broken cherub

Yes, it was a game to him,it was the fear of abandonment rearing it's ugly head again, it was seeing his Fledgling, his Gabrielle pulling away again and preparing for it. Maybe he would be less alone if Armand was with him, Armand who looked at him with a reverence he had to right to wear to his face and eyes, Armand who's touch was so gentle on his skin but in it's softness laid a threat, in the soft-spoken words he uttered veiled threats, razors wrapped in soft velvet.

"I asked you to come with me. With us. It is intention enough..." Lestat spoke softly but did not move nor did he move Armand's hand. "Come with us, you are better than this place. I care not, she will leave me anyhow...everyone always leaves me." And there it is, he spoke a truth into existence and makes it knowledge between them.

It will hurt less if he had someone; it hurt less when you were the one pushing people out the door. She cannot stand him and Armand's feelings towards her are very much mutual, and in the middle is Lestat, about to be discarded by one and not quite claimed by the other. "You ask me to bind myself to you, to give you affections far deeper than have been built before you give me your answer? Why? So I bind you to me and then you conveniently do not leave after a brief moment of affection? I will not stay-"

There is more to his hesitation, but it is part of it. There is no deeper intimacy between two vampires than to bloodshare...so he does not take it.

"I have never-" Lestat moved back and there is something marring his expression. Hesitation, dread, bashfulness...the unknown of the act. "Not with another vampire" He drank Gabrielle's blood and then made her a vampire, same with Nicolas...his blood given only to mortals...and the only vampiric blood he has tasted is Magnus', the rich winter wine of his veins and his Mind thinks of it now, the cold hand on his warm flesh, the pleasure that said blood brought him and how dirty this visceral pleasure made him feel. How much he liked it and how disgusted he felt that he liked it.

In Armand's eyes he sees confirmation; he could not hear Gabrielle's thoughts...but Armand could. How long had she been thinking of abandoning him? Days? Weeks? All along?

"How long-" Lestat asked and violet-grey eyes look as if they are about to turn red from threatening tears. "How long has she been thinking of leaving me-"

Lestat’s thoughts and especially his fears were like an open book to the skilled psychic. He could literally feel the fear of abandonment and the despair of losing his precious mother. And even though Armand wouldn’t let this come to the surface, even though he wouldn’t allow himself to feel a certain type of way about it, knowing that a prehistoric atrocity like her could keep Lestat’s love, something Armand was longing for so desperately, made him much angrier than he anticipated. And it was certainly a fact that Lestat would abandon him for Gabrielle again.

Armand tilted his head a little bit to the side while his big, amber-coloured eyes tried to keep a close look on the other. It was almost as if he wanted to study the other and get a glimpse into the depths of his mind even though this wasn’t something Armand did right now. Carefully, he planned the next move, just like playing chess, where you have to think about where you put your pawn on the board next and what the possible outcome could be like.

❝It doesn’t have to be that way,❞ Armand said at the reveal that Lestat offered that everyone will leave him eventually. The Coven Master wouldn’t leave, but again, he wouldn’t say that out loud. Everything that could put him in an unfortunate position has to be kept in the depths of his mind, unspoken and carefully locked away.

Lestat was hesitant. He didn’t even want to take Armand’s blood, which, to the Coven Master, was a confirmation that he was nothing more than just some kind of pet that could be kept for as long as the main person was not around. Slowly, he lowered his hand again after the offer was rejected. Loneliness was one of the many fears Armand had, but it was rejection that had become a constant in his life. Painful and dreadful. The wall he built around himself was strong enough to keep his facial expression well controlled. Lestat didn’t have to know that he hit a nerve.

❝I see,❞ he hummed just so slightly as he tried to sound indifferent about it all while he wasn’t. ❝It is not a shame for a mortal to like vampire blood.❞ He heard it in Lestat’s thoughts. He had been taken by the other to the day Magnus fed him some blood. ❝It’s called the Swoon. A mortal body gets affected by our blood naturally.❞ He offered a piece of knowledge about their kind as some kind of offer to Lestat.

Their eyes met again. Armand looked into those stunning grey-violet ones and watched them slowly fill with blood tears. Lestat could see it in Armand’s eyes, couldn’t he? No, Armand was unaware of how settled Gabrielle was in her plans to leave, but he heard a few thoughts here and there. And still, it was a pawn to use in their little game.

It seemed like Armand was hesitating. He lifted one hand, slowly, retracting it again before reaching it out again. With the pad of his thumb, he caressed a single blood tear away.

❝I cannot tell you how long she’s been thinking about it. But she wants her freedom. I can hear her thinking that.❞ Not quite the same thing she thought, but it was close. The dainty hand lowered again. He folded his hands in front of him and gave Lestat an almost sympathetic-looking gaze. It would be easy now to lie and make something up, but he was well aware that everything could be shattered too easily by no other than Gabrielle.

And so Armand hummed a little bit and shook his head. Like a boy, he fumbled on the hem of his dirty shirt. His clothes were nothing more than dirty rags. ❝No one can ever be enough for her. She has no desire to settle, and she will make no exception for you. She thinks that she wants to leave as she pleases. You are the little boy that clings to her hip. As you always did. Isn’t that right?❞

"Uh-huh. No, I think I clearly can and you will play...much like your little chess game with Santino because you can't help yourself but to want to win,little cherub." he challenged stroking down Armand's sides from shoulders to hips. The moon and all it's stars shined down on them and the sea breeze caressed the devil's curls as the younger vampire nipped with blunt teeth at the wrist next to his face followed by a suckling kiss.

