Chapter Text
“We can’t keep this up, Lestat. She’s gonna find us out,” Louis panted as he looked at the man laying next to him in the bed.
“Mon cher, how would she possibly find out? You are not planning to tell her, are you?” the blond questioned, leaning over to steal a kiss from Louis.
Louis pushed him away with a firm hand on his chest. “No, I’m not planning on telling her. That don’t change the fact that this is wrong.”
“There is nothing wrong with love, my Saint Louis,” Lestat wrapped an arm around Louis’ waist and pulled him into his embrace. “At least when you are here, I am not trying to hunt her down,” he chuckled.
“Don’t say shit like that,” Louis spat, trying to worm his way out of the laughing vampire’s arms, “It's not funny. She’s my responsibility, and what did I decide to do? Fuck the enemy.”
“Louis, Louis, you have done more than fuck the enemy. You have courted the enemy, no?“ Lestat teased.
Louis stopped struggling and thought for a moment. Arguably, he really had courted the enemy. The undefined thing between them started about a year ago. A string of bad decisions had led Louis to Lestat's bed, but within the last 4 months, they had moved beyond the occasional hookup. Neither of them could really say who started it, but after a while, their meetings turned from arguments and information to flirting and walks around town. So had begun their unconventional courtship: the watcher of the slayer and her sworn enemy.
“Speaking of, I ran into your little slayer earlier, cherie,” Lestat stated cautiously into the silence.
“I thought you might’ve,” Louis responded dismissively, “I told her to patrol ‘round here. Someone needs to keep an eye on you when I’m not around.”
“Well, I told her to be careful. Santiago is up to something. I have not heard anything since, but knowing him, it cannot be good,” Lestat continued, brow furrowing.
“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sound scared, Monsieur de Lioncourt,” Louis shot back teasingly, trying to elevate the mood.
“It may surprise you, but I have grown quite fond of you,” Lestat quipped, reluctantly releasing his hold on Louis. “Either way, dawn is approaching. I must sleep and you should probably leave.”
“Shit, you right,” Louis rolled out of bed, grabbing his clothes off the floor and dressing.
Lestat laughed as he watched Louis scramble to find his clothes in the mess that was his room. After a few minutes, Louis grabbed his bag and glasses off the bedside table and made his way towards the door. Before he could reach it, a hand caught his wrist and pulled him in.
“Were you planning on leaving me without a parting kiss, Saint Louis?” Lestat joked as he leaned in to kiss Louis softly.
Louis chuckles as he kissed him back, pulling away before glancing down at his watch. “Fuck, I really do need to go now,” he said softly, leaning in to kiss Lestat again, then planting another, softer one on his cheek. “Until we meet again, Lelio,” he ran his hand down Lestat's strong jaw and hurried out the door.
Louis left the townhouse feeling light, despite the ever-present worry that lingered in the back of his mind whenever he saw Lestat. He was about halfway home when he heard the crack of a branch behind him. He whipped around, catching a glimpse of a figure running in the opposite direction.
“Fuck,” he muttered to himself as he ran the rest of the way home.
Celeste made it back to the lair just before dawn, exhausted from the oncoming dawn but thrumming with adrenaline from what she had discovered.
”How was the hunt, my dear?” a smooth voice from behind her asked.
“It went very well, Maitre. I have some news about our old friend, Lelio,” she replied, practically buzzing with excitement.
“And what might that be, pray tell? I thought I asked you to keep an eye on that watcher. We can’t have him finding out that we are here.” the voice growled.
”I was following him, and I followed him all the way to Lestat’s townhouse. I can’t imagine what he was doing there, but they seemed to be on friendly terms. Maybe he’s trying to get in good with the watcher to get to that little slayer of his,” she gushed.
“Well, well, well. Isn’t this interesting? Maybe I should pay him a visit and invite him to the party next week. It’s not everyday the coven he abandoned turns 50,” the voice cooed, the owner walking around her and coming into view. He was tall, with nearly whitish blond hair, and he was smirking. “This should be fun,” he drawled, making his way to the sewer grate within their hideout. Living as a vampire in a place like New Orleans meant that one had to develop creative ways of maneuvering about the city. Unfortunately, the best way to do so without falling victim to the sun was the sewers.
Lestat believed that he had been blessed with an exceptionally good night. He was able to spend some time with his beloved boyfriend, though Louis would never call them that. But despite that, any time spent with Louis was time well spent for Lestat.
He was on his way up to his room to retire for the night when he felt a presence behind him.
“Hello, Maitre,” it spat, mockingly.
“Merde,” he cursed under his breath before turning around, plastering a smile across his face. “Bonjour, Santiago. To what do I owe the pleasure?” he replied sarcastically.
“Funny you should ask. A few friends of mine – you know Estelle and Celeste – were planning a party for next week to honor our little coven. You know, the one you founded and then abandoned. Well, I figured I would stop by to invite you, but it seems a little birdie saw you and that watcher cozied up together,” He grinned, watching fear flicker briefly across Lestat’s face.
”I do not know what you mean. He means nothing to me. Just a means to an end, a way to get to that slayer,” Lestat gritted out, body tense.
“Oh, I’m sure,” Santiago simpered cruelly. “It would be such a shame if she or the watcher’s council were to find out about your little,” he coughed, “arrangement.”
In a split second, he found himself slammed hard into the wall with a hand gripping his throat. “Need I remind you who I am, fledgling?” the older vampire snarled, bearing his fangs. “You are to leave those two alone, or I will make sure the last thing you see before you die is a beautiful sunrise. Do you understand?” he shoved Santiago further into the wall, grip on his neck tightening. All Santiago could do was nod. “You may be the leader of that pathetic coven, but when it comes to me, you hold no power. Now get out of my house before I do something you might regret,” Lestat shoved him hard once more before releasing him.
Santiago took a step forward from the wall and smoothed out his clothes, laughing. “Fucking god, it’s worse than I thought. You actually care about him, about her. Don’t you? And here I thought he was just some quick fuck,” he scoffed, opening the door and disappearing into the fading night.
Lestat could only stand there. Once the adrenaline wore off though, his legs gave out and he collapsed. It wasn’t until he was sitting back against the door with his knees drawn to his chest that he noticed the blood tinged tears rolling down his face.
“I have to tell Louis,” he choked out, pulling himself to his feet and stumbling to his coffin, “I’ve put them both in danger.”