Disclaimer: I do not own Trinity Blood, nor do I own any of the characters.
Summary: Just an Abel x Esther drabble at the end of the episode "Mark of a Sinner". I take events into my own hands, after Abel apologizes for Esther seeing him in such a way.
NOTICE: Some of you may have read the experimental second chapter. After much deliberation, I decided I really didn't like the way it was going and removed it. So once again this story is a one shot and will remain so.
It's Just Me
"I'm sorry Esther…" Abel spoke quietly as they stood out on the balcony while the Count of Memphis discussed his arrangements with the Duchess of Milan to return home. "What you saw is the mark of my sins…" The breeze gently tossed about his silver locks as he could not quite meet Esther's eye.
Turning away from the sight the balcony provided, Esther turned to look at her companion. She didn't know what to say, or if she should say anything. This wasn't the way she was used to seeing her clumsy seemingly light hearted friend. Still in deliberation of what to do, Esther crossed the distance between herself and Abel and simply rested her hand on his arm. Lowering her gaze, she hoped that this simple gesture would bring him some sort of comfort to him.
Esther had not known him for very long, but Abel had always been there for her, especially right at the beginning. Despite her circumstances and the things she had done, he had not hesitated to claim himself as her friend. Would it really be fair to turn and run from him now, even when right now when her feelings seemed to be changing of their own accord?
"Thank you." Abel said, interrupting Esther from the thoughts beginning to form in her head. Esther looked up to see traces of the feather-brained priest smiling gently at her. Returning the smile, Esther nodded. So maybe he was not completely back to his silly, happy self, he seemed to at least feel a little better. It may have only been meant to comfort, but the look on his face proved that it meant much more to him than just a simple act of kindness.
Feeling his arm relax under her light touch, Esther let her hand slide naturally down to hold Abel's. She was a little surprised that he returned the gentle hold with a light squeeze, letting her hand fall away as the doors to the balcony were opened by a maid who beckoned them inside. Abel nodded toward Esther as she looked up to him, and followed her inside.
Caterina explained the situation, and that the Esther and Abel were to be the ones to escort the count back to the empire and his grandmother, The Duchess of Mildova.
The trip to the empire went as well as it could have, with Esther sticking more closely to Abel than the young count. Esther made sure to watch out for Ion as she felt was her job, and for the moment was walking with him past a small pond.
"Esther…?" Ion began quietly.
"Yes?" The red haired girl replied turning to flash Ion a friendly smile.
"Would you… I mean… After this assignment…" Ion trailed off the light blush on his face refusing to go away, making him blush further. "…would you stay here… with me? In the empire?" Ion barely had time to finish his sentence or gauge her reaction as the clumsy father nightroad conveniently fell into the pond.
"Father!" Esther cried, wasting no time in hurrying over to help him out of the pond. Ion let out a sigh and watched on rather defeatedly; knowing his question would go unanswered and he didn't know when he would have the courage to ask her again.
Ion continued to watch slightly embarrassed and a little jealous as the clumsy priest flopped about almost dragging Esther into the water with him.
"Are you alright?" Esther asked stepping into the knee high water to help Abel up. They swayed dangerously as their feet slid in the mud.
"Yes, Esther… Thank you…" Abel replied with an over dramatic sigh as they maneuvered out of the pond and were safely on dry land. Esther suppressed rolling her eyes, but smiled none the less allowing Abel to keep his arm draped around her shoulders as they headed back towards Ion. Little did any of them know falling into a pond would be the least of their worries.
Author's Note:
Okay, kind of short and I may have butchered the character's personalities a bit, for that I must apologize. Also for any spelling errors that slip my eye. I'm not as familiar with this series as I should be, but it is also my tendency as a writer to change around the character's personalities and scenario's of the episode, so that what I have planned will run more smoothly. I hope that the characters are not too distorted from normal, but I hope to work on that as I keep writing. Also I do not remember the exact details of certain episodes. For now this will remain a one shot as I have proven to be bad at keeping a steady update schedule. Reviews do help greatly to motivate, even constructive criticism makes me feel the need to keep trying to get it right. So please review and let me know what you think. I'll try not to disappoint.