Gankutsuou Fan Fiction ❯ The Dollmaker ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )
Anime/Manga: Gankutsuou Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 12.05.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 389 | Status: Completed
THE DOLLMAKER
© December 6, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual
Albert stumbled through the door of his home, exhausted and heart sick, the guilt a heavy burden that he could no longer bear. It did not help any that his humble home pervaded with the bright aura of the man he had lost forever. Worse, his traitorous mind played back all the happy moments he shared with the former nobleman.
Edmond cleaning up the house and puttering away in the kitchen with a cheerful smile on his face…
Edmond enjoying chocolate fudge cake, the icing smearing his face…
Edmond's delight whenever he finished one of his magical dolls…
Edmond stealing sweet kisses from him every night…
Albert pressed his fingertips to his lips. He would never experience those tender kisses ever again.
Blue eyes dulled by grief and anguish grew bright as they fell upon the pair of sharp scissors sitting on the table. He bent down, his fingers closing around the handle. In his distraught state, he did not hear the frantic knocking at his door. Neither did he respond to that desperate cry, "Albert, open the door! Damn it! You better not be doing something stupid in there!"
Slowly raising the scissors with its sharp point aimed at his belly, Albert whispered, "Wait for me, Edmond! I'll be joining you soon!"
Before he could drive the scissors into his body, the door was kicked open. Albert whirled angrily at this intrusion, only to have his eyes widen at the sight of the breathless figure at his doorway.
Edmond Dantes stood at the doorway, his chest heaving from his long, hard run. His gray-tinged brown hair glistened with sweat. A tanned, tattooed hand held the Count doll close to his chest. Horrified blue eyes flew wide, seeing what the younger man was holding in his hand. Swiftly, he pried the scissors from Albert's grasp and threw it away.
"What do you think you're doing, Albert?" Edmond demanded, the tears rolling down his face. "I thought you wanted me to come back to you!" He showed the doll that Albert had given him. "I felt all your wishes in this doll! Although it was against my will and I wanted to move on, my spirit held on even if my life was nearly exhausted!"
"I…I thought I had failed you, that I was too late when I finished the doll. I thought you were dead!" Albert stammered. "To live without you is something that I could not do, so I tried to…"
Edmond flung his arms around the younger man. "Thank heavens I arrived just in time to stop you! Oh, Albert! Don't do something that stupid ever again!"
Albert hugged him back, breathing a relieved sigh. "No, I won't. Now that you're here." He pulled away to gaze at his beloved. He was stunned to see that Edmond had changed into a human being. "Edmond…how…how did this happen? Is it true…that legend…that you're…"
"Yes," Edmond replied. "I had been giving mankind the strength to fight and endure the ills that have been plaguing them. Mortals, such as you, possess some small measure of my power, but it is not enough to break free from the snare of desire and despair. The men who have shared their bodies with me could not handle the darkness in men's hearts. Some fell into a hideous state of living decay; others were strong enough to allow me to metamorphose, so that I could convert all the negative emotions into positive energy. Only Edmond Dantes, with his gentle and honest heart and his pure soul, had been strong enough. Still, we both saw what this darkness could do to the innocent when we allowed the desire for vengeance to consume us. We saw the great pain we had inflicted upon your heart. When Edmond was suffering his first death, he made a wish, a wish that was akin to the one I had made many millennia ago. His wish became our wish – that we wanted to spend our life with the one whom we love, even if we were to give up immortality for the limited life span of a human. That person is you, Albert."
Those words made Albert speechless. There was nothing he could think of saying. Never had he known the depth of the older man's feelings towards him.
"It was difficult," the former nobleman continued, "but I healed Edmond by melding with him completely, erasing all the memories of that tragic summer so that we could start afresh, in the event that we would be reunited with you. Sure enough, we met again in that Paris cemetery. But in the end, we were both so naïve that we could just dismiss the past so easily."
"No, Edmond. It was I who could not let go of the past. I fell into the same trap of hatred and revenge that you yourself had fallen into years ago. Not only did I ignore my true feelings for you, I also betrayed the love and the trust that you had given me."
Edmond caressed Albert's cheek. "You and I had been through so much. Even though we could not forget the past, we could forgive each other's transgression, can we not?" A hopeful smile. "Besides, it would be a crime to forget. Ugly as our past may be, that is how we met, that is how we were both redeemed. And that is how we fell in love."
Albert smiled as well. "That is true. We could learn from the past and avoid making the same mistakes in the future."
Even though he already knew the answer, Edmond still dared to ask, "Now that you know who…or what…I am, Albert, will you have me in your life?"
"How could I even thinking of giving up someone as precious as you?" Albert took his lover in his arms and gave him a kiss of pure love and longing. "But what name should I call you – Edmond, Gankutsuou, or…"
"Edmond. Just Edmond," the former Count mumbled in delight. "I will not be called by any other name but that. But if you want me to change my last name…"
"Edmond Herrera…It has a nice ring to it. But you will always be Edmond Dantes to me." Albert nipped the older man's full lower lip. "Besides, I could think of better ways to make you mine completely."
Edmond knew what his lover had on his mind. Laughing, he said, "Oh, Albert! Even without doing that, you know that I will be yours forever." A gasp escaped his lips as Albert reached down between his legs.
