By Auden Dedication: Cindy, torch, Teresa, Mic, Ari
Subject: A brief L/L vignette.
Spoilers: IWTV, TVL, QOTD, TOTBT, ?MTD
Notes: This is a short spec I came up with recently and I wondered if people might be interested in. It's been a long time since I've posted anything but I have active web access again and have been following Rotoli for a while now. Comments, criticism and assorted email welcome.
Disclaimer: This is a non -profit, amateur spec and is not intended to infringe upon the copyright of Anne Rice or her publisher. Warning: This spec contains sexual situations between adults of the same sex.
David and I were walking through the newer part of town when we saw him. My Louis. He was wearing black, unsurprisingly, but for a mercy he wasn't clothed in rags. David felt his presence before I did, looking around quickly at the first brush of minds, but I was the first to see him, drifting carelessly towards us through the crowds.
He paused in front of us and nodded before he spoke.
"David, Lestat, good evening."
"Louis," David extended a hand and they performed the mortal ritual of greeting. As for myself, I made no move to touch him.
"Out catching rats?" I drawled and he raised an eyebrow at me.
"Indeed," he confirmed. "It would seem I have been successful."
His gaze was very direct and David laughed softly.
"TouchÈ," I conceded the hit and downshifted into a more polite subject of conversation. "I have not seen you in some time, Louis. I assume you are still living with us?"
"Perhaps if you spent less time gazing in mirrors," he mused.
"Louis!" David looked from one of us to the other and then shook his head. "I also haven't seen you for a while, would you be interested in joining me one evening for conversation?"
"Certainly, David." Louis smiled gently. "It would be my pleasure."
"And will you be joining me now?" I added, meeting those secretive emerald eyes.
"I believe not, Lestat," And with that he was gone, as vaporous as smoke.
David looked after him and then turned to frown at me.
"Louis seemed... distant," he said. "Have you two had another argument?"
"Certainly not," I told him. "Perhaps he was a trifle formal, but that's Monsieur Pont du Lac for you. I've told you before, David. Louis is a very private creature."
"Yes, I know," he said but he still looked troubled.
"David," I took his arm reassuringly. "Stop concerning yourself with unimportant matters and concentrate on our plans. Where will you be going tonight?"
"To the museum, I thought," he said, brightening. "There's an interesting exhibition on porcelain that I would like to see."
"Fascinating," I grinned at him. "However, I believe I will restrain myself and not join you in your perusal of plates."
"I never expected for a moment that you would, Lestat" he said with a warm smile. "I'll see you later then, shall I?"
"Au vraiment, cher," I informed him and kissed his cheek as we parted.
As I walked back toward the older part of town I watched the shadows dreamily. How much more beautiful the new electric lights were than the old torches carried by link bearers. They made everything so vivid, contrasting the brightly lit streets with the darkness of the surrounding night. Humming to myself, I swung off the main roads and into the back streets. Here the lighting was not so bright and although I caught glimpses of movement from the corner of my eye, I couldn't make out anything in the shadows. Occasionally I heard a footstep ringing somewhere not far away but other than that there was no indication that I was anything other than alone.
It was not from behind me that the attack came. I had just turned a corner when one of the still shadows beyond the light rushed at me. I lost my footing instantly and found myself lying in the street with the breath knocked out of me and the weight of another body on my chest. I laughed and gasped for breath simultaneously as a pair of flashing green eyes stared down at me and I saw pale lips draw back in a snarl.
"Mon Dieu," I choked out, when I was capable of speech again. "You would assault me then, would you, villain?"
"Now I have you at my mercy," the slim figure above me said arrogantly, holding my wrists and pinning me to the ground with his weight.
"You think so?" I twisted quickly and threw him to the ground beneath me, holding his arms up above his head and trapping his legs beneath mine. "You underestimate me, Louis." I showed my fangs and felt the figure beneath me tremble.
"Lestat..."
"You are departing from the script, cher," I reproved him, with just the slightest suggestion of a grin.
There was a flurry of activity beneath me as my assailant attempted to throw me off and we writhed together for a moment before he gained the upper hand and rolled me on to my back again.
