Always Three
Part II--Unbreak My Heart

Jake shivered as he sat cross-legged on his bed holding an unlit cigarette in his left hand. He was wrong to attack her and was freaked out. Since his encounter with Aladdin's Lamp, he had pretty much tried to hide his temper and had for the most part--excluding his episodes. But since he fought her with a clear mind, he couldn't help but remember the taste of what he used to be, the duck he came to loathe. And with that memory, he couldn't get the lingering taste of nicotine out of him mouth. He knew he couldn't pick up a cigarette again, but without thinking he bought a pack. He stared at the unlit cigarette when he heard a knock at the door. He quickly threw the cigarette in the garbage and flung open the door.
It was Duke.
"Hey kid," Duke said shakily as he stood in the doorway. Jake felt his lower lip tremble he; Duke must have sensed his cravings coming back, must have seen him moisten his lips as he tried to forget that numbness that came with his cigarettes. "Can we talk?" Jake stepped aside as Duke walked in the room and nervously he shut the door. Duke sat on Jake's bed and looked at his shoes. Jake held his breath, wondering if Duke knew he was sitting a foot away from the pack of cigarettes under his pillow.
"Wh-what's up?" Duke sighed sadly.
"Jake, I hope you don't get embarrassed by my question but... how do you know if you're gay?"
"Excuse me?" Jake looked Duke in the eye surprised.
"How did you know? How'd you find out?" Jake twitched his mouth oddly as he thought of an answer.
"Well, you were with me when I was discovering it. Basically I couldn't get Lestat out of my head and I knew I couldn't live without him." Duke closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I can't live without Lestat, either." whispered Duke. Jake's face blanched.
"What did you just say?"
"He's my best friend, I don't wanna lose him. I can't imagine not having him around...hence, I can't live without him! Jake, I've got a major problem," Duke explained, "Lestat's been my best friend since childhood and I'd just as soon take a bullet for him and vice-versa, but I just found out that he's in love with me."
"In love with you?" Jake whispered, feeling that forgotten desire for a pill coming back. "For how long?" Jake asked, trying to force that feeling back down in his stomach.
"How should I know?! A long time, I'm guessing. I can't see how I was so blind before--it was right in front of my eyes. Oh... I must have hurt him so many times. I remember when I was dating my first girlfriend... I guess I didn't have enough time for him and next thing I know he's working at a gay bar dancing on poles as a Go-Go boy. How could I have been so blind?"
"How could I have been so blind?" Jake reiterated, turning his back to Duke as he walked to the cabinet. He opened a drawer and closed it absently as he felt Duke's hand on his shoulder.
"Jake, I'm so sorry," he said melancholically. Jake shrugged his shoulders and put his hands on the top of the counter.
"Don't be. He's a wonderful guy and I bless you two."
"Whoa! Hold it! I never said I was gay!"
"He's your best friend, you two are inseparable, you didn't even see it coming. Come on, it's a fairy tale just waiting to happen!"
"You're makin' a big leap of logic here, Jake."
"The fuck! Do you love him?" Jake insisted.
"Well, as a friend, but...I... I don't know! I'm so confused!"
"Go to him. Talk to him. You said yourself that you can't live without him so take him!" Jake's cheeks began to flush.
"I can't! And what about you? You love him."
"But you love him more," Jake hissed. "Just go, take him! Go!" Jake turned and pulled away from Duke. He walked to his bed and crawled under his covers. Duke sighed and sat on Jake's bed next to Jake. He trailed his long fingers through Jake's blonde hair and sighed.
"Jake, I never meant to hurt you."
"Just go. Make him happy."
"But I'm not-" Duke paused and, with a sigh, got up and left.

The rest of Duke's day was spent in seclusion in his room, where he sat in thought. Did he love the guy? Duke knew he respected Lestat, missed him when he was gone, enjoyed spending time with him...but he could have said that about most of his teammates. He and Lestat had something different: They shared a special kind of confidence that he couldn't even begin to have with the others. But was that love? Somehow, Duke just knew that it wasn't.
"I just don't know." he murmured. Just then there was a knock on the door. Duke jumped, startled, and accidentally called out "Come in" before he had a chance to think better of it. He cursed to himself, suddenly afraid it might be Lestat. The door seemed to take an interminably long time to open while Duke waited in anticipation. Finally, the door opened.
