My take in Devil's Minion in IWTV show
The brain virus has spoken, and I need to write this out before I implode. If enough ppl like this, I might write a one-shot... idk.
I think too many people think that Daniel would be head over heels for Armand. Would young Daniel be taken by Armand, oh yes, absolutely, and I think he was. But old Daniel? Two-time Pulitzer recipient Daniel? Daniel, who was turned into a Vampire by a guy who's marrige he ruined?
This Daniel would be wary, know the Dangers of Armand, but go in anyway, not because he wants to, but because, despite how many times he tries to leave, his undead heart refuses to beat for anyone else. They'd have to reconcile, of course, and Armand would have to seduce and make Daniel swoon much like he did in the 80's (but thats a story for later.)
And the old tricks work, Armand remembers Daniel's favorite foods, gift preferences, how he has to open doors first, how he loves a good verbal spar, and how he likes it when Armand is the one to concede, to agree to whatever it is Daniel is on about. It's refreshing, honestly, to see how little he's changed. Same old habits, and he still scratches at the back of his neck when he has something to say but is unsure. There's a comfortable familiarity to Daniel.
In other ways, he's matured, aged like a fine wine, no longer green around the gills as he once was. Armand appreciates his maturity in the same way he appreciates a good cabernet... or would appreciate it. He can debate with more skill, truly get a rise out of Armand, which he could never do before, much to Armand's annoyance, but still... He loves their spars even more now, the anger only providing him with an emotion that would only be locked, and what better gift can one receive from a lover than a new experience of life again? He holds himself with more authority than he did before, no longer slinking into rooms, now entering them, making himself known. Armand enjoys the confidence of Daniel, no longer the unwarranted kind, but the kind that can be backed up.
But with time comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes the weariness of Armand that aggravates him so. Daniel no longer slips back into Armand like he once did, no longer loses himself in Armand's world. While Daniel was a game before, he's now a challenge, a real struggle to win his affection, and the triumph it is to see how Daniel falters back, slips back into old patterns.
When Daniel first came into Armand's life, he was angry. How could this man, this boy, capture something in Louie that he had never had? His attention. Armand had to admit, Daniel was fascinating, but he still fully intended to kill Daniel in that moment, but oh did Louie have to insist on keeping him alive so... Daniel would teach Armand how to be fascinating.
That's how it started. The watching... the stalking. Armand needed to keep Louie's interest, and if Daniel had Louie's intrest than Armand would just have to be Daniel. Armand didn't plan on interacting with Daniel; he thought of just watching the boy, that it would be enough for him to observe, that he would learn that way. But it wasn't enough.
Daniel was truly fascinating. Armand couldn't figure out Daniel, and it infuriated him, so the game began.
Armand would wait, Daniel had an on again of again girlfriend, Alice, who he'd been on the rough with for a while now. Alice was sweet, but Daniel and Alice were very different, and those differences did not complement each other as they once had.
That was when Armand slipped in, skulked his way into Daniel's world, slowly, softly. Like how you'd approach a scared cat. Daniel was not one to fall quickly, especially not for a man. But Armand was not one to give up. He enjoyed the chase, the thrill. Armand didn't even know it, but he had created a game, and he now had to win. Once he had Daniel's love, he'd have Louie's, but somewhere along the line, his obsession turned more and more into winning Daniel than it did about reigniting Louie.
And Daniel, he... he was a hard man to win. Kept to himself, a journalist in both work and life. Getting the story from someone else, never himself. But then Armand came in and things changed. He tried to keep him out of his mind, but something about those eyes stayed with him, and something about how he held himself reminded him of something... he couldn't quite place. But something he was longing for.
So Daniel felt himself swept up with Armand more and more and letting Armand in to more and more... and suddenly, the two are in Paris. Daniel has a Cohabitation Agreement stuffed into one of his folders that's supposedly 'for work' and a ring box he hid in one of his socks. He felt free in Paris with Armand, no longer worrying about weird looks or retaliation from drunk idiots on the streets.
They weren't sneaking around anymore... and that made it feel more real for Daniel. It also made it like ten times more nerve-racking when he sat down across the cafe from Armand. He popped the question and started waffling about palimony, how they could move in together, and how they could make this work. Daniel had even got the paperwork ready and... Oh, Armand had won. Daniel loved him; the game was over.
Armand had to face for the first time that this could be real, but it wasn't. With Daniel, it never was, and Armand could not trust Daniel with knowing his life, his true nature. This had all been a game to Armand and Daniel, sweet Daniel, had thought it was more. Armand had wanted him like this, but now that he had it... No. He got his reward, he got his show of love from Daniel, and now that it was his, his feelings just sort of... fluttered off.
He felt satisfied, fulfilled, satiated. Daniel had served his purpose.
So he answered No, packed his things, and left.
He'd come back months later, after Alice and Daniel were back on speaking terms. He and Louie had rekindled their old spark, and things between them were finally good again. Louie wasn't sneaking off to go hunt the bars anymore, which was a good sign. He'd wanted to check in on his old plaything, see how his life had developed.
Armand watched still, for the next months, years. Seeing how his toy had moved on. It wasn't until Alice's and his divorce that Armand saw it fit to remove himself from Daniel's life. Daniel hadn't told a soul about him, that was clear, and it made it easier for him to cleanly cut away where he once was. He'd found him passed out at a bar, and when Daniel came to, he was back at a drug den, with 5 missed calls and a meeting with his Divorce attorney.
Daniel still doesn't know what he and Armand once shared, but he still feels it when he catches himself staring at Armand for too long, feeling that longing for what Armand is.
[This is way longer than I thought, but it does satiate the Devil's Minion rot currently taking over like my entire brain.]