"Always a critic," he said a little breathlessly, propping himself up on an elbow to look down at my pinned figure.
"You do realise I could break this hold in a second", I told him.
"You're deluded," he said looking down at me coolly. "You must have hit your head when you fell." A look slanted at me, green eyes half hidden behind long dusky lashes. "You are at my mercy, Monsieur."
I gazed up at him. Black hair fell silkily into my face, green eyes flashed dangerously, the body holding me down was warm and pliant.
"I confess it," I told him. "You have the better of me, mon Seigneur. Command me and I shall obey."
He swallowed and licked his lips, the tip of his tongue gliding over the perfect mouth and moistening it. I stared, raptly, my own mouth parting at the sight. So enticing.
"Kiss me," I said suddenly.
He raised his eyebrows freezingly.
"I think you mistake who is in control here, my lord." He shifted suddenly, twining a hand in my hair and dragging my head up to him, "It is for me to say who will kiss who."
I groaned, trying to bring my lips to his.
"You are torturing me," I whispered.
"Oui."
I flexed my arms and then launched myself upwards. My lips grazed his in a brief moment of ecstasy before he leaped back and drew himself up straight before me. I stood and we stared at each other. We were inches away.
"... and will you be joining me now?" I murmured, reaching for him.
In one graceful movement he swayed back out of my reach and arrested my motion with a raised hand.
"I presume you mean for conversation?"
"Naturally," I said, my breath coming in quick pants. "Perhaps some music."
"I see," he said thoughtfully and then shrugged a shoulder dismissively. "I fear the prospect does not enthral me." With a nod he began to turn away.
I grabbed him before he could complete the motion and yanked him towards me, bringing his hips hard up against mine and crushing him tightly to my chest.
"What about a drink?" I suggested in a low voice and he started to laugh.
I laughed as well and leant my head on his shoulder weakly, holding him in the circle of my arms. He snuggled closer and buried his face in my hair. I could feel his warm breath on my ear and then his lips briefly.
"Oh, Lestat," he whispered. "I love you."
"Louis," I raised my head and carefully smoothed his mussed cloud of hair away from his face. "Beautiful one. Je t'adore."
He smiled sweetly and then his mouth closed on mine with an undeniable demand. I kissed him back hungrily, my tongue sweeping into his mouth and exploring it, licking at his fangs, the ridged roof of his mouth, battling his questing tongue. When we finally released each other we were breathing hard and his face was flushed.
"Have you played enough, beautiful one?" I asked him. "Can I go home and ravish you now?"
"You may not!" he replied with some annoyance and I frowned. "It was I who captured you," he reminded me. "If there is any ravishing to be done... Oh!"
I stopped his mouth with another fierce kiss and then sucked on his full lower lip.
"Mmm, Louis," I moaned, sliding my hand up inside the back of his shirt, feeling the silky skin, the hard muscles. "You can ravish me any time."
"How about now?" he asked, drawing back from me, eyes shining.
I glanced around at our surroundings and then looked back at him.
"If your choice is for the pavement, who am I to deny you, cher? But I feel the need to press the claims of a bed."
"Damnedest creature," he swatted at me crossly. "Just for that I ought to make you do it."
"But you won't." I drew his arm into mine and began to walk. "You are too gentle a captor, my merciful death."
"I don't have your taste for command perhaps," he replied with a smile.
"Oh really?" I gave him an arch look and he laughed softly.
"Well maybe," he admitted. "But only with you."
"It had damn well better be," I muttered and he swung round to look at me.
"Lestat!" He gave me a look halfway between disbelief and annoyance. "I cannot believe that you are jealous. Could there be anything more ridiculous?"
I frowned at him but I was smiling and he stopped walking as we turned to look at each other. Serious now, I took his hands and brought each one gently to my lips before I spoke.
