are you doing?"

"Wondering." Vedan answered softly, running a thumb over the side of his partner's hand, "I can't help but be curious. For many reasons."

The barrow wraith snorted, a smirk tugging on his lips as he teased, "Yeah. One of them is you being nosy."

Vedan scowled without any real annoyance, shifting so he could invade Caramele's space. Pressed against the smaller man's side, he hissed gently, "I am not nosy. You know what I mean."

Another snort was his answer as Caramele shifted to face him, looking up at him with a sleepy grin and raised brows, "You're right. Sorry. I know what you mean."

Clicking his tongue, Vedan smacked an unamused kiss to Caramele's temple, listening to the resulting chuckle and fighting a smirk of his own.

When Caramele's eyes slid shut again, the smile on Vedan's face faded, growing into a frown again as he examined Caramele's hand again.

"... Are you sure you're okay? Your hands-"

"M'fine." Caramele interrupted sleepily.

"... I'm just checking to make sure they aren't-"

"Vedan."

"Wh- Don't 'Vedan' me with that tone!" Though Vedan did feel a bit cowed when Caramele exasperatedly fixed him with a narrowed glare, clearly not in the mood while he was winding down. Vedan sighed, relenting slightly with a defeated, "Fine. If you say so."

Caramele hummed and turned his glare to the ceiling. But didn't pull away from the contact, letting Vedan fiddle and focus his attention back on his injury. Then he sighed and closed his eyes, grounding out, "I can feel you fighting the urge to ask. Get it over with."

Vedan halfheartedly glared at him, easing as he gently pinched Caramele's index between his own index and thumb, "... I would like to know how this happened. I mean... The damage is-"

"Divine magic. It was a week before I left for the circus."

The answer caught Vedan completely off guard, mostly because he wasn't actually expecting Caramele to answer, causing him to glance up. Divine magic?

"Divine... Magic." The count repeated slowly. Now that was interesting for many reasons. Mostly because from everything Vedan knew of it, it was mostly used by the righteous and those blessed and favored by Dura and other Celestials to defend and protect people.

"What were you doing around divine magic? And how did it cause... This?"

Caramele didn't respond for a good long moment, and for a moment Vedan wondered if he was going to ignore him and just go to sleep. Then the barrow wraith managed, "Leon."

The name made the vampire's possessive hackles rise for a second before he calmed himself.

Leon le Menteur. The person Caramele would mention in passing when he recognized questionable behavior from people around him that set him on edge. And the indirect reason it took Caramele so long to actually feel comfortable with Vedan.

"... I see. And how did he get access to divine magic? I knew he was part of the Heresy Inquisition, but..."

"He was born with it." Caramele muttered, the hand on his chest twitching slightly, "He was always destined for the temple in Ranhorn, but..."

He's not a good person.

Worse than a lot of Graveborn.

Worse than you.

Vedan nodded in reluctant understanding, gently tightening his grip on Caramele's hand, "He turned it on you."

"Pretty much."

Silence filled the bed as they both delved into thought, Caramele in his memories and Vedan fighting his anger and desire to hunt down the insolent brat himself. While Vedan was cruel and sadistic in most cases in his everyday unlife, there were lines. His desire for gore and such had mellowed out a bit from his initial awakening from the ritual. And even he had a moral compass, askew and self-centered as it was.

But his small family, his lover, were different matters altogether. Caramele was his now, in many ways. And despite his inherent selfishness and apathy, Vedan couldn't deny the curl of burning hate he felt whenever he heard of Leon's past deeds against his partner. Especially looking at the results of that misused magic, leaving the man beside him unable to use his hands even in undeath. It was near impossible for Caramele to use his hands without his gloves and the enchantments on them... And it left him without an entire sense.

Touch.

For a smith and ringmaster, occupations reliant on one's hands, it was a cruel punishment indeed. Even crueler with the fact Caramele couldn't feel his hands being held. Or kissed. Or squeezed and messed with. Or...

Vedan closed his eyes, trying to keep his brow from twitching as he pulled Caramele's hand to his face. The man didn't look over when Vedan gently pressed it to his cheek, feeling the scratchy, callused and scarred skin against his unmarred flesh.

Caramele couldn't feel it. Couldn't feel Vedan turning his head and softly kissing the blackened skin, using his other hand to trace the old divots and dips in his hand. But he could hear it, turning his head to watch Vedan. A part of him wanted to pull away, that old feeling of self-disgust and hopelessness filling him watching the count. Not because of Vedan himself. Because of the irony of the situation.

