This SEL timestamp takes place about a year after the events in Rio and a few months after they've toured the rest of South America. As mentioned in chp 25, they've started traveling to preternatural villages around the world. This covers some of that.
This is sort of integral to stories about vampires, but there's a lot of talk about feeding, etc. Just fyi!
Enjoy!
The Inner Village might be Harry’s favourite of all the preternatural villages they’ve been to. He’s not saying he’s ready to move to New York City and he can’t imagine Louis is either. But there are pockets of the Inner Village that are incredibly wonderfully gay and coming from their close-minded town, it’s a relief. There, they attend a drag show operated entirely by witches. They also meet Kristen and Teo from the Stonewall Coven, a found coven made up of queer witches. Harry has never met or heard of a found coven, at least not in Europe. He has a loving coven of his own, but the idea that there are witches uniting to support and love each other as family nearly makes him cry. Seated at their dimly lit bar table, the emotion is so obvious on Harry’s face, although only Louis catches it. He smiles and gently squeezes Harry’s hand in his own. The two of them garner some attention of their own, although they’re used to it by now. Even here in such a progressive place, a vampire and witch coupling up is rare.
“Like, sex is a different story,” Teo says. “Obviously, we’ve all fucked a vampire.”
Louis lifts his brows, his lips curling. “Are we just a fetish to you?”
Harry sputters, trying to complete a sip of his martini.
“I mean…” Teo shrugs. “I think most vampires would say fucking a witch is a fetish to them. And listen, I’m trans. I have to deal with men fetishizing me for that too. None of it’s ideal. But when it comes to witches and vampires, it’s like fire and water. Anything beyond a hookup is uncharted territory. And no one ever dares to try.”
“You should,” Louis says. “You’ll have more men to pick from. Ones who aren’t dickheads.”
“Well, if you have a twin brother, send him my way,” says Teo, their gaze lingering on Louis for a second longer than Harry likes.
“We were a bit like that at first, fire and water,” Harry cuts in. “But now, nothing makes more sense than this. We’ve just been told for centuries that witches and vampires can’t get on. And it’s not true.”
“And how long have you been dating?” Kristen asks. “Because if you say it’s only been a month or so, I’ll need more proof than that.”
“It’s been a little over a year officially,” Harry says.
“And also,” Louis says, lifting their joined hands from beneath the table, turning their hands so Harry’s ring catches the scarce light in the room. “We’re engaged.”
“Well, fuck,” Kristen says. And when Louis presses a kiss to Harry’s hand a second later, she adds, “Okay, I’m sold.”
It’s not to say that great love only exists between a vampire and a witch. Harry’s parents had a beautiful marriage, exactly the kind he wanted for himself. And Louis’ mum and Perry love each other deeply.
It’s only to say that great love exists in places some might not think to look. Sometimes it starts between rivals. Sometimes it takes years to flourish. Sometimes it feels like the universe is completely opposed. But sometimes it’s there waiting, in the most uncanny places, if you want it badly enough.
†
Every day in New York, they get up to something new. They tour museums and art galleries, including one where Louis buys him a painting and has it shipped to the estate for safekeeping. They dine at restaurants from Michelin-starred rooftop establishments to hole-in-the-wall haunts. They day drink (and night drink) and nap in parks in between. They make the most of their month-long stay. No, they won’t be relocating but Harry already knows they’ll be back. Often.
That day, after brunch and a bit of shopping, they retire to their rental penthouse to escape an incoming thunderstorm. The day isn’t a loss at all. He found the stick and poke kit he wanted so that Louis could attempt to tattoo him. After an order of sushi and a shared shower, they get started.
“Was nice to see Teo and Kristen again last night,” Harry says, mostly to distract himself from the initial shock of pain. “And all their friends too.”
“Yeah, they’re a fun lot,” Louis says. “Fucking crazy too. Crazier than us when we want to be.”
“I think Teo has a tiny crush on you.”
“Yeah, but it’ll go away.”
“Oh, so you agree?”
“When we hugged, their heart did a bit of a thing. That’s all.” Louis looks at him. “Now yours is too.”
“Do you think they’re attractive?”
Louis exhales a small laugh. “They’re objectively good-looking. Haven’t thought about it beyond that.”
“Everyone has a crush on you. It’s annoying,” Harry says.
“Who’s everyone?”
“In every city we’ve been to, there’s always someone who starts to fancy you a little. Isabelle in Argentina, remember? Damien? I think he was in Peru. Oh, when we went to Italy. The twins we met? Justine and Luca? They were both into you.”
“Isabelle was technically into both of us,” Louis says. “And I’ve got a list of my own, love. You’re just a bit better with names than I am. The girl with the pink hair last night? She couldn’t stop looking at you.”
“Venus?”