"Louis, I will be jealous forever. For centuries I thought you belonged to me. Even now you confess yourself mine only to love me and leave me. Naturally I am jealous. You make the rules for both of us now because it is the only way I can keep you. But..." I realised to my shock that tears were threatening to fall from my eyes and I stopped speaking. This is the effect he has on me. One moment I'm on top of the world the next I'm torn to pieces. I swallowed and tried to speak again but he brought his finger to my lips and stopped me.
"Lestat," he breathed and the emerald eyes were misty as he swayed closer to me. We kissed gently our mouths meeting perfectly and I wrapped my arms around him. Louis. So beautiful and infinitely precious.
When we separated we were both silent for a long moment. Finally he spoke.
"Lestat, I'm sorry. I forget sometimes that I can hurt you."
"Because I hurt you so often," I said sadly and he glared at me.
"No," he said fiercely. "And didn't we agree you'd stop hogging all the blame for all our misunderstandings?" He raised his eyebrows and I couldn't help laughing.
"That's more like it," he told me. "I'm not going to have this evening spoilt by another argument over who hurts who the most."
"As we agreed, you are the master," I said humbly and, when he looked suspicious, pulled him into my arms in a rush and kissed him thoroughly. When we were both breathless I left off and we smiled at each other.
As we walked on he continued the thought I had interrupted:
"I'm sorry that you should feel insecure in our relationship," he said. A delicious crease formed between his brows as he thought and then he suddenly grinned at me. "This is a new turn for us, isn't it?"
I laughed back at him and then said more seriously.
"No, not really. It's always been that way, it's just new for me to admit it."
"Surely a positive step for which we can both congratulate ourselves," he agreed.
"Well yes," I replied. "I think as far as apportioning credit is concerned we deserve some."
"My Prince," he said lightly and squeezed my hand. "But seriously, Lestat, we should talk about this. Perhaps I have been too rigid in trying to keep my independence this time around. Previously I have been so caught up with your life that I've forgotten to lead my own." He stopped walking and stepped easily into my waiting arms. He sighed. "Oh, Lestat, sometime I feel as if I could happily drown in you, lose myself inside your incredible joy in life. But that's not healthy for us."
"No, cher." I kissed the top of his head. "I don't want that from you."
"But I do want to be with you, Lestat, and I do mean with you," he continued, his voice muffled by the lapel of my coat. I stepped away to look at him properly and his eyes met mine levelly. "I just need more time to adjust."
"I'm not about to break our agreement," I assured him, beginning to walk on and drawing him with me. "No lies, no books, no declarations of undying love or eternal hatred. Just us."
"I sense a 'but', Monseiur Le Vampire."
"'But'...," I smiled and continued. "But I think we might be overdoing the secrecy. David is beginning to ask me if we're fighting again."
"Really?" Louis was silent for a minute. "If we told David of course he would be perfectly discreet."
"And now I sense the 'but'."
"'But'..." We paused so I could kiss him and he laughed into my mouth before I stilled him with my tongue, dipping deeply into the sweetness that is Louis. "But...", he said breathlessly as we moved on, "he would also see it as his duty to move out."
"And you don't want that?" I asked a bit sharply. "To live alone with me, that is?"
"I'm not certain what it would mean to our relationship," he corrected. "And if we did decide to live together again, together alone which we've never seriously done before, I would like it to be because of an active choice, not by default."
"I think I can understand that," I said eventually. "So what do we do?"
"We think about it, Lestat," he replied softly. "And we love each other."
"Always that, beautiful one," I said and pulled him in for another kiss.
When I released him I saw we were outside our own house.
"Shall we?" I said taking his hand. He started to join me and then paused, arrested by a thought.
"There's another reason of course," he said. "The secrecy itself is compelling."
"To think that David is out there wandering round a museum, looking at dusty old plates and fretting about whether we're about to live up to our legendary reputation for the all time disastrous relationship?" I asked with a smile.
"Perhaps." He looked at me through his long lashes and I grinned fiendishly at him.
"When in reality I'm going to be stripping those clothes from your incredible body and making love to you until you scream for mercy?"
"Lestat!" he said with exasperation. "When will you admit that I captured you?"
"I think I just did, didn't I?" I said. "But in case it's not clear enough, Louis, you can prove it to me all over again."