Time: The morning after the "Encounters" events, Oct. 22
Frank Kouhanek enters the silent Camera della Luna and stops at the foot of the long staircase, hands on his hips, as usual his eyes flashing his apprehension. He's looking for Julian, of course, nervous because he'd wanted to do this earlier. But he and Sonny... well... "Julian?" he calls softly. It's pretty silent for mid-afternoon, he notes.
Julian Luna catches Frank's voice as he's coming down the staircase from the second floor. He's dressed casually, in black jeans and a turtleneck since he wasn't anticipating company. [Oh, no, not some new crisis!?] "Yes, Frank. I wasn't expecting you."
Frank runs a hand through his hair, nervous as always in the presence of this particular Kindred. Nervous... wired... excited... "I'm sorry to barge in like this, Julian," he murmurs. "I need to talk to you." He's debated with himself for a day now on what to tell Julian Luna about Jim Ellison, but knowing Julian, Frank had better be forthright. It gives him the shivers.
Julian stops on the bottom step, noting the agitation in Frank's movements and voice. "What is it, Frank? I'm really quite busy today. If it can wait, I'd appreciate it."
He bites off his words. "It concerns the Masquerade, Julian. I thought that was very much priority business for you."
"It is, Frank," he sighs. [This probably involves our late-night visitors, so it's best to go ahead and deal with it.] Julian smiles, thinking how much of a fixture Frank Kouhanek is becoming in his life. "Come with me to my study."
Frank follows his protector into the study, all the while glancing around, wondering who else is here. Julian always has others around.
Julian walks to the large wingback chair and sits down, motioning for Frank to join him. He stretches his neck, visibly stressed. "Sit down, Frank," he says, nodding to the matching chair across the rug.
Ignoring him, Frank stands as close as he dares without being in danger of tipping into his lap if he should trip on the rug. "Julian, there are mortals down at the station asking about... wolves in the city. And they don't mean the real ones." Rubbing his palms on his thighs, Frank rushes on before Julian can comment. "I did NOT tell them about Kindred, Julian."
"Frank, SIT DOWN," Julian says, his tone a good bit more forceful. Setting his legs apart, he leans down and braces his forearms across his knees, clasping his hands. "I know you didn't tell them anything," he adds, sounding like the detective's reassuring big brother.
Frank drops into the chair like he'd developed lead weights in his pockets. "You... know? Oh, God, I should have known, you know everything..." [And what else does he know? Has Sonny been here?] "Are they in danger?" Frank's voice is a little more strident than he intended.
Julian meets Frank's eyes, letting a small smile creep across the worried lips. "Not everything." [Like I don't know exactly what to do with you.] "The mortals in question were here last night. And, no, they are not in danger. I have placed them under my protection, similar to yours."
He blanches. [They've been here! Oh, God!] "You brought them here... where are they now? How did you know about them? Did..." He snaps off the last question, knowing he dares not push Julian. He looks deep into Julian's eyes, trusting him but fearing him.
The Kindred chuckles. "You ask more questions in one breath than most fledglings in a month." Julian sits back in the chair, stretching his legs out toward Frank's chair. "They
are safe at home, I presume. After an encounter with Cash yesterday, I felt it was best to talk with them face-to-face. It seems they've been flashing on Kindred in dreams." His voice remains even-toned.Frank narrows his eyes at him, as ever suspicious when he thinks Julian is holding back. "You told them. And now you're protecting them like you are me... why?" He leans forward in his chair, wishing he could just reach over and touch him. Sometimes he feels like Julian Luna is some sort of specter. "What will happen to them now? Are you going to allow them to stay?"
"For now, they are under my protection and may stay in the city. If they seem to pose more of a threat, then I will reconsider my decision," he says, moving to clasp his
hands behind his neck. "I'm not sure ... why I'm protecting them." With each meeting, Julian finds himself more and more relaxed with Frank. He has come to consider the detective a touchstone for non-Kindred reality. And, when he admits it to himself, he finds that he's attracted to this entity called Frank Kouhanek. "Maybe it's because they seem to be fascinated by us rather than appalled."The words erupt from his mouth without having gone through a thought process. "Fascinated! But if they know what you are..." He recovers, abashed. "I'm sorry, Julian, I know I'm still learning about you myself."
"You had a rather awkward introduction to our world, Frank," he says, wincing at the memories of Alexandra and the actions that led to the detective being under his protection. "Our relationship is evolving. You came to this house today of your own free will, entering without challenge. I think you would know by now you have no reason to fear me."
Frank swallows with difficulty, the emotions tightening up his throat. "I don't want to fear you, Julian... I guess I'm afraid of what I still don't know. I know all Kindred... are not like you."
