𝓔ven gone, he was still alive. Haunting even the most ruinous corners of his lover’s mind, the red thread knotting them together for eternity ᵁᴺᴬᴮᴸᴱ to be severed. Despite Louis’ best efforts to wipe his hands clean of their torrid affair, he hadn’t tried hard enough. There was a deeply rooted satisfaction that pooled in his gut knowing with certainty that the mere thought of him could plague the other’s thoughts so heavily. That he had sunk his claws so deeply and was spared because of it.
Are you real … quite the question, one that brought a smile to his lips as he leaned in close … 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒, 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒, 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟. Delicate but equally as deadly fingers traversing the length of Louis’ arm to rest on his shoulder, as he’d done a million times before. A simple touch cementing the fact that he was here. He was real. He was a nightmare brought back to life, and he’d be damned if he ever let Louis break free of his grasp again. Fingers coil around his shoulder ᵀᴵᴳᴴᵀᴱᴿ as he finally speaks.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ “Now, why would I do that, mon cher?”
Loaded questions from a loaded gun of a man, ᴴᴬᴵᴿ ᵀᴿᴵᴳᴳᴱᴿ temper kept beneath wraps as he waited. Waited for him to spiral, unravel, to explain … did Louis believe he deserved death for his actions? He was the Judas to his Jesus, enacting an ultimate betrayal and sealing his ᴰᴱᴬᵀᴴ with a kiss, but with every hope that the man would be resurrected. Lestat had had all the time in the world to reflect and simmer in his own rage, configure a punishment that fit the crime. While a fool might leap towards taking an eye for an eye, he knew better. If Louis wanted to dispose of him, he’d retaliate by ensuring that he couldn’t. Not now, not ever. Ensnaring him by the bit at the back of his brain that still yearned for Lestat, for his love, as all powerful as it could be. That was the ultimate punishment.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“T'ai-je manqué?”