"Keep fucking walking!" he growled craning his head all the way back sensing someone...but that someone had been far away and not exactly walking close to them, he threatened the young vampiric couple anyway that power walked further down the beach muttering amongst themselves.

"How much I hate him....or hate you. Which would you like to witness, cherub" the violinist questioned hands gripping Armand's hips and pushed by his and body weight to topple them around and have Armand on the sand seeing as the older vampire allowed for it, grabbing Armand's wrists to pin them over his head. "Will you think of him, I wonder. Or that beautiful boy that no longer wishes for you-" he taunted just to jab at him and then....released Armand's wrists from over his head to hold them in front of his face and kiss their fingertips.

He arched his back just a little bit when their positions turned, and he was on his back again. Piercing eyes looked at the younger vampire above him. Like so often, Armand remained silent and refused to answer certain things. But it was true. Armand played games with the full intention to win them. There was no casualty for him. And this encounter was far from casual either. Something inside of him craved this, and Armand couldn’t even tell what it was.

Only a groan of what could be considered pleasure fell from his lips as Nicolas’ lips touched his wrist. And maybe it was being called cherub again after so many centuries that made him much more eager than before. He felt the slight breeze of the sea stroking his face; the sand had slipped beneath his clothes and scratched faintly over his caramel skin. But the tangerine eyes remained solely on Nicolas. His eyes narrowed and darkened at the same time. Centuries have passed, and Nicolas has still not lost his talent to make Armand furious.

His wrists got pinned down on the sand, and immediately, his legs wrapped around Nicolas’ hips. He pondered for a bit, thinking about the options laid out to him before he smirked just so slightly. “Show me how much you hate me. You made me curious, and now you shall sate the curiosity you inflicted.” Just like centuries ago, Armand’s face remained indifferent to the jabs he received no matter how much they truly hurt him deep inside. Because Nicolas was right. “I will not tell you who I think of. But we both know that you will think of him.”

The pads of his finger tingled with each kiss they received as soon as they were close enough to Nicolas’ face. It was brave of the younger vampire to have those sharp nails close to his face, but Armand had no intentions of hurting him yet. With Nicolas’ guidance, Armand dragged his pointy, glass-like nails over that exposed skin. He tore through it, felt the flesh breaking under the pressure, and blood coated his nails. Armand could smell it first before he saw it, and his small, almost kittyish fangs replaced his human teeth within seconds.

A snarl fell from his lips even though the bite did not hurt him. But it made his eyes go from amber to black. With a jolt, he pulled his hand away and unbuttoned his black, silken shirt to expose his bare torso. His hand reached up, grabbing Nicolas by the throat and pulling him closer again. Armand traced his tongue over the other’s lips as soon as he was close enough.

“You want to crack through my walls, don’t you? You always wanted to see what is behind my blank expression. Isn’t that so? Nicki?” His pointy nails dug a little bit into the skin on Nicolas’ neck until he felt a tiny bit of blood oozing out of the wound. Then he pulled his hand back and put it to his own chest. Armand used his index finger to pierce into the skin of his right pectoral and made a deep cut into his flawless-looking skin. “Do you want it?” He meant his blood. “If you want it, Nicki. You must take it!”

Lestat listened, and Marius' calmness irritated him, yet Amadeo's mischief warmed him up, if his rage had been a glacier and cutting, Amadeo's mischief was a soft little flame that somehow thawed the ice. Manipulation. Lestat heard Marius' words and tasted nothing but emotional manipulation. But he sensed no desire, no lust from Amadeo as he spoke but perhaps there was sorrow, whether for Marius or his brothers.

"You should say goodbye to your apprentice maestro. I will drop him off tomorrow at 8 pm at your hotel...as a sign of respect to an elder vampire. I wish you no pain, Marius, you of course deserve to gaze upon this beautiful face one last time and bid your project goodbye." Lestat then pressed the red button to drop the call. "I will be putting the parts of you that belong to me under lock and key of course." Lestat's anger had not dissipated; it simply manifested in a darker way. "Have you worn a cock lock before? It is not very comfortable...but I wish to send a message on who it belongs to should he suddenly realize he will never have a chance again"

"Go to your trailer and get dressed we are leaving. We are going to buy you the equivalent of a revenge dress and of course, the aforementioned cock lock." Amadeo existed for his amusement, and Lestat had a streak of cruelty in him, a streak of viciousness.

"Fix the goddamn lights! If you are all still as shit at your jobs on Tuesday you will all no longer have a job!" he threatened, having taken Amadeo by the hand and tossed his remaining clothes into a duffle bag and not released Amadeo's hand, no, the beautiful boy was his captive tonight.

There is a dark viper coiling in his stomach, poisoning his senses and filling him with envy. He held the car door open for the delightful cherub. "You are mine. I can do with you as I please. The parts of you that you promised are mine. I am being very understanding and gracious, allowing you to have a goodbye. I want him to look at you, to look at my beautiful boy and see no love left in you for him.

The car nearly crashed into a parking meter as he mounted the curb by a jeweller and took Amadeo inside, picking a locket, a beautiful small crystal vial on a golden chain. That one. Paid for it with his credit card and picked Amadeo up as he was an errand pup to carry him back to the car and sit him on the passenger seat, bitting into his tongue and pressing the very small vial against it gathering the blood, closing it and putting the chain around Amadeo's neck letting the vial fall next to his heart. "You are mine...this is where I live" he pressed the vial against that spot on Amadeo's chest where his heart was beating.