"Mara!" Duke exclaimed her name with such a tone of relief and surprise that she couldn't help but laugh.
"Thought it was the Saurians, did you? I keep telling you, they knock twice." All of a sudden Duke's confusion disappeared. Without warning Duke grabbed Mara and pulled her to him in an embrace. "Duke," she laughed, "what's with you today?" Duke closed his eyes and held her a little tighter.
"I love you." He told her gently. In all of Duke's panic over Lestat, he'd forgotten about Mara. Once he had seen her again it was no wonder he had known Lestat wasn't the one. She was already right there in his arms. Tenderly, he kissed her neck. "I love you so much."
Mara gave him a gentle smile, "I love you too." Now a little worried by Duke's behavior, Mara brought a hand to his face. "Are you alright, Babe?" Duke took her hand from his face and kissed her palm.
"I'm fine Angel, really. I think I just put something into perspective, that's all." Sufficiently comforted, Mara nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"So what have you been up to all day?"
"Just...thinking."
"Thinking? Mmm, I just love cryptic men. Care to be a little more specific?"
Grinning, Duke said, "Well, I've decided Lestat wouldn't look good in a wedding dress." Mara giggled.
"Don't think so? And how would I look in a wedding dress do you think?" Duke raised her face to his and kissed her lips again.
"A perfect fit, Angel."

Jake reached under his pillow and traced his fingers around the border of the pack. It made perfect sense that Lestat loved Duke... and more reason why Jake felt empty. Lestat never said "I love you" to him, and Jake knew why. Every glimpse of what he thought was sheer bliss was only one sided for no matter how much Jake supported Lestat, love wasn't true as long as Duke was in the picture as a friend... as more.
Jake began to sob as he carefully took out a lighter and lit one of the cigarettes. Of course Duke would choose to be with Lestat and they'd be happy. Why would he ever be interested in anything less than his best friend?
Putting the small roll to his lips, he took a slow, painful drag. He should have never left... or never come back, but yet like a magnet he was drawn to Duke. His mentor. His parental figure. Jake silently wished Duke was his real father but then as he exhaled the dark smoked he remembered how much it hurt Duke. He extinguished the cigarette and threw it in the garbage can but moments later, with tears down his face, ran out of bed and fished it out. As he relit it and put it to his lips, his eyes focused on the bottle of prescription pills that Tanya had given him. Jake calculated that three pills would give him the same euphoric feel that he had when he was on E, but the whole bottle?
Jake slowly took each pill out one by one and placed them on his tongue, letting the bitter taste dissolve before he swallowed. When the bottle was half-empty, Jake felt a throbbing pain in his stomach. He leapt to his feet, knocking over the bottle, and ran. He was out of the Pond within ten minutes and didn't stop running as the world began to spin around him.

Lestat bent his knee and wrapped it around the pinball machine and banged it against the side of the pinball machine, trying to tilt the table. Duke watched Lestat from the doorway. Lestat was so passionate about being perfect, had that desire to be the best, but yet he tried to hide that quality from everyone with his image of slacker. But here was Lestat, oblivious and carefree to the world and in his glory as he played with such conviction and determination that Lestat looked as if the game itself was sensual. Lestat groaned and shoved himself higher on the board of blinking lights, never taking his eye away from the silver ball. Duke looked at the ground sadly, wishing that there was any other way around the confrontation.
"Hey Lestat," Duke tried to sound calm.
"Hey Duke, I'm almost beating Nose Dive's record... been at it all day long," Lestat said, shoving his leg and giving the table a huge tilt.
"Ah. Best of luck."
"Thanks... hate to say it, but I think I need it." Duke looked at the ground as Lestat's score rocketed higher and higher. He fiddled with his belt latch before clearing his throat.
"I know you, Lestat."
"Yeah, I know me too--OOOH SWEET!" Lestat yelped as his score sky rocketed. "C'mon, gimme some sweet sugar baby!" He slowly began to pulse his groan against the machine as he chanted sweet mantras to the increasing blinking score.
"I mean..." Duke hesitated, wanting to turn his back on Lestat desperately. "-I know how you feel about me... and have felt about me forever."
Silence. Lestat held onto the machine so tightly that his knuckles were white, unaware that the ball rolled back home and he was listed as the second-highest score. Duke's throat tightened up. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it until now and I wanted to know if there was anything I could do."
