They lay together on the soft mattress, pyjamas long forgotten in a heap on the floor. Face to face in the dim light, they revelled in the presence of the other, taking it all in.. Louis was the first to move, reaching out to map the contours of Lestat’s face – his fingertips gliding from forehead to temple, down his cheek and chin. Then, with a gentle grasp at Lestat’s nape, he pulled him closer, capturing his lips in a kiss. He could feel Lestat responding and deepening the kiss, his finger threading tenderly through Louis’ hair and sending shivers down his spine. Louis sighed softly as Lestat drew back, their foreheads still touching.

“So what did he taste like?” Lestat asked in a low voice.

“What?!” was all that Louis could reply, too baffled for a more sophisticated reply.

“Your little rent boy.” Lestat added teasingly, his fingers still tracing the curve of Louis’ neck.

“Like… honey and pineapple.” It was the first thing that came to Louis’ mind and as good as any other answer. “I can’t remember… why does it matter?”

He actually could remember. It had been sweet, the love the kid had for his sister and niece evident in every drop. But there had been a bitter tang to it, almost acrid, caused by the ordeals the kid had endured in his short life and Louis could see it playing like a slide show in the kid’s mind. Faces had appeared and disappeared, among them, the face of a rock singer with a wild, golden mane. With the images came emotions. The kid had clearly idolized Lestat and had turned to his music whenever things had been tough. Sometimes, it takes seeing things through a stranger’s eyes to truly recognize what’s always been right in front of you.

“He was really cute, wasn’t he? He looked cute in that awful man’s memory…”

Louis groaned and let his head fall back onto the pillow. “Can we maybe stop talking about him, just now?”

Lestat leaned in closer. “Why? Did you not fancy him?”

Louis stared up at the ceiling, trying very hard to ignore the blond locks falling generously around him, and counted to ten.

“Well, I’m not trying to sleep with him just now, am I?”

Lestat chuckled and his breath tickling Louis’ skin. “Sleep was not what I had in mind.”

“Then just shut the fuck up and kiss me!” Louis growled, and Lestat obediently obliged his lover’s order. He traced a line of kisses down Louis’ jawline, slowly moving along his neck and finding the shallow dip at the base of Louis’ throat, flicking his tongue over it and feeling its movement as Louis drew a sharp inhale from deep inside.

“Je t’aime, mon ange,” Lestat murmured against Louis’ chest, the strong beat of Louis’ heart a soft rhythm beneath his lips.

Louis knew Lestat wasn’t expecting a reply – not after all the years without ever hearing it – but it still caused a wave of shame to wash through him. He cupped Lestat’s face in both hands, pulling him up until their eyes met, and then in one swift motion, Louis flipped them over. He straddled his husband on the bed while his eyes stayed locked with Lestat’s. He could see them mist over. Lestat had always loved when Louis took control.

Louis’ hands slid down Lestat’s smooth chest, causing goosebumps to rise on his flawless skin. Moving on to his arms, he ran his fingers over the firm muscles and locked their hands together, lifting them and pinning them beside Lestat’s head on the pillow. When he bent down to capture his lover’s open mouth in a kiss, Louis felt a slight tremble rock the mattress.

Louis paused, puzzled. Making love to Lestat could be an earth-shattering experience (according to the man himself), but this was maybe a bit too much. In unison the two vampires turned around to look for the source of the distortion. They spotted it stalking on silent paws across the foot of the bed, sitting down in the corner and looking at them expectantly. Louis could have sworn if Barney had a bucket of popcorn, he would now reach into it for a good mouthful of the sweet treat.

“Is he going to sit there and watch us… the entire time?” Louis asked with a glance at Lestat, who shrugged.

“We could probably teach him a thing or two?” Lestat replied with a wink and a gentle slap on Louis’ derrière.

Louis buried his face in Lestat’s chest with a groan. “You two are going to be the death of me…”

“Well, without trying to point out the obvious…,” Lestat teased but rubbed Louis’ side reassuringly nonetheless.

“Yes, yes, I know… I remember…” Louis’ reply was muffled by Lestat’s chest, and he could feel Lestat’s comforting pats against his back.

“You know, I think he likes you, mon cher.” Lestat stated with a thoughtful gaze at the cat. Louis eyed the feline doubtfully, who sat still as the Sphinx on their bed, paws folded in front of his body. “And I think you might start to like him, too?” Louis didn’t miss the hopeful undertone in Lestat’s voice. As much as he didn’t like to admit it to himself, it was hard not to fall for Barney’s clumsy charm.

“So can we keep him, mon âme?” Louis thought he detected a pleading note in Lestat’s voice.