Not calling Marius by his title was a very deliberate choice of the young mortal. He wanted to show respect, but at the same time, he wanted to make it known that Marius de Romanus was no longer his Master. And the fact that he spoke to Marius in a language Lestat could understand was also chosen very deliberately. As Lestat said, communication was important, and Amadeo wanted to make sure to honour that.

And yet it was the conversation that triggered some underlying sadness in him. But it was less because of Marius’ indifference than because his brothers would not be able to say their goodbyes to Amadeo. Who will wake them up? Who will sit down with them to do their homework? The young mortal tried to shove those thoughts away before a lump could form in his throat and make him feel a certain way.

Amadeo’s dark eyes lingered on Lestat. Frankly, he didn’t expect the other to say anything at all, but what he said to Marius surprised the young mortal visibly. His mouth fell open just so slightly. Did Lestat really just decide to drop Amadeo off tomorrow so Marius and him could talk? Stunned, he looked from the screen of his phone to his vampiric love. To say that he was stunned would be an understatement. But if Lestat looked at Amadeo closely, he could see the little heart eyes forming. His lips slightly parted, and his heartbeat increased. It wasn’t just adoration that flickered in his dark brown eyes; it was longing, yearning, and desire.

❝I’ve never worn something like that,❞ he answered breathlessly and with a slight tremor in his voice, triggered by pure excitement. Amadeo didn’t have to say it out loud; his reaction emphasized that he wanted to wear his cock lock for the other.

Naturally, Amadeo rushed to his trailer. He took the bathrobe off and changed back to his normal clothes. He folded the shooting attire neatly and brought it back to the stylist. Amadeo kept his hair and makeup the way it was. His legs were hugged by a pair of black jeans, his feet were covered by black ankle boots, and to cover his torso, he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a deep V-neck.

Amadeo put sunglasses on again and covered his wrists and fingers in the jewels Lestat gave him. He threw his phone in his bag and rushed over to Lestat, who was busy warning the staff to do better. He took Lestat by the hand before they left the location to get to the other’s car. ❝Oh, you should stop speaking sweet words to me unless you want me to invade your privacy while you drive. I am yours, I will always be yours. Maybe I should get your band logo tattooed on my bum cheek.❞ Amadeo laughed softly and shook his head to emphasize that he had been joking. The threats were nothing but sweet declarations of love to Amadeo. Lestat wanted him; he wanted every fiber of him, which was exactly what the young mortal needed after his entire life was overshadowed by rejection.

As they drove, Amadeo kept his hand on Lestat’s inner thigh. The Vampire drove like a maniac. It was alarming and probably scary to look at to an outsider, but Amadeo knew that the blond beauty wouldn’t let him die in a car crash. It was safe to say that Amadeo was just as unstable and insane as his vampiric lover, but in his very own way. Their drive stopped in front of a jeweller. Amadeo’s mouth opened, almost tempted to be a smart mouth about how they wouldn’t get what they were looking for, but he remained silent as Lestat made his odd purchase.

❝Agapi mou what…❞ Well, Amadeo was quickly carried back into the car like a puppet. He watched in silence and fascination how Lestat’s thick, crimson-coloured blood found its way into the vial. Stunning. It looked absolutely fascinating with the golden chain and crystal. Amadeo put his hand on top of Lestat’s as soon as the chain was around his neck and the vial against his chest. ❝If my heart happens not to beat for you anymore, you shall rip it out of my chest and consume it, agapi mou.❞ Amadeo spoke with determination and seriousness. He lifted Lestat’s hand and placed a kiss onto those knuckles. ❝But this will never happen. Thank you for the necklace, mon amour. I will break it, if necessary.❞ But again, he doubted that this was necessary.

Then, Amadeo reached for his phone and opened Google Maps. They still had a purchase to make. He typed in the description of what they needed and gave Lestat the directions. It was a fetish shop not too far away from them. Given Lestat’s reckless driving skills, it took them only five minutes to reach their destination. Amadeo jumped out of the car, ran around, and grabbed Lestat by the hand again. The entrance of the raunchy shop was in a side alleyway. The door was slightly open, and narrow stony stairs brought them to the basement. A big sign warned that no one under the age of eighteen was allowed to enter. Amadeo reached for the doorknob and opened the heavy door with a swift motion. Music greeted them along with the smell of leather. At first glance, they could see a variety of collars and leashes, then shelves with various toys. Getting further into the shop, they would get to the collections of whips, costumes, masks, videos, sanitary tools, and others. It was the first time for Amadeo in a shop like that, and he was fascinated. ❝Agapi mou? Can we look around a bit after we find what we need? There is this chain over there.❞ Amadeo pointed at a silver bondage necklace. ❝You would look so beautiful with that. It’s such a statement piece, and your fans will go crazy!!!❞

❝Good evening.❞ A woman in her early thirties with long black hair, fair skin, and several tattoos on her skin in various places approached them with a smile. ❝Can I help you?❞

Amadeo zoomed in on the shelf with toys of all kinds. Maybe they should get something like that? They had some in the suite already organized by a poor hotel employee, but Amadeo wanted more. But first, the cock lock.

"See, that’s the thing-" he said, exhaling smoke toward the glass. "You keep talking like this is some tragic vow. Like you’re Romeo on the balcony swearing you’ll die if I die but that’s not what I’m hearing. What I’m hearing is that you’ve already decided the ending. You’ve already written the last chapter without asking me if I want to read it."