"I..." Lestat was at a loss for words. He tried to formulate a response but his mouth was dry.
"I... I know."
"This isn't supposed to happen this way," Lestat murmured, more to himself than Duke. "This never was supposed to happen."
"I know, Lestat. I'm so sorry-"
"Sorry?! SORRY?!" Lestat snapped, feeling his fury build up.
“Yeah, you know, I feel bad.”
“BAD?! You come in here to declare this assumption…”
“It’s not an assumption because it’s true,” Duke said pleadingly, looking into his best friend’s eye. Lestat remained silent, clenching and releasing his fists. “Lestat, please don’t do this to me. Tell me.”
“TELL YOU?! What more do you want from me?!”
“Please forgive me, I’m so sorry. I dunno how I couldn’t have known.”
"I don’t believe you, Duke. You come barging in here to humiliate me?! You fucking entitled asshole!"
"I didn't mean to humiliate you."
"Well, you did!" Lestat snarled as his shoulders shook. He turned away from Duke and put his head against the glass on the game. Duke sighed and shrugged his broad shoulders regretfully knowing this was the end of his longest and closest friendship.
"I'll get going then," he said as he walked to the door. When his fingers barely brushed the handle, Lestat bounded across the room and fell to his knees, gripping onto Duke's leg.
"No, no you can't go! You can't leave me like this!" Lestat wailed. "It wasn't supposed to be like this! It never was supposed to be like this! You can't leave me!"
"Lestat-" Duke said wearily.
"-It wasn't! I swear, I will do anything. Anything! Have you ever heard me promise my life to anyone before? Oh please Duke, please!"
"Lestat, you know I can't."
"I need you! It's not supposed to be like this! You're supposed to stay with me," Lestat's wails became pitiful pleas. "Isn't there anyway you could love me? Any small, possible glint of hope?" Duke winced as he pulled himself away from his best friend.
"I'm sorry I don't love you," he said quietly before leaving the room. Once Duke was gone, Lestat screamed and threw himself against the door sobbing. He screamed louder and furiously began to rip all of his posters off of the walls. "I love you," he wailed at the top of his lungs, admitting the three words that had haunted him since he was sixteen-years-old. Sinking to the floor, Lestat remembered that fateful trip where he had met Duke and Jake, and it was Duke's strong will that gave Lestat the bit of hope that there could be a kindred spirit. Lestat changed his anti-social antics and pursued a friendship, determined not to lose the most valuable being in his life.
Lestat loved him, but he could never bring himself to fess up the truth and now it was too late. Their friendship was over. Lestat crawled over to his bed and pulled himself up and under the covers. He closed his yellow eyes and tried to allow his body to drift into the listless state between conscious and unconscious, the step before dreaming but even Lestat couldn't control his mind.

"Hey Duke," was the unanimous greeting from the Mighty Ducks as they sat at the dinner table.
"Hey," he said wearily, sitting next to Mara as he rubbed his temples.
"As our dear friend Lestat would say, "You look like a fucking train wreck"... what's bugging you?" Mara asked, taking a sip of her lemonade.
"Lestat."
"What'd he do this time?" she asked. Duke looked at his plate and scraped his fork through the rice. Wild Wing patted Duke's hand.
"You talked to him, didn't you?"
"I did," Duke said melancholy.
"About what?" Mallory asked.
"Apparently, I guess Stat's been in love with me... since childhood. I... I never knew and I had to talk with him." Mara's face paled and Amber's jaw dropped.
"You talked with him about it knowing that he runs away from socially awkward situations?" Amber asked incredulously.
"I couldn't let it hang over my shoulders. Not with my engagement. Not with my love," Duke said, squeezing Mara's hand. Mara looked down at her ring and frowned.
"You're sure you don't love him?"
"Why the fuck is everyone asking me that?! No, I don't. I knew I didn't since I saw Mara; she's the only one in my life."
"But if I didn't exist, you would feel something for Lestat," Mara concluded.
"No. I wouldn't," Duke said curtly. "I told him this and explained how sorry I was before I left."
"You left him alone?" Grin asked startled.
"Yeah, what else was I supposed to do when he started crying and clinging onto my leg?" Duke took a bite of the broccoli on his plate but didn't swallow as he looked at the faces of his teammates. Duke swallowed and rolled his eyes. "So what, you're gonna chastise me about this?"