The prince lowers the timbre of his voice slightly, trying to be more reassuring. He doesn't want to frighten this one away. "Frank, we have talked about this. As you learn more about us, you will learn not to be afraid." Julian has come to know Frank rather well, reading his body language. He senses the tension. "Of the Kindred you have met, most have given you no reason for fear. Correct?"
The mortal's face freezes, his eyes going flinty. "Nino Donelli. Starkweather. They were butchers. They were Kindred."
"And they were exceptions, as I have explained," he says, searching his mind for the right analogy, "like your kind's John Gotti or Jeffrey Dahmer." He stares into Frank's eyes so deeply as to be nearly lost for an instant.
"Julian..." Frank speaks his patron's name almost as a prayer, a plea for his very sanity, his moral conscience still struggling with the roiling desires within him. He knows Julian is right, and a lot of him wants to give in to this, but it's just not that easy. "I...I know. I'm sorry I'm so filled with fears."
Frank's words touch Julian's soul. He sits up and reaches out, putting a hand on Frank's arm. Every ounce of him wants to hold Frank, comfort him; it's a feeling he had on the first night they met. [I *can't* Embrace him.] "Tell me your fears."
The touch galvanizes him, and Frank takes the hand in his as if it's a lifeline he's just been handed. "I have had these... desires... since Alexandra." His eyes look into Julian's, haunted. "They draw me and frighten me. And I fear the power you have. I know you have assured me that Kindred do not kill, but... " He shrugs, having run out of words. "I'm sorry, Julian. I don't want to fear."
"I've been wondering about that," Julian admits, pressing his hand into Frank's. "Ever since Lillie asked you what it was like to taste Alexandra's blood and you didn't answer her." He tugs gently, pulling Frank from the chair. "Come here."
Gulping, Frank slides off the chair, coming to settle at Julian's feet beside his chair. He wants the closeness, hoping that will ease his heart.
Julian touches his free hand to Frank's temple, brushing a stray lock of hair away. It is hard not to want more from this man he has shared a lover with, shared so much of himself with. "The desires are normal ... for Kindred, but I understand why they are a double-edged sword for you. Kindred blood is fiery, each drop filled with the intensity of a life you can't fully understand ... unless you're part of it."
"You're living on the edge of that sword, Frank, floating between two worlds that collided in a rose garden," he says, smiling bittersweetly at the memories of the night before Alexandra's death. "Someday, you'll have to step into one world or the other. I know I'm not making that decision any easier by showing you the gentle side of Kindred. It would be easier if you had never known the truth, but that wouldn't be fair ... to either of us."
Frank's heart pounds, being so close to Julian, feeling his touch. He, too, has felt a connection with this man because of Alexandra. "So... what you told me, that a mortal who knows of the Kindred must choose... I have still to make that choice some day. That's what you're saying." Frank doesn't know if he feels reassured by that or not. The touch is helping, though.
Cash is watching from the adjacent room, his hands are clenched on the door frame. Later Julian will find crescent shaped scars in the oak from his nails. A single
crimson tear traces down his face, but he stoically keeps his mental shields locked down tight [Shall I just carve out my heart and offer it up to you, my lord?] Cash *knows* that Julian loves him, but this is not easy for him to watch his prince with another man, even if it is a mortal.Julian leans down and kisses the top of Frank's head, with all the ritual of a mafia godfather kissing a favored son. "I think you've already made the choice," he whispers. "Or you wouldn't be here now, warning me about mortals jeopardizing the Masquerade. You just need reassurance that it's the right choice."
Frank swallows hard, his cheek against the hand in his. "I don't know, Julian. I just don't know." There's still a shadow in him yet, the matter of his partner... what he suspects.
Julian absent-mindedly presses his hand against Frank's cheek. [It's odd this feeling I have for him. It isn't love ... not like I feel for Cash. It's strange.] Julian's acute sense of hearing picks up the voice of his Gangrel lover outside the door. [Did he ...? Never mind.] And then a second voice, that of his childe, Sonny. [Would it ease Frank's mind to know about Sonny? I wonder ...]
He releases his caressing grip on Frank and takes the detective by the arms. "Stand up, Frank, there's one more secret I think you should know about."
A bit dazed, Frank gets up from the floor. "Oh? Don't tell me, there's a catch to all this. There's always a catch..." This last is half-muttered to himself as he composes himself at Julian's request.
Cash raps on the study door, having intercepted Sonny in the hall. "My lord?" He adds in a whisper to Sonny, "he's got Frank in there, for some time now...."
The prince is addressing the mortal. "Oh, no, there's no catch, Frank," he says, with a light humor in his voice. "I just think you ought to meet somebody. Cash, come in."