He finally turned his head, just enough to look at Armand over his shoulder. His eyes were tired, furious, and heartbreakingly clear.

"And don’t twist this into some poetic declaration of loyalty. You know damn well why it sounds like a fuck you. Because you’re not saying ‘I won’t take another lover.’ You’re saying ‘I won’t survive you.’ You’re You’re saying ‘your death will be my punishment.’"

He shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping him.

"You think that’s comforting? You think that’s love? That’s a curse, Armand. That’s a chain. That’s you putting the weight of your entire existence on my shoulders and calling it devotion."

Daniel stubbed the cigarette out on the sill, hard.

"I’m not a boy in a palazzo with no doors,if you keep refusing me the one thing I’ve asked for—really asked for, not hinted at, not flirted around—I will have to make choices you won’t like. Because I’m not going to sit here and rot while you decide whether your abandonment trauma gets to dictate my life. I am sorry he sucked, okay? I am sorry that he gave you the Dark Gift and things got really shitty-" Daniel did not know exactly the depths of shitty.

He turned fully now freeing himself from Armand's grasp leaning back against the window, arms crossed.

"You say you’re scared your blood is defective. Fine. I get that. I do. But you’re not scared of killing me. You’re scared of losing the version of me that makes you feel safe. The warm one. The breakable one. The one who needs you."His voice softened—not gentle, but honest.

"I’m not asking you to stop loving those things. I’m asking you to admit that you do. Because until you do, we’re not having the same conversation."

He stepped closer, close enough that Armand could feel the heat rolling off him.

"You want to know if I could stand the thought of having to kill you? I already live with the thought that you could kill me by accident. Or by hunger. Or by one bad night. Or by one bad memory. I’ve lived with that since the day I met you....I’m not scared of dying by your hand. I’m scared of dying without you. I’m scared of dying while you stand there telling yourself you’re protecting me."

"I don’t want to be your fragile thing. I want to be your equal. And if you can’t give me that—if you can’t even talk about giving me that—then yeah, one day you’re going to wake up and there won’t be any love left. Not because I stopped loving you. But because you refused to see me."

He swallowed, eyes burning but dry.

His face seemed to be indifferent and without any emotion until Daniel said that he felt cursed and chained by Armand’s love and devotion. It was this very moment Armand’s walls of defense cracked. His lips twitched, his eyes sparkled in a turmoil of emotions. His lips quivered in a desperate attempt to hold his emotions locked, and it ended with him trying to force a smile on his lips, but it looked more eerie than anything. And so, he relaxed his mouth again.

He stood there, holding onto his walls of defense so tightly that he couldn’t even say anything. The spiral was close; the urge to storm out of this building to alone time made his muscles twitch. And so, the apocalyptic stare remained on Daniel in silence while the other came closer. How long did it take for him to find his voice again? Armand didn’t know. But his silence broke. Finally.

“You live with the thought that I could kill you.” Armand put his index finger a little too aggressively against Daniel’s chest even though it was still soft enough not to be painful. “But could you open the lid of the coffin and open the blinds while I am wrapped up in my death sleep because I am constantly asking you to?!” He felt frustrated and helpless. Maybe it was one of those moments where Armand wished to have an older Vampire by his side for guidance. Perhaps, Marius would be able to tell Armand that it was okay, that he doesn’t have to worry. Anything like that. But there was no one, and frustration was constantly growing.

The Vampire turned his back to Daniel and wrapped his arms around himself. It was a habit of reassuring and supporting himself without hurting himself. Small gestures helped, but they couldn’t make it better. Deliberately, he took a deep breath to sort out his thoughts. Armand’s thoughts drifted to his mortal days in Venice. He remembered the frustration of Marius reluctance to share the Dark Gift. He remembered the feeling of rejection and unworthiness. And finally, he remembered the foolishness of a young man seeking comfort in the arms of his ultimate murderer. Everything Amadeo experienced seemed to repeat itself now with Daniel, just that Armand was on the other side now. Did Marius feel the same conflict? No. Marius never loved Amadeo the way Armand loves Daniel.

Another deep breath, and finally Armand turned back around to face his mortal boyfriend. “You speak like Amadeo,” Armand finally shared. And there was a moment of a bitter smile on his lips. “I want you to be my equal physically. I love you, Daniel. I love you more than anything in the world. You are not my fragile thing. You already are my equal mentally.”

He took another step back, arms lowered. More and more distance was put between them until Armand was stopped by a wall against his back. “I never said I will not give you the Dark Gift. You put words in my mouth. I know what it feels like to be on the deathbed and beg for the blood. I would never do that to you, Daniel. I will give it to you when the time comes. What is the last chapter you want to write? The Dark Gift is not romantic. It will shatter whatever illusion you have built around me. You will see me for the monster I am. And maybe after three decades, if we are lucky...you will leave me. Tell me, Daniel, tell me what do I have left without you? You call it a chain and a curse, but I lived in hell for more than five centuries. You were the shining hero pulling me out of the inferno. I will give it to you when the time comes. You will feed on humans, and you will hate me for forcing you to do it when you don’t want to do it. I will give it to you when I am ready to go back to the hell I came from.”

"Amadeo not right now I am not in the mood" he warned and did not have to do much to avoid that kiss on his cheek properly landing, merely standing upright...and then leaning down slightly to allow him to press it. "Please leave me alone; I would hate to speak words that wound and cannot be retracted. I love you, but I am not your companion right now I am your employer and a very dissatisfied with shoddy work one" he warned, stepping back nodding to allow Amadeo to answer the door. "Send them away, whoever it is" Lestat demanded and sat on the counter of his kitchenette.