Louis viewed his husband and then their pet, who had rolled over onto his side with one paw drawn across his forehead, the perfect visualization to Lestat’s tone. Louis knew defeat when he saw it, and this time it came in the form of an immortal and a furry little creature with two pairs of impossibly large eyes, one blue, one yellow.

He heaved a deep sigh and confirmed, “Yes, yes, we can keep him. As if I ever had a say in the matter?” He tried to accompany his words with a dramatic eye roll, but Lestat’s giggles somewhat undermined his performance.

“Under one condition!” Louis raised a finger, and Barney actually dropped his paw across his eyes. “He’s not sleeping in coffin with us!”

“D’accord,” Lestat laughed while Barney’s “mow” sounded a little disappointed. That was if he were able to follow and understand their conversation. Which, of course, he couldn’t. He was a cat.

Suddenly Lestat sat up, anchoring Louis’ place on his lap with an arm around Louis’ waist. The movement startled Barney, who fled with an indignant “mow” into the opposite corner of the room and shot accusatory looks at his vampiric family.

Lestat wriggled a little to make himself and Louis more comfortable. Their eyes met, and they drew each other into a tighter embrace, their hands drifting over each other’s bodies.

“Take my blood, Louis,” Lestat whispered, his voice husky and thick.

Louis brushed Lestat’s hair out of his face, weaving his fingers into the lush curls. Placing a few teasing kisses on Lestat’s shoulders, Louis finally reached the sensitive spot at the nape of Lestat’s neck. He scraped his teeth lightly against Lestat’s skin, feeling a shiver run through Lestat’s body and a low moan tickle his temple, when he sank his fangs into the soft flesh. Blood welled out of the puncture wounds and Louis drank deeply, savouring each drop as the warm liquid slipped smoothly down his throat.

Drinking the blood of a mortal creature – human or animal – was not only a mere necessity to sustain his body. Feeling the life drain out of them and knowing that in that moment, he alone held their survival in his palms, was what made it so addictive and irresistible. It was both terrifying and beautiful to have this much power over another entity. The intimacy, crafted by the images that flashed through their minds as their existence was taken from them, was transcendent to anything a human could ever feel.

A vampire’s blood was darker and richer than any blood of a mortal. It wasn’t about taking their lives but about sharing their power, the very essence of the centuries of their being. It was a feeling like fire burning through veins, setting each cell ablaze with an untamed heat like molten lava. It was intoxicating, pulsating, maddening and all-consuming.

Drinking from Lestat was all of that, but multiplied by miles and miles. Losing himself completely in the sensation of Lestat’s blood running down his throat, Louis was only dimly aware of a slight movement and Lestat’s breath brushing against his neck until Lestat’s fangs penetrated Louis’ own skin, taking his own blood with the same intensity.

As their bloods mingled, given and taken in equal measures, flowing between them, Louis could feel the bond between them, a bond that could never be broken again. He wished he could say the words that deep down he knew Lestat was longing to hear, still needed to hear. Forgive me, my love… can you taste in my blood how much you mean to me? I wish I could make you feel the words that I can’t speak. You are my home, my everything, for all eternity. We will never part again. I am yours, and you are mine. Forever.

They stayed entwined, wrapped in the quiet comfort of their embrace, pouring into each other, a perfect balance of yielding and possessing. The strong thrum of their hearts, a steady pounding of drums in the night, blending into one. The world around them ceased to be. Only they were what mattered.

The sky was still ink-black but morning was already lurking around the edges when Louis rested his head against Lestat’s chest and breathed in his warm and musky scent. He closed his eyes and enjoyed this rare moment of bliss and peaceful quiet that he had yearned for so long. He knew Lestat would carry him to coffin, even after he’d fallen asleep, so he needn’t worry about moving his body. He still felt like floating, weightless, like a feather blowing in a breeze. Just as sleep was sweeping him away, he could feel Lestat’s lips press against his forehead and Lestat’s words murmured against his skin:

“Enfin encore chez nous, mon cher. Tu m’as tellement manqué plus que tu ne peux l’imaginer. Tu es mon amour, mon cœur et mon âme. À jamais, je suis à toi, comme tu es à moi. Plus rien ne pourra jamais nous séparer, pas même le temps ou le destin. Nous sommes unis pour l’éternité. Je t’aime infiniment.”

---

Here’s a translation of Lestat’s words in French:

“Finally, home again, my heart. I missed you so much – more than you can imagine. You are my love, my heart, and my soul. Forever, I am yours, just as you are mine. Nothing will ever separate us again, not even time or fate. We are bound for eternity. I love you infinitely.”