Title: Given From the Heart
Fandom: Trinity Blood
Prompt: Religion
Medium: Fan Fiction
Wordcount: 1584
Rating: G
Warnings: Religious Imagery and Symbolism.
Summary: Abel thinks he's stuck decorating the Vatican Orphanage by himself until he receives a special helper sent directly from Cardinal Sforza: the stoic, stone-faced robot, Tres Iqus. Despite his bland company, Abel makes the most of things by trying to teach Tres about the true meaning of Christmas. When all is said and done, Tres ends up surprising Abel with a gift no one could refuse.

Father Abel Nightroad was in quite a predicament; it was Christmas Eve at the Vatican Orphanage and most of the children were away for a choral performance at St. Peter's Cathedral. This left Abel with no help for decorating the massive orphanage, the only undecorated building in Rome's Vatican City. It also didn't help that Cardinal Sforza specifically asked him to oversee the decorating this year.

With a lofty sigh, the priest plopped on the steps of the orphanage beside a large box of decorations and watched the snow fall. It was a beautiful night, perfect for any Christmas Eve, and yet he felt utterly alone in his task. Decorating was supposed to be joyous and cheery, but not so much when you had to do it all by yourself, Abel thought.

"Do you require assistance, Father Nightroad?"

Blinking a few times, Abel craned his head back and lo and behold, the helper that Cardinal Sforza promised him stood on the step just below him.

"Cardinal Sforza ordered me to assist you in whatever way possible," droned the robot, "and I was also informed that our task is an unusual one. De-co…"

"Decorating," Abel finished for him. He stood from the stair and dusted snow from his robes. Another sigh escaped him; Tres wasn't exactly his ideal companion because of how little he understood about the true spirit of the holiday. Still, he appreciated his comrade's assistance and companionship, regardless of how bland it may be. "We're decorating the orphanage while the children are away."

Tres silently watched Abel bend over and start to lift the box when he suddenly intervened, taking the heavy box from the silver-haired priest. Abel shot a funny look his way and the robot just shrugged, quoting the task given to him by the cardinal. Both men strode inside the orphanage to the main play area where a large fir tree sat at the head of the room.

"Isn't it beautiful?" said Abel with a childish grin. He glanced over his shoulder and beckoned tres closer with a wave of his hand. "Father Hugue picked it out and Leon cut it down. Haa. I love Christmas time…"

Tres popped an unexpected inquiry, "What is the significance behind its adoration?"

To say that Abel was shocked would've been an understatement; he was flabbergasted. Something was wrong with Father Tres; that or Abel drank too much egg nog. He wasn't sure which, but he decided to indulge the AI Unit's curiosity and his own as well.

"It is the most wonderful time of the year, you know! Or so the song goes," Abel said with a slight laugh as he dug through the box and pulled a string of lights out. "Ah, you know the story, Tres. About Our Savior and how he was born on this night?"

The robot nodded and held the lights while Abel rummaged through the box for another strand. "Jesus of Nazareth, descendant of the Hebrew King, David, was born in his foster father's home of Bethlehem this night. Although it has no factual evidence, many of the Catholic and Christian faith believe this to be the night of his birth."

"That's not all," Abel explained with a wag of his finger. "Jesus was no mere man, but God come to Earth in human form so that we may have everlasting life. The Gift of Christ, the true meaning of Christmas, is unconditional love and forgiveness, Tres."

"I do not understand," buzzed the robot again. "Please submit further information."

Abel laughed and gestured to his friend. "Could you bring those over here? We need to put them around the tree."

"Further information is required," repeated Tres as Abel directed him to the other side of the fir tree. He held the lights while Abel moved around, stringing them along the branches as he went. "Please explain."

"Why, I've never seen you so curious about something other than bullets or vitals spots!" Another chuckle tumbled from Abel's lips as he plugged the lights into the electrical socket. He stepped back from the tree and stood beside Tres to admire it fully. "Christ gave his life that we may live. Without him, our sins cannot be forgiven nor repaid. He paid the price for us."

Tres plucked an ornament from the top of the box and studied it a moment. It was a glass ball with depictions of the nativity painted across its lustrous surface. The Virgin Mary sat in the center of a stable with her child in her arms, staring lovingly at him with her would-be spouse, Joseph, at her side.