"You'll think about what?" The moment Amadeo turned around there Lestat was having wooshed to be right behind him blocking him from walking away from those steps just past the door, inside the trailer but no way into the trailer and a looming presence of a already pissed off vampire. "What will you think about, mon cher?" he questioned, tilting his head.

He heard everything; of course he did. Every word. Vampires had extremely good hearing. "Surely not I will think about going to meet him and wish him goodbye. Surely not, my Amadeo would never even consider walking back his decision." On a reasonable day, it would be a nothing discussion, and he might have even insisted he ought to go and say goodbye.

At least he got an I love you. Amadeo pressed a little kiss on Lestat’s cheek after he was allowed to do it before he stepped back. “Fine. But I only leave you alone because you, as my employer, told me to.” He wouldn’t blur the line between private and professional. Lestat as the private person wouldn’t get any peace, but the Lestat the employer would get what he asked for. Carefully, Amadeo stepped over the debris again because the last thing they needed right now was a mortal with a gushing, bleeding wound. It was the knock on the door that made him pause and look over his shoulder to Lestat again. “Will do,” he said before he opened the door and realized that the knock wasn’t for Lestat’s attention but his own. Maurice had once again presented his superpower: having shitty timing and making things worse.

Amadeo’s conversation with Maurice ended rather quickly, and he just wanted to turn around once more to offer Lestat a look at the footage when the Vampire was suddenly in front of him right as Amadeo turned to the trailer door. Like a looming presence, like a vicious god of war, he stood there, beautiful and calm like a hurricane ready to hit the coast. “It’s a polite phrase to say, agapi mou. Shouldn’t you be able to see in my mind that I have no intention to go back to him?” Amadeo knew that he should be worried about Lestat’s current mental state. But maybe he was just too used to seeing an angry vampire that it didn’t faze him as much as it should? Of course, he was not thinking about going back to his old master.

The model dropped one of his hands into the bathrobe and pulled his phone out of the big pocket. “I have a suspicion why he wishes to speak to me. I suppose it is about my brothers.” With growing fascination, Amadeo watched that perfect face contorting. His head tilted to the side, as dark eyes seemed to be focused on that eerie, animalistic smile. Lestat looked like a predator ready to pounce on his next victim, a victim which was Amadeo right now.

With his thumb, he swiped over the screen and unlocked it with a four-digit code. Then Amadeo opened the tab with his contacts and opened the one that said: “Master” Before Lestat, the contact also had a red heart in it, but this was long removed and added to Lestat’s contact instead. Amadeo put his phone on speaker when it still beeped. It took three rings until Marius finally picked up.

“Amadeo---” Marius’s calm voice could be heard on the other end. “Did Maurice deliver my message?”

“He did, Sir. He said you wished to speak with me before you leave New York.” Amadeo’s dark eyes lingered on Lestat the entire time. He even dared to make one step closer. “What is it you want to speak to me about?”

“Your brothers, Amadeo. What do you wish for me to tell them that I return without you? Angelo, Tomaso, Eros and Benedetto will ask. Especially Benedetto.” Marius was right; Amadeo knew that. Benedetto loved Amadeo so much that he always seemed to be attached to Amadeo’s hip despite being a young teenager. The mortal pressed his lips together, then relaxed his mouth again. “Tell them the truth, Sir? That I found someone I love.” A gasp was audible on the other end, a reaction Amadeo hardly noticed because he was too fascinated by Lestat’s anger.

“I know they will miss me, Sir. But they can visit me when they are old enough. Will you miss me, Sir? Will you miss your little Amadeo in your bed? Will you miss kissing my ankles? Will you miss the taste of my blood on your tongue? Will you miss giving me your blood kisses?” Amadeo paused because a soft, little mischievous expression appeared on his lips. “No, sir, don’t answer that. I know the answer to that. Don’t torment me with your rejection.”

And suddenly, he held his phone out to Lestat, with a tilt of his head and an angelic little smile. “Do you wish to say something, Agapi mou?”

Not because he was shocked,no, nothing Armand did could shock him anymore—but because the image of Armand in Jimmy Choo sneakers chasing a doomed little dark‑net thrill‑seeker through Dubai was so deliciously incongruous that he had to savour it.His smile spread slow, bright, and dangerous.

"Mon Dieu… you toyed with him in Jimmy Choos?" he said, voice low with delighted disbelief. "Armand, that is...how do I put this delicately...utterly obscene. I adore it.”

He lifted their joined hands and kissed Armand’s knuckles, lingering there, as if tasting the story on his skin. "And you kept his sunglasses.Of course you did. You always did have a collector’s instinct. I should have known those glasses had a corpse attached to them."He tugged Armand closer by the hand he held until their bodies brushed. The jasmine blossom he’d tucked into Armand’s hair trembled with the movement.

"You know what I love most?" Lestat whispered against his temple. "Not the chase. Not the kill. Not even the accessories—though I do appreciate a good accessory."

He tilted Armand’s chin up with a single finger.

"It is that you enjoyed it. That you let yourself enjoy it. That you didn’t pretend to be above the thrill.”His thumb brushed Armand’s lower lip, slow, proprietary. "You and I… we are not saints, mon amour. We never were. We were made for the hunt."

He stepped back just enough to look at him fully, eyes bright with mischief and memory. "As for my fondest one…Oh, I have so many. But there is one that always makes me smile."