“What if he tried to hurt himself?” Amber asked nervously.
“He wont; he’s too smart to try and commit suicide. He’s practically incapable of death and he loves feeling sorry for himself too much to die.”
"You need to talk to him again," Mara said.
"Why?" Duke asked, taking another forkful of food and sticking it in his mouth.
"He needs closure, and you need a friend," Nose Dive said.
"Closure? What more could you get? That was the end of our friendship."
"Dive's right," Wild Wing said. "On behalf of Lestat."
"Alright, translation please," Duke asked agitatedly. "And make it snappy, I'm starving."
"If you don't find some sort of amiable closure, Lestat will spend the rest of his life in torment wondering what he could have done to change the outcome," Mara answered. Duke put a hand on her face.
"He's a big boy... or at least closer to a boy than a girl... can't he figure it out on his own?"
"He needs you right now," Mara said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"What do you want me to do?" Duke asked gravely.
"I don't know," she replied honestly.
"This whole deal is hurting you; I don't wanna deal with it."
"Duke, this isn't for me. It's for your friendship." Sighing, Duke looked back to his plate and proceeded to eat.
"Doubtful," he said in between mouthfuls, ignoring his teammates. A dull beep steadily began to increase in volume. Duke looked at Wild Wing and rolled his eyes. "I don't take calls while I'm eating." Wild Wing shrugged his shoulders and left the dining room door closest to the Ready Room and Drake 1 where the incoming message was coming. After fifteen minutes, Wild Wing returned.
"Klegghorn?" Grin asked.
"No, Jake." Wild Wing looked at his empty water glass before frowning.
"Yeah, thinking about it, he was missing from dinner," Amber noted.
"Among other times," Mara added darkly. Duke shot a glance at her before pushing his empty plate away from him.
"He checked himself into rehab," Wild Wing said solemnly. Duke pushed his plate across the table and jumped to his feet.
"He did WHAT?! He was doing so well!"
"Relax, Duke. He said he doesn't want anyone to see him for a few weeks or call him. He sends his apologies to Amber and said that he's doing this because he loves her." Wild Wing looked down at Amber.
"Any clue what he means by that?" Amber's face paled and she shook her head although she knew the answer was that he attacked her in a rage. Duke nodded his head and walked out of the room, aware that Wild Wing was following closely behind him. "Wait, there's something Jake wanted you to find."
"What else could he want? He was able to make a decision for the first time in his life without help... and for once it was a right choice."
"Jake said there was a book with some of his drug theories or something and he wanted you to get rid of it."
"Where is it?"
"That's the thing. He said 'on the dresser' but I thought he didn't have anything on the dresser." Duke frowned and entered Jake's room. He looked at the small walnut chest and patiently observed. Something must be amiss, Duke mused. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Duke proceeded to take everything off of the bureau and inspect the wood for engravings. He opened up Jake's box of photographs but there was nothing except pictures of the Brotherhood. Duke frowned as he set Jake's Smuggler's Guide back onto the dresser when he looked down in his hands. "It couldn't be," Duke said out loud.
Duke flipped open the book and filed through the pages until he came to a section entitled "Narcotics". When he turned the page, there were blue ink stains, writings scribbled and edited. Duke read in horror as Jake had corrections to all the legal narcotics as well as concoctions for other major drugs. "Fucking brilliant... just where no one would think to look," Duke muttered as he carefully ripped the pages out of the book. When he got to the last page of narcotics, he noticed red ink as oppose to black. Duke looked at the three words scribbled in harsh, bold print across the page: I NEED HELP.

Lestat rolled on his bed, tangling his covers around himself when he felt the presence enter his room. He lay still as death as he heard the latch of the click as it locked and the dull pattering of footsteps as it approached his bed. He squeezed his eyes tighter as he felt hot, moist breath on his neck. "Lestat," the voice whispered.
As if in a trance, Lestat opened his eyes and gazed into Duke's face. Lestat pulled his sheets up over his torso, fearful and embarrassed at his indecency. Duke shook his head and reached to Lestat's night table for his unopened bottle of water. Opening it with one hand, he slowly poured it over his head and bare chest, tugging at the draw strings on his pajama pants. Lestat pulled his knees up to his chest and trembled. "What are you doing?"
