bittersweet.

( william moseley. cis male. he/him. cowboy casanova & carrie underwood. ) have you seen HARRY BEAUFORT strolling around central park at lunchtime? rumor has it they’re actually 202 years old, but i’m pretty sure they’re only 32. they’re currently posing as a SERVER at LUNAR DEFIANT, but when dusk falls, you can usually find them heading home to MANHATTAN of choice by UBER. apparently they DID NOT attend the met gala this season! ( deanna. 26. she/her. est. )

the younger winces again, looking away, hands fidget over the glass. chace looks back to harry shrugging a shoulder. “i'm not the one staying away, harry.” he said as sire gets comfortable. away from him. he'd always admired the way he'd seemed to command the room.

chace was still oblivious to the other's real motive in their relationship but he was sure that things weren't supposed to be so twisted up. “did i do something wrong?” he asks bravely, staying where he was and finishing his drink and reluctantly he has another thinking it would make things much easier.

“it's sad,” chace said quietly. “rosamie was a wonderful lady.”

“ IS THAT IT ? ”   harry asks.   “ you think i’m avoiding you ?   because as far as i’m concerned, you should know where i live. i’m very hospitable, you know. and when you treat my visit like a prison sentence, you can’t exactly blame me for not wanting to come around, ”   he adds, before throwing back the rest of his drink. 

chace’s question makes him roll his eyes, he can’t help it. this was another reason why he didn’t like to have chace grace his presence for too long.   “ what do you think you’ve done ? ”   he answers the question with a question, putting the glass down beside his feet.   

she had to give that to him, a witch wouldn’t disclose that information. she chuckled. “i can’t argue with that,” she admitted. “and even that grave would have wards to stop people from looking for it,” she added in amusement. leyla nodded her head. “depends on the wolf. some would gloat, other’s might be more demure about it,” she mused. leyla looked to him, bobbing her in confirmation. “leyla demir,” she told him. “and I know you’re one of the vampires, but I wouldn’t know which one,” she admitted. “i’m rarely at council meetings. they don’t need the youngest sister there most of the time,” she said. “which suits me,” she added with a grin.

“ I DON’T THINK A VAMPIRE WILL EVER BECOME PRESIDENT, ”   harry admits with a small laugh, just thinking about it.   “ but hey, never say never. maybe you’ll see me running in a good fifty years or so. do you think i could pass as thirty-five ? ”   he asks, with a raised brow. her calling him  ‘ one of those vampires ’  makes him chuckle again.   “ i’m a beaufort, yes, ”   he tells her,   “ leilana’s son, if you know her. she’s the one on the council. i’ve never been to one of their meetings. i figured they were pretty exclusive, but they also don’t like me very much. i doubt either of us are missing much. ”

“I BELIEVE SO! I mean, it has everything, it’s like… a full package of things,” she clarifies, not even sure if she’s making sense to him. “I do, yes! Some people would rather get private lessons than be in a big class with other people. They say they can benefit better that way. Is that what you prefer?”

She smiled as she heard his remark, unable to hide her amusement as her gaze lifted to meet his eyes. “I’m glad you’re admitting it.” Lennon let out a laugh, slowly letting her expression mirror his. “Is this where I begin to question if you have a fake ID? I can’t picture you being older than twenty-nine.” She let out a laugh as she looked at him, shaking her head as she thought over her last guess. “Twenty-seven?”

“Okay and what would I do to get banished from the city? I mean I’ve done damn near everything, but because I don’t go around murdering people, the council doesn’t care.” Cedric quipped back easily to the other before humming at the idea of telling mortals his actual age besides the select few allowed to know. “They mostly don’t really get that I’m still young because for the that’s like an impossible number.” They couldn’t help but gasp at the other’s equivocation of staten island and new jersey. “How dare you say staten island is like jersey dude, no fucking way. Plus, wasn’t like we really had a choice. I may have settled there by choice but I had to sell my place in the city and shit when all the bullshit blew up.”

HARRY JUST ROLLS HIS EYES, because they both know he had been banished for murdering someone, and it seems a bit rude to point it out. not that he cared about murdering people, but as if he should feel bad for it. he didn’t, not really.   “ can you age, or will you stay like that forever ? ”   harry asks, knowing very little about dragon lore.   “ you’re right—at least jersey has the fucking PATH train, ”   he makes a face. he really, really hated the staten island ferry.   “ if you wanted to move, i wouldn’t tell anyone. i wouldn’t blame you. ”

“YOU’RE A CONFIDENT ONE, HUH?” She’ll enjoy proving him wrong every step of the way, just for the fun of it. “Are we talking real age or…?” she trails off, tilting her head slightly to the side. This will change her guess.