"You see how they adore him? They love him," said Abel in a whisper, turning the ornament some to reveal the shepherds, wise men, and angels presiding over the Christ child's birth also. "They all adore Him because He is God's Gift to the world, proof of His love for us."

"Lo-ve," droned the robot while Abel led him to the tree with the ornament in hand. He looked up at the evergreen branches and the twinkling lights with the most thoughtful expression Abel ever saw on his stoic face. "Love," he parroted and placed the ornament on one of the highest branches. "Explain, Father Nightroad; further information is required."

Abel scratched the back of his head and frowned. "Ah, well, how to put it?" He started putting more ornaments on the tree while he mulled over a suitable explanation, unaware that Tres mimicked his actions alongside him. "It's a difficult phenomenon to explain."

"It is defined as 'an intense feeling of deep affection,' but I cannot comprehend its meaning fully. Further information is required," stated the other priest, still hanging ornaments while he spoke. "Please explain, Father Nightroad."

"Patience is most certainly a virtue," Abel mused with a small smile. It was refreshing to see his normally apathetic friend so vibrant and full of curiosity. How could he say no?

"I suppose it could be explained like this," Abel started in a gentle voice and pulled a glittering star from the box. "When you 'love' someone, you put their needs before your own. You share in their pain and suffering, their joy and elation, and you do your utmost to preserve that happiness, that moment. You protect them, you care for them, and even if doing so risks your own safety or wellbeing. You give freely of yourself with no qualms or thought…" He placed the star atop the tree. "That's what love is, Tres."

Something strange buzzed around the robot's circuits, an unfamiliar warmth. "This 'love' is the significance behind the holiday? The primary reason why you're so fond of it?"

Abel's grin grew and he bobbed his head. "That's exactly why," he said and pulled a sprig of green from the box. His blue eyes shined with mirth and he brought Tres to the doorway again. "This is mistletoe! When you want to express your love to someone around Christmas time, this is the way to do it!"

"Mis-tle-toe?" Tres looked up at the plant hanging from the doorway. "Explain."

"It's simple," said the silver-haired man as he pointed up. "You take the person you 'love' under an archway with mistletoe hanging from it, just like this one, and you kiss them! Heh. I've never tried it myself, though."

Tres cocked his head one way. An eyebrow arched high into his forehead and he asked, "Have you no one to care for, then?"

"Oh, it's not like that. There are many people I care about." Abel lifted his head to stare up at the mistletoe and his smile softened some. There were a few people he would've liked to trap beneath this doorway, but most of them were either long gone or wouldn't return his sentiments. "I guess I'm just too timid for such an expression of affection."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, glancing between the mistletoe, the snow falling just outside, and each other. Abel had that same goofy grin on his face, but Tres's mouth was drawn into a tight, thin line.

"Is something the matter?" he asked his friend, frowning now that Tres stared a hole through him. "Tres?"

The other priest unceremoniously yanked on Abel's collar and dragged him closer. Confused didn't begin to describe how Abel felt about the abrupt gesture, but when Tres looked up at the mistletoe one last time, he suddenly understood. The robot pushed his head up and his lips into Abel's in a clumsy kiss. His dark, narrow eyes remained open and studied the strange mix of emotions flashing across Abel's face. He moved his mouth around the other's experimentally until he felt Abel panting against him. That's when he finally pulled away.

"T-Tres…" stammered Abel breathlessly. "I-I had no idea…How…What?"

"I understand the significance now," explained the robot in a calm, cool voice. He released Abel's collar and turned his head towards the outside of the building. "This Christmas has a strange effect on people, even artificial life forms it seems." He felt a tap on his shoulder and came face-to-face with Father Nightroad again. "Hm?"

Abel cupped the back of his head and kissed his forehead, whispering to him, "Merry Christmas, Tres."

Something closely resembling a half-smile crossed Tres's lips. His circuits burned and his processors refused to slow down, but the sensations were new and exciting.

"Me-rry Christ-mas," he repeated after the silver-haired priest with a tint of vibrancy in his monotone, "Abel."