[Gankutsuou] "Carmelization "(PG-13)
Dec. 12th, 2010 06:12 pmAuthor's Note: Written for
comment_fic's "Gankutsuou, author's choice, Chocolat" Albert/The Count.
Despite the fact that the Count did not seem to need human sustenance, the cruise ship seemed to be stocked with every delicacy known to man and a few that Albert had never seen before. He was nibbling his way through one buffet when he heard the rustle of a silk robe behind him. He looked up, a smudge of fruit pulp at the corner of his mouth, as the Count entered the lounge.
"Ah-I'm sorry, it all looked so good that I couldn't help sampling some of everything," Albert sputtered.
The Count raised one graceful, oddly-marked hand, dismissing his awkward reply, a small smile crossing his face. "Never excuse yourself from enjoying life and its delights, but be on your guard: always savor those delights. Do not let yourself simply devour them without letting yourself truly enjoy the way in which they stimulate your senses. Greed is as great a crime as needlessly turning one's back on the pleasures of life."
Albert dropped his gaze and blushed, wondering if the Count meant this somewhat as a rebuke. But instead, the Count crossed to the buffet and took up a gem-covered box, opening it. "Have you ever tasted Venusian chocolate, Albert?" he asked, lifting the lid of the box.
"No, I didn't even know that there was anyone living on Venus," Albert said, eying the box curiously.
"In the northernmost reaches, tropical forests have been planted, including cacao trees," the Count replied. "They say that some of the heat of a planet which revolves so close to the sun has gone into the beans of the trees. Anyone who eats chocolate made from the fruit of those trees will feel that heat within them." He held out the box to Albert, showing several French style truffles, dusted with cocoa powder.
Albert took one delicately between thumb and forefinger, and bit into it carefully. The chocolate tasted sweet on the tip of his tongue, but biting, spicy as he chewed and swallowed it. The chocolate seemed to burn a trail down his throat to his belly, warming him from within. Tendrils of heat and a tingling sensation spiraled through his being, collecting at the base of his spine and moving into his loins. He took the second bite from the bit of candy, but it made him stagger from the sheer overwhelming sensation.
The Count put out a hand to steady him, but Albert caught himself clinging to the older man's arm. The scent of the man's skin seemed somehow more noticeable and delightful, that he couldn't resist burying his face in the angle of the Count's neck.
Albert pulled away, blushing from embarrassment at his forwardness and from the heat within him. "I'm sorry, that was too forward of me."
The Count smiled gently. "No, not at all. The chocolate has different effects on different people. In your case, it seems to be enhancing your fondness for me."
"But this isn't seemly," Albert said.
"We are alone, no one will judge what you might want of me," the Count replied, backing onto a low couch, and letting Albert push him onto the cushions...
Despite the fact that the Count did not seem to need human sustenance, the cruise ship seemed to be stocked with every delicacy known to man and a few that Albert had never seen before. He was nibbling his way through one buffet when he heard the rustle of a silk robe behind him. He looked up, a smudge of fruit pulp at the corner of his mouth, as the Count entered the lounge.
"Ah-I'm sorry, it all looked so good that I couldn't help sampling some of everything," Albert sputtered.
The Count raised one graceful, oddly-marked hand, dismissing his awkward reply, a small smile crossing his face. "Never excuse yourself from enjoying life and its delights, but be on your guard: always savor those delights. Do not let yourself simply devour them without letting yourself truly enjoy the way in which they stimulate your senses. Greed is as great a crime as needlessly turning one's back on the pleasures of life."
Albert dropped his gaze and blushed, wondering if the Count meant this somewhat as a rebuke. But instead, the Count crossed to the buffet and took up a gem-covered box, opening it. "Have you ever tasted Venusian chocolate, Albert?" he asked, lifting the lid of the box.
"No, I didn't even know that there was anyone living on Venus," Albert said, eying the box curiously.
"In the northernmost reaches, tropical forests have been planted, including cacao trees," the Count replied. "They say that some of the heat of a planet which revolves so close to the sun has gone into the beans of the trees. Anyone who eats chocolate made from the fruit of those trees will feel that heat within them." He held out the box to Albert, showing several French style truffles, dusted with cocoa powder.
Albert took one delicately between thumb and forefinger, and bit into it carefully. The chocolate tasted sweet on the tip of his tongue, but biting, spicy as he chewed and swallowed it. The chocolate seemed to burn a trail down his throat to his belly, warming him from within. Tendrils of heat and a tingling sensation spiraled through his being, collecting at the base of his spine and moving into his loins. He took the second bite from the bit of candy, but it made him stagger from the sheer overwhelming sensation.
The Count put out a hand to steady him, but Albert caught himself clinging to the older man's arm. The scent of the man's skin seemed somehow more noticeable and delightful, that he couldn't resist burying his face in the angle of the Count's neck.
Albert pulled away, blushing from embarrassment at his forwardness and from the heat within him. "I'm sorry, that was too forward of me."
The Count smiled gently. "No, not at all. The chocolate has different effects on different people. In your case, it seems to be enhancing your fondness for me."
"But this isn't seemly," Albert said.
"We are alone, no one will judge what you might want of me," the Count replied, backing onto a low couch, and letting Albert push him onto the cushions...