“Oh, this movie can’t be that bad. A little birdie told me that’s just how it is with drive-ins. They always squeeze in a ‘double feature’.” In truth, Nellie had little idea what a double feature was. It was… two movies, right? “Maybe the last one was better? Or do they save the good one for after?”

Picking up her drink again she takes one last sip before abandoning it on the bar beside them. She hops off the bar stool, excited to see how far she could push this. She wouldn’t take advantage of them though, they’d only just met each other. No, she was kidding herself. Of course she was going to push this as far as he’d let it go. Her answer to his questions was to simply grin as she pulled her phone out and started to order an Uber.  “You’ll see” she said in a sweet sing song voice. “You ready to go?”

IN THAT MOMENT, harry would carry the blonde anywhere. rising to his feet, he throws some money at the bartender before coming out from behind the bar.   “ following you, anna, ”   he smirks, though his eyes sparkled with mischief, having high hopes for their evening.

“oh, i like to call this just my typical work week.” saying as she motions to bottles around her. to say that she had a drinking problem was a tad bit modest, but when it came to sybil she craved anything that was able to give a rush. so, it’s safe to say when her eyes lock with the small little baggie, her eyes began to gloss over with need. 

she had dabbled with the powder a handful of times throughout her life, mostly making it for various supernaturals who asked. as a witch, her tolerance when it came to just regular cocaine was enough to satiate herself. when it came to the witches powder though, it was a whole different type of high. “you know the way to my heart.” she replies, head tilting. “let’s get to it then, shall we?” 

—

“ THAT’S MY KINDA WEEK, ”   he smirks, and harry’s already clearing part of her desk from bottles and paperwork to make a playground for their evening endeavors. he’s precise in the way he sets the white powder up into lines, having this does many, many times before. grabbing a dollar from his pocket, he lines up one for each of them, then rolls it before snorting it up his nose. it’s done quickly, standing up immediately to sniff, before passing her the dollar bill.

“ just don’t overdo it tonight, ”   harry teases, flashing her a wry smile.   “ i don’t want to be taking care of your ass tonight. ”   flopping onto the couch, he brings his arms up to rest behind his neck as he watches her with darkened eyes. 

❝      𝑰   𝑾𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫𝑵'𝑻   𝑬𝑿𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑳𝒀   𝑪𝑨𝑳𝑳   𝑼𝑺   𝑭𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑵𝑫𝑺 .     ❞       katherine   reminds   him   with   a   rather   poignant   look .      ❝      i   wouldn’t   kid   yourself   harry .      my   daughters   are   fine .     ❞      unease   settles   in   the   mother ,      the   mention   of   her   children   in   conversation   made   her   worry ,      he   was   higher   on   the   food   chain   after   all .      ❝      i’d   like   to   say   she   takes   after   me   but  she’s   more   her   father’s   daughter ,      so   with   that   being   said   if   you   try   anything   𝚒𝚝’𝚕𝚕   𝚋𝚎   𝚝𝚑𝚎   𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝   𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐   𝚢𝚘𝚞   𝚍𝚘 .      just   some   friendly   advice .     ❞

she looks down, closing her eyes and lets out a sigh. “if you really would like to know, your mother turned off her humanity for a short while, but i soon realized it’s not for me.” speaking faster than she usually does, not wanting to get into anymore detail with harry, but she knew he would get more out of her regardless. the soft spot she had for her son had grown over the years, regardless of how he felt about her sometimes. a mothers love was unconditional. 

 “so, that is the issue i was dealing with.” speaking bluntly as she takes a second serving of food and placing it gently on the fine china. taking a bite of her food, she nods slightly in agreement with him; which is surprising. leilana was fiercely loyal to the council & will continue to be loyal, but it was somewhat disappointing that there were no leads. it was a huge cause for concern, it made her want to lock her children up in the family home. it scared her that this wasn’t the last murder in the city. 

“i agree… somewhat.” muttering as she looks at him across the table. “you really think people will rebel?” the thought of another supernatural war caused a chill to go down her spine. “would you rebel?” asking after a short pause. 