“Should’ve remembered that, to be fair. But yes.”
Harry doesn’t remember her looking at him, but maybe that’s the point.
“I don’t mind, so long as none of them get too close,” Louis says. “I know you’re all mine.”
Then he glances at Harry. Harry actually feels his heart skip a beat. Louis smiles and refocuses on his work. He’s tattooing a bird to match the one Harry tattooed on him a year ago. It’s just a simple outline and for his first shot at tattooing, it’s looking quite nice already.
“Does it hurt?” Louis asks.
Harry shrugs. “Not too much. You’re gentler than I am when I tattoo myself,” he says. He watches him wipe blood and ink away. A thought strikes him. “Do you feel thirsty doing that?”
Louis’ hand stills momentarily.
“Just a question,” Harry says tentatively.
“I always feel thirsty around you,” Louis says, his gaze focused intently on the tattoo. “I’ve said so before.”
“But not literally.”
“No, literally.”
“So, even after you’ve fed?”
“I’ve said so before,” Louis says again. “Even when I’ve fed, the thirst is still there. Just…quieter or something.”
“So, if you could keep drinking, you would?”
Louis pauses and looks at him, lifting the needle away from Harry’s skin. “I don’t get the question.”
Harry's senses tingle slightly due to a subtle shift in Louis' mood. He tries to choose his words carefully, but no matter how he twists and shapes the sentences in his head nothing really works.
“I’d never hurt you,” Louis says. “It’s impossible for me to hurt you. Because I love you and you’re my mate. And if something were to happen to you and you weren’t here, I wouldn’t want to be either.”
“I know that,” Harry says quietly. And he should leave it there, but— “I don’t know if that fully answers the question.”
“Have you got infinite blood? ‘Cause that’d be news to me. There’s no universe where if I kept drinking, it wouldn’t kill you, is there? So, no. The answer is fuck no.”
“Why are you getting so angry? It’s just a question.”
“Why are you asking me if I want to drain you of blood?” Louis fires back.
“It’s not like it’d kill me, Louis. I’d come back.”
Louis blinks. “What?”
“I can’t die. We’ve established that.”
“But you did die!” Louis says. His voice breaks. His jaw locks. Willow finally appears in the room and curls herself around Louis’ ankle. After a breath, Louis tries again. “Your heart stopped for long enough that you were dead. I know it.”
“Yes, but I came back,” Harry says.
“But you still died, yeah? Whether you came back or not, you’d be dead. So, no, I don’t want to fucking kill you. I don’t think about it. I don’t want to think about it.”
“Okay.”
“Now, explain to me why it sounds like you want me to?” And when Harry doesn’t immediately refute that, Louis’ eyes go wide. He puts the needle down on the sterile tray beside them with the small ink pots and stained tissues. “Are you actually serious right now?”
Harry just wants to be honest. Because truthfully, he never considered these thoughts so egregious, but he also never dared to share them with Louis either. Now, that he mostly has, it feels deceitful to not come out with all of it. And he’s also learned that it’s better to expose the whole truth as uncomfortable and as painful as it may be. Better to do that than spend an eternity keeping this to himself.
“Before, when I thought I’d die from the curse, I thought about it,” Harry says. “But only ‘cause I feel safest with you, and it seemed like the most ideal way to go if I had to go at all.”
Louis laughs. Actually cackles. And stands. “Good thing you didn’t think to ask. I would’ve assumed you’d gone completely insane.” He yanks his latex glove off and tosses it onto the coffee table.
“Where are you going?”
“I need a drink,” Louis says, strolling off towards the kitchen.
Harry puts his face in his palms for a moment. They bicker on occasion, solely because they’re both stubborn, highly opinionated people. But he can’t remember the last time either of them was genuinely cross with the other. He feels Louis’ cloying anger even when they’re in separate rooms.
Willow lingers in the corridor, visibly uncertain about who needs the most comfort. Mentally, Harry sends her to Louis. He could use a drink himself. He loiters there on the couch for a minute or two longer, waiting for Louis to come back. And when he doesn’t, Harry sighs and goes after him.
In the kitchen, Louis has a beer open in front of him while he taps away furiously at his phone.
“Will you please relax?” Harry asks.
“No, I don’t think so,” Louis says. “Here we are having a nice night and you reveal you’ve got a death kink or whatever it is.”
“I haven’t got a death kink,” Harry says. “For fuck’s sake…”
Louis sets his phone down. “When you had that thought back then, did you also consider what it’d be like for me? To watch you slip away? To be the cause of that?”
“I did, actually. Which is why I didn’t bring it up back then. I knew you wouldn’t do it.”
“Because I can’t.”
