#1-8-26

[leroilestat]

The B!tch is Back...

Last time on the VC's Lestat x Louis @devilsloveeachother @leroilestat

devilsloveeachother

The last time Louis had seen Lestat, he was mangled, eyes bulging, covered in thick scarring, courtesy of Claudia. He knew better than to think that the fire had killed him. All these years, feeling the pull of him as he and Claudia wandered Europe in search of their kind. Part of him was relieved, the other part was utterly terrified. "How?" Louis asked, not sure how he meant it. Was it how are you alive? or how are you here? maybe even, how did you find me? Green eyes darted down to where he was pinched before his thin brows knit together. He was looking at Lestat's hand now, seeing the stark white contrast against the dark of the night around him. Part of him had longed to see that hand again, mourned that he never would get the opportunity.

Lestat withdrew his hand. He flexed the fingers as if testing them. His smile faded into something flatter it was watchful. He followed Louis’s gaze, then looked back to his face. “Fire is not as final as you hoped,” Lestat said. “Nor knives... Nor a child’s devotion turned cruel.”

He stepped closer. He was close enough that Louis could feel his breath. His voice lowered. “I endured. I slept. I healed badly.” A brief pause before continuing. “And I arrived here to see my old friends. I was not looking for you.” His eyes moved over Louis with a careful, almost clinical attention, as if taking inventory. “You felt me because I was there,” Lestat said. “You feel me now because I am standing in front of you. My finding you was not intentional.”

[leroilestat]

It's Time to Go

Last time on the VC's @minaharkerdailymirror @leroilestat Lestat X Mina

minaharkerdailymirror

Mina was quiet, "I don't want my sins coming back on my baby, Lestat. I don't want them getting fucked up because I have all this trauma inside me and I'll fuck them up my own way. I couldn't live with myself. Next time I might not stop. Not if itm eans protecting my family." Next time, her baby might see. Mina was relieved and put her hand on her belly, "I imagine they'll put me on bedrest sooner rather than later. I'm sorry ahead of time. I know I"m going to make SOMEONE cry." Mina nodded, but in her head, she had a story that she'd use i someone asked too many questions. They probably wouldn't, but Mina always had to be prepared.

Lestat listened without interruption. His attention fixed on her. When she finished, he spoke carefully, as if setting something fragile back in its place. “Your sins don’t transfer by blood,” he said. “Cruelty does, neglect does and silence does. You are already fighting all three.” His voice stayed even. “Trauma doesn’t poison a child unless it’s denied or unleashed. You’re doing neither. You name it. You restrain it. That’s how cycles end.”

At her quiet admission about the next time, his tone sharpened just a fraction in clarity. “Protecting your family isn’t the same as losing yourself. If that line ever blurs, you won’t be alone in seeing it. Louis and I will be there. You won’t carry that responsibility by yourself.”

When she mentioned bedrest, he exhaled through his nose. “If someone cries, it will not be you,” he said dryly. “Louis will protest, dramatically. Then he will comply and bring you things you didn’t ask for.” He paused then continued. “And I will ensure you follow the doctors’ instructions, even if it offends your sense of independence.”

He glanced at her hands they were steady on the wheel, then back to the road. “Prepared stories are fine,” he added. “But tonight, you don’t owe anyone explanations. You are going to the hospital for a checkup. You breathe to calm down and rest. I will stand watch.” His voice lowered it was firm. “Nothing else gets through.”

[leroilestat]

A Conversation with Louis

Last time on the VC's Lestat x Louis Pre-Rue Royal & Claudia @devilsloveeachother @leroilestat

devilsloveeachother

Poor timing. Louis nearly waned to scoff. It wouldn’t have been poor timing if Lestat wasn’t always the first to rise and the first to bring someone to their suite. At least, that was his excuse, even though it could easily be argued that he should have went to fetch some rats before entering the sitting room to read. He wouldn’t argue about it, though. “I’m practicin’ restraint.” I need air. He thought, in correction. Making his own motion to stand up. Hands smoothing down the front of his vest, before he would follow Lestat towards the door, grabbing his own coat from the hook near it. He could have left without it, but the chill of the New Orleans air would affect a normal mortal man, and after all that is what they were playing. “I wish for more answers than redirection.” Louis stepped out of the door in front of the other, beginning to make his way towards the bustling street outside. “Are there more of us? Out here in the world. Surely you’re not the only one.”

Lestat followed him out into the street he closed the door with deliberate care. The noise of New Orleans pressed in at once on him the carriages, laughter, and music leaking from open doors. He put his coat on as he walked. He was unhurried and letting Louis take the lead by half a step. “Always the wrong question first,” Lestat said. “You leap outward when you should be looking straight ahead.” He glanced at Louis, then forward again. “Yes, there are others, not many. There are fewer than you imagine, but more than you’d like.”

They walked a block before he spoke again. He was thinking how to answer without revealing too much to him. “They are scattered around. Suspicious. Some are mad. Some are ancient enough to make me seem like a newborn.” His mouth tightened. “They are not a society. There is no welcoming committee waiting to explain us to you.” He slowed just enough to make Louis match him. “You want to know if you are alone,” Lestat said. “You are not. You want to know if you are safe among them.” A short breath of laughter. “You are safer with me.” His eyes cut to Louis it was sharp and assessing. “And before you ask... no, they will not answer you kindly. They will not explain themselves. They will not admire your conscience.” He looked ahead again. “Now tell me why you truly ask. Curiosity is not your sin.”

[leroilestat]

The Adventures of Lestat and Louis

Last time on The VCs @leroilestat @spookybearwolf43 Lestat x Louis

spookybearwolf43

“I never claimed to be innocent Lestat.” Louis shifts so that he is facing Lestat. “That is you. You put me on a pedestal. As if my every action is pure. Like Armand does with Daniel. Or is it the other way around?” Louis shakes his head. “You find it fascinating when I lose control. I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it in your touch. You are born to cause trouble. And I am born to start fires. A match made in the pit we both come from.” He says it kindly. Almost lovingly.

Lestat listens without interrupting. The hum of the plane fills the space where a lesser man might rush to speak. His hands remain steady at Louis’ waist with his thumbs resting there as if to remind him he is real. “You were never on a pedestal,” Lestat says at last. His tone is even and certain. “You were beside me. I only ever asked you to see yourself as I do.” A faint, knowing smile touches his mouth. “If I admired your restraint, it was because I lack it. If I admired your fury, it was because you wield it with meaning.”

He shifts slightly, angling his body so Louis is fully facing him. “Yes, I find it fascinating when you lose control,” he admits. “Because it is honest. Because you stop apologizing for existing.” His gaze does not waver. “Do not confuse fascination with hunger. I do not want to break you open. I want to witness you.” At the mention of Armand, his expression tightens just enough to be noticeable. “Armand worships reflections. I do not. I see the fire and the ash. I love both. You are right about one thing. I was born to provoke. You were born to burn. But fires need air, Louis. Trouble needs consequence. That is what we are to each other.” He leans his forehead briefly against Louis' his is voice low and steady. “You are not on a pedestal. We have a partnership.”