#paris loumand

Hand in hand, the two vampires walked through the Louvre, passing the frozen guards on their way back out.

“Sometimes, seeing all these old paintings overwhelms me. I see the passage of time, and soon there will be nothing left of what I have known. It is hard to keep up with modernity.”

Louis stopped and chuckled a little, shaking his head.

“You are the most modern ancient vampire I’ve met.” 

“You …have not met another one of our kind who is as old as I am.”

Louis smiled gently and brought one hand to Armand’s face, lovingly stroking his cheekbone.

“I don’t need to. I have you. That’s enough.”

Armand sat at his desk, eye level with the Magnolia tree sprout. Almost as if intending to watch it grow in real-time.

“You are really fond of that plant,” Louis commented with a smirk, which turned guilty when Armand nearly jumped out of the chair.

“It is the suspense of the unknown, which keeps me tending to it.”

“The unknown?”

“One tries to nourish the little life by watering it, ensuring it will receive the needed sunlight - yet, it is not pre-decided whether the efforts will prove fruitful. Whether it will bloom, or wither away with time.”

The way Armand looked at him made Louis realise there was more to it.

He walked up to Armand, kissing him on the cheek, before embracing him from behind, smiling at the sigh that escaped him..

“You’re right. We can only try, eh?”

This night, the moon was shining down on the world, round and full, its reflection joining those of the stars which glistened on the surface of the Seine. Amand’s eyes were glued to the river as he walked next to Louis, their hands not touching but close enough so he could feel his presence even without looking or intertwining their minds.

“Curious…” He mumbled, not noticing he did until he heard Louis make a questioning noise. 

“How it looks. This distorted mirror image of the night’s sky, moving and changing with each ripple of the flowing water. We gaze at its beauty yet never stop to discern the differences between the reflection and the source.” Louis hummed and then stopped walking. Armand glanced over at him, and when he saw him gesturing to a nearby bench, he complied and sat down next to him. 

For a while, silence fell between them. Only the noises of passersby’ footsteps, fluttering bird wings from between the trees and the gentle, ever steady murmur of the water caught Armand’s attention. He withstood the urge to check in on his coven – he was here now, with his new love, this handsome American who wore the air of freedom around him like a perfectly tailored suit. To Armand, the thought of freedom felt more like chains of uncertainty. 

“I don’t think most people think as deeply about it. It’s just a pretty view.” Louis slid his hand on the bench into Armand’s direction, who gladly took it, hidden under the slightly too long sleeve of his trenchcoat. 

“Not everything has to be a metaphor for the meaning of life, death and the universe itself. Though I enjoy our philosophical conversations, I like to think of myself more as a “living in the moment” kind of guy.”

Armand smiled at Louis’ comment, his eyes crinkling with silent amusement. How refreshing. Before, most of his smiles had been performative for a very long period. Of course there had been real laughs from time to time, real moments of affection for his coven -  which made all of this perpetually more difficult. He was growing tired of leading the theatre, tired of coven life. Yet it was those almost familiar ties, built up over centuries, which he didn’t know how to sever. That, and the fear of being left alone, should Louis decide to cast him aside. 

His whole life, people had left him, abandoned him, sent him away. How could he trust that Louis was different?

“I like how your face looks in the moonlight.” Louis’ voice ripped Armand from his whirling mind.

“Looks soft. Relaxed. Unburdened.”

How could Louis be so attentive and yet simultaneously be so wrong?

Armand didn’t reveal that. Instead, he looked at Louis and smirked. When he answered, he made his eyes widen, as if speaking with sincerity.

“You should see how it looks in sunlight.” 

Louis thankfully took that as the lighthearted joke it was supposed to be.

“Bet it’d leave a burning impression.”

Armand excused himself, as he went to the bar’s bathroom. Not that he needed it - but they'd been here for half the evening and one should keep up appearances.

The room was empty - good.

He headed for the wash basin and took a breath, glad to be away from the noise for a bit. The cold water running over his similarly cold hands was grounding.

He looked up into the mirror.

Louis watched as Armand walked away to the bathroom as if he were just another mortal needing to relieve himself. There was something so graceful about how he moved…always.

But not only that. In the last months he’d seen a change in his gait. His steps seemed happier, lighter…

Louis sighed a little, his dreamy eyes returning to the table, where he caught his own reflection on the shiny metal of a flower vase.

He furrowed his brows.

Armand stared at himself, blinked, and stared again.

He hadn't looked into a mirror for a while and what he now saw, made him speechless. Of course his skin, his hair, looked like always. Preternatural, never changing. But his eyes, the very eyes he stared out of, seemed different… It was life that reflected back to him. Life, that his eyes had been filled with, even hope … all due to Louis, once a stranger, who had come into his life and made a difference. He'd been changed… A part of him was ecstatic about it. Another part was scared - scared about not being able to recognise himself. To hold the thread of his life. Arun, Amadeo, Armand… who came next?

Louis saw himself smiling - a real smile, a happy one. Maybe the first in years. He knew he'd changed, that he felt more alive - figuratively speaking - than before. Being with Armand, had been the healing experience he’d needed. He would lie if he'd deny the part of his heart that was still longing for Lestat, but he could learn to live with that. He held just as much love for Armand, the man who had shown him happiness, the man who was always so melancholic himself yet could spread joy about the little things. Louis had learned that from him.

And with time, he'd learn how to love him even more, he was sure of that.

Armand exhaled and looked down at his hands.

The answer was simple. He would be whatever Louis needed him to be. What he wanted him to be. Their happiness was more important than him pondering questions about his identity or self-growth.

He could be happy, truly happy, one day. Perhaps. Or at least, he would bask in Louis’ radiant smile, his newfound joy and lust for life. That had to be enough.

Armand, I’m getting bored here… You coming?

Armand smiled and turned, heading for the door.

When their gazes met again, it was like a little firework exploding inside his chest. Louis, his gentle, sometimes hard, companion, the love of his life.

It's him…or the coven.

A steady companionship leading to abandonment of the theatre.

The choice between two options and the sacrificing of one.

Louis?”

Soft, wide eyes meeting his smiling face.

“Yes?”

A flicker of hesitation. Something darkening in Armand’s expression.

Louis pulling him into a hug.

“I… I have told you of my past. Sometimes I get these…nightmares, but when I am awake. Especially of…the boat.”

Louis holding him tighter, kissing his hair.

A shaky breath.

“If you're on the boat then come to me, Arun. Let me be your harbour.”

I love you, Louis.”

“I love you too, my companion.”

Armand's breath hitched at the words.

“Companion? I thought we-”

“I was wrong,” Louis said. A soft smile on his lips.

“The word, it…set a certain expectation. For me. When I was with Le-” He looked down, a slight movement of his head as if to shake off the memory.

“But I see it now. Things don't have to change. I like the way we are. And if that means we are companions - yes. Because I choose you, Arun.”

Armand’s eyelids fluttered slightly. A velvety sigh.