He began walking again, pulling Armand along by their intertwined fingers.

"There was a man in New Orleans—years ago—who fancied himself a monster. A real villain. He preyed on the weak, the desperate, the forgotten. He thought himself untouchable. Invisible." Lestat’s grin sharpened. "I let him think that. For weeks. I followed him everywhere. I learned his habits, his fears, his little rituals of self‑importance." He glanced sideways at Armand, eyes gleaming.

"And then one night, when he thought he’d slipped away from me for good… I sat waiting in his favourite chair. In his favourite room. Wearing his favourite coat.”

He laughed, delighted at the memory. "He screamed so beautifully. I almost felt bad for ending it quickly. Almost."Lestat squeezed Armand’s hand. "But the best part? The part that made it a fond memory?”" He leaned in, brushing his lips against Armand’s ear. "I did it because I was bored. And because I could. And because he deserved it."

“I did. My Jimmy Choo sneakers are very comfortable hunting shoes. I liked it when they underestimated me for my height or what I wore. And I loved how eager they were for the Bugatti I offered in case they win the chase. Can you imagine that.” A wicked little grin stretched on his lips suddenly, which gave him quite some boyish features. “Imagine their thoughts running wild when they see me, thinking it is an easy win and then at the right time, I show them the monster they invited in.” Maybe he should organize something like that again. They could surely find some people in Phoenix.

With a slight tug coming from Lestat, Armand stumbled against that firm chest. His dead heart felt like it was fluttering as a reaction to the tenderness of the kiss on his knuckles. His eyes suddenly filled with love and adoration the more Lestat spoke. It was the first time a partner wouldn’t judge him for his little hobby. The lips on his temple and the thumb on his bottom lip. Armand kissed it softly before tracing his tongue over the pad teasingly. “You are the first to say that to me. You are the first who doesn’t judge me for enjoying the hunt.” Armand always knew that Lestat was different from all the other Vampires, but now he had the confirmation that they were meant for each other.

With his thumb, he caressed over Lestat’s knuckles as he leaned up to steal a kiss from the other’s lips. Lestat’s eyes looked so beautiful as they were filled with mischief and something boyish that Armand had never seen before. Was it possible to fall in love even more? Attentively, he listened to the little tale Lestat was telling him, and Armand could feel how he was vibrating in excitement. He could physically feel the thrill, and his fangs tingled just by thinking of stalking a victim for a while. Maybe Lestat could feel the slight tremor coming from Armand’s hand. This was almost making him frisky.

The older Vampire pressed his lips together and nudged his shoulder against Lestat’s. How beautiful that wicked smile looked on Lestat’s lips and how rare it was. Oh, how hungry he was getting. How much his fangs were tickling in pure anticipation and longing for a hunt. “Yes! Let’s make a memory tonight. Let’s hunt. Let’s play.” The older vampire closed his eyes for a bit. He listened to the thoughts; he listened to the mortals further away from them. After all, Armand knew that a thrill seeker won’t be enough for Lestat to be cruel about it.

“Hmmm...there is one. Not too far away from here. A young man in his twenties. He did horrible things to older people where he works. Many are dead because of his doings and mistreatment. Is that evil enough for you? Or should I look for someone worse than that? Young men run faster. They are much more fun to hunt.” He opened his eyes again and lifted Lestat’s hand to his lips to kiss the back. “Show me how you do it, my love. Let us toy with him. His name is Yiannis.” He guided Lestat in the direction of the outskirts of that little Greek city where they found the young dark-haired man with olive skin standing against a wall and smoking a cigarette. He was not what one would call heavily built, but he was not lanky either. Armand assumed that he was athletic which could only benefit them.

Vincent's green eyes watched Armand closely.

"Also, the whole...'you're back' thing. Last time I saw you, you were human. I heard what happened at the palazzo. I had figured you were dead. Marius assumed you were as well."

Vincent watched the other intently.

"So, you're probably wondering how I'm not dead when I'm clearly not a vampire. It's...a long story. But when I told you so long ago that I was a 'young god' it wasn't some sort of lie."

His mothers were a goddess and a muse. Athena and Calliope. Half sisters, technically; but only in myth. While Zeus was a father to Athena, he was not the father to Calliope.

The book. Those eyes. Armand was feeling dizzy the longer he looked at that face that seemed so familiar to him, and yet it was nothing but a blur. For a while, he was certain that his mind was playing tricks on him just like those times when Riccardo came back to him as a ghost or better said, as a figment of his mind. Was Vincent an imagination as well?

The big, piercing amber eyes softened while he looked at the reminder that Amadeo had once been the little prince of Venice, cherished by his Master and everyone who laid their eyes on him. The exotic and charming beauty with a sharp mind.

“Marius...I thought he was dead. I- Amadeo saw him burn.” A shiver ran down his spine, and for the first time, his voice sounded so soft and distraught. Vincent looked like back in the days. Vividly, Armand remembered how Amadeo would find shelter in Vincent’s residence whenever he couldn’t go to Bianca.

But he certainly didn’t understand what the other meant by gods, and that he didn’t lie back then. He remembered vividly how Amadeo had been giggling whenever Vincent told him the tale, especially when Amadeo read his favorite story over and over again. Homer’s Iliad.

He nodded a bit, still too stunned to think straight. “So you have a place around?” Armand wanted to say so much, but he remained silent as he couldn’t figure out the right words to use.