Ironic that a noble caused this out of rage of his feelings being unreciprocated, who then proceeded to sneer and cringe away from the mess he had made with clear discomfort until Caramele had escaped the town. He couldn't quite grasp that Vedan, stations above Leon and infinitely more spoiled, so willingly touched and comforted him.

At the time, Caramele was still spiraling. And as he had his whole life when it involved Leon, he took the disgust directed towards him and internalized it. Because if Leon was disgusted, others would be, too.

If Leon was approving of certain things, then surely those things must be inherently bad and scary.

If Leon loved Caramele and this was the result, then maybe it was safer not to love at all.

...

Watching Vedan, Caramele was continuously thankful he was the way he was.

Egotistical, brash, selfish, and mean. On paper, the same as most other aristocrats and painfully similar to Leon. But under it... Vedan was just lazy. Yes, lazy. Caramele had begun comparing him to the mean old cat from his village that the count reminded him of.

That cat hated everyone, hissing at those that passed the well or attacking any that tried to pet it. It stole food and caused problems everywhere it went, often seen sleeping in some out of reach place. But...with patience from a few of the residents, the cat grew amenable towards some people. Caramele included. He actually loved that cat, and it would even let him pet it sometimes.

That was Vedan. Just mean and old and lazy, someone who preferred to be alone. He was cruel, but it was all he had known when he was alive. He had learned to let other Graveborn and living into his circle, out of necessity or loneliness, Caramele didn't know. But somehow, Caramele managed to land himself directly in Vedan's inner circle by pure luck.

Pure luck. That was what this was.

Vedan opened his eyes feeling Caramele's fingers twitch slightly, watching the man's brows furrow as he exerted his energy. Gently rubbing his thumb over Vedan's cheekbone, then moving to brush a lock of silver white hair behind the vampire's ear.

Caramele wished he could feel it. He knew how Vedan felt, his skin from their arms brushing together and his hair brushing his cheeks when they embraced. But again, Caramele wished he was less...

"I know that look."

Caramele didn't respond, locking eyes with Vedan with a frown.

Vedan didn't return it, his smirk returning as he moved closer, keeping Caramele's hand against his face, "It's fine. If I didn't want you to touch me, you'd know."

The ringmaster curled his lip, protesting weakly, "But it's ... Not exactly pleasant. Why doesn't it bother you?"

The count glared at him, rolling his eyes as he retorted, "It's still you, idiot. It's not like it's raw or infected. Just scratchy and tough. I don't mind it."

Caramele stared at him, weighing his words and trying to decipher if he was lying or not. The annoyance seemed genuine enough. And that usually meant Vedan was serious. Sighing, the barrow wraith nodded, looking away as he tucked his other hand against his chest.

The count raised an eyebrow, looking quite unconvinced with the small nod he was given. He hummed, glancing away for a moment before he grinned mischievously, pointing out with a teasing tone, "You know, there are Graveborn in worse condition..."

Caramele groaned and rolled onto his back, listening to Vedan snicker as he pulled away, "Don't start, Ve."

"Torne for one-"

"Gods, you're starting."

"-I can't imagine it. A slew of guts and limbs meshed together? From three different people? Now that's unpleasant."

The barrow wraith groaned and covered his face, Vedan continuing unbothered, and now quite amused, "And how about that new fellow that arrived last week? Finch, was it? Ugh, all those feathers-"

The count cut himself off with a loud laugh when Caramele immediately rolled over to grab his face without any real force, the ringmaster giving Vedan a pure 'shut the hell up' look, deadpanning with an even voice, "You've proved your point, you meanie. Now hush. I want to go to sleep."

The vampire just grinned, snickering as he pulled Caramele closer and pressed a lingering kiss against his nose. The barrow wraith rolled his eyes, but snuggled closer, grumbling annoyed as he wrapped his arms around Vedan's waist. The count hummed, feeling his partner's tail wrap around his leg, anchoring the smaller man to him as they settled.

But Vedan couldn't resist one last poke, recalling unbothered, "... You know, I once saw Salazar without his eyepatch-"

Caramele immediately pulled away and rolled over so his back was against Vedan's chest, snapping without any real anger, "I am going to bed. Goodnight."

The barrow wraith just sighed when he heard Vedan laugh and pull him closer again, but didn't fight it. Instead, his tail just tightened slightly around the vampire's calf as he pouted. Caramele relaxed, choosing to bask in the familiar form pressed against his back. Safe, secure, stable...

Caramele was the first to fall asleep. It took Vedan a moment longer, as always. But he still wondered. Always wondering when it came to him...

#my girlfriend gave me this idea. i wanted to write it #this is purely self indulgent #the words are not wording #why are the words not wording #afk arena oc #oc x canon #afk vedan #caramele #the ringmaster #m0th writes

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