“Fine. But you clearly don’t know how it feels for me either. On the receiving end of things. It’s like…euphoric. It feels like I could just sink into it and stay there forever. And I’m sorry if that worries you or whatever. I’m not saying I want to die. I’m not saying I want you to kill me. I’m saying when you feed, if there was a way to feel the way I feel infinitely, I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I’m just saying I’ve thought about it. That’s all.”
“But that’s impossible. Without me killing you.”
“Yes, you’ve said. I get it.”
“I could never.”
“You said that too,” Harry says. “There’s the blood curse anyway, so—”
“Even without the blood curse…never.”
“Okay,” Harry says. “I’m sorry I mentioned it at all, alright? Can you finish my tattoo, please? Before you get drunk?”
Louis rolls his eyes and has another swig of his beer.
“I’m sorry,” Harry says again. “Come on, Lou, please?”
Louis looks at him, his eyes slightly narrowed as he thinks. With a shake of his head and a sigh, he says, “Yeah, alright,” and starts back to the living room. Quietly he puts his glove back on and sterilises the needle. Then he starts on the tattoo again.
Harry pushes his fingers through Louis’ fringe. “Are you cross with me?”
“No,” Louis says. “Just let me concentrate. Or I’ll tattoo a penis here and be done with it.”
“I don’t mind a penis, though, do I?”
“A lopsided one,” Louis clarifies. “With very hairy wrinkly balls.”
Harry laughs and relaxes his arm. “Such an arsehole.”
“I can add one of those too.”
When they laugh, the tiny hint of tension left between them is hardly of any consequence at all. And later, when they crawl into bed, Louis draws him into his arm like always. Harry traces his collarbone with his fingertip while listening to Willow scurrying about on the floor. For a cat who can phase silently through the air, she’s making plenty of noise with every move. When she darts up onto the bed and then immediately flings herself to the floor, Louis laughs.
“You wouldn’t think a familiar would get the Zoomies, would you?” Harry says.
“She’s just like any cat, I guess,” Louis says.
“I don’t think she’d like that,” Harry says. “I think she considers herself a very unique, one-of-a-kind cat.”
“Makes sense, considering who she’s bound to.”
“Are you saying I think too highly of myself?”
“No,” Louis says. “You should think highly of yourself. And you’re definitely one of a kind.”
Harry smiles. “So are you. There could never be anyone like you.”
Louis turns and presses a kiss on Harry’s forehead. Harry nestles more comfortably into Louis’ side, his eyes slipping shut.
“I’m sorry I lost it a bit earlier,” Louis says quietly.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t share things with me. Even something like that.”
“I don’t. But if it’s something you’re uncomfortable with, I should be more careful. And I will be.”
Then there’s silence and more inexplicable tension. Harry suddenly feels less sleepy than he did seconds ago. He lifts his head off Louis’ shoulder and looks at him.
“It’s impossible for me to do it, I mean that,” Louis says, meeting his gaze.
“I know, Louis,” Harry says. “And I’m not asking you to.”
“But I am who I am,” Louis goes on. “Or what I am. So it’d be a lie to say I haven’t thought about it.”
Harry hesitates. “About draining…”
Louis pinches his eyelids. “Don’t say it like that.”
“Okay. How would you put it then?”
“There’ve been times after I’ve fed, especially…if we’re fucking at the same time, when I want to drink again or I want to keep drinking, even though I know… And there was a time when I was drunk and it was a little hard to stop.”
As he speaks, he doesn’t look at Harry. As if he’s ashamed. Harry reclines again and takes Louis’ face between his palms.
“Look at me. That’s alright,” Harry says. “I love you. I love how much you want me.”
Louis winces at that. “That makes it sound more innocent than it is.”
“Whatever. I won’t lie and say it’s not…sort of exciting? And like…It’s not that much different from when you choke me a little, is it?”
“It’s completely different.”
“Not to me. Not completely. You say you wouldn’t hurt me but spanking hurts,” Harry says with a laugh. “And I like it.”
“Also, different.”
“If you say so,” Harry says. “I know that for you it’s something you have to control. For me, I know you’re in control, so I don’t worry. I just let go. And it feels nice to let go. I know you’ve got me.”
“I do,” Louis says. “Always.”
“You’re getting enough to drink, though, yeah? Like that’s not the reason you want to keep going, is it?”
“Trust me, it’s not. I get enough,” Louis says.
“You’re just greedy then.”
“I’m a vampire,” Louis says. “Greed is what we’re all about.”
“You’re not like most vampires, though.”
“Maybe not, but there are things that are just biological. Like my bond with you. Can’t do anything about that. And no matter what, if you say something like you said today, offering yourself up like that, there’s a part of me, even if it’s small, that wants to take you up on it. And just…devour you.”
Harry looks at his mouth. “And I’m meant to be afraid of that?”
“Maybe,” Louis says. “Not of me, but the general idea of a vampire wanting you in that way, yeah.”