"You said it wasn't supposed to be like that, so I'm making it the way it was supposed to be." Duke pulled the drawstring loose and allowed the pants to drop to the floor. He lifted up each foot carefully before striding to Lestat’s bed. Lestat clutched onto the sheet with all his might but Duke was stronger as he yanked the fabric away. With a delicate tip of his head, Duke studied Lestat’s body and crawled onto the bed. Straddling a leg on each side of him, Duke parted his mouth, inviting Lestat to kiss him. Lestat reached up eagerly but the image of Duke vanished.
Lestat looked around him in his dark room to realize he was alone... and had been the entire night. He looked down at his naked body which was covered in a dry sweat before he pulled his knees up to his chest and sobbed. His body wracked back and forth with each frustrated cry. He had lost Duke forever, the first friend he ever made. "WHY?!" Lestat let out the blood curdling scream that he was afraid to use for so many years.
"Lestat?" He looked upright sharply as he heard the dark resonating voice behind the door. Lestat was paralyzed with fear as he watched the latch on the inside of the door turn. Duke was picking the lock effortlessly before the hinge gave way and Duke stepped inside. "My God, Lestat!" he whispered hoarsely, shutting the door behind him.
"Don't look at me!" Lestat whimpered, pulling himself into a closer net. Duke took the sheet that had fallen off of Lestat's bed and wrapped it around the Eagle's wings tattoo on his back trying not to look down at Lestat but it was near impossibly until Lestat pulled it around him and shivered. Duke sat on the opposite end of the bed from Lestat and sighed.
"We need to talk."
"I know," Lestat replied softly, squeezing the soft fabric of his bed sheet. "I'm sorry, Duke."
"Sorry? Lestat, I'm the one that should be more sorry. I... I just wish..."
"I know. I wish that it was a fairy tale too," Lestat smiled weakly. Duke took his finger and traced the vertical scar over Lestat's right eye.
"I don't wanna lose our friendship over this." Lestat nodded his head and sighed. "So... how long did you like me if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well," Lestat fumbled thinking of the words to use.
"I don't wanna make you uncomfortable. I just want to get you and I used to it."
"I was sixteen, and you were nineteen. Your apprentice had just tried to take the assignment for Exar Drako instead of you and I was your guide," Lestat's voice trailed off.
"That long?"
"Yeah. That long."
"So all those times you were hitting on me at Chase's Place...?"
"No. That was still play… I think."
"Oh... did I ever not notice you openly hitting on me?"
"Countless times, but I don't even think I was aware of it." Lestat sighed and looked down at his hands. "I think it only started clicking in on Earth. On Puckworld, the others had mentioned it to me… Hector was probably the first to hit the nail on the head… same quick observation that he shared with his uncle. Not surprising that Flynn would mention his suspicions to me too. You're my best friend, and best friends don't fall in love. I never wanted to believe it. I only started faintly coming to terms with it after Jake and I broke up."
"And now?"
"I was forced to come to terms with it. There was no choice; I couldn't hide from you."
"But you hid for years and years in secrecy," Duke murmured. "I must have caused you so much pain."
"I'm built for suffering. The whole purpose of my existence is to endure and survive."
"But it shouldn’t have to be that way.”
“I can’t change it.”
“So, still friends?" Lestat nodded his head. Duke stood up to leave when Lestat reached up and grabbed his arm. Duke looked down at his friend who softly started to weep again. Duke sat back down and put an arm around Lestat's shoulder.
"Please stay a little longer... if you leave now, you might never come back," Lestat whimpered.
"I'll never leave you," Duke said, rocking Lestat back and forth. "You know that."
"And yet you could never love me." Lestat buried his head in Duke's shoulder as his body racked with tears. Duke brushed Lestat's bangs out of his friend's face. "No one could ever love me."
"Lestat, you know that's not true. Jake loves you."
"He left me too."
"Yes, it was a bad decision, but you can't say that you didn't love him?"
"I didn't love him," Lestat's tenor voice quavered a little. "I never did and he knew that. I only let my guard down because... because..."
"-Because you were hoping that somehow you could find love in someone so good," Duke finished. "Stat, maybe you're trying too hard. Maybe you should go out casually and just have some fun instead of trying to find the one."
"I don't bother trying to find the one because both of them are right in front of me all the time," Lestat said crossly, wiping his yellow eyes with the back of his hand. Duke looked at the ground.