He did not consider flirting as cheating, it was attention seeking, and when two people had trust between them and with a solid foundation of companionship and loyalty, why would he be jealous? "As long as you come home to me—" he whispered into Amadeo's temple and kissed it.

"I have to do a costume fitting, the night after I have a meeting with the band and then I am free for the next four nights until our rescheduled shoot." The vampire with ease got off the couch carrying the little koala with him towards the balcony seeing as neither of them paid much mind to the second episode of the TV show and paid each other far too much attention. It was love, Lestat was so in love he could not physically stop himself from kissing the young beauty.

"Let us go dancing after the costume fitting tomorrow? I am certain somewhere shall have music to our liking and you are far too handsome to not be flaunted."

The next four days would pass, they went dancing, enjoyed the spa facilities and on the fourth night Claudia sat in silence playing chess with Amadeo. Not a single word spoken, her attempt to play nice and get Louis back into her life. If she said nothing, Nothing would set Lestat off.

"Chop, chop I am here people" the fact they arrived together had not gone unnoticed, whispers and rumours were already spreading and it made Lestat smirk. Yes, a little controversy would go a long way for both of them. Amadeo was taken away from him to hair and make up, the ending of his bruises hidden with foundation and make up, Lestat had not bedded him since that night he took too much, not fully. Lips and hands explored each other but nothing that would risk Amadeo to bruise and impede the shoot.

And then it was time to shoot, the cruel muse, the codependent addiction of each other. The accolades that would never be enough and they would shoot for five hours which by the end of Lestat was near having a fit over the incorrect lighting. "I said goodnight!" He shouted stomping to his trailer where his microwave took the brunt of his frustrations. Smashed to pieces... Everything around him fell apart.

After the resting time, they arrived at the location for the video shoot together. Of course, Amadeo heard the staff whispering, and his stylist even asked a few questions, which Amadeo answered as vaguely and politely as possible. After hair and makeup were ready and the fading bruise was covered with makeup, they continued the video shoot professionally. It took five hours until Lestat had had enough. Certainly, Amadeo was already quite exhausted because the performance between the muse and the artist was intense and required a lot of stamina and concentration. But it wasn’t Amadeo’s mortal body that forced an end to it; it was Lestat’s temper. The entire set went silent, and everyone, including Amadeo, watched Lestat storm off.

Nothing about the outburst scared him. The entire crew seemed shocked and nervous at the same time. Loud noises came from Lestat’s trailer, which only emphasized how angry he seemed to be over the bad lighting. To Amadeo, this was quite a reasonable thing to be mad about, especially when it wasn’t getting fixed. Therefore, he held a small conversation with some of the staff members and informed them that he would have a conversation with Lestat to figure out when they could continue. Amadeo received a bathrobe before he walked to Lestat’s trailer. Instead of knocking, Amadeo went right inside and was immediately yelled at. Again, this was nothing that would make him flinch, and so Amadeo only stared at the other man for a bit; then he looked at the mess around. Was that the microwave that seemed to be scattered all over the ground?

Carefully, he stepped over the sharp pieces of shattered microwave and made his way over to a free seat. “I am not scared,” Amadeo said, very calm and firm at the same time. Oh, the last time a vampire wanted to exclude and shield him from a moment of bad mood was when Armand tore a door down with an ax; that probably said it all.

“They don’t see your vision. To human eyes, it is much harder to see the little differences you see.” This was not an attempt to take their side and defend lazy work, but Amadeo tried to open up a perspective. He rested his chin on his palm while big brown eyes lingered on Lestat’s handsome face. “But I agree, they are unable to see your vision when it comes to lightning. I don’t understand what was so hard about it.” He swirled one curl around his finger.

Out of a sudden, Amadeo got up from his seat and walked over to the vampire. Why should he care how good of a company the enraged vampire was? No word fell from his lips as he approached Lestat to place a kiss on his cheek after he got close enough.

“I adore you even when you are enraged and not a good company.” Originally, Amadeo wanted to say more, but someone knocked on the trailer door. “I’ll take that for you,” the young model said and walked over to open the door. It was Maurice; he stared right back at Amadeo with wide eyes. “Mister de Romanus called me.” Amadeo’s eye twitched. “And?” Maurice sighed. “He wants to meet you when this shoot is wrapped up. He will fly back to Venice in two days, but he wishes to speak to you before leaving.” Amadeo hummed a bit and looked over his shoulder. Lestat’s mood was too bad to talk this out with him now. “I’ll think about it.” Amadeo closed the trailer door and walked back to Lestat. “Shall we take a look at the video footage? Maybe the lightning looks better on screen?”

"I would pay you no second thought if this whole place wasn't built to idolise you. Yes Maître, anything you command Maître, let us eat Maître, where shall we hunt Maître." Jab, jab, jab. "The boy king of the downtrodden and miserable. It's why you hate music so much, because it's something beyond you. No vision, nothing but complicity..." he let Armand touch his cheek the way someone would force themselves to stand completely still to not allow themselves to flinch.

"And you will never know what it is like to be his lover. What his kiss tastes like, what his voice sounds like lost in the haze of lust...the whimpering plucked from his face under your touch...all that power and all that strength and it got you nothing. A crumb of his attention, perhaps but a crumb fast consumed. You will never know what it is like to have Lestat purring or see his sleepy smile. He was always going to leave me, don't you understand? We didn't die paupers in Paris...if this had not changed us...Lestat would have left for a better life and we would have met up maybe once a year to share wine and discuss the past..." No, Nicolas was miserable for long before Lestat was made a vampire.