—

“ YOU WHAT ? ”   harry doesn’t bother hiding his shock, eyebrows raising as he stares at leilana incredulously.   “ why the hell did you do that ? ”   he knows his mother, always the sweet and emotional, even through her divorce with his father. whatever the reason for turning off her emotions... it had to be a hell of a good one.   “ how do you just realize it’s not for you ? ”   the vampire snorts, because he’s never heard a vampire explain it like that. he’s turned his humanity off before—most of the time he was out of new york city, away from the exhausting rules of the council, and his own parents—but turning it on and off was a lot like flicking a light switch of a dull bulb :   whether the light was on or off, not much really changed. 

finishing the rest of the blood in his glass, he nods at her mother’s question.   “ if people don’t think the council can seek justice for the death of one of their own, why should people bother to listen to them ? ”   he asks rhetorically. harry knows his mother’s on that council, but he doesn’t consider her one of them, except for when the topic of his banishment is brought up. harry shrugs.   “ possibly, ”   he tells her, not bothering to lie.   “ perhaps if you weren’t a part of it. ”

        Doon-ju comes close to sympathizing with Harry, but only because it pains him to see a table at his diner become occupied by a patron that spends more time sitting than eating. Lunar Defiant isn’t a café and despite its odd hours, plenty of people are nocturnal enough to wait for a seat. Knowing that the man will spend hours picking at his meal before retiring his patronage, Doon-ju makes quick calculations in his head, roughly estimating his revenue losses because of this man’s overt penchant for leisure.

        Harry’s boyish threat isn’t sincere; Doon-ju knows that much after years of working together. But frankly, he wouldn’t mind if it was. After all, he’s banned people for pettier reasons. Or killed them, especially during the infancy of his dimmed humanity.

        He pauses for a second, considering.

        “Get him to leave without leaving a bad review and I’ll put your name on the wall,” he says, jutting a chin towards a dusty frame hung above a plastic “employee of the month” sign. It was from a suggestion that an employee from years ago put forth, but he had no motivation to bring it into fruition despite never taking it down. But for now, it’s the best incentive Harry’s going to get.

THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS WRONG WITH THAT OFFER.   “ can he even post a review on yelp ? ”   harry blinks, looking back at his boss. maybe if he posted one while in the restaurant it’d be safe, but would he be able to remember long enough afterwards ?   you’d think he’d understand the spell better, considering how long he’s worked here, but it’s aspect of the business harry tries to ignore. mostly because he finds the whole thing fucking ridiculous, and it’ll only work him up if he gets into why doon-ju should tell the council to shove it up their ass.

“No? what would you call it?” She asked with a smile, shaking her head at his words. She began to study his face more intently, looking for any signs of visible age that would give her a clue. “So I was way off then?” A smiled graced her lips as a hand moved to rest under her chin. “Thirty-Seven?”

leyla arched a brow in intrigue, but her expression read like she wasn’t convinced. “do you really think so?” she asked him. “i feel we’d know. the community. especially those within a founding family… surely,” she mused. she looked to him for his opinion. “there has been no real footing in supernatural president conspiracy theories, even amongst humans,” she added. the brunette’s features scrunched up for a moment in response to being so close. “oh damn,” she uttered before chuckling. “being that close is just unfair,” she told him. and yet, she was somewhat victorious because a drink is hers. “rum and cola, thanks,” she replied.

“ DO YOU REALLY THINK THE WITCHES WOULD TELL US if one of them was in office ? ”   he exhales out a laugh, shaking his head.   “ they’d take that shit to their grave, i think. maybe you... wolves, right ?   are another story. ”   the face she makes only makes his smile widen, ordering a rum and cola for the both of them.   “ you look familiar, ”   harry says, when his attention is back on her.   “ you’re not a demir, are you ? ”

he stops short of harry, thinking about what he was going to say carefully. his sire had a way of making him feel stupid for simply speaking. or maybe that was his own need to be better in his presence. someday, chace would be the thing he needed, if he could only work at it.

still, habitually, chace winces in taking the glass, “i know how to get blood, but, it's not the same as yours.” and damn him for it, he thinks, taking a sip of the whiskey, which he wasn't in the mood for, but the vampire drinks it down anyway. certain he'd get on his knees and beg to be fulfilled, he pours one more.

he stops to think, mind racing over the past few weeks, “good . everything's been good, well, not everything, but for me, i'm good.”

“ AND HOW IS THAT MY FAULT ? ”   he chuckles, taking a swig of the whiskey. most of the time, harry was surrounded by vampires older than him :   his parents, his aunt and uncles, his boss. it was always nice visiting chace, to get that thrill of being the eldest and one in charge, even if it was only a small part of his life he can control. 

“WHO NEEDS RULES?” The witch countered, eyebrow quirking in response. “I happen to be of the opinion of doing whatever the hell I want. Life is more enjoyable that way, wouldn’t you agree?” The question posed wasn’t that deep, and Sian didn’t really expect much of a response. After all, this banter back and forth was only stalling the inevitable. As the bartender approached, she pondered quickly before deciding to be spontaneous – a rare occurrence. “Hmm, surprise me.”