“You’re the only vampire that matters.”
Louis grins, his ego visibly stroked. Harry can’t take his eyes off of him.
“If it were any other vampire, I’d never say the things I said today. It’s only because it’s you. I trust you. Completely.”
Louis looks at him. He takes Harry’s hand and presses a quick kiss to his palm. “I can’t do it, though.”
“I know,” Harry says. “I thought I lost you that day too, you know? I felt like I couldn’t breathe. And like the world was closing in on me or something. So, I know what it’s like. And I’d never want you to have to go through that again.”
Louis nods. “Me neither.”
Harry looks at his mouth again. “But I think you should feed,” he says. “Right now.”
Louis lifts his brows. With a small exhale, he says, “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Literally the opposite. I’m offering you a late-night snack.”
Louis laughs. “You’re definitely that,” he says. He licks his lips. Then, after a second, he leans in and kisses Harry slowly, capturing his jaw between his fingers and his thumb. He kisses him for so long Harry nearly forgets what they were talking about at all. He’s hypnotized by Louis’ tongue against his own. He’s lulled by the comfort of their bodies close.
Their lives are not perfect because no one’s is. They still have occasional worries, especially when they have to decide which parties and gatherings to attend back home when everywhere they go, they’re a topic of discussion or gossip. Returning to Ravenoir even for short periods is often stressful. And like earlier has proven, they can still misunderstand each other.
Life might not be perfect but being with Louis is. There’s nothing questionable or unsatisfactory about this kiss or the way Louis holds him. There’s nothing as sublime as the moment he pulls away suddenly, holds Harry’s jaw firmly and sinks into his jugular.
Harry shudders and digs his fingers into Louis’ bicep. The burst of pain is quickly washed over with warmth that floods his whole body. His head feels light and airy as if he’s floating on a cloud. Weightless and worriless with nothing to fear. With Louis’ need so evident and certain and all-encompassing.
Louis pulls away with a deep breath and kisses him again. Now that Harry can move, he moves with purpose, shoving Louis' pyjamas down past his waist, wrestling with his own.
“Thought I was only getting a late-night snack,” Louis says.
“It’s more like a late-night buffet,” Harry says. “All you can eat.”
Louis laughs as he sinks down Harry’s body, leaving kisses all along his chest and abs. “Mm, I do like the sound of that,” he says.
Harry will have to blame it on all the pent-up tension, good and bad, but when Louis deepthroats his cock, he thinks he could come with just another second more of that pressure. Then Louis pulls off, smiling as if he knows it, and licks a few times along the length of his cock instead. Because as he’s clarified thoroughly today, Louis is a vampire. Vampires like to toy with and tease their prey. And Harry knows Louis doesn’t think of him as prey, but sometimes Harry feels like he is. And he doesn’t mind at all.
The truth is that Harry would bare every part of himself to Louis without hesitation or fear. He would accept whatever Louis wanted to give or take from him. Maybe if it were another vampire, that sort of thinking would be insane. But it’s solely this vampire who matters. No other would do.
He often likes to hold Louis atop him after they’ve come to prolong the closeness. He likes the weight of him. He likes running his fingers through his hair until Louis drifts off. "Louis?"
"Hm?"
“It’s not difficult, is it? Feeling thirsty all the time?” Harry asks quietly. Because the thought is on his mind and if he doesn’t ask, he’ll just stay awake worrying about it.
“No,” Louis says sleepily. “Not at all."
"You're sure?"
"I promise," Louis says. He draws a breath. "Thirst is tied to emotion. Like lust and love… And you’re a triple threat, that’s all. You’re hot. You taste incredible. Can’t help that. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Harry smiles. "Makes sense..." He listens to Louis’ breathing evening out. He feels his limbs loosening further. “Wait, what’s the third thing?”
“What?”
“You said triple threat.”
“Oh,” Louis says. “You’re hot. You taste incredible.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you fishing for compliments?”
“Just tell me,” Harry pleads.
“You’re the love of my life, Harry,” Louis says. “I reckon that’s the biggest one of all.”
It’s not the first time Louis has said so, but it’s also impossible to get used to something like that. Hearing the person he loves most affirm the inverse is true will never cease to amaze him. So, he feels his eyes prickle slightly, but he doesn’t actually burst into tears or anything. He simply wraps his arms more tightly around his fiance. “And you’re mine.”
“I know,” Louis says. “Can I sleep now, babe?”
“Yeah. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Good night.”
“Night,” Louis says.
“I love you so much.”
“Harry.”
“Okay. Sleep well.”
“You too,” Louis says. And then after a second, he whispers, “I love you.”
Willow hops up onto the bed in the midst of their laughter at which point, they mutually decide to turn their love on her. Because great love is also infinite, which means there’s plenty to spare.
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