Work Text:
There's music blaring from the living room. It's some sweeping piano piece, hauntingly romantic that builds up to a rolling crescendo, then putters out bit by bit. It sounds like a heart breaking, Daniel thinks. Not that he's a musical expert or anything. He realizes he's been listening outside the door when the song stops, then starts again.
Might as well go in. Daniel steps inside and is greeted by the sight of Armand lounging on the couch. His head is tossed back, exposing the elegant line of his neck and his eyes are closed. He's sprawled out over the sofa arms stretched across the back and legs splayed wide. It's as relaxed as Daniel has ever seen him.
“Whose this? I don't recognize it.”
Armand goes stiff for the slightest of seconds then relaxes again. He reaches forward and plucks up a wine glass full of red liquid that Daniel isn't naive enough to believe is wine. “Sybelle Mahmoud, a personal friend. This is her latest piece; she wants my critique.”
“I didn't know you were a pianist,” Daniel says. He wonders about this Sybelle. Armand's voice has a certain warmness speaking of her. Not like that of a lover, but something else, familial in a sense.
“I'm not, she only wants someone who can understand what she means,” Armand explains. Then he takes a long swallow from the glass and tips his head back. Daniel watches his throat move, entranced. He has to know he looks like pure sex doing that.
Armand laughs as he places the glass back down. “Quite the dirty mind you have, Mr. Molloy.”
“Yeah? Well, I'm not going to apologize for my thoughts. You'd have never known if you weren't snooping.”
Armand holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I didn't say I didn't like it.”
Daniel's brain short circuits for a second. All thought just flies out the window and his mind goes perfectly blank. “What?”
Armand drops his arms. “What do you think it's about?”
“What?”
A smile creeps over Armand's face. “The song. Try to keep up, Daniel.”
Dick. Daniel almost feels embarrassed sharing his thoughts, but he's too old to care about some ancient twink's opinion. “Sounds like heartbreak.”
Armand smiles slightly. “It is. It's based on a story I told her ages ago about a mortal I loved.”
“Before Louis?” He kinda got the vibe these two were a long term thing.
Armand doesn't look his way. “During Louis.”
“So an affair,” Daniel says.
“An allowance,” Armand corrects, then looks over at Daniel. “Louis adored him as well. They were quite smitten with each other. They dallied, from time to time. But he was mine.”
Daniel decides to stop standing in the doorway like a creeper. He moves in and takes the seat across from the couch. “But it ended badly.”
“These things with mortals always do. Inevitably, they want to be what we are.”
“Can't have that with your side piece.” Daniel feels annoyed on behalf of this guy. Being some vampire's flavor of the month had to be disorienting. What was a few years to a vampire? But they could be everything to a human.
“You make it sound so crass,” Armand says. There's something in his eyes when he speaks next, some need for understanding Daniel doesn't know what to do with, “I wanted him to have a life. We'd give up eternity for one mortal life.”
Daniel doubts that. He bets this mortal lover did too. He would if he was young and dumb and in love. “Bet he didn't like hearing that.”
There's something sad in Armand's smile. “No, he did not.”
“How did it end?” Daniel asks.
Armand traces a finger around the rim of his glass. “You ask a lot of questions, Mr. Molloy.”
Almost like he did it professionally or something. “It's my job. How'd it end?”
“He's alive and well, if that's what you mean,” Armand says. He seems amused rather than annoyed. “He had a career, a family. He's been...happy, I believe.”
Maybe he wanted to be happy with you.
Daniel doesn't know why he thinks it. He doesn't know the guy at all. He shouldn't feel irritated on his behalf. “You kept tabs on him?”
“But of course.” Armand says it like it's a given. Daniel is a little surprised. Is that just what vampires do? Lurk around the peripheral of people's lives and observe?
“So what happens when he gets old and dies?” It's brashly worded, lacking tact. Not at all good journalism. Daniel doesn't much care at the moment; his curiosity has won out.
Armand winces slightly, then collects himself. “Then I will mourn him.”
“Doesn't seem fair to either of you.” What's the point?, Daniel thinks. Letting someone go but holding on like this can't be healthy. Loving someone and watching them die when you had the power to stop it just seems cruel. Oh, not to the one dying—everyone died, eventually. But to let yourself get that caught up only to lose...why bother at all?
Armand smiles wistfully. “Life is hardly fair, Mr. Molloy.”
Daniel has one more question. And he doesn't even know why he needs to know, he just knows that it's burning him up inside. “Who ended it?”
The song dies off and starts again. Daniel likes it; maybe he'll look up this chick later.
Armand chuckles. “Which time?”
Huh, so one of those relationships. “The last time.”
Daniel knows the answer. Wants to hear him say it.
“I did; for his sake. He had become obsessed.”
Figures. What was with vampires thinking they had the right to make all the decisions? “Must have been hard to have a normal life after that.”
Armand's eyes go distant. “Almost impossible.” His gaze is a thousand miles away when he speaks. “I made him forget me. Human minds are so malleable; it wasn't hard.” He swings his gaze to Daniel, something desperate in his eyes. “I had to give him peace, you understand.”
And why does he care if Daniel understands? “Sounds like you wanted peace.”
“I haven't known peace for fifty years. Letting him go is the most difficult thing I've done.”
Bullshit reasoning and justifications aside, Daniel recognizes the truth when he hears it. “You still love him.”
“Always,” Armand says simply.
Daniel swallows thickly; he feels...odd. Caught up. Overly invested. “Yeah well, maybe he's available for one last hurrah.”
Armand leans forward, eyes strangely intense. “You think I should contact him?”
Daniel shrugs. “I think the poor schmuck deserves to remember his own life.”
“Would you wish to remember?” Armand asks, eyes glued to Daniel's face as if unable to wait for the answer. Damn, whoever this guy was, he had Armand twisted. Daniel wonders how Louis feels about it.
Daniel thinks of his own missing memories. The drugs had taken the majority of the 70s from him. He'd like to have those back. “Yeah, I think I'd want to remember the love of my life.”
Armand smiles and it's a beautiful thing. It makes him seem younger, freer. “What makes you so sure I was the love of his life?”
“Guy wanted to be a vampire with you. How else do you interpret that other than wanting to be together forever?”
It all seems so obvious.
“He wanted to live forever; that doesn't mean he wanted to be together forever with me.”
Daniel snorts. “Yeah, because he couldn't have found another vampire to turn him. He asked you. Everyone wants to live forever when they're young. Doesn't mean they'd take the opportunity if it was a reality. You chose to live forever, you gotta have a reason to live for.”
Armand blinks slowly. “I hadn't thought of it like that.”
“You're welcome for the human perspective.”
Armand opens his mouth, then closes it. Daniel rolls his eyes. “Go ahead and ask.”
“Do you believe he'd be able to forgive me? If I returned his memories.”
How the fuck should Daniel know? He doesn't know the guy. He only knows how he'd react. But he guesses Armand just wants the human perspective again. “Honestly? I don't know. It would be hard.”
“But not impossible.” Armand's tone is desperately hopeful.
“Sure, not impossible,” Daniel agrees. Though personally, he'd be pretty pissed.
“Thank you for the insight, Daniel.”
Something warm settles in Daniel's stomach. “You called me Daniel.”
“Is it not your name?”
Daniel shakes his head. Vampires. “I'm going to bed.”
“Sleep well, Daniel.”
When he wakes, Daniel remembers.