"You know, I would have given it a try."
"What?" Lestat asked confused.
"I mean, on Puckworld... if you'd have asked, I probably would have. You know, see what it's like." Lestat pressed a hand to his yellow eyes trying to prevent the tear flow.
"You mean I missed my chance?" Duke nodded his head slowly. "I thought you were straight."
"I am straight," Duke clarified. "But I was just as lonely as you were back then. I probably would have partnered in your company."
"Damn," Lestat said, sitting upright. "But I guess that would have disrupted the whole argument of fate."
"Wait a second, Lestat... I thought you didn't believe in fate," Duke inquired. Lestat smiled at his friend.
"Faith and Fate are two entirely different things. Besides, if there wasn't such a thing as Fate how could I be doomed to so much disappointment?" Lestat and Duke couldn't help but laugh a little. "Man, the leader of the BOTB and Flynn Torve's apprentice," Lestat said, oddly referring to himself not as an individual. "That'd have been a stir."
"Could you imagine the gossip? Or the hate mail?" Duke laughed.
"Well, according to Mara, everyone at the Black Rose Society assumed we were an element."
"Maybe it meant something," Duke murmured.
"But if it did, is it possible to change fate?" Lestat asked, turning so that he was facing Duke cross-legged on the bed. Duke mirrored his best friend's position, relieved to see them talking at ease the way they used to.
"I don't know."
"I mean, but clearly you and Mara are perfect for each other," Lestat stated, pausing deep in thought. "But were you always meant to be that way? Or did something happen to make you two kindred spirits?"
"Maybe we could call one of those 1-800-PSYCHIC numbers," Duke suggested. "Maybe they'd have the answers we're looking for."
"Perhaps." Duke paused and looked at the ground as a mischievous smile crossed over his face. "What?" Lestat asked, curiosity piqued.
"Am I hotter than Mara?" Lestat looked at Duke blankly before laughing hysterically.
"I can't compare you two! You have a dick!" Lestat tried to calm his emotions but only succeeded in laughing louder.
"Yeah, but who'd you choose to do first?" Duke whined. Lestat's laughter soothed a bit.
"I consider Mara to be a role model... an ideal."
"And me?"
"How the fuck can you be angelic with that obnoxious accent of yours?"
“I do NOT have an obnoxious accent! I think you’re just hiding the fact that you want me!”
“And I think that you’re hiding the fact that you think you have an obnoxious accent!” Duke hit Lestat over the head with a pillow. Lestat went to hit Duke back but paused as he pulled the sheets tighter around his midriff. "Almost forgot," he said quietly. Duke sighed in unison with Lestat.
"You seriously gonna be okay?"
"Yeah Duke. I'm fine." Duke nodded his head.
"Then I really should get going." Lestat motioned toward the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Practice at 7:30," Duke said distantly as he reached the door. Before he touched the handle, he turned back to Lestat. "Are you sure that I'm not making a mistake about fate?" Lestat narrowed his eyes so that they were small, yellow slits.
"You love her and you two compliment each other perfectly." Duke nodded his head.
"Thanks Lestat."
"On the other hand," Lestat said before Duke turned away, "it doesn't hurt to double check and make sure." Duke raised the eyebrow over his patch.
"How so?" Duke asked. Lestat quivered as he cautiously stood up from the bed and secured the sheet around his waist. He took slow, deliberate steps across the room until he stood six inches in front of Duke. Lestat observed how Duke was a good few inches taller and broader than he was and wondered how Mara compared to Duke in height. As he looked into Duke's laser eye, Lestat knew that he'd find out whether this was closure or whether fate had turned tide. Slowly, Lestat put a hand behind Duke's neck and tilted his beak up, arching his back until his lips brushed against Duke's. Lestat pulled back and looked at Duke unsurely before he repeated the action, this time against Duke's slightly pressing lips. They continued to repeat this slow gesture for half an hour when Lestat held the prolonged contact for a few more seconds than the other times. Lestat stepped back in a slight daze.
It was the most sweet feeling, but there were no sparks. By the look in Duke's eye, Lestat knew that he felt the same way. There was closure, and fate didn't steer from its original course.
"Goodbye Duke," Lestat said quietly.
"Goodbye, Lestat." Duke turned his back to Lestat and slipped out of the door into the late hours of the night.

Somebody needs a hug.

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