"Wait here, Sonny, I'll check." Cash slips into the room, eyes Frank with a slight frown, and leans over to whisper in the prince's ear. "Sonny's outside, should I have him wait next door?"
"No, bring him in."
Warily, Frank waits with Julian, noting the entrance of the Gangrel chief. He doesn't know this one well.
"At your will, my lord." Cash doesn't look at the mortal again.
The Gangrel steps to the door and opens it, letting the Ventrue into the room, Sonny enters, slightly wary. This could be *messy*, Frank is so unpredictable where the Kindred are concerned. Cash moves to stand at behind Julian's left shoulder, while the Ventrue comes into the room.
"Is this a joke?" Frank blurts out, but he is saying this directly to Sonny. And getting up a full head of steam, by the looks of it. "Why? You KNOW I know about the Kindred, yet you couldn't tell me?"
Sonny slants a glance at his irate partner as he crosses over to stand before the prince.
Frank feels betrayed by the one man he thought he could count on, his partner. Though he'd suspected Sonny was Kindred, having it confirmed like this... he doesn't blame Julian at all, though.
Julian acknowledges Sonny's entrance, extending his hand. Frank needs to vent his rage, so he's not reacting to it at this point.
"Julian, thank you for seeing me." He takes the prince's proffered hand, bowing over it. "My lord, my prince, sire...."
Sire. The word sinks in, and Frank's shock deepens. [Oh, God, he was Embraced by *Julian*?]
"Sonny, I think we have kept Frank in the dark long enough," Julian says, just slightly bemused.
Frank glances at the Prince out of the corner of his eye, wondering now just who decided to keep him in the dark about his own partner. [Has he been my watchdog, then? Julian...!] "Too long," Frank snaps back. "This was NOT necessary, Julian."
"It WAS necessary, Frank," Julian responds, his voice raised just a bit. "For your protection as well as Sonny's."
Sonny smiles a bit at his partner; he hasn't felt good about the implicit lie for some time now.
His eyes narrowed at the prince, Frank isn't completely sure. [Did Julian make nice with me just a minute ago to soften me up for *this*?] Then he looks back at Sonny, at what he perceives as a simpering little smirk on his face. "You! All those times you blew me off..." He has to stop, try to keep his temper in check, although he wants to throw a punch at someone.
Sonny retorts, "YOU were under the prince's protection, Frank. *I* was still at risk, the rules don't exempt the childer of the Prince as you damn well know."
"If you're going to be angry with someone, take it out on me," Julian says, stepping in front of Frank. "I ordered Sonny not to tell you."
Frank crosses his arms over his chest, still fuming. "Trust. You wanted me to trust you. This... is making it damn hard."
His partner throws back, "Trust you have earned, NOW. We *didn't* trust you when this started."
"I thought telling you would show you how much trust I have in you," the prince says, his hands punctuating the conversation in midair. "How much our relationship has progressed, changed."
It still smarts, that the one man so close to him... and even now, Sonny is as belligerent as always. Once he thought they were friends... until this Kindred stuff came up. It stings. Slowly Frank looks back to Julian, somber. "I'm trying, Julian." He sighs, glancing at Sonny. "You could have trusted me before. I wish you could have." A note of sadness accompanies this last.
Sonny is discomforted. "I am caught, Frank, living as a Kindred *IN* the mortal world. Caught between loyalties, between friendships, between laws...." his voice trails away.
Julian breaks in, "Frank, when you tried to kill me that night, you told me it was your mission to bring me down. How could I trust a man who wanted to see me dead?" his voice echoes the sadness he feels at how things began between them. "I couldn't confide in you. I couldn't let Sonny betray the Masquerade .... not until I was sure I could convince you that Kindred weren't monsters, something you had to kill."
Frank snorts at the irony. Not monsters. "Well. At least I don't have to hear your rantings about my 'theories' anymore, Sonny. I'm not sure I can continue working with you. I guess..." He shifts awkwardly, for the new paradigm is still hard to take. "I guess I'll let Julian decide that."
"Frank," Sonny says, "we will have to *both* get used to this. It's hard for me to realize I don't have to keep you in the dark anymore. How many times I *wanted* to say something, bit the words off just before they hit my lips."
"Yeah. And I had a few of those moments myself." Frank looks wry, thinking of all the times he wanted to confront Sonny, get it out. Well, here it was.
"I don't see any reason why you can't work together, Frank." Julian leans in to Frank's shoulder and says more softly, "I was hoping Sonny might be able to give you some of the answers you're seeking ... about your choice."
The mortal looks at the Prince, stunned and a little embarrassed. "Oh, right." As usual, the closeness of the Kindred short circuits his thinking a little. "Sure, as long as the information keeps coming."