"Let's do it right this time," Albert murmured as he led his beloved towards the alcove.
~~~~~~~~~~
The cramped space of the alcove did not deter the two men from consummating their love for each other.
Albert was sitting up with his legs splayed wide. Between his thighs, Edmond's head bobbed up and down as he worked on his lover's length with his lips and throat. It was more than Albert could take. With his sac and its bulbous contents suddenly tightening, he gushed forth his juices down Edmond's throat.
As the older man eased back, Albert spread his legs even wider, pointing to the waiting orifice within. "You first, Edmond," he muttered in husky invitation.
Edmond was touched. He knew that his young lover was inexperienced at this. Wanting to make this first coupling as painless as possible, Edmond dove down once more and laved the opening with his tongue. At the same time, he poked his little finger inside, feeling Albert jerk for a moment. That tiny finger was replaced by an index finger and then another finger, until the younger man was panting for more.
When his lover was sufficiently prepared for him, Edmond rose and, taking his member in his hand, guided the head inside. At first, Albert whimpered at the intrusion. But as Edmond carefully sheathed himself by increments, pleasure like he had never felt before surged through his entire being, recharging the rod between his legs.
Edmond rode him like an expert horseman putting a young stallion through its paces. Albert wanted to prolong the pleasure, squeezing his legs close to keep his lover's member as deep within him as possible. When Edmond came, he could feel warm fluid filling him in spurts. He was about to climax as well, but a firm hand gripped his rod at the base.
"Edmond…" Albert mumbled, his voice rough with impeded desire.
"It's all right," Edmond whispered reassuringly, positioning himself above that aching erection. "I want to feel you inside me."
Albert heard his lover's sweet gasp as he impaled himself upon that rod of silken steel.
"Oh, Edmond!" Albert moaned as he pulled the older man close so he could savor the hard nubs on his chest.
The tingling of his hardened nipples and the fullness inside him were enough encouragement. Up and down Albert's length, he moved, at first slowly, then speeding up to a breakneck pace. Even as blood began to trickle down his thighs, Edmond maintained that swift rhythm. He needed the pain, he needed the pleasure. He needed to be branded as Albert's and Albert's alone.
Albert came to a shuddering climax deep within his lover, while Edmond's seed spilled onto their sweat-soaked skins. Weary but sated, Edmond sagged into the younger man's arms.
"It's over now, isn't it, Albert?" asked Edmond. "Please tell me that we're still not trapped in the nightmare of the past."
Albert ran his fingers through Edmond's moist locks as he drew him into a comforting embrace. "We're free, Edmond. Free to love and to cherish each other for as long as we both shall live."
Edmond's tears of happiness were like sparkling diamonds on his cheek. "I'm glad, Albert. I'm so glad."
~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had just risen when Lucien, together with Beauchamp and Benedetto, stepped through the broken door of Albert's house, having rushed over from the chapel.
"Damn it! What happened here?" Beauchamp asked fearfully. "Could it have been the same person who had destroyed the Count's body? And where's Albert?"
Benedetto pulled out his revolver. "Whoever that bastard is, I won't forgive him for what he had done!"
As the journalist and the ex-pirate searched at the back and attic respectively, Lucien, with his trained eye, looked for any clues, until he heard a soft moan coming from the alcove. Frowning, he went towards it and opened the doors.
"Hey, you two!" he called out, his voice a raspy exhalation. "Come here!"
As Beauchamp and Benedetto approached the Chief Secretary to see what he had found, warm smiles and red blushes formed on their faces.
Sleeping blissfully in the alcove were Albert and Edmond. The younger man was holding his lover close to him, the crown of Edmond's head tucked under his chin. Pressed between their naked bodies were their two dolls. It did not surprise the three men to see that the dolls were also in the same position as their owners.
Lucien was about to wake them up, but he was stopped by Benedetto's hand on his shoulder.
"Don't," Benedetto whispered with a shake of his head. "Let them sleep." He smiled warmly at the two lovers as he quietly closed the doors of the alcove.
~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't get it."
Dream raised an inquiring eyebrow at his elder sister who had a look of utter perplexity on her face. "What is it that you don't get, dear sister?"
"You know!" Death growled, realizing that her sibling was teasing her. "Who IS Edmond Dantes anyway?"
"Don't you know? Don't you recognize him?"
"Huh? I wouldn't be asking if I knew. Oh, for heaven's sake, please tell me!"
Dream gazed at the small cottage where two lovers slumbered in blissful peace. "I'm not surprised that you don't remember him. Even I didn't recognize him at first. It must have been the doing of whoever it was who took him away from us. Perhaps it was his own doing, to make us forget all our memories of him. Of us all, he was the one who was truly unique, not only because of his great love for humans and his willingness to sacrifice all for their happiness. He was the only one who had power over us. He can change the course of Destiny, delay the coming of Death, purify the dark taint of Desire, and give elation to one in the deepest Despair, a joy so pure and profound in comparison to the shallowness of Delight or Delirium. And, yes, he gives strength to guarantee the fulfillment of Dreams."
The Lord of the Dreaming gave his sister a rare smile as he saw realization dawn upon her face. "He is our brother, my dear sister. My twin. The One who had chosen a name for himself that does not begin with the letter 'D'. He is Brother Hope."
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