Miserable that an illiterate mindless head of sunshine still got accolades and praise. Everyone loved Lestat...and very soon he would have been scouted for better pastures anyway.

Armand should lock Nicolas away in the dungeons and starve him until he finally bends his head and submits. This was exactly what Santino did to young Amadeo, and it served its purpose even though it didn’t last forever. Bending Nicolas’ will forever would require using the mind gift, but so far Armand refrained from going that far.

In a slow, smooth motion, Armand pulled his hand away from the other’s cheek and tilted his head a bit to the side. The muscles in his face seemed relaxed. There was no twitch or any other sign of emotional reaction. But deep inside he wanted to remove Nicolas’ head from his neck and throw it into the fire just so the young Vampire would finally stop spitting his annoying venom left and right.

Everything he said was supposed to be a jap at Armand’s pride. Purposefully, Nicolas wanted to hurt his ego, wanted to break through the carefully built walls to unleash the monster that kept lingering deep inside of Armand. For a split second, one could see a faint twitch in Armand’s fingers. Because it was true, he wouldn’t know the things Nicolas knew. He wouldn’t get the same affection this boy has gotten. And he couldn’t understand why. Nicolas was a vicious bully. He never loved Lestat. Armand was so certain that Nicolas felt nothing but envy and disdain for his maker.

“And you, Nicolas, will always be haunted by those memories. You will always know what you lost,” he said it in an eerily calm manner as if those previous words didn’t hurt him, but they did. “Your problem is that you will never stop being envious. Even now you are envious.”

Armand stepped aside. He had to calm down. The fire inside of him was only seconds away from exploding. Kill him, kill him. The voice in the back of his mind didn’t want to shut up. “Go to Eleni then. But you need to be in your coffin in an hour, and I will make sure to look if you did as I told you. Give up, Nicolas. No matter what you tell me, you will not break me. And if you don’t wish to end up in the dungeon, you ought to stop acting like a child. At some point, not even Eleni will take your side anymore.”

Lestat did not move at first.

He simply looked at Amadeo laid out against the cushions, haloed by the city lights, his smile softening the entire brutal geometry of the skyline behind him. Something in Lestat’s expression shifts, a quiet, devastating tenderness that belongs to no audience but this one boy.

"Mon cœur… you think I feared you were unhappy?" He leaned down, bracing one hand beside Amadeo’s head, the other still pressed to that warm, beating chest. The city glitters behind him like a crown. "No. I feared you did not know how deeply you affect me...and how much I miss your smile." His thumb traces the place where Amadeo kissed his scar—slow and reverent, as if memorising the warmth left behind.

"You speak of becoming the companion I deserve. But look at me-" He tilted Amadeo’s chin gently upward. £I am the one undone. I am the one who looks at you and feels… peace. You smiled for me just now, and the entire city dimmed in comparison. Do you understand what that means?" he asked bringing Amadeo's hand on his chest.

“You make me happy simply by existing in my orbit. You do not need to try. You do not need to earn it.“You are already the companion I choose. Every night. Every moment. All my love belongs to you, my Amadeo"

He pressed a kiss to Amadeo’s brow, softer ones down his nose and a petal soft one on his lips."As for your French…” A faint, wicked smile curves his lips. “I will teach you. Word by word. Breath by breath. Until the language feels like silk on your tongue..."

Very soft fingers, who have never seen any manual, hard labour, caressed over the high cheekbone before tracing over the structure of his jaw. As Lestat asked before, a smile curved on Amadeo’s lips. His heart seemed to drum against Lestat’s hand. It was a firm, steady heartbeat, which still appeared a little too fast to be considered normal. Never has someone told him that they missed Amadeo’s smile. Maybe this was the reason why his smile suddenly became even brighter.

His hand came to rest on that firm chest by Lestat’s guidance. Amadeo’s thumb caressed the spit softly, and his head lifted by the guidance on his chin. His dark eyes sparkled in nothing but adoration and devotion the longer he looked at Lestat. No one has ever treated him with so much kindness, not even Marius. For the first time, he didn’t feel like he had to beg for love. Here it was, right in front of him, laid out for him to reach his hands out and grab it.

Do you understand what it means?

“I think...Maybe.” Amadeo’s voice dropped to a whisper, but then he shook his head. “How can I understand these things when no one looked at me the way you do? When no one felt happy just by being around me. How can I know such things when no one loved me before?” A kiss to his brow was followed by softer ones down his nose and on his lips. Amadeo’s heart was fluttering so pleasantly against his chest. Could Lestat feel it? Could he hear the effect he had on Amadeo?

“You are so good to me. My Lestat. My beauty.” Amadeo wrapped his arms tightly around the other, followed by his lean legs wrapping around the other to cling to him like a koala. “I want to know everything about you. And I know we will have centuries for that. But I can’t contain my impatience.” He caressed a strand of blond hair behind Lestat’s ear. “Tomorrow night, will you have to work then?” There was a tingle again. A slight craving for blood. Like an itch one would feel for a cigarette. Nothing severe, something that could be ignored, and yet it was there gnawing on the back of his mind. “I’m holding you back from working, and I cannot even be sorry for that.” Amadeo chuckled a bit. “Do you like dancing?” he asked out of the blue. “I read, that they offer dance classes here for couples. I know how to dance standard dances like Waltz and such. But I was never allowed to learn the sensual dances. Salsa, Tango et cetera. Are you interested in those? I mean. Perhaps you would want to go on a date with me for a little dance class one day? Or do you hate dancing? I never asked, forgive me.”