"You have become our closest mortal ally, Frank," Julian says aloud. "I don't want to lose that link."
Ally. The word seems to breach a wall in Frank's chest, a constriction borne of the tension he's had coiled up inside him ever since the confrontation with Julian in the rose garden. [That seems so long ago...] He lifts his eyes to the Prince's, taking a deep
breath. "You won't, Julian," he replies quietly.Sonny presses on, "Frank, you scarcely know us. Can you even name more than four or five of us? Except for Brujah you know about through work? You don't even know all the primogen. You have scarcely begun to know us yet."
"So teach me." Frank looks over to his partner, raising an eyebrow, asking the question. "Okay?"
"Yes." That bare word is the door behind which lies all the answers to Frank's questions. "Starting now."
Frank sighs, nodding. "Back to school. Damn, and I thought when I made detective that I'd be set for life on that sort of thing." He tries to smile, crack a joke. His voice comes out a bit weakly.
Julian is relieved. [Good, a meeting of the minds. I was worried this was going to end in bloodletting.] He smiles and gestures to the Gangrel, still standing silent behind Julian's shoulder. "Frank, I'd like you to meet Cash, the Gangrel primogen and Julian's head of security."
Frank turns to see Cash, whom he has seen but never really spoken to. He sticks out his hand, hoping it's the thing to do. "Cash, good to meet you."
Julian takes a step back, relaxing as his lover takes control of the situation.
Cash steps from behind the prince, extending his hand to the mortal with a softer smile than Julian expected. "When you stop learning, you stop living." They shake hands, tentative but okay.
The detective gives the Gangrel a wry grin back, nodding. "So they say."
Sonny continues for the prince. "The Toreador primogen you have met. Lillie at the Haven... " [Let's keep Daedalus for another day, I think he's had enough shocks.]
[Oh, yeah, he's met Lillie ....] Julian smirks at the thought of Lillie and Frank.
"Ah, that explains a couple things," Frank admits, rubbing at his chin, remembering Julian's old flame, the delectable Lillie. "Ah, yeah, we've met." He pulls a bit of a silly grin at this.
"There are a couple of other clans in the city," Sonny adds, "but you can meet them later. I know you know about the Brujah. " He glances over to the Gangrel. "Sorry, Cash," Sonny mutters in a quick aside. "The Gangrels and the Brujah don't get along too well," he offers in explanation.
Frank snorts, thinking about Eddie Fiori. "I can imagine. Fiori was Brujah."
Cash grins a quick, predatory snarl. "WAS...."
"Oh, right, Kindred justice." Frank risks a glance at Julian, smiles.
"Fiori killed my sire, just to get to Julian. I think that it was justice." Cash says levelly.
Frank nods, sighing. Politics. It's everywhere.
Julian laughs, thinking this could go on all night ... Sonny offering information, Frank asking questions, Cash interjecting thoughts ... but he had things to do. "Sonny, I think that's enough for now. We don't want to overload Frank with information."
Frank happens to glance at his watch. "Shit... well, I gotta go anyway. Ellison and Sandburg are on their own this morning. Any last instructions about them? Do you want them to know that I know they know?" He grins. "Whatever I just said!"
Sonny thinks that one over in his head. [Yeah, partner, that's right....]
"No ... I think. Hell, Frank, I'm not sure what you said either," Julian says, grinning, then adopting a more serious face. "I leave it to you and Sonny to deal with them. If they met Sonny, I suspect they have their suspicions about him, but right now, I don't want them knowing any more than they already know."
Frank frowns, considering this. "And... what *do* they know? What if they ask me?"
Julian sighs, remembering just how open he was with Ellison and Sandburg. "Umm, they know a good bit. I'll meet you at the diner for breakfast and we'll talk."
"Okay, whatever you say, Julian." Frank smiles a little more easily now. He still feels funny, but now that he's a bit more "in", he can relax. Especially since Sonny is going to be free to answer his questions. And he has... questions.
Sonny touches the mortal on the arm. "Frank, we need to get moving... partner." The last word comes out hopeful.
"Yeah, we do," Frank replies. "Partner." He turns a last time to the Prince. "Julian, thank you." He holds out his hand.
Julian grasps Frank's hand, giving it a firm shake.
"I appreciate what you did for me today, Julian. It means a lot." Julian nods, following them toward the door. [I need to rest before I deal with the Tremere.]
Cash nods to the mortal, "Nice to finally meet you officially."
"You, too," Frank smiles to Cash as he moves with Sonny to the door.
A short while later, Frank is driving into the city with Sonny. He smirks, thinking of Sonny... "Julian's your daddy? Cute, real cute..."
THE END
